Set between Hereticus and Ravenor, Dan Abnett’s short story Playing Patience introduces us to the character of Patience Kys and shows how she came to be part of Ravenor’s entourage. On dismal Sameter, three sisters live austere lives in the Kindred Youth Scholam, and the eldest – Patience – has both a particular gift and a knack for getting in trouble. Meanwhile Ravenor and his companions, reeling from a desperate setback, are on the hunt for clues that might set them back on track. The trail leads to the Kindred Youth Scholam, some unwholesome practices, and an untrained, unlicensed psyker.
As short stories go this is fairly long, being twice (or more) the length of most of the other Eisenhorn/Ravenor tales, which means there’s room for exploration of Patience’s backstory and Ravenor’s multi-stage investigation. On the surface it’s action-packed and pacy, and makes a great introduction to or reminder of these characters (depending on your familiarity) but beneath the surface it’s actually quite a dark story, even for 40k. Not only are Ravenor and co all in a pretty bad state (even if it’s not 100% clear what happened), but the realities of Patience’s life are genuinely grim. It’s Abnett, though, so as you’d expect it’s a compelling, gripping read from start to finish.
Click here to see how this fits into the wider Eisenhorn/Ravenor/Bequin arc.
