‘Massacre’ (Aaron Dembski-Bowden) & ‘The Child Foretold’ (Nicholas Kaufmann) – Another Couple of Black Library Short Stories.

I actually managed to finish Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Illustrated Man’ last night (look at me, finishing books that I’ve bought) but there was a lot to wrap my head around there, and there was no way I was going to get all that in a post last night, so… I thought I’d clear my head a little with a couple of Black Library short stories that I found on my Kindle. One exercise in filling in the gaps in the ‘Horus Heresy’ and a ‘Warhammer Horror’ tale that, erm… wasn’t, not from where I was sat anyway. That sounds a little more harsh than was meant. These weren’t particularly bad tales, they just don’t rank highly amongst those that I’ve enjoyed. Still, not a bad way to round off an evening. Here goes…

‘Massacre’ (Aaron Dembski-Bowden)

Shunned by the rest of the Legions after the destruction of their home world, the Night Lords have fought without their disgraced primarch Konrad Curze for many years. But now the self-proclaimed ‘Night Haunter’ has returned and will lead them to the backwater world of Isstvan V, where a great treachery is unfolding, and the grim legionaries of First Claw will soon be forced to embrace their dark destiny.

There is a lot to love here, my favourite bits lay in the moments of the Night Lords’ utter disregard for their human ‘allies’, accidentally dragging ships into the warp and gunning down those that are left. If you’ve never read a ‘Night Lords’ tale, ‘Massacre’ will leave you in no doubt as to what this Legion is all about, the hypocrisy of a Legion of criminals dispensing justice on the galaxy.

The rest of the story though… I’m not so sure.

I’m not so keen on Black Library’s determination to wring every last drop of profitability out of the ‘Horus Heresy’ setting by filling in gaps that really, could have been left alone. I’m more than happy to see Talos, and First Claw, again and watch them go up against the Iron Hands. There just didn’t seem to be much point to it though, other than to place the Night Lords at Isstvan V and… we already knew they were there.

‘The Child Foretold’ (Nicholas Kaufmann)

On the agri world of Ballard's Run, an invasive alien weed is killing the crops and blighting the farmers who have dedicated their lives to working the land. Kavel is one such labourer. A former member of the planet's militia, he lost his family fighting the orks a decade ago. Now the so-called 'warrior weed' threatens to take all that he has left. But fate has other plans for him… A chance encounter with a wounded woman sets him on a collision course with a group that plans to bring destruction to Ballard's Run – and nothing will stand in their way.

There’s a line between a horror tale having a sense of grim inevitability and just being signposted far too early and… ‘The Child Foretold’ gave its game away far too early and far too obviously for my liking. I did like the ending though which has an interesting commentary on where the true horror lies in this setting. I don’t want to give the game away… ‘The Child Foretold’ isn’t a bad read but there are more effective tales featuring this particular faction.

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