Rate what you Read, or the fight against Necromancy

[DarkChaplain]

Yeah, but cross-author, with specific characters. McNeill has forgotten where he left the Sysypheum crew the last time he wrote them (iirc), and he's been the exclusive author as far as I remember. There's not been any meddling with what he set up for them, unlike the various character relays across the series.

 

You'd THINK he had talked those plans for the characters and their relevance to the ONE Primarch he'd taken main "ownership" of (to the point where he wasn't even properly touched for years while he had a novel about him stalled during his departure from BL to work at Riot Games full-time, and when he finally wrote the thing he didn't account for the John French Ahriman trilogy...) over with the editors, or left some sticky notes, or had some drafts on his PC, considering he made the ONLY REASON THESE CHARACTERS SURVIVED a specific plan for them by another Primarch than the one who would've otherwise killed them.

 

Like, this is the stuff you go into having an idea already for their future use. It's not something you'd just establish and think to yourself "I wonder what I'm gonna do with them when this comes back around". Even just thinking about it, you'd probably come up with multiple scenarios during the brainstorming stage already, let alone the writing, rewriting, editing and getting it signed off by your editor. This would inevitably come up during their discussions, considering its the climax of The Seventh Serpent.

 

That being said, I'm still upset that the Sysypheum crew was used as a crutch to enable future Primaris, when WE HAD A PERFECTLY VIABLE WAY TO GET TO PRIMARIS ALREADY in another forgotten plotline from book 18, which never satisfactorily got picked up again or made a real impact.

[Sothalor]

Fabius Bile: The Omnibus – Josh Reynolds

 

As a latecomer to the series, this makes me sad we’ve lost Josh Reynolds as a BL author. This trilogy manages to make Fabius Bile, a one-dimensional mad scientist figure, into a nuanced, complex, and compelling character. Combine that with a great cast of supporting characters, solid prose that delivers some evocative, esoteric worldbuilding, and you’ve got one of the best character explorations of a 40k named character.

 

Highly recommend.

[Nagashsnee]

Bile trilogy is one of the greats.

[neOh (AV)]

Fear The Alien: Xenos is No Friend to Man

 

Gardens of Tycho – Dan Abnett

Sequel to Curiosity and the story of magos Drusher, leading up to The Magos. In a post-war city, something is brutally killing people, and Dan Abnett tells the story of the hunt for this "something" in his signature Eisenhorn-style detective narrative. Of course, compared to Crime or even Abnett’s later works, the investigation here – especially its conclusion – seems somewhat simplistic. But is that really a downside? Of course not!

 

Fear Itself – Juliet E. McKenna

Under the relentless Tyranid assault, a field surgeon struggles day by day to save his comrades – not just their bodies but their minds as well. As a depiction of the horror Tyranids bring, it's quite effective.

 

Mistress Baeda's Gift – Braden Campbell

An aging Dark Eldar Archon suddenly… Falls in love! With a mysterious lady, a widow who has just arrived in the Dark City and whose hand he's determined to win. Feeling young again, he embarks on the difficult romantic quest of finding the perfect gift for the lady of his heart (even consulting mon-keigh for advice). His attempts to understand his emotions and win his beloved’s favor were both amusing and managed to achieve something rare truly showcasing the alien nature of the xenos and how fundamentally different they are from humans.

 

Iron Inferno – C. L. Werner

Never underestimate xenos – especially if they’re Orks. A Japanese-inspired general tries to play 4D chess with them, but Ork kommandoz are hardly the kind to be so easily outwitted. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

 

Sanctified – Mark Clapham

Home Alone, but instead of a house, it’s a damaged voidship, instead of Kevin, it’s a regular engineseer, and instead of burglars, it’s Corsairs. Since the story is told from the tech-priest’s perspective, it offers interesting insights into his perception of xenos in general and Dark Eldar in particular.

 

Faces – Matthew Farrer

One of the rare stories about Harlequins and another brilliant work by Farrer, whose uniquely crafted narratives remain impressive even today. A few mortals accidentally touch something they shouldn’t, and their fates intertwine with the Rillietann in a mad phantasmagoria that must be stopped – lest even the Masque itself be put at risk.

 

Unity – James Gilmer

A mortal soldier and a Raven Guard marine, furious over defeat, retreat after losing a battle against the T’au, planning to strike back again. But the Fire Warriors are not the only warriors of the Empire – auxiliaries and traitors who have joined its ranks are sometimes even more ruthless foes. While the son of Corax here feels more like a raging psychopath, I enjoyed Gilmer’s depiction of Kroot tactics and Gue’vesa betrayal – though, of course, not as detailed as in Nguyen’s or Fehervari’s works.

 

Prometheus Requiem – Nick Kyme

Part of the Tome of Fire series. If you've read anything from this cycle, you already know what to expect – Salamanders boarding Space Hulk and, in oldy fashion, fighting against Genestealers, visions, and, surprise, Night Lords, who by accident are assaulting Hulk at the same time. All of this is, of course, spiced up with "brother!" shouts and fire. In short, a typical Salamanders story by Nick Kyme, really.

 

The Core – Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Sequel to The Blood Reaver, retelling the previous story’s events from the perspective of Talos and his mates – the ones responsible for all the mayhem. However, seeing the boarding action through their eyes turns out to be much more entertaining than the ever-serious Salamanders. Especially since Lucoryphus is here, and that guy can make an enjoyable read even from a battle with Genestealers hordes.

 

Ambition Knows No Bounds – Andy Hoare

Part of the Rogue Trader series. Daughter of the Gerit family enters a Necron tomb to loot its treasures, but things go wrong in the most predictable way possible. A typical filler story that you forget the moment you start the next one.

