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Necromunda
Underhive: A Necromunda Anthology
A Necromunda anthology
See gangs battle for supremacy, hired guns ply their deadly trade and the day-to-day struggle for survival in ten tales from Necromunda’s dark underhive.
READ IT BECAUSE
In this collection of stories from Hive Primus, you'll experience gang warfare, ambushes gone wrong, epic quests for uncertain rewards and deadly hunts – among many other tales that can only be told in the underhive.
DESCRIPTION
In the sprawling, polluted hive cities of Necromunda, life is a constant fight for scraps. From the highest peaks to the lowest depths, rival gangs war and spill blood in a desperate battle to increase their standing with the decadent Great Houses. Life is short and brutal, especially for those on the climb.
Underhive rogue Kora Zekk makes a delivery of weapons to House Orlock, expecting betrayal. A sinner tries to win his life with a story of star crossed lovers. Goliath ganger Topek Greel seeks out an underhive legend, a killer with a terrifying record. And when a House Escher ambush goes wrong, Jarene of the Wild Cats finds herself outlawed. She has to take control and save her sisters in arms, from enforcers, bounty hunters, even other gangs. Can she restore her honour, and bring the true culprits to justice?
CONTENTS
Wanted: Dead by Mike Brooks
Dirty Dealings by Rachel Harrison
Redemption by Darius Hinks
Death’s Head by Josh Reynolds
Emp-rah’s Eye by Guy Haley
Once a Stimm Queen by Robbie MacNiven
Scar Crossed by Nick Kyme
Burned by Darius Hinks
A Common Ground by Mike Brooks
Red Salvage by Josh Reynolds
See gangs battle for supremacy, hired guns ply their deadly trade and the day-to-day struggle for survival in ten tales from Necromunda’s dark underhive.
READ IT BECAUSE
In this collection of stories from Hive Primus, you'll experience gang warfare, ambushes gone wrong, epic quests for uncertain rewards and deadly hunts – among many other tales that can only be told in the underhive.
DESCRIPTION
In the sprawling, polluted hive cities of Necromunda, life is a constant fight for scraps. From the highest peaks to the lowest depths, rival gangs war and spill blood in a desperate battle to increase their standing with the decadent Great Houses. Life is short and brutal, especially for those on the climb.
Underhive rogue Kora Zekk makes a delivery of weapons to House Orlock, expecting betrayal. A sinner tries to win his life with a story of star crossed lovers. Goliath ganger Topek Greel seeks out an underhive legend, a killer with a terrifying record. And when a House Escher ambush goes wrong, Jarene of the Wild Cats finds herself outlawed. She has to take control and save her sisters in arms, from enforcers, bounty hunters, even other gangs. Can she restore her honour, and bring the true culprits to justice?
CONTENTS
Wanted: Dead by Mike Brooks
Dirty Dealings by Rachel Harrison
Redemption by Darius Hinks
Death’s Head by Josh Reynolds
Emp-rah’s Eye by Guy Haley
Once a Stimm Queen by Robbie MacNiven
Scar Crossed by Nick Kyme
Burned by Darius Hinks
A Common Ground by Mike Brooks
Red Salvage by Josh Reynolds
368 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2019
40 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Mike Brooks
79 books548 followersMike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish. When not working for a homelessness charity he plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, goes walking in the Peak District or other areas of splendid scenery, and DJs wherever anyone will tolerate him.
And, y’know, writes.
And, y’know, writes.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 27, 2019
This was a surprisingly good collection. Necromunda is a great setting. The stories have a mix of cyberpunk and western that usually lands really well.
With any collection there are some duds but even the mediocre stories were decent enough not to detract from the standouts.
Which I think are Wanted:Dead. It’s nothing original but. A great novella, though Brooks other story in here one of the weaker, IMO.
Death’s Head has a good atmosphere to it. It’s got a bit of REH’s brooding then rounds it out with a western.
Emp-rah’s eye is the real standout to me. It’s very imaginative and in 20 odd pages creates a great sense of culture and a totally alien viewpoint.
Burned it’s a pretty classic western tough guy style story with an excellent twist.
Finally, the last stand out to me is Reynold’s Red Savage. It’s a great western style pulp story of lost salvage, bounty hunting, cannibals and terrible gods. All the classic elements put together nicely. I’m looking forward to his full length novel about Kal Jerico now.
I don’t think you have to be a fan of the game to enjoy these. If you like westerns or cyberpunk, or both, and want some good old fashioned pulp fun this collection is a must.
With any collection there are some duds but even the mediocre stories were decent enough not to detract from the standouts.
Which I think are Wanted:Dead. It’s nothing original but. A great novella, though Brooks other story in here one of the weaker, IMO.
Death’s Head has a good atmosphere to it. It’s got a bit of REH’s brooding then rounds it out with a western.
Emp-rah’s eye is the real standout to me. It’s very imaginative and in 20 odd pages creates a great sense of culture and a totally alien viewpoint.
Burned it’s a pretty classic western tough guy style story with an excellent twist.
Finally, the last stand out to me is Reynold’s Red Savage. It’s a great western style pulp story of lost salvage, bounty hunting, cannibals and terrible gods. All the classic elements put together nicely. I’m looking forward to his full length novel about Kal Jerico now.
I don’t think you have to be a fan of the game to enjoy these. If you like westerns or cyberpunk, or both, and want some good old fashioned pulp fun this collection is a must.
January 1, 2022
Overall not a bad anthology when it comes to Necromunda. There are definitely some jewels and some coal in this one. But let us look at each story individually:
Wanted: Dead by Mike Brooks is one of the best stories in this collection. It captures so much of what makes Necromunda what it is. Lots of gun battles, lots of action, lots of intrigue, and a couple surprises thrown in. It also captures Echers really well and well worth the read.
Dirty Dealings by Rachel Harrison is an okay story involving the Enforcers. Honestly I forgot most of what this story was about, and even skim reading it while writing this review, I still can't jog it from my memory. Lots of action, nothing else. One of the more forgettable stories.
Redemption by Darius Hinks has Ex-Escher, Cawdor and Receptionists, and a mystery package. Overall not a bad story, though I don't know why a small landing platform inside the Hive threw me off so much. It's not like there aren't spaced that one can have those, it just felt out of character for Necromunda. Still, it's a good story and written fairly well.
Death's Head by Josh Reynolds is Goliath heavy, and does a good job explaining the thought process of one of their clan. It was nice to see them portray the protagonist as something more than just a stupid hulking mass of muscles, able to think for himself and to scheme in his own fashion. Overall I liked this story and it is one I would read again.
Emp-Rah's Eye by Guy Haley is about the Ratskins. It's about their traditions, and follows the protagonist and others of his tribe as they travel to do a religious observance. Even though this story takes out a lot of the original Games Workship racism towards the indigenous peoples of North America, you can still feel it there beneath the surface. But Haley does do a good job turning them more into their own thing, more centred around the legends and spirituality of the Hive rather than leaning back on what the Ratskins used to be. Still, this story was just alright. There is a lot to like, but it also felt like it dragged.
Once A Stimm Queen by Robbie Macniven tells a story about Escher vs Enforcers vs Goliaths. Lots of action, a few surprises, and that is about it. All in all a fairly good story.
Scar Crossed by Nick Kyme is one of the better stories in this anthology. Lots of double crosses, lots of action, it summons up a really good representation of Necromunda. The characters are interesting, the story is well told, and the action is handled quite well. Overall a good story.
Burned by Darius Hinks feels like a heist movie. Lots of surprises, the gathering of the crew, and a nice bit of backstabbing. An alright story that fits well into this anthology.
A Common Ground by Mike Brooks is about the gladiator pits, something you don't see too often in Necromunda stories. Fairly basic story that does what it sets out to do and is rather enjoyable. Well worth the read.
Red Salvage by Josh Reynolds is a Kal Jericho story about raiding a cruise ship that had been sunk in the sump. Okay, not something I ever would have thought about in Necromunda, but it does fit, sort of. I mean, realistically this isn't the first time large ships have been mentioned in Necromunda stories, nor is it an impossibility. But still, it felt off to me, probably because most stories take place away from the sumps rather than on them. Still, the story is an alright one, even if I don't like Kal Jericho, and is a good read for this anthology.
All in all, this is a pretty good collection of stories and anyone who likes Necromunda is going to enjoy them. Worth picking up.
Wanted: Dead by Mike Brooks is one of the best stories in this collection. It captures so much of what makes Necromunda what it is. Lots of gun battles, lots of action, lots of intrigue, and a couple surprises thrown in. It also captures Echers really well and well worth the read.
Dirty Dealings by Rachel Harrison is an okay story involving the Enforcers. Honestly I forgot most of what this story was about, and even skim reading it while writing this review, I still can't jog it from my memory. Lots of action, nothing else. One of the more forgettable stories.
Redemption by Darius Hinks has Ex-Escher, Cawdor and Receptionists, and a mystery package. Overall not a bad story, though I don't know why a small landing platform inside the Hive threw me off so much. It's not like there aren't spaced that one can have those, it just felt out of character for Necromunda. Still, it's a good story and written fairly well.
Death's Head by Josh Reynolds is Goliath heavy, and does a good job explaining the thought process of one of their clan. It was nice to see them portray the protagonist as something more than just a stupid hulking mass of muscles, able to think for himself and to scheme in his own fashion. Overall I liked this story and it is one I would read again.
Emp-Rah's Eye by Guy Haley is about the Ratskins. It's about their traditions, and follows the protagonist and others of his tribe as they travel to do a religious observance. Even though this story takes out a lot of the original Games Workship racism towards the indigenous peoples of North America, you can still feel it there beneath the surface. But Haley does do a good job turning them more into their own thing, more centred around the legends and spirituality of the Hive rather than leaning back on what the Ratskins used to be. Still, this story was just alright. There is a lot to like, but it also felt like it dragged.
Once A Stimm Queen by Robbie Macniven tells a story about Escher vs Enforcers vs Goliaths. Lots of action, a few surprises, and that is about it. All in all a fairly good story.
Scar Crossed by Nick Kyme is one of the better stories in this anthology. Lots of double crosses, lots of action, it summons up a really good representation of Necromunda. The characters are interesting, the story is well told, and the action is handled quite well. Overall a good story.
Burned by Darius Hinks feels like a heist movie. Lots of surprises, the gathering of the crew, and a nice bit of backstabbing. An alright story that fits well into this anthology.
A Common Ground by Mike Brooks is about the gladiator pits, something you don't see too often in Necromunda stories. Fairly basic story that does what it sets out to do and is rather enjoyable. Well worth the read.
Red Salvage by Josh Reynolds is a Kal Jericho story about raiding a cruise ship that had been sunk in the sump. Okay, not something I ever would have thought about in Necromunda, but it does fit, sort of. I mean, realistically this isn't the first time large ships have been mentioned in Necromunda stories, nor is it an impossibility. But still, it felt off to me, probably because most stories take place away from the sumps rather than on them. Still, the story is an alright one, even if I don't like Kal Jericho, and is a good read for this anthology.
All in all, this is a pretty good collection of stories and anyone who likes Necromunda is going to enjoy them. Worth picking up.
December 13, 2020
The stories in Underhive are appropriate for the grim, dark universe of 40K, some of them more so than others.
“Wanted: Dead” I thought was a good story if dark. The tale is complete and very well written, showing the life and death struggles of gang warfare, and there is a lot of warfare and death in this one. I would call the end satisfying; it’s not happy, but this is 40K.
“Emp-rah’s Eye” stands apart from the other stories because it reads like something else entirely. It follows a tribe in the undercity that knows almost nothing of the upper city and outside world, while the upper city and outside world knows nothing about them. The tribal nature of the characters and setting could almost remove it from the 40K universe and not much would change. It’s still a fun read.
“Once a Stimm Queen” and “Red Salvage” were good short stories with interesting people and plots. While they didn’t stand out as the best, they didn’t fall to the bottom of the pile either. Better than most.
“Dirty Dealings” and “Death’s Head” were two of my favorites, but they were frustratingly short. Both stories leave room for more as if they were the first chapter of larger stories you’ll never get to read. Enjoyable while they last.
“Redemption”, “Scar Crossed”, “A Common Ground”, and “Burned” were my least favorite and are pretty skippable entries. If you really like the grim-dark of 40K, these are for you.
With the violence and casualties throughout the various tales, this book is not for the squeamish or the already depressed, but there is some good to be found among its pages.
“Wanted: Dead” I thought was a good story if dark. The tale is complete and very well written, showing the life and death struggles of gang warfare, and there is a lot of warfare and death in this one. I would call the end satisfying; it’s not happy, but this is 40K.
“Emp-rah’s Eye” stands apart from the other stories because it reads like something else entirely. It follows a tribe in the undercity that knows almost nothing of the upper city and outside world, while the upper city and outside world knows nothing about them. The tribal nature of the characters and setting could almost remove it from the 40K universe and not much would change. It’s still a fun read.
“Once a Stimm Queen” and “Red Salvage” were good short stories with interesting people and plots. While they didn’t stand out as the best, they didn’t fall to the bottom of the pile either. Better than most.
“Dirty Dealings” and “Death’s Head” were two of my favorites, but they were frustratingly short. Both stories leave room for more as if they were the first chapter of larger stories you’ll never get to read. Enjoyable while they last.
“Redemption”, “Scar Crossed”, “A Common Ground”, and “Burned” were my least favorite and are pretty skippable entries. If you really like the grim-dark of 40K, these are for you.
With the violence and casualties throughout the various tales, this book is not for the squeamish or the already depressed, but there is some good to be found among its pages.
November 23, 2020
I’m a big fan of the tabletop game ‘Necromunda’, it’s fast pace, exciting, unexpected and allows you to get creative with the gangers you put together.
When I found out about the Necromunda anthology I was instantly hooked and keen to read it.
Unfortunately the quality of writing was a disappointment, feeling like fan fiction for the majority of the read. The stories were basic, the action felt like a drag and the Goliaths were inconsistent (they might not be intellectuals but sure as heck aren’t lobotomites).
The book definitely had some good ideas every now and again, and I’m seriously considering building an octagon terrain piece for the Underhive Fighting Championship (should go well with my THUNDERCUBE).
My three star rating feels generous but it’s probably swayed by my love of the game. I would still recommend it if you are a Necromunda fan, at least as an addition to the collection.
When I found out about the Necromunda anthology I was instantly hooked and keen to read it.
Unfortunately the quality of writing was a disappointment, feeling like fan fiction for the majority of the read. The stories were basic, the action felt like a drag and the Goliaths were inconsistent (they might not be intellectuals but sure as heck aren’t lobotomites).
The book definitely had some good ideas every now and again, and I’m seriously considering building an octagon terrain piece for the Underhive Fighting Championship (should go well with my THUNDERCUBE).
My three star rating feels generous but it’s probably swayed by my love of the game. I would still recommend it if you are a Necromunda fan, at least as an addition to the collection.
September 17, 2024
A series of short stories from a series of different author. To give a gritty, dark and slightly gore theme to the Survival of it's inhabitant in a highly populated hive City Of Necoumunda. where survival is the only way to grind or die for small scarps. It's a spanning wide metoprolol's sprawl acroos a dead world that had been Destroy by industrials for thousands of year ,eco-system die as air turn noxious, they boiled their sea away for munition and endless forgeto produced material for The imperial war machine overly populated worker living the worst of the pollution and cramp interors of sleephab. The lower the Hab-ciites goes down. The more dark it's twisted humaniyu as a whole became. Away from the eye of the the Arbites the worst it's conditio. Random mutation and Citizen dying for starvation, and cancer, Those lucky who had their bellied filled had to join gang to do dark bidding, dealings drugs. Gang-war upon different Houses. Slavery and Even finding scrap for sale to makeshift guns. Refined contaminated water that is been slosh for years of pollution. And occasionally Hive-quake it's a daily occurrence. Where top spiral became too Heavy and the floor above just toppled down. While the bottom citizen waits for turning scrap to have at least bone rat for meal.
A true grimdark experience is to read the books.
Some stories is rather boring. While other kept me on edge, but most ended up abruptly. A lot of twist and turn. And what is society like for common citizen in a Imperial Hive world had to survied.
