One of the first releases for Black Library’s brand new Warhammer Horror imprint, Maledictions features eleven stories across both Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar which dig a little deeper than usual beneath the surface of the settings. There are contributions from a range of authors both familiar and new (to Black Library, at least), covering an expansive array of topics and characters, united by a focus on the more personal and less militaristic aspects of Warhammer fiction. From dense jungles to rural communities, enginseers to dryads, it’s a characterful and wide-ranging anthology packed full of strange, unsettling stories.
From an existing Black Library fan’s perspective, these stories represent an evolution of Warhammer fiction as opposed to a revolution. For fans with long memories there are shades of early Inferno! in these pages, with dark and psychological tales of creeping chills and existential dread predominating, and while the darkness inherent in both settings is very much front and centre, these are still recognisably Warhammer stories. 40k is obviously drenched in darkness from top to bottom, but the four Age of Sigmar stories here ably demonstrate the endless possibilities that the Mortal Realms offer. What sets the anthology as a whole apart from the main Black Library range, though, is a slightly different emphasis, keeping the war element largely as a backdrop and concentrating on what it means to be a human (mostly) living in one of these worlds.
Even more than usual, these stories are populated by characters who really exist in the grey areas, whose lives are complex and unpleasant and who often aren’t clear on where or how they fit into their worlds. Guardsmen hunted by an enemy they’re hesitant to truly acknowledge, an interrogator haunted by trauma in their past, a widow mourning for her husband lost to the ocean, a family literally haunted by their ancestors’ choices, there are complexities and ambiguities aplenty with these characters and what they’re going through. While war and conflict lies heavy over everything, and particularly so for some stories, these are less about the action and more about how characters cope with danger and fear. Most will feel familiar to anyone used to Warhammer fiction, but subtly different – extensions of recognisable themes rather than entirely new approaches.
Readers hoping for outright jump scares or brutal gore-fests might not find what they’re after here, as these stories offer characterful, psychological drama more than full-on shock factor. Think of them as your usual Black Library fare but with the horror elements which are almost always present in these settings (mostly) subtly brought to the fore. As a whole it’s an anthology which wouldn’t have felt out of place as part of the main Black Library range, but which suits the Warhammer Horror label by virtue of tackling characters, situations and themes which might not normally have been the main focus in ‘traditional’ Warhammer stories. Existing fans should find lots to enjoy, even those who don’t normally venture into horror, and while readers new to Warhammer may struggle a little with the specific details there might just be enough here to turn them onto the bleak joys of Age of Sigmar and (especially) 40k.
Here’s the contents list:
- Nepenthe by Cassandra Khaw
- The Widow Tide by Richard Strachan
- No Good Deed by Graham McNeill
- Crimson Snow by Lora Gray
- Last of the Blood by CL Werner
- Predation of the Eagle by Peter McLean
- The Last Ascension of Dominic Seroff by David Annandale
- Triggers by Paul Kane
- A Darksome Place by Josh Reynolds
- The Marauder Lives by JC Stearns
- The Nothings by Alec Worley
