Tag Archives: Forgotten Texts

Forgotten Texts: Ghostmaker by Dan Abnett

“You’re Imperial Guard, servants of the Emperor first and nothing else second.”

His second Black Library short story, Dan Abnett’s Ghostmaker introduced the world to Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the proud soldiers of Tanith, who would become Gaunt’s Ghosts. Given the command of three freshly-raised regiments, Gaunt barely has time to reach Tanith before a Chaos splinter fleet forces him to gather whatever fragmentary resources he can and escape to Imperial lines. Haunted by the loss of their world, the Tanith are resentful of not being allowed to stand and fight, but Gaunt is determined to begin the process of putting their unique skills to use on the battlefields of the Sabbat Worlds.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Snares and Delusions by Matthew Farrer

“You will set your eyes on the heart of Varantha, and all will come to an end”

Matthew Farrer’s second story for Black Library, and his first Warhammer 40,000 tale, Snares and Delusions sees Chaplain De Haan of the Word Bearers corrupting an Eldar Exodite world in his search for the craftworld Varantha and his foretold destiny. Possessed of boundless reserves of hatred and convinced he’s on the path to glory, De Haan is utterly focused on bringing the loathed craftworld to heel in spite of the Eldar’s reputation for trickery. Even when his words of fire and hate fail him before a sermon to his flock, his self belief remains absolute…

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Words of Blood by Ben Counter

“Above everything…there is victory.”

A formative story from one of Black Library’s early fan favourites, Ben Counter’s Words of Blood pits Black Templars against Chaos cultists on the abandoned world of Empyrion IX. With only thirty Marines at his disposal, Commander Athellenas must find a way to stop an army thousands strong and led by the Manskinner, a powerful Chaos champion able to twist the souls of those around him to Khorne’s will. The consequences of failure are terrible, but Athellenas knows he has the tools to succeed. To do so however, he faces opposition from his own men as well as the enemy.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Ancient History by Andy Chambers

“But remember lads, there ain’t no words for every void-born thing.”

Set largely in the bowels of an Imperial Navy battleship, Andy Chambers’ Ancient History follows ex-smuggler Nathan as he’s press-ganged into brutal service in a gunnery deck work gang. As he adjusts to life as a slave to the Navy, he starts to learn more about the galaxy he lives in, and the oddities of the men he works alongside. It soon becomes clear that life is infinitely more dangerous than Nathan ever knew, although the enigmatic old hand Kron may hold clues to how he can survive the perils, and mysteries, of life in the deep void.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Alex Hammond Talks The Demon Bottle

A couple of months ago I posted a Forgotten Texts review for Alex Hammond’s first Necromunda short story The Demon Bottle. Alex has kindly agreed to a quick interview looking back at the time that he spent writing for Black Library and his thoughts on the various stories he wrote back in those early days. Without further ado, let’s get straight on with the interview…

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Lacrymata by Storm Constantine

“Look upon me, navigator, with the eye that sees my soul.”

Storm Constantine’s only Black Library story, Lacrymata is the closest thing to a love story you’re likely to see set in the 41st millennium. It follows the crew of a warp-faring trading vessel, dispatched by its parent family to retrieve and return with a cargo of potentially dangerous narcotics. Solonaetz, its scarred and fragile navigator, strikes up a friendship with the fey astropath Shivania that soon blossoms into something more, much to the captain’s discomfort. When travelling through the warp though, emotions can be very dangerous…and doubly so for psykers.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Tenebrae by Mark Brendan

“A harsh mistress indeed, and given to treachery at the last.”

Tenebrae, by Mark Brendan, is a rare 40k story in that it’s almost entirely free of blade- or gun-wielding action. A grim, hopeless tale of a world crushed by the hand of Chaos, it follows Imperial Governor Dane Cortez as he watches the final moments of the world he should have protected – Tenebrae, a world on the fringes of the Eye of Terra, perpetually shrouded in darkness. As the forces of Chaos run riot Cortez resigns himself to his failure, only to find that in the depths of his despair there lurks more than just fear and shame.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: The Dead Among Us by James Wallis

“You’re not the man you were. What have they done to you in that temple of ghouls?”

Set in the cold heights of Middenheim in winter, James Wallis’ short story The Dead Among Us is a bleak tale of death and dark magic in the Warhammer Old World. When the murder of an anonymous woman draws his attention, the man who was Dieter Brossmann – once a wealthy man, now a black-clad priest of Morr – sets out to discover her identity but finds himself facing something dark and insidious. Troubled by his past and determined to walk a grim, lonely path, he’s well placed to uncover the truth behind what’s happening in the City of the White Wolf.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Rites of Passage by Gordon Rennie

“The trap was set.”

Set in the darkest depths of the underhive, Gordon Rennie’s Necromunda short story Rites of Passage sees five young juves of House Orlock braving the dangers of Hive Bottom as part of a ritual that will see them emerge as men…if they emerge at all. Hidden amongst the shadows and bolstered by fearsome technologies, something is stalking the five of them, something much worse than the rival gangers that they expected to face. If any of them are to survive, it’s going to take more than just bravery and a loaded laspistol. Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Last Chance by Gav Thorpe

“Just my type of scum!”

The story that introduced us to the 13th Penal Legion, Gav Thorpe’s Last Chance was first published in 1998, two years before Kage, Colonel Schaeffer and the rest of the Last Chancers were fleshed out in the novel 13th Legion. We first meet Kage sprinting through sniper-threatened no man’s land and stumbling across a platoon of Mordian Iron Guard, clearly keen to be anywhere other than where he is. After arousing the suspicion of the platoon’s Commissar, he regales the soldiers detailed to guard him with the story of how he ended up under Schaeffer’s dangerous command.

Keep reading…