Currently available only within the On Wings of Blood anthology, EJ Davies’ debut Black Library short story Sturmhex sees the entire First Brotherhood of Grey Knights launch an aerial insertion to combat a gathering daemonic incursion. Techmarine Aegir leads his Stormraven squadron into battle despite his misgivings at the unusual tactics, braving enemy fire to deliver his brothers into the thick of the action. The Grey Knights take the fight to the Lords of Decay, but even as they drive the enemy back Aegir can sense that there’s more to this conflict than he was led to believe.
It’s an evocative, unusual story mixing explosive action with a fresh perspective on the Grey Knights and an intriguing, if a little opaque, hint of mystery. Applying the close-knit psychic communion of the Grey Knights to a squadron of fighter pilots is a neat idea, and there’s a nice dynamic between Aegir and his brothers which hints at a satisfying depth of shared history and some interesting scope for internal conflict. Aegir’s detached perspective portrays an effective sense of the tide of battle ebbing and flowing, and while a recurring device which is clearly intended to develop the underlying mystery feels a little unclear at times, everything draws together into a satisfying payoff by the end. Overall it’s an adventurous debut and an enjoyable story in its own right.
