Picking up where Red-Marked left off, Nick Kyme’s Horus Heresy audio drama Nightfane continues the story of Aeonid Thiel as the Ultramarines Sergeant and his men investigate the hidden threats lurking in the shadows of the Five Hundred Worlds. After a somewhat bumpier landing than expected, Thiel and a small group of Ultramarines find themselves on an apparently abandoned rigging station in the midst of the acidic oceans of Bael. As they explore the station in search of its secrets – and its crew – the Red-Marked begin to uncover a darkness that lies beneath the surface of Ultramar.
While Censure (the first audio drama to feature Thiel, and a continuation of his arc from Know No Fear) saw Thiel acting more or less alone, this follows a similar template to that laid out in Red-Marked – a small squad of Ultramarines thrown into a sticky situation and forced to find ways of working together as they face off against assorted dangers and enemies. Where its predecessor was quite heavy on the action and flitted between different locations, however, this is a bit more measured and offers a slower, rather more tense narrative with less overt action and more suspense. It’s no less entertaining, just paced a little differently.
The reduced bullet count, along with most of the characters having been previously established, allows Kyme to dig a little deeper into the friction between some of the key characters. There’s an underlying thread of concern regarding the psychological welfare of the loyalist forces which were involved in the Underworld War on Calth, and not all of the Red-Marked exactly see eye to eye. While some characters take a back seat (John Banks’ Inviglio is sidelined early on, for example), there’s an interesting tension between Jonathan Keeble’s bullish Bracheus and the terse, distant Apothecary Aberon (Richard Reed), which gradually plays out as Thiel (played once again by Gareth Armstrong) and co. venture ever deeper into the station and we as the listener slowly come to understand what’s happening.
Kyme makes good use of the audio medium, with plenty of satisfying, varied dialogue for the cast to get stuck into, occasionally mixing human characters in amongst the Ultramarines, and relatively littleµ narration from Jonathan Keeble. A soundscape of drips and sparks, and ominous creaks and groans, largely (except for a rather more bombastic opening) provides a subtle, immersive backdrop and ties everything together nicely. If you’ve enjoyed Thiel’s previous outings, or just fancy some elite Space Marine action with a little hint of creepy darkness to it, then you’re likely going to enjoy this too, although don’t expect a final conclusion to his story arc. There’s obviously more to come, and this is clearly the next chapter in the story rather than the climactic finale – which means we can look forward to the next instalment!
Check out the main Horus Heresy series page on Track of Words.
