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Black Library Advent 2022 #12
The Shel'tain Affair
An Amendera Kendel Short Story
READ IT BECAUSE
An agent faces duplicity in the highest echelons of Imperial society.
THE STORY
Amendera Kendel, Agentia Tertius, returns from the investigation of a noble family, finding no traces of guilt. That is, until, they destroy her groundcar in an attempt to have her assassinated.
Written by Jude Reid.
READ IT BECAUSE
An agent faces duplicity in the highest echelons of Imperial society.
THE STORY
Amendera Kendel, Agentia Tertius, returns from the investigation of a noble family, finding no traces of guilt. That is, until, they destroy her groundcar in an attempt to have her assassinated.
Written by Jude Reid.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 24, 2022
8 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 25, 2024
May 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order (https://www.heresyomnibus.com) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy series and extras - Now in Immaterium of everything outside the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project working on the Primarchs and other stories, beige the Siege of Terra.
I wish I didn't have the reaction I do to certain kinds of media. I genuinely hate feeling like this and it makes me feel like an awful person.
This is one of those reviews where I feel the need to say up top that this is my own personal opinion expressed for me own entertainment and catharsis. It is only meant for readers and is not intended to be read by the author or anyone close to them. I am a nobody who knows nothing, I have just read a lot of Horus Heresy stuff.
Also, this review is me releasing a lot of feelings that have been building up for a little while now, so this isn't just about this story and absolutely isn't any kind of personal attack on or wish to disparage or discourage Reid.
Former Oblivion Knight of the Silent Sisterhood and current Agentia Tertias and effectively a precursor to formal title of Inquisitor, Amendera Kendel, has been charged by Malcador, the Sigillite, to investigate a Duke that has been giving him bad vibes. All goes well until he tries to have her killed...
Before we go any further, I just want to create two columns to express who I am as a reader and where I am coming from:
Things I Love:
The Horus Heresy.
Amendera Kendel, and the concept of her continuing adventurers laying the grounds for Inquisitors in a similar vein as the Knight Errants and Grey Knights.
Female and/ or any other sex or gender lead characters in Black Library stories. Gimme good stories about Kendel, Sarrin, the Silent Sisters, Imperial Army, Navy, Psykers, Assassins, Remembrancers, etc. I want great Custodes stories, regardless of gender, but I especially want ones that explore the new lore expansion! Hell, I absolutely would love good cis female, or any , trans, and/or non-binary Astartes stories.
New authors, especially those from a wider experience than the previously extremely hegemonous Black Library stable of predominantly cisheternormative white British men.
Diverse characters and perspectives within Black Library stories, regardless of the setting and series, please and thank you.
Things I Hate:
Mediocre writing.
PG Marvel movie tone with all edges and personality sanded down and airbrushed out.
Cookie cutter plots and tropes deployed with the finese and care to craft something worthwhile with them.
A story that cannot stand on its own, while simultaneously not standing at all within the setting it is placed, not least of which because the only thing grounding it in that setting in any way are a, like, three proper nouns that if removed would leave you with a story there would be no legal rammifications for publishing because those are the only serial numbers that would need to be sanded down.
Feeling like a total arsehole who can't just say, well, that wasn't for me when something gets under her skin so much.
Feeling like a total arsehole who worries about seeming like or getting lumped in with the hateful, frothing, incels in the hobby who act like Games Workshop came to their house and smashed up their models at the mere concept of diversity, especially characters, who, let's face it, aren't homogeneous assumed cisheternormative white men, if she has criticism of a story that just happens to have a female lead.
Feeling like I'm losing my mind because there has been a trend in of the Horus Heresy in general, but particularly with female protagonists, especially Amendera Kendel, for this generic, under developed, under edited blandness that wouldn't be acceptable regardless of existing or entirely original setting, but is even more glaring when there is a solid foundation, including all manner of different styles and tones, just within the Horus Heresy, when it suddenly appears in long-running prestige series.
That I had to start a new point to actually finish what started the first point because I am so het up and out of my ADHD meds, but also losing my mind because the fact that the lead is a woman, especially Amendera Kendel does seem to be a relevant factor in the specific kind of generic stories and staid tropes that are getting thrust upon her.
That this was the straw that broke the camel's back, because this ain't Reid's fault and this isn't about her. Brooks did the last Kendel story and it was also all of this. Everyone, except French and Forrester, and I am including my critical fave, Thorpe, in the everyone here, in Cthonia's Reckoning.
This can very easily be made to seem like it's something the awful hateful, bigoted mob can blame on new authors, diversity, etc., but died in the Calibanite Green wool veterans who have given me migraines from how much they made me bawl my eyes out, are also asleep at the wheel.
That I'm now blaming more experienced creators when this is very obviously a fundamental problem with whatever is going on at Games Workshop and Black Library to churn out more and more content without the care, quality, development, editing, and most importantly and the major factor in all those previous elements, time and money, needed to make it good--Has anyone not seen Jenny Nicholson's video about the Star Wars Hotel yet?
