Tag Archives: Inferno! 4

QUICK REVIEW: The Fourfold Wound – Eric Gregory

Eric Gregory’s Age of Sigmar short story The Fourfold Wound is an ambitious, evocative exploration of the Mortal Realms, and a cautionary tale warning of the cost of seeking revenge. Across the Realms, Sigmar’s Stormcast Eternals are not universally loved, and discontented souls carefully watch and share their observations in secret. Shinua Gan travels the Realms sifting through the watchers’ notes for mention of a name, determined to track down the man responsible for the deaths of her family. Disgusted that he should be raised up as a hero by Sigmar, she’s determined to make him pay for his crime.

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QUICK REVIEW: Where Dere’s da Warp Dere’s a Way – Mike Brooks

In case the title doesn’t give it away, Mike Brooks’ Warhammer 40,000 short story Where Dere’s da Warp Dere’s a Way is a rare story told from an ork perspective…and it’s just as much fun as it sounds. Ufthak Blackhawk joins his Bad Moon mates, under the command of Badgit Snazzhammer, in a gleeful boarding action against a ship crewed by humie mekboyz. The boyz happily get stuck into the fight in typically boisterous fashion, but when things don’t all go their way Ufthak is forced to think quickly in order to prove his status in the mob.

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QUICK REVIEW: Green and Grey – Edoardo Albert

Edoardo Albert’s Imperial Guard short story Green and Grey is an emotional gut-punch of a war story, a tale of a young tanker on his first mission which has gone horribly wrong. Waking to darkness and pain, Lucius Stilo finds himself trapped alone inside the Leman Russ Sancta Fide, the rest of the crew dead and a greenskin horde pressing ever closer in. As he waits for help to arrive, the distant voice of his commanding officer calls for him to remember his training and keep the orks at bay, and to do his duty despite the risks.

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QUICK REVIEW: Salvage Rites – Thomas Parrott

Low-key but satisfying, Thomas Parrott’s Warhammer 40,000 short story Salvage Rites adds a small but valuable extra layer of detail onto the non-military side of life in the Imperium. Having stumbled across what promises to be a life-changingly valuable derelict in orbit around Effandor, Captain Ved Tregan leads his small salvage crew onto the ship to assess their find, keen to get the job done before his rivals appear. In the silent, strangely sterile corridors of the vessel, however, bonds between the crew start to fray as the ship proves to not be quite as lifeless as it seemed.

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QUICK REVIEW: Journey of the Magi – Jonathan Green

A deceptively clever and satisfying short story by Jonathan Green, Journey of the Magi follows a trio of Thousand Sons sorcerers as they mount a magically-assisted incursion into a vast necron artefact known as the Godstar. Though the sorcerers’ powers grant them swift access, it’s not long before the necron defences are alerted to their presence, and they find themselves embattled with ever-growing numbers of increasingly lethal guardians. To Prototokos, Opados and Tritos of the Sect of the Crimson Scarab, however, the prize that waits for them at the heart of the Godstar is worth any sacrifice to claim.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Sorcerer’s Tale – Guy Haley (At the Sign of the Brazen Claw Part Four)

Guy Haley’s multi-part Age of Sigmar story At the Sign of the Brazen Claw reaches its fourth and penultimate instalment with The Sorcerer’s Tale, in which Hyshian sorcerer Pludu Quasque tells a story of arrogance, envy and dread. He tells how, as a young man, he ignored his father’s advice, neglected his studies and let bitterness cloud his judgement until a final rash act saw him oath-bound to retrieve a long-lost jewel from the depths of the skaven underworld. As Prince Maesa, Shattercap and the other travellers listen to Quasque’s dour tale, the storm shaking the inn steadily grows in intensity.

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QUICK REVIEW: A Firstborn Exile – Filip Wiltgren

Filip Wiltgren’s second Black Library story, A Firstborn Exile is a direct sequel to The Firstborn Daughter and sees Lieutenant Ekaterina Idra of the 86th Firstborn continuing to battle against not just the Tovogan rebels but the ingrained prejudices of her own people. Joining up with more Vostroyans under the command of a famously rigid Colonel with rather different values to her own, Idra and her men are soon caught up in brutal city fighting against a dug-in enemy. Before long, any bureaucratic differences of opinion are outweighed by the need to survive against overwhelming odds.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Hand of Harrow – Denny Flowers

Denny Flowers makes his Black Library debut with The Hand of Harrow, a snappy, fast-paced Necromunda short story which looks back to some entertaining old lore for inspiration. His reputation as the ninth most dangerous man in the underhive preceding him, Caleb Cursebound takes on what appears, on the surface, to be a low-risk and high-reward job – stealing a family heirloom from the private museum of the elderly Lord Harrow. Concerned that something isn’t quite right, however, Caleb and his ratskin companion Iktomi proceed with caution which proves well-founded as the job starts off well, before spiralling out of hand.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Karsharat Abomination – George Mann

Marking the first prose appearance of Inquisitor Sabbathiel (who previously appeared in various comics from Titan), George Mann’s Black Library short story The Karsharat Abomination sees the inquisitor on the hunt for a renegade Mechanicus priest in possession of a dangerous weapon. Exploring an abandoned Ecclesiarchy outpost on the moon Karsharat, interrogator Bledheim wonders why Sabbathiel has included him in the group alongside her other, more militaristic, companions. As they get closer to the heart of the citadel, the specifics of what they face gradually become clearer, and Bledheim finds his mind being tested as much as his body.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Serpent’s Bargain – Jamie Crisalli

In her second Black Library short story, The Serpent’s Bargain, Jamie Crisalli explores the consequences of making unwise alliances in the Mortal Realms. After her village is attacked by Slaaneshi raiders, Laila fears that the seekers aren’t done yet with Varna and will return to inflict even more damage. Against the wishes of the village elders, she sets out with just two companions to find the Valley of the Oracle’s Eye and petition the Fair Ones to come to their aid. Little does she realise, however, that the cost for their protection may be more than she’s willing to pay.

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