Day Three of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign
Labelled as part of the Rise of the Ynnari series, Gav Thorpe’s short story Shadows of Heaven takes the character of Aradryan from the novel Path of the Outcast and brings him up to date in the new 40k setting. Now a Guardian of Alaitoc, he takes his place in the craftworld’s armies as they defend an Imperial world against a common enemy – the Black Legion. Troubled by memories of his previous paths and his fear of the eldar afterlife, he hopes to find clarity of purpose in the fires of battle.
Linking two series – the Path of the Eldar trilogy and the upcoming Rise of the Ynnari, beginning with Ghost Warrior – this has to be both an interesting, action-packed and entertaining story in its own right and also add something to a character already familiar to some (but probably not all) readers. If that sounds ominous, fear not. Gav delivers all of that, keeping the plot nice and simple to give himself space to dig into Aradryan’s emotions, his contempt for the Imperials whose world he’s defending, and his changing psychological state as his death looms closer. It’s another interesting examination of the eldar psyche from Gav, and a promising indication of what’s to come.
