Tag Archives: Warhammer 40k

QUICK REVIEW: The Strange Demise of Titus Endor – Dan Abnett

An Eisenhorn short story that doesn’t actually feature Eisenhorn, Dan Abnett’s The Strange Demise of Titus Endor is a bleak, unsettling story and a reminder that the horrors of the 41st millennium come in all sorts of forms. Focusing, unsurprisingly, on Eisenhorn’s old friend Titus Endor, it finds the inquisitor alone in a drab city, hunting an elusive quarry who always seems just out of reach. Musing on recollections of his old master, Hapshant, Endor wonders what happened to his friend Eisenhorn, even as he follows up clues to his quarry’s whereabouts which point to sinister omens and old ghosts.

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QUICK REVIEW: Backcloth for a Crown Additional – Dan Abnett

In Dan Abnett’s short story Backcloth for a Crown Additional, inquisitor Eisenhorn turns paranormal detective as he investigates the unexpected and increasingly suspicious death of Lord Aen Froigre, head of one of the ancient noble houses of Gudrun. An old friend of Eisenhorn, Froigre’s death is enough to drag Gregor and Bequin away from a precious moment of peace and quiet. What might otherwise have been a simple, if emotional, investigation proves to be rather more complex when it’s revealed that Froigre died of terror, and Eisenhorn detects a trace of warpcraft on the Froigre estate.

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RAPID FIRE: David Guymer Talks The Voice of Mars

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 David Guymer about his latest 40k novel The Voice of Mars, which is his second 40k Iron Hands book. It’s available to order right now, so do check it out!

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QUICK REVIEW: Missing in Action – Dan Abnett

Set between Xenos and Malleus, Dan Abnett’s short story Missing in Action sees inquisitor Eisenhorn returning to the field having recovered from the events of the Necroteuch affair. Sent to Sameter for a routine mission to ease him back into work, when bodies start appearing with signs pointing to ritual killings he realises there’s a much bigger puzzle for him to solve on Sameter. As he digs deeper into the horrifying crimes being committed a pattern begins to emerge, but it seems to point in an unexpected direction.

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QUICK REVIEW: Deus Ex Mechanicus by Andy Chambers

An Inferno! magazine classic given the e-short treatment, Andy Chambers’ Deus Ex Mechanicus sees an Adeptus Mechanicus explorator mission delving into the supposedly dead world of Naogeddon. An expert in cryo-stasis, Lakias Danzager joins the mission just as the unusually charismatic Magos Egal succeeds in finding a way into a necron tomb complex. With his suspicions already roused by absent members of the mission and the eerily regular attacks by the tomb’s strange, metallic defenders, Lakias reluctantly joins Egal in exploring the tomb and facing its many horrifying dangers.

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Warlord: Fury of the God-Machine – David Annandale

Anyone familiar with David Annandale’s writing for Black Library will know he likes to tell big stories. There’s not much bigger in 40k than a Warlord Titan…except lots of Warlord Titans, which you’ll find in David’s novel Warlord: Fury of the God-Machine. The legios of Pallidus Mor and the Imperial Hunters couldn’t be much less alike in philosophy or approach to warfare, but on Khania they forge an uncomfortable alliance against the tyranid hordes. When rebellion arises on nearby Katara they’re forced further still into uneasy cooperation, exposing dangerous cracks even as Chaos rises and a world falls.

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QUICK REVIEW: Nightfall – Peter Fehervari

Nightfall is Peter Fehervari’s debut Black Library story, originally published in the Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. On Sarastus, a dying world which sacrifices its youths to monstrous masters, True Night falls and the Night Lords descend to collect their tribute. Among the ghouls left to fight for survival in the abandoned heights of the last remaining hive, young Zeth unconsciously understands that something sets him apart from his fellows. While bitter rivalries twist the Night Lords even as they make bloody sport culling the weakest of the sacrifices, Zeth sees opportunity in amongst the danger.

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Cult of the Spiral Dawn – Peter Fehervari

Peter Fehervari’s Cult of the Spiral Dawn comprises a short but powerful novel – originally released with the bland title of Legends of the Dark Millennium: Genestealer Cults – plus an accompanying short story, Cast a Hungry Shadow (or Casts…depending on which version you read). You can find reviews for both of these elsewhere on Track of Words (click the links in the previous sentence) from their original releases, while this article aims to take a wider look at what this book offers across both stories. Suffice to say, whether as an introduction to Fehervari’s writing or part of an ongoing exploration, it is – quite simply – essential reading for any 40k fan looking to dig beneath the surface a little.

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QUICK REVIEW: Vanguard – Peter Fehervari

A sort-of sequel to his novel Fire Caste, Peter Fehervari’s short story Vanguard sees Magos Caul, leader of the Adeptus Mechanicus contingent on Phaedra, send his skitarii into battle against what remains of the T’au forces. Tasked with retrieving ‘Objective Skysight’ from within a well-defended T’au enclave, Caul’s skitarii push on through everything the T’au throw at them without questioning exactly what their objective is or why it’s so important, but as the battle continues small scraps of their original personalities begin to show through their machinic logic and programming.

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Fire Caste – Peter Fehervari

Despite its bland, misleading title, Peter Fehervari’s debut Black Library novel Fire Caste is a captivating tale of damaged, haunted characters spiralling into hell. The Imperium and the T’au Empire are locked in an endless stalemate over the planet Phaedra, into which stumble the 19th Arkan Confederates, still haunted by the trauma of their world’s recent rebellion. Commissar Holt Iverson – twisted and troubled from years spent on Phaedra, sees in the Confederates the possibility of redemption. The Confederates, however, are soon suffering under the troubling influence of Phaedra and find themselves drawn ever deeper into the tangled conflict taking place.

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