Deathwatch: The Long Vigil

Warhammer 40,000

by Steve Parker, Ben Counter, Marc Collins

High Octane Anthology focussing on the Xenos hunting forces of the Deathwatch.

It is humanity’s darkest hour. From Imperium Nihilus to Segmentum Pacificus, the vile xenos hordes swell. If left unchecked, these ungodly beasts will savage the Imperium like scavengers upon a carcass. Only the Adeptus Astartes of the Deathwatch stand defiant before them. This noble brotherhood is the Shield that Slays; they are the watchmen of the void, their star-borne fortresses guarding the Emperor of Mankind’s realms from terrors unimaginable. Between them, these warriors will keep the light of the Imperium burning until the stars themselves extinguish.

This anthology of high-octane stories features a host of Black Library’s finest authors, including Steve Parker, Ben Counter, David Guymer, Andy Clark and many more.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Anthologies

385 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2020

About the author

Originally hailing from the rainswept land of the Picts, Steve Parker now sleeps, eats, trains and writes in Tokyo, Japan.
His novels have been published in four languages and include Rebel Winter, Gunheads, Rynn's World, and Deathwatch, with a fifth novel to follow very soon.
Short works (most now available via Amazon Kindle) include:

Stray Dog Swordsman on Redemption Road
Starfish
The Falls of Marakross
Mercy Run
The Citadel
Headhunted
Exhumed
Survivor
Culling the Horde
Pedro Kantor: The Vengeful Fist

Reviews

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long vigil but short stories

And that actually made the book better, different teams and different characters kept the book intriguing and I have to say I see really enjoyed it

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Chock full of Deathwatch lore and adventure. Short stories keep the adventure up and going at breakneck speed. Loved it!

[Lenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories. Which ended on a high note. Andy Clark's "Entombed" is a my favourite of the bunch, giving an awesome depiction of the Pariah nexus events. But the rest of the stories in this anthology aren't far behind. "The Crueltymaker's Kingdom" for example is another great story exploring a small corner of the webway.
If you like reading about terrifying Xenos, this collection of shorts is for you!

[Chris Comerford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid collection of stories that start great but get very samey by the end. There are only so many times that "Space Marines from different chapters grudgingly work together while they kill xenos" works as the main tension of a short story.

"Shadow of the Saints", "The Crueltymaker's Kingdom" and "Sorrowcrown" are the standouts.

[Alexandre Bandeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

É uma coletânea de nove contos focada nos Deathwatch: a elite dos Adeptus Astarte ou Space Marines dedicados a caçar e eliminar ameaças alienígenas (xenos) que assolam a galáxia.
Eles são subordinados ao Ordo Xenos, divisão da Inquisição encarregada de lidar com alienígenas; e não hesitam em tomar decisões brutais pelo bem do Imperium.

Os contos apresentados são de vários autores renomados da Black Library, a divisão editorial da Games Workshop responsável pelas publicações de Warhammer e de suas expansões como a extensa série The Horus Heresy, Age of Sigmar e Warhammer The Old World.

Cada história traz uma perspectiva única sobre os Deathwatch, seja explorando a brutalidade da guerra, a lealdade entre irmãos ou as missões suicidas em meio a um cosmos repleto de horrores e traições internas.

Em resumo, Deathwatch: The Long Vigil é uma leitura interessante. O leitor irá conhecer e mergulhar no mundo grimdark de Warhammer 40k em uma antologia que cumpre bem seu papel dentro do gênero militar sci-fi, oferecendo ambientação densa e personagens marcantes.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story collection started off well but after a while you realise they are mostly just the same story rehashed over and over. Space marines with wildly different personalities clashing with each other while fighting varied alien species, most/some of them die off and then in the end they succeed in their mission.

Most of the stories just descends into a bunch of space marine fighting scenes without any good character development or intrigue to go with them.

Only would recommend to Space Marine fans.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically a new take on Space Marines do some espionage. Rather than the standard we get a bunch of interesting perspectives from different chapter members and some marines who actually question what they're fighting for. Mostly standard melodrama and combat narrative but with some really cool takes by some Black Library authors.

[Carl Grider · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Deathwatch are my favorite Space Marine Faction and I really enjoy reading these stories that are basically about all of the space marine chapters and none at the same time. Cool stuff lies within this collection.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining collection of short stories. Nice variety of Space Marine chapters involved. Personal favorite was Ben Counter's story. It's been a while since I read it but the art and the tome are stark in my mind. Recommended.

[Maximus · Rating 3 out of 5]

sounds mediocre…… have I ingested too much bolter-porn？

[Garrett Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag

[Joe Worthington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short stories, filled with action. The stories allow you to immersive yourself in the Universe without having to know lore about every faction and the Universe as a whole.

[Peacefulbookery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun anthology of short stories. For those who like space marines, and are sufficiently familiar with 40k lore to not need a glossary.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good! I figured by the end of the book I'd be tired of reading about Astartes killing Xenos, but the characters made it so good. The last 2 stories are standouts, and all of them were pretty good bar "Brother to Dishonour" which I felt was kinda shit and confusing, but 1 outta like 10 is great.

But yeah, "Sorrowcrown", "The Last Word" and "Entombed" were all stellar and helped to humanise and create likable characters. Also, the way xenos were treated in the book was great, they always seem like a threat to the Kill Teams, and this especially shines in "Entombed" with the Necrons and the Drukhari in "Sorrowcrown"

[Benji H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories focusing on the Deathwatch warriors of the Adeptus Astartes. This is one of the better Black library short story collections where the majority of the stories are genuinely good reads (haha), rather than a diamond in the rough scenario. If you are a fan of the Deathwatch order, enjoy a deeper look into the lore of the Ordo Xenos inquisition, or are into sci-fi novels focusing on sabotage/ espionage, and small tactical kill-team squads, I would highly recommend this book. The multitude of stories showcases the elite force of the deathwatch through a great variety of missions they undertake during their long vigil. Personally, I enjoyed the more in-depth lore into the ordo Xenos the most -which helped me with coming up with my own lore for my kill team. Another fun aspect of the book was getting to see Xenos weapons and usually forbidden wargear being used by the kill team, such as Tyranid toxin grenades and Necron artefacts that are used against the selected horrors of different Xenos races represented on the tabletop. The only nitpick I have, however, is that the majority of stories did focus more on the Drukhari (Dark Eldar) than other more exotic Xenos races. I feel it would have been more enjoyable to see how the deathwatch incorporates different tactics and wargear for Other races that could have been featured in the collection.