Redblade

Deathwatch: Ignition #4

by Robbie MacNiven

In the upper reaches of Theron, vast arco-refineries harvest the volatile atmospheric lightning storms, and it was this that brought the orks. The Space Wolves sent by Kjarl Grimblood to relieve the Adeptus Mechanicus defenders fight valiantly – none more so than the fierce young Blood Claw Drenn – but it is the expertise of the assigned Deathwatch kill-team that promises to turn the greenskin tide. Even so, Drenn's reckless actions once again draw the wrath of his commander, and the self-styled 'Redblade' must pay the price...

Read it because
It's a look at one of the ways in which the Deathwatch recruit – and shows how they fight alongside other Space Marines, in this case Space Wolves who're not keen on playing nicely with others.

Genres: Short Stories

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2015

About the author

Robbie MacNiven is a Scottish author and historian. His published fiction includes over twenty novels in genres ranging from sci-fi and fantasy to historical fiction, written for publishers such as Black Library, Titan, Rebellion and Aconyte Books. He has also written novellas, short stories, audio dramas, comic scripts and graphic novels, has worked on narrative and character dialogue for multiple digital games (SMITE: Blitz, Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground, Raid: Shadow Legends), and has written colour text and branching narratives for multiple RPG and game rulebooks, including the award-winning Undaunted series by Osprey Games. In 2022 his X-Men novel "First Team" won a Scribe Award for tie-in fiction.

On the non-fiction front, Robbie specialises in Early Modern military history, particularly focusing on the 18th century. He has a PhD in American Revolutionary War massacres from the University of Edinburgh - where he won the Compton Prize for American History - and an MLitt in War Studies from the University of Glasgow. Along with numerous articles for military history magazines, he has written eight books on 18th century conflicts including the American Revolution and the Seven Years War, seven for Osprey Publishing and one for Helion Books. He has also written the scripts for over a dozen episodes of the hit YouTube educational channel Extra History.

Outside of work and writing, his passions include historical re-enacting, gaming, and football.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic, full of plots twists, daring do and action! :D

[Tyberius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its got it all!!! Thrills spills and chills!!!

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the fourth short story in the ongoing Deathwatch serial we get the first tale from a new Black Library author, in the shape of Redblade by Robbie MacNiven. It sees young Space Wolf Drenn, or Redblade as he prefers to be known, recently attached to a Blood Claws pack and railing against the cautious leadership of his older pack leader. Reckless and arrogant, he butts heads with his superior even while defending a floating refinery platform from waves of orks, while members of the inscrutable Deathwatch look on.

Read the rest of the review at https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...