That I am become the old fart and will just be seen as doing the usual back in my day nonsense and lumped in with the people losing their minds over female Custodes, which, again, I am all for. Gimme good femme Custodes stories, please and thank you.
Hooley dooley.
I feel unbelievably shitty because this is just a kinda real generic and not good or interesting Agent Carter filler episode story, but that's absolutely not a big deal or the end of the world.
Who cares? Despite everything, if it was just this, not me. I hope Reid is getting some bag in between her time in the operating theatre as an actual surgeon. She absolutely shouldn't give a shit about my opinion. It's just a worrying trend with Black Library, and, frankly, all media becoming lowest common denominator grey goo and it sucks and I don't want new authors and diversity to be used a shield for corporate bullshit.
That's my actual point^. Took me this long to get there, but that's my actual point.
I need to lay down for a bit now.
Addendum:
Now that I've taken a minute, I just want to add that this is not mean to come across as any kind of gatekeeping or acting as an arbiter of subjective taste. My point is purely about established expectations of quality of a series built up over almost two decades.
I am all for everyone finding their bliss and I don't care what logo it has on it. If BL started publishing official Horus Heresy Leman and Lupercal Omegaverse or Khârgal Tal Slashfic I might not read...that much of it, but I would be over the moon for whoever's day was made by it. I would love to see this Agent Carter/ Carmen Sandiego approach to Kendel done well and clearly marked as not being in line with he expectations of the main series. It would work really well as a purposefully hammy audio drama series harming back to old radio plays. It would also work for the main series with the tone and quality similar to Garro: Shield of Lies, which I adore!
I just want to be clear that I'm not trying to hate or spoil anyone's fun. I just very autistic and I need to know why I'm getting into and I have real concerns of the way late stage capitalism is effecting art, and everything else...
Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), Cthonia's Reckoning, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels 1 Primarchs anthology, 3 Characters novels, and 169 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 11+ repeats). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
*My tracking consistently proves shoddy, but I'm doing my best.
I wish I didn't have the reaction I do to certain kinds of media. I genuinely hate feeling like this and it makes me feel like an awful person.
This is one of those reviews where I feel the need to say up top that this is my own personal opinion expressed for me own entertainment and catharsis. It is only meant for readers and is not intended to be read by the author or anyone close to them. I am a nobody who knows nothing, I have just read a lot of Horus Heresy stuff.
Also, this review is me releasing a lot of feelings that have been building up for a little while now, so this isn't just about this story and absolutely isn't any kind of personal attack on or wish to disparage or discourage Reid.
Former Oblivion Knight of the Silent Sisterhood and current Agentia Tertias and effectively a precursor to formal title of Inquisitor, Amendera Kendel, has been charged by Malcador, the Sigillite, to investigate a Duke that has been giving him bad vibes. All goes well until he tries to have her killed...
Before we go any further, I just want to create two columns to express who I am as a reader and where I am coming from:
Things I Love:
The Horus Heresy.
Amendera Kendel, and the concept of her continuing adventurers laying the grounds for Inquisitors in a similar vein as the Knight Errants and Grey Knights.
Female and/ or any other sex or gender lead characters in Black Library stories. Gimme good stories about Kendel, Sarrin, the Silent Sisters, Imperial Army, Navy, Psykers, Assassins, Remembrancers, etc. I want great Custodes stories, regardless of gender, but I especially want ones that explore the new lore expansion! Hell, I absolutely would love good cis female, or any , trans, and/or non-binary Astartes stories.
New authors, especially those from a wider experience than the previously extremely hegemonous Black Library stable of predominantly cisheternormative white British men.
Diverse characters and perspectives within Black Library stories, regardless of the setting and series, please and thank you.
Things I Hate:
Mediocre writing.
PG Marvel movie tone with all edges and personality sanded down and airbrushed out.
Cookie cutter plots and tropes deployed with the finese and care to craft something worthwhile with them.
A story that cannot stand on its own, while simultaneously not standing at all within the setting it is placed, not least of which because the only thing grounding it in that setting in any way are a, like, three proper nouns that if removed would leave you with a story there would be no legal rammifications for publishing because those are the only serial numbers that would need to be sanded down.
Feeling like a total arsehole who can't just say, well, that wasn't for me when something gets under her skin so much.
Feeling like a total arsehole who worries about seeming like or getting lumped in with the hateful, frothing, incels in the hobby who act like Games Workshop came to their house and smashed up their models at the mere concept of diversity, especially characters, who, let's face it, aren't homogeneous assumed cisheternormative white men, if she has criticism of a story that just happens to have a female lead.
Feeling like I'm losing my mind because there has been a trend in of the Horus Heresy in general, but particularly with female protagonists, especially Amendera Kendel, for this generic, under developed, under edited blandness that wouldn't be acceptable regardless of existing or entirely original setting, but is even more glaring when there is a solid foundation, including all manner of different styles and tones, just within the Horus Heresy, when it suddenly appears in long-running prestige series.
That I had to start a new point to actually finish what started the first point because I am so het up and out of my ADHD meds, but also losing my mind because the fact that the lead is a woman, especially Amendera Kendel does seem to be a relevant factor in the specific kind of generic stories and staid tropes that are getting thrust upon her.
