Author Archives: Michael

QUICK REVIEW: Fearful Symmetries – Rob Sanders

Available either within the Deathwatch: Xenos Hunters anthology or as a standalone e-short, Rob Sanders’ Fearful Symmetries takes a rare look back in time at a young Inquisitor Kryptmann in the early days of the Imperium’s interactions with the tyranid menace. Deep within an Adeptus Mechanicus forge world, Kryptmann oversees the dangerous process of gaining first-hand experience of captured tyranid specimens within a controlled environment. The risks involved pale into insignificance against the urgent need for information to aid in combating and halting this growing threat…

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Black Library Weekly W/C 03/07/17

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. This week has brought with it the Inquisition, the Warmaster of Mankind, and another tranche of newly-announced titles coming later in the year…it’s been pretty damn good, in fact! Let’s have a quick look then, shall we?

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Judge Anderson: Year One – Alec Worley

Formed of three novellas following Cassandra Anderson in her first year as a Judge, Judge Anderson: Year One by Alec Worley explores what it’s like as a psyker living and working in Mega-City One. The search for a powerful, rage-filled psyker infecting others with his anger; a fight for survival in the midst of some of the most deranged of Mega-City One’s inhabitants; and a quest to find the source of a psychic malaise infecting dreams…these are among the challenges facing the young psker as she wrestles with how to reconcile her responsibilities as a Judge with her inherent compassion.

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Dark Compliance – John French

Having tackled the character of Horus in a short Horus Heresy audio drama before – the appropriately named Warmaster – John French takes a longer, darker look in Dark Compliance. A simple but effective portmanteau, it sees the ruler of one planetary system – defiant in the face of Horus’ demands – regaled with the horrifying tale of another system’s demise…over a single day. A statement of Horus’ intent as much as his military power, the story of Accazzar-Beta’s destruction, as told by Sons of Horus emissary Argonis, demonstrates the fate awaiting those who defy the Warmaster. As threats go, it’s pretty compelling.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Absolution of Swords – John French

The third short story in John French’s burgeoning Horusian Wars series, The Absolution of Swords is pretty much a direct prequel to the novel Resurrection. On the shrine world Dominicus Prime, within and beneath the temples of the Crow Complex, Inquisitor Covenant and his warband hunt down an insidious cult known as the Tenth Path. While Duke Cleander Von Castellan and the soldier Koleg seek to cleanse the taint of Chaos from the darkness beneath the temples, Covenant leads his other followers in search of answers, and the man ultimately responsible for the cult’s dark purpose.

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Dark Imperium – Guy Haley

Unless you’ve been hiding your head in the sand of late, you’ll have spotted that Warhammer 40,000 has recently taken a big step forward in terms of the setting’s overall narrative. Not to be left behind, Black Library have commissioned Guy Haley to write the first novel set in #new40k, taking place after the events of the Gathering Storm – the fall of Cadia, the birth of a new eldar god, and the return of a loyalist primarch to 40k. The result is Dark Imperium (not to be confused with the short story anthology of the same name) and…it’s excellent.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 19/06/17

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. After the excitement of that last couple of weeks’ #new40k goings on, things are starting to get back to normal – as such it’s been a pretty quiet week, but there are a couple of interesting things to talk about. Let’s get straight down to it…

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The Realmgate Wars: Wardens of the Everqueen – CL Werner

The fifth book in Black Library’s The Realmgate Wars series, Wardens of the Everqueen by CL Werner is the first actual novel, after four collections of novellas or short stories. Following on from Josh Reynolds’ novellas in War Storm and Ghal Maraz, this continues the story of the Hallowed Knights in the realm of Ghyran, as they fight to protect the Everqueen, Alarielle, from falling into the hands of Nurgle’s champion Torglug the Despised. Embarking on a long and perilous exodus from Ghyran alongside uneasy allies in the sylvaneth, the Hallowed Knights are plagued by Torglug’s forces at every turn.

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QUICK REVIEW: Left for Dead – Steve Lyons

Left for Dead, Steve Lyons’ first published Black Library story since 2015, continues his good work in covering the Death Korps of Krieg, after Dead Men Walking and Down Amongst the Dead Men (notice the recurring theme?). Having been called in to rid an Imperial world of the corruption of Chaos, the Death Korps have now left to continue their endless war elsewhere, leaving the survivors to rebuild and carry on. Left behind is a single Korpsman who makes the unthinkable choice to abandon his regiment and his duty, and attempt to forge a new life, free of war and death.

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