The Greater Evil

The Dark Coil

by Peter Fehervari

An expedition to discover the fate of a long lost Water Caste ambassador and bring an Imperial world into the T'au Empire faces grave peril…

In the far reaches of the Damocles Gulf, an expedition of the T'au Empire heads for the system known to the Imperium as Yuxa, there to bring the influence of the Greater Good to humanity – and investigate the reappearance of a Water Caste ambassador thought lost years before. Joined by a mysterious Ethereal and defended by gue'vesa auxiliaries – soldiers once of mankind's Imperium, now devoted to the Greater Good – the expedition's leader expects a trap/ But what he finds may just change his perceptions of the galaxy.

Peter Fehervari continues to build his little corner of the Warhammer 40,000 universe in a tale of mystery and danger that will leave you guessing right to the very end.

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

57 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2017

Reviews

[Marc Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never been shy in my appreciation of Peter Fehervari’s work; not simply in the skill with which he writes, but for the sense of uniqueness he brings to his corner of the 40k universe. Bound together with shared terminology and symbolism (Coil, Thorns, Spiral, Unity, Circle), it pulses with a wonderfully organic vitality. Each story he write, each faction he deals with, adds to the tapestry he is creating from the setting.

Fehervari takes the best of his T’au work from stories like “Fire Caste” or “Fire and Ice”, and weaves them with other stories he has recently undertaken. Without giving too much away, the story takes a multi-faceted look at the nature of faith and loyalty, the bonds of duty and the depths of fealty. The story plays with perspective, wonderfully wrong-footing us with a false start, before introducing us to our new reality.

The characters all have a sense of weight and history to them, as though their place in the universe is assured and we have only interjected in-media-res. Some are broken by their experiences, or shaped by them into something entirely other.

The nature of T’au society and how their messengers act as the cutting edge of diplomacy is addressed, expanding on the philosophies that defined “Fire Caste”. Fehervari addresses head-on the naivety of the T’au, seemingly incapable of seeing that the xenophobia and superstition of the Imperium- though distasteful- actually serves a purpose in the universe. We also get to see more of their active Gue’vesa and some rather fun kroot into the bargain as well.

While the plot is fairly well signposted, it also takes its time to develop in ways that we perhaps did not expect.

I would highly recommend this story for any fans of Fehervari’s masterful prose and tenebrous world-building, or for anyone who wants to see a really cerebrally unsettling and engaging T’au story unfold. Fehervari remains as one of BL’s secret weapons, and perhaps the most underappreciated of their great talents. Give this man more work.

[Anthony Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you all know, I've been keeping my Warhammer 40K reviews going up at my new blog; however, a new Peter Fehervari short is such a momentous occasion that I had to take a few minutes and post it here as well! Thanks as always for stopping by!

There are few greater causes for celebration than the release of new material from personal favorite author Peter Fehervari; so this week began on a blissful note. On Monday; The Black Library released Fehervari's newest short story, The Greater Evil, which is a Tau-centric tale that weighs in at a whopping 52 pages (nearly twice the length of the average short story; so you're definitely getting more bang for your five bucks).

Now, I will tell you right up front; this story is spectacular. I am seeing a lot of comments within the Facebook groups I frequent that cite The Greater Evil as Fehervari's best short story to date. In all honesty; I am somewhat inclined to agree. I'm pretty sure, as well, that if you read my past reviews of his works, you will see similar sentiments being expressed. This speaks to his overall evolution as an author; certain tales of his have been more dark than others; some more complex with his endless puzzles and riddles. Others are more character driven; while others come up as more accessible to the general palate. The Greater Evil, on the other hand, combines the best of all of these qualities. This is a wonderful, dark, vivid tale that serves as a testimonial that Fehervari has established himself as the best author for writing certain factions.

Now; a note before I continue: there were be a lot of commenting on the merits of the writing here; rather than on the story as a whole. The reason for this is that the blurb for The Greater Evil deliberately leaves the 'bad guys' (well, the faction the Tau is fighting here; 'bad guys' has a lot to do with geography and what side of the fence you are standing on) in the shadows. So, before I go on, here are the details from BL's website, so you have an idea of the basic premise:

A T'au Empire story

An expedition to discover the fate of a long lost Water Caste ambassador and bring an Imperial world into the T'au Empire faces grave peril…

READ IT BECAUSE
Peter Fehervari continues to build his little corner of the Warhammer 40,000 universe in a tale of mystery and danger that will leave you guessing right to the very end.

THE STORY
In the far reaches of the Damocles Gulf, an expedition of the T'au Empire heads for the system known to the Imperium as Yuxa, there to bring the influence of the Greater Good to humanity – and investigate the reappearance of a Water Caste ambassador thought lost years before. Joined by a mysterious Ethereal and defended by gue'vesa auxiliaries – soldiers once of mankind's Imperium, now devoted to the Greater Good – the expedition's leader expects a trap/ But what he finds may just change his perceptions of the galaxy.

That being said; let's dissect this fantastic story.

Characters:

PF is a meticulous, thoughtful, and insightful author; and his characters directly benefit from this, all of them becoming imbued with true gravitas and authenticity. In any Fehervari work; almost any one of the characters could arguably carry a solid novel on their own, and this is certainly the case in The Greater Evil.

In The Greater Evil, we have a trinity of characters at the fore. First off is Voyle, a former Guardsman currently serving as a Gue'vesa auxiliary. He is a formidable warrior; and has subscribed fully to the philosophy of the Tau. However, like most of the leads in Fehervari's stories; Voyle is a man with a burden hanging around his neck like an albatross. In this case; it is the events that led up to his becoming stranded upon a derelict ship. He carries the guilt of allowing his comrades to die; as well as a festering rage against the Imperium for abandoning him. But, Voyle is also plagued by voices. Voices that keep dragging him into the past....into those pivotal moment. Are these murmurings voices from the past; or the future?

In this short, Fehervari also gives us a new type of Ethereal, known as a "Seeker", here represented by the intriguing character of Kyuhai. Personally, I like the concept of Seekers; who are more Shao Lin monks in comparison to the traditional wizened Confucian sage types that Ethereals are normally portrayed as. Granted; this might prompt some discontent among Tau purists; but I believe the logic underpinning the concept is sound enough to not only justify, but also validate its inclusion. And, Kyuhai is an interesting character. He has the wisdom; as well as the bottom-line pragmatism necessary for his position; but his martial skill allows him more front-line, hands-on involvement.

Also, another nice touch to the concept of the Seeker is that Kyuhai eschews a traditional Honour Guard; opting instead for the assistance of two exceptional kroot warriors. Anyone who has read any of Fehervari's works knows how he excels at writing for these avian conscripts of the Tau Empire - from the skrab infected horrors of Fire Caste, to the determined shaper of Fire & Ice.

Finally, we have a Water Caste ambassador named Adibh. She is yet another example of a well-realized, balanced female Tau character crafted by PF. Always seeking a proper balance in her approach to problem resolution; especially considering their position in being part of seeking a non-violent concordance with the gue'la.

Adibh has all of her personal feelings and values challenged when she is tasked with getting to the bottom of the issue regarding a face from the past - the 'lost' ambassador mentioned in the blurb - who also happens to be a longtime friend of hers; as well as a once-potential pairing mate.

And honorable mention goes to Akuryo; the thoughtful Fire Caste commander whom his loyal gue'vesa troops dub "Stormlight". He manages to steal every scene in which he appears; and acts, even in an inadvertent manner, as a major catalyst in the realization of Voyle's personal arc.

As with other Fehervari stories; there is always the chance of an 'old friend' coming for a visit. I was able to place one major character from a previous work; and there is another one whom I am guessing at, but am currently stuck.

Action:

Fehervari never disappoints in the action department. There is a nice setpiece that dominates the middle of the story (as well as a solid training sequence at the opener). It's always noteworthy how much thought he puts into the mechanics of weaponry; as well as the tactics, of all factions involved.

For me, however, there is one scene that really stole the show. In The Greater Evil, as well as in Fire Caste, there is a scene in which a Crisis Battlesuit is unleashed. And this, this is done masterfully. Also, this scene involves a more traditional, conservative Fire Caste warrior; one who is able to make the on the spot battlefield decision to prioritize saving battle drones over wounded gue'vesa troops; because the former have a greater net value than the latter. It is a perfect reminder that even though the Tau present a more 'humane' option than the cruel brutality of the Imperium; the efficiency upon which their house is built often takes emotion out of the equation.

Visuals:

As always; Fehervari brings his setpieces to life. He delivers vivid, unique imagery, time and again. His take on the gue'vesa troops is truly original, and somewhat bizarre - humans who, in their acceptance of Tau doctrine, have their skin stained blue and faces tattooed with concentric rings.

As mentioned, the setup and detailing of the deserted ship that serves as the theater for Voyle's backstory is a spacebound horror house for the records; more terrifying than the Nostromo or the colony on LV-426.

The hulk hovering above the planet Scitalyss - also known as the Unfolding Nexus - where the latter part of the story transpires; is another bastion of inherent 'wrongness' that keeps the reader looking over their shoulder at each turn.

Word Games:

Of course, the most to have with a new Fehervari release is to try and connect the dots between stories; and also find hidden meanings in names and word choices. As always; there is a lot to be found here.

I've been poring over The Greater Evil for close to a week now; and I'm sure I'm only scratching the surface on the hidden gems that PF has tucked away in here. As we all know, the Dark Coil of his tales snake along of their own accord.

Speaking of snakes, there is something of a serpentine theme going on here. This is evidenced in some of the names. The planet that the Unfolding Nexus hovers above is called Scitalyss. The system that Scitalyss is located in is known as the Yuxa system. This system is of particular interest to a celebrity Tau high ambassador named O'Seishin. If that name rings a bell; it is because he figured heavily in Fire Caste.

It also bears mentioning that aside from Scitalyss, there is only one other life-sustaining planet in the Yuxa System. A lovely little world known as Phaedra....

The name of our troubled gue'vesa soldier, Voyle, has a dead giveaway for one of the big story twists in it if you check it out on Wikipedia.

Also, the direct translation of the name of the aforementioned Fire Warrior commander, Akuryo, holds a significance in regards to Voyle as well.

If I am reading correctly, there is also a connection between Voyle's backstory and the ending of a recent Fehervari story.

Well, I'm sure I am missing plenty more. If you do spot any; feel free to mention them in the comments.

In Conclusion:

So, to reiterate, The Greater Evil is yet another fantastically written notch in Peter Fehervari's belt. The quality of his writing has evolved so profoundly; and he has shown without a doubt that he is the best author in the Black Library stable for writing Tau. Tau are so much more than angular; anime-inspired fighting suits. There is a pervading philosophy throughout their race which perhaps positions them as a more benevolent 'master' in the war-torn universe of the 41st millennium....but as with all philosophies, there are always dark corners.

And when you need to explore the dark corners of the universe, you can do no better than Peter Fehervari.

Now, I could possibly see some having issue with the ending of this story. While I feel that The Greater Evil offers a conclusive ending; it is obvious that it is the beginning of a larger story begging to be told. Just to reiterate; it is not an open-ended, ambiguous ending (although I never mind those if they are done right), nor is it a cliff-hanger that denies closure to the reader. Here's hoping that Black Library gives him the chance to add more to this excellent story.

Oh, I must also mention; The Greater Evil both opens and closes with two of the greatest lines that I have read in any 40K fiction. The opening line; an exordium of sorts (is it any coincidence that Voyle's guard unit was the "Exordio" Void Breachers?), prepares the audience for the kind of twisting narrative which Fehervari is famous for. And then, the final line bludgeons the reader mercilessly over the head with a cold truth; a cold truth that reveals itself at a point far past any hope of a remedy.

