Crossed Swords

Space Marine Battles

by Ben Counter

For months, the necron terror device known as the World Engine has carved a path of destruction through the Vidar sector. Now, the forces of the Imperium make a last-ditch effort to destroy it. The entire Astral Knights Space Marine Chapter have landed on the World Engine, seeking to annihilate it from within. As a makeshift squad battles necron constructs, long-standing rivalries cause conflict amongst the battle-brothers and threaten to doom them - and perhaps the mission. Can the Astral Knights overcome their differences in time to make a difference?

Read it because
The Astral Knights’ valiant crusade into the heart of the necron World Engine comes under threat when long-standing grudges threaten to tear a task force apart from within. A fascinating look at the culture of the Chapter and how it can affect them in battle – for better or worse.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2015

About the author

Ben Counter, as well as making several contributions to Inferno magazine, has written the Soul Drinkers and Grey Knights series and two Horus Heresy novels for the Black Library. He is an ancient history graduate and avid miniature painter with a bronze demon under his belt.

Reviews

[Ulzeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[DarkChaplain · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really tried to like this story, but could not find myself caring a lot about the individual Space Marine characters. They were reasonably distinct, but neither had enough attention placed on him. They had a few interesting ideas attached to them, but those weren't well enough explored for my liking.

The pivotal moment of the story passes with little fanfare, and only a tiny bit of dialogue shortly after. The conflict brewing between the two protagonists that were focused on the most simply did not live up to my expectations - I liked the idea, but the story was far too short to build it up well. A lot of time is spent describing action, whereas the internal conflicts of the protagonists would have been far more compelling to read about.

There were also a few phrasings throughout the story that didn't quite work for me; a few sentences that should have received an extra flourish felt plain and quickly forgotten.

I appreciated the ending scene, but again, it didn't quite fit with the story's buildup. Did it feel grimdark? Absolutely. But it was another case of liking what Counter was trying to achieve, but the execution feeling lackluster.

In the end, I did not feel satisfied with the story. Maybe that would have been a little different had I read The World Engine first, but even that would not have eliminated all my complaints.
Crossed Swords simply didn't convince me.