King Tiger Wargaming

King Tiger Wargaming

Monday, May 12, 2014

Warhammer 40k Book Review: Cold Blood by David Guymer

Cold Blood: An Apocalypse Short Story by David Guymer
Hey folks, Doctor Xiox here,

I picked up Cold Blood the other day, and upon noticing it was only 33 pages - did not initially establish very high expectations of it. But oh how wrong I would be.

To start with, Guymer really knows how to write from the perspective of a Chaos Space Marine. Chainaxes? Tick. Bolt pistols? Tick. Overuse of the word "blood"? Tick. 

However it is this repetition of the insatiable thirst for violence of the traitor marines truly embodies how crude they have become. And yet, perhaps the most satisfying moment of the short story is how these blood lusting behemoths are actually malnourished from the lack of it. Without spoiling too much of the story, the Chaos Space Marines of the Bloodlords land upon a desolate moon of Ixus IX save for one location which seems to be Imperial. 

Of course, the next most logical step for any loyal follower of the Blood God is to assault said outpost with fury and raze it to the ground, cackling in maniacal laughter as blood seeps through the streets beneath his feet. (I think the heretic within got the better of me for that sentence).

Anyhow, the Bloodlords are initially surprised to meet no resistance... Yes, the Chaos Space Marines assault an outpost that seems completely abandoned... Or so they thought. General rule of thumb for all things 40k, just when everything is going under control, always expect something to turn the tide against you. Especially on the tabletop (curse the dice gods).

And without spoiling too much, they meet an ancient foe who just can't bleed and is the very face of death itself. They are not called by their name throughout the short story but you can guess who they are - let's face it, nobody else zaps you with gauss guns. And without spoiling the plot, expect blood curdling clashes between the Chaos Space Marines and Necrons - a fierce fight to the death between two enemies of the Imperium. 

This is perhaps the first time I've heard of a CSM vs. Necron encounter, and for me thats pretty swell. It's lovely to see two different races - albeit neither of which we can easily empathise with - interact with one another and I do think David Guymer deserves to be applauded for that fact. I'm also loving this particularly because I'm about to play a narrative campaign with my Chaos Space Marines against my friend's Necrons.

My only criticism is that we aren't given enough description and action of the Lord of Skulls that was teased on the cover. In fact, it's teased throughout the whole book, but only really revealed at the climax. I was hoping for more, but of course there's only so much you can expect from a short story. But it is packed with Michael Bay-esque action sequences, and for a 30 page or so story it's well worth your time.

Anyways here's a link so you can all purchase it online @ Black Library:

Hope you enjoyed this review and look out for more on its way!

Doctor Xiox

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