Book Review: Age of Darkness

Various authors, Age of Darkness. Nottingham, England: Black Library, 2011. ISBN: 9780857871534. 

Genre: science fiction

Subgenre: military science fiction

Series: Horus Heresy, Book 16

Format: e-book

Source: I own this one. 

 

This short fiction anthology is number 16 in the Horus Heresy series. This volume features nine stories: 

•  "Rules of Engagement" by Graham McNeill.
•  "Liar's Due" by James Swallow.
• "Forgotten Sons" by Nick Kyme.
• "The Last Remembrancer" by John French.
• "Rebirth" by Chris Wraight.
•  "The Face of Treachery" by Gav Thorpe.
• "Little Horus" by Dan Abnett.
• "The Iron Within" by Rob Sanders.
• "Savage Weapons" Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

As often happens with anthologies some stories are better than others. The stories look at various situations and events of the Horus Heresy, often things happening behind the scenes or in more out of the way places. The book as a whole is a pretty good read. Pacing may vary; one or two stories may be a bit slow. 

Let me highlight the stories I found interesting and/or memorable:

•  "Rules of Engagement" looks at Roboute Guilliman as he is writing the Codex Astartes. This provides a frame to a story of space marines involved in various engagements. 
• "Liar's Due" is about a spy infiltrating a backwater world and sowing chaos and conflict. As he says, he is the whole invasion because the Warmaster has more important things to do. Once the twist is revealed, the story gets interesting. 
• In Abnett's story, Little Horus Aximand is bothered by dreams he probably should not be having. The story also looks a bit at how Little Horus relates to the Warmaster. 
• I always like a story of the Iron Warriors, and "The Iron Within" fit the bill well. 

Overall, this is an average collection. It's not great, but it is not bad either. Can you skip it? Yes, probably. Completists will want to read it. I'd recommend it for readers who enjoy short fiction and stories that focus more on behind the scenes rather than epic battles. 

I liked it. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

"Liar's Due" offered a couple of quotes that resonate for our Hard Times such as this one: 

"It's the people who are killers. People down there, in Town Forty-Four and every other place just like it. People like your father, and Prael and all the rest. They let themselves be manipulated, because deep within them, they want to be right. They want to have their darkest fears come true, to validate their loathing of the lives they lead" -- Mendacs, in "Liar's Due" (74).  

 

From "The Face of Treachery" 

"In times such as these, even the most trusted face can conceal an enemy" (181). 

 

From "The Iron Within" 

"From iron cometh strength. From strength cometh will. From will cometh faith. From faith cometh honour. From honour comes iron. This is the Unbreakable Litany. And may it forever be so" (238). 

 

 

Book qualifies for the following 2026 Reading Challenge: 

    

Short Book Review: Department of Mind-Blowing Theories

Tom Gauld, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories. Montreal, Canada: Drawn and Quarterly, 2020. ISBN: 9781770463752.  (Publisher link)

Genre: comics

Subgenre: science and scientists

Format: small hardback

Source: Eastside Branch, Lexington (KY) Public Library 

 

 

This is a collection of Tom Gauld cartoons focusing on science and scientists. If you've enjoyed his relatively minimalist art, you will probably enjoy this book. As in his other books, the humor varies. Some comics are funny, and others are just OK. The strips are published in color. 

A few of my favorite comics include: 

• The new journal issues out now. 
• The smartspoon.  If you are not a fan of "smart" appliances, you may appreciate this one. 
• The "out of office" e-mail auto-reply.
• The virtual assistant and robot-cleaner. 

Overall, I think the book is a nice, quick, and easy read. It is entertaining, but it is one to read and move on. If you need something light to read, this is a good option. On campus, your science faculty may particularly appreciate it. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge:  

 

 

 

Book Review: Queer Communion

Davis Shoulders, ed., Queer Communion: religion in Appalachia. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2025. ISBN: 9781985902961. 

