“Shadows of Treachery” ed. by Christian Dunn & Nick Kyme (Black Library)

A Horus Heresy Anthology

From the battlefields of Phall and Isstvan, to the haunted shadows of Terra itself – the greatest war in the history of mankind rages on. While the traitor Legions continue their campaign of terror across the galaxy, preparations are made for the defence of the Imperial Palace and the final, inevitable reckoning that must yet come between Horus and the Emperor...

I know a few readers who really don’t like the Horus Heresy anthologies of short stories, but I rather like them. They offer some great gap-filling fiction for specific events (noteworthy or just interesting), and are great for marking time between the full-length novels. It’s just a pity that some of these stories couldn’t be longer still – there are two novella length stories (one by the great Aaron Dembski-Bowden), but the rest of the stories within are pretty short. I think it’s a good collection, but some people may be disappointed with the fact that three of the stories are just prose versions of audio-books. As someone who prefers prose to audio, though, I thought this was a great read and addition to the series.

“Void Stalker” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

The Conclusion to the Night Lords Trilogy

The hunters have become the hunted. The Night Lords flee to the dark fringes of the Imperium to escape their relentless pursuers – the Eldar of Craftworld Ulthwé. Their flight takes them to the carrion world of Tsagualsa, where their Primarch died and their Legion was broken. There, history will repeat itself as a deadly assassin stalks the shadows, and the Night Lords are drawn into a battle they are destined to lose.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s fiction. I think he is ridiculously talented, and his novels and short stories are all among my favourite sci-fi stories. In this final volume in his Night Lords series, in which he has managed once again to humanise what are effectively super-human terrorists, he ties up all the plot points into a very satisfying conclusion. Superb. Again.

Two Stories from “Hammer & Bolter 11” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden & David Annandale (Black Library)

Hammer & Bolter is Black Library’s monthly eBook, offering short stories, interviews and excerpts of upcoming Warhammer and WH40k fiction. It is also where new authors showcase their work. In Issue 11, there were two stories that really stood out for me, so I’ve decided to review them here.

The first is Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Shadow Knight (a prequel to his Night Lords series), which showcases his exceptional skill as a writer once again. The second is a tale from newcomer David Annandale, which offers an original take on a popular Chaos trope, done very nicely indeed.

In the future, I’ll do similar-style reviews for any other stories that strike me as particularly noteworthy.

“Blood Reaver” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

The Night Lords Return!

Driven by their hatred of the False Emperor, the Night Lords stalk the shadows of the galaxy, eternally seeking revenge for the death of their Primarch. Their dark quest leads them to a fractious alliance with the Red Corsairs, united only by a common enemy.

Together with this piratical band of renegades, they bring their ways of destruction to the fortress-monastery of the Marines Errant. Their mission: to steal the loyalist Chapter’s gene-seed, dooming them to a slow demise.

In Blood Reaver, we get the continuation of the story begun in Soul Hunter and Throne Of Lies – of a company of traitor Night Lords, as they struggle to survive and continue the Great War against the Imperium. Soul Hunter took me by surprise – it was a superb science fiction novel, populated by complex and interesting characters, with a solid and engaging premise. Blood Reaver takes things one step further and transcends its predecessor. This is, truly, a superb novel by anybody’s standards.

“Soul Hunter”, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

Terror and Chaos in the 41st Millennium

The Night Lords form an uneasy allegiance with the Black Legion in order to assault the valuable planet of Crythe Primus. The Imperial world puts up a stern defence, but the biggest obstacle to success will be the disunity and mistrust between the two Traitor Legions.

Will their covenant last long enough for them to succeed in their mission?

This is the first novel by Dembski-Bowden that introduces us to the 10th Company of the Night Lords – a struggling Traitor Legion, specialists in terror-tactics and instilling fear in the enemy, the consummate trained killers. It is a tragic legion, coming to terms with the corruption that is spreading throughout its ranks, as more of their – already dwindling – numbers embrace the Chaos powers. Soul Hunter centres around First Claw (squad) of the 10th Company, informally led by Talos, an Astartes stubbornly holding on to the ideals set down by their Primarch back in the founding years of his Legion. He has to navigate not only the battlefields to which he is dispatched, the politics and alliances between Traitor Legions, and also the lack of trust within the Night Lords’ ranks.

