First released as an audio drama alongside James Swallow’s Burden of Duty, and now available in prose form, John French’s Grey Angel takes place on Caliban and sees Garviel Loken and Iacton Cruze infiltrating the Dark Angels’ fortress of Aldurukh. Sent by Malcador to determine the loyalty of Luther and his men, Loken has let himself be captured in order to engineer a meeting with Luther, while Cruze continues to make his way deeper into the fortress in search of answers.
Set before Luna Mendax and the ensuing events of Vengeful Spirit, this is a tale whose spirit is as secretive as the Dark Angels themselves, offering hints and clues as to what’s really happening without ever overtly explaining itself. The core of the story is Loken’s dialogue with Luther, laden with questions of loyalty and honesty and reflective of Loken himself as much as his mission. The two Knights Errant find unexpected allies however, whose intriguing appearances offer up more questions than answers, despite the conclusions drawn by Loken and Cruze from the ongoing events. It’s a little unusual in its structure, and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions, but it’s cleverly, darkly written to French’s usual standard and is well worth a read.
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