A dark, uncomfortable Black Library debut from Peter McLean, Baphomet By Night is an Astra Militarum short story which takes place after the dust has settled on the Imperial campaign to cleanse the world of Baphomet of a Chaos cult. The Reslian 45th are sent in to garrison the world once the fighting is over, which to Corporal Cully and Sergeant Rachain seems like an easy duty after their last action, despite the inexperience of their new platoon. When unexpected resistance breaks out and the green troopers start dying around them, it becomes clear that Baphomet isn’t the break they expected.
Baphomet is a world shrouded in perpetual shadow, which gives a hint of what’s to come, but the hell that McLean puts Cully and his troops through is really something. A world supposedly cleansed and safe, a group of woefully inexperienced and under-equipped soldiers caught out and isolated, and danger lurking in the shadows…which are everywhere. It’s SUPER dark even for 40k, and makes for unpalatable reading at times, but it’s also well written and neatly plotted, offering a fresh perspective on a familiar type of story. It’s a hell of a debut – not for the faint-hearted, but really powerful.
