The Core

Night Lords #2.5

by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Talos and First Claw are back in action after the cataclysmic events of Blood Reaver, boarding a dangerous space hulk in search of an ancient secret. Harried by genestealers and Space Marines of the Salamanders Chapter, they must protect the traitor tech-priest Deltrian as he completes his mission. But something is hunting them through the shadows, a predator that is more than their match...

Read it because
The Night Lords are at their devilish best here, scavenging for supplies, battling Genestealers and facing the might of the Salamanders. Oh, and you might want to read Nick Kyme's Prometheus Requiem as well, to see the other side of the story.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Chris Berko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is action-horror at its finest. This is like Aliens, James Cameron's masterpiece, but instead of fighting Ripley, Hicks, Hudson, and Newt our favorite xenoforms are battling The Night Lords/First Claw. I don't usually get into short stories but the ones in this omnibus and the Eisenhorn omnibus fit so well into the narrative and hardly seem like they are not a part of the actual novels I'm really glad I did not skip them or skim through them. The Core is a little longer than the other shorts and is a fantastic addition to the story as a whole, and the info presented seems like it is setting up what is going to be a spectacular book three.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's more ADB Night Lords, what's not to love?

I listened to this great amateur narration by Dorian the Lore'Ian on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sjrZLQkPsCE?si=QT56s...

Talos and Co head into a Space Hulk to get some new fancies goodies and tussle with some blue and purple xenos and some green Loyalists.

Classic 40K goodness done with trademark ADB style with the added bonus of being a subtle crossover 2ith Nick Kyme's Tome of Fire Salamanders, who have their own story and perspective on the events in Prometheus Requiem. Both stories initially featured in the Fear the Alien anthology.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good transition between the books. The banter between the first claw boys is again 10/10.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story set between Blood Reaver and Void Stalker, the Core see’s our Night Lords Warband tackle a Space Hulk. Now, for those that don’t know, Space Hulks are vast amalgamation of space ships and can become so huge they have their own atmosphere and gravity. These hulks are normally very old, or have very old ships as part of their makeup, and can harbor some very valuable plunder for those desperate or mad enough to brave the Hulks’ interior. Space Hulks are classically home to Genestealers, and such is the case here, with an interesting look at the Genestealer Primus’s “thoughts”, as well as how our favourite struggling bastards wage war against those tenacious Xenos monstrosities.

Needless to say, the short story was a great read. Not too long as to be drawn out, but also not nearly so short as to constrain the story. I think Space Hulk missions might be one of the most under-used things in 40k fiction, as when done well, they are a blast to read!

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Acción y poco más.-

Género. Relato.

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro El núcleo (publicación original: The Core, 2011) nos muestra como la Eco de la Maldición se acerca a un enorme pecio abandonado afectado por la disformidad hasta fusionarse con centenares de otros aparatos y que, alguna vez, perteneció al Mechanicus. En busca de recursos y equipos, Talos y otros marines espaciales del caos deciden abordarla acompañados del tecnoadepto corrupto Daltrian, pero dos facciones distintas y hostiles ya están dentro. Trabajo perteneciente a la trilogía Los Amos de la Noche y que transcurre entre el segundo y el tercer libro de la saga.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short tale taking place between the second and third book of the series which is fine. The book follows the First claw along with the Raptors heading into a space hulk in order to reach a Mechanicus stuck towards the middle. Along the way the group comes across genestealers and Salamanders. Overall, the story is fine and a bit too short in my opinion. I would have liked to see them within the space hulk a bit longer. Seeing Talos as the leader of the small warband however was great to see.

The story is fine and I'm sure it is going to play a role in the last book.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excited to see another major faction from 40k interact with our Nightlords, who heretofore have mostly dealt with the Imperium and other traitor Space Marines. I feel like the Raptors really got fleshed out here, whereas they felt almost like a weird joke in the previous book when they were introduced. I will say the story felt oddly clipped, even for a short story. Like the author ran up against a wordcount he wasn't expecting.

[Joseph Lecoure · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had potential, but felt kind of rushed. Wish there was a bit more with the Salamanders seeing as their my favorite chapter and it was a pleasant surprise seeing them pop up in this Night Lords short story. But all in all, felt like, as someone as said, that the story had a "turn in date" so it had to be rushed to finish it in time. But still worth the quick read.

[Jayme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Lords meets Ridley Scott's Aliens. ADB I want to kiss you on the forehead.

Is the unwritten rule that tie-in short stories cap out at 4 stars max? Curious.

Excellent tension, excellent world building, excellent ending - and all linking books #2 and #3 in this series.

One question still remains...

...why the fuck is there an Ork on this cover?

[Kavinay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was just really unclear on the whacked out terminator? Was he play-acting?

[Drew Brightman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good continuation. The series is still good but dropping off a little bit. I feel that I am losing interest a little in first claw at this point

[Ulzeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fun.

[Nate Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a good time to read more about our favorite VIII legion heretics.

[Ben Vogensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really feel like much at all happened here. It was fine.

[L J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good solid short story. Nice pace and good to see the switch between perspectives which give it a nice bit of extra flavour. One worth reading if you want a fun quick read.

[Gary Bake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great ADB\Night lords book

[Thomas Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written action-packed short story between books two and three of the Night Lords trilogy. Can also be read separately but some background knowledge of the characters is recommended.

[Luke Courtney]

Frantic close quarter action as First Claw face down xenos predators and their own loyalist kin in pursuit of a valuable prize...

[Maynard Vachnadze · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story takes place after the events of Blood Reaver. The warband of Talos, aboard their new ship, Echo of Damnation, come across a massive space hulk, an amalgamation of approximately 200 wrecked ships. One of them is supposed to hold invaluable Mechanicum lore, and as it always goes with space hulks, a good load of gene-stealers. I recommend reading this right after Blood Reaver, since we get to see Talos struggling to fit his newly gained commander mantle, and the other characters' reactions to their brother's new position. There is also some nice action - severed limbs and all.

Overall a fairly quick and entertaining read. High praise to Aaron D-B. I'm starting Void Stalker today, and can't wait to see how this epic story ends.