Darius Hinks’ Blackstone Fortress was released at the same time as the game of the same name, although it’s not so much a novelisation of the game but a standalone tale simply featuring the same setting and characters. As befits a Warhammer Quest game this is a warped, 40k-style dungeon-crawler adventure centred on Janus Draik, the disgraced scion of a noble Terran house. Determined to honour his family name, Draik gathers a motley selection of companions and ventures deep into the Blackstone, but rather than seeking out riches he plans to take control of the Fortress in the Imperium’s name.
While this is its own story separate to the game, it also offers a great opportunity to learn more about the Blackstone Fortress and its hanger-on space station Precipice. To be clear, it’s an adventure set in and around the Blackstone and not an in-depth exploration of exactly what the Fortress is and who/what its inhabitants are, but there’s still masses of detail and texture available here for anyone who’s interested in knowing more about this strange (and awesome) corner of the 40k universe. The Fortress itself is brilliantly bonkers, all physics-defying oddness and lethal hazards, while Precipice is like the 40k wild west, and could support endless stories in its own right. There’s a spot-on balance of recognisable 40k elements and fresh, off-the-wall weirdness, and it’s all great fun to explore as a reader.
Hinks sensibly opts for a relatively small group of adventurers, made up of a mix of the game’s named characters and new names. Most of the others from the game make walk-on appearances, but restricting the cast helps to keep things manageable and allow us time to get to know each of the characters. For the most part they’re nicely written, interesting and developed characters, who we gradually come to learn more about as the story progresses. As the main protagonist Draik gets the most depth – equal parts swashbuckling rake and debonair, sophisticated leader of men, he makes for an engaging character who we can sympathise with as he’s put through absolute hell. The kroot Grekh is also particularly interesting, coming across as genuinely alien but also strangely relatable, while unhinged priest Taddeus adds a classic slice of Imperial Ecclesiastic madness.
Of the main bunch it’s only really the flamer-wielding Pious Vorne who lacks a bit of agency and seems largely to be there for the firepower, while quite an interesting antagonist (one of several) also gets a little less screen time than they deserve. That being said, while on the surface there’s a fairly straightforward plot, as Draik gathers his team and sets off to find a particular location within the Fortress, there’s more to it than that. After a bleak opening set elsewhere, we see the various characters – not just the protagonists – gradually tied together in unexpected ways, challenged by the mysteries of the Fortress and faced with difficulties both tangible and otherwise. If the pace maybe slows down a little during the slog through the Fortress, for the most part the story rattles along nicely, whether exploring Precipice of the Blackstone itself. Overall there’s an intriguingly different tone to your usual battlefield 40k stories, and if you enjoy a good dungeon crawl then you’re in for an atmospheric, characterful and genuinely fun story.
There are already a few Blackstone Fortress short stories available to check out too, and on the merits of this story there’s scope for an awful lot more whether they’re featuring these characters or not. Let’s hope Darius does write more about Draik and co, however, as this is a tremendously enjoyable book.
