Black Library’s third Warhammer Horror short story anthology, Anthemas follows in the footsteps of Maledictions and Invocations not just in terms of the naming convention and visual design, but by offering up a compelling collection of low-key tales highlighting the strange, sinister fringes of the 40k and Age of Sigmar universes. Across fourteen stories from thirteen authors, all but two of which are published here for the first time, it’s an exploration of characters driven by fear and desperation, ordinary people just trying to survive in the midst of terrible, horrifying worlds. These are stories to unsettle, that keep you wondering where they’re going and leave you feeling uncomfortable afterwards.
Tag Archives: Paul Kearney
Calgar’s Fury – Paul Kearney
Calgar’s Fury is Paul Kearney’s third novel for Black Library, after the ill-fated Dark Hunters: Umbra Sumus and 2016’s Calgar’s Siege, and sees him return to the character of Marneus Calgar that he tackled so well previously. When a vast space hulk appears within the bounds of Ultramar, inexperienced Captain Galenus of Fifth Company is called to investigate, but the threat is enough for Calgar to step in himself, alongside the Inquisition and Adeptus Mechanicus. Leading two full companies onto the hulk to try and divine its secrets, he soon finds himself caught between two enemies, even while his allies pursue their own agendas.
Calgar’s Siege – Paul Kearney
Black Library’s long-running Space Marine Battles series continues with Paul Kearney’s Calgar’s Siege, Kearney’s first properly available Black Library novel after the seemingly cursed Dark Hunters: Umbra Sumus. Taking inspiration from a brief piece of background text, this deals with the Siege of Zalathras, where the Ultramarines’ Chapter Master Marneus Calgar held the gates against the greenskin hordes for a day and a night. It’s safe to assume that there’s more to the story than that, and Kearney fills in the gaps including where Zalathras actually is, and what Calgar was doing there in the first place!
Keep reading…
Dark Hunters : Umbra Sumus – Paul Kearney
Better known for his own epic fantasy series, Paul Kearney is a relatively new name in terms of Black Library, having just two short stories to his name before the ill-fated (more on this later) release of his novel Dark Hunters : Umbra Sumus. The first novel to feature the titular chapter of Space Marines it sees Captain of Third Company (or Mortai) Jonah Kerne sent to investigate reports of a raid on Imperial territory by the Hunters’ old enemy, the chaos Space Marines known as the Punishers. While Kerne and his men make haste to the planet of Ras Hanem to intervene, the local Imperial forces under the command of General Dietrich dig in against the brutal assault of the Punishers.
QUICK REVIEW: The Blind King – Paul Kearney
Published in 2015 (although subsequently removed from sale), Paul Kearney’s 40k short story The Blind King was intended to act as a prequel to his novel Dark Hunters: Umbra Sumus, which was sadly caught up in legal difficulties in quickly withdrawn from publication. Here we see the Dark Hunters chapter in its relative infancy, fighting for survival against an army of traitor Titans. With the future of the Dark Hunters at stake, the entire chapter goes to war, but against the might of Titans will even that be enough?