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Dawn of Fire
A Witch's Fate
Short story included in the special edition of Avenging Son that provides further insight into the character of Inquisitor Rostov, who appears in the novel.
- Genres40k
Unknown Binding
First published August 15, 2020
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About the author
Guy Haley
286 books725 followersGuy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 26, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“He is a merciless god,” she said.
“There is no mercy in this universe, anywhere,” he said.
This short story, which is included in the special edition of the novel 'Avenging Son', provides a deeper insight into Leonid Rostov's personality and his line of work as an Inquisitor as he's about to interrogate a witch (a psyker).
During the interrogation, it was clear that the witch Saquie wouldn't give up the information he sought. Rostov didn't want to hurt her, but he had to in order to access her memories (which only works through pain inflicted on the subject and he then shares the same pain).
“All any human ever has been able to do is live. That is all I tried to do.” Her spirit form looked into his. “This is your true gift, isn't it? This intimacy.”
“It is not a gift. Intimacy from pain is no intimacy at all,” he said.
We also learn about Rostov's childhood and how he came to be in service of the Imperium of Man. As an unsanctioned psyker at the age of 10, he was captured by the Black Ship. This part made me tear up and I had to put the book away for a minute to gather my thoughts. Guy Haley writes emotional scenes beautifully, without ever turning to purple prose. In fact, the way Haley writes these sections are full of impact with minimal use of poetic words. That's definitely an art in my opinion and I absolutely love his style of writing. It really makes me feel the raw emotions of the characters and I'm here for it.
Throughout the short story, I was pleasantly surprised to see how calm and composed Rostov was and just how different his behaviour and thought patterns were (as opposed to my beloved Eisenhorn, who was also calm, but didn't share Rostov's thoughts about being a psyker - and Eisenhorn didn't feel any remorse for the ones he tortured because he was doing the Emperor's work). Leonid didn't want to hurt the subject of his interrogation, even though he needed her to give up certain information. He even asked her for forgiveness.
It was fascinating to read about how he loathed himself for being what he is - a psyker - and the things he had to do in order to carry out the work of the Emperor. I think this is by far one of my favourite pieces written by Guy Haley and it's definitely up there among my top favourites stories. I'm really excited to jump into 'Avenging Son' and see where the book takes me.
Sigh... I guess I love Rostov now. *new book boyfriend alert*
“He is a merciless god,” she said.
“There is no mercy in this universe, anywhere,” he said.
This short story, which is included in the special edition of the novel 'Avenging Son', provides a deeper insight into Leonid Rostov's personality and his line of work as an Inquisitor as he's about to interrogate a witch (a psyker).
During the interrogation, it was clear that the witch Saquie wouldn't give up the information he sought. Rostov didn't want to hurt her, but he had to in order to access her memories (which only works through pain inflicted on the subject and he then shares the same pain).
“All any human ever has been able to do is live. That is all I tried to do.” Her spirit form looked into his. “This is your true gift, isn't it? This intimacy.”
“It is not a gift. Intimacy from pain is no intimacy at all,” he said.
We also learn about Rostov's childhood and how he came to be in service of the Imperium of Man. As an unsanctioned psyker at the age of 10, he was captured by the Black Ship. This part made me tear up and I had to put the book away for a minute to gather my thoughts. Guy Haley writes emotional scenes beautifully, without ever turning to purple prose. In fact, the way Haley writes these sections are full of impact with minimal use of poetic words. That's definitely an art in my opinion and I absolutely love his style of writing. It really makes me feel the raw emotions of the characters and I'm here for it.
Throughout the short story, I was pleasantly surprised to see how calm and composed Rostov was and just how different his behaviour and thought patterns were (as opposed to my beloved Eisenhorn, who was also calm, but didn't share Rostov's thoughts about being a psyker - and Eisenhorn didn't feel any remorse for the ones he tortured because he was doing the Emperor's work). Leonid didn't want to hurt the subject of his interrogation, even though he needed her to give up certain information. He even asked her for forgiveness.
It was fascinating to read about how he loathed himself for being what he is - a psyker - and the things he had to do in order to carry out the work of the Emperor. I think this is by far one of my favourite pieces written by Guy Haley and it's definitely up there among my top favourites stories. I'm really excited to jump into 'Avenging Son' and see where the book takes me.
Sigh... I guess I love Rostov now. *new book boyfriend alert*
Displaying 1 of 1 review