Mark of Calth kicks off with the origin story “The Shards of Erebus” by Guy Haley. Telling how the eight Chaos daggers came into being, it is a glimpse into the evil machinations or Erebus, and an explanation how Cor Phaeron escaped the end of Know No Fear. On top of being a solid opening, it likewise frames the anthology, specifically the role said daggers have to play in several of the stories which follow. Second story in the anthology is not only the best piece of Warhammer short fiction I have read (admittedly a relatively short list), it is also begging to be a movie. “Calth That Was” by Graham McNeil is a sub-layer of Know No Fear. Where Know No Fear focuses on the fight on Calth's surface and in its atmosphere, “Calth That Was” occurs underground. It is centered on Ventanus and his defense of the underground arcologies where the citizens of Calth have migrated due to the Word Bearer's attack, and runs an excellent gamut of scenes as the Word Bearers try one last trick up their sleeve to once and for all wipe out the planet. It ends on a massive, silent bang that will have the reader—at least this reader—exhaling hard. While a lengthy story (half a novel), it presonifies the crunchiness of what Warhammer and Horus Heresy have to offer. Twisty, turny, climactic, great HH stuff.
From the critical to the extraneous, “Dark Heart” by Anthony Reynolds is a selection capable of being handled in a paragraph rather than story. Once the initial pages of waffling are over, it presents the showdown between Guillome and Kor Phaeron through the eyes of a new recruit with unholy powers. While it does explain how Phaeron made his escape, the story, as stated, could have been a paragraph in another story. Another extraneous story is “The Traveller” by David Annandale. It is about a Calthian laborer struggling with mental pain and delusions after a surprise Word Bearer attack. The inevitable drawn out for 40 pages, it's a story you feel like you've read before even if it is relevant to Calth.
And the third extraneous selection is “A Deeper Darkness” by Rob Sanders. About Ultramarines clearing out Calth's underground caverns of cultists and Word Bearers, it stars Pelion the Lesser, an ambitious seargent who seeks an especially evil Word Bearer. In his search, he uncovers an underground evil more monstrous than an astartes—an evil requiring Soddom and Gomorrah logic to bring down. While building suspense nicely and offering decent payoff, it does not advance any overarching storylines. Dipping back into relevance is “The Underworld War” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Told in D-B's slow, brooding style, it offers readers a tour of the radiated wasteland that is Calth's surface seven years after the Word Bearer's invasion. It features a dream-like sequence that nicely complements the extremity of a nuclear wasteland.
“Athame” by John French aligns well with the anthology's opening story. It is the origin story of the Chaos dagger which features at the end of Know No Fear. A story (well) told in the second person, it starts in ancient history, and hand by fateful hand, tells of its owners and their dark fates through time. French does a good job keeping the story unpredictable while retaining its classic essence. It also is the perfect lead in to final story, “Unmarked” by Dan Abnett. The oddest tale in the anthology, it foregoes Calth by extending the ending of Know No Fear. In essence the tail of Know No Fear, it tells what happened to Oll Persson, his band of unlikely followers, and their interdimensional escape from Calth—athame dagger in hand. An odd story for not having a “proper” HH setting, it ends as open ended as it begins, leaving some future tale to tell what came next, and readers—at least me—only partially satisfied.
In the end, Mark of Calth is essential reading for Horus Heresy fans interested in the Ultramarines vs. Word Bearers conflict. There are a couple stories which stray from the main conflict or add little to it, but by and large the selections provide interesting layers of story to the overarching conflict. But is it essential reading for the overarching Horus Heresy storyline? The answer is no. I would not include this anthology on a golden path through the series. This is not to say it is bad, only likely uninteresting for readers looking for game changing moments in the HH timeline.
The following are the eight stories contained in Mark of Calth:
The Shards of Erebus by Guy Haley
Calth That Was by Graham McNeill
Dark Heart by Anthony Reynolds
The Traveller by David Annandale
A Deeper Darkness by Rob Sanders
The Underworld War by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Athame by John French
Unmarked by Dan Abnett
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