Two years after Unchanged capped off his trilogy, Ahriman is back in a new audio drama from John French, Ahriman: Key of Infinity. This time Ahriman has caught himself a necron Cryptek and, accompanied by Ignis and Credence, sets out to understand the powerful time-altering technology it possesses. To the Cryptek, Setekh, the interrogation provides all the time it needs to carefully arrange an escape, but then perhaps it hasn’t reckoned with the sheer power the Thousand Sons sorcerers possess.
The worst part is the waiting…right? In his Horus Heresy short story Duty Waits, Guy Haley explores the effect on Dorn’s Imperial Fists of the interminable waiting as they man the walls of the Imperial Palace in expectation of Horus’ armies reaching Terra. With security tighter than ever after the Alpha Legion’s infiltration of Terra (you’ve read Praetorian of Dorn, right?), and civilians suffering the side-effects of a total focus on war, tensions are high and an outlet is going to be needed, sooner or later. For Captain Maximus Thane (sound familiar?) the enemy can’t come soon enough.
The first Black Library story to be set in Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire, David Annandale’s short audio drama Doombound takes us deep into the twisting lanes of the Mirrored City as two Stormcast Eternals attempt to find a route back to their commander. For Errak Grimwatch, the journey becomes an illusory tangle of past and present as memories thought lost in the mists of reforging blend with his strange surroundings as something seeks to draw him off-course. Meanwhile, among the ever-changing streets of Shadespire, Errark’s visions are also shared by a warrior of Khorne.
An appetiser before his upcoming novel The Lords of Silence, Chris Wraight’s short story Endurance takes place (mostly) on the besieged Imperial world of Lystra, where the shattered remnants of the defenders continue to battle on against the endless hordes of walking dead. The situation for the Imperials is bleak, even with a scattering of loyal Space Marines bolstering the defences, and that’s before the Death Guard arrive. Dragan, known as the Gallowsman, leads his warband on the hunt for slaughter, and Lystra is in his sights.
The first audio drama in the Horus Heresy Primarchs series, Robbie MacNiven’s Perturabo: Stone and Iron sees the Hammer of Olympia leading the inexperienced 33rd Grand Battalion of the Iron Warriors into battle. Fighting against greenskins in support of their Imperial Fists cousins, the Iron Warriors are under close scrutiny by their primarch even as they follow his orders. Though his officers seem leery of the VIIth Legion’s efforts, Perturabo sees an opportunity to impart an important lesson to his sons using the Fists as his example.
Nothing says Christmas like twenty-four days of Warhammer fiction, right? It’s become a Black Library tradition over the past few years to offer an Advent Calendar comprising of short stories and audio dramas, with a new tale revealed each day in the run-up to Christmas Day, and this year is no different. Over the course of Advent we’re going to be able to get our hands on fourteen short stories and ten short audio dramas, across 40k, the Horus Heresy (including The Primarchs) and Age of Sigmar – including the first pieces of Shadespire fiction!
The final instalment of Black Library’s 2016 Advent Calendar, Chris Wraight’s Horus Heresy short story The Last Son of Prospero follows on from The Path of Heaven with Revuel Arvida finally having succumbed to the flesh change after guiding the White Scars back to Terra. While one war is fought deep within Terra, Malcador the Sigillite battles to save Arvida from his legion’s curse at the request of Jaghatai Khan. While the White Scars primarch feels honour-bound to help the Thousand Sons legionary, Malcador’s aims and motivations remain obscure, as ever.
The penultimate story in Black Library’s 2016 Advent Calendar and the last of three Blood Bowl tales, Andy Hall’s Da Bank Job sees Brobag, captain of disastrously bad orc team Brobag’s Big ‘Uns, offered a risky but lucrative opportunity to reverse his team’s poor fortunes. After a victory-less first season Brobag is in a tricky position, but is an invitational game against the famous Reikland Reavers the answer to his problems? If he can keep his team alive and on the pitch long enough, maybe he’ll have a chance to keep the Big ‘Uns going for another season…
The twenty-second of Black Library’s 2016 Advent Calendar stories is Unearthed by Rob Sanders, an Inquisition tale which pits the rash Interrogator Kiefer against the Alpha Legion warband which proved the death of his former master. Having tracked them to the ravaged agri-world of Grendl’s World, he’s certain that he has them where he wants them, so pushes on accompanied by Attillan Rough Riders and ogryn auxilia. You can probably see where this is going, given the Alpha Legion’s deserved reputation for trickery…
The last of six audio dramas in the 2016 Black Library Advent Calendar, day twenty-one’s The Art of Provocation by Josh Reynolds features Lukas the Trickster, the irreverent Space Wolf having been sent to Polix Tertius ahead of his brothers to disable the invading orks’ communications. Always keen to take any opportunity to rile his superiors, instead of simply destroying the vox network he sets about putting a surprising knowledge of the ork language to good use. While Wolf Lord Kjarl Grimblood rages at his insubordination and ork reinforcements close in on his position, Lukas laughs his way to an unusual victory.