Teaser

Darya Nevic, transplanted into a Cadian regiment and sent into a brutal warzone, has become a legend among the Astra Militarum. But in combat against the t’au, will the infamous Ghost finally meet her end . . ?

Review

The first sign that I was going to enjoy Longshot was in the opening chapter, in which a soldier in the grim dark future uses a motorcycle in a plausible manner. That’s it. I was sold. Anyone who’s seen a space marine wedged onto an implausibly large motorbike will know that realism isn’t always a concern for Warhammer authors. Yet right from those opening scenes of messages being run across the battlefield, I felt like I was in safe hands and interesting territory. Because this isn’t a book about a single pivotal battle. It’s a book that throws us right into the middle of a full-blown war.

That feeling of constant threat looming overhead is all-pervasive in Longshot, and there is no better lens to view that through than the eyes of a sniper. Despite being such a pivotal part of warfare that Sabaton have multiple songs about them, snipers are rarely the focus in military SF. There is a temptation to see the as somewhat removed from the conflict. Yet while this may be true in terms of physical distance, the mentality of a sniper requires them to be present at all times. Nevic and the others cannot afford even a momentary distraction, for the slightest error may prove fatal, as the high death count in this book attests. The battle between Imperial and T’au snipers is as much a battle of wits as it is of firepower, and Young conveys the tension wonderfully.

On a broader scope, Longshot puts the t’au to excellent use as an antagonist. Pretty much everyone in the grim dark future is genocidally xenophobic. Only the t’au seemingly make any effort at converting enemy troops to their own cause (though this is hardly the innocent offer they proclaim). Longshot shows the devastating effectiveness of propaganda on the battlefront. It is not only the t’au who stand against the Imperium, but those humans who have sided with the xenos. The use of aerial drones to deliver messages of sedition feels simultaneously ripped from the modern world, while also landing squarely in the murky warfare of the far future. In fact, the technologically sophisticated t’au really do shine as a faction here, even when shown through a dirty lens.

Having recently enjoyed another Cadian novel, Justin D Hill’s Shadow of the Eighth, I can’t help but draw parallels between the two. Both centre on questions of identity, but Young takes a different approach. Nevic is not a born Cadian, but has become a Cadian through nebulous military assignment. The feuding between ‘real’ and ‘adopted’ Cadians rears its head more than once here. Couple that with the messages of the t’au seeking to undermine faith in the cause of the Imperium, and you have a recipe for a very interesting book. After all, if everyone around you is questioning who you are fighting for, and you begin to ask if your cause is as just as you were raised to believe, you can’t help but ask yourself if there’s any point fighting at all.

Thankfully for the fiction of the grim dark future, there are always reasons to fight. Longshot is packed with action, a dash of philosophy, and one of the most well-realised warzones in the franchise. Thoroughly recommended reading.

Book Stats

• A Standalone Novel
• Focuses on the Astra Militarum
• First published in 2023
• Published by Black Library
• Military SF
• 351 Pages