Meanwhile, in the grimdark universe of the far future…
There is only war, of course there is. That’s what you get for starting a sentence like that… ;o) And to be honest, that was just what I needed yesterday. Roadworks outside my flat, until about half three in the morning, is one of the worse ways to start the day; feeling all nauseous from my chemo medication was a pretty shitty way to round the day off. Fingers crossed for a better day today!
‘The Tithe’ – Ben Counter (Black Library)
Brother Scoiven of the Imperial Fists brings death to the foe in his primarch’s name. But when the enemy are tainted by the warp – like the treacherous Iron Warriors – nothing is simple. As Scoiven’s life takes him from battle-brother to revered Ancient interred in a mighty Dreadnought, an event from his past returns to haunt his present…
Page Count: 8 Pages
I told you these stories would be short ;o) ‘Middle Aged Me’ is questioning the value for money (sorry, couldn’t help myself) but ‘Slightly More Rational Me’ accepted the story for what it was and had a lot of fun with it while it lasted.
‘The Tithe’ is a sharp little exercise in how a tightly structured tale can add a sense of claustrophobia that kicks in at just the right time, leaving the reader feeling just as trapped as Brother Scoiven does. Although having said that, I couldn’t help but feel like Brother Scoiven only had himself to blame, turns out that even Space Marines can make daft choices…
‘Final Duty’ – David Guymer (Black Library)
Imperial Guard Lieutenant Caleb lies near death, entangled on razorwire, until he is rescued by a warrior from legend, a mighty Space Marine of the Hospitallers Chapter. Taken for treatment, he soon discovers that his rescuer may be more dangerous than the foes he originally faced…
Page Count: 9 Pages
One of those tales where you can’t help but feel sorry for any Imperial Guardsman who finds themselves fighting in the vicinity of a Space Marine; even when (especially when?) said Astartes is a Loyalist. ‘Final Duty’ really emphasizes the difference between two factions fighting on the same side and while you can see the ending coming, the impact can still be felt when it counts. Everyone has their duty but when your humanity has effectively been removed, some duties are far too easy to uphold…
‘Iron Corpses’ – David Annandale (Black Library)
The ravaged world of Tallarn plays host to the greatest armoured conflict in the history of mankind. The bitter and vengeful Iron Warriors led entire divisions of tanks and war machines across the befouled plains, until the macro-transporter Eagle's Talon plunged to the surface and ended a million lives in a heartbeat. Stranded upon some unnamed, toxic battlefield that now resembles nothing more than a graveyard of Titans, Warsmith Koparnos knows that he has precious little time left - will he find salvation amidst the dead god-machines, or quickly succumb to violent madness?
Page Count: 19 Pages
A slightly longer tale, to round things off, and set during the Horus Heresy. I’ve never read much of the war on Tallarn (aside from a few references here and there) and typically for me, came in right after all the cool stuff had happened. I know…
Luckily, there was still time for events to play out that maybe aren’t as pivotal but are still worth hanging around for. Annandale invites us to sit in on one of these as Warsmith Koparnos fights through the aftermath of the ‘Eagle’s Talon’ hitting the surface of Tallarn. Again, there are no big surprises here but it’s fun to see how the Warsmith’s strength keeps him on his feet while his ingenuity makes for a spectacular finale. I suspect Warsmith Koparnos is a ‘one off’ character but if he was to pop up again, I wouldn’t mind seeing what he gets up to next (even if it’s just to see if and how he makes it off Tallarn...)
Anyway… I fancied some reading that would wake me up a little and a spot of Warhammer 40K is always good for that. I wasn’t in the place to take on a full length novel though so one browse through Amazon later, I had three short stories all lined up on the Kindle app, ready to go.
Just some quick thoughts today, mainly because these are all particularly short stories (not that I’m moaning this time round, ‘quick reads’ were the order of the day). Lets take a look, shall we…?
Just some quick thoughts today, mainly because these are all particularly short stories (not that I’m moaning this time round, ‘quick reads’ were the order of the day). Lets take a look, shall we…?
‘The Tithe’ – Ben Counter (Black Library)
Brother Scoiven of the Imperial Fists brings death to the foe in his primarch’s name. But when the enemy are tainted by the warp – like the treacherous Iron Warriors – nothing is simple. As Scoiven’s life takes him from battle-brother to revered Ancient interred in a mighty Dreadnought, an event from his past returns to haunt his present…
Page Count: 8 Pages
I told you these stories would be short ;o) ‘Middle Aged Me’ is questioning the value for money (sorry, couldn’t help myself) but ‘Slightly More Rational Me’ accepted the story for what it was and had a lot of fun with it while it lasted.
‘The Tithe’ is a sharp little exercise in how a tightly structured tale can add a sense of claustrophobia that kicks in at just the right time, leaving the reader feeling just as trapped as Brother Scoiven does. Although having said that, I couldn’t help but feel like Brother Scoiven only had himself to blame, turns out that even Space Marines can make daft choices…
‘Final Duty’ – David Guymer (Black Library)
Imperial Guard Lieutenant Caleb lies near death, entangled on razorwire, until he is rescued by a warrior from legend, a mighty Space Marine of the Hospitallers Chapter. Taken for treatment, he soon discovers that his rescuer may be more dangerous than the foes he originally faced…
Page Count: 9 Pages
One of those tales where you can’t help but feel sorry for any Imperial Guardsman who finds themselves fighting in the vicinity of a Space Marine; even when (especially when?) said Astartes is a Loyalist. ‘Final Duty’ really emphasizes the difference between two factions fighting on the same side and while you can see the ending coming, the impact can still be felt when it counts. Everyone has their duty but when your humanity has effectively been removed, some duties are far too easy to uphold…
‘Iron Corpses’ – David Annandale (Black Library)
The ravaged world of Tallarn plays host to the greatest armoured conflict in the history of mankind. The bitter and vengeful Iron Warriors led entire divisions of tanks and war machines across the befouled plains, until the macro-transporter Eagle's Talon plunged to the surface and ended a million lives in a heartbeat. Stranded upon some unnamed, toxic battlefield that now resembles nothing more than a graveyard of Titans, Warsmith Koparnos knows that he has precious little time left - will he find salvation amidst the dead god-machines, or quickly succumb to violent madness?
Page Count: 19 Pages
A slightly longer tale, to round things off, and set during the Horus Heresy. I’ve never read much of the war on Tallarn (aside from a few references here and there) and typically for me, came in right after all the cool stuff had happened. I know…
Luckily, there was still time for events to play out that maybe aren’t as pivotal but are still worth hanging around for. Annandale invites us to sit in on one of these as Warsmith Koparnos fights through the aftermath of the ‘Eagle’s Talon’ hitting the surface of Tallarn. Again, there are no big surprises here but it’s fun to see how the Warsmith’s strength keeps him on his feet while his ingenuity makes for a spectacular finale. I suspect Warsmith Koparnos is a ‘one off’ character but if he was to pop up again, I wouldn’t mind seeing what he gets up to next (even if it’s just to see if and how he makes it off Tallarn...)
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