Teaser
The frozen world of Oblazt is no paradise, but it’s still better than being shipped to fight on a death world. But when a band of Militarum soldiers choose to desert, they find that there is more to fear on Oblazt than just the cold . . .
Review
Peter Fehervari is one of Black Library’s strongest stylists. Read one of his books, and there’s no mistaking that he is the mad genius behind it. Like all great stylists, his prose won’t be for everyone. As such, he’s an author that I’ve had a tendency to bounce off. The underlying stories are brilliant, but the way he tells them is perplexing and perhaps even a little obtuse. I’m always a little hesitant to pick up a new Fehervari book, which is why I decided to opt for the audiobook version of Cold Covenant, aided by the fact it’s narrated by the incredibly talented Emma Gregory. This turned out be a smart move on my part, because cold Covenant is Fehervari’s strongest work to date.
As with the rest of Fehervari’s Warhammer oeuvre, Cold Covenant slots loosely into his ‘Dark Coil’ set of interconnected novels. Fehervari nails that sense of something utterly alien eating away at the corners of the universe. Not the usual powers of Chaos or the sort of Xenos who have miniature plastic versions, but something more elusive. There’s a wrongness about the worlds he has crafted that hint at the more mythical and fantastical elements of the grim and dark future. This is a book where people’s secrets physically gnaw away at their bodies, where cults roam the gutter and palaces alike, and where the icy wastes are haunted by ghosts. Once upon a time, Black Library had a dedicated horror imprint. That candle has now guttered out, but Fehervari is still proudly carrying the torch for all the unpleasant weirdness that Warhammer has always had lurking behind its space battles and endless warfare. If you want to see how unsettling the future can be, look no further than Peter Fehervari.
Emma Gregory does a great job of narration, and I had a far easier time following the story than I would have it were in print. Yet again I will say that Black Library has some of the best narrators in the world right now. That being said, there were still a few times I was left scratching my head. this is mostly down to Fehervari’s signature style, which eschews trivial things like linear storytelling and consistent tenses. There’s a big time skip between the first and second acts of the book that threw me right off, but by the time I clambered back on board, I was once again swept away by the story being woven. There are also a lot of characters to keep track of, not all of whom last as long as you’d expect them to, and a few who pop up long after you think they’re gone for good.
There’s a lot to say about this book. Amid the creeping horror and tales of brotherhood, loyalty, treachery, and family, it’s also built on a bedrock of grief, and the lengths people will go to in order to protect their own. It’s as thematically rich as anything Black Library have put out, and unafraid to take the time needed to give those themes a proper looking into. And even if you’re not interested in probing those icy depths, on the surface there’s still a gripping tale of survival, corruption, and death.
If you like Fehervari, you’ll love this book. If you’re on the fence, I dare say it’s as accessible as Fehervari has ever been. So if you’re going to take a chance on one of his books, make it this one.
Book Stats
- Narrated by Emma Gregory
- A Standalone Novel
- Published in 2026
- Runtime 15hrs 47mins
