Category Archives: Short Stories

QUICK REVIEW: Backcloth for a Crown Additional – Dan Abnett

In Dan Abnett’s short story Backcloth for a Crown Additional, inquisitor Eisenhorn turns paranormal detective as he investigates the unexpected and increasingly suspicious death of Lord Aen Froigre, head of one of the ancient noble houses of Gudrun. An old friend of Eisenhorn, Froigre’s death is enough to drag Gregor and Bequin away from a precious moment of peace and quiet. What might otherwise have been a simple, if emotional, investigation proves to be rather more complex when it’s revealed that Froigre died of terror, and Eisenhorn detects a trace of warpcraft on the Froigre estate.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Sea Taketh – David Guymer

The first ever Idoneth Deepkin story from Black Library, David Guymer’s The Sea Taketh explores a creepy new side to Age of Sigmar. Kharadron sky-captain Ingdrin Jonsson mounts a dangerous expedition to the bottom of the ocean to find and explore the abandoned city of Aighmar, claiming his rightful plunder as per the Kharadron Code. Not all of the Mortal Realms’ inhabitants recognise the Code, however. Fearful of what he has stirred up from the deeps, Jonsson flees for the safety of his airship, only to find the haunting call of the ocean dogging his every step.

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QUICK REVIEW: Confessions of a Broken Blade – Ariel Lawrence

A three-act League of Legends short story set in Ionia after the conclusion of the Noxian invasion, Ariel Lawrence’s Confessions of a Broken Blade features Riven and Yasuo, a pair of characters haunted by events in their pasts. The main focus is on Riven, who when we meet her is hurting, repressing memories, trying to live a quiet life. Before long, however, she’s confronted with the consequences of actions she can no longer remember, and the fragile peace she had managed to find is shattered. The emotions of those around her are running hot as her past catches up with her.

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QUICK REVIEW: Missing in Action – Dan Abnett

Set between Xenos and Malleus, Dan Abnett’s short story Missing in Action sees inquisitor Eisenhorn returning to the field having recovered from the events of the Necroteuch affair. Sent to Sameter for a routine mission to ease him back into work, when bodies start appearing with signs pointing to ritual killings he realises there’s a much bigger puzzle for him to solve on Sameter. As he digs deeper into the horrifying crimes being committed a pattern begins to emerge, but it seems to point in an unexpected direction.

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QUICK REVIEW: Deus Ex Mechanicus by Andy Chambers

An Inferno! magazine classic given the e-short treatment, Andy Chambers’ Deus Ex Mechanicus sees an Adeptus Mechanicus explorator mission delving into the supposedly dead world of Naogeddon. An expert in cryo-stasis, Lakias Danzager joins the mission just as the unusually charismatic Magos Egal succeeds in finding a way into a necron tomb complex. With his suspicions already roused by absent members of the mission and the eerily regular attacks by the tomb’s strange, metallic defenders, Lakias reluctantly joins Egal in exploring the tomb and facing its many horrifying dangers.

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QUICK REVIEW: Nightfall – Peter Fehervari

Nightfall is Peter Fehervari’s debut Black Library story, originally published in the Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. On Sarastus, a dying world which sacrifices its youths to monstrous masters, True Night falls and the Night Lords descend to collect their tribute. Among the ghouls left to fight for survival in the abandoned heights of the last remaining hive, young Zeth unconsciously understands that something sets him apart from his fellows. While bitter rivalries twist the Night Lords even as they make bloody sport culling the weakest of the sacrifices, Zeth sees opportunity in amongst the danger.

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QUICK REVIEW: Vanguard – Peter Fehervari

A sort-of sequel to his novel Fire Caste, Peter Fehervari’s short story Vanguard sees Magos Caul, leader of the Adeptus Mechanicus contingent on Phaedra, send his skitarii into battle against what remains of the T’au forces. Tasked with retrieving ‘Objective Skysight’ from within a well-defended T’au enclave, Caul’s skitarii push on through everything the T’au throw at them without questioning exactly what their objective is or why it’s so important, but as the battle continues small scraps of their original personalities begin to show through their machinic logic and programming.

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QUICK REVIEW: Wrathspring – Gav Thorpe

One of five short stories first published in the Legends of the Age of Sigmar: Sylvaneth anthology, Gav Thorpe’s Wrathspring features Alarielle herself and sees the sylvaneth battling the forces of Chaos in the Jade Kingdoms of Ghyran. Led by Leafmaster Diraceth, the tree spirits of Clan Arleath defend their Glade against endless hordes of plague-ridden skaven, but the tide of pestilence is taking its toll on both the sylvaneth and the land itself. It takes Alarielle’s intervention to drive out the taint of the skaven, and set the sylvaneth on the path to reclaim their lands from Chaos.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Sands of Grief – Guy Haley

Guy Haley’s short story The Sands of Grief returns to the characters of Prince Maesa and Shattercap from the excellent Shadespire audio drama The Autumn Prince. This time they set out from the city of Glymmsforge in the Realm of Shyish and travel deep into the eponymous Sands of Grief as Maesa continues his quest to find a way of returning his beloved Ellamar to life. Beyond the borders of Glymmsforge and the protection of Sigmar they encounter nothing living, but as they head further from the core of Shyish they increasingly see the dark hand of Nagash at work.

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QUICK REVIEW: Where Icathia Once Stood – Graham McNeill

Conquered long ago by the Shuriman Sun Empress, the Kingdom of Icathia has for a thousand years desired its freedom from Shurima. In his short story Where Icathia Once Stood, Graham McNeill tells the story of Icathia’s long-awaited uprising, the brutal response from Shurima’s vast armies, and the lengths the Icathians were prepared to go to for freedom and survival. Told through the eyes of Axamuk, a young artisan-turned-soldier, it’s a nonlinear narrative that both details the events and repercussion of the uprising, and illustrates one man’s very personal response to what takes place and what it ends up meaning.

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