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Space Marine Battles #Novella
Stormseer
The green-skinned hordes of the Overfiend of the Octavius system have long been a thorn in the Imperium's side - and now, with human worlds caught in the crossfire between the orks and eldar, that thorn will be removed. Temur Khan and his brotherhood descend upon Lepidus Prime to cleanse it of the green taint. The swift and brutal hammer to the Imperial Guard's anvil, the White Scars strike hard and fast – but when the orks reveal a super-weapon, it may take more than just power to win the day.
Read it because
The Space Marines begin a campaign to unseat the Overfiend, the ork warlord of the Octarius system. First the White Scars, the perfect vanguard force.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2025
A good novella that clearly shows the shamanic aspect of stormseers and how their perception of destiny can put them at odds with their brothers in arms.
Otherwise, a nice orc massacre.
Otherwise, a nice orc massacre.
December 23, 2013
The latest in Black Library’s ever expanding Space Marine Battles series, Stormseer sees some focus return to the White Scars once more. Devoted to exploring the role of the unique Librarians which are among the chapter’s warriors, the enovella focuses upon some elements of mysticism within these souls and how their nature separates them from their battle brothers.
Set on the world of Lepidus Prime, the White Scars are deployed as part of a joint strike to repel the orks of the Overfiend from the strategically vital planet. Spilling out from the warzone which has become the Octavius system, many new Waaaghs! are beginning to emerge and either the orks are halted here or they will spread on to countless worlds beyond. Unfortunately, the barbarous ingenuity of greenskins may once again provide them an edge against the defenders of humanity…
Despite being a scant eight chapters long (plus the epilogue and prologue) Stormseer has to convey the idea of an ongoing planetary conflict and act of desperation despite a limited word count. We only see hints of the much large conflict brewing between the tyranid hive fleets and orks a few systems away, and the focus is placed purely upon a company of White Scars and detachment of Mordian Iron Guard. What helps make it succeed is that it’s established very early on that what we see is only a small, but soon proven to be crucial, part of a large operation involving several other chapters to deny the world to the xenos. While we are unfortunately only informed of this fact rather than shown it, the story does at least dodge the growing trend of having the fate of entire worlds depend upon the involvement of only a small handful of warriors. The fact we see Imperial Guard involvement against the enemy, taking and holding certain positions, helps add credence to this idea of a bigger operation without shifting the focus from the White Scars themselves.
What’s better is that this isn’t the only trend the enovella manages to buck, as for once every faction involved is treated with the dignity they deserve. All too often it can be made out that the orks are too easily killed or certain xenos races can be steamrolled by the adeptus astartes, looking at you Fulgrim. Despite that however, the space marines, Imperial Guard and xenos races are all treated with a good deal of respect. Described in combat sequences which show them to be capable and heroic, but don’t pull their punches when it comes to giving them high casualty figures. We see this especially early on when the Orks, despite losing a battle, manage to pull off an astounding feat in bringing down a Thunderhawk Gunship and the superweapon they deploy to give them a major edge.
While definitely not as individually descriptive as some other authors would have made the combat, the battles are shown with a greater focus in terms of tactics and specific styles of battle than others would favour. Each giving its own idea as to how the factions involved operate with their own strengths and flaws. This extends to some of the characters themselves who are used to look into some aspects of this, especially with the titular Stormseer Ghazan.
Allowed a degree more respect and leeway than some other chapters, the book shows in Ghazan the benefits and failings of the Stormseers’ approach to war, driven by following their strands of fate. While this does allow them to act beyond what their battle brothers usually would consider, warn them against potential and uncover aspects which would usually go overlooked, they are driven by this far more than the company’s battle plans. They will follow what they see as a string of fate or potentials rather than the actual battle plan or orders when necessary, and while this is proven to be beneficial in the novella it’s easy to see where this could lead them astray or put them at odds with their closest allies.
Efforts are also made to emphasis the more shamanistic nature of the Stormseers’ abilities as well, with Ghazan often working with the elements a-la Avatar rather than firing mind bullets at people, and displaying powers more in line with magic than psychic energy. While there are some obvious issues with this on the whole, it helps to keep the White Scars as an individual force and carry over some of the elements established in Scars without directly copying what appeared in that book. Also because, at the very end, it’s thankfully made very clear the difference between the safer energies they channel and that of the more corrupting energies within the immaterium. Matthew Ward, take note.
