Originally released as part of the event-only Black Library Live! 2016 chapbook alongside A Memory of Tharsis by Josh Reynolds, Chris Wraight’s Argent is an Inquisition short story that links in with his excellent novel Vaults of Terra: The Carrion Throne. In it, Interrogator Luce Spinoza tells a tale of joining the Imperial Fists in an assault on a traitor-held hive, during which her perception of the Angels of Death is profoundly affected. Fighting alongside the Fists as part of a wider mission to cleanse the hive, she faces both the horror of corruption and the ferocity of the Space Marines’ ardent faith.
Very much a prequel to The Carrion Throne, this is a satisfying little character study introducing one of the key characters from the novel, and a story of Wraight’s usual high calibre, cleverly told and filled with detail. Spinoza comes across as an intriguing mixture of determined and inexperienced, definitely feeling the need to prove herself but clearly very capable. Filtered through her perception, both the Fists and Spinoza’s Inquisitorial master stand out in interesting, unusual ways which start to build up a picture of the tone Wraight is going for with this series, not to mention Spinoza’s personal perspective. To say more would risk spoiling the story, but whether as an introduction to the series or a little extra detail later on, it’s well worth checking out.
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