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Warhammer 40,000
The Madness Within
Desperate and isolated, Sergeant Estabann and Brother Cordoba of the Crimson Fists Space Marines are hunting the daemon that destroyed their battle-brothers. Their only hope remains with a Librarian on the edge of sanity, a potentially tainted Astartes who they are forced to trust. His psychic abilities can lead them to the daemon, where Estabann and Cordoba can avenge their brothers’ deaths. But is the greatest threat a foul denizen of the warp, or the power contained within a psyker’s mind?
1 pages, MP3 CD
First published August 2, 2011
1 person is currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Steve Lyons
189 books110 followersSteve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 10, 2020
“When in doubt, who you gonna call? Not a Liberian, NEVER a Liberian!”
Desperate, isolated and alone Sergeant Estabann and Brother Cordoda of the Crimson Fists are being hunted by a daemon of Chaos, an apex predator whom is hunting them on one of their recruitment worlds. Marines have been lost to this… creature. The brothers are forced to turn to a Liberian who is on the edge of insanity, his psychic abilities could change the fight – but the psyker is possibly tainted and has been incarcerated, trust, is in ever short supply. The Adeptus Astartes have a choice, face the Chaos denizen of the warp with blade and bolter or turn to there compromised former brother and fight this foe on an even footing.
The Madness Within by Steve Lyons (also wrote the excellent audio drama Waiting Death) is an OKish edition to Black Library’s audio dramas. The daemon is interesting, it doesn’t fit one of the four templates of Chaos, it almost reminded me of a Tyranid insomuch as the being stalked and preyed on these Marines. You can feel the tangible choices Estabann and Cordoda – none are good choices, but they have to make them. The Librarian (who’s name escapes me, sorry) is broken and borderline insane – but with conventional weapons having no effect upon the daemon – they super-human warriors turn to this broken soul for help. I rather enjoyed the internal battle between Estabann and Cordoda, as the distrust towards the psyker is deliciously played out. The Madness Within is probably the most atmospheric of any of the audio dramas I’ve listened from the publisher. You can feel the stress is taking its toll on the survivors – the daemons tricky playing on their every decision.
There are problems and a few of them. I personally had an instant dislike to the former Librarian and Cordoda – mainly because the insane marine is voiced in such a whimpering way – his choices and moral compass are both cowardly and, well unlike a Space Marine. That’s not the big issue (not every Space Marine needs to be the cookie cutter of a ‘Loken’ – ‘Tarvitz’ or ‘Garro’) if I’m honest, the fact there is absolutely no background to WHY the Librarian is that way made me stop short from wanting to root for him. It’s a problem I’ve come across before in BL publications. Cordoda is a hard man to like, he is the quintessential ‘Garro’-esque persona, that for me, is utterly devoid of character. To combat that is the ever-reliant Sergeant Estabann, who is the go-to-guy who can kick ass and pick you up when needed. There is a bit of balance – but as I’m finding more than more with Black Library audio dramas – lacking in character in both persona and just flair to their stories. I mean from their original releases 5/7 are ‘last stand’ stories.
I found the narration to be slightly off for this one, the Crimson Fists sound like your bog-standard Space Marines and as I’ve mentioned the Space Marine psyker voice was off putting. Sound effects are excellent as always – the ‘noises’ the daemon made were rather… scary. The story sounds good on paper, but execution, well The Madness Within just doesn’t work for me. If you’ve listened to this AD please let me know what you thought!
Desperate, isolated and alone Sergeant Estabann and Brother Cordoda of the Crimson Fists are being hunted by a daemon of Chaos, an apex predator whom is hunting them on one of their recruitment worlds. Marines have been lost to this… creature. The brothers are forced to turn to a Liberian who is on the edge of insanity, his psychic abilities could change the fight – but the psyker is possibly tainted and has been incarcerated, trust, is in ever short supply. The Adeptus Astartes have a choice, face the Chaos denizen of the warp with blade and bolter or turn to there compromised former brother and fight this foe on an even footing.
