Tag Archives: Black Library Advent calendar

QUICK REVIEW : Jackalwolf – CZ Dunn

Day seven in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar gives us Jackalwolf by CZ Dunn, a Space Wolves micro-short story featuring Lukas the Trickster. With the Great Companies all absent from the Fang, Fenris’ defences are left in the dubious hands of Lukas, his undoubted skill enough to overcome his lowly status and grant him stewardship of the Fang. When Word Bearers appear in-system to threaten the realm of the Wolves, Lukas has to rely upon his wits to defend against an overwhelming force.
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QUICK REVIEW : The Gift of Khorne – Guy Haley

Day six in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar brings us The Gift of Khorne by Guy Haley, an Age of Sigmar story featuring another powerful Chaos champion (there’s a trend appearing here…), this time the more-beast-than-man Gigante. Besieging a still-intact city in the realm of life, Ghyran, he revels in his god-granted gifts and the carnage that he wreaks in the name of Khorne. Gifts from the Chaos gods tend to be a little risky however, so he had better hope that nothing puts a stop to his successes, like the unexpected appearance of the Stormcast Eternals…
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QUICK REVIEW : Gift of the Gods – Ben Counter

The fifth 2015 Advent Calendar story from Black Library, Ben Counter’s Gift of the Gods features the disgraced, exiled Chaos Lord Antonidas Hajos of the Dire Claws, abandoned on feudal jungle world after leading a failed coup within this chapter. Accompanied by a handful of his warriors and driven on by anger and pride, he sets out to turn the locals to the worship of the chaos gods, undertaking a series of tasks to prove his worth. The question remains though, will this be enough to set him on the path to revenge and glory? Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW : By The Horns – Rob Sanders

Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar continues apace, returning to the Age of Sigmar for the fourth short story with Rob Sanders’ By The Horns. It follows Chrysaor The Wanton, a Slaaneshi warlord leading his tribe to glory in the unstable terrain of The Plinth. We watch through his senses (not his eyes…he doesn’t have those) as he and his warband slake their thirsts on weak prey, but when the Stormcasts approach he realises that he may have made a terrible mistake.
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QUICK REVIEW : In Wolves’ Clothing – Ian St. Martin

For the third story in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar the action returns to the 40K universe with Ian St. Martin’s In Wolves’ Clothing, in which a pack of Space Wolves finally track down Lucius the Eternal on a daemon world deep in the Eye of Terror. Battling twisted cultists and the constantly shifting surface of the planet itself to bring Lucius to heel at last, pack leader Hrothgar leads his Wolves to a famous victory, but at what cost to their souls? Fans of 40K will know what happens next when Lucius meets his match…
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QUICK REVIEW : The Unending Storm – Nick Kyme

The second story in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar, The Unending Storm is an Age of Sigmar short from Nick Kyme that’s written from the perspective of a champion of Chaos – Ghaar’ath, the Warson. Having led his warband to victory against a rival force he gets his first glimpse of the Stormcast Eternals, which sets him on a path to victory and glory in the eyes of his god, but also gives him an understanding of just why they’re called ‘Eternals’.
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QUICK REVIEW : Divine Will – Andy Smillie

The first story in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar is Divine Will by Andy Smillie, a micro-short featuring a Vindicare assassin, an Inquisitor and an extremely risky trick shot. It takes place on the world of Drex, whose population has been swayed by a dangerous, heretic cult. To bring them back into line and re-instil the appropriate fear of the Emperor into them, Inquisitor Gerhart plans to make a public, visible demonstration of the Emperor’s divine will, but to do so he requires the particular skills of a master marksman.
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RECAP – Black Library Advent Calendar 2014

And so, after twenty-four days of brand new short stories and audio dramas from Black Library, the 2014 Advent Calendar ended on a high note with a new World Eaters novel. Just to recap, at the start of December I decided that I was going to take the plunge and go for the Advent Calendar subscription, and each day I would read or listen to the new release before posting a short review of my thoughts. For anyone who hasn’t read my reviews of these new releases, follow this link to my original Advent Calendar post and you will find subsequent links through to the review of each day’s release. For anyone who has read the reviews, here are a few further thoughts about the Advent Calendar overall.

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QUICK REVIEW : The Watcher – CZ Dunn

On the twenty-fourth day of Christmas, Black Library gave to us…a Horus Heresy audio drama by CZ Dunn. The final advent short, The Watcher sees one of Malcador’s Knights Errant receive a message in the form of a broken and bloodied Space Wolf. Using his psychic abilities the Knight watches through the eyes of the Wolf as he recalls his Sigillite-ordered mission to ‘observe’ the Night Lords, and the events that led up to his appalling wounding.

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QUICK REVIEW : Forgotten – Dan Abnett

On the twenty-third day of Christmas, Black Library gave to us…a Gaunt’s Ghosts short story by Dan Abnett. A Gaunt’s Ghosts ghost story, in fact, called Forgotten. As the story unfolds, several of the Ghosts are gathered around a fire in a quiet storeroom somewhere within the Ser Armaduke, telling each other ghost stories. At Gaunt’s prompting, Mkoll begrudgingly tells his tale, of a fiend who moves in the darkness and strikes unseen, forgotten by death but stalked in turn by Mkoll.

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