Genre: memoir, Christianity, Appalachia

Subgenre: religion, regional interest

Format: trade paperback

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College  

 

This book is a collection of 12 poems, essays, and stories by and about LGBTQ+ folks and their experiences with religion in Appalachia. Religion in this context is Christianity, and in Appalachia this mostly means very conservative, right wing Christianity. In other words, the kind of Christianity that, to put it charitably, is not very welcoming to queers and other LGBTQ+ folks. 

I found the book to be very moving. Personally it challenged me as I struggled a bit to understand why some choose to stay despite awful treatment. The answer to that can be complicated for the writers. For good or ill, their Christianity may be tied to racism and outright bigotry, but it is also tied to some good close family experiences, friendships, and/or positive spiritual moments. It may be hard to leave the religion of your kin, bigoted as they may be, when your granny happens to also be the one who helped raise you or just plain loved you despite the fact she may hate queers otherwise. I can see where the writers experience some tough choices and struggles with their consciences all while trying, often, to accept their queerness and decide whether to come out or not, to leave or stay home, so on. At times you feel the tension as you read the book. 

This is the kind of book I say more people should read, but sadly they won't. It is also a book that clings to some hope. 

I recommend the book for all libraries, especially libraries in the Appalachian region. Academic libraries need to have this, especially for academic programs in religion, women and gender studies, LGBTQ+ studies, and social justice. It may be an academic press book, but its accessibility makes it a good selection for public libraries too. 

I am glad I read it even if there are parts I disagree on or struggled with them, mainly about those who may remain to stay inside a religious tradition that hates them. Then again, I am a heathen, and it is their choice to make. 

Overall I'd consider this an essential book. Definitely a good one to include in various LGBTQ+ library displays. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

On loving people who hate them: 

"It occurred to me, gay Appalachian man that I am, that effectively all queer Appalachians and Southerners have loved people who hated them-- or at least parts of them, parts that can't be divided out. If we hadn't loved people who hated parts of us-- perhaps even most-- of us would never have learned to feel love at all" (x). 

 

On queerness as spiritual: 

"In a world of fascist ideologies, I have learned that queerness is spiritual in its own right. That simply coming into being and surviving in this world is an act of spiritually defiant, radical soul resilience" (21). 

 

On some Christians: 

"There are people who want to run us off the road, burn us, shoot us. There are others who don't want to hurt us but wish they could close their eyes and in a flash we'd cease to exist. Some of those people call themselves Christians" (86).

So very often it goes between Christians willing to get their hands dirty to hurt queers and those unwilling to act on their bigotry, unwilling to get their hands dirty, but very willing to support policies and provide silent tacit support to the active bigots.   

 

This book qualifies for the following 2026 Reading Challenge: 

 

Book Review: Witch Studies Reader

Soma Chaudhuri and Elizabeth Jane Ward, eds., The witch studies reader. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2025. ISBN: 9781478031352.

Genre: Witchcraft, witches

Subgenre: Women and Gender Studies, postcolonial studies

Format: Hardcover

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College  

 

This is a collection of scholarly essays looking at witches and witchcraft as an academic field of study. The book's authors feature scholars, practitioners, and scholar-practitioners "who examine witchcraft from a critical decolonial feminist perspective that decenters Europe and departs from exoticizing and pathologizing writing on witchcraft in the Global South" (from back cover).

The book is divided in six parts with 32 chapters. Topics include: 

• History.
• Debate of open versus closed practices.
• Appalachian folk magic.
• Tarot.
• Feminist theory.
• Witch hunts.
• Pop culture.
• Academia and the craft. 

This is a book by academics for academics. It is also for practitioners who are also academics or have a strong academic interest connected to their craft. This book may be a bit "too scholarly" for most practitioners. Some essays are more accessible than others, so I'd suggest to most folks to the essays they find of interest. 

I'd recommend this book for academic programs in feminist studies, pop culture, religion, peace and social justice, and gender studies. Most public libraries may want to skip this as it is not really a book for lay readers. 

