Taliesin Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Greetings all, I was hoping someone could recommend me some good books with assassins in them. I got interested in them after reading the extensive White Dwarf index imperialis. If it's not a full book focused on them, perhaps you guys recall books that had very good scenes with assassins, and details them a bit? Their name has a nice ring to it too, Officio Assasinorum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tichinde Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 pretty sure the Horus Heresy book 13: Nemesis is all about a team of assassins (one from each temple if I recall) sent to kill Horus. MegaVolt87 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 There are surprisingly a few audio dramas featuring assassins, too. Ben Counter's Kill Shot (on CD as part of Agents of the Imperium), or on its own digitally. Joe Parrino wrote a tie in drama and novella for the Execution Force game, the novella being self-titled and the audio drama being The Emperor's Judgement. Sanctus Reach included a short story (also available on its own) titled Death Mask. Nemesis for the Horus Heresy got a short story sequel in War Without End / Death and Defiance titled Gunsight, which was then followed up by Garro: Weapon of Fate, specifically the Vow of Faith novella. There's also another audio drama, The Assassination of Gabriel Seth. Often, though, Assassins aren't a major point in novels, and used more as relevant or as a twist. Listing novels like that may often ruin their appearance in my eyes. cheywood 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lysimachus Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Wolfblade by William King is an older novel, so the fluff might be a bit out of date, but still a great read and features the Wolfblades (Space Wolves kill team assigned to protect members of their allied Navigator House, including Ragnar Blackmane in this story) fighting against an Imeperial Assassin. Edit: spoilered to respect DarkChaplain's final point. DarkChaplain 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkimaskMohawk Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 The best Assassin scenes/appearances imo were; The vanus infocyte in Tallarn. She felt incredibly capable and incredibly impactful. Makes the vanus Assassin in Nemesis seem incredibly incompetent. The eversor in Iron Warrior. Also felt like a very real threat, even to the iron warriors. RedFurioso 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apologist Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Yes, I agree with SkimaskMohawk – Tallarn is a great treatment of an assassin. If you're open to the older material, then Ian Watson's seminal Inquisitor (re-released as, I think, Draco) included the Callidus assassin Meh'lindi, who also appears in the old Deathwing anthology in a brilliant short about infiltrating a genestealer cult. Both are great. aa.logan 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareddm Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 I wish there were more details about the variety within each of the temples. We know of the classic images and skill sets of each temple, but I always wondered, what is a non-infocyte Vanus agent? What are agents from the other temples called? Are there other types of Eversors or Vindicares? Either lesser ones used more for training and experimentation, or as support for other Imperial institutions? What was the relationship between the Culexus Temple and the Sisters of Silence? Is there lingering enmity for the latter being disbanded and scattered while the former was allowed to remain? As much as I love the mystery of the Officio Assasinorum, it never felt like there were enough loose threads in their lore to build off of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliesin Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 pretty sure the Horus Heresy book 13: Nemesis is all about a team of assassins (one from each temple if I recall) sent to kill Horus. Yeah that one I had noticed already.... but I didn't like it much. Surprised Tallarn is mentioned cause that's another one that didn't appeal to be very much cause of the "all warfare all the time" vibe it gave me. Perhaps it deserves a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkimaskMohawk Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 It certainly isn't only about non-stop action. It's one of the core books that builds up to the siege too, as all books by French seem to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roomsky Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Chiming in about the Vanus in Tallarn. Maybe the only assassin scenes outside of TBA that left any kind of impression on me. I suppose there's also the assassin in Spear of the Emperor , but that one works better as a surprise. JH79 and Taliesin 2 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_Caerolion Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I wish there were more details about the variety within each of the temples. We know of the classic images and skill sets of each temple, but I always wondered, what is a non-infocyte Vanus agent? What are agents from the other temples called? Are there other types of Eversors or Vindicares? Either lesser ones used more for training and experimentation, or as support for other Imperial institutions? What was the relationship between the Culexus Temple and the Sisters of Silence? Is there lingering enmity for the latter being disbanded and scattered while the former was allowed to remain? As much as I love the mystery of the Officio Assasinorum, it never felt like there were enough loose threads in their lore to build off of. As far as I'm aware, there are no other agent types for the various Temples, other than the administrative staff, I guess. The Vindicare Temple only has the snipers that we know and love, they might just have alternative, custom ammo types created for particular missions, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Lunde Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 (edited) M'Shen in Soul Hunter was just fantastic. It really showed the endurance, willpower and thoughness of the assassins to get their job done (and get out again). She was really shown as an 'unstopable force', refusing to go down, utilizing everything at her disposal. Just awesome! I need to reread that again, hopefully its as good as i remember. Edited November 1, 2019 by Mr. Lunde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I suppose there's also the assassin in Spear of the Emperor , but that one works better as a surprise. This is a really great example. Once you get past the shock factor of what an awesome plot twist it was, you then have to wrap your head around the assassins sheer level of skill & power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Shift Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 The latest inferno anthology has a short story about an assassin, but if I tell you which short, it'll ruin the surprise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gederas Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 There's also a chapter in Soul Hunter (the first of ADB's Night Lords trilogy) which has M'Shen (the Callidus Assassin who assassinates Curze) appear in a major role. Spoiler: She doesn't live past that chapter. An utterly enraged Talos makes sure of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indefragable Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 The Beast Arises series has some interesting snippets...though it’s a bit more...freeform...than any of the models currently sold by GW. Also, does assassinating someone’s political career count? Plenty of that as well ;) RedFurioso and JH79 2 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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