The Madness Within by Steve Lyons (also wrote the excellent audio drama Waiting Death) is an OKish edition to Black Library’s audio dramas. The daemon is interesting, it doesn’t fit one of the four templates of Chaos, it almost reminded me of a Tyranid insomuch as the being stalked and preyed on these Marines. You can feel the tangible choices Estabann and Cordoda – none are good choices, but they have to make them. The Librarian (who’s name escapes me, sorry) is broken and borderline insane – but with conventional weapons having no effect upon the daemon – they super-human warriors turn to this broken soul for help. I rather enjoyed the internal battle between Estabann and Cordoda, as the distrust towards the psyker is deliciously played out. The Madness Within is probably the most atmospheric of any of the audio dramas I’ve listened from the publisher. You can feel the stress is taking its toll on the survivors – the daemons tricky playing on their every decision.
There are problems and a few of them. I personally had an instant dislike to the former Librarian and Cordoda – mainly because the insane marine is voiced in such a whimpering way – his choices and moral compass are both cowardly and, well unlike a Space Marine. That’s not the big issue (not every Space Marine needs to be the cookie cutter of a ‘Loken’ – ‘Tarvitz’ or ‘Garro’) if I’m honest, the fact there is absolutely no background to WHY the Librarian is that way made me stop short from wanting to root for him. It’s a problem I’ve come across before in BL publications. Cordoda is a hard man to like, he is the quintessential ‘Garro’-esque persona, that for me, is utterly devoid of character. To combat that is the ever-reliant Sergeant Estabann, who is the go-to-guy who can kick ass and pick you up when needed. There is a bit of balance – but as I’m finding more than more with Black Library audio dramas – lacking in character in both persona and just flair to their stories. I mean from their original releases 5/7 are ‘last stand’ stories.
I found the narration to be slightly off for this one, the Crimson Fists sound like your bog-standard Space Marines and as I’ve mentioned the Space Marine psyker voice was off putting. Sound effects are excellent as always – the ‘noises’ the daemon made were rather… scary. The story sounds good on paper, but execution, well The Madness Within just doesn’t work for me. If you’ve listened to this AD please let me know what you thought!
July 27, 2025
67/100.
very interesting story about crimson fists battling an unknown demon within a monenastary. to be fair it's a bit formulaic and I thought I've heard this before or read. is nothing new, even the mystery.
good sound effects
very interesting story about crimson fists battling an unknown demon within a monenastary. to be fair it's a bit formulaic and I thought I've heard this before or read. is nothing new, even the mystery.
good sound effects
September 10, 2018
Like all these audiodramas you are either going to like them or be annoyed by the over the top acting. I love it!
February 16, 2012
Shadowhawk reviews the second audio drama from Steve Lyons, part of the unofficial Crimson Fists series.
“You want a proper horror story set in 40k? Look no further than this gut-wrenching audio drama from Steve Lyons who definitely has a strong grip on how to combine the two together.” ~ The Founding Fields
Garro: Oath of Moment, Garro: Legion of One, Raven’s Flight, Fireborn and now number 5, The Madness Within. If I had to pick my top two from these five audio dramas, it would be Raven’s Flight followed by The Madness Within. Why? Because it is just that good. Plain and simple.
This is my first experience with Steve’s work and simply put, he is awesome. The Madness Within is an audio drama that takes the grimdark of the 40k setting and meshes it perfectly with a horror story, giving us a product that is much bigger than the sum of its parts. It has Space Marines, Daemons, dramatic tension, infighting, fear, anxiety and that crucial horror element.
Horror and 40k are something that few authors within Black Library have gone for. From what I have read, which isn’t much compared to a lot of the other people who have been with the setting for far longer, only Sarah Cawkwell has gone that route and delivered admirably. I am currently reading through her Space Marine Battles novella Accursed Eternity and it a story that will definitely spook you and give you after-images of zombies and ghosts as you read it.
