Having long been hounded across the galaxy by the Dark Angels, First Captain Typhon of the Death Guard has limped his fleet to sanctuary in Segmentum Obscurus - as a guest of the separatist Luther of Caliban, no less. On the world of Zaramund, long a symbol of brotherhood amongst the Legions, Typhon begins to suspect that a new form of corruption has followed him out of the wider war. Will he embrace it, or escape into the darkness once more?

It's another step towards what we all know is coming for the Death Guard and Captain Typhon. Is it time that he embraced his destiny as a pawn of the Plague Lord?

Another long-delayed review. Life gets in the way more often than you'd like, doesn't it? Either way, this was coming one day or another. It is another advent story, of course.

The Story:

"Having long been hounded across the galaxy by the Dark Angels, First Captain Typhon of the Death Guard has limped his fleet to sanctuary in Segmentum Obscurus - as a guest of the separatist Luther of Caliban, no less. On the world of Zaramund, long a symbol of brotherhood amongst the Legions, Typhon begins to suspect that a new form of corruption has followed him out of the wider war. Will he embrace it, or escape into the darkness once more?

It's another step towards what we all know is coming for the Death Guard and Captain Typhon. Is it time that he embraced his destiny as a pawn of the Plague Lord?"

The Review:

Exocytosis is yet another neat, character-focused Horus Heresy short story. It is a sequel to Gav Thorpe's Angels of Caliban, continuing on from the novel's epilogue. If you haven't read it prior to this story, I'd recommend that you do. Not only was it pretty good, but the Caliban plotlines and foreshadowing lead right into the situation we've got here.

Calas Typhon, First Captain of the Death Guard, has come to Zaramund, and found Luther of the Dark Angels waiting for him. Typhon and crew have been hounded by loyalist Dark Angels for years now, so tensions with Luther are a given. Only a modicum of courtesy is extended towards the Grand Master, yet materiel and refugee are accepted nonetheless. But the Death Guard, and Typhon in particular, are keeping many secrets here, almost mirroring the Dark Angels themselves. And then Typhon gets confronted with a grim truth that sets him truly on course to become Typhus, the Herald of Nurgle we all know from the 41st Millennium.

To be frank, I was a bit worried about Swallow taking back the Death Guard after all these years. He set a certain tone for the Legion in Flight of the Eisenstein - but that was almost 10 years ago! Since then, he had very little to do with the Death Guard at large, despite his long-running Garro sub-series. In the meantime, many other authors have tackled Mortarion and the Death Guard, from Graham McNeill over Gav Thorpe to Chris Wraight, and I don't think it controversial to say that out of all of the depictions, I am particularly keen on Wraight's. Indeed, this story, along with Wraight's The Path of Heaven, will undoubtedly lead right into the upcoming fall of the Death Guard novel. Needless to say, I was hoping Chris would score the book, but after reading Exocytosis, I am more torn on the matter.

That is to say, I enjoyed this short story a good deal. Typhon takes the center of the stage, though I would have liked to see a little more of Luther, Zahariel and co. The few nuggets of info we get there are worthwhile in my opinion, and show the tensions within the Dark Angels pretty well. But it really is about Typhon, his eventual fate and the beginning of the true turn of the Death Guard from traitors to swollen, pustulent abominations in the service of the god of pestilence.
Swallow offers a few callbacks to ideas he put onto the table back in Eisenstein, which I appreciate greatly, and Typhon feels a bit more nuanced than I thought him in Thorpe's The Lion. The semi-religious themes tackled here also were a nice touch, though I was shaking my head over the one and only Dark Angel who could've had a chance of changing the inevitable.

Overall this isn't great on action or big Legion progression. A lot of it is setup for what is to come, to bring Typhon, an oft-neglected character, back into the spotlight. However, it is good setup with a good character focus that was sorely needed. It is competently written and fits neatly into the current state of the Heresy. If it heralds a return to the Death Guard for Swallow, he is welcome to go ahead with it.

Exocytosis on Goodreads

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Following the disastrous invasion of Sotha and the dimming of the Pharos' light, Gendor Skraivok languishes on board the VIII Legion flagship Nightfall. Distrusted by his allies and despised by his rivals, he nonetheless means to claw back leadership of the Night Lords from the pretender Captain Shang, by fair means or foul. And, rather than a portent of doom, the daemonic blade that seems to have chosen him as its bearer may be the answer…

Here's yet another Horus Heresy short story from the Black Library Advent Calendar. Getting there!

