Tag Archives: Ultramarines

Dark Imperium – Guy Haley

Unless you’ve been hiding your head in the sand of late, you’ll have spotted that Warhammer 40,000 has recently taken a big step forward in terms of the setting’s overall narrative. Not to be left behind, Black Library have commissioned Guy Haley to write the first novel set in #new40k, taking place after the events of the Gathering Storm – the fall of Cadia, the birth of a new eldar god, and the return of a loyalist primarch to 40k. The result is Dark Imperium (not to be confused with the short story anthology of the same name) and…it’s excellent.

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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.

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Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar – David Annandale (The Primarchs Book One)

The first in what will eventually be a series of eighteen short novels, David Annandale’s Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar kicks The Horus Heresy – The Primarchs off with a look at the XIIIth Legion…the Ultramarines. Set during the Great Crusade this isn’t an origin story for Guilliman, instead it sees him leading his legion against the final remnants of an ork empire on the planet Thoas. Determined to honour the legacy of its original human inhabitants, he commits his legion to battle even while he makes moves internally to shake things up and remind some of his sons of the legion’s identity.

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Forgotten Texts: Jonathan Green Talks Salvation

The first of my Forgotten Texts reviews, looking back at vintage Black Library short stories from the days of Inferno! Magazine, was for Jonathan Green’s classic Ultramarines vs Tyranids short story Salvation. As an extra treat, Jonathan has kindly agreed to talk a little about this 20 year old short story and the process of writing it! Without further ado, over to the author…

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Forgotten Texts: Salvation by Jonathan Green

“Left behind, as he himself had been…”

A classic short story from way back in 1997, Jonathan Green’s Salvation follows Brother Rius of the Ultramarines’ 1st Company as he and his brothers battle the Tyranid menace on Jaroth, a newly rediscovered Imperial world. After chancing upon the planet during a routine patrol, the Ultramarines acknowledge their duty to protect its natural resources and defenceless population, despite facing appalling odds. Brother Rius and his squad find themselves in the thick of the action, determined to wipe the Tyranids out to the last creature, but when Rius is badly wounded he earns a newfound respect for the honest, hardy locals.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Librarian’s Acolyte – Graeme Lyon

Day one of Black Library’s 2016/17 12 Days of Christmas campaign brings us a free 40k micro-short story in the shape of Graeme Lyon’s The Librarian’s Acolyte. In the Ultramarines’ Librarium within the Fortress of Hera, Acolyte Loraeus is welcomed into the Librarius by Chief Librarian Tigurius himself. With his training due to start soon Loraeus is given a fairly straightforward first task, but events quickly spiral out of control and he’s forced to rely on his wits as well as his newfound power to deal with the escalating situation.

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QUICK REVIEW: Do Eagles Still Circle the Mountain? – Graham McNeill

The second story from the Honour of the Space Marines anthology to get a standalone e-short release, Graham McNeill’s Do Eagles Still Circle the Mountain? picks up the story of Uriel Ventris between the end of The Chapter’s Due and the as yet unreleased The Swords of Calth. Engaged against the orks on Sycorax, when circumstances change and the Ultramarines’ mission changes from assault to survival, Ventris and his warriors of the Fourth look for refuge away from the sucking mud flats. A Mechanicus facility offers shelter, but it also provides a troubling mystery for the captain to consider.

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Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Three – Warriors of Ultramar by Graham McNeill

The Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection from Hachette continues with Issue Three, featuring Warriors of Ultramar by Graham McNeill. First published way back in 2003, it sees Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines 4th Company leading his men in defence of Tarsis Ultra against the numberless monstrosities of Hive Fleet Leviathan. While not quite such a classic as Issue Two’s Xenos, it’s a popular title from a much-loved series, although there’s one oddity immediately obvious about choosing this for Issue Three…
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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!
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QUICK REVIEW: The Heart of the Pharos – L.J. Goulding

Originally published as The Dark Between the Stars before being swiftly renamed, presumably for copyright reasons, L.J. Goulding’s Horus Heresy audio drama The Heart of the Pharos fits neatly between the novels The Unremembered Empire and Pharos, narratively. Set on Sotha, it sees the Ultramarine Scout Tebecai remembering the mission he was on with his fellow Scout Oberdeii, deep within the tunnels beneath Mount Pharos. Down there in the darkness with just each other for company, the two scouts find something…and Tebecai’s commanders want to know about it.
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