What I like most about Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s (ADB) novels, and his portrayal of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, is that he manages to create multiple layers to the story, taking it far beyond what many would consider standard fare for “tie-in” fiction.

The main characters of Soul Hunter (and also, in fact, the peripheral characters) are a lot more complex and fully-realised than one would find in a lot of other science-fiction novels. The Night Lords, despite their anti-Imperial allegiance, are not just ravening beasts pledged to Chaos. True, a couple of them actually are, but they’re not cartoons, and ADB is able to keep the characters believable throughout the novel.

In Soul Hunter, we get a look into the life and trials of this Traitor Legion, its fast-dwindling forces and archaic wargear, the logistical and infrastructure struggles they face without the vast resources of the Imperium or the Black Legion (the nominal ‘leader’ Traitor Legion, formed from the ashes of the Sons of Horus). The author never goes into too much detail, maintaining the narrative flow, but I thought it was an interesting addition to the narrative and the reader’s understanding of the Traitor Legions, and especially helps explain much of what Talos feels and thinks about his mission and purpose in the galaxy. Talos remains mostly sane, save the gene curse he shares with his Primarch, that of prophetic visions. Squad-mate Uzas, on the other hand – a transplant from another, depleted company – seems to have given in to battle addiction, and is quite uncontrollable when in combat, quite literally becoming a slavering butcher.

There is tension within the dwindling ranks of the 10th Company, between Talos’s squad (no doubt others, too) who cling to a masterless ethos, and those in the Legion who have succumbed (even if only a little) to Chaos. The tension is palpable between Talos and the Exalted, formerly Captain Vandred of the 10th Company, now... something else. The Exalted is an interesting character; in part because it’s not entirely clear what he is – Dembski-Bowden did address this in a post on his website, which mentions that the Exalted’s nature will be explained in greater detail in the second book in the series, Blood Reaver (published May 2011). The Exalted is the exact opposite of Talos: he is impure, mutated almost beyond recognition, simpering in his attempts to attract the attention of the new Warmaster, Abaddon the Despoiler, manipulative of his own forces, yet fearful of the forces that are changing him (physically & spiritually).

This is the second novel I’ve read of ADB’s, as well as a couple of short stories, and each time I read his work, I come away very impressed. The author manages to include a smattering of dark humour throughout the novel, and the dialogue and interactions between the Astartes and their brother warriors or, in the case of Talos, with his slaves, is brilliantly written. The rivalries and fragile alliances binding the Traitor Legions together are detailed, and it quickly becomes clear just how damaged the Night Lords are as a Legion – they lack a unifying leader, they are spread far and wide, and more and more of their number are succumbing to the enticements of Chaos. As a fan of the Horus Heresy series, Soul Hunter offered some great new material to telescope forward until 10,000 years after Horus’s defeat and more detail of the Night Lords’ part in the Heresy.

Dembski-Bowden manages to humanise Talos, despite the obvious distance he has from the human race, and the loyalty he engenders in his slaves Septimus and Octavia is entirely believable. The novel is often written from the two slaves’ perspectives, adding another viewpoint of the Night Lord’s mission and tragic descent – Octavia’s recent capture allows for Septimus to fill in some background for the reader, and this too is done very skilfully.

The author’s battle scenes are equally well-scripted: they are never over-long, always sparsely explained and quick. It never feels like violence for the sake of violence, which can sometimes be the case in Black Library novels, and always moves the story along – giving us deeper insight into the characters of, specifically, the members of First Claw and also the Exalted (who excels at void-war, and allows for a very good space-battle sequence that was genuinely gripping).

Delving into the vast wealth of lore and background information that Games Workshop has released over the decades, ADB has brought the Night Lords alive on the page, fully-realised, complex and tragic. If Blood Reaver continues the quality I’ve seen in Soul Hunter and The First Heretic, then fans of the books will be in for another absolute treat.

