‘The Moon Mines of Sciara Lone’ – Danie Ware (Black Library)


Another short, sharp dose of Warhammer fiction for you while I try to catch up with work after being on leave (and while I wait to get home and watch ‘Ms Marvel’, I wish I’d watched that last night, instead of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ but anyway…) I’m really enjoying my ‘Warhammer’ fiction, at the moment, but was aware that my 40K reading was starting to lag a little and my ‘Adeptus Sororitas’ reading was practically non-existent. Time to kill two birds with one stone then and read ‘The Moon Mines of Sciara Lone’…

When Sister Augusta and her squad crash land upon an Imperial mining planet, they soon realise not all is as it seems – and a dark enemy lurks deep within the tunnels.

Before I get to the story itself, it’s worth pointing out that a preview of Guy Haley’s ‘Avenging Son’ takes up just under half the space in this short eBook. That doesn’t affect the quality of ‘Moon Mines’ at all (more on that in a second) but you’re not getting the length of story that you think you’re getting. It’s worth bearing in mind, is all I’m saying.

From where I was sat, it was a real shame then that ‘The Moon Mines of Sciara Lone’ didn’t get those extra pages to breathe as that was ultimately the difference between a very good story and an excellent one. I’m guessing that you can’t negotiate too much around word count though so that’s no-one’s fault. What we get instead are short bursts of brooding atmosphere, mystery and action to round it all off. It kept me entertained but ‘The Moon Mines of Sciara Lone’ is far more than a story that goes in, does the job and gets out. There are also intriguing moments where we get to see Sister Augusta’s reactions to a part of the Imperium that she has never seen before, an underbelly that she never really knew existed and cannot quite reconcile with her teachings. It’s moments like this that will have me coming back for more.

I’m sat here wondering what ‘The Moon Mines of Sciara’ could have done, with those extra pages, but that shouldn’t take away from what it does with not a lot of room to manoeuvre. A nice burst of Warhammer action that gives our lead a fresh look at the galaxy she is fighting to protect

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