The Oubliette (Warhammer Horror)

by JC Sterns

A chilling Warhammer Horror novel set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Do you dare cross the threshold of The Oubliette?

With the death of Ruprekt Matkosen, his daughter Ashielle is now the Lord Governor of Ceocan. Her father’s murderers still lurk in the shadows, threatening not only her rule but every mortal soul under her protection. Even her own people cannot be trusted: any one of them may be part of the poisonous plot to destroy her family.

Deep beneath the palace, locked away from all human contact, Ashielle finds a weapon unlike any other: a monster, more adept at hunting in the darkness than any assassin. Allying with such a horror is surely blasphemy. But with doom lurking around every corner, Ashielle is forced to revive an ancient pact with the beast. But she soon discovers that her family’s mortal enemies are not the only evil that hungers to consume her.
 

• ISBN10: 1789990335
• ISBN13: 9781789990331
• Publish Date: 6 February 2020
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Games Workshop
• Imprint: The Black Library
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Inkslinger]

ARC provided by NetGalley and Black Library. All opinions are mine and freely given.

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"Abandon hope. Do not trust to faith. Sacrifices burn on pyres of madness, rotting corpses stir in unquiet graves. Daemonic abominations leer with rictus grins and stare into the eyes of the accursed. And the Ruinous Gods, with indifference, look on."


03-02: As I'd never explored anything from the Warhammer 40,000 universe before, yet heard so much about it from a long-time friend of mine, I was eager to experience a bit of it for myself when I saw the opportunity arise. 'The Oubliette' by J.C. Stearns was just such opportunity.

The cover depicts a seemingly large, dark hand.. clutching what seems to be a fallen being of fair hair and skin dressed in formal attire.. reaching for a pendant or something they have dropped which is about to slip away. The novel, listed under Warhammer horror, opens with the funeral for a highly regarded governor of the populace of a planet called Ceocan. It's viewed from the perspective of his daughter, who in what is perhaps some strange twist of fate, has found herself inheriting his role due to the death of both him and her eldest brother.

A younger sibling has also returned for the funeral. Having been sent away as an 'extra heir,' upon his arrival we find him to be an arbitrator, this world's version of an officer in charge of investigating incidents of just such magnitude. Though in this case, as a conflict of interest, it's not something he'd be able to become involved with despite his sister's certainty there was foul play afoot.

Normally, I lose interest with a lot of political intrigue, but the aristocrats amongst the Ceocan community are complex creatures. I enjoyed watching the battle even in what were essentially parliament style meetings between the various speakers of both the great and small houses. It was fascinating to watch them dance and duel verbally, utilizing not only their words.. but their social weight.. the volumes of their voices.. and the maneuvering of others around them.

It put me in mind of the great Senate meetings in Star Wars actually and since the original Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop game originated within years of the first Star Wars film, it's not unreasonable to think the creator may have taken some inspiration from it. Though, it could just as easily have been inspired by the Senates of Rome or some other real ancient ruling body.


"At the apex of the facade, the Emperor of Mankind stood in profile, His noble gaze cast to the east. In the middle of the night on Reunification Day, His gaze into the night sky lined up with the direction of Holy Terra, His graven visage seeing the distant star that mortal eyes could never discern in the blackness. Behind Him, the great aquila spread its bronze wings."


Though the violent crescendos throughout the story are brief, they are absolute. They are crisply detailed making the visuals unavoidable and lending themselves to the memory for some time.
While the supernatural horrors contained in the telling are highly imaginative, the ties that bind are a bit of rather brutal fun for the reader, so long as we're not overly squeamish.

There's a great deal of conflict, both inner and external. Enemies and friends alike, faced with unenviable choices of realignment or action, sometimes to a surprising result. Loyalties tested, mettle tested, even hands being forced by circumstance to choose pragmatism or failure at some crucial junction.


"Her father had had a saying: When conspiracy goes abroad, coincidence is the mask it wears, and she was beginning to see the wisdom in it."


This is an excellent story.. full of all the darkness and light that can be at war within.. elegantly crafted in the style of some of the most timeless classic horror novels I've ever read. I'd highly recommend it to any horror buff who isn't just looking for a jump scare, but rather a slow dawning realization of the state of one's moral compass.


PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | WATERSTONES

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03-01: I've never read a Warhammer story before.. never played the classic tabletop game.. or painted any of the amazing miniatures, but I have a long-time friend who loves them. I happened to see this one show up in NetGalley's listings.. and it looked fascinating..

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of The Oubliette through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Oubliette is the latest novel to hit the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Horror series. Written by J.C. Sterns, this is a graphic tale of what can go wrong, when a planet is left to its own devices for too long. Or perhaps it’s a tale of politics and temptation. You be the judge.

Ceocan has long run smoothly and efficiently. They meet their quota, and as such are essentially left to their own devices. But with the death of the Lord Governor, that is all at risk. But as with any tale of politics, will it be noticed before it is too late?

Ashielle just lost her father and eldest brother. She hadn’t expected to take on the role of Lord Governor, but thanks to that unfortunate series of events (which she has great suspicions about), she must do exactly that.

Ashielle will have to play the politics game in order to keep her planet afloat. But when danger strikes too close to her heart, a new darkness seeps in. And with it, the temptation to use it.

“Make your offering of flesh and blood. Of life. And the darkness shall descend where you command, leaving only whom you wish.”

Warnings: The Oubliette is a horror novel through and through. As such, it does contain some more graphic details. Most of them involve graphic details of death or gore.

The Oubliette was a mesmerizing read. This is a book that I simply couldn’t put down, or get out of my head. Even when I wasn’t reading it, I found myself wondering what was going to happen next. What turn of fate was in store for Ashielle. Or what drastic action she would take next.

I’m quickly learning that the horror novels coming out of Warhammer are my favorites. The chilling tones add an extra layer to this world, making them all the more thrilling and captivating. The Oubliette is no exception. As a happy side note, The Oubliette also features my favorite cover thus far.

This was honestly a chilling read, from start to finish. It had so many twists and turns. Some of them were predictable, but many were not. I actually suspect that the predictable elements were thrown in with intent – to trick us into a false sense of security. Or perhaps this story made me as paranoid as some of the characters within.

It was thrilling trying to figure out what was going to happen, and what the intent of the ‘other’ was in this novel. I love novels such as this, where much of the truth is intentionally obfuscated. The addition of the politics and scheming really enhanced the sense of dread, something I hadn’t anticipated, by very much appreciated.

I really enjoyed reading The Oubliette, and find myself eagerly looking forward to seeing what the next novel will be from Warhammer Horror. I’m also going to be adding J.C. Sterns to my list of authors to keep an eye on.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks