Tag Archives: Warhammer 40k

Castellan – David Annandale

The second of David Annandale’s Castellan Crowe novels, Castellan follows on from Warden of the Blade and brings the series right up to the current 40k timeline. Picking up immediately after the end of Warden, we catch up with Crowe and his fellow Grey Knights as they look to finish the job on Sandava III, which seems simple enough until the Cicatrix Maledictum splits reality apart and engulfs the Sandava system, all hell literally breaking loose. Meanwhile Canoness Setheno (remember her from Death of Antagonis?) hunts Emperor’s Children on Angriff, a world with powerful meaning to another Grey Knight – Justicar Styer.

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Dead in the Water – Sandy Mitchell

Released back in 2011, Sandy Mitchell’s Dead in the Water is the first of two Ciaphas Cain audio dramas (so far, at least), and in common with the productions of the time is performed (pretty much) by Toby Longworth alone. It’s a classic Cain tale of accidental heroism and unsuccessful self interest, as he finds his quiet posting on the backwater world of Archipelaga unwelcomely enlivened when he’s backed into leading a search mission for a missing squad of Vostroyans. In typical fashion, what begins as a simple task quickly turns dangerous for Cain, Jurgen and co.

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Titans’ Bane – Chris Dows

Chris Dows is developing a fine reputation for writing Imperial Guard, and with his audio drama Titans’ Bane he turns his attention away from Elysians and towards Cadians, with a story focusing on the crew of a Shadowsword super-heavy tank. Having taken a beating by the forces of Nurgle, Lieutenant Quiller and the crew of Titans’ Bane limp back to Imperial lines, desperately trying to repair their wounded tank even as its machine spirit ails. To make matters worse, frictions within the tank threaten to boil over as Quiller attempts to integrate two non-Cadian replacements into her veteran crew.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Infinite Tableau – Anthony Reynolds

A necron-tinged Deathwatch short story from Anthony Reynolds, available as a standalone e-short or within the Deathwatch: Xenos Hunters anthology (or indeed Deathwatch: The Omnibus), The Infinite Tableau sees a small Deathwatch squad investigating the disappearance of an Adeptus Mechanicus mission on a remote, ice-locked moon. Cassiel of the Blood Angels leads brothers from the White Scars and Mortifactors chapters, first exploring their frozen surroundings before finding themselves fighting for their lives as the fate of the Adeptus Mechanicus explorers becomes unpleasantly clear.

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QUICK REVIEW: Light of a Crystal Sun – Josh Reynolds

Set somewhere between the novels Primogenitor and Clonelord, Josh Reynolds’ short story Light of a Crystal Sun sees Fabius engaged in one of his experiments, this time attempting to prise vital knowledge from the crystallised fragments of long-dead eldar that he recovered from Craftworld Lugganath. Searching, as ever, for a way to prolong his existence and halt the advancement of the blight that haunts him, he pits his own ironclad mind against the residual spirits held within the crystal. The ghostly eldar seem unsurprisingly unwilling to part with their knowledge, however.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Blessing of Saints – John French

Included in the limited edition hardback of The Horusian Wars: Resurrection, John French’s short story The Blessing of Saints takes a closer look at Idris, one of the most important characters from the novel. Back before they were full inquisitors in their own right, Idris and Covenant both studied under the same mentor, inquisitor Argento. Here we see the three of them searching for a manifesting saint among the cog-yards on Frell, though what they hope to do when they find it remains to be seen.

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Sons of the Hydra – Rob Sanders

Rob Sanders has a good track record with Heresy-era Alpha Legion, and now he’s tackling them in a pre-Dark Imperium 40k novel, Sons of the Hydra. It follows the exploits of a small Alpha Legion warband known as the Redacted, led by Occam the Untrue – and no, he doesn’t have a sword called Razor. There’s a typically twisty, convoluted plot as Occam drives the Redacted in pursuit of his and the legion’s goals, and without giving too much away it involves Marines of varying chapters and loyalties, the expected levels of infiltration and false faces…and lots of plasma guns.

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Black Library Advent Calendar 2017 – Recap

As we close in on the last few days of 2017, we’ve reached the end of the Black Library Advent Calendar for another year. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or, you know…busy) let’s just recap – for the last few years, Black Library have released a digital short story or short audio drama every day from the 1st to the 24th December. Over the course of the Advent period we – Black Library fans – get to check out a range of content from different authors, with each day revealing a new surprise.

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QUICK REVIEW: Fireheart – Gav Thorpe

Part of the Rise of the Ynnari series, Gav Thorpe’s short story Fireheart sees the action turn to Craftworld Saim-Hann. Druthkhala, a Commoraghan emissary of Yvraine, requests the Craftworld’s aid in a mission to an aeldari maiden world, in search of one of the lost Croneswords of Morai-Heg. Though generally met with disdain, she finds support from the bold Wild Rider Nuadhu Fireheart. Accompanied by members of Nuadhu’s clan they venture out in search of the fabled weapon, only to find that whatever lies on that maiden world, it is well defended.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Rage of Asmodai – CZ Dunn

A short Warhammer 40,000 audio drama, CZ Dunn’s The Rage of Asmodai sees the Dark Angel Interrogator Chaplain join forces with a squad of Relictors, led by Captain Vidarna (remember him from Ben Counter’s Heart of Decay?), to hunt down a Chaos Space Marine who has led the local population in rebellion. Though their objectives differ, the two Chapters agree to work together and achieve both – Asmodai will get his prisoner, while Vidarna will get the ‘object’ the Relictors have come for.

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