Overall, Quite a Nice Experience to read it at leisure.
4/5
A true grimdark experience is to read the books.
Some stories is rather boring. While other kept me on edge, but most ended up abruptly. A lot of twist and turn. And what is society like for common citizen in a Imperial Hive world had to survied.
Overall, Quite a Nice Experience to read it at leisure.
4/5
January 26, 2020
A consistently enjoyable collection of stories from the world of Necromunda (9 short-stories, 1 novella). It features stories from 3 BL-veterans (Guy Haley, Nick Kyme and Josh Reynolds), but also from 4 comparatively fresh BL-authors (Rachel Harrison, Mike Brooks, Darius Hinks, Robbie MacNiven) so if you want to get a taste of what the new guys and gals are like, you can get that here.
There was only one story that didn't really click with me (Red Salvage, and even that had it's moments), but every other story was at least (!) an entertaining romp plus a few real highlights: Dirty Dealings by Rachel Harrison, Death's Head by Josh Reynolds and Emp-rah's Eye by Guy Haley. It also contains A Common Ground, a great little prequel to Mike Brooks' fantastic Navigator-novel Rites Of Passage, which is a big plus in my book.
Definitely one of the better anthologies in BL's roster!
There was only one story that didn't really click with me (Red Salvage, and even that had it's moments), but every other story was at least (!) an entertaining romp plus a few real highlights: Dirty Dealings by Rachel Harrison, Death's Head by Josh Reynolds and Emp-rah's Eye by Guy Haley. It also contains A Common Ground, a great little prequel to Mike Brooks' fantastic Navigator-novel Rites Of Passage, which is a big plus in my book.
Definitely one of the better anthologies in BL's roster!
October 1, 2019
An excellent look into the ecosystem of "hives" in WH40k. While it almost entirely focused on the "underhives" (lower castes) rather than workers/nobles, this anthology was still a great representation of the different factions and going-ons inside the brobdingnagian hive cities.
The grittiness and fast-and-loose approach to the value of human life were ever present and you'll find enough double-crossings and treacherous deals to put any spy novel to shame, my only real complaint is some violence against children that felt a little bit unnecessary. However that doesn't temper some of the excellent stories in the book, tales of heroism and underhandedness that set the scene perfectly.
The grittiness and fast-and-loose approach to the value of human life were ever present and you'll find enough double-crossings and treacherous deals to put any spy novel to shame, my only real complaint is some violence against children that felt a little bit unnecessary. However that doesn't temper some of the excellent stories in the book, tales of heroism and underhandedness that set the scene perfectly.
August 4, 2019
This was a solid and consistently entertaining collection of stories that introduced me to the Necromunda part of the 40K setting. I definitely look forward to reading more of such stories and playing the game.
January 21, 2020
The sign of a good short story is you like the setting or characters enough to want more, this collection delivers. Lots of tales from the filthy, claustrophobic underbelly of the Imperium. My need for more Necromunda has been increased. Check it out.
August 21, 2019
One of my favourite settings done justice with a collection of pulp sci-fi short stories. Mike Brooks and Guy Haley's contributions are particular highlights.
August 23, 2019
Particularly loved the novella Wanted: Dead.
November 10, 2019
Really enjoyable collection of short stories by some absolutely fabulous authors.
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February 20, 2020Proofread
April 24, 2021
5 stars for two of the short stories, Death's Head and Emp-Rah's Eye. Absorbing. Remainder is uneven but does aid in world building.
January 24, 2023
Necromunda = fantastic, as does this book.
Top stuff.
Top stuff.
December 12, 2019
Wanted:Dead is one of the best GW short stories I’ve read (see my individual review for it) but since it was published separately, it was a redundancy here. Always a risk with anthologies. Dirty Dealings was also good. The rest was absolute dreck, especially Scar Crossed— a complete blasphemy of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Whichever heretic editor okayed that should get dropped into a sump pit. Also, the story where all the character’s names are vowel-swapped punk singers— be more creative! Utter cringe. Wanted:Dead gave me great hope for Necromunda fiction but this anthology has deadened my interest.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews