One of three Inquisition stories originally released as audio dramas (in Thorn and Talon) before the prose versions were made available, Dan Abnett’s Master Imus’ Transgression is a short story in which we see Eisenhorn in his youth, still an interrogator under inquisitor Hapshant. Master Imus, a quiet and honest man dedicated to his life as a book-keeper, comes to Eisenhorn to confess his unwitting involvement in an unusual crime – or a transgression, as he puts it. What seems at first to be a strange, inconsequential confession turns out to reveal something much more sinister beneath.
There’s something almost sweet about much of this story, from Master Imus’ amusing naivety to the young Eisenhorn’s mild embarrassment at having to resort to certain rather inconsiderate tactics. Don’t let that fool you, however, as this is still an Inquisition story and there’s plenty of darkness to be found here. It’s a story that you feel few writers would tackle but in Abnett’s hands it’s beautifully told, with deft characterisation despite its brevity and offering a personal, relatable perspective on the Inquisition and how it’s seen. That it also provides a glimpse of Eisenhorn in an earlier guise is icing on the cake.
Click here to see how this fits into the wider Eisenhorn/Ravenor/Bequin arc.
Check out Master Imus’ Transgression in audio drama form on Audible, or as part of The Magos & The Definitive Casebook of Gregor Eisenhorn – available as an ebook or an audiobook. If you buy through any of these links you’ll be helping to support Track of Words as well.