‘The Last Remembrancer’ and ‘Ghosts Speak Not & Patience’ (Black Library)
At this point, I have absolutely given up trying to read the ‘Horus Heresy’ series in any kind of order at all. It was never going to happen, time for me to stop fooling myself ;o) From now on, I shall be adopting the ‘ooh, that looks cool’ approach so be prepared to hop from random points in the Siege of Terra, straight back to the early days of the war and from there… Who knows? I don’t ;o)
Last night, I was pretty much done in after a long day so treated myself to a couple of short stories (well, three actually, one is a ‘two in one’) and settled down in the comfy chair for a read. I couldn’t tell you exactly how early these stories are in the timeline (post-’Drop Site Massacre’ so, fairly early on) but what I can say is that they are worth a look if you haven’t seen them already. Let me tell you about them.
‘The Last Remembrancer’ – John French
Page Count: 25 Pages
In a secret fortress on the dark side of Titan, Rogal Dorn and Iacton Qruze meet with a prisoner. That prisoner has a tale to tell, of heroes and monsters, of honour and treachery, of life and death. He has stood at the side of the Warmaster himself, and he has a message for the Imperial Fists primarch. But can he be trusted? And can he be allowed to live? Rogal Dorn must decide the fate of the last remembrancer.
I can’t remember the name of the collection, that I originally saw ‘The Last Remembrancer’ in, (and second hand ‘Horus Heresy’ books are monstrously expensive anyway) so I was glad to see this tale pop up as a single purchase :o) You’ve guessed it, ‘The Last Remembrancer’ was a re-read, albeit with a good few years in between reads.
What I love here is how French shows us that Horus really is the ‘Warmaster’, operating several levels above everyone else and pursuing his war on fronts that wouldn’t even occur to people. He is leading a vast army across the galaxy and still finds time to attack Rogal Dorn at a really personal level. This war will destroy the very concept of the Imperium but it won’t be Horus who kills it… ‘The Last Remembrancer’ is a very thoughtful piece that offers real insight into Horus’ character, and Rogal Dorn’s as well.
‘Ghosts Speak Not & Patience’ – James Swallow
Page Count: 65 Pages
When Nathaniel Garro carried word of the Warmaster’s treachery to Terra, he also brought with him seventy loyal sons of the XIV Legion. Distrusted by their kinsmen, they languished in seclusion on Luna... until now. Amendera Kendel, once a Sister of Silence but more recently in service to the Sigillite, gives Helig Gallor of the Death Guard a new purpose, and a new duty – one that will ultimately see him reunited with his former battle captain on the field of war.
I always enjoy reading about Nathaniel Garro, so much so that I had completely forgotten that when Garro left Luna, he left a number of his battle brothers behind. These two stories only concentrate on a couple of these Marines but a couple is all you need, I’m sure the others got back to Terra eventually ;o)
‘Ghosts Speak Not’ really blind-sided me… I thought it was shaping up to be a bog standard detective story but it suddenly becomes perhaps the earliest example of an Inquisitorial Retinue in action and it was very cool to see that take shape. More importantly though, I loved how Swallow gets Amendera Kendel to fully understand her new responsibilities, and embrace them…
‘Patience’ was a little too short, to really get my teeth into but had a nice little payoff, right at the end, that I really appreciated.
Last night, I was pretty much done in after a long day so treated myself to a couple of short stories (well, three actually, one is a ‘two in one’) and settled down in the comfy chair for a read. I couldn’t tell you exactly how early these stories are in the timeline (post-’Drop Site Massacre’ so, fairly early on) but what I can say is that they are worth a look if you haven’t seen them already. Let me tell you about them.
Page Count: 25 Pages
In a secret fortress on the dark side of Titan, Rogal Dorn and Iacton Qruze meet with a prisoner. That prisoner has a tale to tell, of heroes and monsters, of honour and treachery, of life and death. He has stood at the side of the Warmaster himself, and he has a message for the Imperial Fists primarch. But can he be trusted? And can he be allowed to live? Rogal Dorn must decide the fate of the last remembrancer.
I can’t remember the name of the collection, that I originally saw ‘The Last Remembrancer’ in, (and second hand ‘Horus Heresy’ books are monstrously expensive anyway) so I was glad to see this tale pop up as a single purchase :o) You’ve guessed it, ‘The Last Remembrancer’ was a re-read, albeit with a good few years in between reads.
What I love here is how French shows us that Horus really is the ‘Warmaster’, operating several levels above everyone else and pursuing his war on fronts that wouldn’t even occur to people. He is leading a vast army across the galaxy and still finds time to attack Rogal Dorn at a really personal level. This war will destroy the very concept of the Imperium but it won’t be Horus who kills it… ‘The Last Remembrancer’ is a very thoughtful piece that offers real insight into Horus’ character, and Rogal Dorn’s as well.
‘Ghosts Speak Not & Patience’ – James Swallow
Page Count: 65 Pages
When Nathaniel Garro carried word of the Warmaster’s treachery to Terra, he also brought with him seventy loyal sons of the XIV Legion. Distrusted by their kinsmen, they languished in seclusion on Luna... until now. Amendera Kendel, once a Sister of Silence but more recently in service to the Sigillite, gives Helig Gallor of the Death Guard a new purpose, and a new duty – one that will ultimately see him reunited with his former battle captain on the field of war.
I always enjoy reading about Nathaniel Garro, so much so that I had completely forgotten that when Garro left Luna, he left a number of his battle brothers behind. These two stories only concentrate on a couple of these Marines but a couple is all you need, I’m sure the others got back to Terra eventually ;o)
‘Ghosts Speak Not’ really blind-sided me… I thought it was shaping up to be a bog standard detective story but it suddenly becomes perhaps the earliest example of an Inquisitorial Retinue in action and it was very cool to see that take shape. More importantly though, I loved how Swallow gets Amendera Kendel to fully understand her new responsibilities, and embrace them…
‘Patience’ was a little too short, to really get my teeth into but had a nice little payoff, right at the end, that I really appreciated.
Comments
Post a Comment