All this said however, there are two notable problems which can potentially put people off of buying this title. The first is the characterisations of its figures, especially many of the White Scars themselves who often feel far too much like generic marines despite their heritage. While we do see a distinctive group of figures among the company’s forces, only Ghazan himself really feels like a member of the White Scars or a rounded character with Temur Khan failing to really stand out despite heavy involvement in the combat. It really does feel as if there is just not enough too them, and while a distanced portrayal does work in the favour of two particular figures within the book, it pales in comparison to a number of other releases. For all its many, many flaws Death of Antagonis definitely had more memorable and distinctive characters among its focus chapter.
The other issue is Annandale’s writing style, especially when it comes to environments, which can feel lacking. Like a few criticised previously, while his overall writing style definitely works when it comes to the bigger ideas involved like battlefield stratagems, the affect of Kryptman’s gambit and fate, it’s at the cost of finer details. The environments in particular often feel lacking, with vague descriptions of the orks’ underground facilities or constructed vehicle lacking the detail they really need to convey. It leave many scenes often feeling lacking beyond the characters themselves, and prevents the reader building any truly solid image in his head of what the battlefield is like. There are also the extremely short, clipped sentences used frequently within the novel, which can prove to be a point of irritation at times. Primarily because as the lack the emotion and description of some other tales.
There’s also the issue of the prologue featuring the reader being told something rather than shown it. It’s a basic crime against writing for a reason, and while it might be acceptable given the circumstances, it just ends up providing the impression the reader has missed an amazing battle moments beforehand. Not a good introduction to a book where people are buying it to see futuristic warfare.
Still, with all that said, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth with this one. Stormseer a good White Scars tale at the end of the day and while there are a few points left unfortunately unanswered, on the whole it’s an enjoyable read. If you’re a fan of White Scars or space marine psykers, take the time to buy this one.
Set on the world of Lepidus Prime, the White Scars are deployed as part of a joint strike to repel the orks of the Overfiend from the strategically vital planet. Spilling out from the warzone which has become the Octavius system, many new Waaaghs! are beginning to emerge and either the orks are halted here or they will spread on to countless worlds beyond. Unfortunately, the barbarous ingenuity of greenskins may once again provide them an edge against the defenders of humanity…
Despite being a scant eight chapters long (plus the epilogue and prologue) Stormseer has to convey the idea of an ongoing planetary conflict and act of desperation despite a limited word count. We only see hints of the much large conflict brewing between the tyranid hive fleets and orks a few systems away, and the focus is placed purely upon a company of White Scars and detachment of Mordian Iron Guard. What helps make it succeed is that it’s established very early on that what we see is only a small, but soon proven to be crucial, part of a large operation involving several other chapters to deny the world to the xenos. While we are unfortunately only informed of this fact rather than shown it, the story does at least dodge the growing trend of having the fate of entire worlds depend upon the involvement of only a small handful of warriors. The fact we see Imperial Guard involvement against the enemy, taking and holding certain positions, helps add credence to this idea of a bigger operation without shifting the focus from the White Scars themselves.
What’s better is that this isn’t the only trend the enovella manages to buck, as for once every faction involved is treated with the dignity they deserve. All too often it can be made out that the orks are too easily killed or certain xenos races can be steamrolled by the adeptus astartes, looking at you Fulgrim. Despite that however, the space marines, Imperial Guard and xenos races are all treated with a good deal of respect. Described in combat sequences which show them to be capable and heroic, but don’t pull their punches when it comes to giving them high casualty figures. We see this especially early on when the Orks, despite losing a battle, manage to pull off an astounding feat in bringing down a Thunderhawk Gunship and the superweapon they deploy to give them a major edge.
While definitely not as individually descriptive as some other authors would have made the combat, the battles are shown with a greater focus in terms of tactics and specific styles of battle than others would favour. Each giving its own idea as to how the factions involved operate with their own strengths and flaws. This extends to some of the characters themselves who are used to look into some aspects of this, especially with the titular Stormseer Ghazan.
Allowed a degree more respect and leeway than some other chapters, the book shows in Ghazan the benefits and failings of the Stormseers’ approach to war, driven by following their strands of fate. While this does allow them to act beyond what their battle brothers usually would consider, warn them against potential and uncover aspects which would usually go overlooked, they are driven by this far more than the company’s battle plans. They will follow what they see as a string of fate or potentials rather than the actual battle plan or orders when necessary, and while this is proven to be beneficial in the novella it’s easy to see where this could lead them astray or put them at odds with their closest allies.
Efforts are also made to emphasis the more shamanistic nature of the Stormseers’ abilities as well, with Ghazan often working with the elements a-la Avatar rather than firing mind bullets at people, and displaying powers more in line with magic than psychic energy. While there are some obvious issues with this on the whole, it helps to keep the White Scars as an individual force and carry over some of the elements established in Scars without directly copying what appeared in that book. Also because, at the very end, it’s thankfully made very clear the difference between the safer energies they channel and that of the more corrupting energies within the immaterium. Matthew Ward, take note.
All this said however, there are two notable problems which can potentially put people off of buying this title. The first is the characterisations of its figures, especially many of the White Scars themselves who often feel far too much like generic marines despite their heritage. While we do see a distinctive group of figures among the company’s forces, only Ghazan himself really feels like a member of the White Scars or a rounded character with Temur Khan failing to really stand out despite heavy involvement in the combat. It really does feel as if there is just not enough too them, and while a distanced portrayal does work in the favour of two particular figures within the book, it pales in comparison to a number of other releases. For all its many, many flaws Death of Antagonis definitely had more memorable and distinctive characters among its focus chapter.
The other issue is Annandale’s writing style, especially when it comes to environments, which can feel lacking. Like a few criticised previously, while his overall writing style definitely works when it comes to the bigger ideas involved like battlefield stratagems, the affect of Kryptman’s gambit and fate, it’s at the cost of finer details. The environments in particular often feel lacking, with vague descriptions of the orks’ underground facilities or constructed vehicle lacking the detail they really need to convey. It leave many scenes often feeling lacking beyond the characters themselves, and prevents the reader building any truly solid image in his head of what the battlefield is like. There are also the extremely short, clipped sentences used frequently within the novel, which can prove to be a point of irritation at times. Primarily because as the lack the emotion and description of some other tales.
There’s also the issue of the prologue featuring the reader being told something rather than shown it. It’s a basic crime against writing for a reason, and while it might be acceptable given the circumstances, it just ends up providing the impression the reader has missed an amazing battle moments beforehand. Not a good introduction to a book where people are buying it to see futuristic warfare.
Still, with all that said, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth with this one. Stormseer a good White Scars tale at the end of the day and while there are a few points left unfortunately unanswered, on the whole it’s an enjoyable read. If you’re a fan of White Scars or space marine psykers, take the time to buy this one.
January 28, 2019
I'm really enjoying delving into the mythos of the Warhammer universe. This book is very good.
June 8, 2022
Quite boring.
February 8, 2014
Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2014/02/...
“David Annandale really impresses with his take on the White Scars in this short novella. It moves along quickly and is a great example of how to write Warhammer 40,000 novels – action packed, swift and entertaining. David Annadale is certainly an author to watch out for.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
"The green-skinned hordes of the Overfiend of the Octavius system have long been a thorn in the Imperium’s side – and now, with human worlds caught in the crossfire between the orks and eldar, that thorn will be removed. Temur Khan and his brotherhood descend upon Lepidus Prime to cleanse it of the green taint. The swift and brutal hammer to the Imperial Guard’s anvil, the White Scars strike hard and fast – but when the orks reveal a super-weapon, it may take more than just power to win the day?"
The White Scars Chapter have been one of the many founding Space Marine Chapters that haven’t seen much attention up until this point from Black Library. They’ve had the odd appearance in novels such as The Hunt for Voldorius by Andy Hoare but the serialized Scars novel by Chris Wraight was very much the first novel to give the Legion/Chapter the exposure that they needed, delivering a powerful read that was one of the stronger entries in the Horus Heresy series. It seems that now we’ve had the White Scars developed a bit more in 30k, we get to see more attention given to the Sons of Khan and that is no bad thing especially when you consider the potential that they have on offer.
The novella itself compromises of eight chapters in length and as a result, proves to be a very quick read and it shouldn’t take you more than a day to breeze through this book. Whilst it may be a quick read – it does give the reader a sampling of what David Annandale’s work is like, so that if they enjoyed this book then the reader may be inclined to pick up another of Annandale’s novellas or even his full novel, The Death of Antagonis, which also takes place in the Space Marine Battles series, but focuses on the Black Dragons as opposed to the White Scars which get the spotlight here.
The biggest achievement of Stormseer is what David Annandale manages to get across given the small amount of wordcount available to him. Readers will get a true sense of the scale of the invasion unfolding here, but he manages to keep the action focused primarily on a company of White Scars, supported by an group of Imperial Guard “Iron Guard” from the planet Mordian. The decision to focus on a smaller group of characters rather than have several ongoing stories across the entire system works here, and for the best – with just eight chapters there wouldn’t be enough time to develop several different narrative arcs to the point where they were satisfying. Something else will also please fans is that Annandale doesn’t change established lore or canon to suit his own needs, instead respecting the Space Marines and the Orks alike. Often, and this is a mistake that even writers more experienced than Annadale will make, is to have a tendency to favour one faction over the other and as a result this will annoy readers who are fans of the ignored faction. However, Annandale doesn’t fall into this trap and will deliver a read that will satisfy White Scars, Orks and Eldar fans alike.
