On the fifth day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Commissar Yarrick short story by David Annandale. Picking up threads from elsewhere in this growing series, Concordat sees still-young Yarrick on the hive world of Aighe Mortis, participating in a recruitment drive to replenish depleted Mortisian regiments. As some familiar faces unexpectedly appear and he’s forced into conflict with the Inquisition, he has to draw upon every weapon at his disposal to survive.
On the fifth day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Horus Heresy audio drama by Nick Kyme. Following on from Censure and The Unremembered Empire, Stratagem features Aeonid Thiel (for real this time) on his return to Macragge, as he meets with the primarch Roboute Guilliman to discuss his place within the Ultramarines legion. His unconventional mindset and methods have served him well so far, but what will his purpose be in the new Imperium Secundus?
On the fourth day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Shield of Baal short story by Guy Haley. Sitting within the wider Shield of Baal series but also tying in with Haley’s own novel Valedor, Wraithflight sees the eldar of Iyanden come to the aid of an embattled Imperial world against the might of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Spiritseer Iyanna leads a void attack, using the wrathful dead of the craftworld to combat the hive mind’s control over its fleet, but it remains to be seen exactly what the eldar are hoping to achieve with their intervention.
On the third day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Fabius Bile audio drama by Josh Reynolds. Fabius Bile : Repairer of Ruin follows the self-styled Primogenitor as he leads his malformed minions on a mission to steal the preserved body of Horus. With the assault on Lupercalia carrying on around him, Fabius has his eyes set on a bigger prize than merely punishing the Sons of Horus for the sins of their father; once he has Horus’ body in his possession he can once again turn his attention to replicating the genetic code of the Primarchs.
On the second day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Brazen Claws story by Joe Parrino. Cold Roads, so named for the vessel on which the story takes place, offers a snapshot of the chapter’s Eighth Company, deep in the Eye of Terror, battling Emperor’s Children and suffering from their long exposure to the Eye. With this and its predecessor, No Worse Sin (from the Angels of Death collection), Parrino is introducing readers to the Brazen Claws as a chapter, hinting at their shadowed history and their organisation, while setting the scene for what’s to come next in their story.
On the first day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Horus Heresy short story by Guy Haley. The Final Compliance of Sixty-Three Fourteen takes a look at how a compliant world might react to Horus as he returns to to demand its fealty, claiming the Imperial Truth to be a lie. As the Sons of Horus fleet hangs in orbit as a blunt threat, and their emissaries wait impatiently, the Imperial governor must choose whether to turn away from The Emperor or defy Horus.
As has become tradition in the run up to Christmas, Black Library have provided us, their devoted readers, with an advent calendar full of fictional fun. This year we it’s Warhammer 40k and Horus Heresy only, but according to today’s New@BL blog post we’re actually going to get ‘over 30 new stories’. Not only that but anyone who pays in advance for the ‘subscription’ will receive each day’s story/stories as well as a ‘free’ novel on Christmas Day. The advent calendar page on the Black Library website is showing an icon for each day, presumably representing the focus of each day’s story/stories.
In a relatively short space of time David Annandale has amassed a sizeable body of work for the Black Library, writing for the Imperial Guard, Black Dragons, Iron Hands and Grey Knights amongst others. One of his earliest contributions was a limited-edition Blood Angels novella in the Lords of the Space Marines series; soon to be re-released in non-limited format, Mephiston : Lord of Death takes a detailed look at the Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels, the only one of their number ever to overcome the Red Thirst. Following on directly from the short story Eclipse of Hope, this finds Mephiston accompanying 4th Company as they battle Chaos Space Marines, daemons and their very nature, drawn ever onwards towards the Pallevon system and whatever lies waiting for them there.
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey is the kind of book that benefits from the reader knowing as little as possible beforehand; the blurb on the cover gives almost nothing away, save to hint at the protagonist’s plight and begin to build the reader’s sympathies. For those who don’t want anything that might spoil the story, suffice to say this is a tightly-plotted, compulsive read that’s at once a bleak look at how mankind might react under terrible circumstances and a compassionate tale of what makes us human. If you are a fan of Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson or more modern writers like Justin Cronin (author of The Passage) then look no further; this should appeal. If you want to know a little more, without any actual spoilers, then read on.
Helsreach, Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s novel set during the Third War for Armageddon, was the second ever Space Marine Battles book. A couple of years after its release it was repackaged in a new edition entitled Armageddon along with a companion novella, Blood and Fire. That novella is now available as a standalone volume for those who already have Helsreach, and it picks up just days after the events that concluded the previous story. Reclusiarch Grimaldus is once again front and centre, this time investigating claims by the Celestial Lions, a fellow successor chapter of the Imperial Fists, that the Inquisition is deliberately driving them to destruction. Only a handful of the chapter remain, and Grimaldus is faced with the difficult decision of whether to support them in a last, glorious charge or find a way to help them rebuild their shattered forces.