Short Story: “Crimson Dawn” by C.Z. Dunn (Black Library)

An interesting eNovella

In the entire galaxy there is nothing more cursed than a traitor.

Excommunicated, hated and hunted, the Crimson Slaughter turned from the Emperor’s Light and have since carved a bloody trail through the Imperium. But before they betrayed their oaths and turned to the worship of the Dark Gods, they were the Crimson Sabres, stalwart and loyal. This is the story of their fall, as Scout Captain Anzo Riegler, a lone voice of reason amidst Chaos, becomes an unwitting pawn in his Chapter’s demise.

I’m a fan of Dunn’s fiction. His short stories – particularly those focused on the Flesh Tearers chapter – have been great, visceral science fiction stories. Crimson Dawn is another good story, but it doesn’t have quite the punch of some of his previous work. Partly, this is due to the different type of story he’s trying to tell – the main character is a scout captain, so it’s unlikely that his tale will be one of out-and-out “bolter-porn”. Instead, this is a somewhat slower-paced story of the insidious nature of Chaos and the subtle corrupting force it can exert even on those who believe themselves to be pure of heart and mission. I think the story could have benefited from being a bit longer – this would have allowed for a slower reveal and a greater tension. It might also have allowed for more exploration of the Crimson Sabres, too. As an excommunicated chapter, and one that considers itself still loyal to the Golden Throne, it would have been nice to see a bit more exploration of what this meant. True, this is a novella, so there’s only so much soul-searching it can offer before it buries the story. There are hints at the end that this could be the first in a number of short stories detailing the Sabers’ fall. I would certainly welcome more.

There are some interesting elements to the story, but ultimately it didn’t impress as much as Dunn’s work has in the past. In much the same way as his Dark Vengeance novella didn’t really fire my imagination. This is better than that story, though, and I would still recommend it to fans of Warhammer 40,000. I just think he’s done better.

“Legion of the Damned” Digital Anthology (Black Library)

A collection of short stories all focused on that enigmatic Space Marines legion, the Legion of the Damned, from some of Black Library’s best up-and-comers and a couple of not-quite-old-hands. The Legion are a peculiar addition to the WH40k lore. I remember when they first made models for them (they were a custom job by one of their professional modellers, if I remember correctly). Since then, there’s no doubt that they’ve fleshed out the background and the story of who and what the Legion is. Sadly, I haven’t been keeping up-to-date with more than the fiction set in Games Workshop’s science fiction and fantasy systems for well over a decade. As a result, these six stories contained some interesting new detail. I still don’t have a full picture of how the Legion ‘works’, but by no means does this bother me. These authors have done a great job of writing tales that tap into the horror and menace of the Legion of the Damned, and their mysterious appearances on the battlefields of the 41st millennium. I’ll deal with each of the stories individually, below…

“Dark Vengeance” by C.Z. Dunn (Black Library)

An introduction to the new game

The Dark Angels are among the foremost Space Marines, the First Legion of old. Devastated millennia ago by a dreadful schism, the Dark Angels are constantly on the hunt for the mysterious Fallen, former brothers who have turned from the light of the immortal God-Emperor and embraced the dread powers of Chaos.

Newly ordained Company Master Balthasar of the Dark Angels leads his forces to the world of Bane’s Landing, the resting place of the ancient and powerful Hellfire Stone, in pursuit of the Chaos Space Marines of the Crimson Slaughter. Kranon the Relentless, the evil lord of the Crimson Slaughter, seeks to use the stone to summon forth his daemonic masters and usher in an age of darkness. As the Dark Angels race to stop him, the scene is set for a mighty conflict between the loyal Balthasar and the traitor Kranon.

After finishing this novella, which is intended as an introduction to the new boxed game recently released by Games Workshop, there was a real risk that the review would end up shorter than the synopsis. It’s enjoyable, but also flawed as a work of general science fiction, which may bother some readers.

“Malediction” by C.Z. Dunn (Black Library)

Narrated by: Sean Barret | Performed by: Rupert Degas & Saul Reichlin

On the world of Amadis, veteran Imperial Guard officer Regan Antigone is being honoured for his role in the planet’s liberation from the forces of Chaos, some twenty-five years earlier. But when his old comrade, Master Tigrane of the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter, arrives to join the festivities and asks to hear the glorious tale told once more, Antigone falters. With the details of his account cast under close scrutiny and with the judgement of the Imperium hanging over him, will his noble reputation remain intact?

In this story, we get a slightly different take on the Imperial never-ending war against the Archenemy. As the story begins, Antigone (performed with an Irish accent, which I rather liked), is suffering through a post-campaign ceremony – he is sickened by the propaganda spouted by the MCs, uncomfortable with the exaggeration of his feats of arms and heroism.

A Dark Angel Captain joins, and publicly toasts and salutes Antigone, and they fall into recollection and war stories. They’ve met before, the Dark Angel had saved Antigone’s life along with a couple of his other comrades. We’re transported back to the battlefront, as a squad of less-than-zealous Guardsmen try to survive in the mud and grinding horror of the battlefront.

But, is Antigone telling the truth? And who is the mysterious, hooded Astartes warrior (acted just a tad melodramatically), who initially comes to their aid? The Dark Angels officer at the dinner grills the hero, attempting to get to the truth. But what are the consequences for keeping or breaking a battlefield oath, and the secret he’s harboured since that fateful day?

Overall, this is a very good audio-drama. I loved the lack of melodrama, the calm and steady narrative and performances. Malediction also benefits from multiple actors working on it, bringing some nice variation of voices and accents. I particularly liked the original type of story that Dunn’s written (I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s not at all what I was expecting, while totally in keeping with the Warhammer 40,000 setting and Imperial mores, customs and penal code).  The story, especially the tragic end, the overall atmosphere and mood, are excellent.

Easily among the best of Black Library’s short audio-dramas.

Black Library’s First ‘Game Book’: HIVE OF THE DEAD

Hive of the Dead is the first Warhammer 40,000 game-book. I thought this might have been like the old Fighting Fantasy games, which is does share some elements with, but it looks like it’s a little more than that as well:

“Using rules reminiscent of those in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game, albeit without models and terrain, with just this book, a six sided dice and a pencil, you can battle the zombie hordes from the comfort of your armchair.”