Sorrowcrown (A Novella of The Long Vigil)
Hello, all. Welcome for joining me for another jaunt into the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium.
Those of you who read my review of Beyond the Crimson Mists that Nicholas Wolf had previously done some stories for Warhammer 40K. After seeing a Tweet chain between Nicholas Wolf and a user named Jesus 40K Worldview about Wolf's novella "Sorrowcrown", I decided it was time to double back and check some of their stories out. I therefore ordered my own copy of The Long Vigil so that I could read "Sorrowcrown" for myself.
(We will eventually be doing reviews for all of the stories within The Long Vigil. I simply jumped to "Sorrowcrown* first because that's the one I was most excited for.)
Let's purge some xenos.
STATS
Title: “Sorrowcrown”
Anthology: The Long Vigil
Author(s): Nicholas Wolf
Genre: Science Fiction (Space Opera)
First Printing: 2020
Publisher: Black Library (Games Workshop Publishing)
SPOILER WARNING
Mild, unmarked spoilers for “Sorrowcrown” will be provided throughout this review. Heavy spoilers will be confined to clearly labeled sections. I will keep the first paragraph of any given section spoiler-free.
Heavy, unmarked may be provided for any and all previously reviewed Warhammer 40K content.
STORY
Tetsugei is a Librarian of the White Scars, assigned to his first vigil with the Deathwatch. As the new man in the squad, he is still mistrusted by his comrades, particularly his sergeant. His first mission with the squad brings them into contact with a Dark Eldar superweapon. Tetsugei must earn the respect of the squad as they face off against this sector-threatening menace.
RATING: 8 / 10
Jesus 40K Worldview did not oversell "Sorrowcrown". It's really good.
This is the longest story within the anthology. Wolf does not use that page count just to blow things up (though there's certainly no shortage of gory, explosive spectacle). He makes the most of these pages to tell a story of a newcomer to the Deathwatch struggling to integrate into a veteran Watch squad, dealing with:
cultural divides and prejudices of different chapters
being the newcomer within a squad who have established histories with one another
being a Librarian in a squad led by a Black Templar
The result is a story that, while rather simple in terms of plot, still feels very meaty and very satisfying.
The one big issue I could find here is that Wolf does expect you to have done your homework. With the except of the POV character's chapter (the White Scars), he just flings out the names of Astartes chapters while dedicating almost no words to explaining who these chapters are and why they behave the way try do. I'm not sure I would have fully appreciated this story if I didn't have that prior knowledge. However (A) that's not an unreasonable expectation for the target audience of a Deathwatch anthology and (B) Wolf balances out by fleshing out the plot-relevant lore as character traits.
Long story short, even if the rest of this anthology is terrible, I feel like it was worth buying purely for access to this novella.
ANALYSIS (Heavy Spoilers)
Worldbuilding
Homework
I'm really glad I watch a lot of lore videos, because otherwise, I'd have had a really hard time keeping track of all the chapters in this story. The featured squad includes representatives of:
Black Templars (the sergeant)
Ultramarines (the Techmarine)
Imperial Fists
Salamanders
Space Wolves
Flesh Tearers
Minotaurs
Astral Knights (the Apothecary)
White Scars (the Librarian)
Very little time is put into actually explaining who these chapters are and what makes them different, with the exception of the White Scars (who, via Tetsugei's narrative voice and various reflections, get fleshed out quite a bit) and the Space Wolves (because Tetsugei ponders his battle-brother's tribalistic behaviors).
This doesn't damage the story. There's no point where unexplained lore kneecaps the pathos of the scene at hand. However, it does affect the clarity of the prose. Every Marine on the squad is named, and Wolf frequently used the name of the Marine's chapter in place of the name. That's logical in terms of providing some variety to the prose, yet this case, it means we are being given two separate lists of names to keep track of, one of which is gibberish to anyone who hasn't done the homework.
Cliffnotes
When it comes to the essential worldbuilding, Wolf does at least provide enough to contextualize things.
The horrifying presentation of the Dark Eldar in this story is an extremely effective introduction. Wolf captures their essence and relays enough of their lore to understand the threat they pose. Even if I did not understand the basics about the Dark Eldar, I feel like I could have followed this.
Likewise, Tetsugei's skills as a psyker, they are handled as Soft Magic that does not break the story. Wolf clearly establishes that Tetsuge needs time and the ability to concentrate to use his abilities to the fullest. There was never a point where his inability to insta-win any fight felt like an arbitrary limit.
On the matter of the Deathwatch itself, while the chapters might be homework, Wolf does clearly lay out the idea of the Watch. The story makes it very clear that this is a duty that a diverse array of Astartes rotate into and out of, potentially multiple times. This is ultimately the lore that is most important to understanding the story (which is why the homework, while frustrating, doesn't break things outright).
Plot
The plot of "Sorrowcrown" is not complicated. Tetsugei's squad respond to a distress call, identity a Dark Eldar threat, and then have to destroy the Elder superweapon without any backup. The action isn't remarkable, but it is understanding, with clear rules as to what is or isn't possible and chances for the individual Marines to showcase the fighting styles of their chapters. It's a decent action story the serves as a suitable backdrop for the real main event.
Character
The POV
Tetsugei is a man feeling the strain of going far from home in the name of duty. Throughout the story, he finds himself reflecting upon his homeworld and longing for the brotherhood of his fellow White Scars. Prior to the falling action of the story, the only member of the squad he finds comradery with is the Techmarine, and that bond is itself built on the fact that Librarians and Techmarines are both outsiders by their very nature. He is painfully aware that he is an unwelcome replacement within a band of strangers from other chapters.
Despite this, Tetsugei does not shy away from doing his duty. He stands his ground when challenged by his sergeant (not in an insubordinate way, merely standing by his decisions). He also she is respect for "mortals" who do the same, taking a liking to the captain of the squad's ship when the man defends his own work.
Overall, Tetsugei is a likeable protagonist. Not a particularly nuanced one, perhaps, but he does at least possess a strong narrative voice that makes it easy to relate to him and his struggle as an outsider.
The Squad
Something that I'll cover when we review Assassinorum: Kingmaker later this month is that the various assassin characters are all stereotypes of their respective temples, yet those stereotypes are earned via characterization moments we are Shown on the page. The Marines in "Sorrowcrown" manage to strike that same balance.
The Ultramarine assesses a strategy by referring to the Codex Astartes.
The Flesh Tearer has a vampire vibe to him.
The Space Wolf is a bloodthirsty Space Viking.
The Black Templar chains his weapon to his hands, leads prayers, and hates psykers, up to and including his Librarian.
The Salamander carries a flamethrower and shows the most overt compassion for mortals.
For that matter, even Tetsugei himself is a stereotypical White Scar, reflecting upon specific elements of his homeworld that really color him in as a Space Mongol.
If you did the homework, you will recognize all these things as stereotypes. However, if not, you will still understand these traits and the impact they have on the story. The biggest one here is the Black Templar sergeant's hatred of psykers. The sergeant second-guesses Tetsugei's every decision, and his dialogue makes it clear that Tetsugei's nature as a psyker is the root of this disdain.
The result is that the clash of different chapters instead comes across as one of individual personalities. You don't actually need to know the Black Templars' general attitude about Librarians to understand Tetsugei's difficulties with his sergeant. The story remains human and relatable at an emotional level, rather than merely making sense from a lore perspective.
Consequently, when the Dark Eldar are defeated at the end and Tetsugei stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his surviving brothers for their last stand against the remaining minions, it is an emotionally satisfying ending. It feels like Tetsugei, as a character, has undergone this trial and proven himself to his brethren, rather than a faceless White Scar providing himself to equally faceless Astartes of other chapters. The victory is a human one rather than just a Sci-Fi spectacle.
THE UNENDING PURGE
"Sorrowcrown" was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to checking out some of Wolf's other Warhammer 40K stories at some point in the future. In the interim, you can expect reviews of other stories from The Long Vigil as the schedule allows.
If you’re looking for more stories of soldiers fighting to keep the light of civilization burning against forces of chaos and barbarism, I’m happy to announce that my first Military Fantasy serial, Moral Support, is now posting over in Tales of the Five Worlds! Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are already available, and more chapters are coming throughout autumn. I’ll hope you’ll join me for these new adventures!
Thank you all for stopping by today. Please remember to subscribe and share if you enjoy what you read here. Take care, everyone, and have a good week.
