Short Story

Quick Reviews: THE BONE DESERT by Robbie MacNiven & ONE, UNTENDED by David Guymer (Black Library)

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MacNivenR-AoSG-BoneDesertTwo short Age of Sigmar outings for Gotrek Gurnisson, my favourite dwarf…

The world that Gotrek Gurnisson knew is long dead, alongside every soul the legendary monster slayer once cared for. Adrift in this curious new age, the duardin scours the treacherous Bone Desert in search of the axe he inherited from the God Grimnir, which too has been lost to the annals of time.

When a series of assassination attempts strike, Gotrek and his aelf companion Maleneth soon learn that it is not only the wasteland’s ravenous beasts and sinking sands that hunger for their flesh. The heroic duardin is certain these highly calculated and creative attacks are the work of his infamous nemesis – the skaven, Thanquol. But is all as it seems?

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned a couple of times (at least) on CR, I’ve been reading about the exploits of Gotrek Gurnisson for decades. I first stumbled across his adventures, alongside his human companion Felix Jaegar, in the Warhammer Armies books. Then, William King and others’ novels that I still return to whenever I feel like a fantasy-comfort-read. With the demise of the Old World, and the shift to the Age of Sigmar, the venerable dwarf returns! Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE APPROACH by Chris Holm (Mulholland)

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HolmC-H0-ApproachA great introduction to Michael Hendricks

When a strip-club mogul puts out a hit on a dancer who won’t give him off-the-clock attention, Hendricks takes a detour to Las Vegas to stop the job in its tracks. With tech genius Lester in his ear and a fake identity as cover, Hendricks has only one problem: he has no idea what the target looks like. Against the scorching heat of the city’s desert outskirts, a case of mistaken identity nearly turns fatal, but our principled hitman has a few tricks of his own up his sleeve.

To celebrate the release of Red Right Hand, the second novel featuring Michael Hendricks, Chris Holm has written a short story that serves as an excellent introduction or prequel to both the series as a whole, as well as the main character. It’s quickly-paced, has a good twist, and is very well written. We are given a good sense of what drives Hendricks, as well as his methods and skills.

I very much enjoyed this, and fully intend to read the novels ASAP. If you’ve been on the fence about trying the series, then The Approach should definitely convince you to give them a read. Definitely recommended.

Both novels — The Killing Kind and Red Right Hand — are out now, published in the US and UK by Mulholland Books.

Also on CR: Interview with Chris Holm (2012); Excerpt from The Wrong Goodbye

Review: FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS by Nalo Hopkinson (Tachyon)

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HopkinsonN-FallingInLoveWithHominidsA new anthology of short stories

Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, Skin Folk) has been widely hailed as a highly significant voice in Caribbean and American fiction. She has been dubbed “one of our most important writers,” (Junot Diaz), with “an imagination that most of us would kill for” (Los Angeles Times), and her work has been called “stunning,” (New York Times) “rich in voice, humor, and dazzling imagery” (Kirkus), and “simply triumphant” (Dorothy Allison).

Falling in Love with Hominids presents more than a dozen years of Hopkinson’s new, uncollected fiction, much of which has been unavailable in print, including one original story. Her singular, vivid tales, which mix the modern with Afro-Carribean folklore, are occupied by creatures unpredictable and strange: chickens that breathe fire, adults who eat children, and spirits that haunt shopping malls.

Reviewed by Ryan Frye

I typically read short fiction for one of two reasons, either it’s an author whom I love, and I’ve devoured everything else of theirs so I dig into their short-form stuff, or it’s an author whom I’ve never read before and I want to sample their work without trying to pick out a full-length book to start with. The latter was the case with Nalo Hopkinson’s Falling in Love with Hominids. Hopkinson is an author who’s been on my radar for a while now, so when the opportunity came along to check out her yet-to-be-released short fiction collection I jumped at the chance. Continue reading →

Short Review: THE FINAL COMPLIANCE OF SIXTY-THREE FOURTEEN by Guy Haley (Black Library)

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HaleyG-HH-FinalCompliance6314A great new Horus Heresy short story

As Horus grinds the Imperium beneath his boot, emissaries from the XVIth Legion return to worlds sworn to the Warmaster during the Great Crusade to have them renew their fealty. With the Sons of Horus already at battle readiness over Sixty-Three Fourteen, a grim decision must be made…

As is always the case with short stories, it’s tricky to review them at great length. In short, this is a great short story — it feels like an aside, of sorts, presented from the perspective of an Imperial governor and his aide, as they discuss how to deal with the Warmaster’s request for fealty. Well, “demand” would be a better word.

It’s an interesting story — not exactly essential reading, but I welcomed the different type of story, the alternative perspective, and also the tension at the end. The final paragraph was good, speaking volumes in just a few well-chosen words. If you’re a fan of the series, and want a quick fix to fill a half-hour or so, then this should suit very well.

Review: MURDER AT THE KINNEN HOTEL by Brian McClellan

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McClellanB-PM-MurderAtTheKinnenHotelAnother very good Powder Mage short story

Special Detective Constable Adamat may be the most capable young investigator in all of Adopest. He’s sharp, thoughtful, and his particular sorcery gives him a flawless memory. A transfer to the First Precinct seems like the perfect opportunity to showcase his abilities and advance his career.

But things work differently in the First Precinct. The murder of a businessman’s mistress quickly pulls Adamat into an unexpected world of conspiracy and politics where he’s forced to use all his wits to stay one step ahead of unseen enemies and keep his friends — and himself — from the guillotine.

Set twenty-two years before the events in Promise of Blood, this is a great introduction to Adamat — dogged, honest investigator in a system that is corrupt and nepotistic. In that respect, this may seem like a typical crime story, only with fantasy elements. And that’s what it is, really, which is a good thing. I enjoyed the investigation, seeing Adamat use his “knack” (perfect memory) to figure out what really happened at the hotel, while navigating the dangerous waters that make up the Adopest police force. There’s some political machinations, economics, magic, and mild character peril. Everything a short story needs.

I really like that McClellan is writing so many short stories set in his Powder Mage series: thus far, they have all been well-written and enjoyable. They add flavour and colour to the world and characters in the novels (the third of which, The Autumn Republic, is due out early 2015 from Orbit Books). While others of the short stories have focused mostly on powder mages, I welcomed the added background for Adamat and the fact that this meant the story was rather different.

You can buy Murder at the Kinnen Hotel from a number of places — check the author’s website for details.

Also on CR: Interview with Brian McClellan; Guest Posts on My Favourite Novel and Protagonist Ages in Epic Fantasy; Reviews of Promise of Blood, The Crimson Campaign (novels), The Girl of Hrusch Avenue, Hope’s Way, Forsworn, Face in the Window (short stories)

Quick Review: MARRIAGE OF MOMENT by Josh Reynolds (Black Library)

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ReynoldsJ-G&F-MarriageOfMomentA fun, classic-style Gotrek & Felix short story

Long before the End Times, when Gotrek Gurnisson’s doom was still many years away, he and his Rememberer Felix Jaeger found themselves in all manner of adventures and scrapes. Here is one previously untold story… As the heroic duo travel through the Border Princes, a drunken night coupled with Gotrek’s dwarfish lust for gold leads to him agreeing to a marriage – for Felix. With a halfling. Gotrek is determined that this will be a “marriage of moment”, allowing an unamused Felix to abandon his diminutive wife afterwards, but will she see it that way? And just what is the mysterious Jabas that the villagers are so scared of? Will hilarity ensue from this wedding… or horror?

This doesn’t really need a very long review, but I read and enjoyed it and therefore wanted to give it a mention. The story opens with Felix and Gotrek on a wagon, on their way to a keep in the mountains. Felix is nursing a hangover, and he learns that Gotrek manipulated him into taking part in a contest for suitors… He is less than pleased. What follows is a fun short story, one that felt like the early stories by William King: it’s a complete adventure, with some great action, a couple of twists, a gribbly beastie in need of besting, and decent banter between the two main protagonists. As with other stories in the series, the beastie is also not the primary antagonist: the schemes of man (and halfling) are oh-so-often at the core of sticky situations…

If you’re a fan of the series, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this diversion. It’s another tale disconnected from the ‘main’ Gotrek & Felix timeline, very much a complete story.

***

Marriage of Moment is only available through Black Library’s website as an eBook. Josh Reynolds is also the author of, most recently, The Return of Nagash, part of the End Times series, which I’ll be reading hopefully very soon.

Cover: WHERE THE TRAINS TURN by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (Tor.com)

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JaaskelainenPI-WhereTheTrainsTurnUS

Spotted this on Tor’s website, and thought the cover (above) was stunning. Here’s the synopsis:

I don’t like to think about the past. But I cannot stop remembering my son.

