A disgraced Vostroyan Imperial Guardsman huddles, alone and freezing, against a dark storm. Desperate for a chance to redeem himself, he grasps at any hope for peace. But in the Dark Millennium, the Gods offer nothing but horror....
Listen to it because: It's dark, atmospheric, utterly terrifying and a perfect audio horror experience, compellingly written and thunderingly performed.
The story: The wind screams. The dark night is freezing. Vossk, a Vostroyan Firstborn, shrinks into a rock against a howl of memories. Having disgraced himself by deserting his post during a terrifying encounter, Vossk had resigned himself to penal servitude, though he's yearned for the chance to redeem himself. But in the 41st Millennium, such dreams are hollow when a man's reality has been shaken to his core. Found in the shadows of a pitiless cave, Vossk relives his tale to his rescuer. But trauma stalks the weary, and in the face of an even greater horror, it grins at those whose courage has failed them once before....
He writes stories for readers (and listeners) of all ages who like smart, funny and - above all - thrilling tales of fantasy, horror and sci-fi.
If you're into stories about swords, fangs and lasers, then you're in luck!
Best known for his work on 2000 AD (the home of Judge Dredd), Star Wars and Games Workshop's Warhammer, he's also created many stories of his own.
He is the co-creator of apocalyptic werewolf saga Age of the Wolf (with Jon Davis-Hunt for 2000 AD), paranormal comedy Dandridge (with Warren Pleece for 2000 AD), and plenty more either in the pipeline or waiting to be announced...
A short horror audio drama that was exquisitely performed and that was able to transport me to the setting. The story intrigued me as did the characters, but it lacked in the suspense that I like to see when it comes to horror. It is mostly just action horror and escape survival. The pacing overall was good, though the ending was overextended. I would recommed it to anyone looking for a quick horror boost, even to those unfamiliar with Warhammer 40K lore.
I was really loving this story, and while there were some cool things happening at the end (I guess), I thought the ending overall was pretty weak. I really felt like Vossk's and Captain Brandon's story went out on a wimper (or a wet fart). I'm pretty sure this story was supposed to be about redemption and always standing by one another no matter what, and it went in, frankly, a weird and anticlimactic direction that left me unsatisfied. Also, cool stuff happening doesn't make up for lack of plot and character arc conclusions. I was really disappointed in this one. That ending really needs a rewrite.
A well performed short audio drama that I enjoyed, but had a couple of issues with. Firstly, it was not scarier than a typical Black Library short dealing with, for example, chaos space marines. Even less scary at times. I of course do not want jump scares, but suspense and plot twists that would make the reader's (or listener's in this case) skin crawl. Considering the amount of 40k/HH literature I've consumed at this point, this was fairly mild. The short format probably did not help. The ending also felt a tad stretched and the laughter seemed unnecessary. I still enjoyed it overall, but would prefer future Warhammer Horror tales to stand out more, otherwise it's hard for me to justify the existence of this new branch of BL books.
A Vostroyan Firstborn, recounts his tale to his rescuer. An account of his disgrace and redemption. A story of unspeakable horror and making a stand against them. Of the Imperial guard, the Inquisition and death...
The first Audio dramas of Black Library where a bit undercooked. Back then I was worried that they would be too disorientating and preferred the audio book format without the fancy effects. I've since come around and this one in particular is an amazing audio experience with a good story to top it off. Just go and listen to it already!
Black Library's first Audio Drama foray into the horror genre is about as un-horrific as they come. There was no suspense, no dread, no tension, little no no mystery and nothing that left you to "think" after the story's conclusion, heck there wasn't anything scary in the entire story. What was nice about Perdition's Flame was the stellar voice acting and production values that accompany almost all Black Library productions. As a 40K story its 'fine,' but its nothing overly interesting.
I have to say that the primary narration by Andrew Wincott was a real joy, I very much enjoyed his take on the disgraced Vostroyan Guardsman and both his introduction and epilogue to the tale were easily some of the best segments of the entire story. Sadly, the rest of the characters were forgettable.
Here are a few criticisms I have
Firstly, as a 'horror' tale this story misses the mark entirely but it does not miss the 40K mark. This is because 40K, Fantasy and The Horus Heresy have always had fairly prevalent elements of horror littered throughout their stories, which you are no doubt aware of if you are a regular reader. So what I'm trying to say is that this tale grasps the outline of broad scale horror in a sense of horrific monsters as most 40K fiction does.... But it fails to bring it down to the personal level. It starts off strong with a certain eerie premise involving the protagonist hearing whispers and something on the ship causing the ship's systems to malfunction but it soon devolves in large scale action. What often makes the works of Lovecraft, Stephen and Bram Stoker (To name some big names) so effective is how the action is often (but not always) isolating or involves characters who are vulnerable When you are surrounded by an army of soldiers with rifles, its not scary. There is one scene toward the end where the lights go out so the two main characters have to effectively navigate a corridor via muzzle flare while monsters come at them... But that's not horror! That's action! There was one moment toward the end with regards to the topic of madness, which was a nice touch but it was the only touch.
Another criticism I had and this is a strange criticism to have but allow me to explain..... There are too many women in this story, strange right? Allow me to explain. This is taking place aboard a military vessel but most of the characters save the protagonist, the ship master and one random guard are all women. Its a strange thing to notice but for some reason it was really noticeable here, it came across as forced and it didn't help that none of the female characters were likeable either. The story almost seemed to be peddling the 'strong independent woman vibe' but it didn't feel organic, deserved or in narrative sync with the male characters' which may have worked in another setting... But a military vessel where men are characteristically more prevalent then women? Seems a little odd.
Thirdly, there was no real payoff throughout the story or no real narrative punch, it felt as if it just coasted along with no real implication of any kind. There was something at the end with regards to the big monster that goes hand in hand with some lore retcons which I am personally not on board with. Overall I felt as if I were listening to fiction rather than an account of genuine events.
Lastly and I have already mentioned this but the characters here were forgettable with the exception of the protagonist and that was only because of the voice acting. Toward the end one of the characters goes wild with fanaticism but the writer puts no effort into making it appear genuine or deserved.
If this story were written in pros instead of being and audio drama production it would be a forgettable tale but the Black Library acting/audio saved it so a 2/5. As of writing this Black Library plan on doing at least one more Horror labeled audio drama, let us hope fares much better.
Holy cow, what In God’s big green one did I just listen too. The only thing scary about this “horror” Warhammer audiobook is that it cost $7. I love most black library stories, but Perdition’s Flame missed the mark. Let’s start with the voice acting. The main character, Vosk, literally sounds like Adam Sandler’s Dracula impersonation from Hotel Transylvania. Frankly, it’s just silly. In parts of the narration where it’s supposed to be ‘scary’, you’re distracted by Count Chocula blabbing his crappy accent down your ear holes. The other performance, the voice of Capt Brandon, is worse than the first guy. If you’re into autistic ninja banshee shrieks, and getting grim dark feminism shoved down your butthole, then you have come to the right place. The chick is either screaming, laughing, or crying (typical) in all the combat scenes, and is of course the leader you weak little girl-men only wish you could be. Speaking of female leaders in this story, that’s all there is. Every squad leader, captain, inquisitor, and literally the peasant guardsmen, are ladies. Oh that’s right, the ships captain is a guy, but don’t worry he’s a real a-hole and I think he dies a gruesome horrible death, like he deserves, the misogynistic pig. Just saying, prepare to have GW show you that girls can kick ass too 🤮. Next: this story isn’t scary. HOW CAN IT BE A HORROR STORY IF IT IS NOT SCARY? Basically there’s a prison ship, there is a boarding action by noxious blightbringers, and a Damned Legionnaire bursts in and kills them all. That’s it. Are you scared? Guys if you were a fan of that Ultramarines Movie that was shat out years ago, you know the one where all the grandpas go massacre some chaos space marines and banish a deamon before taking their meds and a nice nap, then this might be for you. If you’re a fan who actually wants GW to put out some quality acting, than listen to this garbage and write a review and tell em to shove it right up their jaxxie! .05 out of 5 stars! GOOD DAY!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
So in addition to "mission report" style of literature the miniature painting house Games Workshop has also commissioned some horror stories under the trademark "Warhammer Horror". They really want to squeeze the IP as much as possible. Good for them.
Otherwise, it's an OK short story with high production value and full cast. The sound effects give a cool ominous feeling to the horror, so that's nice. I guess if you are attached to these specific faction armies and have painted them for hours, it's a nice listen while you paint in the dark corner. Otherwise you would probably go with Lovecraft for "ominous horror".
The story happens in the scifi 40K universe which messes up yet again my plan of taking baby steps into the Warhammer lore. So yet again a whole new lingo I need to learn.
Segmentum - a region of the Milky Way Galaxy, Sol and Terra are in the Segmentum Solar, "galactic center"
Emperor of Mankind - living god who sits on the Golden Throne on Terra, ruler of the Imperium of Man
Astra Militarum - aka Imperial Guard serve as the Imperium of Man's primary combat force in the 41th century
Low Gothic - common tongue like English in the 21st century
Praetorian Guard - regiments with roman numerals (e.g XXIV) of Astra Militarum from the planet Praetoria. Known for discipline and presenting perfectly formed firing lines like Napoleonic battles.
Inquisitor - secret policemen and intelligence agents of the Imperium. Split into three main orders or "ordos majoris," the Ordo Xenos (Alien Hunters), the Ordo Malleus (Daemonhunters) and the Ordo Hereticus (Witch Hunters). Aliens like Orks, the Tyranids, the Aeldari, the Necrons and the T'au.
Vostroya - Imperial industrial world in the Halo Zone < Segmentum Obscurus, galactic "north". Home to Vostroyan Firstborn regiment of Astra Militarum. The homeworld of the narrator prisoner.
The first ever Warhammer Horror audio drama, and Alec Worley’s first audio drama for Black Library, Perdition’s Flame is the story of comms man Vossk, formerly of the 86th Vostroyan Firstborn, en route to a penal legion as punishment for desertion. Imprisoned alongside murderers and sadists and warded by stern Praetorian Guard, when the ship’s systems start to fail Vossk realises that the horrors he thought he’d left behind have followed him into the void. Something on the ship is causing the failures and spooking both crew and inmates, but Vossk is trapped in his cell while the darkness draws closer.
For the most part this is a relatively conventional Black Library story, albeit a cleverly written and powerfully performed one, and while it might have been fun to have seen the ‘man in a cave talking to the listener’ conceit played upon a little more, it works well to frame this particular story. At times it’s possible to forget that this isn’t a main-range Black Library title – the horror elements are there, but this is 40k and horror is pretty much built-in. While the audio medium is used brilliantly and adds texture and atmosphere to great effect, it’s arguably the way Worley explores fundamental 40k themes – faith, duty, honour, and the twisted way in which those can be interpreted – which justifies the Warhammer Horror label.
An entertaining venture into horror with a full cast, sound effects, and even tone ambience to set the scene. The voice acting starts off feeling pretty wooden and awkward as if the cast were recorded separately and their presentation bounces off one another a bit oddly. This subsides as the story goes along and the action takes over. Fast pacing gives you only little time to consider the possibilities and the horror aesthetic is quickly thrown into the void of space and replaced with space action against horrifying things. This is an important distinction. There is nothing scary about this book and the characters often feel more frantic and agitated at one another than horrified or scared.
If not directly on the mark for horror, it is at the very least fulfilling and enjoyable. There are some turns that will leave one wondering what exactly was going on with some elements by the end, and the lack of answers may be a solid choice to leave the reader wondering about the motivations and what could have been going ons.
The sound effects and presentation feel pretty solid. The voice acting improves as it goes along although there is a heavy reliance on narration that can at times diminish immersion rather than allowing one to simply enjoy and imagine what is happening.
I love these bite-sized horror stories. All the more so when they are audio plays like this one, modern versions of the old radio serials.
A bit less than "The Way Out" and better than "Watcher in the Rain", this story was a great accompaniment to the drive home from visiting family, and uses its storyworld and lore nicely to craft a horror-adventure story.
My main sticking point was in its climax. The tale did such a good job of making it feel like an arduous and terrifying trek to reach the point where it would end, but that end fell short, not being any more frightening than what preceded it after nearly an hour of buildup. It's good, and it brings a different kind of horror than the good stuff prior to it, but I suppose I expected a little bit more.
Ultimately it's an entertaining bit of genre horror of the sort that keeps me interested in the Warhammer universe, and reveals that universe in a way that makes it feel so much more accessible to me. I'm looking forward to my next foray into it.
I was a bit disappointed in this audio book as it was the first release in Warhammer’s Horror line. Anyone who is a Warhammer afficianado can tell you that just about any release they’ve done in hardcover, paperback, or audiobook has elements of horror riddled throughout it’s pages. After all, it is the original Grimdark universe. Well, this particular book wasn’t all that different from previous WH reads. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t a typical Warhammer book. And this seemed like one to me. I would be the first to agree that making something more horrible than the WH 40,000 empire itself would be a tough job. It is almost required that you add a new dimension to the idea of horror. But in my estimation, this book did not edge into any new ground. The writing was very good, the character portrayals were excellent, the overall story was, for me, just okay.
While I did enjoy it, calling a story set in either this universe is akin to saying it is a 40k sci fi story or a Warhammer fantasy story. Ok, not that bad, but pretty close. So many of them deal with demons & monsters or heartless alien killers or a system so corrupt that the little guy is ground to pulp that nearly all of could be classified as horror. This story did not stand out in the horror sense and other stories that were not classified as horror have been far scarier.
It was a good reading performance and a short action packed ride from start to finish. You really dislike the inquisitor in this one but can see her big picture view of things. First time I have read about a chrono inquisitor in a story which was a nice hint of spice but I wish we had more details or background on the character. We also got a surprise guest in the final battle that is another new brand of character that I haven’t read of yet but have heard of.
A short story/drama from the new Warhammer Horror imprint. Surprisingly good for a Black Library production. The plot doesn't feature much in the manner of plot twists, but it's true tothe hopelessness and horror of the setting. A pretty good tale with several layers of tension stacked upon each other.
This book was really good. It was performed perfectly and the story was interesting. I have read some bad reviews of it, but I think the only criticism that I may have is that it is too short. So much in there that should be expanded on. It was a really good short tale. It kind of reminded me of The Secret War in the Netflix collection Love, Death, & Robots.
The voice acting in this short story is great. It's difficult to get to know characters in such a short amount of time but the various narrators really brought them to life.
If you're already a fan of 40k I'm sure you'll have a good time with this one. It won't change your life, but it's fun to see the universe through the eyes of some guardsmen
My first foray into Warhammer horror. Seemed like another bolter porn story (from human-sized bolter to Astartes), but taking the first person, Lovecraftian approach. Pretty used to both. All in all, it was a familiar but welcome tale for me to get into Warhammer Horror.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The second best WH Horror audio drama so far, just after The Way Out. The voice actors were great as always - whoever voiced Captain Brandon is an absolute allstar. Great story, great action, and a killer ending.
Another fun Warhammer horror romp. The ending was a little lackluster but the journey there was fun enough. A prisoner helps out an inquisitor when things go south on the ship they are on. The action is decent and the production values are great as always.