That this was the straw that broke the camel's back, because this ain't Reid's fault and this isn't about her. Brooks did the last Kendel story and it was also all of this. Everyone, except French and Forrester, and I am including my critical fave, Thorpe, in the everyone here, in Cthonia's Reckoning.
This can very easily be made to seem like it's something the awful hateful, bigoted mob can blame on new authors, diversity, etc., but died in the Calibanite Green wool veterans who have given me migraines from how much they made me bawl my eyes out, are also asleep at the wheel.
That I'm now blaming more experienced creators when this is very obviously a fundamental problem with whatever is going on at Games Workshop and Black Library to churn out more and more content without the care, quality, development, editing, and most importantly and the major factor in all those previous elements, time and money, needed to make it good--Has anyone not seen Jenny Nicholson's video about the Star Wars Hotel yet?
That I am become the old fart and will just be seen as doing the usual back in my day nonsense and lumped in with the people losing their minds over female Custodes, which, again, I am all for. Gimme good femme Custodes stories, please and thank you.
Hooley dooley.
I feel unbelievably shitty because this is just a kinda real generic and not good or interesting Agent Carter filler episode story, but that's absolutely not a big deal or the end of the world.
Who cares? Despite everything, if it was just this, not me. I hope Reid is getting some bag in between her time in the operating theatre as an actual surgeon. She absolutely shouldn't give a shit about my opinion. It's just a worrying trend with Black Library, and, frankly, all media becoming lowest common denominator grey goo and it sucks and I don't want new authors and diversity to be used a shield for corporate bullshit.
That's my actual point^. Took me this long to get there, but that's my actual point.
I need to lay down for a bit now.
Addendum:
Now that I've taken a minute, I just want to add that this is not mean to come across as any kind of gatekeeping or acting as an arbiter of subjective taste. My point is purely about established expectations of quality of a series built up over almost two decades.
I am all for everyone finding their bliss and I don't care what logo it has on it. If BL started publishing official Horus Heresy Leman and Lupercal Omegaverse or Khârgal Tal Slashfic I might not read...that much of it, but I would be over the moon for whoever's day was made by it. I would love to see this Agent Carter/ Carmen Sandiego approach to Kendel done well and clearly marked as not being in line with he expectations of the main series. It would work really well as a purposefully hammy audio drama series harming back to old radio plays. It would also work for the main series with the tone and quality similar to Garro: Shield of Lies, which I adore!
I just want to be clear that I'm not trying to hate or spoil anyone's fun. I just very autistic and I need to know why I'm getting into and I have real concerns of the way late stage capitalism is effecting art, and everything else...
Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), Cthonia's Reckoning, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels 1 Primarchs anthology, 3 Characters novels, and 169 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 11+ repeats). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
*My tracking consistently proves shoddy, but I'm doing my best.
December 28, 2022
Quite good. Would be interested in reading more by the author. (And also these characters.)
February 26, 2023
A very enjoyable story away from the main Heresy storylines but it opens up interesting corners to explore further. I hope Black Library continue to do this and fill in the little details here and there. This is my first from the author as well but I will quickly take a look at her crime offerings as I think they will suit each other very well.
March 4, 2023
A rare first-person Horus Heresy story, and a good one at that.
I’ve really enjoyed all of the shorts that explore the early days of the proto-Inquisition and this sits comfortably with those. Very good indeed.
I’ve really enjoyed all of the shorts that explore the early days of the proto-Inquisition and this sits comfortably with those. Very good indeed.
July 25, 2024
Feels too short, not very memorable, especially after Ghosts Speak Not
September 9, 2025
“Humanity is a superstitious species. Old notions of faith and fate are carried in our flesh like parasites, weighing us down as we strive to transcend the shackles of the past.”
Kendel Amendera was first introduced in “Flight of the Eisenstein”, before appearing in the short stories “The Voice”, “Ghosts Speak Not” and “The Serpent’s Dance”.
The story opens with an attempt on Kendel’s life. As Agentia Tertius of Malcador the Sigillite, she carries his authority wherever she goes, so an attempt on her life screams of treachery and betrayal against Terra. Sent to investigate the Duke of Shel’Tain, Kendel is certain he is of guilty of something, but can’t find the necessary proof to condemn him, and then the attempt on her life is made.
I think the story was probably a little too predictable to be truly great, however I did quite like the ending
Kendel Amendera was first introduced in “Flight of the Eisenstein”, before appearing in the short stories “The Voice”, “Ghosts Speak Not” and “The Serpent’s Dance”.
The story opens with an attempt on Kendel’s life. As Agentia Tertius of Malcador the Sigillite, she carries his authority wherever she goes, so an attempt on her life screams of treachery and betrayal against Terra. Sent to investigate the Duke of Shel’Tain, Kendel is certain he is of guilty of something, but can’t find the necessary proof to condemn him, and then the attempt on her life is made.
I think the story was probably a little too predictable to be truly great, however I did quite like the ending
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews