Tag Archives: Warhammer 40k

RAPID FIRE: Gav Thorpe Talks Armageddon Saint

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with 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 Black Library author Gav Thorpe about his new 40k novel Armageddon Saint, the first new Last Chancers novel for over fifteen years! The physical edition isn’t due out until March, but the ebook is available as a ‘digital premiere’ as part of the 2019 Advent Calendar series. Whether you’re excited about a new Last Chancers story or wondering what all the fuss is about, read on to find out more!

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QUICK REVIEW: Divine Sanction – Robert Rath

A tale of the Officio Assassinorum, Robert Rath’s short story Divine Sanction (his first 40k story) offers a close look at the dangerous final stages of a Callidus assassin’s mission. The city of Veridian is wracked by unrest as the sermons of Confessor Illsandor spread the insidious influence of the xenos T’au and set the city’s factions against each other. Sent to infiltrate the city and find a way to remove and impersonate the Confessor, the assassin Sycorax closes in on her target only to face a last-minute challenge that forces her to improvise and start to question her mission.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Test of Faith – Thomas Parrott

Thomas Parrott’s first foray into tales of the Adeptus Astartes, The Test of Faith is a Dark Angels story exploring the strained relationship between two generations of Space Marines. Interrogator-Chaplain Raguel and the younger, second-generation Chaplain Hadariel lead a squad of Primaris Marines into battle aboard a vast, mobile mining vehicle, sweeping through its aged corridors and crushing the resistance of its mortal defenders. As they approach the heart of the vehicle and the nature of its crew is revealed, the bonds between the Dark Angels are tested in the heat of battle and Raguel’s true purpose is challenged.

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Broken Saints – Alec Worley

Alec Worley’s 40k Sisters of Battle series moves into audio territory with Broken Saints, a gripping audio drama (originally released as three individual instalments) in which Sister Adamanthea, no longer a Repentia and now considered a Living Miracle, finds her faith tested like never before. Troubled by rising doubts during a holy day for the garden-temple of Concordia, when disaster strikes Adamanthea is quick to put aside her religious responsibilities and throw herself into the fray. Her presence is meant to help unify the fractious factions on Concordia, but first she must come to terms with her own faith, and lead her sisters to victory against a worryingly co-ordinated heretic uprising.

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QUICK REVIEW: Champions, All – Marc Collins

A story of duty, faith, sacrifice and really big swords, Marc Collins’ Champions, All (his second short story for Black Library) is a tale of the Black Templars with bonus Sisters of Battle. As the battered remnants of the Edioch Crusade prepare a head-on assault against an ork-held fortress, once protected by the Order of the Valorous Heart, Emperor’s Champion Cenric receives a vision from the Emperor Himself. When he’s separated from his brothers during the battle he finds his faith tested, but his purpose is renewed by striking at the heart of the orks alongside a lone Sister Repentia.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Child Foretold – Nicholas Kaufmann

Nicholas Kaufmann’s debut for Black Library is a Warhammer Horror short story, a tale of loss, loneliness and belonging for an isolated man. Kavel Trake was once a soldier in the militia, until the orks came to Ballard’s Run. Since then, having lost his family, his leg and his purpose, he’s eked out a living as a farmer with little to do but work and drink. When a dying woman stumbles onto his secluded farm and begs him to care for a babe in arms, he finds both a surprising sense of newfound purpose and the beginnings of a dark path.

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QUICK REVIEW: Serpents of Ardemis – Mike Brooks

A prequel to Rites of Passage, Mike Brooks’ short story Serpents of Ardemis adds a little context to a key character in the novel, and provides a sharp exploration of the abuse of power amongst the privileged. Chetta and her (not yet dead) husband Azariel are on the water world of Ardemis for an annual social engagement, rubbing shoulders with other Navigators and nobility whilst simultaneously maneuvering for political gain. Chetta’s disarmingly blunt approach to diplomacy makes as many unexpected friends as it does enemies, friends which will come in handy if she and Azariel are to achieve their goals.

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Augur of Despair – Chris Dows

A three-part Blackstone Fortress audio drama, Chris Dows’ Augur of Despair is an action-packed adventure featuring an odd-couple pairing of protagonists facing off against all manner of potentially deadly denizens of the Blackstone. Rogue Trader Neyam Shai Murad and crusader Gotfret de Montbard make their way back to Precipice in the possession of an artefact which might change the balance of power in the Fortress. To unlock its potential they must escape the attentions of an Ambull, enlist the help of a deeply untrustworthy genetor, battle mutants and cultists, and put their trust in a creation of the Fortress itself.

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Chris Dows Talks Audio, Comics and Augur of Despair

Chris Dows is a hugely experienced writer across multiple formats, publishers and settings, on top of being a university lecturer, and he’s been writing for Black Library for a few years now. Over that time he’s tackled stories in both prose and audio about Elysians, Cadians, World Eaters and most recently explorers in the Blackstone Fortress, and I’ve been meaning for a while now to get him on Track of Words for a proper interview. With his latest audio drama, Augur of Despair, being released in three parts over the 2019 Black Library Advent series, now seems like a perfect opportunity.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Crystal Cathedral – Danie Ware

Danie Ware continues her excellent run of Adepta Sororitas stories with The Crystal Cathedral, her second Order of the Bloody Rose story to look back to an earlier incarnation of Sister Augusta. The young Sister and her squad are sent to the mining moon Caro to attend the reconsecration of an awe-inspiring cathedral, built as a memorial to a great victory for Sisters of their Order a thousand years earlier. What should be a simple, non-combat mission turns into a profound test of Augusta’s faith, as an unexpected evil reveals itself and the Sisters are forced into action.

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