Heroes of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) [マスマーケット]

The Skull Harvest by Graham McNeill
Honsou of the Iron Warriors is seeking recruits via the Skull Harvest. Once done the worlds of Uttramar may very well burn, but first Honsou must survive the Harvest, the Butcher of Formund, and the Tyrant of Badbab.

***** Five stars! A well written tale that clearly shows the dark side of those turned from the Emperor. The ending is well played and very dramatic. *****

Gauntlet Run by Chris Roberson
A few weeks ago an ork space hulk had appeared in orbit of Tunis. The orks and war machines landed quickly, slaughtering all humans they found. The Space Marines know the orks have a hidden base somewhere in the mountains. It is up to the Imperial Fists to locate it quickly.

***** Five stars! This is a tie-in to the new Imperial Fists series. The author clearly demonstrates that he is fully capable of packing a punch with short stories as well as the full length. *****

Renegades by Gav Thorpe
The Astartes of the Avenging Sons Chapter arrived at Helmabad to quell a rebellion. Instead they find the world in full civil war. Over forty days of continuous was has past. Out of over one hundred Astartes only thirty remain. They fight to protect the Imperial commander from an entire world and their ammo is now low. Even worse, the unsuspecting rebels have caught the attention of daemons from the warp. Time to make some hard decisions.

**** Four stars! Not an honorable tale, but realistic to the W40K universe. Well done! ****

Honour Among Fiends by Dylan Owen
Scaevolla lad the Black Legion out of the Eye of Terror a year ago in search of one man. Now Captain Demetros of the Imperial Fists has been found. But Scaevolla is not his own master as he will quickly learn.

**** Four stars! A good short story with an interesting twist toward the end. ****

Fires of War by Nick Kyme
Colonel Tonnhauser and his men battle the Cult of Truth. The number of his men is steadily dwindling. Enter the Salamanders. Their task is to enter each sector and destroy all heretics.

***** Five stars! This is a prequel to the Salamander series due to be published in the near future. If the series is as good as this story, the author has a winner. *****

The Labyrinth by Richard Ford
Few of the Sons of Malice are brave enough to take the Challenge of the Labyrinth. Those who do and survive are elevated to the Doomed Ones, Malice's sept of holy warriors.

***** Five stars! By this story alone, this author will gain many new fans. A smooth and dark writing style. Superb! *****

Headhunted by Steve Parker
Space Marine Lyandro Karras, in Deathwatch service, leads a team onto an ork ship in search of answers. Their xenos objective waits for them on the bridge.

***** Five Stars! A clever twist begins this fantastic story. Non-stop action from the first to the last. *****

And They Shall Know No Fear by Darren Cox
Reinhart of the Black Templars' Sword Brethren and his men go to reclaim their long abandoned fortress. They arrive to find Interrogator Savaul and some battle-sisters already there, attempting to destroy it. The fortress has been infiltrated by horrors and must fall.

**** Four stars! Not all is as it seems in this tale. Well written and wonderful fighting scenes throughout. A terrific debut for the author. ****

Nightfall by Peter Fehervari
Sarastus is a hive world long forgotten. Feral youths, no older than thirteen, dwell upon it like ghouls. This is the night for the harrowing. The Needle sang and only the exceptional shall survive to taste the stars.

**** Four stars! This story reminded me of the classic book "Lord of the Flies". Very well done. Another great debut. ****

One Hate by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Syral is being overrun by orks. Lord General Ulviran had sent out a call for aid. It comes in the form of Chaplain Argo of the Crimson Fists. However, all is not as it seems. Argo will give Ulviran his aid to a point, but he and his men have their own mission to accomplish.

***** Five stars! This one kept me guessing, unable to figure out Argo's true mission or what its accomplishment may foretell. I will only say that I hope to read more of Zefaray in the future. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Heroes of the Space Marines is another in the line of compilation novels put out by the Black Library to document new, emerging talent that they've collected from heir periodic competitions. While there are several authors that I'm now awaiting their first official work, there are a couple that made me think their submissions had been made with crayon.

The stories themselves are well varied, with quite a few original feeling storylines, and character interaction thats never let down. The stories provided by the old guard also provide a taste of upcoming titles, and especially the piece on Honsou was extremely entertaining.

Overall, the upcoming authors paint a good picture for whats coming in the near future, but there are a couple points that, for lack of a decent editor, will leave you rolling on the floor. And remember children, a sword is a weapon most effectively used in close combat.

This collection is more of a plug for upcoming authors and their books than a showcase of talent. However, the only noteworthy stand-alone stories are: "Renegade" by Gav Thorpe, a longtime BL writer, who brings us an Avenging Sons fall into damnation cautionary tale. "The Skull Harvest" by Graham McNeill, an exceptional short story tie-in to the Ultramarine novels, featuring vengeful Honsou and his motley crew of Iron Warriors. Dylan Owen offers up an uncanny Black Legion/Imperial Fist mobius strip of a story that leaves you wanting more. Nick Kyme gives us a little taste of what's to come from the upcoming Salamander novel. Also of interest is the reticent Deathwatch story by Steve Parker, with crazed Orks to boot. Unfortunately, "Gauntlet Run" by Chris Roberson arrives a little dead on its feet. He will have to give readers a little more substance in order to pull them into his forthcoming Imperial Fist novel. Everything else in this collection is just standard 40K rehashed fare.