Blood And Iron

Blood and Iron by Robbie MacNiven. A Warhammer 40,000 short story, Day 15 of the Advent Calendar 2015, originally published by The Black Library, December 2015. Approx.. 12 pages.

On the heretekal forge world of Dementius, warpsmith Ferrix of the traitorous Iron Warriors plans an awakening; one that will tether one of Khorne's most ferocious beasts to one of the grandest machines of war ever created; an Imperial Titan twisted to the whim of the Dark Lords.

That is the succinct overview of Blood and Iron, Robbie MacNiven's second foray into the Black Library 2015 Advent Calendar. It's no secret that I enjoyed MacNiven's A Song for the Lost tremendously, so much so that I fast-tracked this second story to the top of the reading pile. And I am glad that I did. Where A Song for the Lost was a more character-driven story, focusing on the insane Noise Marine Ulix, Blood and Iron shows his versatility in evocative world building.

This isn't to say that the characters in Blood and Iron aren't fully-rounded. Our protagonist, Ferrix, plays his cards very close to his chest until the very end, telling us much by telling us very little. A former Techmarine before his ascension to warpsmith, he possesses a limited emotional palette. MacNiven craftily shows us which outcomes elicit a positive response through subtle emotional cues.

With the secondary characters, MacNiven has fun painting them in the colors of the Gods they have given themselves over to, including an Iron Warrior gone over the deep end to Khorne, and a disgusting, oozing, overly-fawning magos in the thrall of Nurgle.

As mentioned before, a great deal of attention is tendered to the setting. We are given a richly rendered portrayal of this corrupted forge world, allowing the reader a seamless immersion into the tale being told. In fact, as much of the action occurs around a grand arena which serves as a testing ground. This reminded me of the Robeast proving arena on Planet Doom in the original Voltron:

It's saying a lot that I can draw definite parallels between one of my favorite childhood shows (and therefore memories), and a recent WH40K short story.

Perhaps what MacNiven does best in Blood and Iron is properly convey scale. This is integral, given that at the heart of the story is the awakening of a Chaos Titan. Here we get an excellent portrayal of this event; a massive, monstrous release predicated upon a thrilling duel of wills between the warpsmith and a bestial hound of Khorne. Sometimes Chaos and its unrelenting "rivers of blood" motif honestly bores me but here the excess is not in excess.

So once again, we have a wonderful, fun short story from Robbie MacGiven full of vivid imagery and descriptions. While I give a slight edge to Song for the Lost for the twisted beauty of its ending, Blood and Iron is a great build-up to an ending of epic scale, literally. Highly recommended.

Final Score:

9/10

Cover Score:

Same as A Song for the Lost.

Cover Final Score:

2/10

A Song For The Lost

A Song for the Lost by Robbie MacNiven. A Warhammer 40,000 short story, Day 13 of the Advent Calendar 2015, originally published by The Black Library, December 2015. Approx. 13 pages.

To be perfectly honest, my interest was none too piqued by the theme of Chaos that drove last month's Advent Calendar offerings over at The Black Library. One story, however, did stand out, and that is A Song for the Lost by Black Library newcomer Robbie MacNiven. MacNiven recently contributed the story Redblade to the Deathwatch series (his first tale with BL), and I just want to congratulate him on having his first 40K story published.

Now, if you read the description on the BL site, the description of this story is painfully brief and secretive, observing that telling too much will "give it away completely". I'm not a big spoiler guy, but I will say that has to do more with unit types than with a big, shocking twist. Also, MacNiven himself mentioned "the secret" on Twitter, so there's that. But! I will preface this review with a handy-dandy SPOILER ALERT! I won't be divulging plot twists, but I will talk about that other stuff. So, if you want to be pleasantly surprised, scroll down to the end of the post, and see the final score.

Still there?

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It's Noise Marines!!!

Well, to be honest, you should have been able to deduce that from the title, at least.

I was really psyched to see a story focusing on Noise Marines. Sometimes, depending on who you ask, they are considered either among the coolest or most ridiculous unit types in the WH40K universe. I place them squarely in the former. But, you have to admit, one does wonder how to properly render these sound assassins properly on paper. How do you convey the auditory assaults of these twisted servants of Slaanesh in pen and paper format?

Succinctly put, MacNiven does it masterfully. A Song for the Lost is a phenomenally good story. It is the tale of Ulix, who we first meet as a young novitiate receiving a brutal beating from the zealos Bishop Eziah for not being able to properly recite an Imperial catechism. Ulix's sole solace from Eziah's cruelties comes from the seductive song of young Sister D'Fey; who visits the boys who leave a candle lit for her. Her song salves his wounds; teaching him to channel the pain into something else...

Fast forward three hundred years, and we meet Ulix again; now a Chaos Lord fully in the thrall of Slaanesh, leading an insane band of Noise Marines. This cavorting gang of murderous minstrels finds themselves tearing through a jungle world on a personal geas for Ulix; a hunt for a special material needed to consummate a now necessary desire.

