‘The Convocation’ – Tammy Nicholls (Black Library)


Yesterday was one of those days and it looks like today is shaping up for more of the same 😊 Oh well, only a few hours to go until it’s the weekend… It’s pretty clear then there hasn’t been a lot of time for reading (especially when I’m still trying to get through Duncan McGeary’s ‘Snowcastles’, that’s a story for another day though) so, in the short space of time between getting the bus home from work and falling asleep on that bus, I thought I’d give ‘The Convocation’ a go. The promise of a bulk freighter brimming over with Genestealers was all it took. Quick thoughts on a quick read…

When an Imperial Navy team uncovers a Genestealer infestation upon a bulk freighter, they must move quickly to cleanse the alien taint. As the struggle escalates, it soon becomes clear that the ship is completely compromised – a motherlode of xenos corruption, eager to spread to new worlds. With time running short, they'll need desperate measures to contain the nightmare aboard.

The whole point of WH40K fiction is to sell the games (at least, that’s what it feels like, doesn’t stop me reading the books though) so you have to expect that to come through a little bit. Having said that, ‘The Convocation’ does feel like a bit of a ‘Kill Team’ advert in the early stages. And you know what? That’s ok. When you’ve got a story that’s only 32 pages long, which has to deliver it’s plot quickly, it’s going to come across like a game that’s meant to be played out fairly quickly. It may also be that I’ve never read a ‘Navy Breacher’ 40K tale until now. Either way, it’s not a dealbreaker as things ramp up very quickly into a flurry of Genestealers, cultists and betrayal, all of which is delivered perfectly. That’s what I came for and that’s exactly what I got, made all the more intense by Nicholl’s great use of all those cramped spaces which may have nothing at all in them… Or may be full of claws and teeth.

I did fall asleep on the bus but not until I’d finished ‘The Convocation’, which I think would make a great animation on Warhammer+ and was just a fun read overall. It feels like it’s impossible to pick a bad Black Library short story, these days, but I think ‘The Convocation’ was particularly good.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Deathworlder’ – Victoria Hayward (Black Library)

Image
Before I get into the review proper, thank you Black Library for sending me a copy of ‘Deathworlder’ in return for a fair and honest review. Talking of ‘fair and honest’… There will be loads of the latter but I enjoyed the hell out of ‘Deathworlder’ so… We’ll see how being fair goes ;o) That’s your only warning, lets talk ‘Deathworlder’… Lazulai is a world beyond the brink, its battle against the tyranids all but lost. Once-magnificent cities lie in ruin. The seas boil. The skies crack. Horrific alien bioforms devour. In mere days the planet will be consumed. The 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’ defend one of the last fortresses still standing. Led by Major Wulf Khan, to die fighting is all that is expected of them… until she is given one last mission: to lead a squad through the apocalypse and recover a piece of archeotech that may doom or deliver the entire Lazulai System. Facing insurmountable odds and zero hope for aid, the major must hold her squad together as they pick their way ...
Read more

‘Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth’ (1992)

Image
Every time Halloween comes round, I promise myself that I’ll watch more horror films and read more horror fiction; we’re halfway through the month and you can see how that’s going so far… There’s still plenty of October left though so lets see how I do from now until the end of the month ;o) First up is ‘Hellraiser 3’ which I watched last night, mostly because I love it (you can tell how this post is going to go, sorry…) but also because it was cheap on Prime and I’m still just on the wrong side of payday. Here goes… TV reporter Joey Summerskill’s life is changed forever when she witnesses the horrific death of a teenager, torn apart by bloody chains. Joey’s search for a story leads her to the Lament Configuration Box but it has already been opened, waking an old evil from its slumber… Now Pinhead walks the earth once more, creating a new army of Cenobites from the transmuted flesh of his victims; his one desire to reclaim the Box. Even with help from an unexpected source, Joey Summers...
Read more

‘Cursed City’ – C.L. Werner (Black Library)

Image
I always have these vague ‘reading resolutions’, for the New Year and without fail, they all come to absolutely nothing. I still read loads, just none of the books that I meant to… This year is panning out slightly differently and I think I’m going to enjoy it. All the books that were originally ‘out of sight, out of mind’, in the loft at my old place, are now all over my new place and wherever I look, I’m constantly discovering books that I totally forgot I had but now quite fancy reading. Books like ‘Cursed City’ for example… I’m not going to tell you how long ‘Cursed City’ was sat in my loft, lets just say it was long enough for me to totally forget it was there and buy myself another copy… Oh well. I found it on the shelf the other day (only the one copy now) and figured it was way overdue a read, let me tell you about it… Ulfenkarn is a city of nightmares. Its vampiric rulers have indulged their bloodlust in every shadow-clad alley, turning the once-proud metropolis into a charnel...
Read more