I have been reliably told that this is something Steve Lyons excels at with some of his previous novels for Black Library, such as Dead Man Walking. I hope to give that one a read soon and see for myself.
Well, back to this audio drama. From the start the plot hooks you right in because Steve starts off with an intense yet short action scene, introduces his characters and then launches right away into his larger narrative. To compile the plot in simple terms, it is the story of a squad of Crimson Fists who arrived on one of their chapter’s recruiting worlds some three years ago to find new recruits to replenish the chapter’s severely depleted ranks since the battle for their own homeworld saw the Crimson Fists nearly destroyed by a freak accident.
But its no easy task for Sergeant Estabaan’s squad because they have already suffered serious setbacks. A daemon has somehow manifested in the squad’s sanctuary-keep and has already killed more than half the squad. Only three men now remain: the Sergeant himself, Brother Cordoba and Librarian Suarez who is the natural suspect for the daemon’s manifestation.
I have to say that The Madness Within totally blew me away. Steve’s near-perfect writing is brought to life by the totally-perfect reading of John Banks. Having listened to only Toby Longworth so far, John made for a great change and it is one I definitely enjoyed a great deal. And if it is one thing that John is really good at, it is getting those sneering, mocking and almost petulant tones right. They alone are worth the price of the audio drama.
Weirdly, John Banks’s voice reminds me of Julian Sands who himself has done a fair amount of horror films in his times. I only remember him from his brief appearances on the Smallville TV series as a young Jor-El and his villainous Snakehead in Jackie Chan’s The Medallion. John’s voice totally puts me in mind of Julian’s face and I can actually imagine that it is the former who is doing the reading. Without any offense to John, I actually liked this.
Overall, the story, with all its twists and turns, is something I think was conveyed well in such a short format, being roughly 70 minutes from start to finish. It could have benefited from a bigger treatment of course, that goes without saying, but it wasn’t needed because the only thing that could have been added was the back-story that the characters themselves give us in small, tantalizing morsels through the running. Which would have actually detracted from the story proper.
As the story progresses, everything in it is amped up to eleven, whether it is the story itself, or the sound effects or the atmosphere that both the writing and the reading create. And when you get towards the climax and get that big twist, you are left slack-jawed. This twist isn’t something I saw coming and when it did come, I was bowled over. Even the ending, which while somewhat confusing, is going to leave you guessing. I dearly hope that Steve gets to write a sequel for this.
My only gripe with the audio drama is that at times it did feel like it was slowing down in pace, almost painfully so, but both John and Steve together quickly raise the excitement level to keep you listening along. Just as with Raven’s Flight, I had absolutely no problem in finishing the whole audio drama in a single sitting, even listening to it twice on the same day!
Even the sound affects, while a little odd at times, were well-matched with the actual goings-on of the plot and I think they are some of the best yet in any of the audio dramas. There is almost a surreal quality to them that works well hand-in-hand with the story itself.
It is definitely one of Black Library’s best audio dramas and I definitely look forward to reading and listening more of Steve’s work.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone without any distinction. Whether you are a horror fan looking for something different or a Black Library oldie looking for more or anywhere in between and beyond, this is for you. It is a very approachable story that, I think, gives a nice little intro to the larger setting and will definitely keep you hooked throughout.
I rate the audio drama at 8.5/10. It is almost as good as Raven’s Flight and the other audio dramas I have read but it not quite there. That might just be my inherent lack of interest in anything of the horror genre and with the Crimson Fists not being one of the chapters I am interested in either but that’s that. I’m sure people who enjoy both 40k and horror can offer a better evaluation but going with my own interests, I stick with this and I repeat that I truly enjoyed this audio drama.
“You want a proper horror story set in 40k? Look no further than this gut-wrenching audio drama from Steve Lyons who definitely has a strong grip on how to combine the two together.” ~ The Founding Fields
Garro: Oath of Moment, Garro: Legion of One, Raven’s Flight, Fireborn and now number 5, The Madness Within. If I had to pick my top two from these five audio dramas, it would be Raven’s Flight followed by The Madness Within. Why? Because it is just that good. Plain and simple.
