Teaser

The Sisters of Battle – the Adepta Sororitas – are the divine frontline of the Imperium. With faith and firepower, they will combat the forces of Chaos wherever it is encountered . . .

Review

When I’m reviewing a book, I do my best to talk about the book. That might sound obvious, but a recent conversation got me thinking about that approach. You see, when I say I’m talking about the book, it means I try not to talk too much about the author. I might mention the author’s other works, but that serves to put the book into context, no different to stating the year the book was published. This recent conversation suggested that reviewers have a duty to think more about the authors. Naturally, this led to the question ‘Do you make an effort to read more Black Library books by women?’ Now, my answer to that is no. I try and read Black Library books. However, it is abundantly clear that the majority of Black Library novels are written by male authors. If Black Library aren’t hiring female authors, then there’s not a whole lot I can do. Happily for all involved, Black Library are making major strides in balancing the gender scales. Take Paragon of Faith, for example. There are seven stories in here. Two by men, three by women, and two by a nonbinary author. For whatever it may be worth, that is progress.

And now we’ve got that ramble out of the way, let’s talk about those stories.

The title novella is a welcome return to the grim dark future for Amanda Bridgeman. While I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a novel, this novella is a great showcase of Bridgeman’s talents. There’s everything you could want. Sisters in mech suits. Crises of faith. Insidious cults. A whole lot of rather bloody violence, mayhem, and death. It’s not particularly ground-breaking stuff, but it doesn’t need to be. Warhammer anthologies aren’t about exploring wondrous new ides. They’re about showing snapshots of a galaxy stuck in a perpetual state of war. Paragon of Faith sets the tone for the anthology, and is definitely the right story to open with.

The other novella comes from Ness Brown, one of several authors here who are new to me. ‘Saint’s Judgement’ is a slightly quieter story, and a nice segue into Warhammer from my recent medical SF reading. Here it’s Adepta Sororitas searching for a cure to a plague that definitely has unnatural origins. The culprit is exactly who readers familiar with the setting will expect, but it’s a haunting journey nonetheless.

Heading into the short fiction, we have another Ness Brown story ‘Joy of the Martyr’, and my first encounters with writers Kate Flack, Nicholas Werner, and John Sollitto. again, there’s nothing new here, but there is action, faith and fury, all competently told and highly entertaining. There is also a Jude Reid piece ‘Infernal Motives’ that ties into her novel Daemonbreaker, serving both as entertainment and a reminder that I should read that book.

Here’s the part where I close with a public service announcement. If you or someone you love wants to read about the Sisters of Battle, then this would be the perfect starting point. It’s short, brutal, and to the point. It’s as grim and as dark as you could ask for from the fort-first millennium. Most of all, it’s filled with great stories.

Book Stats

• Contains 2 Novellas and 5 Short stories
• First Published 2025
• 326Pages

Editorial Note (10/10/25): Following on from a comment on this article, I would like to clarify that the conversation referenced in the opening paragraph was about reviewers being aware of the author, specifically their gender identity, and not necessarily talking about authors as opposed to talking about the books in question. My apologies for any misunderstandings.