# Favorite BL short story?



## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

I've seen the favorite novel and author threads but I haven't seen a favorite short story thread from one of the BL anthologies. 

I've got to say there is one I read on a regular basis...

Hell Break by Ben Counter. Simply fucking awesome!


EDIT: Aside from a brief statement, let's try to keep this "spoiler-free."


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

_The Core_ by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Night Lords Raptors stalking Terminators through a Space Hulk, whats not to love!.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

There's so many it's hard to pick, but _Hell in a Bottle_ springs to mind straight away. _Legends of the Space Marines_ was an excellent collection all round, and _Trial of the Mantis Warriors_ was very good from that collection.


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## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

Guess I should have mentioned a little bit. 

_Hell Break_ is off of _Let The Galaxy Burn_ and is about a Commissar leading an uprising in Commorragh!


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Imperious Rex said:


> Guess I should have mentioned a little bit.
> 
> _Hell Break_ is off of _Let The Galaxy Burn_ and is about a Commissar leading an uprising in Commorragh!


That would never happen, no slave has any hope left to start an uprising in the Dark City. The Dark Eldar see to that.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Lord of the Night said:


> That would never happen, no slave has any hope left to start an uprising in the Dark City. The Dark Eldar see to that.


Chaplain Elysius of the Salamanders Thid Company?

Mine is by far _Twelve Wolves_ by Ben Counter, for its incredibly unique and warming style...


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## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> That would never happen, no slave has any hope left to start an uprising in the Dark City. The Dark Eldar see to that.



Lol. 

1) I won't get into an Imperium/Dark elf debate... here. :wink:
2) I don't want to put out any spoilers.
3) Commissars are morale incarnate!
4) and most importantly... It did happen!:ireful2:

For the Emperor!!!


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## TheAbominableDan (Sep 16, 2010)

I really liked a lot of the ones in Status: Deadzone. Particularly the two Knife Edge Liz stories, A World Above and Rat in the Walls.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

_The Wrath of Kharn_, from Let the Galaxy burn like _Hell Break_. Two words sum up why that story is great: Kharn's perspective.


_Hell Break_ was pretty good, and Lord of the Night, before making any claims either way you should read the story if you have not already. There may be no escape from the dark city but that does not mean the toys they take back are tortured and killed while chained up or caged. There are other, far worse, forms of torture they can make use of.


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## Pyroriffic (Feb 28, 2010)

I was very taken with Paul Kearney's _The Last Detail _in _Legends of the Space Marines_. Just a really, really good story, very well told.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

I was just struggling to remember the Kharn story's title, thanks darkreever.

Definitely_ The Wrath of Kharne_, short stories have certainly improved over the years but this one stands the test of time and blows the competition out of the water- it adds depth to an iconic character (in 40k rather than what we know during the Heresy period), showing him to be more than a monosyllabic psychopath.


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

ok i can't remember the titles, mainly cause i don't have the books to hand but i have a couple. scions (or sons) of the storm in the HH short you know sal torgon relaising his master is getting a little scarey and Kor Phareon slaughtering the emperor worshipping pleps....best bit in the story oh that and Lorgar seeming to be a HH version of Caligula with all the gold paint and charcol but minus the sex....
and there was one i read years ago but the title and book escapes me but if i recall and someone might know....a marine was fighting a tyranid, crashed on a planet and lost his memory so for a little while he helped the community until his memory resurfaced and he went to fight the tyranid again both of them dying over a cliff edge...the only reason i remember that was for a little bit a space marine was shown to be as human as they can get but it was a long time ago and like i saw the title escapes me.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

gothik said:


> ok i can't remember the titles, mainly cause i don't have the books to hand but i have a couple. scions (or sons) of the storm in the HH short you know sal torgon relaising his master is getting a little scarey and Kor Phareon slaughtering the emperor worshipping pleps....best bit in the story oh that and Lorgar seeming to be a HH version of Caligula with all the gold paint and charcol but minus the sex....
> and there was one i read years ago but the title and book escapes me but if i recall and someone might know....a marine was fighting a tyranid, crashed on a planet and lost his memory so for a little while he helped the community until his memory resurfaced and he went to fight the tyranid again both of them dying over a cliff edge...the only reason i remember that was for a little bit a space marine was shown to be as human as they can get but it was a long time ago and like i saw the title escapes me.


I remember that story! It was an Ultramarine Terminator, he was left by his brethren because they couldn't find his body, awesome story.


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

thanks baron and as i recall the farmer took him to where he had kept his armour and weapons and all were clean and kept like the holy fekking grail or summin....i only remember it cos i thought it was so brilliant.


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## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

Hmmm...possibly the other "Kharn POV" short out there--"After De'shea," from _Tales of Heresy_.

Other competitors for the honor:

- "One Hate," by ADB, from _Heroes of the Space Marines_.
- "Liberty," by Gav Thorpe, in the _Last Chancers Omnibus_. Go Kage!

I deeply regret not owning _Let the Galaxy Burn!_...


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Speaking of ADB, for me another good short story was _At Gaius Point_. Serves to flesh out what truly is a great, doomed chapter and make one of their most defining points all the more tragic.


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## Shadow Walker (Jun 10, 2010)

I am not a fan of short stories and I mostly avoid any anthologies etc. but if I should choose one that it would be 'Last Church' by Graham McNeill from 'Tales of heresy'.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

bobss said:


> Chaplain Elysius of the Salamanders Thid Company?


Thats set on a Dark Eldar ship. Were you expecting a Sons of Vulkan invasion of Commorragh?



Imperious Rex said:


> Lol.
> 
> 1) I won't get into an Imperium/Dark Eldar debate... here. :wink:
> 2) I don't want to put out any spoilers.
> ...


Grr. Commissars are cowards who shoot their own men.



darkreever said:


> _Hell Break_ was pretty good, and Lord of the Night, before making any claims either way you should read the story if you have not already. There may be no escape from the dark city but that does not mean the toys they take back are tortured and killed while chained up or caged. There are other, far worse, forms of torture they can make use of.


I wasn't denying it happened in the story, I was making a boast about the Dark Eldar. And i'd love to read _Let the Galaxy Burn!_ but I can't get my hands on a copy.

And with that hint I now understand the story. False hope, excellent


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

> Thats set on a Dark Eldar ship. Were you expecting a Sons of Vulkan invasion of Commorragh?
> 
> Grr. Commissars are cowards who shoot their own men.


Call Gaunt a coward?


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Lord of the Night said:


> Thats set on a Dark Eldar ship. Were you expecting a Sons of Vulkan invasion of Commorragh?


Yes, yes I was. I'm slightly dissapointed now, if I am to be honest.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Bane_of_Kings said:


> Call Gaunt a coward?


Gaunt isn't a Commissar really. And Cain is a coward, yet he's a funny coward so its ok.



bobss said:


> Yes, yes I was. I'm slightly dissapointed now, if I am to be honest.


From what I understand the Dark Eldar kidnap Elysius and their ship is heading towards the Port of Lost Souls, the gateway into Commorragh. The Firedrakes have to save Elysius before then, so its a race.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> Gaunt isn't a Commissar really. And Cain is a coward, yet he's a funny coward so its ok.
> 
> From what I understand the Dark Eldar kidnap Elysius and their ship is heading towards the Port of Lost Souls, the gateway into Commorragh. The Firedrakes have to save Elysius before then, so its a race.


Excuses, excuses, you blasphemer!


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## increaso (Jun 5, 2010)

Lord of the Night said:


> I wasn't denying it happened in the story, I was making a boast about the Dark Eldar.


Oh my! The Dark Eldar in Sanctified from Fear the Alien were a pathetic bunch.

I think regular Eldar played dress up and made them look bad or something.

I tend to forget short stories not long after reading them (which is no comment on the quality of the stories), but i thought Trial of the Mantis Warriors was pretty good and the one from the same anthology with the Space Marines in the Bioship.


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## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

> Grr. Commissars are cowards who shoot their own men.


Wow. That might be the most off base comment ever mentioned in the history of BL literature and 40k fluff. 

First things first read Hell Break. If you've already read it then re-read it. 

I understand that you're a dark elf fan. Put that aside for a second. If ever there was a race of cowards it's the Dark Eldar. They pirates for f*** sake. 

Commissars, on the other hand are exemplars, even paragons to guardsman. While it's true they have to shoot a guy every now then that's no different than a lot of imperial officers. Commissars are men of epic proportions. The day that BL and GW stop talking about them is the day that I stop playing the guard.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Imperious Rex said:


> Wow. That might be the most off base comment ever mentioned in the history of BL literature and 40k fluff.
> 
> First things first read Hell Break. If you've already read it then re-read it.
> 
> ...


Read Hell Night, or Grey Knights. The Commissars in those stories are idiots who shoot their own men for minor infractions and are both ripped apart, thankfully.

And yeah im a Dark Eldar fan, and they aren't cowards. Their pure evil. And fleeing when the situation turns horribly against you isn't cowardice, its prudence. And they are one of the most feared of all the alien races, the only race where the only logical choice is to kill yourself rather then be captured. Orks will eat you or kill you right there, Chaos will sacrifice you, but only the Dark Eldar have such a reputation of such fear.

Fair enough, personally I hate the Guard but thats your choice.


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## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

Don't get me wrong brother. If there's one race that I wouldn't want to be captured by it's the DE. I'd rather set off a melta bomb in my pants than be taken alive by the dark eldar. (wow I'd put that in my sig if weren't my own quote) IMO the dark eldar are the most evil race in 40k. That's saying a lot too since there are no good races.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Imperious Rex said:


> Commissars, on the other hand are exemplars, even paragons to guardsman. While it's true they have to shoot a guy every now then that's no different than a lot of imperial officers.


Paragon? Yeah right; symbols of fear maybe but most regiments would rather be rid of their commissars. Come on, you have someone who is outside of the authority of the imperial guard and navy chain of command, is charged with watching over the regiment and ensuring its purity (from the likes of taint, mutation, xeno sympathizers, heretics, and genestealer cults), and has the right to execute any member of the regiment for any reason ranging from a lack of discipline to blatant incompetence. (And commissars are the ones who determine this.)

Some commissars uphold the 'ideals' far to zealously, and its why we sometimes read about them flogging, executing, or punishing soldiers for the most minor of offenses. 


Oh and they are different from imperial officers, who are charged to lead regiments, because commissars only have a limited amount of experience in the leadership of entire platoons/regiments. Yeah they may have the unbreakable resolve and zeal, but they often lack that vital regimental command experience that the officers they are able to execute do have.


Another short story I found pretty good was _Playing Patience_, which went into some detail of how inquisitor Ravenor came upon and recruited Patience Kys into his group. Very interesting, but also with its own tang of sadness.


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## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

darkreever said:


> Paragon? Yeah right; symbols of fear maybe but most regiments would rather be rid of their commissars. Come on, you have someone who is outside of the authority of the imperial guard and navy chain of command, is charged with watching over the regiment and ensuring its purity (from the likes of taint, mutation, xeno sympathizers, heretics, and genestealer cults), and has the right to execute any member of the regiment for any reason ranging from a lack of discipline to blatant incompetence. (And commissars are the ones who determine this.)
> 
> Some commissars uphold the 'ideals' far to zealously, and its why we sometimes read about them flogging, executing, or punishing soldiers for the most minor of offenses.
> 
> ...


You have some good points. But consider for every inept commissar their is also an epic one as well. Yarrick, Gaunt, even Von Klas. Even in the face of death he was determined to lead his men. There was no glory in it. The imperium would never hear about it. That's what I love about commissars. Steely resolve. A trait that even some sm can learn a thing or two about. 



Back to topic. Wrath of Kharn gets second place after Hell Break in my book. Awesome story. The title is a just a little too much though, don't you think?


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Imperious Rex said:


> You have some good points. But consider for every inept commissar their is also an epic one as well. Yarrick, Gaunt, even Von Klas.


This is actually quite untrue; there are far more 'bad' and 'abusive' and 'arrogant commissars than there ever will be 'epic' ones.

Damned near every commissar featured alongside the Catachan Jungle Fighters (two or three), the one from Cadian Blood, Ice Guard, the commissar from the short comic featured in some of the BFG box sets, one or two commissars Gaunt came across, a Tallarn commissar Caiphas Cain knew while growing up in the schola. (I need to go through a small mountain of books, which is why I'm not giving specific names.)

Thats what, seven at least? More than twice as many of the good or epic commissars.



Looking through my copy of _Heroes of the Imperium_, _Headhunted_ is a particular favorite of mine. Deathwatch are always enjoyable, and to make it even cooler they have interesting code-names. From experience over in roleplay threads, you see a few people make characters and try to give themselves nicknames, but its something others give you, not a title of your choosing.

Particular dislike from that book had to be _Gauntlet Run_; and unlike others I rather enjoyed _Sons of Dorn_. Looking back at _Gauntlet Run_ just does not have anything close to the same feel, doesn't even feel like it has anything to do with that story even though it introduces the principle characters of the novel.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Headhunted is one of my favourites as well, I liked the commando element added to the Space Marines when you read about the Deathwatch. In the upcoming Victories of the Space Marines anthology there is a second Deathwatch short story, _Exhumed_.


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## SnoopyChicken (Sep 23, 2010)

Imperious Rex said:


> Don't get me wrong brother. If there's one race that I wouldn't want to be captured by it's the DE. I'd rather set off a melta bomb in my pants than be taken alive by the dark eldar. (wow I'd put that in my sig if weren't my own quote)


haha, mind if i do?


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## Boganius Maximal (Oct 31, 2009)

I enjoyed 'Regicide' in 'Sabbat Worlds'. Getting to learn exactly how Slaydo dies was amazing then getting some insight into Macaroths character definately showed that the Imperium chose the wrong successor for Slaydo


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## Cambrius (Nov 4, 2010)

Shadow Walker said:


> I am not a fan of short stories and I mostly avoid any anthologies etc. but if I should choose one that it would be 'Last Church' by Graham McNeill from 'Tales of heresy'.


Loved _The Last Church_. The dialogue was the quintessential argument between religious and secular beliefs.




darkreever said:


> Damned near every commissar featured alongside the Catachan Jungle Fighters (two or three), the one from Cadian Blood, Ice Guard, the commissar from the short comic featured in some of the BFG box sets, one or two commissars Gaunt came across, a Tallarn commissar Caiphas Cain knew while growing up in the schola.


I thought Commissar Tionenji (_Cadian Blood_) was a good example of a commissar. A typical one, at least. I mean, the schola progenium (progenia?) press them from pretty much the same rigid mold. I do enjoy when they're allowed to be developed in a story and not simply executing deserters on a battlefield. When you can read the inner monologue and gain some insight into their decision-making.

I also enjoyed _Iron Inferno_ from _Fear the Alien_, for no better reason than it was the first ork-perspective story. I particularly liked that everything from Kaptain Grimruk Badtoof's POV was in narrative and didn't attempt to humanise the greenskins in any way.


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