The Story:

"Following the disastrous invasion of Sotha and the dimming of the Pharos' light, Gendor Skraivok languishes on board the VIII Legion flagship Nightfall. Distrusted by his allies and despised by his rivals, he nonetheless means to claw back leadership of the Night Lords from the pretender Captain Shang, by fair means or foul. And, rather than a portent of doom, the daemonic blade that seems to have chosen him as its bearer may be the answer…"

The Review:

The Painted Count follows on shortly after the events of Pharos. The novel is mandatory reading before you go into this short story, otherwise you'd be missing out. The short story has many call-backs to the novel and even a slice of Vulkan Lives, which surprised me.

In general, this is a more direct character piece on Skraivok and his standing within the Night Lords Legion. Where Pharos left us with questions as to his fate, and that of the Nightfall, The Painted Count aims to give answers. Skraivok is forced to embrace uncomfortable truths and comes to heads with Konrad Curze's equerry Shang, who first appeared way back when in The Dark King. The two represent the different spectrums of the Legion; one clinging to Curze and wanting vengeance, the other looking forward and trying to make their own way. Of course, the inherent selfishness of the Legion gets in the way of a fair vote on the new leadership, so things take some turns left and right.

The story as a whole serves as a stepping stone between Pharos and the assault on the Sol System. The Night Lords are being maneuvered into place, and we get a good close-up of Skraivok and his own philosophy. I can't say I disliked the Painted Count by any means - Haley's writing puts him as insane in his sanity. My one disappointment with the story was that it didn't explore Captain Shang well enough for my liking. This was Skraivok's show, of course, but a bit more dialogue from Shang, or maybe a scene from his point of view, could have benefitted the story and made it into a great one for me.

As it stands, The Painted Count was an exciting and satisfying read, establishing Gendor Skraivok as a name to watch out for in future installments of the series. It is a worthy part in the overarching Night Lords storyline of the Horus Heresy, and Haley's portrayal of the Legion is, in my eyes, absolutely fitting.

The Painted Count on Goodreads

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The human Imperium is vast indeed, and not all worlds are happy with the terms that grant them the Emperor’s protection. When the Carcharadons land on the mining planet of Zartak, instead of being welcomed, they are treated with suspicion and hostility by its population of miners. What dark secrets does this planet hide, and how far will its inhabitants go to protect them, even if it means pitting themselves against such powerful adversaries as the Adeptus Astartes? With both sides pursuing their own agenda, bloody conflict can be the only outcome.

I know December is over, and with it Black Library's Advent Calendar, but since I was getting a bit overwhelmed towards the second half of December, I figured it is still worth continuing reviews of the new short stories regardless. Happy to finally get this one out of the way in particular!

The Story:

"The human Imperium is vast indeed, and not all worlds are happy with the terms that grant them the Emperor’s protection. When the Carcharadons land on the mining planet of Zartak, instead of being welcomed, they are treated with suspicion and hostility by its population of miners. What dark secrets does this planet hide, and how far will its inhabitants go to protect them, even if it means pitting themselves against such powerful adversaries as the Adeptus Astartes? With both sides pursuing their own agenda, bloody conflict can be the only outcome."

The Review:

Carcharodons: The Reaping Time serves as a bit of a lead-in to Robbie MacNiven's full-length novel Carcharodons: Red Tithe, which I am excited to dig into soon. This taster, at the very least, is promising in its mystery and violence.
The "Space Sharks" have long been a topic I felt needed more attention in Warhammer 40,000. They are butchers by any other name, their origins hidden and it often felt surprising to me to see them on the Loyalist side at all. Their biggest appearance to date must have been during the Badab War books by Forge World, which I believe to have sold out years ago.

So seeing Robbie MacNiven get the chance to tackle the mysterious Chapter of Space Marines had me excited for sure. Best of all, this short story nails the relentless hunter theme nicely. Once these Space Marines smell blood, there is no turning back, and all that is left in their wake are corpses.
Thematically, MacNiven also married them with Maori influences, down to the characters' names. Various things from gear to organization bear aquatic influences, such as the 'Coral Shields', or the various teeth charms the marines of First Squad are wearing. Chainblades are standard issue here, of course, and this short story is easily one of the more brutal ones to come out of this holiday season!
Chief protagonist of the story is Librarian Te Kahurangi, whose psychic powers follow the shark-theme as well. Called the Pale Nomad, he seems more level-headed than his Company Master Akia, who epitomizes the relentless beast in them all. While Te Kahurangi easily gets the best coverage here, the rest of the squad has me intrigued too, especially when their gene-seed origins are put into question. Already hotly-debated in fan-circles, Robbie's take will give fans a lot more fuel for their speculation.

Most importantly, however, MacNiven manages to build up a satisfying story in miniature that presents this Chapter in a natural way, highlighting the unique traits and opening more mysteries to be solved, while also moulding them in his image. It turned out to be a fast-paced read full of action that laid the groundwork for future works on the Chapter without compromising on its stand-alone potential.
If you're unsure about the novel yet, then this short story should hold your answer.

Carcharodons: The Reaping Time on Goodreads

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When the traitorous allies of Horus and Kelbor-Hal seized Mars, they sent elite hunters to apprehend key targets and ensure that any loyal resistance would fail. One such target was the legendary technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land, the discoverer of many lost treasures and curiosities from mankind's Golden Age - and the Imperial Fists cannot allow such a valuable mind to fall into the hands of the enemy. Does Land have good reason to fear his apparent saviours?

Another Horus Heresy story from the Black Library Advent Calendar. This one's a prequel to The Master of Mankind and features Arkhan Land, who was one of my favorite characters from the numbered novel.

The Story:

" When the traitorous allies of Horus and Kelbor-Hal seized Mars, they sent elite hunters to apprehend key targets and ensure that any loyal resistance would fail. One such target was the legendary technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land, the discoverer of many lost treasures and curiosities from mankind's Golden Age - and the Imperial Fists cannot allow such a valuable mind to fall into the hands of the enemy. Does Land have good reason to fear his apparent saviours?"

The Review:

Into Exile is a story told in reverse, featuring Arkhan Land's escape from sacred Mars. Hunted by a Mechanicum construct and protected by a single Imperial Fists legionary, Arkhan has to swallow his pride and get to safety. This is also set during the initial evacuation from Mars, which we've seen tackled by Mechanicum in the single-digit novels of the series.

Sadly, it didn't work for me. The concept seems novel at first, intriguing, but I didn't feel like it added much, if anything, to start with the conclusion and work back towards the beginning.
There were no unexpected twists that might have turned the plot on its head in ways that complimented the unique style, and knowing exactly how a character would meet his end made the whole evacuation chase here feel rather dull. Knowing that the hero escapes (which was obvious from him being a part of The Master of Mankind) and the protector sacrifices himself in the very first scene, made the tension evaporate for me.

I liked the character of Arkhan once again, but Nicanor felt flat to me. Stoic, stubborn and dutiful, but that's an Imperial Fist in a nutshell anyway. The plot itself is simple and filling a gap that I don't think really needed plugging. I'm glad to see AD-B experimenting with the short story format once again, which I loved in previous advent calendar series, but I'm not sure the subject matter lent itself to the test.

Into Exile on Goodreads

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Balsar Kurthuri of the Raven Guard has always followed his primarch's orders. When the Edict of Nikaea forbade psykers within the Legions, he returned to the line squads without a second thought. When the Warmaster's treachery became known, he gave freely of his powers. Now, as the war appears to be entering its final, grim stages, at Lord Corax's command he must return to Terra to face judgement for the apparent crime of unswerving loyalty…

Skipping ahead in Black Library's Advent Calendar series, day 7 has a sequel to Corax for us. It wraps up one of the storylines left dangling by Weregeld and gives a little status update on the state of the Sol system.

The Story:

" Balsar Kurthuri of the Raven Guard has always followed his primarch's orders. When the Edict of Nikaea forbade psykers within the Legions, he returned to the line squads without a second thought. When the Warmaster's treachery became known, he gave freely of his powers. Now, as the war appears to be entering its final, grim stages, at Lord Corax's command he must return to Terra to face judgement for the apparent crime of unswerving loyalty…"

The Review:

Arriving at Terra alongside Captain Noriz and his Imperial Fists, and Arcatus Vindix Centurio of the Custodian Guard, ex-Librarian Balsar Kurthuri is confronted with a big problem: The Custodes turn on him and attempt to take him out. With emergency protocols in place, there is nothing left for Kurthuri other than to attempt escape, eluding his pursuers while restraining himself. He gave an oath to ban himself from using his psychic powers again, which proves tricky.

I quite liked the story. It is an action-heavy chase, and while as a reader of the series the results and twists were utterly obvious (which they should be after the many Malcador-related stories we've had by now), which isn't helped by the title either, I enjoyed the ride. Points can be made for potential losses not being worth risking, but the way it was executed worked for me. The stress of the situation bubbled to the surface neatly and there was some much appreciated time with Noriz, who I liked quite a bit in Deliverance Lost and Corax.

The story also hammered home the gulf between Astartes and Custodes, with Arcatus being a badass. Sure, we just got that with The Master of Mankind anyway, but here the Custodes are on the attack, not the back foot. There was also some neat little bonding between the lone Raven Guard and Noriz and co, due to their years together under Corax.

The big negative for me here was that it was damn predictable. The moment Arcatus turned on Balsar, I knew where it was headed. I knew where Balsar Kurthuri would end up, and what the intentions were. There were still some surprises, of course, but if you've read The Silent War, book 37 in the series, you might consider the short story as transparent as me.

The Grey Raven on Goodreads

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