The Death Guard are still somewhat under-represented in the Horus Heresy series, but Rob Sanders’ Distant Echoes of Old Night goes some way to filling that gap. Here we see Death Guard Chaplain Morgax Murnau as he leads a Destroyer squad through a dying world to finish off a detachment of Imperial Fists from a downed ship. The brutal, implacable Death Guard will have to use every awful weapon at their disposal if they are to prise the dug-in Imperial Fists from their tenacious defences.
Ten million tanks! Or maybe one million tanks. Whatever the number, the Battle of Tallarn is famed for the vast numbers of armoured vehicles that were deployed. In his Horus Heresy novella Tallarn : Executioner, John French chronicles the opening sequence of this infamous battle, from the initial virus bombing of the once-verdant world to the early engagements that demonstrated to the Iron Warriors that Tallarn’s population wasn’t going to let them have their world without a fight. Originally available only as a Limited Edition novella, it’s now been re-issued in standard format to coincide with the release of Tallarn : Ironclad, the next in the Tallarn arc.
Nick Kyme’s ‘quick read’ The Gates of Terra follows Captain Arcadese of the Ultramarines as he stubbornly defends the Ardent Reef from the forces of the Warmaster, in spite of his growing confusion at what’s happening around him. To abuse a famous line : it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Horus Heresy short story, even one apparently standing on its own, will in some way be linked to at least one other existing story. This story is a great example, as while fundamentally it stands as a single story it is in fact linked with Forgotten Sons from the Age of Darkness anthology, as well as the Garro arc, albeit loosely.
Black Library’s series of Space Marine Battles books started in 2010 with Steve Parker’s Rynn’s World, and since then has expanded to contain well over a dozen novels and more than twenty assorted novellas, short stories and audio dramas. 2014 saw two notable additions to the series, in the shape of Andy Smillie’s Sons of Wrath (initially released as a First Edition), and the art book Visions of War (also initially a First Edition). A beautifully-presented hardback filled with a range of artwork from the series so far, it showcases the incredible work of artists such as Jon Sullivan, Kai Lim and Clint Langley (amongst others), and includes short stories from LJ Goulding and Anthony Reynolds.
The accompanying novel to Games Workshop’s first Warhammer : End Times background book (see the review of Nagash here), The Return of Nagash comes from the prolific pen of Josh Reynolds. It follows Mannfred Von Carstein and Arhkhan the Black as the two rivals forge an uneasy alliance in order to bring about Nagash’s reincarnation, each of them for their own, wildly differing, reasons. Accompanying or opposing these two legends of undeath are some of the most famous characters in Warhammer, from Heinrich Kemmler and Krell to Ungrim Ironfist, Eltharion the Grim, Morgiana le Fay and Volkmar the (also) Grim; the stage is well and truly set for the first stages of the world-spanning, cataclysmic End Times.
It took a while for the Blood Angels to get involved in the Horus Heresy series, but when they did, in Fear To Tread, almost the entire legion got stuck in. In his ‘quick read’ story Lost Sons, James Swallow looks at what happened to those few legionaries who stayed behind on Baal, their home world. Denied the right to fight alongside their brothers, then cut off from the rest of the legion by the Ruinstorm, all they can do is wait and hope. When fateful news arrives with an agent of the Sigillite, it appears the worst may have happened.
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Published in 2015 (although subsequently removed from sale), Paul Kearney’s 40k short story The Blind King was intended to act as a prequel to his novel Dark Hunters: Umbra Sumus, which was sadly caught up in legal difficulties in quickly withdrawn from publication. Here we see the Dark Hunters chapter in its relative infancy, fighting for survival against an army of traitor Titans. With the future of the Dark Hunters at stake, the entire chapter goes to war, but against the might of Titans will even that be enough?
The go-to guy for Flesh Tearers in 40k, Andy Smillie has recently turned his attention to their founding chapter, the Blood Angels, as part of the Horus Heresy series. A prequel to Virtues of the Sons (from the Death and Defiance anthology), his ‘quick read’ story Sins of the Father sees the primarch Sanguinius in a dark mood, reflecting on his future and that of his sons. He sees a bleak future for the Blood Angels, with only Azkaellon and Amit offering even a slender thread of hope.
Of all the merits of Black Library’s Horus Heresy series, perhaps its greatest achievement to date is the way it has cast the whole conflict in a new light and reminded readers that it wasn’t just a case of good versus evil and black and white, but very much shades of grey. John French looks at this in a little more detail with his quick read Child of Night, introducing us to Fel Zharost, the ex-Chief Librarian of the Night Lords. Having left his legion after the passing of the Edict of Nikea and returned to the underhive slums of Terra where he was born, he has remained unaware of the civil war ripping the Galaxy apart. Until now.
Anyone familiar with Warhammer will surely be aware of the cataclysmic changes happening as part of the ongoing End Times sequence. While the books published for this series are not approaching the complexity of the Horus Heresy, I think it’s still worth having a quick overview of what’s what.