There are a few factors which make A Song for the Lost such a fantastic read. The first is the "allure" of Choas. For me, the strongest Chaos tales are the ones where you are shown what the Imperium has to offer versus what the voices from the Warp dangle before your eyes. Compared to the cruel, dogmatic dictatorship of the servants of the Corpse Emperor, the siren song of Slaanesh sounds more melodious by the moment.

Second, the character descriptions are wonderful. The physical description of Ulix as a noise marine is one of the best and most horrifying that I have read. Careful attention is also lavished upon the special weaponry of the noise marines. These help set the stage for the imagination for fill in the blanks where the written word cannot describe the audio terror.

The action here is quite excellent as well. In addition to the havoc caused by Ulix and his band, MacNiven gives us a thrilling view of the Eldar in action. He is obviously quite savvy with the workings and mechanics of the weaponry in the established lore; combining colorful prose with a love for the aesthetics of the canon.

This all culminates with an ending which is not only terrifying, but also beautiful, in a decidedly twisted manner.

In short, get this story. Read it. Enjoy it thoroughly. Here's hoping that we'll hear more from Ulix in the future.

Final Score:

9.5/10

Cover Score:

All of these "Call of Chaos" stories have the same, minimalist cover scheme. I just don't understand why BL opted to use the standard Chaos symbol instead of Slaanesh's.

Cover Final Score:

2/10

Last Step Backwards

Last Step Backwards by Justin D. Hill. A Warhammer 40,000 short story, originally published by The Black Library, December 2014. Approx. 37 pages.

Is it just me or did this year fly by pretty fast? I read this short not long after it came out, and contemplated doing a review on it, and then opted not too since, well, it didn't blow me away at the time. I am not big on simply writing "a good Imperial Guard short with solid action" and leaving it at that. And now, almost an entire year has shot by.

Now, however, the new Astra Militarum book is out, and there are a few new shorts in it. I might read and review them in the near future, so I figured I'd breeze through the pages of Last Step Backwards again. Honestly, I'm glad I did. I think this story works a lot better on its second reading.

Last Step Backwards is an Imperial Guard short that debuted in 2014's Advent Calendar collection, and focuses on legendary Cadian Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed as he helps to eliminate the Anckorite cultists from the planet Besana. Besana is a fairly non-distinct world, more notable for being covered in poisonous blue dust than for anything else.

While the headliner here is Creed, the better portion of the story revolves around a group of Cadian Whiteshields (cadets), most notably a youngster named Fesk. Fesk is a likable enough lead; he reminds us of nearly every green private in nearly every war movie.

Speaking of war movies, if you grew up on the great, jingoistic WWII movies of days gone by, then you have a good idea of the tone here. This story is not a passport to see the inside of the mythical figure that is Creed; it is a chance to sweat it out in the trenches against insurmountable odds.

Some of the dialogue is pretty bad here. I was wondering if Hill was intentionally going for a "classic pulp novel" feel here; if that's the case, he succeeded. And by bad, I mean kind of cheesy. So fun bad. There are moments that go something like "One does not simply say 'Oh, that is Creed. That is like saying Oh, that is only Yarrick'!" That's the kind of dialogue you run into in Star Wars EU novels.

But again, it fits the feel. Last Step Backwards falls squarely on the actioner end of the spectrum. It is a fun enough read just as an Imperial Guard piece. The action is nicely done, and the descriptions of the Anckorites are done well also. Just bear in mind; this isn't a case of the myth coming alive. It is more the case of your Castellan Creed and Colour Sergeant Kell figures coming alive.

Don't get me wrong. There are some strong aspects to the story. It's fun to watch Creed stomping around, saying the right rousing thing at the right time, while chomping on his cigar, err, lho-stick. And there is one scene at the end which is honestly emotional and tugs at the heartstrings fairly well.

One more comical note: when I first read this story, I had to put it down for a while after the opening scene. The Cadians are hopelessly pinned down, death is staring them in the eyes.

And then:

"Do you hear it?"

...over the din of men shouting and dying and the rattle of gunfire and las-rounds, came the strains of music.

Major Luka jumped up. "Sing, man! Sing!"

‘Creed,’ shouted Luka. ‘It’s Creed!’

"FOR CADIAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Here's what it is:

A serviceable, enjoyable Imperial Guard actioner, with plenty of las-bolts and gobbets of blood. But what else do you expect from a tale featuring a legendary leader who is such a bear of a man that he has "Ursa" in his first name?

Final Score:

7/10

Cover Score:

I'm guessing this is in the Astra Militarum Codex? Nice battle scene with Creed front and center. Perfect fit for the material.

Cover Final Score:

7/10

Cold Roads

Cold Roads by Joe Parrino. A Warhammer 40K  short story, Day 2 of the 2014 Advent Calendar. Originally published by The Black Library, December 2014. Approx. 7 pages.

HachiSnax Note: Sorry these posts are getting to be fewer and further in between. I thought I was going to have more free time at my disposal than I actually seem to end up with. Also, another thing that I had planned on doing - reviewing all the entries in the Advent Calendar -  may not happen, as some of them offerings are turning out to be audiobooks. I might try reviewing one of them, I haven't decided yet. So again, thank you for your patience, and thanks always for stopping by. Cheers, Hach.