As always, I simply cannot recommend this story highly enough. Get it now...

You can read my whole review here:
https://voxcastsfromthevoid.wordpress...

[Rostislav Markelov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, Peter Fehervari’s long awaited return to T’au.
It’s hard to describe how I wanted for something like this to appear. Truth be told, the situation with T’au in Black Library was bad. And what I’m talking about is not just a lack of screen time, but more fundamental issues. At one point, I even came to conclusion, that it would be better if there were no T’au stories. Because it is hard to find an author who understands what T’au are in Warhammer 40k. Author, who can look beyond giant robots and vague description of Greater Good philosophy. Author, who can capture the dual nature of this race, new perspective on Warhammer universe that it brings, all this controversy… By this point, there was only one true example where it was achieved – Broken Sword by Guy Halley. In other cases… at best, we have failed attempts, but more often just meaningless battlesuits action with some dystopian clichés on top of it.
Ironically, T’au represent hope, no matter how foolish and dangerous this concept could be in Warhammer 40k. And if there was hope for T’au to get another proper representation it would be Peter Fehervari. I already mentioned his unique ability to understand deeply the faction he is writing about in my reviews on his Genesteeler Cult stories, to describe it with all meaningful distinctions even in small details. And he didn’t fail us.
As always with Fehervari’s writings, this not-so-short story is very multifaceted, and there is a lot things to praise, but as a T’au player I should start with the main virtue of the story, at least from my perspective. And it is the perfectly captured duality of T’au Empire. For me it is the main reason why I am so into T’au. Not animesque battlesuits, not Space Communists jokes and other superficial stuff, but this moral ambiguity. Are they really good guys? This question give birth to a lot of fighting in Warhammer community, but what makes T’au great is not that they are good and not that they are secretly bad, but the fact that you just can’t tell for sure. That they are not good or bad, but alien. And Peter Fehervari did a great job to make this point. For example, one of the main characters in this story is gue’vesa – a human who accepted the Greater Good. From the story, we learn that after his induction into the Tau’Va he was forced to undertake some mental trainings, like constantly reading mantras of self-sublimation and had to take part in other suspicious activities. However, considering what he came through beforehand you can say that it was more like treatment of PTSD, than method of enforcing loyalty. Moreover, in the end this mental technic in combination with ritual from character’s past saves him from fate worse than death (and it was very beautiful concept in itself, regardless). So, where the restoration of mental health ends and brainwashing for Greater Good begins? Questions like this is what gives the T’au their worth. And this isn’t the only example even in this short story.
Moreover, what makes Fehervari’s approach great is the subtlety of his writing. Darker aspects of T’au society is there, but they are carefully hinted at, not forced onto reader as it happens in recent T’au stories. And there is the delicacy with which Fehervari working with lore. By some details, you can tell that he read stories of other authors (rare virtue not anyone among BL can boast about) and there is always room for interpretation and possibilities for readers or players for their own perception of lore. A great efforts were undertaken to not undermine anyone's understanding of the subject.
The other great aspect of this work is the cast of characters. And it is as colorful as always in Fehervari’s writing. I already mentioned the gue’vesa with very troubled past, but the main star here is of course Etherial. In recent times portrayal of the etherials rarely went beyond I-knew-better-than-you insufferable attitude, despite the obvious fact that there is so much to explore, so this take on the subject was very refreshing. Balanced, I should say. Armed with wisdom and control over his own emotions this character bravely goes to explore Dark Coil and to find its hidden truth, no matter how horrible it is. And he clearly differs from others “Seekers” of Fehervari, Retriever of Faith and Faithfull from Cult of the Spiral Dawn for example. They share purpose, but means, reasons, everything else are different, and it’s great. Another brilliant can be found among supporting cast – Shas’El’Akuryo really steals the spotlight every time he appears. And there is so much that character can offer to the Fehervari’s narrative… But sadly, Dark Coil is merciless and while I enjoyed reading about him I recognized him and remembered his tragic fate that was hinted in completely different story. This reunion was quite painful, even if in a good way. Antagonist of the story is great as well, but it would be a spoiler to tell anything about him.
Another merit of Fehervari’s writing, which I can’t praise enough, is how he works with composition of the story. Wordplay, style, beautiful scenes – it is all good, but in my opinion what truly shows efforts that were invested into writing is when there is beauty in the way the text is organized. How one parts enhance perception of others, all interconnections and dynamic of the narration. And here we have another exemplar of Fehervari’s mastery. Structure of the story is very close to Fire and Ice, but works perfectly in this short.
If I am going to complain about something it would be the length of the story. While it is way larger than your typical BL short it is muuuuch shorter than I want it to be. Such potential… It easily could be a novel. But this is it, the life is unfair…
Some could be struck by repetitive imageries that Fehervari uses in all his works, but personally, I perceive this technic more like some kind of pattern on the fields. And there is some beauty in it. Moreover, these imageries provide another connection between all Fehervari’s stories. Representation of the Dark Coil on meta-level. To create something like this is truly difficult task that worth at least respect even if it is not always work as intended.
In the end, this story was a great and pleasant surprise. And despite the famous Warhammer 40k proverb I want to hope that it isn’t last time when I saw something like this.
For the Greater Good!

