Inferno! Volume 1

Inferno! #1

by David Annandale (Contributor), Peter McLean (Contributor), Evan Dicken (Contributor)

Tales from the Worlds of Warhammer

Inferno! Volume 1 showcases some of the best new fiction from across Games Workshop's many universes; from the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium, to the brutal underhive of Necromunda, through to the sprawling realms of the Age of Sigmar and the ancient lands of the Warhammer Chronicles.

READ IT BECAUSE
Inferno! is back! And it's packed full of tales from across all the worlds of Warhammer, including some by familiar faces, and loads by newcomers whose unique takes on the universes we love are sure to thrill you.

DESCRIPTION
The premiere volume of this new anthology series brings you new short fiction from the worlds of Warhammer. Penned by debut and current Black Library authors, its tales range from the back streets of the world-that was to a shrouded inn in the Mortal Realms, while in the brutal galaxy of the Dark Imperium, the Ultramarines and others deliver the Emperor's fury to their many foes, and in the depths of Necromunda's underhive, gangers clash in brutal combat.

CONTENTS
The Unsung War by David Annandale
No Hero by Peter McLean
The Path to Glory by Evan Dicken
A Common Ground by Mike Brooks
The Emperor's Wrath by Steven B Fischer
Waking the Dragon by Josh Reynolds
The Enemy of My Enemy by Nate Crowley
How Vido Learned the Trick by Josh Reynolds
The Firstborn Daughter by Filip Wiltgren
Mercy by Danie Ware
At the Sign of the Brazen Claw by Guy Haley

Genres: Fantasy, 40k, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2018

Reviews

[Danie Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice selection, established talent and new, and lots of Orks. What’s not to like?

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★★ - Mercy by Danie Ware
★★★★★ - The Firstborn Daughter by Filip Wiltgren
★★★★★ - The Enemy of My Enemy by Nate Crowley

★★★★☆ - The Unsung War by David Annandale
★★★★☆ - A Common Ground by Mike Brooks

★★★☆☆ - No Hero by Peter McLean
★★★☆☆ - The Emperor's Wrath by Steven B Fischer
★★★☆☆ - How Vido Learned the Trick by Josh Reynolds
★★★☆☆ - At the Sign of the Brazen Claw by Guy Haley

★★☆☆☆ - The Path to Glory by Evan Dicken
★★☆☆☆ - Waking the Dragon by Josh Reynolds

[Dawie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apart from the two Age of Sigmar shorts I skipped due to not having delved that far into the Death of Old World or AoS, I can not say there was a boring story in this volume. This was a great time filler and light enough to get me through the day. I also thank Black Library and NetGalley for supplying me with an E-ARC. Good job!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than I expected. Not a weak story in the bunch.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back when Games Workshop had their shit together, they had long running publications like Inferno! and Warhammer Monthly. This is an attempt to revive Inferno! as a new anthology series with a very? vague? schedule?


The Unsung War by David Annandale - Arrogant drukhari have taken 2 primaris space marines alive. Sergeant Aetius intends to teach them the cost of their mistake.

No Hero by Peter McLean - The nameless protagonist keeps a journal as the Imperials withdraw from a world overrun by Orks.

The Path to Glory by Evan Dicken - 3 heroes desperately try to hold what's left of the Lantic Empire together. We know nothing about the Lantic Empire, only that they were abandoned by Sigmar to the ravages of Chaos. Why would He turn His back on His brave and faithful people? We may never know...

A Common Ground by Mike Brooks - Jaxx fights for money but some carny bullshit catches him off guard. He will have his revenge thanks to the mysterious women who hires him.

The Emperor's Wrath by Steven B Fischer - Imperials killed Caius' father when he was a child. Now they're back to finish the job. His only chance to save his younger siblings is to get them offworld somehow.

Waking the Dragon by Josh Reynolds - The Lichemaster Heinrich Kemmler only has Krell. He needs new allies. He'll find them in the Blood Keep.

The Enemy of My Enemy by Nate Crowley - Imperials are already having a tough time against the Orks when Tyrannids show up.

How Vido Learned the Trick by Josh Reynolds - Pike has come to murder Zavant Konniger. How the hell is Vido, Konniger's faithful manservant, going to keep Konniger alive?

The Firstborn Daughter by Filip Wiltgren - Lt Ekaterina Idra from the Vostroyan Firstborn is racing to save the hero Jorun Haskel. But the hero does not need saving.

Mercy by Danie Ware - Sister Superior Augusta has brought her adeptus sororitas to an abandoned cathedral to find an ancient relic. Is this cathedral really dedicated to Mina, her patron saint?

At the Sign of the Brazen Claw by Guy Haley - Travelers wait at an inn for the next transport to the Argent Gate. How better to pass the time than to tell stories?


If you don't know who Josh Reynolds is, then welcome. All you need to know is that he's so good that he gets two stories in this collection.

Reynolds' stories, Enemy of My Enemy, and At the Sign of the Brazen Claw are all great. The rest of the stories are good. Not a bad one among them.

But the most memorable story in this collection is Path to Glory. There is ample evidence that Sigmar is not ignoring His champions, that He can in fact see everything. He just can't be bothered to lend anything resembling assistance. I wonder if we'll ever get an explanation? Mind you, I'm not saying it's my favorite story, but it is so haunting, and it made me wonder how anyone could hope to remain loyal when their faith is so sorely tested.

[Ann]

A copy of this book was received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Inferno is a collection of eleven stories of varying lengths from various worlds – it truly has something for every Warhammer reader. My favorite story was ‘A Common Ground’ by Mike Brooks, a Necromunda story with nice depth of setting for its length and characterization that captured my attention from the first line. I also very much enjoyed ‘The Firstborn Daughter’ by Filip Wiltgren, an Astra Militarum story that featured a very memorable main character (that I totally hope to see again!) and a handful of evocative flashbacks. All the stories, however, held their own and kept me reading.

