Category Archives: Reviews

QUICK REVIEW: Void Crossed – JC Stearns

Probably as close as we’ll ever get to a dark eldar love story from Black Library, JC Stearns’ Void Crossed deals with the fallout from the broken relationship between two ambitious drukhari corsairs. For Archon Melandyr, the chance to claim a webway gate on the world of Dunwiddian – abandoned after the humans died and the orks got bored – is of little interest until he hears who’s leading the force sent to take control of it by the craftworld Tir-Val. Sensing an opportunity for vengeance long sought-after, he pours all his spite into hunting down the person most important to him.

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Warhammer Adventures: Claws of the Genestealer AND Secrets of the Tau – Cavan Scott

Cavan Scott’s Warped Galaxies series continues to impress (and entertain) with books two and three – Claws of the Genestealer and Secrets of the Tau. With the necron Hunter taken care of (for now, at least), Zelia, Talen, Mekki and Fleapit search for a way off the snow-bound planet they find themselves stranded on, before braving the unfamiliar confines of a frontier space station. With dangers all around, from lethal aliens to the elements themselves, they need to put their differences aside and find ways to work together if they’ve any hope of finding their way to safety, and a distant rendezvous with Zelia’s mum.

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Bigger Than Biggs – Danie Ware

Danie Ware’s Judge Anderson novella Bigger Than Biggs follows on from Alec Worley’s three Year One novellas, and sees the Psi-Judge tackling biker gangs and delving into dark secrets in the Big Meg. On secondment to the uncompromising Chief Johnson in Sector-19, Anderson stumbles upon something big when the rescue of a kidnap victim leads to hints of sinister goings-on beneath the Eee-Zee Rest block. Johnson won’t sanction an investigation due to the political connections of the block’s owner, but Anderson’s gifts tell her something terrible is about to happen, and it’ll take someone with her talents to stop it.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Strong Among Us – Steve Lyons

Steve Lyons is one of the few Black Library authors to have tackled the Death Korps of Krieg, and he continues his exploration with the typically bleak short story The Strong Among Us. Blackfire Forge has fallen to Chaos, and been besieged by the implacable Death Korps. Ex-forge worker Jarrah mans an Earthshaker cannon on the ramparts, not in service of the invading cultists but simply as a means to stay alive. As the siege drags on and he does what he must to survive, he’s forced to consider whether the Death Korps are really the face of Imperial salvation.

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Ghoulslayer – Darius Hinks

The first novel since 2015 in Black Library’s much-loved ‘Nounslayer’ series, Darius Hinks’ Ghoulslayer picks up after the events of the Realmslayer (see the theme there?) audio dramas and sees Gotrek – minus Felix – roaming the Mortal Realms in a typically bad mood. This time he’s in Shyish, accompanied by the aelf Maleneth and troubled Stormcast Trachos, with his sights set on a confrontation with Nagash himself. A chance encounter with a mysterious magician leads them to the hidden underworld of Morbium in the Amethyst Princedoms, where they battle vast numbers of the titular ghouls as an army of mordants threatens to sweep all before it.

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Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work by Guy Haley

Prolific Black Library author Guy Haley continues to explore the ‘Dark Imperium’ era of Warhammer 40,000 with Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work, tackling not just the titular Archmagos Dominus and his idiosyncratic adventures but also the fate of the remaining Scythes of the Emperor. On the dead world of Sotha, Cawl meets with Tetrach Felix of the Ultramarines and Chapter Master Thracian of the Scythes to uncover the secrets of the Pharos, searching for knowledge amidst the ruins of the Scythes’ homeworld. Between Cawl’s apparently reckless pursuit of information and Thracian’s secretive motive for being there, Felix has a hard time keeping the mission on track and ensuring the safety of all parties as the dead world proves to still contain considerable dangers.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Emperor’s Grace – Nicholas Alexander

Nicholas Alexander’s Imperial Navy short story The Emperor’s Grace depicts the intense stress a rookie Marauder bomber crew are placed under during an all-out attack on an ork air base. Part of a huge squadron tasked with striking a decisive blow in the war for Balle Prime, Captain Mikal and the crew of the Emperor’s Grace wrestle with a complex cocktail of emotions as they embark on their first mission. Tensions are high within the Marauder, but once they reach the target all their focus is on surviving long enough to complete the mission and return home in one piece.

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Dark Run – Mike Brooks

Mike Brooks’ debut novel, and the first in the Keiko trilogy, Dark Run is a characterful, fast-paced sci-fi adventure featuring smugglers, pirates, hitmen and hackers, in a not-so distant future where people travel fast, information travels slow, and if you’re lucky you can keep moving and stay ahead of your past. To the crew of the Keiko, Captain Ichabod Drift is a rogue and a scoundrel, but also a largely reliable and usually friendly face. When Drift’s history finally catches up with him, however, he’s forced to take on a mission which endangers everyone’s lives and risks revealing some dark secrets from his past.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Warden in the Mountain – Eric Gregory

Eric Gregory’s Age of Sigmar short story The Warden in the Mountain – his second Black Library release – is billed as a Warhammer Underworlds story, although it’s much more than a straight tie-in to the game. Upon the slopes of the Beastgrave, a vast mountain in the Realm of Ghur, Greatwarden Tythrae leads five aspirants to the Ruinhorn for their final challenge before being ordained as Wardens-in-the-Wild. The test is to endure the whispered voice of the Ruinhorn for a full night, but for Maethys, Laeren and Weheol the mountain’s voice is only the beginning of their trials.

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QUICK REVIEW: Acceptable Losses – Gav Thorpe

First published way back in 1998 in issue 9 of Inferno! magazine, Gav Thorpe’s Imperial Navy short story Acceptable Losses is a slice of vintage Black Library which still feels relevant and entertaining over 20 years later. Flight Commander Jaeger’s new command, the Marauder crews of Raptor Squadron, are a little rough around the edges to say the least, but he’s determined to whip them into shape. When they’re dispatched on a dangerous mission against a vast ork hulk, Raptor Squadron have the opportunity to prove their worth in battle and justify Jaeger’s faith in them.

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