Tag Archives: Imperial Guard

QUICK REVIEW: Anarchy’s End – Rob J Hayes

The Black Library debut for fantasy author Rob J Hayes, Anarchy’s End is an Imperial Guard short story set almost entirely within the confines of a Baneblade super-heavy tank – the titular Anarchy’s End. Battling the endless hordes of a tyranid swarm, loader Vi Modine and the rest of the crew of Anarchy’s End struggle to keep the ageing tank operational long enough to strike a decisive blow. As the longest-serving member of the crew Vi knows the history of the vehicle well, but as the battle grinds bloodily on she starts to wonder at the nature of its ancient machine-spirit.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Price of Duty – Matt Smith

A standalone Imperial Guard short story by Matt Smith, The Price of Duty takes a familiar setup – a straight-laced commissar serving with an ill-disciplined regiment of Catachan Jungle Fighters – and delivers a slightly different take to usual. For young Commissar Jasper Nevin, serving under a Lord-Commissar whom he idolises is a dream come true, however the soldiers of the Catachan 64th don’t seem to hold him in much regard. Surrounded by warriors of strength and fortitude, Nevin finds his own skill and bravery lacking, but to survive he’s going to have to find a way to earn at least someone’s respect.

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QUICK REVIEW: Reborn – Nicholas Wolf

The Black Library debut for Nicholas Wolf, 40k short story Reborn explores a little of what might happen if an Astra Militarum regiment forsook its oaths to the Emperor, and where that might lead. For Acting-Captain Petrov of the 224th Kelbran Janissaries, the knowledge that his regiment has been abandoned by its commanders and left to die is too much to bear. When he snaps and kills his commissar, he turns his back on the Emperor and takes his first steps on a new path, driven by a determination to survive long enough to return home and see his son.

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QUICK REVIEW: Blood Sacrifice – Peter McLean

The fourth and final short story in Black Library’s Digital Horror Week 2019, Peter McLean’s Blood Sacrifice returns to the story of Corporal Cully and the Reslian 45th as a sequel to Baphomet By Night. Digging in on a dreary hive world under the watchful eye of a new, by-the-book sergeant, the endless waiting is wearing on Cully and bringing back painful memories. When the opportunity arises to make a little money off the books Cully jumps at the chance, but what should be a straightforward job becomes something much worse when an abandoned medicae facility turns out to be anything but.

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Perdition’s Flame – Alec Worley

The first ever Warhammer Horror audio drama, and Alec Worley’s first audio drama for Black Library, Perdition’s Flame is the story of comms man Vossk, formerly of the 86th Vostroyan Firstborn, en route to a penal legion as punishment for desertion. Imprisoned alongside murderers and sadists and warded by stern Praetorian Guard, when the ship’s systems start to fail Vossk realises that the horrors he thought he’d left behind have followed him into the void. Something on the ship is causing the failures and spooking both crew and inmates, but Vossk is trapped in his cell while the darkness draws closer.

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Cadian Honour – Justin D. Hill

Justin D. Hill’s Cadian Honour – a sequel to 2017’s Cadia Stands but interestingly billed by Black Library as ‘Book 1 of the Cadian series’ – is an action-packed story of what life is like for the Cadian Shock Troops in the Dark Imperium. Burdened by the loss of Cadia and the disapproval of other Imperial forces, the remnants of the Cadian 101st are posted to Potence, capital world of the Gallows Cluster. As Chaos forces make worrying inroads into the system and peace on Potence is threatened, what should be an easy posting turns into a desperate defence against enemies within and without.

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Honourbound – Rachel Harrison

Rachel Harrison’s debut Black Library novel, Honourbound follows on from several excellent short stories and features Commissar Severina Raine serving with the 11th Antari Rifles as part of the decades-long Bale Stars Crusade. As Raine and the Antari grind their way to hard-fought victories over the chaos cult known as the Sighted, the stress of constant attritional warfare starts to show – even on the resolute Commissar. With the Sighted changing tactics and darkness forming within the Crusade, Raine knows that her faith and determination will be tested like never before as she wrestles with the implications of her past and the dangers of the present.

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RAPID FIRE: Alec Worley Talks Perdition’s Flame

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to Alec Worley about his new Warhammer Horror audio drama, Perdition’s Flame, which is available to order right now! It’s Alec’s first Black Library audio drama, and one of the first few Warhammer Horror releases to land, so I’m really excited about this one.

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RAPID FIRE: Justin D. Hill Talks Cadian Honour

In this instalment I spoke to Justin D. Hill about his latest 40k novel, Cadian Honour, which was released in ebook over Christmas but is now available in hardback too. It’s available to order right now, so check out the interview and then head out and grab a copy of the book!

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QUICK REVIEW: Solace – Steve Lyons

This short story is featured in Inferno! Volume 2, which is out now.

Steve Lyons has written plenty about various Imperial Guard regiments over the years, and with his short story Solace he’s tackled the Mordian Iron Guard in a 40k equivalent of a Wild West tale. Guardsman Maximillian Stürm and the remnants of his squad are lost in the forests of Silva Proxima after a devastating aeldari ambush, wounded and weary, when they stumble upon a backwater village apparently untouched by the xenos. The villagers seem welcoming at first, but Stürm is suspicious of their reasons for living in the forest, how they’ve managed to survive, and what they might be hiding.

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