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Warhammer 40,000
On Wings of Blood: An Aeronautica Anthology
A collection of stories featuring air combat in the 41st millenium. Stories that make up the collection:
Medusan Wings - Matt Westbrook
Raptor Down - Gav Thorpe
Sturmhex - E J Davies
Wraithbound - J C Stearns
In Service Eternal - Matt Smith
Stormseeker - Alec Worley
The Emperor's Grace - Nicolas Alexander
Wraithflight - Guy Haley
Doom Flight - Cavan Scott
Ancient History - Andy Chambers
Acceptable Losses - Gav Thorpe
Wings of Bone - James Swallow
In the war-torn galaxy of the 41st millennium, battle for the blood-soaked skies is fierce and deadly. Brutal Space Marine gunships and Imperial Navy fighters duel against flying horrors, alien interceptors and Chaos craft of every hellish design, for the supremacy of the air is as vital an objective as any battlefield.
Featuring stories of death-defying pilots and squadrons of deadly far-future aircraft by authors including Gav Thorpe, James Swallow, Andy Chambers, Cavan Scott and many more...
Medusan Wings - Matt Westbrook
Raptor Down - Gav Thorpe
Sturmhex - E J Davies
Wraithbound - J C Stearns
In Service Eternal - Matt Smith
Stormseeker - Alec Worley
The Emperor's Grace - Nicolas Alexander
Wraithflight - Guy Haley
Doom Flight - Cavan Scott
Ancient History - Andy Chambers
Acceptable Losses - Gav Thorpe
Wings of Bone - James Swallow
In the war-torn galaxy of the 41st millennium, battle for the blood-soaked skies is fierce and deadly. Brutal Space Marine gunships and Imperial Navy fighters duel against flying horrors, alien interceptors and Chaos craft of every hellish design, for the supremacy of the air is as vital an objective as any battlefield.
Featuring stories of death-defying pilots and squadrons of deadly far-future aircraft by authors including Gav Thorpe, James Swallow, Andy Chambers, Cavan Scott and many more...
544 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2019
19 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Gav Thorpe
377 books580 followersGav spent 14 years as a developer for Games Workshop, and started writing novels and short stories in the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 when the Black Library imprint was launched in 1997.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 16, 2020
This was a great anthology, but it also highlighted one of my frustrations with this format: the stories I loved ended too soon! Aeronautica stories need more full-length novels. Abnett has already set the bar high (as always) with Double Eagle, but this anthology proves that there are many more ideas and talents to help expand this aspect of 40k.
May 20, 2021
⁹Overall this was a good book, some of the short stories aren't brilliant bit they are all good in their own way. And some are criminally short, deserving of a longer story I think.
The first story is Medusan wing this is by far the longest story here taking up around a third of the book. It pits Iron Hands against orks, defending a mechanicus refinery planet. The problem with it though is there isn't much here to make it so long so it starts to feel a little slow in the middle. The combat is well described but a secret reveal at the end didn't really justify it. I think this would be good for Iron Hand fans as it delves a bit into their mythos and I'm not familiar with a lot of Iron Hand stories.
Acceptable Losses is a great story from the perspective of a squadron commander who takes over command of the Marauder squadron Raptors, one of the warship Divine Retribution's bomber squadrons. They seen as the outcast bombers and he wants to make them the best, getting his opportunity against an Ork hulk. The attack run is well done and a great bit of space combat.
Sturmhex is Grey Knights against nurgle horde. The action is good but all the characters seem to communicate through their psychic powers, see visions and feel the loss of their brothers with sorrow. I think the idea was that each loss made the whole weaker but it makes Grey Knights sound a little too sad when they are meant to stalwart killers. With that the visions also make the story kind of hard to follow.
Wraithbound is the first story involving the Eldar, this time against orks. It has great description of the action and you get a real sense of the speed the eldar are attacking with. A good sprinkle of Eldar mythos here is good for Eldar fans.
In Service Eternal has a great start, it makes a story about aerial combat actually have some foreboding tension as a squadron of Valkyrie gunships find dead and mysteriously floating servitors in the clouds. Only entry containing Necron though they are little more than enemy to shoot at. Good action and done well enough to keep you at the edge of your seat.
Stormseeker is Space Wolves against dark Eldar. The story is good and the action solid. The delve into Space Wolf lore is great here and I really liked the main character, kind of a madman type.
The Emperors Grace is a Marauder bomber on an attack run against some orks. Its probably my least liked story, it's well written but more of a character piece and could have done better in a grander story. The outcome of the attack pales in comparison to the exploits of previous stories which makes this feel worthless.
Wraithflight is a odd one. Its Eldar taking on a Tyranid fleet, its also the shortest story in the book. I say its odd because its not quite the same as previous entries, where others are from pilots or gunners, this is from a Storm Seer directing wraithbombers from inside a larger starship. It's well described though and anyone looking for a tyranid space fight might like this.
Doom flight pits Doom Eagle Space Marines against Orks (poor Orks at this point). This is very much more of the same aerial combat from previous stories and doesn't bring anything new.
Ancient History is not an aeronautica story so I don't know why this is here. This is the tale of a man press ganged into the gun deck of an imperial warship and its great. I love Imperial Navy stories and this does such a good job of showing what life on board is like, the combat is well done, bringing the titanic battle to only the perspective of this crewman. It sadly leaves a lot of questions at the end. Make a longer book please Black Library!
Raptor down is a welcome return to the Raptor squadron of the Divine Retribution from the story Acceptable Losses. Set 18 months later and Jaeger is now flight commander for all the squadrons. A campaign is being waged against the xenos race called the noctal, a good story with well done action pieces.
Wings of Bone is a great ending story. It's about crewman of a marauder bomber but he's the mechanic who is permanently grounded, dreaming of when he can fly. Its predictable but well done, perhaps a tear at the end. The enemy here are the blasted heretics but they aren't really looked into so much, just something to shoot at and shoot back.
The first story is Medusan wing this is by far the longest story here taking up around a third of the book. It pits Iron Hands against orks, defending a mechanicus refinery planet. The problem with it though is there isn't much here to make it so long so it starts to feel a little slow in the middle. The combat is well described but a secret reveal at the end didn't really justify it. I think this would be good for Iron Hand fans as it delves a bit into their mythos and I'm not familiar with a lot of Iron Hand stories.
Acceptable Losses is a great story from the perspective of a squadron commander who takes over command of the Marauder squadron Raptors, one of the warship Divine Retribution's bomber squadrons. They seen as the outcast bombers and he wants to make them the best, getting his opportunity against an Ork hulk. The attack run is well done and a great bit of space combat.
Sturmhex is Grey Knights against nurgle horde. The action is good but all the characters seem to communicate through their psychic powers, see visions and feel the loss of their brothers with sorrow. I think the idea was that each loss made the whole weaker but it makes Grey Knights sound a little too sad when they are meant to stalwart killers. With that the visions also make the story kind of hard to follow.
Wraithbound is the first story involving the Eldar, this time against orks. It has great description of the action and you get a real sense of the speed the eldar are attacking with. A good sprinkle of Eldar mythos here is good for Eldar fans.
In Service Eternal has a great start, it makes a story about aerial combat actually have some foreboding tension as a squadron of Valkyrie gunships find dead and mysteriously floating servitors in the clouds. Only entry containing Necron though they are little more than enemy to shoot at. Good action and done well enough to keep you at the edge of your seat.
Stormseeker is Space Wolves against dark Eldar. The story is good and the action solid. The delve into Space Wolf lore is great here and I really liked the main character, kind of a madman type.
The Emperors Grace is a Marauder bomber on an attack run against some orks. Its probably my least liked story, it's well written but more of a character piece and could have done better in a grander story. The outcome of the attack pales in comparison to the exploits of previous stories which makes this feel worthless.
Wraithflight is a odd one. Its Eldar taking on a Tyranid fleet, its also the shortest story in the book. I say its odd because its not quite the same as previous entries, where others are from pilots or gunners, this is from a Storm Seer directing wraithbombers from inside a larger starship. It's well described though and anyone looking for a tyranid space fight might like this.
Doom flight pits Doom Eagle Space Marines against Orks (poor Orks at this point). This is very much more of the same aerial combat from previous stories and doesn't bring anything new.
Ancient History is not an aeronautica story so I don't know why this is here. This is the tale of a man press ganged into the gun deck of an imperial warship and its great. I love Imperial Navy stories and this does such a good job of showing what life on board is like, the combat is well done, bringing the titanic battle to only the perspective of this crewman. It sadly leaves a lot of questions at the end. Make a longer book please Black Library!
Raptor down is a welcome return to the Raptor squadron of the Divine Retribution from the story Acceptable Losses. Set 18 months later and Jaeger is now flight commander for all the squadrons. A campaign is being waged against the xenos race called the noctal, a good story with well done action pieces.
Wings of Bone is a great ending story. It's about crewman of a marauder bomber but he's the mechanic who is permanently grounded, dreaming of when he can fly. Its predictable but well done, perhaps a tear at the end. The enemy here are the blasted heretics but they aren't really looked into so much, just something to shoot at and shoot back.
October 4, 2023
I am a man who fucking ADORES the Imperial Navy and everything space related in 40k. While I, of course, love the space battles and massive ships, that isn't what I most enjoy about the Imperial Navy. Instead, I can't get enough of the stories set inside those unimaginably vast warships. Tales taking place within the spaceships of 40k that cover the inner politics of a ship's crew, how the vessel works and what it is like for the men and women serving aboard to live within these floating cities are something I can't get enough of.
So of course I grabbed 'On Wings of Blood' the moment I saw it.
And you know? I loved it.
Most of the stories we pretty good, nothing special but they were still fun, although Stormseeker was pretty bad but that may just be my hatred of the cringe-worthy Space Wolves.
Three stories stand out in this anthology, however, that are so good they make Wings of Blood worthy of 5 stars on their own.
Wraithbound was great, I adore the Eldar (second favourite race in all the game, with my favourite race in all of 40k being the Dark Eldar) but sadly we rarely get stories about them. Wraithbound gave us that, along with a fun, interesting look into how their partially spirit controlled fighters work. This was very enjoyable, but that's probably just because I can't get enough of the Eldar!
Wraithflight, just like Wraithbound, is centred on the Eldar and focuses on them as they take the battle to the Tyranids in the void of space. This story was amazing and I recommend everyone reads it. You get to see how the Eldar ships work from the inside, and we barely ever get to see what their crew are up to, you follow Iyanna Arienal of Craftworld Iyanden and get a look into her head. We are treated to space battles between the Eldar and Tyranid fleets, we get to enjoy some good characterisation and you also get a glimpse into how the Hivemind of the Tyranids thinks and acts at the end of the story. It was really good. Although I feel like you wouldn't enjoy this as much if you hadn't read Valedor beforehand since it's sort of a sequel short story to that novel. Luckily, I have read it, many times, and you should too! It's one of the best 40k novels to ever exist.
Ancient History was just...brilliant, that's the only word that can be used to describe it. I'll say this now, do not read Ancient History if you do not know the lore of the setting well, you will not enjoy it. But if you do know the lore well, and you have a good knowledge of the history of mankind in this setting, you must read it. Ancient History is one of the greatest, most interesting, most mind-blowing stories ever written for Warhammer 40k and everyone should read it. Do not look anything up about it, do not spoil it for yourself. Just read it. You will not regret it.
So yeah, all in all, a very good anthology that you should totally read!
So of course I grabbed 'On Wings of Blood' the moment I saw it.
And you know? I loved it.
Most of the stories we pretty good, nothing special but they were still fun, although Stormseeker was pretty bad but that may just be my hatred of the cringe-worthy Space Wolves.
Three stories stand out in this anthology, however, that are so good they make Wings of Blood worthy of 5 stars on their own.
Wraithbound was great, I adore the Eldar (second favourite race in all the game, with my favourite race in all of 40k being the Dark Eldar) but sadly we rarely get stories about them. Wraithbound gave us that, along with a fun, interesting look into how their partially spirit controlled fighters work. This was very enjoyable, but that's probably just because I can't get enough of the Eldar!
