Welcome back to the latest Getting Started With Black Library, a series that shines a light on your favourite Warhammer factions and fills you in on their best novels and short stories. Last month, we looked at the mighty heroes of the Blood Angels, including iconic figures like Dante and Mephiston, and we’re back with the Adeptus Astartes to find out all about the Crimson Fists.
A Second Founding Chapter that split from the Imperial Fists, the Crimson Fists have been fighting in the Emperor’s name for longer than most. Despite nearly 10,000 years of glorious service, they’re best known for their near-extinction during the siege of Rynn’s World, when a faulty defence missile destroyed their fortress monastery.*
You can read all about the legendary defence of the Crimson Fists’ home planet in Rynn’s World by Steve Parker, which tells the story of Chapter Master Pedro Kantor’s struggle against annihilation in the face of a massive Ork assault.
The saga of Rynn’s World continues in Traitor’s Gorge, by Mike Lee, as Kantor leads a daring assault into the mountains, determined to wipe every last spore of the Ork menace off his planet. Elsewhere, Sergeant Grimm and his squad must fight their way out of an Ork trap of their own to protect a community of human survivors in the short story ‘Culling the Horde’.
Veteran Sergeant Sandor Galleas faces problems of a more immediate nature in Mike Lee’s Legacy of Dorn. Trapped far behind enemy lines with only a handful of Space Marines and some human survivors at his disposal, Galleas must teach his men to fight with any means necessary if they are to survive.
That’s not the end of Galleas’ escapades. Mike Lee’s short story ‘The Few’ sees him and his squad set off in pursuit of Aeldari raiders only to find a sinister ritual afoot on the world of Parthus IV. Meanwhile, in ‘None More Loyal’, Space Marine discipline is tested to the limit when a shady Inquisitor enlists their aid. Both stories explore how the Astartes still grapple with human emotions, and the tales give a rare insight into the mindset of Space Marines who have suffered enormous tragedy.
Each one of these stories shows us how the indomitable Crimson Fists tick – but even apocalyptic misfortune is just another obstacle Space Marines can overcome. Keep an eye out for the new Crimson Fists: The Omnibus coming to Black Library later this year, which collects every story mentioned above into a single, bulging tome.
Which Space Marine Chapters do you love to read about? Let us know on the Black Library Facebook page, and stay tuned to the Warhammer Community website for more news coming soon.
* Although some whisper that the Inquisition might have had their sticky fingerprints all over the ordeal.