A mood piece kicks off the anthology. “Angels of Another Age” by John French features three Astartes who have been separated from their legions, wandering the outskirts of the siege of Terra. The story rings a touch false through French's overt emphasis on art (particularly after book after book of blaster porn), but the story ultimately accomplishes its mission by defining the stakes for the average Astartes in the wake of the Heresy: on which side of history will they fall? “Fulgurite” by Nick Kyme stars the Word Bearer sniper Narek who stealthily maneuvers the Terran battlefield, picking off Traitor Astartes (yes, Traitor). His goal is to use fulgurite weapons to take down one particular primarch. Fulgurite (in our world) is the hollow glass tubes formed by lightning strikes in the desert, and Kyme makes appropriate use of the metaphor.
What could be considered a critical text in the annals of the Astra Militarum, “Fragments (All We Have Left)” by Dan Abnett tells of one Sister of Silence's experiences in the smoking ruins of Terra, and her symbolic role as humanity looks forward. In the broader Warhammer frame, it's connective tissue. Like French's opening story “Angels of Another Age”, “Ex Libris is a tone piece. Told through the eyes of Ahriman, French highlights the moment the Emperor defeats Horus, also known as the moment Chaos' power leaves Terra, leaving people like Ahriman feeling weak but wanting.
“System Purge” by Gav Thorpe is an affirmation that, despite the fact that the Siege of Terra is over, the war between the Mechanicum and Dark Mechanicum is far from over. Set in the aftermath of the Lion's Gate battle, the Mechanicum attempts to clean taint. Unsurprisingly, the task turns out to be not as easy as running anti-virus software. “After the Dawn, the Darkness” by Guy Haley is a story I've been waiting for but perhaps most HH readers weren't. It completes the arc of Katsuhiro. Introduced in the bowels of the Emperor's palace at the beginning of the Siege, the manual laborer disappeared a couple books later, leaving readers to wonder his fate. This story describes its humble nature.
Closure of another minor character's arc, “Homebound” by Chris Wraight tells of Ilya Ravallion and her completion of service to the White Scars. Reading like a Wild West story, it's Indians raiding a domestic frontier scene when you least want them—except the Indians aren't Indians. The closing story in the anthology, and arguably its best is “The Carrion Lord of the Imperium” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. The story is told through the biased eyes of Diocletian Coros. Borne out of hatred for all primarchs, regardless traitor or loyal, Coros' tale provides a selective bit of history drawing into question where the Emperor's intentions lie. It closes on a poignant line befitting what may perhaps be the last canon story in the Heresy.
In the end, I went into Era of Ruin expecting a moody epilogue, a reflection upon the massive series' completion. I got that, partially. An ethereal half of the anthology is introspective. The French, Wraight, and Dembski-Bowden stories best capture this. But there is a nagging second half, a half that bridges the series to the wider 40k universe. It's nagging because it's unclear whether the bridge is necessary (don't all the 40th millennium books occupy that role?), not to mention it causes readers to get out their mental wish lists of plot threads left unclosed. Why didn't my favorite minor character ___fill in the blank___ get an ending? But you can read, and decide for yourself.
The following are the eight stories anthologized in Era of Ruin:
Angels of Another Age by John French
Fulgurite by Nick Kyme
Fragments (All We Have Left) by Dan Abnett
Ex Libris by John French
System Purge by Gav Thorpe
After the Dawn, the Darkness by Guy Haley
Homebound by Chris Wraight
The Carrion Lord of the Imperium by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
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