The action sequences are written well, which is a crucial element to have when you’re writing tie-in fiction to a game that has the tagline “There is Only War.” The tactics used by both sides aren’t incredibly stupid for the sake of plot conveniences, and Annandale makes each fight scene feel fresh and varied with his skilled writing ability. The book doesn’t feel like bolter porn, despite the fact that the book is part of the Space Marine Battles series – and the Novella really works as a result of this. The novella feels fresh and engaging rather than just a tired repeat of the ‘Fight 1 leads to Fight 2′ formula which is a welcome change.
In short, Stormseer is a a good, fun novella and a welcome addition to Black Library fiction, proving to be entertaining and well written. This book is a great way of checking out a new author to see if you like their writing style or not – but even if you are familiar with Annandale’s work I’d still recommend this. It’s a fast paced read and will be sped through quickly, but is very much worth your admission fee. Highly recommended.
VERDICT: 4/5
“David Annandale really impresses with his take on the White Scars in this short novella. It moves along quickly and is a great example of how to write Warhammer 40,000 novels – action packed, swift and entertaining. David Annadale is certainly an author to watch out for.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
"The green-skinned hordes of the Overfiend of the Octavius system have long been a thorn in the Imperium’s side – and now, with human worlds caught in the crossfire between the orks and eldar, that thorn will be removed. Temur Khan and his brotherhood descend upon Lepidus Prime to cleanse it of the green taint. The swift and brutal hammer to the Imperial Guard’s anvil, the White Scars strike hard and fast – but when the orks reveal a super-weapon, it may take more than just power to win the day?"
The White Scars Chapter have been one of the many founding Space Marine Chapters that haven’t seen much attention up until this point from Black Library. They’ve had the odd appearance in novels such as The Hunt for Voldorius by Andy Hoare but the serialized Scars novel by Chris Wraight was very much the first novel to give the Legion/Chapter the exposure that they needed, delivering a powerful read that was one of the stronger entries in the Horus Heresy series. It seems that now we’ve had the White Scars developed a bit more in 30k, we get to see more attention given to the Sons of Khan and that is no bad thing especially when you consider the potential that they have on offer.
The novella itself compromises of eight chapters in length and as a result, proves to be a very quick read and it shouldn’t take you more than a day to breeze through this book. Whilst it may be a quick read – it does give the reader a sampling of what David Annandale’s work is like, so that if they enjoyed this book then the reader may be inclined to pick up another of Annandale’s novellas or even his full novel, The Death of Antagonis, which also takes place in the Space Marine Battles series, but focuses on the Black Dragons as opposed to the White Scars which get the spotlight here.
The biggest achievement of Stormseer is what David Annandale manages to get across given the small amount of wordcount available to him. Readers will get a true sense of the scale of the invasion unfolding here, but he manages to keep the action focused primarily on a company of White Scars, supported by an group of Imperial Guard “Iron Guard” from the planet Mordian. The decision to focus on a smaller group of characters rather than have several ongoing stories across the entire system works here, and for the best – with just eight chapters there wouldn’t be enough time to develop several different narrative arcs to the point where they were satisfying. Something else will also please fans is that Annandale doesn’t change established lore or canon to suit his own needs, instead respecting the Space Marines and the Orks alike. Often, and this is a mistake that even writers more experienced than Annadale will make, is to have a tendency to favour one faction over the other and as a result this will annoy readers who are fans of the ignored faction. However, Annandale doesn’t fall into this trap and will deliver a read that will satisfy White Scars, Orks and Eldar fans alike.
The action sequences are written well, which is a crucial element to have when you’re writing tie-in fiction to a game that has the tagline “There is Only War.” The tactics used by both sides aren’t incredibly stupid for the sake of plot conveniences, and Annandale makes each fight scene feel fresh and varied with his skilled writing ability. The book doesn’t feel like bolter porn, despite the fact that the book is part of the Space Marine Battles series – and the Novella really works as a result of this. The novella feels fresh and engaging rather than just a tired repeat of the ‘Fight 1 leads to Fight 2′ formula which is a welcome change.
In short, Stormseer is a a good, fun novella and a welcome addition to Black Library fiction, proving to be entertaining and well written. This book is a great way of checking out a new author to see if you like their writing style or not – but even if you are familiar with Annandale’s work I’d still recommend this. It’s a fast paced read and will be sped through quickly, but is very much worth your admission fee. Highly recommended.
VERDICT: 4/5
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