This is my first experience with Steve’s work and simply put, he is awesome. The Madness Within is an audio drama that takes the grimdark of the 40k setting and meshes it perfectly with a horror story, giving us a product that is much bigger than the sum of its parts. It has Space Marines, Daemons, dramatic tension, infighting, fear, anxiety and that crucial horror element.
Horror and 40k are something that few authors within Black Library have gone for. From what I have read, which isn’t much compared to a lot of the other people who have been with the setting for far longer, only Sarah Cawkwell has gone that route and delivered admirably. I am currently reading through her Space Marine Battles novella Accursed Eternity and it a story that will definitely spook you and give you after-images of zombies and ghosts as you read it.
I have been reliably told that this is something Steve Lyons excels at with some of his previous novels for Black Library, such as Dead Man Walking. I hope to give that one a read soon and see for myself.
Well, back to this audio drama. From the start the plot hooks you right in because Steve starts off with an intense yet short action scene, introduces his characters and then launches right away into his larger narrative. To compile the plot in simple terms, it is the story of a squad of Crimson Fists who arrived on one of their chapter’s recruiting worlds some three years ago to find new recruits to replenish the chapter’s severely depleted ranks since the battle for their own homeworld saw the Crimson Fists nearly destroyed by a freak accident.
But its no easy task for Sergeant Estabaan’s squad because they have already suffered serious setbacks. A daemon has somehow manifested in the squad’s sanctuary-keep and has already killed more than half the squad. Only three men now remain: the Sergeant himself, Brother Cordoba and Librarian Suarez who is the natural suspect for the daemon’s manifestation.
I have to say that The Madness Within totally blew me away. Steve’s near-perfect writing is brought to life by the totally-perfect reading of John Banks. Having listened to only Toby Longworth so far, John made for a great change and it is one I definitely enjoyed a great deal. And if it is one thing that John is really good at, it is getting those sneering, mocking and almost petulant tones right. They alone are worth the price of the audio drama.
Weirdly, John Banks’s voice reminds me of Julian Sands who himself has done a fair amount of horror films in his times. I only remember him from his brief appearances on the Smallville TV series as a young Jor-El and his villainous Snakehead in Jackie Chan’s The Medallion. John’s voice totally puts me in mind of Julian’s face and I can actually imagine that it is the former who is doing the reading. Without any offense to John, I actually liked this.
Overall, the story, with all its twists and turns, is something I think was conveyed well in such a short format, being roughly 70 minutes from start to finish. It could have benefited from a bigger treatment of course, that goes without saying, but it wasn’t needed because the only thing that could have been added was the back-story that the characters themselves give us in small, tantalizing morsels through the running. Which would have actually detracted from the story proper.
As the story progresses, everything in it is amped up to eleven, whether it is the story itself, or the sound effects or the atmosphere that both the writing and the reading create. And when you get towards the climax and get that big twist, you are left slack-jawed. This twist isn’t something I saw coming and when it did come, I was bowled over. Even the ending, which while somewhat confusing, is going to leave you guessing. I dearly hope that Steve gets to write a sequel for this.
My only gripe with the audio drama is that at times it did feel like it was slowing down in pace, almost painfully so, but both John and Steve together quickly raise the excitement level to keep you listening along. Just as with Raven’s Flight, I had absolutely no problem in finishing the whole audio drama in a single sitting, even listening to it twice on the same day!
Even the sound affects, while a little odd at times, were well-matched with the actual goings-on of the plot and I think they are some of the best yet in any of the audio dramas. There is almost a surreal quality to them that works well hand-in-hand with the story itself.
It is definitely one of Black Library’s best audio dramas and I definitely look forward to reading and listening more of Steve’s work.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone without any distinction. Whether you are a horror fan looking for something different or a Black Library oldie looking for more or anywhere in between and beyond, this is for you. It is a very approachable story that, I think, gives a nice little intro to the larger setting and will definitely keep you hooked throughout.
