Beginning with the first novella Tallarn : Executioner, the story of the Battle of Tallarn has developed into a mini-series of its own within the Horus Heresy, with John French’s micro-short Tallarn : Witness capping everything off. Set in the aftermath of the battle’s conclusion, it sees the new governor of Tallarn surveying the desolate surface of his world from the bridge of a Titan, and considering the cost that the victors have paid for their success.
So far in the Horus Heresy series, the Imperial Fists haven’t had a huge amount of the spotlight. Presumably that’s going to change the closer things get to the Siege of Terra, but in the meantime there’s John French’s audio drama Templar to whet the appetite of 7th Legion fans. It follows First Captain Sigismund, leading a mission to cleanse an enclave of Word Bearers that still remains within the Solar system. As he faces the prospect of killing his own kind for the first time, he considers the nature of his duty in light of the changing face of the galaxy.
In a brave move that will gain approval and derision in equal measures from different elements of their fanbase, Black Library have decided to tell the events of the Battle of Tallarn across not just multiple releases but multiple formats. Having told the main body of the story in his novellas Tallarn : Executioner and Tallarn : Ironclad, John French has also contributed an audio drama in the shape of The Eagle’s Talon, available as a standalone MP3 or soon to be packaged with David Annandale’s Iron Corpses on audio CD. Told largely via found footage-esque snippets of vox transmissions, it follows a handful of Imperial Fists legionaries attempting to take control of a vast traitor transport vessel.
A few months after Death and Defiance, the first novella-length, non-limited edition Horus Heresy short story anthology, comes Blades of the Traitor, a collection of five short stories from some of Black Library’s best-known authors. Interestingly, Black Library are offering readers a choice straight away of how to purchase these stories – the physical book is due for release soon (after pre-release at the Horus Heresy Weekender) while the ebooks are available either as a well-priced collection or as individual stories. It’s therefore up to readers whether to cherry pick the stories they’re most interested in or read them all as a collection.
Following hot on the heels of the general release for Tallarn : Executioner comes John French’s latest Limited Edition novella, Tallarn : Ironclad. Yes, it’s an expensive hardback novella that won’t please everyone, but for those willing to fork out for it, aesthetically it’s an absolute beauty, complete with creepy daemons embossed beneath the dust jacket. Following on from Executioner and Black Oculus it widens the view of Tallarn to take in the entire conflict, with Perturabo’s legion opposed by a ramshackle mixture of loyalist forces, while an emissary of Horus asks pointed questions regarding the Lord of Iron’s use of resources in this meat grinder of a battle. We see through the eyes of characters on both sides of the struggle, as it gradually becomes clear that for all its complexity, ultimately everything about this battle boils down to a single question – what are the Iron Warriors actually doing on Tallarn?
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Ten million tanks! Or maybe one million tanks. Whatever the number, the Battle of Tallarn is famed for the vast numbers of armoured vehicles that were deployed. In his Horus Heresy novella Tallarn : Executioner, John French chronicles the opening sequence of this infamous battle, from the initial virus bombing of the once-verdant world to the early engagements that demonstrated to the Iron Warriors that Tallarn’s population wasn’t going to let them have their world without a fight. Originally available only as a Limited Edition novella, it’s now been re-issued in standard format to coincide with the release of Tallarn : Ironclad, the next in the Tallarn arc.
Of all the merits of Black Library’s Horus Heresy series, perhaps its greatest achievement to date is the way it has cast the whole conflict in a new light and reminded readers that it wasn’t just a case of good versus evil and black and white, but very much shades of grey. John French looks at this in a little more detail with his quick read Child of Night, introducing us to Fel Zharost, the ex-Chief Librarian of the Night Lords. Having left his legion after the passing of the Edict of Nikea and returned to the underhive slums of Terra where he was born, he has remained unaware of the civil war ripping the Galaxy apart. Until now.
The latest Horus Heresy quick read from Black Library, John French’s Black Oculus is a prequel of sorts to his excellent novella Tallarn : Executioner, which was a limited edition release in 2013 and is sadly still not yet generally available. After the events at the climax of Angel Exterminatus, Perturabo ordered his fleet into the heart of a black hole, deep within the Eye of Terror. Here we get a glimpse of the terrible effects that decision had upon the Navigators who guided the Iron Warriors fleet on that fateful journey that led to their arrival at Tallarn.
Overlapping slightly with the events of Ahriman: Sorcerer, and following on from several of the other short stories in the series, John French’s Ahriman: Gates of Ruin once more tells a tale of Thousand Sons sorcerer Ctesias. Here the weary daemonologist is looking back from a point far in the future, recalling the part he played in leading Ahriman and his followers out of the Eye of Terror. Ctesias’ knowledge of daemons is put to good use as he seeks the location of the Gates of Ruin, but can a daemon ever really be trusted?
John French’s Ahriman series continues with the second novel, Ahriman: Sorcerer, in which the exiled Thousand Son sorcerer is still searching for knowledge, looking for a way to save his legion and repair the mistakes he has made in the past. Now firmly on this path after the events of Ahriman: Exile, he has gathered a vast warband to his banner as he seeks the Athenaeum of Kalimakus, a record made by Magnus the Red’s personal remembrancer, hoping to find a clue to where his rubric went wrong. A range of foes bar his path or dog his heels, from the Inquisition and the Grey Knights to a tireless pack of Space Wolves, not to mention his own treacherous allies.