I liked it. Some essays were better and more interesting than others. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

On witch stories: 

"Stories about witches, found in nearly every corner of the world, are by their nature stories about the most basic and profound of human experiences-- healing, sex, violence, tragedies, aging, death, and encountering the mystery and magic of the unknown" (1). 

 

A spell for accessing knowledge: 

"May we shed our attachments to disciplined ways of knowing and listen with humility" (14). 

 

Elements of Appalachian folk magic: 

". . .lacking a formal system, making do with items at hand, believing in astrological influences, and engaging aspects of Christianity" (90). 

 

Books mentioned in the "Resurrecting Granny" essay that I have read. Links go to my reviews: 

• Ballard, Roots, Branches, and Spirits.
• Richards, Backwoods Witchcraft. 

 

 

 

This book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge: 

  

Book Review: Libraries of the Mind

William Marx, Libraries of the Mind. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2025. ISBN: 9780691267425.  

 Genre: libraries, philosophy

Subgenre: reading, books, criticism

Format: small hardback

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College

 

In this book, the author explores and expands the idea of the invisible library, a library we all have in our minds whether we are aware of it or not. The author discusses how we build such libraries and how we can and should keep expanding them. 

The book really made me think about how I read. I often make connections between books or texts I am currently reading and books or texts I have read before. Reading this book helped validate that process for me. But there is more as the author also asks us to consider and add to our mental libraries works that may be lost, in fragments, or even not written yet. This sounds to me a bit like Borges's ideas on books, reading, and libraries, and at some point I will be rereading Borges.

The book is an interesting read, especially if you enjoy books about reading and how it works. It can be a bit slow and some of the text can be dense, but it is worth reading through it. This book can help you rethink how and why you read. It may also encourage you to expand your reading horizon. 

Overall, I really liked the book. It gave me much to consider. Strongly recommend it for academic libraries with strong literature and critical theory programs. It may be optional for public libraries. 

4 out of 5 stars.

 

Additional reading notes: 

On why books get lost: 

"Either because of disinterest or because one book says better, more succinctly, or more memorably what a previous one had developed with painstaking detail. Over time, everything ends up in compendiums and textbooks" (3).

I've had that moment at times when I've read a book on a topic, come across another on the same topic. Unless the other book draws me in somehow, I feel that the book I read previously likely is enough.

 

Defining invisible libraries: 

"Symmetrically, invisible libraries are collections of works in the minds of individuals or groups, who are aware of these works. Such awareness need not be very precise; even a vague knowledge of a work is enough to include it in an invisible library. While visible libraries are composed of books and texts, invisible libraries consist of works" (19). 

 

Books and catalogs: 

"In the world of books, if you are not listed, then you simply do not exist. Material existence holds little weight compared to being included in a catalog. A book forgotten by catalogs is like a pearl lost in the ocean, with little chance of ever being found. Dramatic acts such as book burnings are counterproductive because of their spectacle, whereas discreetly removing an entry from a catalog can have a similar effect with much less visibility. The master of catalogs, therefore, wields significant power over the entire library" (46-47). 

In modern terms, consider all those authors wanted to be listed and reviewed in Amazon. For good or mostly ill, Amazon is a master of catalogs with the power of a behemoth. Here, we can also consider the debates some librarians have about collection development, what books to include or not in their collections, whether they censor or not if they decide to exclude something, etc. In libraries, the cataloger along with the collection developer does have a lot of power.  

 

A key question:  

"Should we cease reading the authors of the past because of their views? On the contrary, these texts hold valuable lessons. They serve at least as vital records of where we have come from, helping us to understand historical contexts and avoid repeating past mistakes" (140). 

Some folks should consider that question and Marx's answer when they advocate to stop reading a certain book or author for whatever reason or cause may be bothering them at the time.  

 

Book qualifies for the following 2026 Reading Challenge: