Faces

Warhammer 40,000

by Matthew Farrer

The harlequins of the eldar are mysterious and enigmatic, even by the standards of that aloof race. When one of their number begins to experience memories that are not her own, and another life begins to bleed into their reality, the entire troupe is threatened. Can they find the source of the disturbance and stop it before it is too late?

Read it because
Faces takes you behind the Harlequins' masks into the dark side of their psyche. It's a chilling and fervent place – not somewhere you'd want to stick around for long. A terrifying scene here will make you not want to cross paths with this deadly alien foe.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

38 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Matthew Farrer writes mostly for Black Library. He lives in Australia.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta novela corta marea un poco. Consigue su propósito pero en algún momento se convierte en repetitiva. Sin embargo, describe a la perfección lo que es ser un Harlequin en el universo de Warhammer 40k.

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's 40k, so don't expect great literature, but it's quite enjoyable within the pulpy sci-fi/horror setting! We start with some lovely lyrical moments of madness as a poor group of humans encounters ineffable xenos technology, and we end up with some cool faction lore for the Harlequins faction. Probably not a must-read for general readers, but certainly one of the stronger Black Library short stories I've read and practically obligatory for fans of this faction (or Eldar generally).

[Thomas]

A cleverly told and exciting showing for the Harlequins

The mystery of the book lends an importance sense of wonder and the story cleverly reinterprets the Eldar's mythical cycle through the lenses of mere mortal humans.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted

A very weird and twisted tale, it builds and builds and has a very satisfying and Harlequin finish. Check it out.

[Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, one of the best Eldar stories I've read, which feels quite remarkable as there's hardly any Eldar present until the very end!
We get to follow a group of humans who've stumbled upon some strange xenos artefacts which seem to have some very strange influence over them. It's quite fun to read a story of corrupting artefacts, without chaos!

A very rich language, powerful feelings of madness and despair mingled with hope and curiosity. This tale had almost everything I had hoped for when I saw it was an Harlequin-story.
I've read other Harlequin tales. Both The Masque of Vyle by Andy Chambers and The Victim's Dance by Ben Counter. This short story was better than any of them. And that's saying a lot as I really enjoyed the Masque of Vyle!

I like my Elven-space-ninja-clowns =)