A rare Horus Heresy short story featuring entirely new characters, David Annandale’s Abyssal takes place deep in the bowels of the Black Ship Irkalla. Aveth Vairon has lived his whole life driven and influenced by visions of a singular rune. Even after being taken from his home world and imprisoned within the Black Ship, Vairon clings to his belief that the rune is guiding his path, and follows the route it lays out for him. Tormented by the horrors of the ship and the terrifying Sisters of Silence, Vairon follows the rune’s imperatives, trusting it to see him to safety.
It’s a tale of fragile hope in dark places, although this is the Heresy so clinging to hope might not be the safest option. The title and cover are a little misleading, as while the Sisters of Silence are involved they’re not the focus, but Annandale taps into his fondness for darkness and horror to imbue proceedings with a tangible sense of fear that’s appropriate for a Black Ship and its grim wardens. There’s a hefty element of psychic/metaphysical weirdness, married to an engaging narrative that doesn’t immediately connect with familiar Heresy arcs but definitely feels like it’s leading into something interesting.
This was released as part of the 2018 Black Library Advent Calendar – click here to see the main page for the Advent Calendar, with links to all of the reviews.
Check out the main Horus Heresy page on Track of Words.