Day 2 of the Black Library Advent Calendar yields a Brazen Claws short by Joe Parrino. I was pretty excited about this, since he had such strong offerings with earlier shorts like Witness and No Worse Sin (also featuring the Brazen Claws). Parrino is a master of conveying the atmosphere of Chaos; adding Lovecraftian touches to the Warhammer 40K world, and painting his scenes with a robust palette of "colors that should not exist". This is why the Brazen Claws are the ideal Chapter for him to write about; a Chapter tasked to perpetually serve so close to the Warp.

In this story, we meet Techmarine Luveran Llir as he tries desperately to maintain the integrity of the titular ship, the Cold Roads, as it finds itself assailed by Slaanesh-worshiping forces, including none other than the Emperor's Children. This tale documents those final moments as he attempts to stave off succumbing to the call of Chaos. Standing along with a stout Terminator bodyguard, these last few moments will decide the fate of the entire ship.

Simple premise, flawless execution. There is very little more I can add to flesh out this review. Our two leads are interesting, there is some action, and the way Parrino presents how the allure of Chaos tugs at one so logic-oriented as a Techmarine is excellent. Other than that, this is an excellent portrayal of a descent into madness that offers readers what they truly want but rarely receive; a completely immersive journey into the universe being written about.


Final Score:

10/10


Cover Score:

It's just the Brazen Claws logo, but they have a pretty awesome one. And the rich colors make this a really eye-catching cover.

Cover Final Score:

5/10

The Final Compliance Of Sixty-Three Fourteen

The Final Compliance of Sixty-Three Fourteen by Guy Haley. A Warhammer 40K Horus Heresy short story, Day 1 of the 2014 Advent Calendar. Originally published by The Black Library, December 2014. Approx. 6 pages.

Season's Greetings everyone! One of the best things about the holiday season, The Black Library is once again conducting their annual "Advent Calendar", offering a new short story everyday from yesterday up until the jolly fat man squeezes down the chimney. Now, like I've stated before, many readers either love or hate these micro-shorts. I really enjoy them, even though they usually run only 4 to 10 pages (mostly closer to 4). But, you are getting stories from the best writers in the stable as well, and sometimes you get a real gem in your stocking. Like this story from master wordsmith Guy Haley.

The moment of compliance has arrived for Planetary Governor Mayder Oquin. For many years he has served as steward over the planet Goughen, formerly designated as Sixty-Three Fourteen. In all the years of his service, from foot slogger in the Guard up until his tenure as governor, he has loyally served the Truth. The Imperial Truth. Now, however, the Emperor's own favored son, the Warmaster Horus, has challenged the legitimacy of the Emperor's reign. He is crafting a new Imperium, and the compliance of Oquin, as well as that of Goughen, is demanded. 

These micro-shorts often fall into two types, emotional character studies or quick action pieces. Final Compliance is in the former category. This quick read is a potent examination of what is truly important to a man. We watch as Oquin studies a collection of artifacts; all the remains of many cultures he has helped subjugate in the process of bringing these planets to their compliance. There is a grim irony at work here as we prepare to watch a former operator of the war machine be consumed by it.

What works here is that Haley gives us an extremely sympathetic (and tragic) protagonist within a economical wordcount. Oquin is stoic and proud, never pompous. He treasures fond memories, and he looks on the faces of those he did battle with with a proper modicum of respect. These were warriors that willingly died for something they knew to be more important than conscription to a dogmatic tyranny. Warriors who donned their finest livery to go die for a higher truth. Entire cultures reduced to novelties in a trophy case. In a powerful climax, Oquin must choose compliance or a spot on someone's shelf.

One other aspect of Final Compliance that works very well is how Haley integrates core concepts of human nature into it. What makes good sci-fi is the vision of the creator; how technology and society advance or regress over the passage of time, and the scope of the author's imagination. What makes great sci-fi is when we can naturally see that the core tenets human nature, the spectrum of moral values (or lack thereof), remain constant, even in quite distant times. 

There is one line in Final Compliance which really stands out to me. It occurs while Oquin is making his final decision, as gunships hover outside, like enemies at the gates. It reads:

"The threat to go with the promise. Always the way."

Such a simple observation, and so prophetic. Hasn't it always been this way, where ultimatums are concerned, from the first recorded history, up to the present day and into the far off future of genetically enhanced super soldiers? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Final Compliance is peppered with other nice, small touches as well. The vivid details of the artifacts on Oquin's shelves, the constant broadcast of Horus' "message" in a very Big Brother manner, all contribute to setting a palpable tone.

The Final Compliance of Sixty-Three Fourteen is a great way to kick off this year's Advent Calendar. Highly recommended.

Final Score:

10/10

Cover Score:

The logo of the Sons of Horus in a rich blue. Doesn't look shabby, but the story is the prize here.

Cover Final Score:

3/10