A slow, quiet tale of perspectives and choices, Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Primarchs short story The Abyssal Edge features two primarchs and two First Captains, but is told from the perspective of a crippled human archivist. Desk-bound after a terrible crash, former fighter pilot Orthos Ulatal finds the tedium enlivened by a report implying conflict between the Night Lords and the Thousand Sons. His investigations lead him to the threatening company of Jago Sevatarion, the truth of what happened between Konrad Curze and Magnus the Red, and a glimpse behind the facade of the ongoing Great Crusade.
While deserving of the Primarchs title, this is much less a primarch-focused tale and instead a story that offers an unusual perspective on the Legiones Astartes – and their primarchs – from a human member of the Night Lords legion. The story builds up to an intriguing look at Crusade-era Sevatar, Kurze and Magnus, and the difference between their legions, but Ulatal is the lens through which it’s all seen, his dour outlook fitting nicely into the feel of a Night Lords story. It’s almost entirely action-free, a vivid character story that’s carefully constructed, compellingly human, and full of typical Dembski-Bowden dialogue. It’s perhaps not what most would expect, but fascinating nonetheless.
The Abyssal Edge is also available in the Sons of the Emperor anthology.
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Aaron’s Night Lords omnibus is great on characterization; it’s my favorite of the Chaos Marines tales. I can see a possible echo of Octavia’s interactions with Talos here. Hopefully, this anthology will be released by BL for wider consumption. Great synopsis, here!
This sounds like a great Anthology … I’m hoping there might be some available on Black Library Birthday day at Warhammer stores ! Failing that I look forward to reading these at some point.
Read this on the train to London yesterday, really enjoyed it, and that easter egg…