The galaxy teams with life as species beyond number fight, hide and flee for survival. From foul xenos breeds to the spawn of Chaos itself, the 41st Millennium is host to innumerable horrors eking out meaningless existences, and pain and suffering are all untold trillions will ever know.

But there are pinpricks of hope among the stars, bastions of civilisations beset on all sides – and they fight for freedom, glory, conquest, or brotherhood. These tales of heroism and horror paint a dark picture of the far future, in which there is room for one thing – war.

This anthology contains:

Defenders of the Imperium

– The Trial of Lucille von Shard, by Denny Flowers

– Transplants, by Rob Young

– Hell Fist, by Justin Woolley

– Blood Sands, by Victoria Hayward

– The Sum of Its Parts, by Rhuairidh James

– Less Than Human, by Steve Lyons

Followers of Chaos

– Fool's Ruin, by Mike Brooks

– A More Perfect Union, by Rich McCormick

– Sacred Hate, by David Annandale

– The Brightest and Best, by Mike Brooks

– It Bleeds, by David Guymer

– A Small Cog, by Mitchel Scanlon

The Bloody Rose

– Blasphemy of the Fallen, by Danie Ware

– The Skull Forge, by Danie Ware

– The Nature of Prayer, by Danie Ware

Warriors of the Adeptus Astartes

– Aria Arcana, by Peter Fehervari

– Confession of Pain, by Jon Flindall

– The Reward of Loyalty, by Tom Chivers

The Enemy Beyond

– The Bleeding Stars, by Robert Rath