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Fehervari is fast becoming my favorite niche writer of warhammer horror.

In a franchise that is largely bolster porn and gore (which is what makes it so damn enjoyable), Fehervari has been writing a series of short stories exploring the darker, more spine inducing aspects of the grim dark galaxy.

And, unlike most of the standard fare when it comes to 40k, the ones facing these horrors are not mass produced super soldiers who know no fear, or alien champions who can run circles around the worst the galaxy has to throw at them.

Often, it's the rank and file regular people, whore armed at best with a competent flashlight. Or most often, tau, which makes even more sense. Seeing as how tau as a whole are a young (read naive) race, who are just encountering the horrors that the galaxy spawns out on a regular basis.

Cause the tau are essentially a race in warhammer working off the rules and common sense of a star trek race. Which to anyone even tangentially familiar to this world is like a baby seal crawling towards that club wielding homo sapiens for the first and last time, eyes full of wonder.

Having encountered such eldritch horrors, their lofty ideals of camaraderie amongst races and the greater good, is crumbling piece meal. And at least the upper echelons and front liners are beginning to dawn about the terrible realization.

That perhaps, the xenophobic, totalitarian, religion fuelled barbarians that are the imperium might be right in the utter scorched earth ruthlessness they display when encountering such things.

______________________________

Fehervali's stories, take place in the morning middle of the narrative. And it often tells an incomplete story. Which doesn't take away from the engagement as long as it's written well.

The characters we follow, have a past and presumably a future. (Given the standard death toll of characters in this franchise that's usually an uncertainty). But what is relevant is the now, and the decisions and events that set them into this now. As well as the events that will pivot them to their unspecified mission in the uncertain future.

Similar to how in star wars (not the sequels) the force guides the destiny of characters towards a certain outcome. But here, the force, is decidedly more disconcerting in nature.


Having read this and 'Sanctuary of wyrms' by the same author, I'm not sure of this whole thing is leading upto something. Or if these stories are just snippets or snapshots into the lives in this reality. I'd prefer if it were the latter.

[Tim Van Lipzig · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes a good short-story? I'm not an expert and there's no clear rulebook, but the short-stories that impress me the most are those that manage to feature everything a novel should offer - a range of interesting, complex characters of which at least one experiences a full arc, a complete story with beginning, middle and end, world-building, a few loose ends to convey mystery and intrigue, an appropriate mixture of calm and exciting scenes - and convey all that in a fraction of the space that a novel offers without feeling crammed or overstuffed.