Wraithflight, just like Wraithbound, is centred on the Eldar and focuses on them as they take the battle to the Tyranids in the void of space. This story was amazing and I recommend everyone reads it. You get to see how the Eldar ships work from the inside, and we barely ever get to see what their crew are up to, you follow Iyanna Arienal of Craftworld Iyanden and get a look into her head. We are treated to space battles between the Eldar and Tyranid fleets, we get to enjoy some good characterisation and you also get a glimpse into how the Hivemind of the Tyranids thinks and acts at the end of the story. It was really good. Although I feel like you wouldn't enjoy this as much if you hadn't read Valedor beforehand since it's sort of a sequel short story to that novel. Luckily, I have read it, many times, and you should too! It's one of the best 40k novels to ever exist.
Ancient History was just...brilliant, that's the only word that can be used to describe it. I'll say this now, do not read Ancient History if you do not know the lore of the setting well, you will not enjoy it. But if you do know the lore well, and you have a good knowledge of the history of mankind in this setting, you must read it. Ancient History is one of the greatest, most interesting, most mind-blowing stories ever written for Warhammer 40k and everyone should read it. Do not look anything up about it, do not spoil it for yourself. Just read it. You will not regret it.
So yeah, all in all, a very good anthology that you should totally read!
January 27, 2020
It is a very great book and shows the never ending war in Void and Air. Except of one story they are all very interessting even if a little Space-Marine heavy. But also other species got their place in the light, even if I missed the Tau.
October 30, 2020
Usual Wh40k book with several different stories, not bad, but no great either
May 21, 2023
This was a surprisingly solid bit of Warhammer meets Top Gun bolter porn. It definitely filled the itch away from the gaming table and now I want to buy some Astra Militarum flyers.
December 28, 2024
A solid collection of Warhammer 40,000 air battles.
June 20, 2020
This is a very good value anthology, if air warfare fiction is your thing or if you're into the new Aeronautica Imperialis miniatures game from Games Workshop. You get twelve short stories in paperback for $10.29 at time of this writing. But I can't say that I recommend this book in general.
I found the vast majority of the stories in On Wings of Blood to be just "meh". Reading about aerial dogfights in story after story tends to get monotonous. The plots seemed very basic. There were only two "must-read" stories in the anthology (see below), one of which (Wraithflight) you can find on its own or as part of several other anthologies. The other, Ancient History, is only really available in this anthology.
Must Read (4 stars):
Ancient History - Andy Chambers
Wraithflight - Guy Haley. Note that if you like this story, you can read the prequel full-length novel Valedor as well.
Meh, unless you really care about the protagonist's faction (3 stars):
Acceptable Losses - Gav Thorpe
Medusan Wings - Matt Westbrook
Sturmhex - E J Davies
Wraithbound - J C Stearns
In Service Eternal - Matt Smith
Stormseeker - Alec Worley
The Emperor's Grace - Nicolas Alexander
Wings of Bone - James Swallow
Waste of Time, but some highlights (2 stars):
Doom Flight - Cavan Scott
Raptor Down - Gav Thorpe
I found the vast majority of the stories in On Wings of Blood to be just "meh". Reading about aerial dogfights in story after story tends to get monotonous. The plots seemed very basic. There were only two "must-read" stories in the anthology (see below), one of which (Wraithflight) you can find on its own or as part of several other anthologies. The other, Ancient History, is only really available in this anthology.
Must Read (4 stars):
Ancient History - Andy Chambers
Wraithflight - Guy Haley. Note that if you like this story, you can read the prequel full-length novel Valedor as well.
Meh, unless you really care about the protagonist's faction (3 stars):
Acceptable Losses - Gav Thorpe
Medusan Wings - Matt Westbrook
Sturmhex - E J Davies
Wraithbound - J C Stearns
In Service Eternal - Matt Smith
Stormseeker - Alec Worley
The Emperor's Grace - Nicolas Alexander
Wings of Bone - James Swallow
Waste of Time, but some highlights (2 stars):
Doom Flight - Cavan Scott
Raptor Down - Gav Thorpe
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews