Old Wounds New Scars

Black Library Advent Calendar 2018 #1

by Graham McNeill

Advent Calendar 2018: Day One

Travelling through the warp to Terra, the Perpetual Alivia Sureka faces the shadows of her past and contemplates the horrors to come when she reaches the Throneworld.

READ IT BECAUSE

Bridging the gap between Wolf Mother and the tales to come, this story by Graham McNeill is like a breath before the plunge, setting up stories that will continue into the Siege of Terra.

THE STORY

As the Imperium prepares for the final great battle of the Horus Heresy, all sorts of heroes make the perilous journey to Terra, some to defend the Throneworld and some to cast it down. Among them is Alivia Sureka, a mysterious Perpetual who turned her back on the world long ago. Called back to the planet of her birth, guided by some force she barely understands, and plagued by memories of her long life and premonitions of the horrors to come, she must guide the ship on which she travels safely into the Solar system – for more than just the lives of those on board depend on it ...

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, 40k

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2018

About the author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.

Reviews

[RatGrrrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

April 2024 Re-Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XV Scale and Stone (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy saga and extras.

Alivia continues her journey to Terra with her family and reconnects with an old, old flame after the events of Vengeful Spirit.

At least the prose is better than Vengeful Spirit, I guess.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 28 Horus Heresy novels, 14 novellas (including 1 repeat), 95 short stories/ audio dramas (including 6 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and a short story...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short story from the Black Library.
One of the best descriptions of the true immortal is one of the Kane, created by the Karl Edward Wagner. How can mere mortal understand a man or woman whose life spanned thousand of years and who knows that it is in human nature to say one thing and then do something entirely different?

How can one accept his or hers view of the people of legends because they knew them as people with their own agendas, one of the many who fought for ultimate supremacy?

This is at the core of the story about refugees from Molech lead by Perpetual Alivia Sureka, women who kept vigil guard over the Gate on Molech until traitors invaded and destroyed everything on their path. Now she tries helping the refugees and keeping calm while coming back to the center and birthplace of humanity - Earth.

As one of the reviewers noted there is nothing much going on here except showing parts of Alivia's past and how she crossed paths with the person that will become the Emperor. This story paves the way to the ultimate battle on Terra itself.

Highly recommended to all fans of Warhammer and fans of SF in general, but do note that background knowledge of Warhammer 40k and Horus Heresy is required to enjoy the story in its fullest.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the course of a long and dangerous journey through the warp on a battered warship, Alivia Sureka has worked hard to ensure as many of the refugees from Molech survived as possible. As their destination draws closer, and the whispers of the warp grow louder, Alivia recalls moments and people from her long life, and looks ahead in concern to the dangers approaching on Terra.

It’s a quiet, reflective story in which not a lot really happens in terms of action or excitement. Instead, it’s more about the continued exploration of Alivia’s character, offering a little more insight into her relationships with Terra, the Emperor, and a key figure from her past. It feels rather more like a prologue to something bigger than a standalone story, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/12/...

[Peter Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love seeing the 30K/40K universe from the perspective of characters other than space marines, as well as details around warp travel.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of Advent Calendar 2018.

[Станислав · Rating 3 out of 5]

Взял и отвёл торпеды, нормально.

[T R Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story follows the Perpetual Alivia Sureka as she tries to ensure a ship full of refugees makes it to Terra without being destroyed. While it hardly has any action, I still found the story quite entertaining story as I found the Alivia to be quite a strong and interesting character. I liked seeing some of her backstory that stretches from ancient Scotland to the Horus Heresy and found her interactions with the other characters very nicely done. I had never been much of a fan of the Perpetuals in the past but the more I read about them, the more interesting they seem to become.

The version of the short story that I read also had a preview of the Heralds of the Siege short story anthology which seems quite interesting.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist Alivia was first introduced in “Vengeful Spirit” and later appeared in the short story “Wolf Mother”.

I really enjoyed this story for giving focus to the refugees of the Heresy, those who have lost their home and are now fleeing across the stars. It helps give a human face to the Heresy and ground the event. It isn’t just armour-clad giants beating each other to death, there are people, families sick and dying, having abandoned everything as they were forced to flee.

This also further develops the “Perpetuals” plotline that began all the way back in “Legion” by Dan Abnett.