Edited March 22 by neOh (AV)

[Rain]

On 3/19/2025 at 7:25 PM, Sothalor said:

Fabius Bile: The Omnibus – Josh Reynolds

 

As a latecomer to the series, this makes me sad we’ve lost Josh Reynolds as a BL author. This trilogy manages to make Fabius Bile, a one-dimensional mad scientist figure, into a nuanced, complex, and compelling character. Combine that with a great cast of supporting characters, solid prose that delivers some evocative, esoteric worldbuilding, and you’ve got one of the best character explorations of a 40k named character.

 

Highly recommend.

The Bile Trilogy is my favorite collective work of BL fiction. The fact that Josh Reynolds pitched a Skalathrax book that got shot down, and will never happen is really sad for me, as a fan of both WE and EC.

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

Oaths of Damnation (Robbie MacNiven) - Rating: PASS

 

Enjoyed this one, although it took a while for me to get through due to outside factors.

 

The novel-length format doesn't always work for BL - some stories would have made good novellas but get stretched into dull novels. Others wind up feeling rushed at the end to the point that you feel an editorial edict was made late in the game to compress a two- or three-book series into a single novel.

 

Not the case here. We didn't really have any false starts or false finishes.

 

At its core, you could certainly summarize this story into a sentence or two, but the journey from setup to resolution was still worthwhile simply for the very different nature of the Exorcists compared to other chapters and MacNiven's characterization of the cast. The impact of the Orison sub-cults on what is already a very unique chapter was a mechanic I found interesting and potentially something that MacNiven could do a further story based on.

 

Because otherwise, there's not much call for a sequel to this particular story. Again, not that the characters or events weren't compelling, but simply that things were wrapped up effectively enough that the next story would best be a journey down another path.

 

Early candidate for "Bolter Corn of the Year."

[neOh (AV)]

Bringers of Death: Classic and Deadly

 

Even Unto Death – Mike Lee

Mike's very first 40k story is a fast-paced tale about Space Wolves Scouts whose stealth mission to eliminate Orks goes horribly wrong – meaning it’s time for vengeance! A bolter-action story fitting for its era, where nearly all the Wolves come across as incompetent and crazy, but with some interesting details—like one Scout who keeps chewing poisonous Fenrisian berries, seemingly pulling them from nowhere.

 

Red Reward – Mitchel Scanlon

Spin-off to Fifteen Hours. In the ruins of Brusharok, city shattered by a decade-long war, a Guardsman sergeant faces judgment and tells his story – about a man who seemed mad, about heroism long abandoned by the battlefield, only to return in an unexpected form. This short is almost Fifteen Hours in miniature: though told from the perspective of a more experienced guardsman, it remains just as merciless, somber, and tinged with a faint glimmer of hope.

 

Menshad Korum – C.S. Goto

An early take on Eldar lore by the infamous Goto. The story revolves around the concept of Menshad Korum, an empty-hearted Exarch who walks multiple Aspects. Here, the Exarch in question is from Saim-Hann, but there’s a problem – he's dead, smoked by his own kin, and his spirit stone stolen. Over the course of the story, buried under endless, tedious descriptions, we slowly uncover why he had to die and what Chaos-aligned (yes, really!) Lelith Hesperax has to do with it. The concept is somewhat intriguing, but the execution is exactly what you’d expect from the author. Nothing more to add.

 

Xenocide – Simon Jowett

More of a novella than a short story. The pastoral life of Brael, a simple farmer and family man, along with the feudal world he calls home – long cut off from the Imperium’s light – comes to an end when an Ork invasion begins. Alongside other untrained farmers, armed with primitive weapons and led by incompetent commanders, Brael, driven by sheer determination, fights through the entire war, all the way to the final battle for the last remaining city. Astartes, despite expectations, never show up until the very end – an undeniable plus. This is a story of ordinary people, bloodthirsty Orks, and an equally ruthless Imperium, to which the ends always justify the means. I’m almost certain Simon took inspiration from Helm’s Deep, as a significant portion of the novella feels like a grimdark version of that battle – and after the previous story, this is a breath of fresh air.

 

Sector 13 – Sandy Mitchell

Ciaphas Cain story. Back when he was still serving with the 12th artillery, Cain, in an attempt to dodge a potentially dangerous mission under the guise of “Commissarial duties,” accidentally (as always) exposes gene cultists and saves the day.

[Nagashsnee]

On 3/22/2025 at 8:59 PM, neOh (AV) said:

Fear The Alien: Xenos is No Friend to Man

Mistress Baeda's Gift – Braden Campbell

An aging Dark Eldar Archon suddenly… Falls in love! With a mysterious lady, a widow who has just arrived in the Dark City and whose hand he's determined to win. Feeling young again, he embarks on the difficult romantic quest of finding the perfect gift for the lady of his heart (even consulting mon-keigh for advice). His attempts to understand his emotions and win his beloved’s favor were both amusing and managed to achieve something rare truly showcasing the alien nature of the xenos and how fundamentally different they are from humans.

 

This story for me is one of those forgotten BL gems. It explores the faction, adds  some depth, but is also a fun read that can be enjoyed by anyone. It does the dark eldar as i most enjoy them dark dark comedy. Evil and horrendous, but also deeply funny.  While newer lore changes shake it foundations it remains one of the better dark eldar works BL has ever put out.  I always hoped for a full scale book from the author on Dark Eldar but it never came about.

Edited yesterday at 09:25 AM by Nagashsnee