Frequent readers of Warhammer stories should be aware that this collection contains several stories that are also available for purchase as individual stories. I did initially find this annoying, especially as I already owned one of the stories, but after checking publication dates discovered the anthology was published before all but two of the stories. Another element that potential readers should be aware of is that the final story in the anthology, entitled ‘At the Sign of the Brazen Claw’, by Guy Haley, is actually the first installment in a serial. It does have some sense of closure to it, so one could potentially read it and never read another in the serial, but it seems that parts of the story are released in each Inferno anthology, and readers who wish to read the complete story will need to pick up each book in the series.

Overall, I found Inferno volume 1 an intriguing, multifaceted romp through the various Black Library worlds, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to readers who enjoy short stories and aren’t too stuck in one particular Warhammer age or another. I for one have already ordered the second in the series, and can’t wait to see what lies in store!

[T R Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a series of short story anthologies (named after a short story and comic anthology series from the 90s), this volume includes eleven short stories: 6 for 'Warhammer 40,000'; 2 for 'Warhammer Fantasy Battles'; 2 for 'Warhammer: Age of Sigmar'; 1 for 'Necromunda'. The stories have a nice mix of writing styles and themes from both new and established writers, so most fans of Games Workshop’s output should find something they enjoy.

For the individual stories:
'The Unsung War' by David Annandale (Wh40K): Four Stars
'No Hero' by Peter McLean (Wh40K): Five Stars
'Path to Glory' by Evan Dicken (AoS): Five Stars
'A Common Ground' by Mike Brooks (Necromunda): Four Stars
'The Emperor’s Wrath' by Steven B Fischer (Wh40K): Three Stars
'Waking the Dragon' by Josh Reynolds (WFB): Five Stars
'The Enemy of My Enemy' by Nate Crowley (Wh40K): Five Stars
'How Vido Learned the Trick' by Josh Reynolds (WFB): Five Stars
'Firstborn Daughter' by Filip Wiltgren (Wh40K): Five Stars
'Mercy' by Danie Ware (Wh40K): Three and a Half Stars
'At the Sign of the Brazen Claw' by Guy Haley (AoS): Four Stars

All of these stories were worth reading, but I feel that No Hero and Firstborn Daughter are the best of the bunch.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inferno! Volume 1 is the first in a new series of Black Library short story anthologies. The eleven featured short stories cover Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Necromunda and even Warhammer Chronicles (tales from the Old World), and come from the keyboards of Black Library authors both old and new – including three never-before-seen stories from Black Library debutants (not to be confused with debutantes).

Taken as a whole this is for fans who want to read widely within Black Library, who enjoy exploring the settings and who are happy to spend time getting to know new authors and new characters. The variety of storytelling on offer is both a strength and a weakness, providing the opportunity to get a feel for lots of different characters, settings, writing styles and ideas, but at the same time lacking a clear structure for readers to get their teeth into. Accept that, however, and much like the original Inferno! magazines this offers a tremendously enjoyable window into Black Library.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/10/...

[Jakub Sládek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unsung War by David Annandale 4/5
No Hero by Peter McLean 3/5
The Path to Glory by Evan Dicken 2/5
A Common Ground by Mike Brooks 2/5
The Emperor’s Wrath by Steven B Fischer 2/5
Waking the Dragon by Josh Reynolds 3/5
The Enemy of My Enemy by Nate Crowley 4/5
How Vido Learned the Trick by Josh Reynolds 3/5
The Firstborn Daughter by Filip Wiltgren 2/5
Mercy by Danie Ware 3/5
At the Sign of the Brazen Claw by Guy Haley 4/5

[Shawn Fritsche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really happy that Black Library has brought back Inferno!, and volume one is a great start. Simply put, it didn’t have a single bad story, all of them were quite good. The standouts for me were The Emperor’s Wrath, The Firstborn Daughter, and At the Sign of the Brazen Claw.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection of short stories, 40K, Age of Sigmar (and one from before the End Times) and even a Necromunda tale. This anthology has some veteran Black Library authors and some good new guys. Check it out.

[Russell Tassicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of stories from many varied settings within the GW ouvre. Standouts from new and old authors, and the juxtaposition of a couple of great, imaginative Age of Sigmar stories with some relatively tired Old World ones shows the benefits of the switch.

[Ingmar Boddington · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of short stories across the three main Warhammer "universes" (World That Was, AoS, 40k)

Some great stories in here, plus lots of bits of lore and depth for new and long standing characters / events.

[Michael Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

So happy to see a regular collection of short stories from Black Library that spans across all of the settings.
I especially enjoyed Mercy by Danie Ware.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the installments.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Warhammer book! I enjoyed it very much! I wanted to start off with short stories since the other novels are a bit longer and detailed. I'll probably stick to this novella series for now before tackling the classic Horus Heresy.

[Dan Findlay-Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, enjoyed all the tales and they were just the right length to pick up each evening and getting drawn in daily.

[David Souch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good selection of stories with Peter McLean’s one of the best

[Stephen Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this selection of stories, a great mix of all the GE properties.

[Kingsley Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a lot of anthologies it's a bit hit and miss. "The enemy of my enemy" and "Firstborn daughter" are the highlights.

[Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent anthology! Lots of great sci fi and fantasy tales, my favourites were The Unsung War, No Hero and The Enemy of my Enemy.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most anthologies you will get a wide variety of quality and readablity. These authors are all attempting to write stories related to the Warhammer universe. The trouble is that a differeent universe will necessarily use odd names and situations that are unfamiliar to the reader and difficult to keep straight. Some of the stories were uncomplicated and relatively straightforward but most were just to detailes to keep my interest.