Monday, 9 January 2017

The Silent War

The Silent War, edited by Laurie Goulding, is the thirty-seventh installment in the Horus Heresy series. It is a collection of thirteen previously published short stories by seven authors, each pertaining to covert operations that took place during the Heresy. It also includes the novella The Purge.

CZ Dunn's The Watcher deals with the fate of the Space Wolves watch-pack sent to observe Konrad Curze, the badly injured lone survivor telling his story to a mysterious Knight Errant.

John French's Templar follows a strike force of Imperial Fists led by Sigismund as they attack a Word Bearers bastion in the Sol system. Grey Angel follows Garviel Loken and Iacton Qruze's mission to Caliban to ascertain Luther's loyalties, while Child of Night explores the character of Fel Zharost, exiled chief librarian of the Night Lords Legion.

Nick Kyme's The Gates of Terra follows Ultramarines captain Arcadese as he defends the outer edges of the Sol system from Horus's invasion, the scenario a simulation placed in his mind by Malcador's psykers to test his capability.

Graham McNeill's Wolf Hunt ties up the loose ends left over from The Outcast Dead, following Yasu Nagasena as he hunts Severian through the Petitioner's City. Luna Mendax follows the psychological healing of Garviel Loken after the failed mission to Caliban, conversing with the ghost of Tarik Torgaddon while tending to a garden on Luna.

Rob Sanders' Army of One is a brief but fascinating life-story of an Eversor assassin, while Distant Echoes of Old Night follows a Death Guard strike team as they infiltrate a downed Imperial Fists ship on a forest moon.

James Swallow's Ghosts Speak Not follows Sister of Silence Amendera Kendel and a group of human and Knight-Errant agents as they investigate the loyalty of a system near Terra. Lost Sons follows the Blood Angels garrison left behind on Baal as they face a choice regarding their future, while Patience follows Knight Errant Hellig Gallor as he reunites with Nathaniel Garro after years apart.

Chris Wraight's The Sigillite follows covert ops soldier Khalid Hassan as he undertakes a recovery mission for the Sigillite and joins his elite guard.