The reason I read this short story is that last year I burned out on WH40K stuff. It is the original Grimdark and that kind of thing gets to me after a time of exposure. Couple that with it being winter and my tendency towards SAD (seasonal affective disorder), I thought it would be a wise decision on my part to not subject myself to 100’s of pages of hopelessness, despair and overweening arrogance. At the same time, I didn’t want to completely get out of the WH40K pool altogether for fear that I might never get back in. When I am feeling good, I can handle anything Black Library throws at me and I can even enjoy it. So how to stay in the pool without drowning? That was the question I was asking myself. Graeme, of Lord Samper’s Library, had recently reviewed an anthology of short stories about the Astra Militarum, which in regular speak means the regular army guys who aren’t super powered gene supermen. There were 12 short stories in it and that is when the idea struck me like a genius bolt from the skies. Read one short story a month for 2026 to keep my interest awake but without overwhelming me. It also gives me time to recover and dive back into full novels in 2027. That is how this little project came about. I suspect that after this post, where I over-explain everything, that these will be mini-posts running around 200 words where I basically say if I liked the story or not :-D
This story is about the Death Korps of Krieg and the Mordians (some troops from the planet Mordia I guess?) fighting against the Tau. The Mordian commander wants to get the war over with very quickly and figures a frontal assault will do the job. She also thinks that the Death Korps should bear the brunt of the assault so that she can save her troops for other battles. The commander of the Death Korps doesn’t agree but since he is outranked, has to go along, for a bit. He pulls some shenanigans that forces the Mordians to come to the fore and the Tau get the crap beaten out of them, with “acceptable” losses split amongst the Death Korps and the Mordian. Everybody goes home unhappy. Which is what the WH40K universe is all about, hahahahaha.
While I’m only giving this 3stars, it did exactly what I was hoping it would. It kept me entertained, kept me in the WH40K universe and most importantly, didn’t depress me as I wasn’t exposed long enough to the universe to be affected. I really can’t ask for more than that given what I was hoping for.
Each novella/short story has its own individual cover, which I am including in the post itself; but for the featured image, I am using the Death and Duty cover that is used on the anthology. That has some character, some oomph, some guns&goryglory going on that the individual covers totally lack.
★★★☆☆
From the Black Library:
