In this post I will review those stories from War Without End that were originally published in The Imperial Truth and Sedition's Gate. For a separate review of Death and Defiance and Blades of the Traitor, please go here.
From The Imperial Truth:
Hands of the Emperor by Rob Sanders follows a day in the life of Enobar Stentonox, a Custodian Guard rotated to command of the Imperial Palace's security. A crisis arises when the Imperial Fists move an orbital station into the palace's airspace, the two sides working at cross-purposes in their separate attempts to keep the palace secure, and Stentonox ends up invading the station. This is an entertaining little vignette of a particular crisis, but it lacks the detail and dynamism that make some of Sanders' other stories great.
The Phoenician by Nick Kyme is a fluff piece, a few pages describing Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim's fateful duel from the point of view of a dying Iron Hand. The Iron Hand dies and that's it.
By the Lion's Command by Gav Thorpe follows Corswain of the Dark Angels after the events of The Lion, as he negotiates with a neutral planet whilst a Death Guard fleet bears down on him. There is a lot of potential to examine the motivations and allegiances of ordinary people in the face of the Heresy here, but instead the shades of grey are spoiled by a trite black and white ending when the planet comes to Corswain's aid just in time only for him to dismiss them as cowards for not siding with him from the start.
Lord of the Red Sands by Aaron Dembski-Bowden is another fluff piece, this time a few pages of Angron philosophising about war whilst he butchers loyalists on Isstvan III, but it is saved by ADB's writing which is excellent as ever and makes this an entertaining if brief read.
The Devine Adoratrice by Graham McNeill introduces us to the corrupt Knight House Devine of Molech and its scions Raeven and Albard on the day of their ritualistic bonding with Knights. The manipulations of Raeven's sister Lyx and a terrorist attack provide some drama, but the climax of the piece is glossed over, with Raeven and Albard's bonding ceremony explained in exposition at the end instead of being shown on the page. Still, this is overall a well-written piece that enticingly sets up Vengeful Spirit.
All That Remains by James Swallow follows a handful of Imperial Army troopers, all shell-shocked veterans of encounters with daemons, as they investigate a mysterious power-outage on their refugee ship. Each of the men is interesting in their own way and the little we are shown of their diverse characters is what makes this story entertaining. The most intriguing part, however, is their encounter with a Knight-Errant formerly of the Thousand Sons, who reveals to them their futures as agents of Malcador and turns the ship towards Titan at the end of the story.
From Sedition's Gate:
Artefacts by Nick Kyme follows a conversation between primarch Vulkan of the Salamanders and his forge-master T'kell just before Isstvan V. Vulkan, dismayed by Horus's treachery, determines to destroy his arsenal of weaponry so that their power won't fall into the wrong hands. T'kell, desperate to preserve these examples of Vulkan's craft, objects. In the end they compromise, and Vulkan allows T'kell to preserve just seven: the seven artefacts of Vulkan.
The Harrowing by Rob Sanders is a blow-by-blow description of an Alpha Legion strike force taking over a Mechanicum ship. Rob Sanders knows how to write Alpha Legion well and the action is excellent, though sometimes devolves into too much jargon. There is no real narrative significance to this story, but it is a great showcase of the Alpha Legion at their most duplicitous and lethal.
Allegiance by Chris Wraight is a short follow-up from Scars, focused on Revuel Arvida as he adjusts to life among the White Scars. As a healing and adjustment narrative it contains little action and Wraight shoehorns some in for the climax, but it is ultimately pointless and the story would probably have been better without it.
The Laurel of Defiance by Guy Haley follows Captain Lucretius Corvo of the Ultramarines 90th Company, who is due to be honoured for his role in taking down a Word Bearers Titan during the Shadow Crusade. The story moves back and forth between the preparations for the ceremony and the events for which Corvo is being rewarded, blending crisp action with introspective character development. Haley really makes this work, and The Laurel of Defiance is one of the best short stories in the anthology.
Sermon of Exodus by David Annandale is a prologue to The Damnation of Pythos, showing the events that led to the cultists of Davin undertaking their mass exodus. The piece is suitably creepy for a culture steeped in Chaos, and the quality of it reaffirms my suspicion that David Annandale is better at writing short fiction than novels.
