Bane of Kings reviews Kraken, the e-short by Chris Wraight, published by Black Library.

“A short, intriguing look into the Space Wolves that will keep fans entertained.” ~The Founding Fields

I’m slowly starting to pick up Black Library’s e-shorts that they have available for download online, and so far – if Kraken is anything to go by, I’ve really go the feeling that I’m going to enjoy them. Whilst this review will be short as this is only a short story, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the heck out of what Wraight had to offer us anyway, even if it was too short for my liking.

The Space Wolves forge new sagas as they hunt a monstrous beast of the oceans and battle the alien menace of the tyranids in a brand new tale by the author of Battle of the Fang.

A brand new Space Wolves story from Chris Wraight.

The short, whilst being billed as a Space Wolf Space Marine Battles adventure, actually only features one Space Wolf, a Lone Wolf under the name of Kvara. Wraight has done a brilliant job of giving us a look into the Lone Wolves and what makes them tick, and has even managed to tie this short into the current Space Wolves Codex.

Whilst this could have been a straight forward bolter-porn short with nothing much else in it other than action, Wraight manages to add several layers of features to this book that add to the overall enjoyment. We get a great look into not just Kvara and the Wolves, but also how the Space Marines are viewed by other humans. As other humans don’t always encounter Space Marines, they’re limited to select knowledge of several Chapters, and the reaction of one particular character to a Space Wolf when he’s only encountered Ultramarines before proved that Wraight is quite capable of delivering humour to an otherwise grim story.

There’s a lot of depth in this short and is a great way to get hooked on buying more of Black Library’s e shorts  Space Wolf fans used to Wraight’s portrayal of the Astartes in Battle of the Fang and Abnett’s in Prospero Burns will find more of the same here, and I really love how Wraight has managed to echo Abnett’s portrayal of them and move them away from the simple portrayal of William King’s Wolves, something that I – whilst enjoying the stories, didn’t like their portrayal.

But regardless, Kraken is great short story that’s well worth the £1.49 price that comes attached.

Verdict: 4/5