Category Archives: Reviews

Forgotten Texts: Birth of a Legend by Gav Thorpe

“A small gift hardly compares to the life of a Dwarf King, now does it?”

Gav Thorpe’s first ever Black Library story, first published twenty years ago, Birth of a Legend is an old-school Warhammer story featuring an early incarnation of one of the setting’s greatest characters. When King Kurgan and his retainers are captured by the Orc warlord Vagraz Head-Stomper, things look bleak for the Dwarfs. That is, until the local human huntsmen arrive to investigate the intrusion into their territory, led by a young man with a powerful destiny. Determined to drive them off and free the Dwarf captives, he leads his men into battle against the Orcs…and the rest is history.

Keep reading…

Viking Fire – Justin Hill

A sweeping story of adventure, danger and drama, Justin Hill’s Viking Fire is a novelisation of historical events – the story of Harald Hardrada, from his youth in Norway to his invasion of England in 1066. It’s a wide-ranging story spanning the majority of Harald’s life and moving across large swathes of the continent as Harald pursues his fate, from the fjords of Norway to the warm seas of the Mediterranean. Along the way he fights on land and sea, meets Kings, Emperors and Empresses, wins hearts and loses friends; he’s driven to survive and succeed, and realise his ambitious dreams.

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: The Volturung Road – Guy Haley

First published within the Fyreslayers anthology before getting the standalone ebook treatment, Guy Haley’s Age of Sigmar short story The Volturung Road has one foot in the Mortal Realms and the other back in the World That Was. As the Slaanesh-worshippers’ siege of his family’s hold approaches its one hundred and first year, runeson Ulgathern grows increasingly concerned, fearing that a prophecy deemed unreliable by most is coming to fruition. When tragedy strikes and his personal circumstances change, he sets out towards the Volturung lodge to reach his people’s ancestral home and escape the fate he sees approaching.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Restorer – Chris Wraight

Day Seven of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

Chris Wraight’s White Scars stories are rightly acknowledged as some of the best in the Horus Heresy, but if you thought that arc was over after The Path of Heaven, the short story Restorer is a reminder that their story isn’t finished. Entirely spoilerific if you’re not up to speed with events – be warned – it sees Shiban Khan back on Terra, attempting to recover both physically and psychologically from the various traumas he’s suffered since Prospero. Taking in the corridors of the Imperial Palace and the wilds of pre-Siege Terra, it’s a story of reflection and atmosphere as much as action.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Pride and Fall – Ian St. Martin

Day Six of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

Lucius the Eternal – the guy who, any time he’s killed and his killer takes satisfaction in the act, comes back to life in a rather gruesome fashion. How does that work if he’s not killed by a person, but rather a thing? That’s the question asked by Ian St. Martin in his short story Pride and Fall, an unusual and unexpectedly horrifying tale set relatively early on in Lucius’ eternal-ness. Without giving too much away, much to Lucius’ surprise he meets his temporary end not at the hands of a mighty warrior, but in an altogether more humble way. Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Auction of Blood – Josh Reynolds

Day Five of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

The book trade is a dangerous business, at least in Josh Reynolds’ Age of Sigmar short story Auction of Blood. Palem Bok, bookseller and spy, is tasked with attending an auction of rare items and acquiring what turns out to be a remarkably dangerous artefact for his mistress, the Mortarch Neferata. Danger abounds in the streets and houses of Greywater Fastness, and in order to complete his mission Bok must exercise all of the caution, judgement and skill a bookseller needs, along with a judicious serving of violence and death.

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Death Warrant – Robbie MacNiven

Day Four of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

The third in a growing series of stories featuring the Carcharadon Astra, Death Warrant sees Robbie MacNiven continue to explore this most unusual of Space Marine chapters. Two months after landing on the jungle moon of Terix IX, Rogue Trader Anjelika Trayn and her crew are getting close to finding what they came for, when the unexpected appearance of a force of terrifying grey-clad Space Marines changes everything. Journeying alongside the Carcharadons into the depths of an ancient temple whose guardians are slowly rousing, Trayn learns that even her Warrant of Trade can’t protect her from some things.

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Shadows of Heaven – Gav Thorpe

Day Three of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

Labelled as part of the Rise of the Ynnari series, Gav Thorpe’s short story Shadows of Heaven takes the character of Aradryan from the novel Path of the Outcast and brings him up to date in the new 40k setting. Now a Guardian of Alaitoc, he takes his place in the craftworld’s armies as they defend an Imperial world against a common enemy – the Black Legion. Troubled by memories of his previous paths and his fear of the eldar afterlife, he hopes to find clarity of purpose in the fires of battle.

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: The Hardest Word – David Guymer

Day Two of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

Set in and around the fortress known as The Seven Words, in the Realm of Ghur, David Guymer’s Age of Sigmar short story The Hardest Word is a typically boisterous tale of Hamilcar Bear-Eater of the Astral Templars. When word arrives that his recently-conquered fortress may be under threat from the insidious skaven, Hamilcar bids his warriors to search for the source of the danger, while he offers up an unconventional distraction. Not one for the subtle option, his choice is bold, brash and surprisingly effective.

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Grandfather’s Gift – Guy Haley

Day One of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign

Unexpectedly branded as a Horus Heresy Primarchs series short story (the first one ever!), Grandfather’s Gift by Guy Haley is an entertaining and surprisingly light tale of Mortarion, primarch of the Death Guard. After waking within the Garden of Nurgle with no memory of how he got there, Mortarion sets off along its paths to discover – or maybe rediscover – how he came to be there, while marvelling at the wonders he sees along the way. To avoid giving anything away let’s just say he’s not alone in the Garden, and during his time there we gain an insight into his place within Nurgle’s ranks.

Keep reading…