‘Blood Harvest’ – Richard Swan (Black Library)


Page Count: 33 Pages

I’ve really been enjoying the Tyranid short stories that have come out of Black Library recently (it’s almost like there’s a new edition of Warhammer 40K out or something…) and I thoroughly enjoyed Richard Swan’s ‘The Justice of Kings’ so when I saw that Swan had written a Tyranids tale… Well, that was an easy purchase and a quick read while I was waiting for a blood test on Friday (insert ‘Blood Harvest’ joke here). As always, short stories mean shorter posts than normal so without further ado…

As Hive Fleet Kraken approaches their home world of Raphaela, Mukta Lim and his fellow conscripts prepare for the worst. However, the arrival of a Tempestus Scion with an important piece of information for the sectors commander may just alter their fate. For the better? Who can say...

Another Tyranid short story that I couldn’t put down until it was done and there was nothing left to read. You can’t ask for any more than that and Swan delivers in fine style; if he ever writes anything longer in the 40K universe, I’d definitely give it a read.

The key to writing good Tyranid fiction seems to be to not stint on the chitin and teeth but more importantly, make sure that you have well drawn characters to hang the plot off. Tyranids are awesome and all but 33 pages of them just eating would be slightly nauseating but just a little dull at the same time. Swan knew this already and packs a lot of character development into a short space. We’ve got full on ‘bug action’, everyone who has written one of these books is clearly an ‘Aliens’ fan and it shows here, in all the best ways. We also have Mukta Lim though, on a journey that won’t make him a hero but will help him die on his feet if nothing else. And while I don’t want to give too much away, it’s also really heartening to see another character take a journey that will remind them who they are really fighting for and where best to take a stand. In this grimdark universe of the most bloody human regime imaginable, it’s a real refreshing change to see a writer who roots for the little guy.

Vicious, bloody but somehow uplifting at the same time… I’m really glad I gave ‘Blood Harvest’ a shot. And it’s reminded me that I really need to get round to reading ‘The Tyranny of Faith’ as well...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘The Long and Hungry Road’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Black Library)

Image
After not finishing ‘Witchbringer’ (not the book’s fault, I still think it could be worth your time), I thought I’d change pace a little and go for a short, sharp burst of something instead. Something that would blow a few cobwebs away and wake me up a bit :o) Now in my experience, there’s nothing shorter and sharper than a Warhammer short story so that was the direction of my reading taken care of. And as far as the focus went… I’ve read a few Warhammer tales, in my time, but I’ve never read a tale that looks at the events of the 41st Millennium through the eyes of the rapacious Tyranids. So when I saw ‘The Long and Hungry Road’ on Amazon, it pretty much chose itself. To face a Tyranid invasion is a waking nightmare. The skies darken with spores, your mind echoes with alien screeches, and countless weapon-organisms descend upon you with razor teeth and claws. How much greater would your horror be, to realise that the hive ship above thinks nothing of your fate – that it crushes you
Read more

'Mad God' (2021)

Image
It's that time again where Youtube throws me a 'Shudder' advert and I think to myself, 'I'm paying five quid a month for this, I really should watch something, lets give it a go...'   This time round, 'It' was the film 'Mad God' and the trailer was this mad batshit crazy shot of stop-motion horror that was over before I'd had a chance to get my head round it; leaving me pretty unsettled but with no clear idea just why that was... That's all I need sometimes, I was in... It's almost an hour later and, damn, that was grim, bleak and... What the hell just happened? A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city and the Assassin emerges from it to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens. That is about all I can tell you about 'Mad God' and that's only because I had a quick look on IMDB and that was all IMDB could tell me... 'Mad God' is any number of things but it's not
Read more

‘Worms of the Earth’ – Robert E. Howard.

Image
Page Count: 27 Pages I have a copy of this on my shelf and the plan was to pick it up for a read on the way into work this morning. Well, that was the plan but I was half asleep, leaving the house, and totally forgot… No matter though, that’s what the Kindle app is for (although if I’d been a little more awake, I’d have read it off Project Gutenberg instead, you can find ‘Worms of the Earth’ Here ). 99p later and my ‘commute reading’ was secured 😉 I always seem to fall into the trap of just reading ‘Conan’ stuff whenever I fancy reading a little Howard. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just that there’s a lot of his other stories out there that are more than worth your time when you come across them. ‘Worms of the Earth’ is very much one of those tales but you knew that already, didn’t you? You didn’t? You should do something about that, take it from me… After witnessing one of his subjects die at the hands of Roman governor Titus Sulla, Bran Mak Morn vows vengeance on Sulla but at w
Read more