Emma Nightingale prefers to remain grounded in reality as much as possible. Yet she’s willing to indulge her nine year-old son Rupert’s fascination with trains, as it brings him closer to his father, Gunnar, from whom she is separated. Once a month, Gunnar and Rupert venture out to follow the rails and watch the trains pass. Their trips have been pleasant, if uneventful, until one afternoon Rupert returns in tears. “The train tried to kill us,” he tells her.

Rupert’s terror strikes Emma as merely the product of an overactive imagination. After all, his fears could not be based in reality, could they?

Published in English for the first time, Where The Trains Turn won first prize in the Finnish science-fiction magazine Portti’s annual short story competition and also the Atorox Award for best Finnish science fiction or fantasy short story.

 

Short Fiction Reviews: CHILD OF NIGHT and DAEMONOLOGY (Black Library)

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Two great new Horus Heresy short stories

French-HH-ChildOfNightCHILD OF NIGHT by John French

In the dark hive sumps beneath Terra, Chief Librarian Fel Zharost of the Night Lords Legion is being hunted. Having abandoned his insane primarch and brothers many years ago, he doesn’t know what he’s done wrong, but he’s sure he doesn’t want to be captured. What will happen when he discovers that his Legion has fallen into heresy? And where will his loyalties lie?

Learn the fate of the Chief Librarian of the VIII Legion, former servant of Konrad Curze. The first Horus Heresy Night Lords story from John French is both an insight into changes that have taken place within the VIII Legion over the course of the Great Crusade, and a fascinating glimpse into the underworld slums of ancient Terra itself.

Ever since I read Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Night Lords trilogy, I have developed a fascination with this traitor legion: designed very much to be the Imperium’s terror-troops, even during the Horus Heresy their tactics were considered extreme and horrific. In this story, John French tells us the story of a Terran-born Night Lords psyker. Exiled by the Legion, he has been eking out an existence back on Terra, in the perpetually dark underhive. Tracked down by a hunter, he shares some of his story. French does a great job of realising a number of different scenarios from Zharost’s life before and after his induction into the Legion. It’s very well written. The atmospherics are well-done and by no means over-written (it being the Night Lords, this is an essential element to get right). The ending opens up some interesting possibilities, too. As with many Heresy titles, I do wish it had been a bit longer. (More on this, below.)

*

Wraight-HH-DaemonologyDAEMONOLOGY by Chris Wraight

Chagrined by his defeat at the hands of Jaghatai Khan, Mortarion abandons the pursuit of the White Scars and instead leads the Death Guard in a spiteful, punitive rampage across the systems of the Prosperine empire. World after world has fallen to this horrific onslaught, and yet the insular and secretive primarch seems preoccupied by some other, unspoken goal. Finally, on Terathalion, the truth of Mortarion’s sinister heritage will be exposed, and the future of the XIV Legion will be written…

The Death Guard have already embraced treachery, but this story follows their Primarch as he continues upon the road that will eventually doom his Legion to a plague-wracked damnation.

Wraight’s short stories have been superb, of late. Always one of BL’s best writers, he’s really upped his game. Best of all, this short story focuses on Mortarion, the Primarch of the Death Guard. He featured somewhat prominently in Graham McNeill’s latest Heresy novel, Vengeful Spirit, but has remained rather enigmatic. In Daemonology, we learn of the primarch’s quest for greater understanding of what is happening around him: as vehemently anti-psyker and distrustful of anything that whiffs of sorcery, he is struggling with many of his fellow primarchs’ embrace of Chaos and daemons. His research has been somewhat rudimentary, and after tracking down a daemonhost, he realises just how much he doesn’t understand. Will he adopt the tools he distrusts in order to achieve his goals?

I really enjoyed this story. Mortarion is realised well on the page, and we get some great hints of things to come. The Death Guard’s fall to Nurgle remains somewhat vague and incomplete in the fiction series, so anything that adds to our understanding of the legion’s fall is welcome. Wraight proves very much up to the challenge, and I wish this had been much longer.

Both of these stories are very highly recommended.

***

On BL’s Heresy short stories: I wish there were more novella-length stories, rather than just short stories. There have been some, true, but mostly they are limited editions. For me the greatest value of writing even-just-a-bit-longer stories would have one immediate, welcome benefit: there’d be more story. Rather simple, really. The short stories are fantastic, and not every event or development needs to be presented in full-length novel form. I welcome every new nugget of Heresy story that comes out. But, you know, maybe a few that are a bit longer? Mix it up a bit?