Soulfuel and Signal to Noise - Adepta Soroitas short stories

[Goonbandito]

So I read those two short stories Black Library recently put out, and here's what I though of them (spoilers for the stories).  If you want a non-spoilery TLDR, Soulfuel isn't that great but Signal to Noise is pretty good.

 

 

 

Soulfuel by Rob Sanders follows Palatine Adrianna Verletz of the Order of the Ebon Chalice, in her role as a witchseeker on an Adeptus Astra Telepathica Black Ship.  The first part of the story has she and her squad tracking down and capturing a rogue psyker, while the second part involves her defending the Black Ship as it comes under assault from a Red Corsair raiding party.  There's a few interesting tidbits on how the Black Ships operate - on this particular Black Ship at least, it seems Battle Sisters operate as the 'away teams' that hunt down rogue psykers that have escaped the tithe, while Stormtroopers are used for onboard security and there's mention of how Inquisitors regularly use the Black Ships as means of covert travel around the Imperium.  Other than that there's nothing really to say about this story other than that its fairly average to middling 'bolter porn'.  Almost every single Battle Sister in the story is killed during the boarding raid by the Red Corsairs (along with all the Stormtroopers), though Palatine Verletz does survive and defeats the Red Corsair Captain (Nassial Voightek, who is Huron's Third Captain).  The writing is fairly uninspired, the plot-line is poor with no twists or surprises and the characterisation of the various protagonists is almost non-existent.  Can't recommend this.

 

 

Signal to Noise by C Z Dunn is actually a reprint of a story that first appeared in the Black Library Weekender Volume II (2012).  It follows Sister Agentha, a Sister Dialogous of the Order of the Fractured Cipher as she serves aboard a Black Templar Strike Cruiser.  She had been assigned to the Black Templars to assist in translating Necron runes, but the Strike Cruiser is ambushed by Eldar Corsairs and they are forced to hide in nearby dust-belt while the cruiser is repaired.  Sister Agentha picks up an ancient Vox transmission that had been 'trapped' in the dust-belt, that she is able to translate from a very old (ie Great Crusade old) dialect of High Gothic by an Iterator from one of the Expeditionary Fleets.  This story was far more interesting than Soulfuel, being able to depict much better characterisation - Sister Agentha comes across as intelligent and competent, while the Black Templars she deals with feel distinct in their personalities (a fair and reasoned Castellan and an overbearing Chaplain).  There's also a nice little twist to the story:

the transmission turns out to be from an Expeditionary Fleet of the Luna Wolves, featuring none other than Horus himself. Much to the anger of the Chaplain, who had refused to believe that Sister Agentha had correctly deduced the origin of the transmission

While its a very short story, I'd recommend it as worth reading at least as a rare look at a Sister Dialogous.

[Mossback]

I agree with your assessment of the stories;Signal to Noise was an engaging read that I wish was longer. Soulfuel seemed much more amateurish in the writing and I didn't feel it was with the five dollars. There was nothing in the story that really made the order stand out, and the combat was uninspiring. I do hope more stories of the SoB will be forthcoming.

[Willy Pete]

Cult of the Warmason, Soulfuel, etc.  It would be nice to get some Sisters stories where they don't get mostly slaughtered in their own books.