In her second Black Library novel, Mark of Faith, Rachel Harrison tackles both the Sisters of Battle and the Inquisition in an intense and emotional story featuring the expected themes of faith and fervour but also family, purpose and the possibility of rebirth. After losing everything in defence of Ophelia VII, Sister Evangeline of the Order of Our Martyred Lady is sent on a divine quest to seek out the Shield of Saint Katherine in Imperium Nihilus. To Inquisitor Ravara of the Ordo Malleus, Evangeline’s mission offers the opportunity to serve her own ends and undo a terrible wrong. Haunted by ghosts of the past and wrestling with their duties, both find their faith tested and their paths profoundly challenged.
Told in first person present from the contrasting viewpoints of Evangeline and Ravara, this asks questions about the burden of duty, the nature of fate and the importance of faith – not least regarding the realities (and costs) of sainthood, whether it’s possible for someone to understand such a thing in themselves, and how others might perceive it. Sisters are the main focus, but there are some fantastic insights into the Inquisition as well, and if you know your Inquisition lore there’s a lot to enjoy on that front. It’s a solemn, often deeply grim, at times almost unpleasantly dark journey for Sister and Inquisitor to take, both physically – from Ophelia VII to the halls of Terra and then through the Warp and out into the Rift – and psychologically, but the themes of faith, family and love mean that even in context of 40k there’s somehow a glimmer of hope as well.
Harrison properly gets under the skin of both Evangeline and Ravara, helped by the immediacy of the first person approach but also by making sure their challenges are less about what they face physically (though they take a battering) and more about their belief in themselves and their purposes, the choices they face and the decisions they’re forced to make. As much as anything both characters are defined by the absences in their personalities – who and what they’ve lost, what those absences mean and how others perceive them – as well as what they might be able to become, and what the implications might be. There’s also a single moment in each of their pasts which resonates through and fundamentally affects their motivations; though both are largely closed-off to others in-universe, we get to see inside their heads and understand the impact that loss, guilt and shame has had on their sense of identity.
It’s not often that a Warhammer book focuses on physically strong warriors with agency and intense determination who are motivated primarily by love, but that’s becoming a recurring theme for Harrison’s writing. Battle Sisters in particular offer tremendous scope for emotion and empathy (far more than Space Marines normally do, for example); they’re disciplined and incredibly powerful but their interactions, whether bonding or clashing with one another, or battling against their enemies, have a real sense of weight and warmth beneath all the faith and fury. It’s a delight to explore Evangeline’s relationship with her Sisters and how that’s tied up in her faith, and likewise the complicated bond Ravara shares with one of her acolytes, what that means and how it affects her over the course of the story.
As with all the best Black Library books this uses great characters to reflect and explore their archetypes, digging beneath the surface of the 40k setting while telling a powerful, compelling story which cuts to the core of 40k and the eternal conflict between the Imperium and Chaos. Everything combines into a driving narrative which is cleverly paced using the intertwining viewpoints of the two characters, the intensity of the plot ebbing and flowing with some incredibly dark moments, particularly in amongst the breathless and high-impact action sequences. For all the bruising combat and Warp-infused cosmic horror (it is a Warhammer story, after all) however, Harrison never loses sight of her characters, putting them through hell but keeping the reader engaged with relatable, human stakes. All told it’s a powerful, brutally honest book, and something that should be at the top of the list for any 40k fan.
Harrison’s book covers all have a certain something to them. I like how she is incorporating Girl power. Not that there wasn’t at all any lack of it in 40K…
Queerest Warhammer novel ever, although the God-Emperor knows its a pretty low bar.