Anyone who’s read my reviews of ADB’s short fiction and The First Heretic will know just how much I enjoy his writing, but he really is damn good. Many of the same themes run through his novels – loss, disenchantment, betrayal, and the personal struggles of his protagonists. Dare I say it, but I think Aaron Dembski-Bowden is well on his way to becoming Black Library’s best author. If you haven’t read his work yet, then you’re missing out. To repeat a comment from my review of The First Heretic, I would still love to see what he can do outside of the Warhammer 40,000 setting.

Superbly written, utterly gripping, this is sci-fi writing at its very best. A must for all fans of Warhammer 40,000, Soul Hunter will also appeal to newcomers to the universe and sci-fi fans as a whole.

Very highly recommended.

“Throne of Lies”, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

Night Lords audiobook from one of the Black Library’s most promising up-and-coming authors.

The Night Lords are among the most feared Chaos Space Marines in the universe. Betrayed, cast from the Emperor’s light and hunted as heretics, they are the rebels of the 41st Millennium. Garbed in symbols of death, the Night Lords are remorseless hunters and killers. They will never repent for the blasphemies that saw them banished. They prey upon the dying Imperium, bringing death from the darkness between the worlds. And terror is their most powerful weapon.

The warband of the Exalted, travelling aboard The Covenant of Blood, are recovering from the events at Crythe Primus. But their dark crusade against the loyal Imperial forces continues, and they will leave a trail of blood and terror behind them.

Running Time: 72 minutes

Performed By: John Banks & Beth Chalmers

Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

This is the second Black Library audiobook I’ve tried out. It’s a tie-in to Dembski-Bowden’s Night Lords series, which I haven’t yet read (but have heard nothing but good things – so, you really have to wonder why I haven’t read it yet… I’ll get on it). I’m never sure what to write when reviewing audiobooks – with a running time of only 72mins, it’s basically a short story on tape, so to go into too much detail would be to spoil the story.

The story centres on a Night Lords warband, which is searching for a mysterious hololith, presumably containing some secret information that is of considerable value to their Legion. From the opening sequence of a navigator’s efforts to massage a tense translation from the Warp into real space, to the final, almost sad scene, Throne of Lies clicks along at a fair pace.

There’s a lot more description going on here than there is dialogue or interaction between characters. The Night Lords crop up quite late in the story, all things considered, when they ambush a Callidus assassin during her mission to execute a local cult high priest. Talos, the leader of the warband, is seeking a specific Callidus temple, in which the hololith that has eluded him for so long supposedly resides. The quest is based on the Night Lords’ oldest grudge: it was an assassin from the Callidus temple that carried out the execution order place on their Primarch, Konrad Curze. (This is actually one of the more interesting events of the late Horus Heresy, so I wonder if the novels go into more detail… More reason to check them out.)

The audiobook is well-acted, if at times a little over-done. The writing and story come across very well, and one even feels sympathy for the Chaos Marines in that final scene. The description sometimes feels a bit too florid, but I think this is partly because of the medium and the tenor of the delivery – there are times when it feels too dramatic for what’s being described. The quality of the story has certainly piqued my interest in the Night Lords series (and Dembski-Bowden’s other writing), and I’ll endeavour to get the first instalment – Soul Hunter – read and reviewed before the second book (Blood Reaver) is released in May 2011.

I think it’d be fair to say that I don’t find audiobooks as satisfying as novels or short-stories. There’s just something far more pleasurable in reading a story than having it read to you. For me, this has everything to do with the ‘voice’ of the story – narrative, in my head, is usually pretty monotone, whereas the actors on audiobooks sometimes seem a little too eager to turn it into some oratorical event. There are just some things that will never stir peoples’ emotions, though… If there’s just one thing you don’t like about the performance, it can make the whole experience less pleasurable (the voice of the navigator’s attendants, for example, were a problem for me, as were the slight changes in accent that differentiated certain characters).

Overall, I would say that Throne of Lies contains a great short story based on the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines, one that manages to generate a surprising sympathy for such dark and brutal characters. It is certainly Dembski-Bowden’s story that carries this audiobook. If you haven’t read the author’s Night Lords series, then this will certainly make you want to read them.

If I could request one thing, however, it would be for this story to be printed in an anthology or omnibus edition of the series at a later date.