Tears of Raphaela

by Richard Swan

A Lamenters Short Story

The Lamenters have twice been brought to the brink of destruction, first during the Badab War and later in battle against the overwhelming horror of Hive Fleet Kraken. Each time, they have endured despite the curse thought to afflict their Chapter’s gene-seed – and now, one finds a chance for revenge.

READ IT BECAUSE

Join the last Space Marine survivor of a desperate defence of a beleaguered Imperial city, as he stalks his prey through the ruins – not just for victory anymore, but also in search of redemption and vengeance.

THE STORY

In the ruins of an Imperial city, Eliminator Ramethos of the Lamenters Chapter hunts the winged tyranid leader-beast that has wreaked havoc on this world. His Chapter plagued by whispers of curses, his brethren cut down by this foul xenos and its skittering kin, Ramethos must operate alone. It will take all of his cunning and determination to avoid the omnipresent swarms, track down his prey, and disrupt the hive mind by delivering a deadly final shot.

Genres: Science Fiction

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2024

About the author

Richard Swan is a critically acclaimed British genre writer. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Empire of the Wolf and Great Silence trilogies, as well as fiction for Black Library and Grimdark Magazine. His work has been translated into ten languages.

Richard is a qualified lawyer, and before writing full time spent ten years litigating multimillion pound commercial disputes in London. He currently lives in Sydney with his wife and three young sons.


For updates follow him at stonetemplelibrary.com.

Reviews

[Ems ODW · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lamenters are my favourite chapter of Spacemarines and it's awesome to see them have a dedicated story. It's a great read and solidifies their lore and them into the current canon of 40k.

[Charley Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated the quality of the prose, for all the piece was very short; there was a lot of subtle and informative detail and some really delicious descriptive prose.

The Lamenters have absolutely no luck in any other respect, but they were lucky to get such excellent quality from this little vignette.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have tried to read (unsuccessfully) some of the authors books and had to DNF, this tale however was very good, the quality in the writing was obvious

[Mark Pettit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick little story about a Lamenter swearing an oath, and then doing his best to fulfil it. Nice glimpse of the mind of a Lamenter, and suitably grimdark.

[Alpharius(Possibly) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this little short stores which explore what lesser known chapters are doing in modern 40k. This one was fun, very smart and compact and carrying an obvious quality in the writing.

[Riley Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but completely encapsulates the character I’ve always imagined of the Lamenters. So sorrow filled for heresies both real and perceived, but dutiful until the end. A great Space Marine story.