Imperfect by Nick Kyme shows Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus playing regicide. It is clear from the start that there is more to the game than two primarch brothers sharing friendly rivalry, and soon the twist is revealed: Fulgrim had Fabius Bile create many clones of Manus after he killed him and now plays regicide with them to see if he could ever have succeeded in turning Ferrus against the Imperium. This is a neat little tale that packs a lot of twists into a short narrative.
Howl of the Hearthworld by Aaron Dembski-Bowden is about the squad of Space Wolves that were sent to Terra to keep watch on Rogal Dorn. Some interesting names hint at a new take on Space Wolves' culture, but there isn't much more to this story than the Wolves throwing a dignified tantrum about being sent away from the front lines.
A Safe and Shadowed Place by Guy Haley follows a single Night Lords commander who has been abandoned by his comrades on the very edge of Ultramar itself. Determined to return to the fight, he is able to point a more powerful arrival towards the Sothan beacon. This short story is really just setup for Haley's upcoming novel Pharos.
Virtues of the Sons by Andy Smillie is a character of study of two Blood Angels commanders, Azkaellon and Amit, who are sent by Sanguinius to learn something of themselves in combat with Lucius of the Emperor's Children and Kharn of the World Eaters respectively. The duels are the only interesting part of the story.
Gunsight by James Swallow follows Eristede Kell, the Vindicare Assassin who led the Imperial kill-team sent after Horus in Nemesis, as he tries to survive in the bowels of the Vengeful Spirit itself and plans Horus's assassination. The best of the five stories, it ends with Kell psychologically overpowered and suborned into turning on his old masters, hopefully heralding his return in a future novel.
Daemonology by Chris Wraight follows Death Guard primarch Mortarion fresh from his defeat at the hands of Jaghatai Khan in Scars and seeking eldritch knowledge for the controlling of daemons. Capturing one in a planetary raid, he is forced to employ a part of himself that he loathes in order to achieve his goal. This short story is a fresh look into the psyche of a rarely examined character.
Black Oculus by John French is the prime navigator of the Iron Warriors Legion relating his experiences guiding their fleet through a spacial anomaly. That's it.
Twisted by Guy Haley follows Maloghurst the Twisted, equerry to Horus, as he deals with a plot to gain power from the Davinite contingent aboard the Vengeful Spirit. It provides an interesting insight into the day-to-day plotting that goes on in the Warmaster's court and the perilous existence of a decreasingly influential and physically crippled character that hasn't had page time since the opening trilogy.
Chirurgeon by Nick Kyme is the observations of Fabius Bile as he performs surgery on an unknown patient that turns out to be himself. His reminiscences on the early days of the Emperor's Children and the revelation that the legion suffers from a debilitating disease are both interesting, but it is not clear how this plot point will effect future events.
Wolf Mother by Graham McNeill follows Alivia Sureka, a human Perpetual, as she teams up with rogue Knight-Errant Severian to rescue her daughter from the remnants of a Chaos cult aboard a refugee ship. The most action-oriented of the short stories, it is truly nasty in some respects but still well-written and engaging. The amount of Perpetuals in the series seems to be steadily rising, and we can only hope that these immortals will all have important roles to play in its conclusion.
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