The second story in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar, The Unending Storm is an Age of Sigmar short from Nick Kyme that’s written from the perspective of a champion of Chaos – Ghaar’ath, the Warson. Having led his warband to victory against a rival force he gets his first glimpse of the Stormcast Eternals, which sets him on a path to victory and glory in the eyes of his god, but also gives him an understanding of just why they’re called ‘Eternals’.
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The first story in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar is Divine Will by Andy Smillie, a micro-short featuring a Vindicare assassin, an Inquisitor and an extremely risky trick shot. It takes place on the world of Drex, whose population has been swayed by a dangerous, heretic cult. To bring them back into line and re-instil the appropriate fear of the Emperor into them, Inquisitor Gerhart plans to make a public, visible demonstration of the Emperor’s divine will, but to do so he requires the particular skills of a master marksman.
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First To Hunt, by Chris Dows, is the sixth short story in Black Library’s Deathwatch serial, and the first to feature the White Scars chapter. Set on the planet Ballestae it sees Jetek Suberei on a solo scouting mission, accompanied only by his trusty bike and faithful cyber-eagle, hunting for intelligence on the invading eldar forces. As he approaches the eldar encampment he begins to realise that all is not well within the xenos ranks, and an opportunity presents itself to him to use the eldar’s division against them.
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The fifth Deathwatch short story in the current serial, Justin D. Hill’s Deadhenge follows Ennox Sorrlock, an Iron Hand grievously wounded by a dark eldar haemonculus and rebuilt as more machine than man. Joining a kill team led by Chaplain Cassius on a mission to an area of abandoned space known as Deadhenge to take out a dark eldar Archon, he learns that the same haemonculus will be in the Archon’s retinue. With the opportunity to take vengeance for his wounds and the deaths of his brothers, is there enough humanity in him left to relish the chance?
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For the fourth short story in the ongoing Deathwatch serial we get the first tale from a new Black Library author, in the shape of Redblade by Robbie MacNiven. It sees young Space Wolf Drenn, or Redblade as he prefers to be known, recently attached to a Blood Claws pack and railing against the cautious leadership of his older pack leader. Reckless and arrogant, he butts heads with his superior even while defending a floating refinery platform from waves of orks, while members of the inscrutable Deathwatch look on.
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The third short story in Black Library’s Deathwatch serial and Ben Counter’s second contribution, The Flesh of the Angel follows brother Zameon Gydael of the Dark Angels as he infiltrates a brood nest of the xenos sslyth. Venturing alone through alien-infested territory in order to detonate a virus bomb at its heart, he approaches the conclusion of his mission only to find his loyalties torn between the objectives of his Deathwatch kill team and the hidden, ancient goals of his parent chapter as an unexpected enemy shows itself.
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After One Bullet, which was only barely a Deathwatch story, it’s reassuring to see that Steve Lyons’ Bad Blood, the second in Black Library’s latest Deathwatch series, is much more deserving of the name. Featuring the Blood Angel Antor Delassio it takes the form of the stalwart Space Marine’s vivid, troubled recollection of the first battle in which his chapter’s gene-flaw – the Red Thirst – revealed itself. Preparing for a new battle to come, painful memories surface of a vicious against-the-odds fight for survival when his ship was boarded by the traitorous Black Legion.
Black Library’s latest Space Wolf serial continues with The Caged Wolf, in which Ben Counter details the reaction of the Wolves to the daemonic infiltration of the Fang and the worry that the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar might be in need of assistance. With the Wolf Lords thirsting for blood and ready to crusade across the stars in their lord’s name, Ulrik the Slayer counsels caution, leading a small force to track the Great Wolf and test the validity of the daemon’s tale. When he arrives it takes all of his willpower to keep his own battle-lust in check.
Black Library are all about releasing serial stories at the moment, and a new Space Wolf serial starts with Feast of Lies by Ben Counter, featuring Logan Grimnar and Ulrik the Slayer at the conclusion of the thirtieth Great Hunt. As Grimnar battles the Tau on a distant world, the remaining Great Companies return to Fenris with trophies and tales of their exploits, feasting and boasting of their successes. When a human emissary tells a worryingly prophetic tale of Grimnar and a shocking discovery, Ulrik realises there is more going on than he realised at first.
For the seventh story in Black Library’s Summer of Reading campaign the attention turns to the Horus Heresy, with the prose version of John French’s excellent The Eagle’s Talon audio drama. A brave, unusual story when told in audio format, if slightly less so in prose, it details a key moment in the Battle for Tallarn as three squads of Imperial Fists attempt to infiltrate an enemy transport vessel. Written as transcripts of linked vox excerpts interspersed with dry commentary from an unknown narrator, it takes a while to adjust to the choppy style but turns out to be an unusual, effective structure.