Cold Roads

Black Library Advent Calendar 2014 #2

by Joe Parrino

The Brazen Claws' long penitent crusade in the Eye of Terror saw them face all manner of foes, both mortal and daemonic. As the crew of the Cold Roads battle the servants of Slaanesh, Techmarine Llir is forced to make a decision that could save the crew of the beleaguered vessel' or damn them all.

Read it because
Any tale set in the Eye of Terror is sure to be full of sanity-bending twists and revelations, and Cold Roads is no exception. This Quick Read gives an insight into the horror faced by one particular band of haunted crusaders.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction

11 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2014

About the author

Joe Parrino is the author of the audio drama The Shape of the Hunt and the short stories 'Witness', 'The Patient Hunter', 'In Service to Shadows' and 'No Worse Sin'. He lives, writes and works in the American Pacific Northwest. When not writing, Joe can be found skulking through the rain-lashed forests of the region. Like the elusive sasquatch, he enjoys reading, writing, pestering friends, traveling and other assorted activities.

Reviews

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting short story! Now, I know that the Brazen Claws are successors of the Iron Hands, but they seem a very strange set of Iron Hands. I mean, they have all the will and mechanization to be the Iron Hands, but they just seem... different. The story was from the perspective of a tech marine, and it seems as though the standard Brazen Claw isn't quite an Iron Hand when it comes to machines.

Anyways, we get to see some action and hard choices, and possibly the corruption of a company by doing what they think is best while in the Eye of Terror. Damn good stuff!

[Anthony Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Day 2 of the Black Library Advent Calender yields a Brazen Claws short by Joe Parrino. I was pretty excited about this, since he had such strong offerings with earlier shorts like Witness and No Worse Sin (also featuring the Brazen Claws). Parrino is a master of conveying the atmosphere of Chaos; adding Lovecraftian touches to the Warhammer 40K world, and painting his scenes with a robust palette of "colors that should not exist". This is why the Brazen Claws are the ideal Chapter for him to write about; a Chapter tasked to perpetually serve so close to the Warp.

In this story, we meet Techmarine Luveran Llir as he tries desperately to maintain the integrity of the titular ship, the Cold Roads, as it finds itself assailed by Slaanesh-worshiping forces, including none other than the Emperor's Children. This tale documents those final moments as he attempts to stave off succumbing to the call of Chaos. Standing along with a stout Terminator bodyguard, these last few moments will decide the fate of the entire ship."

You can read my full review of this excellent short here:

http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/20...

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the second day of Christmas Black Library gave to us...a Brazen Claws story by Joe Parrino. Cold Roads, so named for the vessel on which the story takes place, offers a snapshot of the chapter's Eighth Company, deep in the Eye of Terror, battling Emperor's Children and suffering from their long exposure to the Eye. With this and its predecessor, No Worse Sin (from the Angels of Death collection), Parrino is introducing readers to the Brazen Claws as a chapter, hinting at their shadowed history and their organisation, while setting the scene for what's to come next in their story.

Read the rest of the review at http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...