Tag Archives: Inquisition

Ravenor – Dan Abnett

The first book in Dan Abnett’s second Inquisition trilogy, Ravenor is another stone-cold Black Library classic, a smart and hugely enjoyable story in its own right but also a neat continuation of characters familiar to anyone who’s read the Eisenhorn trilogy. Set some time after his reappearance towards the end of Hereticus, it sees Gideon Ravenor – now a full inquisitor in his own right – and his entourage on Eustis Majoris, investigating the illicit trade of a strange narcotic. As they unravel the mystery of what this drug is and where it comes from, the scale of what’s really happening is revealed to be bigger than they could have possibly expected.

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QUICK REVIEW: Playing Patience – Dan Abnett

Set between Hereticus and Ravenor, Dan Abnett’s short story Playing Patience introduces us to the character of Patience Kys and shows how she came to be part of Ravenor’s entourage. On dismal Sameter, three sisters live austere lives in the Kindred Youth Scholam, and the eldest – Patience – has both a particular gift and a knack for getting in trouble. Meanwhile Ravenor and his companions, reeling from a desperate setback, are on the hunt for clues that might set them back on track. The trail leads to the Kindred Youth Scholam, some unwholesome practices, and an untrained, unlicensed psyker.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Curiosity – Dan Abnett

First published in 2003 in Inferno! magazine, Dan Abnett’s short story The Curiosity offers the first glimpse of Valentin Drusher, magos biologis. After seven years of determined study, Drusher’s work to create a complete taxonomy of Gershom’s indigent flora and fauna is almost complete. Dispatched to a bleak, distant province to investigate sightings of an unknown beast that’s left a trail of corpses behind it, it’s not long before he realises this is more than just an apex predator he somehow missed. Caught up in the hunt for the beast, Drusher is out of his league and in terrible danger.

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Hereticus – Dan Abnett

The third instalment of Dan Abnett’s classic Eisenhorn trilogy, Hereticus shows us Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn in his darkest moments. Tasked with conducting a tedious series of hearings, Eisenhorn envisages endless weeks of boredom, but when evidence arises that an old enemy is nearby he drops everything and races off to a confrontation that will have horrifying consequences. Thus begins a journey that sees Eisenhorn and a handful of companions reeling and on the back foot, desperately calling on a few remaining contacts and all their determination in order to get back on track and seek out the culprit behind all their woes.

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The Horusian Wars: Incarnation – John French

The second instalment of John French’s brilliant The Horusian Wars series, Incarnation follows on pretty directly from Resurrection to continue the story of Inquisitor Covenant and his pursuit of the shadowy cabal known as the Triumvirate. Guided by the Imperial Tarot, Covenant and his warband journey to the shrine world of Dominicus Prime where, amidst the secrets and machinations of the sprawling Monastery of the Last Candle, a terrifying power is about to manifest. The Triumvirate seek to use that power to raise a weapon against Chaos whilst Covenant – ever the puritan – is determined to see them fail.

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RAPID FIRE: John French Talks The Horusian Wars: Incarnation

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to John French about The Horusian Wars: Incarnation, the second in his Horusian Wars series, which is available to order right now.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Strange Demise of Titus Endor – Dan Abnett

An Eisenhorn short story that doesn’t actually feature Eisenhorn, Dan Abnett’s The Strange Demise of Titus Endor is a bleak, unsettling story and a reminder that the horrors of the 41st millennium come in all sorts of forms. Focusing, unsurprisingly, on Eisenhorn’s old friend Titus Endor, it finds the inquisitor alone in a drab city, hunting an elusive quarry who always seems just out of reach. Musing on recollections of his old master, Hapshant, Endor wonders what happened to his friend Eisenhorn, even as he follows up clues to his quarry’s whereabouts which point to sinister omens and old ghosts.

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QUICK REVIEW: Backcloth for a Crown Additional – Dan Abnett

In Dan Abnett’s short story Backcloth for a Crown Additional, inquisitor Eisenhorn turns paranormal detective as he investigates the unexpected and increasingly suspicious death of Lord Aen Froigre, head of one of the ancient noble houses of Gudrun. An old friend of Eisenhorn, Froigre’s death is enough to drag Gregor and Bequin away from a precious moment of peace and quiet. What might otherwise have been a simple, if emotional, investigation proves to be rather more complex when it’s revealed that Froigre died of terror, and Eisenhorn detects a trace of warpcraft on the Froigre estate.

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QUICK REVIEW: Missing in Action – Dan Abnett

Set between Xenos and Malleus, Dan Abnett’s short story Missing in Action sees inquisitor Eisenhorn returning to the field having recovered from the events of the Necroteuch affair. Sent to Sameter for a routine mission to ease him back into work, when bodies start appearing with signs pointing to ritual killings he realises there’s a much bigger puzzle for him to solve on Sameter. As he digs deeper into the horrifying crimes being committed a pattern begins to emerge, but it seems to point in an unexpected direction.

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Agent of the Throne: Truth and Dreams – John French

The second audio drama in John French’s Agent of the Throne series, part of the wider Horusian Wars arc, Truth and Dreams once again finds Ianthe in reflective mood as she relates the tale of another mission. This time she’s on the trail of Silas Norn, a rogue psyker capable of horrifying manipulation if he can get close enough to touch. When her hunt results in both Ianthe and Norn being imprisoned in the same high-security facility it becomes a contest of wills as much as anything, between the powerful Norn and the ferociously driven, determined Ianthe.

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