I rate the audio drama at 8.5/10. It is almost as good as Raven’s Flight and the other audio dramas I have read but it not quite there. That might just be my inherent lack of interest in anything of the horror genre and with the Crimson Fists not being one of the chapters I am interested in either but that’s that. I’m sure people who enjoy both 40k and horror can offer a better evaluation but going with my own interests, I stick with this and I repeat that I truly enjoyed this audio drama.
October 7, 2024
I don’t give out high reviews a lot, especially on fiction but the way this one was engineered from the title to the story, the end, the lack of answers, etc was just near perfect.
I don’t want to spoil it but definitely worth a read
I don’t want to spoil it but definitely worth a read
September 18, 2019
Constantine meets gears of war, I can't explain it any better. Absolutely awesome.
February 8, 2022
Creepy - good thriller, surprising for this narrative genre
July 8, 2023
While this is not my least favourite Black Library story (at least this one isn't virulently misogynistic and bio-essential) it is up there for the sheer lack of interest, originality, and a seriously disappointing production. The gulf in quality between this and many other BL works is shocking.
September 23, 2012
This particular tale is about the Crimson Fists, as a demon slaughters most of the members of a particular squad. Sergeant Estaban, with his battle brother Cordova, along with their Librarian, are the only ones left, and they hunt the demon down...or so they think. Their Librarian has already been possessed by the demon, tainting his mind, his sanity, and the trust that his squad mates has on him. Will the demon spread the madness and leave the Crimson Fists fighting each other? Or could trust among brothers be the key to survival?
Okay, this audio drama was really good in several aspects. The atmosphere (as described by the narrator) is thick with unnerving paranoia and suspense. It's like a slasher flick but you came in halfway through when most of the characters are dead and there's just a few survivors. The Crimson Fists are way over their heads as the demon they're hunting is quite powerful and is not of the typical battlefield variety where you can just kill it by peppering it with bolter rounds. This one messes with the minds of its victims, and doing it through an audio drama is the best medium. It complements the atmosphere. But what really completes the whole experience is the awesome story. You can plug-in any character from any chapter here, it doesn't matter. What may seem like a generic "suspense story" template, is actually a well-written drama of how Space Marines go through mind-rending and spirit-ripping challenges when confronted by Chaos.
Prowess in the battlefield is totally different - you may be able to use strength, agility, a good aim, an excellent sword hand, to kill and maim enemies...as compared with the battles of the mind, faith, and the spirit. This book will vividly slap the horror and the paranoia in your face, but this is a guaranteed good listening.
Okay, this audio drama was really good in several aspects. The atmosphere (as described by the narrator) is thick with unnerving paranoia and suspense. It's like a slasher flick but you came in halfway through when most of the characters are dead and there's just a few survivors. The Crimson Fists are way over their heads as the demon they're hunting is quite powerful and is not of the typical battlefield variety where you can just kill it by peppering it with bolter rounds. This one messes with the minds of its victims, and doing it through an audio drama is the best medium. It complements the atmosphere. But what really completes the whole experience is the awesome story. You can plug-in any character from any chapter here, it doesn't matter. What may seem like a generic "suspense story" template, is actually a well-written drama of how Space Marines go through mind-rending and spirit-ripping challenges when confronted by Chaos.
Prowess in the battlefield is totally different - you may be able to use strength, agility, a good aim, an excellent sword hand, to kill and maim enemies...as compared with the battles of the mind, faith, and the spirit. This book will vividly slap the horror and the paranoia in your face, but this is a guaranteed good listening.
Currently Reading
February 16, 2012not bad
January 21, 2015
I found it quite enjoyable. Crimson Fists fighting a daemon. The struggles with identity and the ownership of psychic powers gave it a dynamic approach. Very enjoyable for what it was.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews