Category Archives: Short Stories

QUICK REVIEW: Sanguis Irae – Gav Thorpe

First published in 2014, Gav Thorpe’s Blood Angels short story Sanguis Irae acts as a companion piece to the novella Sin of Damnation, and is available either bundled with the novella or as a standalone e-short. It follows the exploits of Librarian Calistarius as, many years after the Sin of Damnation mission, he boards another space hulk and uses his powers to search for answers within the mind of a dying Blood Angel. What he finds there, amongst the fractured recollections of Sanguinius brought on by the Black Rage, shows him the grave danger he and his brothers are in.

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QUICK REVIEW: Of Gods and Men – Andy Smillie

Originally released as a companion piece to the audio drama Blood in the Machine, Andy Smillie’s short story Of Gods and Men is a tight, compact tale of the final moments of a crippled God-Machine and its princeps. Out in the wastes of Armageddon, the Imperator Titan Validus is dying. As his life – and that of his Titan – nears its inevitable end, Princeps Niall Cathalan muses on the nature of power, even as he desperately attempts to prevent the desecration of Validus’ corpse by the orks that brought him low.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Twisted Runes – Matt Smith

Matt Smith’s second Black Library short story, The Twisted Runes is a tale of the Silver Skulls and the unusual way in which they rely on and revere their powerful psykers. Having received a forceful vision promising dire portents for the entire Chapter, young and proud Prognosticator Beynan Rhondus petitions his masters for permission to track down the location seen in his vision and prevent a tragedy from occurring. Casting the runes once owned by his mentor, Rhondus interprets their meaning and leads his men into grave danger, always confident in the truth of the runes and his manifest destiny.

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QUICK REVIEW: At Gaius Point – Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Flesh Tearers short story At Gaius Point was originally published in the Legends of the Space Marines anthology, and is one of his earliest Black Library contributions. In the aftermath of a Thunderhawk crash in which most of his squad is killed, Zavien sets off through the jungles of Armageddon in pursuit of one brother who’s lost not to injury but to the Black Rage. If he can’t find and stop his brother, there’s no telling what damage might be done to the human defenders of Armageddon, and the already tarnished name of his Chapter.

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QUICK REVIEW: Thorn Wishes Talon – Dan Abnett

Dan Abnett’s short story Thorn Wishes Talon was first released as an audio drama, as part of the Thorn and Talon collection, before subsequently getting the prose treatment. Fans of Abnett’s Inquisition stories may understand the title’s reference from the off, but suffice to say it’s a story which sees Ravenor and his warband responding to a cryptic message which draws them into conflict with a shadowy cabal of twisted seers. As a storm builds and enemies close in, Ravenor meets with the message’s author to learn of a terrible danger that clearly someone doesn’t want him to know about.

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QUICK REVIEW: Hidden Depths – Sandy Mitchell

A rare non-Ciaphas Cain short story from Sandy Mitchell, Hidden Depths is nevertheless linked to the Cain series by virtue of featuring the virtuous Commissar’s chronicler, Inquisitor Amberley Vail. On the hunt for smugglers in xenos technology on the hive world of Ironfound, Vail and her warband find a trail leading from the spire top to the deepest underhive. As their search takes them ever deeper they’re forced to contend with the many indigenous peoples and perils of the underhive, as a secret of Ironfound’s past is gradually revealed.

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QUICK REVIEW: Prologue to Nikaea – David Annandale

As you can probably tell from the rather ominous cover, David Annandale’s Horus Heresy short story Prologue to Nikaea focuses on Malcador the Sigillite, the perils of the warp, and psykers…lots of psykers. Set during the Great Crusade, it sees Malcador searching for the origin of a great storm in the immaterium, desperate to understand what it portends and whether its influence stretches to the physical plane as well. What he finds, on a world recently wracked by rebellion, promises to haunt him for long years to come and have a profound impact on the future of the Imperium.

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QUICK REVIEW: Lightning Run – Peter McLean

Peter McLean’s second Black Library short story, Lightning Run is an Imperial Navy (Aeronautica Imperialis in modern parlance) story which, while not quite as grim as Baphomet by Night, is still a powerful demonstration of the bleak realities of 40k life. On the corrupted world of Elijan III, Flight Officer Salvatoria Grant finds herself tasked with a mission vital to the flagging war effort. Piloting her Valkyrie towards a distant Imperial base and a faint glimmer of hope, she trusts to her own skills and her faith in the Emperor to see her through to survival and Imperial victory.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Learning – David Guymer

David Guymer’s second Idoneth Deepkin story, The Learning takes a look at the cold, pitiless way in which their nature forces them to behave. Born with a rare pure soul, Ubraich is removed from his family at an early age and taught to manipulate powerful magic to hunt down the monsters of the deep ocean. The work of an embailor offers great prestige within idoneth society, but it’s difficult and dangerous work. Aiding his master in the breaking of a particularly stubborn beast, Ubraich learns an important lesson in how to survive and thrive, but will it come back to haunt him?

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QUICK REVIEW: The Armour of Fate – Guy Haley

Set between the events of the Rise of the Primarch background book and his novel Dark Imperium, Guy Haley’s short story The Armour of Fate is a rare action-free 40k story, but an absence of fighting allows for plenty of insight. When he was restored to life by the combined skills and knowledge of Belisarius Cawl and Yvraine, Roboute Guilliman was told that if he ever removed the life-giving Armour of Fate, he would die. After years of confinement within the armour, and long study of its workings, Guilliman is determined to remove it anyway, and reclaim his own fate.

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