Author Archives: Michael Dodd

Garro : Shield of Lies – James Swallow

Since first appearing in Galaxy In Flames Nathaniel Garro has become something of a fan favourite, as well as the poster boy for the ever-growing range of Horus Heresy audio dramas. James Swallow’s latest contribution to the Heresy series, Shield of Lies is the fifth audio to feature Garro and finds the first of Malcador’s Knights Errant on the orbital plate of Riga, in pursuit of an Administratum scribe who has stumbled across a deadly secret. A small cog within the vast Departmento Munitorum, Katanoh Tallory has paid a heavy price for her hard work and now finds herself caught between the menacing inhumanity of Riga’s mechanical guardians and the uncertain mercy of Garro.

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Archaon : Everchosen – Rob Sanders

Published in early 2014 before anyone had even an inkling of just how much Warhammer was about to change with the world-shattering End Times arc, Rob Sanders’ book Archaon: Everchosen sets out to tell the full story of the Everchosen of Chaos, the driving force behind the single biggest change in Warhammer’s 30+ years. From humble (and fairly grim) beginnings to his life as a templar of Sigmar and the events that turn him to a darker path, we watch as one man’s fate is manipulated for sinister purposes that will see the world drenched in blood.

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QUICK REVIEW : Black Oculus – John French

The latest Horus Heresy quick read from Black Library, John French’s Black Oculus is a prequel of sorts to his excellent novella Tallarn : Executioner, which was a limited edition release in 2013 and is sadly still not yet generally available. After the events at the climax of Angel Exterminatus, Perturabo ordered his fleet into the heart of a black hole, deep within the Eye of Terror. Here we get a glimpse of the terrible effects that decision had upon the Navigators who guided the Iron Warriors fleet on that fateful journey that led to their arrival at Tallarn.

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Valedor – Guy Haley

With a few notable exceptions the Warhammer 40k universe is largely shown to us through the eyes of the Imperium, lending it (not inappropriately) a very human perspective. Occasionally though, Black Library releases something which shows a different side to 40k, in this instance Guy Haley’s Valedor which follows in the footsteps of Gav Thorpe’s Path of the Eldar series to look through the eyes of this ancient, dwindling race. We see the eldar of Iyanden, still reeling from the latest in their string of disasters, as they set out to prevent the merging of two tyranid hive fleets; in order to avert a disaster that would have terrible consequences for their entire race, they are forced to ally with not only the eldar of another craftworld but also their dark kin.

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Cat Sense – John Bradshaw

Love them or loathe them, cats are remarkably popular as pets; according to John Bradshaw in his book Cat Sense, domestic cats outnumber dogs by three to one, so chances are most people encounter them on a fairly regular basis. Unlike dogs however, who tend to be overt with their displays of affection and emotion, cats are often difficult to read; the purpose of Cat Sense then is to dig a little deeper into cats as a species in order to try and help cat lovers understand their feline companions better, and as a result make the lives of both cats and owners a little easier.

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RECAP – Black Library Advent Calendar 2014

And so, after twenty-four days of brand new short stories and audio dramas from Black Library, the 2014 Advent Calendar ended on a high note with a new World Eaters novel. Just to recap, at the start of December I decided that I was going to take the plunge and go for the Advent Calendar subscription, and each day I would read or listen to the new release before posting a short review of my thoughts. For anyone who hasn’t read my reviews of these new releases, follow this link to my original Advent Calendar post and you will find subsequent links through to the review of each day’s release. For anyone who has read the reviews, here are a few further thoughts about the Advent Calendar overall.

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Hegarty on Creativity – John Hegarty

You might never have heard of John Hegarty or his advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), but unless you’ve been living in a cave your entire life you will have come across at least some of the work he’s been involved in. Vorsprung durch Technik? That was him. Levi’s adverts such as the guy dancing in his boxers in the launderette, or Flat Eric? Him too. He has sustained a creative career over an incredible four decades, and in Hegarty on Creativity he attempts to distil some of his philosophy regarding creativity and the creative process.

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Khârn: Eater of Worlds – Anthony Reynolds

First released on Christmas Day 2014 in ebook, as the final part of that year’s Black Library Advent Calendar, Anthony Reynolds’ Warhammer 40,000 novel Khârn: Eater of Worlds is set after the Horus Heresy, looking at the fractured and damaged remnants of the World Eaters legion in the aftermath of the Siege of Terra. Their primarch is gone, the chain of command ravaged, and rival factions are forming and threatening to rip the legion apart; the only one who might be able unify the legion is Khârn, but he lies unresponsive in a coma after being pulled from the battlefield on Terra.

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QUICK REVIEW : The Watcher – CZ Dunn

On the twenty-fourth day of Christmas, Black Library gave to us…a Horus Heresy audio drama by CZ Dunn. The final advent short, The Watcher sees one of Malcador’s Knights Errant receive a message in the form of a broken and bloodied Space Wolf. Using his psychic abilities the Knight watches through the eyes of the Wolf as he recalls his Sigillite-ordered mission to ‘observe’ the Night Lords, and the events that led up to his appalling wounding.

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QUICK REVIEW : Forgotten – Dan Abnett

On the twenty-third day of Christmas, Black Library gave to us…a Gaunt’s Ghosts short story by Dan Abnett. A Gaunt’s Ghosts ghost story, in fact, called Forgotten. As the story unfolds, several of the Ghosts are gathered around a fire in a quiet storeroom somewhere within the Ser Armaduke, telling each other ghost stories. At Gaunt’s prompting, Mkoll begrudgingly tells his tale, of a fiend who moves in the darkness and strikes unseen, forgotten by death but stalked in turn by Mkoll.

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