Peter Fehervari is a master of that art, and even among his impressive body of work, The Greater Evil is one of my favorites. It's told from the perspective of a t'au expedition that gets called by a water caste ambassador who was presumed KIA a long time ago, bearing the good news of having converted an Imperial space-station to the Greater Good. Things smell fishy from the start, so the expedition proceeds with caution, and...you'll have to find out the rest by yourself.

The main characters are a mixture of t'au characters: a human ex-Guard gue'vesa with a mysterious past, a water caste diplomat, a fire warrior, and, most excitingly, a Seeker - an Ethereal on a journey of discovery with a distinct philosophy of his own.

The story itself is a tight mix of psychological and philosophical contemplation, action and horror, as usual with some more or less obscure links to other Fehervari-stories. I'd really love to see Fehervari build on some of the loose ends of the finale in the future, but even if the story stays at it is, it is a fascinating little piece of story that's fully satisfying on it's own. Highly recommended.

Addendum: For anyone seeking guidance among or easier access into the perhaps daunting number of stories of "The Dark Coil", the book blog Track Of Words has an extensive article titled "A Traveller's Guide to the Dark Coil", including an overview over factions and places as well as a recommended reading order and links to various interviews with the author.

[Skaragrimson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would be all too easy to precis and drop inadvertent spoilers- terror, intrigue, mystery and deception being a key theme in this short. Suffice to say this is superb and one of the best - maybe the best - short story from this author. Up there with the finest BL literature. Important to add that this is very much a T'au story though the main protagonist Ulver Voyle is Gue'vesa. Voyle himself has one of the most gripping character back stories I've yet come across in a BL short - tragic and wonderfully fleshed-out given the limited space (plus a nice literary homage...). The T'au are well handled/detailed and there's an interesting ensemble cast including a new and intriguing subset of Ethereal called the "Seekers" - who are quite a bit more kick-ass than you'd normally expect from this caste. In past works the author has shown a real flair for writing Kroot and that's very much evident here as well. A compelling new Guard Regiment - the Void Breachers who specialize in EVA assaults - are also introduced. Would be great to see more of these in future work.

If I have any complaints it's the length- a long short story but could so easily be spun out into a full length novel.... That shouldn't detract from what is otherwise a fantastic piece of writing and I'd highly recommend to any BL readers - especially those with an interest in T'au, well-developed characters and a larger than usual dose of horror.

[Lohmatii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Фехервари все так же хорош!

Здесь, как и в "Голодную отбрасывая тень", разворачивается сюжет схватки двух "тоталитарных сект" сороковника на формально человеческой территории. На этот раз это т'ау и генокрады. Не погружаясь в детали, нам как будто только описываю будущую сцену. Мы видим разбухшую раковой опухолью станцию-улей, парящую в атмосфере газового гиганта. Разрушение, упадок и запустение. Станция лояльна имепериуму, но так отдалена и незначительна, что на нее, по сути, махнули рукой. Задумка локации хороша! Это как взять все разложение Федры и перенести его в клаустрофобию города-улья. Да не просто улья, стоящего на планете, а запаянной братской могилы, болтающейся в космосе. Банка с пауками в чистом виде.

Совсем короткая повесть с открытым финалом, предшествующая по хронологии многим другим книгам Клубка. Часть персонажей появляется еще юными и свежими - очень далекими от своих же версий в дальнейших(предыдущих?) версий. Это оставляет надежду, что Высшее зло будет прологом к чему-то большему.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Greater Evil is a typically dark tale from Peter Fehervari, digging beneath the surface of the T’au Empire to a strange truth beneath.

While not directly linked to his previous works, it shares both stylistic cues and the same overall setting, not to mention his way of showing a surprisingly sinister side to the T’au.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/11/...

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy, intriguing, action-packed. Became interested in the tau (there are human protagonists as well) as something other than filthy xenos. Should get sequels

[Aaron Baylee Henderson-Eubanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not long enough! I needed way more. Love it!

[Csaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sokszor leírtam már hogy a BL-en belül kevés ember van aki érti azt a világot ami a kezük alatt van. Ebből fakad a rengeteg ellentmondás, kritizált történeti elem, és ócska, lapos regény. Még a legnépszerűbbek között is vannak akik olyan tucattörténetekkel árasztják el a piacot amik ugyan zseniálisan vannak megírva, de nem dobog bennük igazi Warhammer szív. Igen, rád nézek Dan Abnett. Eközben pedig olyan tehetségek ülnek a kispadon mint Peter Fehervari. Habár nem tudom hogy végső soron a BL vagy Fehervari áll a relative alacsony foglalkoztatás hátterében. Én azonban őszintén reménykedek hogy egyre több és több Warhammer tartalom fog a kezei alól kikerülni. Ugyanis én őszintén vallom hogy ilyen mélyen egyetlen más író sem szokott vagy képes belemenni a világ sötét lelkületébe úgy hogy hiteles maradjon. A nagy és látványosan gyomorforgató elemek helyett itt a sötétség sokkal arctalanabb, megkérdőjelezhetőbb és észrevétlen mászik az ember bőre alá.

No de a reklám után beszéljünk kicsit az aktuális darabról is. Ami szerintem nem lett a legjobb, ellentétben egyes külföldi véleményekkel. Vannak ennél valamivel kevésbé sikerült írásai is ugyan, és az átlag WH színvonalhoz képest Oscar illetve irodalmi Nobel-díjas munka, de valami hiányzik. A karakterek terén ismét kapunk pár zseniális figurát. Az ex-Storm Trooper gue'vesa. Voyle, vagy a tau etheral „inkvizítor” Kyuhai, olyan figurák akikre egész könyveket lehetne bátran építeni. A novella hátterét adó titok is tipikusan Fehervari-s, kényelmetlen és piszkos egy húzás, annak ellenére is hogy csak két korábbi tematika összeeresztése. A történetnek azonban valahogy nem volt olyan tétje, ami igazi erőt adott volna neki. Nem sikerült igazi csúcspontot adni, ami súlyt adott volna a szereplők sorsának. Nincs az a kényelmetlen érzést maga után hagyó finálé mint ami jellemzi mondjuk a Fire Caste-ot, a Sanctuary of Worms-t vagy a Fire and Ice-ot.

Ui: A kedvenc szereplőmet ki is felejtettem. Uborka hadnagy (Kor’vre Ubor’ka)

[Ben Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great entry into the Dark Coil mini-verse of Peter Fehervari, this time focusing on the Tau and their mission of spreading "The Greater Good", among other things. The Greater Evil has all of the elements I've come to expect and appreciate of Peter Fehervari's work, with the dreamlike dread and dread, poetic prose, layered characters and plot, and just generally competent writing, with a grimdark ending that sticks around long after this novella/short story is done. If you are a fan of Tau, or of the Dark Coil, or even just good sci-fi horror, this is an easy recommend, 5/5.

[Ian Waddell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as creepy as I'd been hoping but it definitely makes Tyranids seem rather insidious as opposed to just weirdo mutants lurking in the sewers.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of the greater pattern but much remains yet hidden. I am trusting this author to pay these plot threads off. Time will tell. There is a space hulk passage that actually brought something new to the table, in a startling form of horror.

[Minotaurus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little story that leaves me wishing for more.
For me there was a lot of pausing to google whatever tau-term is currently being said and there are a lot of words that may give ESL-people like myself a brief pause. But hey, it's for the greater good.

[JOHN MITCHELL · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Happened to the end?

A short but interesting story that had no end.

Good action sequences with an entertaining plotline ended all too soon.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Fehervari has a grasp of the Tau like no other writer. A blaze of glory with a gripping story that I hope may lead to something more.

[noahrohan98 · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the only books with navy breacher insight

Good short read would recommend Has story of navy breachers which is few and far in between. Took about two hours read

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5.

Well written with a creeping dread that builds through to the end.