Tag Archives: David Annandale

The Last Wall – David Annandale (The Beast Arises Book Four)

IMPORTANT: This is book four in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter, Predator, Prey or The Emperor Expects.

For book four in Black Library’s The Beast Arises series – The Last Wall – the baton passes to David Annandale to carry on the story started by Dan Abnett and continued by Rob Sanders and Gav Thorpe. At this point in the series Terra’s reeling from the shock of an ork moon appearing in orbit – with the Navy much too far away to intervene and the Imperial Fists wiped out, the home world is left essentially defenceless. Much to the relief of the population, and the bafflement of the High Lords, the orks don’t immediately attack, which gives Juskina Tull – Speaker for the Chartist Captains – the opportunity to put into action an audacious plan to arm the population and take on the attack moon with sheer weight of numbers.
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Curse of the Wulfen – David Annandale

Released to tie in with Games Workshop’s latest 40k campaign supplement of the same name, David Annandale’s short novel Curse of the Wulfen sees him tackling that rare beast – an event which moves the 40k storyline forwards. In this case it’s the return to the Imperium of Man of the Space Wolves 13th Company, long-lost heroes from ten thousand years ago who emerge from the Warp much-changed, as the Wulfen. When Harald Deathwolf leads his Great Company to the rescue of a world plagued by daemons and finds aid from feral, beastly creatures still clad in scraps of slate-gray ceramite, the Space Wolves welcome their ancient brethren back (with some reservations) and proceed to seek out as many of the Wulfen as they can. Meanwhile other elements of the Imperium don’t see things in quite the same light.
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The Unburdened – David Annandale

The second in the set of Black Library books released to coincide with the new Betrayal at Calth game, The Unburdened is the companion piece to Rob Sanders’ The Honoured and sees David Annandale delving into the darkness once more to tell the Word Bearers’ side of the story. Set primarily on Calth at the very beginning of the Underworld War, it actually takes things back much further to begin with, to Monarchia and the humbling of the Word Bearers by The Emperor and his XIIIth Legion. We meet Kurtha Sedd at a turning point in his life, taking his first steps on a path that will lead him to Calth and a fateful confrontation with Captain Aethon of the Ultramarines, a man he once called friend and brother.
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QUICK REVIEW : The Prodigal – David Annandale

David Annandale joins the party with the twelfth story in Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar, contributing The Prodigal, an Age of Sigmar micro short which sees another champion of Chaos causing trouble in the realm of Light. Hidden within almost-impenetrable mountains and suspended above the ground by light itself, the city of Lykerna is a sanctuary from the darkness until Graunos, a fallen son of the city, returns at the head of an army of Khorne to take vengeance in the name of his god for perceived past mistreatments.
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QUICK REVIEW – Yarrick : The Wreckage – David Annandale

The sixth story in Black Library’s Summer of Reading campaign features another big-name character, this time Commissar Yarrick, in David Annandale’s The Wreckage. Previously only available in an event-only anthology, it’s a smart little story looking at what most will see as one of the core elements of being a commissar – the decision of whether or not to deliver the Emperor’s Judgement to an officer. In this case it’s an inspirational, much-loved Captain whose recklessness has led his men into a lethal trap and threatens to doom them all.

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Meduson – Black Library Anthology

Of all the ‘exclusive’ products Black Library have released, perhaps the one most likely to rouse the anger of fans is Meduson – a venue-specific Horus Heresy anthology that can only be purchased in person from Games Workshop’s headquarters in Nottingham. Released to celebrate the re-opening of Warhammer World and the dedicated Black Library shop within, it’s a move designed to draw out the diehard fans and encourage visitors, but is bound to annoy those fans not willing or able to make it to Nottingham. Exclusivity aside, any new Heresy release is always going to be of great interest to fans of the series, and this is no exception. With a selection of brand new stories from some of Black Library’s most respected authors, this review is a little longer than usual in order to give as clear a picture as possible of the anthology.

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Lemartes : Guardian of the Lost – David Annandale

David Annandale’s latest Black Library release is Lemartes : Guardian of the Lost, a novella in the Lords of the Space Marines series. Having already looked at the only Blood Angel ever to conquer the Red Thirst (in his previous Mephiston novella), he now turns his attention to the only one ever to contain the other of the Blood Angels’ curses – the Black Rage. Roused from his stasis to lead the Death Company into battle on Phlegethon, a world consumed by madness and anger, Lemartes must cling tight to his tenuous grip on reality as the Blood Angels face a dark mirror of themselves in the form of blood-hungry traitors.

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Iron Corpses – David Annandale (audio drama)

In conjunction with The Eagle’s Talon by John French, David Annandale’s Iron Corpses continues the tale of the Battle of Tallarn in audio format, either as an MP3 or as part of the upcoming joint audio CD. This follows on directly from The Eagle’s Talon, as a lone Iron Warrior strikes out through the blasted devastation created when the troop transport hit the surface of Tallarn. Having survived through sheer chance, Warsmith Koparnos knows he is slowly dying on the virus- and radiation-scarred surface, but sees an opportunity for both survival and vengeance in the shape of an intact Titan.

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QUICK REVIEW : Blood Angels Short Stories – Black Library Advent Calendar 2014

On the eighth day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…no less than six Blood Angels short stories. With contributions from veteran authors (Dan Abnett and James Swallow), well-established names (Chris Wraight and David Annandale) and relative newcomers (Ray Harrison and Mark Clapham), between them these six 1000-or-so word stories illustrate various facets of this noble but flawed chapter, only really scratching the surface but hinting at what lies beneath.

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QUICK REVIEW – Yarrick : Concordat – David Annandale

On the fifth day of Christmas Black Library gave to us…a Commissar Yarrick short story by David Annandale. Picking up threads from elsewhere in this growing series, Concordat sees still-young Yarrick on the hive world of Aighe Mortis, participating in a recruitment drive to replenish depleted Mortisian regiments. As some familiar faces unexpectedly appear and he’s forced into conflict with the Inquisition, he has to draw upon every weapon at his disposal to survive.

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