Deathwatch: Ignition

Series · 11 books · 2015-2016

By Peter Fehervari, Ben Counter, Braden Campbell, and more

Books in series

One Bullet

2015

Engaged in a campaign against the hated greenskins, the Ultramarines bring their righteous fury to the manufactorum city of Skemarchus. Veteran warrior Vael Donatus is hailed as a hero by the young firebrand Chaplain Cassius for employing the expertise of his brethren only recently returned from the hallowed ranks of the Deathwatch. But as the final assault draws near, the judicious and practical methods of the Sternguard seem incompatible with Cassius' own – can the fate of a world really be decided by just one bullet? Read it because A hero of the Ultramarines before he was famous... Chaplain Cassius kicks ass and takes names as a newly-promoted Chaplain eager to prove himself amongst a load of veterans who think they know better than him. Find out what he was like before he got obsessed with tyranids and see the Ultramarines in a new way.

Bad Blood

2015

The Deathwatch strike cruiser Incontrovertible Truth, en route to Watch Fortress Erioch, carries many kill-teams to their next mission postings, among their number is Antor Delassio, the 'cursed young prince' of the Blood Angels. Without warning, the ship comes under attack by Chaos Space Marines of the Black Legion, and it falls to Delassio and his battle-brothers to repel the boarders. But his exemplary record in battle and his righteous hatred of the xenos is marred by the secret shame he carries with him, the curse of his Chapter's bloodline. Read it because Find out what a Blood Angel does when he's all alone, far from Baal and suffering from the Black Rage. It's the biggest secret of the Chapter, and if Delassio isn't careful, it might just get out...

Flesh of the Angel

2015

While engaged in a mission to destroy sslyth breeding grounds and stall their invasion of Imperial territories, Zameon Gydrael encounters an ancient foe of the Dark Angels Chapter – one of the legendary Fallen. Read it because It's not easy being a Dark Angel. Keeping all those secrets is tough enough even amongst other Dark Angels, but in the Deathwatch, it can be deadly. When Gydrael spots a Fallen in the midst of a vital alien-hunting mission, his decision to place Chapter above duty probably isn't going to end well for him... or anyone else.

Redblade

2015

In the upper reaches of Theron, vast arco-refineries harvest the volatile atmospheric lightning storms, and it was this that brought the orks. The Space Wolves sent by Kjarl Grimblood to relieve the Adeptus Mechanicus defenders fight valiantly – none more so than the fierce young Blood Claw Drenn – but it is the expertise of the assigned Deathwatch kill-team that promises to turn the greenskin tide. Even so, Drenn's reckless actions once again draw the wrath of his commander, and the self-styled 'Redblade' must pay the price... Read it because It's a look at one of the ways in which the Deathwatch recruit – and shows how they fight alongside other Space Marines, in this case Space Wolves who're not keen on playing nicely with others.

Deadhenge

2015

More machine than Space Marine, the Iron Hand Ennox Sorrlock has still become a formidable weapon of the Deathwatch Chapter. His mind is a logic engine with only one purpose – to slay the xenos. But when Chaplain Cassius offers him the chance to take part in a new mission against the same dark eldar raiders who crippled him and slaughtered all his brethren so many years before, Sorrlock’s lack of emotional response is... unexpected. Will he do his duty, or is he simply biding his time in order to confront the foul creature known only as the Black Spider? Read it because It's a portrait of an Iron Hands Space Marine who joins the Deathwatch for all the wrong reasons – but he might just be able to turn that into victory against the eldar. Then again, he might not...

First to Hunt

2015

Jetek Suberei is a true son of Chogoris. With his trusty cyber-eagle Vengla at his side, he races over the open plains on his assault bike, undertaking long range missions for the Deathwatch with the same feral glee as he once did for the White Scars Chapter. Now, on the bleak, sun-parched world of Ballestae, he ventures into eldar territory to ascertain why the Wild Riders of Saim-Hann have halted their seemingly unstoppable advance. Jetek Suberei will learn all – for is he not the living hurricane, master of the steppes and always first to hunt? Read it because When the Deathwatch fight in fiction, it's usually in kill-teams – so to see a Deathwatch warrior on his own (apart from his pet cyber-eagle, of course) is something new and different indeed. And when it's a bike-mounted warrior of the White Scars seeking info about the swiftest of eldar, there's a good chance that fast-paced action will follow in his wake.

