Tag Archives: Warhammer 40k

QUICK REVIEW: Pestilence – Dan Abnett

Originally published in the 2001 reprint of the Deathwing anthology, Dan Abnett’s short story Pestilence is a slowly-unfurling mystery set to the backdrop of an astonishingly virulent plague wracking Imperial worlds. As Uhlren’s Pox rampages through the Genovingia system, Lemuel Sark – a recollector, tasked with researching long-buried medical knowledge – is one of many sent out to look for a cure. Travelling to an isolated hospice in search of a survivor of a similar contagion – ominously named the Torment – Sark gradually uncovers the horrifying truth of what happened amidst the broken remnants of so many shattered lives.

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Eisenhorn, Ravenor and Bequin

This article was originally published in 2018, and since then I’ve written an updated, more comprehensive guide to Dan Abnett’s Inquisition Cycle, which I would recommend you check out instead.

Dan Abnett’s trilogy of Inquisition trilogies – the Eisenhorn, Ravenor and Bequin books – are among the best that Black Library have ever published. With the release of The Magos & The Definitive Casebook of Gregor Eisenhorn – the fourth book in the Eisenhorn trilogy (I’m not calling it a quadrilogy…that just sounds daft) – and increased positivity from Abnett regarding getting the second and third Bequin novels written, I thought it was about time I started to slowly tackle the whole set of stories. The idea of this post is that it will list the recommended reading order for all of these stories, with links out to my reviews as and when they’re posted.

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QUICK REVIEW: Mercy – Danie Ware

For her first Black Library story, Danie Ware gives us Mercy – a Sisters of Battle short story in which Sister Superior Augusta leads her squad to a distant corner of Ultima Segmentum to investigate an ancient, ruined cathedral. Rumoured to contain an icon of her own Order, the cathedral is a powerful symbol that appeals to Augusta’s faith, but that faith is soon tested when it becomes clear that the Sisters are not alone. Orkish brutality meets fury and discipline as the Sisters fiercely defend the cathedral, while Augusta begins to wonder what the orks are actually doing there.

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Knightsblade – Andy Clark

The second novel in Andy Clark’s Imperial Knights series, Knightsblade follows on from the excellent Kingsblade, picking up events several years later. Luk Kar Chimaeros, now known as the Knight of Ashes, hunts his stepmother Alicia Kar Manticos from system to system alongside a small band of fellow exiles. Danial Tan Draconis, meanwhile, rules Adrastapol as High King, working to bring the three remaining noble Houses together and help his world to flourish. When he learns of a great danger threatening Adrastapol, Luk puts his quest aside and risks much to return home and fight alongside his former comrades.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Tau’va – Andy Smillie

Andy Smillie’s The Tau’va is a very short story that follows on from The Kauyon, this time (briefly) exploring the T’au Empire’s driving philosophy of the Greater Good. Kal’va’s actions (see the previous story) may have been performed with honour, but in seeking personal revenge he put his own desires before the Greater Good. To atone for his selfishness, he is tasked by one of the Ethereals with launching an all-out assault on a greenskin horde, spending his life in order to buy time for others to escape and survive.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Kauyon – Andy Smillie

Andy Smillie’s short story The Kauyon, originally released as an audio drama, takes its name from one of the T’au Empire’s tactical philosophies, otherwise known as the Patient Hunter. A single T’au sniper, Kal’va, stands against an entire armoured column of Imperials, desperate to seek revenge for the deaths of his bonded teammates. In order to survive long enough to succeed, Kal’va must use his wits and the advanced technology of the T’au to manipulate his enemies to exactly where he wants them. As much as his rifle and the drones he commands, patience and planning are his most important weapons.

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Storm of Iron – Graham McNeill

2002’s classic Iron Warriors novel Storm of Iron was Graham McNeill’s second Black Library novel, and introduced us to Honsou, a villain who would go on to feature heavily in future books. On the barren world of Hydra Cordatus, the 383rd Jouran Dragoons man the defences of an Adeptus Mechanicus fortress. Nobody seems quite sure exactly what they’re defending, but a massive invasion force of Iron Warriors suggests it’s something important. The Imperial defenders believe themselves safe behind formidable fortress walls, but the Iron Warriors bring 10,000 years of guile and brutality as well as their mastery of siegecraft.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Pact – Sarah Cawkwell

One of Sarah Cawkwell’s many Silver Skulls short stories, The Pact sees Prognosticator Bhehan follow a vision to the original homeworld of his Chapter, long ago ravaged by the Silver Skulls themselves. Accompanied by First Captain Kerelan and a veteran squad of Terminators, Bhehan sets out to discover why his vision led him there, and what he can learn of the Silver Skulls’ distant history. When his investigations are disrupted by the arrival of eldar on the surface of Lyria, Bhehan turns his powers instead to destruction until something even worse than the xenos manifests and threatens the mission.

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Lukas the Trickster – Josh Reynolds

The Space Wolves are an enduringly popular Chapter, but Josh Reynolds’ novel Lukas the Trickster is slightly different to their usual stories. With Fenris in the grip of Helwinter and the Space Wolves isolated, the dark eldar corsair Duke Sliscus launches a daring raid from out of the webway in an attempt to stave off his crippling ennui. Banished from the Fang along with a pack of Blood Claws after a prank played on the Wolf Lord Kjarl Grimblood, Lukas pits his cunning against the sly Sliscus, defending Fenris and its people in his own inimitable way.

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Ashes of Prospero – Gav Thorpe

The second novel in the burgeoning Space Marine Conquests series, Gav Thorpe’s Ashes of Prospero sees the Space Wolves stretched thin in the wake of the Cicatrix Maledictum and Magnus’ assault on Fenris. When a weary Njal Stormcaller finds the spirit of a dead Thousand Sons sorcerer lodged within his mind, the revenant reveals that Bulveye and remnants of the 13th Grand Company still fight on, trapped within the Portal Maze. Though loathe to trust the ghostly presence, the prospect of retrieving Bulveye is enough for Njal to risk venturing to Prospero with what few battle brothers he can find.

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