Category Archives: Reviews

QUICK REVIEW: Daemonologie: A Question Asked of Darkness – John French

Currently only available within the ‘Mega Edition’ boxed set of Ahriman: Eternal, as its own beautifully bound little book, John French’s short story Daemonologie: A Question Asked of Darkness is a typically dark and richly detailed addition to the ongoing Ahriman series. Told from the bitter, brutally honest perspective of the daemonologist Ctesias, it represents a written record of the rituals he undertook – at Ahriman’s request – in order to learn more about the doom bearing down on the Thousand Sons, consuming the Rubricae and remaking the living sorcerers. In his attempt to draw knowledge from the warp, Ctesias calls upon his skills as a summoner, binding and questioning daemons…and worse.

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Ahriman: Eternal – John French

Seven years after Ahriman: Unchanged brought the first trilogy to an end, John French returns with Ahriman: Eternal, a new novel detailing the great sorcerer’s ongoing attempts to undo the damage he’s unwittingly caused to his Legion. In the aftermath of the Second Rubric, Ahriman and his Exiles find themselves pursued by the Pyrodomon, a force released by the Rubric which reaches out from the warp to consume the Thousand Sons, sorcerers and Rubricae alike. With cracks widening in the alliance of his followers and the Pyrodomon on their heels, Ahriman looks to techno-arcane xenos abilities – via a captured Necron called Setekh – for the power to control time itself. As the Exiles seek out this power, the Harlequins intervene in their unique fashion, determined to shape events to their own ends and avoid a tragedy only they can foresee.

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QUICK REVIEW: A Coin for the Carrion Thieves – John French

Taking place after the events of Ahriman: Unchanged, John French’s Warhammer 40,000 short story A Coin for the Carrion Thieves sees Thousand Sons sorcerer Ctesias called upon to put his particular set of skills to use in service of Ahzek Ahriman. Their forces drastically reduced in number and resources, the ragged remnants of Ahriman’s followers find sanctuary in the Eye of Terror, to hide from their enemies and to regroup and resupply. In the currency of Eyespace, what Ahriman needs most carries a high cost, so he turns to Ctesias’s daemonology to pay the price demanded by the scavenger-traders known as the Carrion Thieves.

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QUICK REVIEW: Champion of Oaths – John French

John French’s Horus Heresy short story Champion of Oaths is a characterful little vignette portraying two key moments in the life of Sigismund, who would become First Captain of the Imperial Fists. In the drift camps of the Ionus Plateau, a scared boy stands against a vicious gang of youths preying upon terrified orphans, defending his fellows. In the Temple of Oaths, a warrior faces two hundred of his brothers in a trial of combat, one after the other – should he defeat every one of them, he will be proved worthy to lead his brotherhood as the First of Templars.

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The Horusian Wars: Divination – John French

The third book in John French’s Horusian Wars series, Divination is not a novel but rather a collection of short stories, exploring some of the key characters in Inquisitor Covenant’s warband to add depth and emotional weight to the series as a whole. Covenant himself remains a slightly distant figure, always seen through others’ eyes (as per the novels), but over the course of these eleven stories French delves into the backstory and/or mindset of all the inquisitor’s key companions, and even an old ally. Each story takes a very different approach, some more action-packed than others, but they’re all united in shedding light on these intriguing characters and through them Covenant’s philosophy.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Knave of Stars – John French

John French turns his attention to Duke Cleander von Castellan in his Horusian Wars short story The Knave of Stars, digging into the Rogue Trader’s troubled history to explore the roots of his glib, nihilistic attitude. In the Rot-margins of Panetha Varn, Cleander seeks a balm for his soul, finding it in the elusive Decagogue and his patchwork followers. As he takes his first steps on a new path which promises freedom from his past and the void at his core, Cleander faces up to the pain that shaped him and the man it made him into.

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Agent of the Throne: Ashes and Oaths – John French

The third instalment in the excellent Agent of the Throne audio drama series (and follow up to the Scribe Award-winning Truth and Dreams), John French’s Ashes and Oaths continues the story of inquisitorial agent Ianthe and the dangerous missions she’s sent on by Inquisitor Covenant. This time around Ianthe and her team are tasked with acquiring the services of an ex-Administratum information broker, on the war-scarred world of Dustcorn. When things don’t quite go to plan, and a dubious figure from a past mission reappears, Ianthe is forced to make some unwelcome compromises in order to get the job done.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Spirit of Cogs – John French

A short story in John French’s ongoing Horusian Wars series, The Spirit of Cogs is a sinister little ghost story told by Glavius-4-Rho to Severita while the ex-magos is working on a repair. Casting his machinic mind back to his first experience on a true forge world, Glavius-4-Rho tells a tale of his younger self being recruited into a mysterious project, swathed in secrecy, which requires his expertise. He and another magos throw themselves into their work, despite the strange phenomena plaguing their efforts, but before long they start to question the consequences of the Mechanicus’ thirst for knowledge at all costs.

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The Solar War – John French

This novel was first released as a limited edition hardback, before receiving a full release in May 2019.

The Siege of Terra – the final chapter of the Horus Heresy – begins with John French’s The Solar War, which tells the story of the colossal void war that forms the opening stage of the Siege. To the backdrop of the largest void battles imaginable it weaves together a compelling, character-led tale of duty, honour, determination and even hope. While Mersadie Oliton desperately searches for a way back to Terra and Sigismund seeks out atonement in battle, Abaddon cleaves to the path laid out for him by Horus and even Ahriman diligently plays his part. As the war rages on multiple fronts, these and many other individual stories play out with the fate of Terra and the Imperium in the balance.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Mistress of Threads – John French

One of a growing number of Horusian Wars short stories each focusing on a different member of Inquisitor Covenant’s warband, John French’s The Mistress of Threads is a compelling, if unusually constructed, story centred on Viola von Castellan. Told through the medium of correspondence between Viola and (mostly) a wayward member of her extended family, it’s the tale of a commercial empire’s ups and downs in the wake of the Great Rift, a sinister cartel, and the strange relationships that underpin the von Castellan dynasty. Plus a typically dark glimpse of a mystery lurking beneath the surface of the Imperium.

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