Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Fourteen – Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Issue fourteen of the Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection is Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, the second Space Marine Battles novel to be included in this series. This one came fairly early in Dembski-Bowden’s career, and indeed early in the Space Marine Battles series (second, I think, after Rynn’s World), but it’s still largely considered something of a 40k classic. Set on the war-torn world of Armageddon – which, if you’ve read The Beast Arises, now has a little more resonance – it tackles the Black Templars’ defence of Hive Helsreach, headed up by Reclusiarch Grimaldus.

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QUICK REVIEW: Mercy – Danie Ware

For her first Black Library story, Danie Ware gives us Mercy – a Sisters of Battle short story in which Sister Superior Augusta leads her squad to a distant corner of Ultima Segmentum to investigate an ancient, ruined cathedral. Rumoured to contain an icon of her own Order, the cathedral is a powerful symbol that appeals to Augusta’s faith, but that faith is soon tested when it becomes clear that the Sisters are not alone. Orkish brutality meets fury and discipline as the Sisters fiercely defend the cathedral, while Augusta begins to wonder what the orks are actually doing there.

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Knightsblade – Andy Clark

The second novel in Andy Clark’s Imperial Knights series, Knightsblade follows on from the excellent Kingsblade, picking up events several years later. Luk Kar Chimaeros, now known as the Knight of Ashes, hunts his stepmother Alicia Kar Manticos from system to system alongside a small band of fellow exiles. Danial Tan Draconis, meanwhile, rules Adrastapol as High King, working to bring the three remaining noble Houses together and help his world to flourish. When he learns of a great danger threatening Adrastapol, Luk puts his quest aside and risks much to return home and fight alongside his former comrades.

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RAPID FIRE: Chris Wraight Talks Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

For this interview I spoke to Chris Wraight about his latest novel in the Primarchs series, Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris, which is available to order in all of the usual formats (including audiobook) right now!

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RAPID FIRE: Chris Dows Talks Titans’ Bane

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to Chris Dows about his latest 40k audio drama, Titans’ Bane, which is available to order right now. I picked this up at a Black Library event a while ago, and I’m really excited to see the response it gets once it’s released. You can have a read of my review as well – suffice to say I absolutely loved this!

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The Thunder of Madness – David Annandale

One of six monster vs monster novellas edited by Josh Reynolds and James Bojaciuk as part of a series called Cryptid Clash, David Annandale’s The Thunder of Madness offers a dark, unsettling throwdown between the Beast of Dean (a dirty great boar) and a tatzelwurm (a horrifying cat/lizard hybrid). It’s 1917 and while the Great War is engulfing continental Europe, in Gloucestershire two brilliant women – Miriam and Ingrid – are preparing to tap into the powerful ley lines running through the Forest of Dean. Meanwhile in Austria, Edgar Richter sets out on a perilous journey to bring a tatzelwurm into England. When it arrives, blood will flow and sparks will fly.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Tau’va – Andy Smillie

Andy Smillie’s The Tau’va is a very short story that follows on from The Kauyon, this time (briefly) exploring the T’au Empire’s driving philosophy of the Greater Good. Kal’va’s actions (see the previous story) may have been performed with honour, but in seeking personal revenge he put his own desires before the Greater Good. To atone for his selfishness, he is tasked by one of the Ethereals with launching an all-out assault on a greenskin horde, spending his life in order to buy time for others to escape and survive.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Kauyon – Andy Smillie

Andy Smillie’s short story The Kauyon, originally released as an audio drama, takes its name from one of the T’au Empire’s tactical philosophies, otherwise known as the Patient Hunter. A single T’au sniper, Kal’va, stands against an entire armoured column of Imperials, desperate to seek revenge for the deaths of his bonded teammates. In order to survive long enough to succeed, Kal’va must use his wits and the advanced technology of the T’au to manipulate his enemies to exactly where he wants them. As much as his rifle and the drones he commands, patience and planning are his most important weapons.

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Storm of Iron – Graham McNeill

2002’s classic Iron Warriors novel Storm of Iron was Graham McNeill’s second Black Library novel, and introduced us to Honsou, a villain who would go on to feature heavily in future books. On the barren world of Hydra Cordatus, the 383rd Jouran Dragoons man the defences of an Adeptus Mechanicus fortress. Nobody seems quite sure exactly what they’re defending, but a massive invasion force of Iron Warriors suggests it’s something important. The Imperial defenders believe themselves safe behind formidable fortress walls, but the Iron Warriors bring 10,000 years of guile and brutality as well as their mastery of siegecraft.

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