City of Ruin

2015

Following their campaign against a rising ork Waaagh, the Imperial Fists inadvertently shoot down a xenos asteroid onto the world of Basatani. Unfortunately, this leads the Navis Nobilite to demand that the Deathwatch go after a young Navigator scion who was last seen in the capital. The veteran Imperial Fist Rodricus Grytt volunteers to join Kill Team Almuta, bound for the planet’s surface – but as a Devastator sergeant with a reputation for causing untold collateral damage, is he the best candidate for such a sensitive rescue operation? Read it because Atonement, duty, or just a chance to cause some damage and kill aliens? See for yourself why Rodricus Grytt of the Imperial Fists wants to join the Deathwatch mission on Basatani.

The Silence

2016

Tracking his prey through the verdant jungle, Edryc Setorax strikes from the shadows like a phantom. Under the command of the xenos-hating Inquisitor Gravelyn, the Raven Guard veteran is scouting the movements and command structure of eldar exodite forces, trying to ascertain what their mysterious goals might be. But by using his own Deathwwatch kill team as bait, Setorax stumbles upon a much larger struggle, and realises that his own reputation amongst the eldar has become almost the stuff of alien legend… Read it because It's the tale of a sneaky and stealthy Raven Guard who's not above risking the lives of his Deathwatch team for the good of the mission

The Walker in Fire

2016

Part nine of the Deathwatch Quick Reads series It's an unusual mission for the Deathwatch, as they hunt not aliens, but a rogue tech-priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus... READ IT BECAUSE It's Terminators in a hive world, hunting a tech-priest, and the main character has a secret that could affect the mission. THE STORY The hive world of Sarastus harbours many secrets, and now many fugitives from the Imperium as well – a rogue Adeptus Mechanicus priest has absconded with several xenos biologis samples, prompting the Inquisition to order an intervention by the Deathwatch. The Salamanders Firedrake Garran Branatar forms part of a specialist Terminator kill-team sent to delve into the darkness beneath Sarastus, bringing the flame and fury of his Chapter in equal measure. But Branatar brings with him the shadowed legacy of his own past as well...

#10

The Known Unknown

2016

Brother-Codicier Jensus Natorian of the Blood Ravens has served the Deathwatch for many years, bringing his psychic talents to bear against the hated xenos on countless battlefields. However, when his original Chapter request aid in combating a genestealer infestation within the space hulk Endless Despair, he is compelled to answer this new call to duty in person. Will an unexpected reunion with his old mentor, Librarian Captain Lanneus, on board the hulk herald the beginning of greater cooperation between the Chapters, or something much darker? Read it because A Space Marine Librarian turned against his brothers by the power of the Hive Mind? Sounds like a winning read to us.

#11

Cepheus

2016

Deathwatch Chaplain Ortan Cassius, the most honoured battle-brother of the Ultramarines Chapter, is called before a council of watch captains to account for his recent actions – namely the destruction of the Imperial Port Cepheus. With many of his former kill team still unaccounted for, he must justify his use of such extreme measures or face permanent dismissal from the Deathwatch. But Cassius is unconvinced of his superiors’ motives, and begins to delve deeper into the mysterious Ghosar Enigma… Read it because It's the final instalment in the series, and this time the focus is Chaplain Cassius himself. Discover the hidden past of the future hero of the Tyrannic Wars and his role in one of the most renowned missions of the alien-hunting Deathwatch.

Authors

Chris Dows is a professor of creative writing at the University of Lincoln.

Robbie MacNiven is a Scottish author and historian. His published fiction includes over a dozen novels, many fantasy or sci-fi works for IPs such as Warhammer 40,000 and Marvel's X-Men. He has also written two novellas, numerous short stories and audio dramas, has worked on narrative and character dialogue for multiple digital games (SMITE: Blitz and Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground), has written the colour text for multiple RPG rulebooks and has penned the scripts for two graphic novels and two comics, for Osprey Publishing and Commando Comics respectively. In 2022 his X-Men novel "First Team" won a Scribe Award. On the non-fiction front, Robbie specialises in Early Modern military history, particularly focussing on the 18th century. He has a PhD in American Revolutionary War massacres from the University of Edinburgh - where he won the Compton Prize for American History - and an MLitt in War Studies from the University of Glasgow. Along with numerous articles for military history magazines he has written four books on different aspects of the American Revolutionary War, three for Osprey Publishing and the latest for Helion Books. He has also written the scripts for eight episodes of the hit YouTube educational channel Extra Credits. Outside of work and writing, his passions include re-enacting, gaming, and following Rangers FC home and away.