Pain Engine

Warhammer Horror #Short Story

by Chris Thursten

Black Library Horror Week 2022 – Day 6

READ IT BECAUSE
Even the most deranged artist requires quality tools.

THE STORY
A drukhari haemonculus searches for the unusual pain engine of a renowned master.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Horror, Short Stories

31 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2022

About the author

Chris Thursten is a writer and video game developer. He lives in Bristol, UK.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok book, glad I read it.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was thoroughly confused all the way until up to the very end. Kinda reminded me of Matt Farrer's work, the many twists and turns like an unexplored labyrinthe with only a match to light the way.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Black Library has improved recently but Pain Engine was old-school BL. It displayed the authors incredible imagination and story-telling ability, but the twist was predictable from the outset and the entire story was sesquipedalian (I know, I know). ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Bea O · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this as I love Drukhari, but it was a bit too convoluted in its prose. I have re-read it a few times and found no new meaning, it feels confusing for the sake of being confusing, and not for any reason.

[Peter Bernhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very reminiscent of the (good) Hellraiser movies. Feels like a fever dream jumping between thoughts and current events from the perspective of the main character.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. Too much of a sketch to be atmospheric. I had high hopes for this one and there really just isn't much of anything here. Well written enough to avoid a one star rating, but only barely.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

kinda confusing lol

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok story well thought through

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

ngl, this made my reading slump worse