What do you think?
Rate this book
Warhammer 40,000
Ephrael Stern: The Heretic Saint
A Warhammer 40,000 novel
After centuries of strife guided by the Emperor's holy light, Ephrael Stern finds herself forsaken when the Great Rift dawns and the light is extinguished. When a mysterious stranger offers new hope, the Daemonifuge is thrown into battle once more…
READ IT BECAUSE
Catch up with Ephrael Stern, the Heretic Saint and living weapon against Chaos in a new novel that picks up the story of this classic character from Black Library's history and thrusts her into the Dark Imperium.
THE STORY
Throughout the tortured galaxy, Ephrael Stern is known by many names. The Thrice-born. The Daemonifuge. The Heretic Saint. Trapped deep within Imperium Nihilus following the coming of the Great Rift, the maligned Sister of Battle fears the Imperium is no more. The God-Emperor’s light, which has guided her through centuries of strife, has too extinguished. Seemingly forsaken, Stern is bereft until a mysterious stranger arrives, offering her a new destiny. One that might yet see the Imperium saved. Stern must prove herself worthy of the God-Emperor’s grace once more, lest a new threat greater than any mankind has faced before plunge humanity into a nightmare abyss of nothingness.
After centuries of strife guided by the Emperor's holy light, Ephrael Stern finds herself forsaken when the Great Rift dawns and the light is extinguished. When a mysterious stranger offers new hope, the Daemonifuge is thrown into battle once more…
READ IT BECAUSE
Catch up with Ephrael Stern, the Heretic Saint and living weapon against Chaos in a new novel that picks up the story of this classic character from Black Library's history and thrusts her into the Dark Imperium.
THE STORY
Throughout the tortured galaxy, Ephrael Stern is known by many names. The Thrice-born. The Daemonifuge. The Heretic Saint. Trapped deep within Imperium Nihilus following the coming of the Great Rift, the maligned Sister of Battle fears the Imperium is no more. The God-Emperor’s light, which has guided her through centuries of strife, has too extinguished. Seemingly forsaken, Stern is bereft until a mysterious stranger arrives, offering her a new destiny. One that might yet see the Imperium saved. Stern must prove herself worthy of the God-Emperor’s grace once more, lest a new threat greater than any mankind has faced before plunge humanity into a nightmare abyss of nothingness.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 2020
25 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 4, 2020
Ephrael Stern – the Heretic Saint, by David Annandale is follow-up to a two-decades old comicbook story about a Sister of Battle that has struck me as intensely disappointing.
It's not JUST due to the wild deviations from the previous stories' themes and plots, and in this case it would not really be a fair justification for criticism.
Over the course of the original series, it went through four writers, in each successive case the new scribe ignoring or misunderstanding some part of what came before, and adding their own angle that was quickly discarded in turn. Thus, a detour into the wacky plot tangle of the comics:
The first book ends with Ephrael giving up the power and knowledge of the Daemonifuge to Hand, being restored to something of a status quo. But by the next book she had magical powers again, and scribes a tome in her own blood of such vital importance that it is saved alongside an exploding ship with a new inquisitorial sidekick. Then both tome and sidekick are abruptly gone, and she's on the run, pursued by allies and enemies alike. In the final volume, the very framing device of the series is retconned to being a delusion, and Ephrael dies again in order to somehow earn her 'Thriceborn' title, although I'm sure she's already had more than three at this point...
Yes, someone that reads the series should be used to massive plot swerves by now. So the fact that this new novel does not address the intimate knowledge of Chaos that Stern possesses as being her true power, and instead treats her as a flying weapon of mass destruction (admittedly, called out in the text by the character herself) is not a big deal. That her Sisters, who refused to believe lies about her heresy and buried her with full honours, now see her as an enemy is a minor point at best. Her eldar sidekick, who had barely been introduced in the comic by its end, is unceremoniously set aside for the latter half of the novel, but we barely knew him to miss him.
Perhaps part of the dissonance with the old series is the hundred year plus time skip. Yes, the current timeline of 40k having advanced, the decision has been made to have Ephrael advance with it. That further solidifies the annoying sense of immortality that she has – lowering my investment in the character – and also implies that she hasn't done anything worth reading about for a whole century, both elevating her and dragging her down at the same time.
Curiously, the time skip doesn't even have much of an effect on the story, and one has to wonder why it was included, especially given no dates were given in the original comics – they could have taken place only months before this story and made no difference! Characters still no who she is, no one has forgotten her, and the great universe-splitting cataclysm that keeps her from her goal is bypassed between chapters, again bringing into question its inclusion.
It's the writing style itself that gets me the most, I think. There is far too much introspection for my taste. Before characters talk, each will search themselves for the implications of an upcoming conversation, pondering each sentence uttered as the other speaks, and then reflecting on the changes for some moments afterwards. I'm not against such navel-gazing, but it happens with such regularity, permeating even the action beats that the book was quite challenging to read at parts, as I found myself wanting to tell the characters to get over themselves and act.
That's again probably down to the contrast between the mediums the story has been told across, moving from a graphic and violent comic to a more structured and thoughtful novel. But there's more to it than that.
Ephrael Stern, in the comics, was fairly informal and flippant. Where other characters pontificated or cursed in arcahic manners, she let out a “You're kidding”. When others would be happy denouncing a foe in over-dramatic terms, she was happy with an action-movie one-liner like “Pucker up”. In this novel, she speaks in the same drawn-out and officious tone as every other character, and she loses something of her voice. It was not her unique power set alone that cut her apart from her Sisters, but her very behaviour and personality.
She has drifted so far from her original conception to something near-unrecognisable, and perhaps that was the point, maybe that was what the author was trying to convey that her situation was doing to her, but after so long away a fan just wants something familiar before moving on to the next stage. It's just too abrupt a switch, and it can't even have been said to be in aid of new readers:
If you have not read the originals, you will not know what is going on. There are allusions to past events, but very, very brief and imprecise. Most definitely, do not read this book without reading what came before, and do not expect a conclusion; this book's big failing is the fact that it does not end, but leads directly into Games Workshop's latest game setting book, in which Ephrael plays a role.
In conclusion, the book plays fast and loose with continuity, tells a fractured narrative and leaves off with a sequel hook that will be continued in yet another different medium of book. The bulk of the story is spent with angst and self-reflection, a character study that I think takes just a little too long to realise its purpose.
Finally, I don't recall actually reading the word 'Daemonifuge' anywhere in the text. Weird.
It's not JUST due to the wild deviations from the previous stories' themes and plots, and in this case it would not really be a fair justification for criticism.
Over the course of the original series, it went through four writers, in each successive case the new scribe ignoring or misunderstanding some part of what came before, and adding their own angle that was quickly discarded in turn. Thus, a detour into the wacky plot tangle of the comics:
The first book ends with Ephrael giving up the power and knowledge of the Daemonifuge to Hand, being restored to something of a status quo. But by the next book she had magical powers again, and scribes a tome in her own blood of such vital importance that it is saved alongside an exploding ship with a new inquisitorial sidekick. Then both tome and sidekick are abruptly gone, and she's on the run, pursued by allies and enemies alike. In the final volume, the very framing device of the series is retconned to being a delusion, and Ephrael dies again in order to somehow earn her 'Thriceborn' title, although I'm sure she's already had more than three at this point...
Yes, someone that reads the series should be used to massive plot swerves by now. So the fact that this new novel does not address the intimate knowledge of Chaos that Stern possesses as being her true power, and instead treats her as a flying weapon of mass destruction (admittedly, called out in the text by the character herself) is not a big deal. That her Sisters, who refused to believe lies about her heresy and buried her with full honours, now see her as an enemy is a minor point at best. Her eldar sidekick, who had barely been introduced in the comic by its end, is unceremoniously set aside for the latter half of the novel, but we barely knew him to miss him.
Perhaps part of the dissonance with the old series is the hundred year plus time skip. Yes, the current timeline of 40k having advanced, the decision has been made to have Ephrael advance with it. That further solidifies the annoying sense of immortality that she has – lowering my investment in the character – and also implies that she hasn't done anything worth reading about for a whole century, both elevating her and dragging her down at the same time.
Curiously, the time skip doesn't even have much of an effect on the story, and one has to wonder why it was included, especially given no dates were given in the original comics – they could have taken place only months before this story and made no difference! Characters still no who she is, no one has forgotten her, and the great universe-splitting cataclysm that keeps her from her goal is bypassed between chapters, again bringing into question its inclusion.
It's the writing style itself that gets me the most, I think. There is far too much introspection for my taste. Before characters talk, each will search themselves for the implications of an upcoming conversation, pondering each sentence uttered as the other speaks, and then reflecting on the changes for some moments afterwards. I'm not against such navel-gazing, but it happens with such regularity, permeating even the action beats that the book was quite challenging to read at parts, as I found myself wanting to tell the characters to get over themselves and act.
That's again probably down to the contrast between the mediums the story has been told across, moving from a graphic and violent comic to a more structured and thoughtful novel. But there's more to it than that.
Ephrael Stern, in the comics, was fairly informal and flippant. Where other characters pontificated or cursed in arcahic manners, she let out a “You're kidding”. When others would be happy denouncing a foe in over-dramatic terms, she was happy with an action-movie one-liner like “Pucker up”. In this novel, she speaks in the same drawn-out and officious tone as every other character, and she loses something of her voice. It was not her unique power set alone that cut her apart from her Sisters, but her very behaviour and personality.
She has drifted so far from her original conception to something near-unrecognisable, and perhaps that was the point, maybe that was what the author was trying to convey that her situation was doing to her, but after so long away a fan just wants something familiar before moving on to the next stage. It's just too abrupt a switch, and it can't even have been said to be in aid of new readers:
If you have not read the originals, you will not know what is going on. There are allusions to past events, but very, very brief and imprecise. Most definitely, do not read this book without reading what came before, and do not expect a conclusion; this book's big failing is the fact that it does not end, but leads directly into Games Workshop's latest game setting book, in which Ephrael plays a role.
In conclusion, the book plays fast and loose with continuity, tells a fractured narrative and leaves off with a sequel hook that will be continued in yet another different medium of book. The bulk of the story is spent with angst and self-reflection, a character study that I think takes just a little too long to realise its purpose.
Finally, I don't recall actually reading the word 'Daemonifuge' anywhere in the text. Weird.
October 24, 2022
Pretty straightforward show of power, written in kind of weak prose. It gets an extra star for the interesting fairytale-like -- but very grimdark -- main characters that raise the question 'what is a human'. The pariah psyker Sister of Battle and the almost completely mechanical inquisitor whose mouth is moved by metal hooks -- neither of them normally would be.
But yeah, strictly if you're into 40k.
But yeah, strictly if you're into 40k.
October 9, 2021
David Annandale, you can do better than this.
April 20, 2024
Well written story that leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
February 26, 2023
I was looking forward to this one as it features Stern and Kyganil, both of whom I have the models for and so wanted to know more about. In the case of Stern this book really delivered, but I was very disappointed with how small a part Kyganil has in this book. He is barely in it to start with and then part way through he goes off on his own mission and is not seen again in this story. As someone who loves the harlequins I was really hoping for more on that front.
Stern and Kyganil do briefly visit Yvraine, giving her a fun little cameo that linked back to the two books I've read about her (Ghost Warrior and Wild Rider). I was a little disappointed when Stern then gives up on her aim of finding the Black Library, but the plot that follows gave a lot more fun action scenes as she engages in various battles, flying around, blasting everything with her white lightning. Stern is probably overpowered, but still the fight scenes were enjoyable to read.
It was nice to see more of the Sisters of Battle in this book. Although I think I prefer the way Mitchell writes them in the Ciaphas Cain series rather than how Annandale has depicted them here. Even so, I still loved reading more about them.
This book has a plot that it crazy in places, but is also good fun to read.
Stern and Kyganil do briefly visit Yvraine, giving her a fun little cameo that linked back to the two books I've read about her (Ghost Warrior and Wild Rider). I was a little disappointed when Stern then gives up on her aim of finding the Black Library, but the plot that follows gave a lot more fun action scenes as she engages in various battles, flying around, blasting everything with her white lightning. Stern is probably overpowered, but still the fight scenes were enjoyable to read.
It was nice to see more of the Sisters of Battle in this book. Although I think I prefer the way Mitchell writes them in the Ciaphas Cain series rather than how Annandale has depicted them here. Even so, I still loved reading more about them.
This book has a plot that it crazy in places, but is also good fun to read.
June 27, 2022
Cela fait du bien de retrouver les soeurs de bataille. Bien que je n'aie jamais peins de figurines de soeurs de bataille mais cela me donne de plus en plus envie et je dois avouer qu'en lisant de plus en plus de romans sur elles, je les perçois comme de plus en plus badass à chaque roman, bien que je les vois déjà comme étant très badass de base.
Enfin, nous retrouvons donc Ephraël Stern, une soeur de bataille qui faisait partie d'un ordre autrefois mais suite à des évènements, elle a été considérée comme une hérétique et est très mal vue. Bref, on la retrouve sur une planète qui a succombé aux forces hérétiques, des cinglés armés jusqu'aux dents et prêts à tout pour vous tuer, de n'importe quelle manière, de n'importe quelle façon. Stern tente de sauvegarder des objets saints et autres petites choses dans le même genre. Elle tente de se repentir, d'avoir des réponses de l'Empereur par ses prières mais elle n'obtient aucune réponse.
Un membre d'un Ordo vient lui proposer une offre et chacun des deux personnages y voit un signe, même si Ephraël a quelques doutes. Ce qui est étrange ici, c'est que Stern est accompagnée d'un Arlequin, qui lui aussi est jugé dissident par sa propre espèce. Au fur et à mesure que l'on avance dans le roman, j'ai pu croisé les noms de deux personnages assez liés entre eux : celui de Roboute Guilliman et Yvraine, une haute prêtresse de Ynnari qui l'a sauvé car cette histoire se déroule bien après l'invasion de Terra et la mort d'Horus et Ephraël n'est pas au courant que Guilliman est revenu à la vie et a lancé la croisade Indomitus.
Enfin, on retrouve Ephraël Stern en fin du tome sur la planète de Severitas, où la planète est tombée aux mains du Chaos, et on y trouve un Maître Possesseur, qui « gouverne » la planète à l'aide des hérétiques, de leurs prières ... On y trouve aussi des machines du Chaos tels que des Helldrake ou des Ferrocerberus (je vous laisse regarder ça sur google). Je vous mettrai aussi des liens vers des vidéos explicatives sur Yvraine et Guilliman si j'en trouve.
Bref, en conclusion de tout cela, un ouvrage intéressant, un personnage tout aussi intéressant et dont on en entendra encore parler, j'en suis sûr, au vu de la fin du roman. Le personnage est intriguant en soi ; je serai curieux de voir comment elle va évoluer et ce qu'elle va devenir dans le futur.
Enfin, nous retrouvons donc Ephraël Stern, une soeur de bataille qui faisait partie d'un ordre autrefois mais suite à des évènements, elle a été considérée comme une hérétique et est très mal vue. Bref, on la retrouve sur une planète qui a succombé aux forces hérétiques, des cinglés armés jusqu'aux dents et prêts à tout pour vous tuer, de n'importe quelle manière, de n'importe quelle façon. Stern tente de sauvegarder des objets saints et autres petites choses dans le même genre. Elle tente de se repentir, d'avoir des réponses de l'Empereur par ses prières mais elle n'obtient aucune réponse.
Un membre d'un Ordo vient lui proposer une offre et chacun des deux personnages y voit un signe, même si Ephraël a quelques doutes. Ce qui est étrange ici, c'est que Stern est accompagnée d'un Arlequin, qui lui aussi est jugé dissident par sa propre espèce. Au fur et à mesure que l'on avance dans le roman, j'ai pu croisé les noms de deux personnages assez liés entre eux : celui de Roboute Guilliman et Yvraine, une haute prêtresse de Ynnari qui l'a sauvé car cette histoire se déroule bien après l'invasion de Terra et la mort d'Horus et Ephraël n'est pas au courant que Guilliman est revenu à la vie et a lancé la croisade Indomitus.
Enfin, on retrouve Ephraël Stern en fin du tome sur la planète de Severitas, où la planète est tombée aux mains du Chaos, et on y trouve un Maître Possesseur, qui « gouverne » la planète à l'aide des hérétiques, de leurs prières ... On y trouve aussi des machines du Chaos tels que des Helldrake ou des Ferrocerberus (je vous laisse regarder ça sur google). Je vous mettrai aussi des liens vers des vidéos explicatives sur Yvraine et Guilliman si j'en trouve.
Bref, en conclusion de tout cela, un ouvrage intéressant, un personnage tout aussi intéressant et dont on en entendra encore parler, j'en suis sûr, au vu de la fin du roman. Le personnage est intriguant en soi ; je serai curieux de voir comment elle va évoluer et ce qu'elle va devenir dans le futur.
January 26, 2021
Ephrael Stern, the thrice born, the heretic saint, the daemonifuge fears the Imperium has fallen. The Great Rift fills the skies and the Emperor's Light has gone. For over a hundred years the outcast Sister of Battle and her Harlequin companion have been fighting the forces of chaos driving them back and rescuing planets filled with a humanity she longer feels a part of. The Inquisition is on her heels though to try and bring her back into the Imperial fold.
Following on from the graphic novels this takes place... sometime (who knows) afterwards and brings Stern into the contemporary 40K setting on her way to fight the Pariah Nexus. She's basically a daemon slaying superhero now flying around zapping daemons is, interesting.
Not a great story but one that successfully updates the character.
Following on from the graphic novels this takes place... sometime (who knows) afterwards and brings Stern into the contemporary 40K setting on her way to fight the Pariah Nexus. She's basically a daemon slaying superhero now flying around zapping daemons is, interesting.
Not a great story but one that successfully updates the character.
December 3, 2024
A weird one.
They introduce an entity that is big bad, about third of the book is dedicated to the threat it presents, how to beat it, the urgency of it. An alliance is forged and one of the chars is sent on a clown hunt, but the actual conflict is something else entirely. Entity is mentioned only once since - when they face it, alas, the book ends there. Would be less weird if this was part of a series but AFAIK this is a one off novel? Crying shame as I picked it up because I would love a book about human/eldar friendship without them contesting who is the biggest asshole. I guess I will have to wait some more for such situationship to happen again.
The book itself read fine, but it was peak 40k. As in don't expect very deep plot or shades of morally grey in the story.
They introduce an entity that is big bad, about third of the book is dedicated to the threat it presents, how to beat it, the urgency of it. An alliance is forged and one of the chars is sent on a clown hunt, but the actual conflict is something else entirely. Entity is mentioned only once since - when they face it, alas, the book ends there. Would be less weird if this was part of a series but AFAIK this is a one off novel? Crying shame as I picked it up because I would love a book about human/eldar friendship without them contesting who is the biggest asshole. I guess I will have to wait some more for such situationship to happen again.
The book itself read fine, but it was peak 40k. As in don't expect very deep plot or shades of morally grey in the story.
February 15, 2023
This is just dull I'm afraid.
In my experience, Annandale's strength is writing characters, and here he's inheriting a protagonist in Stern who doesn't really have much character. She flies around and makes things explode, but there's a limit to how interesting that is to read about. Any discussion about what she is and what she means is unavoidably undermined by the fact that she really doesn't have much personality to speak of.
It's not that I think Annadale dropped the ball here, just that I don't think Stern can be summoned out of her comic origins and into prose form in a way that really works.
In my experience, Annandale's strength is writing characters, and here he's inheriting a protagonist in Stern who doesn't really have much character. She flies around and makes things explode, but there's a limit to how interesting that is to read about. Any discussion about what she is and what she means is unavoidably undermined by the fact that she really doesn't have much personality to speak of.
It's not that I think Annadale dropped the ball here, just that I don't think Stern can be summoned out of her comic origins and into prose form in a way that really works.
October 25, 2022
(no knowledge of what happend before)
On it's own I liked the book overall. I enjoyed the story and liked listening to it.
Some parts felt a bit weird, like her companion leaving, only to never be heard from or make an appearance again. I was waiting for his return, since I was curious about him. Same goes with the inquisitor just being like fuck this shit I'm out of here... Ok, no goodbye, no nothing... for a reason that I don't really find justifiable.
I hope I soon have time to jump into the comic/graphic novel.
On it's own I liked the book overall. I enjoyed the story and liked listening to it.
Some parts felt a bit weird, like her companion leaving, only to never be heard from or make an appearance again. I was waiting for his return, since I was curious about him. Same goes with the inquisitor just being like fuck this shit I'm out of here... Ok, no goodbye, no nothing... for a reason that I don't really find justifiable.
I hope I soon have time to jump into the comic/graphic novel.
June 10, 2022
The surprise brilliance of this book is that Ephrael Stern has an Inquisitor on one side and a Chaos Lord on the other. Both are convinced they're the main character of this conflict, and both flail about when it dawns that they're barely a footnote in Stern's ongoing saga. And then there's Kyganil, who understands it perfectly well because he's a Harlequin and has studied his role. Even refers to her as "Our leading lady," at one point.
June 13, 2021
This is a short action packed reconnection of Stern to the wider ongoing 40K universe. Stern is finally re-integrated into the current Imperium and her faith and powers are super impressive. I just wish this was represented on the table top. The short story ends on a cliffhanger that MUST be resolved. Please.
October 6, 2021
Decent but inconsequential.
This book is little more then an excuse to sell Ephrael Stern as a model, and allow her use with Sisters of Battle armies
Now i like the return of one of the cool characters from the late 1990's, but if you dont know about Daemonifuge, you will learn next to nothing in this book.
All that said, its a decent little action novel, an did enjoy my time with it
This book is little more then an excuse to sell Ephrael Stern as a model, and allow her use with Sisters of Battle armies
Now i like the return of one of the cool characters from the late 1990's, but if you dont know about Daemonifuge, you will learn next to nothing in this book.
All that said, its a decent little action novel, an did enjoy my time with it
October 8, 2025
This was one of my favorite warhammer books i’ve read, equal to the imperial knights books (i’m very biased towards them). Her rise to her role in the Imperium and gaining the respect of her sisters, the peek into the Inquisition, and to top it all off with the major hint towards the Leviathan invasion? It was such a wonderful time to read and amazing to see this angle of the Imperium.
January 2, 2026
A solid read
Not amazing, you won't be reading anything that will blow you away, but its not a bad book by any means. That bring said if you like sisters of battle and are looking for a novel about them this is a solid choice I'd recommend!
Not amazing, you won't be reading anything that will blow you away, but its not a bad book by any means. That bring said if you like sisters of battle and are looking for a novel about them this is a solid choice I'd recommend!
January 7, 2021
Very solid view of the Sisters of Battle.
July 18, 2021
Good book hoping they'll be a sequel
November 5, 2022
Wonderful book, only complaint is it felt a little all over the place. Hard to keep all the characters straight
Read
October 18, 2024I refuse to acknowledge these books as cannon. they ruin so much of what i love about the adepta sororitas. do not read them. do not acknowledge them. act like they dont exist. in his name.
May 18, 2025
(Read as part of the Saints and Martyrs omnibus)
3.5/5 rounding down for Goodreads.
Weak start but got better. Stern herself was a fairly interesting character but the rest were pretty generic
3.5/5 rounding down for Goodreads.
Weak start but got better. Stern herself was a fairly interesting character but the rest were pretty generic
December 3, 2025
what a fun read! super nice to read more about my fav psyker 💓💓
January 13, 2026
The idea of a Sister of Battle being an immensely powerful Psyker is cool and the concept of her claiming her powers come from her faith in the God Emperor is cool but it's not very well shown
While her fight with the Word Bearers is cool it just kinda comes across as someone's power fantasy which while this is 40k, an author is going to obviously write a power fantasy about their favourite faction but the power fantasy in this case comes across as the writing equivalent of someone smashing action figures together
While her fight with the Word Bearers is cool it just kinda comes across as someone's power fantasy which while this is 40k, an author is going to obviously write a power fantasy about their favourite faction but the power fantasy in this case comes across as the writing equivalent of someone smashing action figures together
July 19, 2022
Great book from start to finish, ties in well with the current state of the universe.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews