Paragon of Faith and Other Stories

It will surprise no one who’s reading this that I picked up this book in addition to Aestred Thurga. I really enjoy Sororitas stories. Sure, they can sometimes fall into the same traps as Astartes tales but, on the whole, I find do it less so and I’m always more interested in relatively normal people, however well trained, fighting the horrors of the galaxy than genetically modified super soldiers. It’s just a thing. And a collection of short stories is even better because, even if there’s one that doesn’t grab your fancy, you’re just pages away from one that might. So let’s dive into the seven stories the comprise this collection.

“Paragon of Faith” by Amanda Bridgeman

The novella the entire collection is named after follows a Sister Superior of a Paragon battle-suit squad trying to root out a rebellion on a shrine world. Although I love the Dominion squads and the general look of the Sororitas sisters, I’ve always found the miniatures for the Paragons a little too goofy for my taste. So I was uncertain how I’d feel about an entire novella set around a Paragon leader.

Turns out… It’s pretty fucking good!

Bridgeman captures both the ritual and the constant striving to hold one’s self to an unreasonable standard that are core story elements of the Adepta Sororitas in the opening. In fact, while writing this review and thinking a little deeper about it, I’d perhaps call Imposter Syndrome maybe the overriding personality trait of any battle sister. None of them are ever sure they’re worthy and their superiors don’t seem terribly interested in reassuring them that they are. And so the entire organization is structured around women attempting to prove that no, they are the most loyal servant of the Emperor.

It’s kind of hilarious, when you think about it.

Anyway, the rebellion is, of course, more than it seems at first and pretty soon, the sisters find themselves surrounded on all sides, fighting a desperate battle to preserve the world itself. It’s honestly an outstanding story with one of the better battle sequences I’ve ever read. The closest thing to compare it to is Danie Ware’s A Rose in Darkness. The difference is the desperation felt even more immediate and overwhelming here.

The action is clean and easy to follow. All of the set pieces are perfectly laid out so the reader knows where in the battle they are at any moment and this just heightens the tension of an already excellent story.

I would recommend this book based on this story alone. Even if the Paragon suits are still kinda janky looking…

“Saint’s Judgement” by Ness Brown

From sisters in battle-suits with high powered bolters, we pivot in “Saint’s Judgement” to a Hospitaller assigned to follow a squad into a hive city suffering from a disease called The Judgement. A disease that only seems to have two outcomes, you suffer and die or you’re Unveiled and turn renegade. Sister Docia is there to tend to the sick while Palanite Ydith leads her battle sisters against the rebels.

But, see, Docia isn’t sure she has the stuff. On her last assignment, she wasn’t sure she could cure some plague that had infected a mining world and, rather than let them suffer, she walked bed to bed, plugging them with her bolt pistol. And, lest you say, “You promised no spoilers!” This is a page two piece of information. Settle.

So Imposter Syndrome raises its head, yet again.

And, if you’re thinking, “Sororitas against some disease ‘judging’ the population, I wonder if…” you would be correct. I mean, where else would this go?

But “Saint’s Judgement” goes to some interesting places I never would have considered. Ever wondered what an infection by Nurgle smells like? You’ll find out! And you won’t enjoy it. It’s gross, it’s horrible, but it’s a great story that surprised me regularly. It’s not the banger that “Paragon of Faith” was but it’s a close second, probably why it’s the other novella length story in this book.

“Infernal Motives” by Jude Reid

After the first two novellas in the book, this short story read more like a scene than a short story. But that is all for the positive, If you want something, short, punchy and effective, this is the story for you. It’s a really simple plot, a Sister of Battle hunts an “unborn” with a squad of Skitarii on a forge world that is in the midst of (another) rebellion.

The world building the author does in the first few pages does a lot of heavy lifting to really get you into the setting and to understand the stakes. And the action is just banger after banger.

“Our Lady of the Voyage” by Kate Flack

Another fun, easily digestible story. This one about a Battle Sister being summoned to a planet engaged in civil war to hunt a renegade priest and a relic he purloined. For such a short story, the character work is excellent and, unlike “Motives” this reads less like a scene and more as a proper little story.

It’s a quick thirty pages but, it does what a short story should do, take the reader somewhere for an hour or so and leave them happy with the adventure they’d just experienced.

“Joy of the Martyr” by Ness Brown

Another story by the same author as “Judgement”, “Joy” started an interesting take on a Sororitas sister because it was about one particular member of a squad who felt injustice at the loss of her Sister Superior and whose faith was very much in doubt. Then it becomes a bug hunt.

Unfortunately, I would probably call this the weakest of the stories. Not because it’s bad. But, mostly, because the rest of the stories are so good. And the resolution to this one is the weakest of the bunch.

“Redemption Through Blood” by John Sollitto

A hot headed Battle Sister meets the ultimate hot-head, a cult leader and follower of Khorne. More like “Motives” than any of the other stories in this collection, the story is a short vignette in a single battle that a Sister is involved in.

It’s very well written and the consequences throughout are real and serious. Perhaps the ending is a bit “woof, woof” but it was a fun ride getting there.

“The Fires of Our Faith” by Nicholas Werner

And then to wrap up the collection, perhaps the most surprising story of them all. For a collection about a group of warrior nuns fighting across the galaxy, “Fires of Our Faith” was the first that really dealt with faith in a theological sense.

A Canoness and an Inquisitor discuss the world they’re purging over the planet’s belief in what kind of divinity the Emperor of All Mankind is. It’s way more interesting than I’m making it sound because the backdrop is an intense series of actions that make the Canoness question the loss of her sisters while the Inquisitor assures her they’re all sitting at His right hand.

It’s actually theologically interesting and I would really love to see it discussed even more. Unfortunately, the book could only be so long and it is what it is. But, truly, a great way to finish the collection.

An Ace Collection

It should be pretty clear that I was really engaged with this book and all of the stories within. It was just shy of 400 pages of good stories involving the Adepta Sororitas and it took them to a few new places that I enjoyed going.

I would heartily recommend this book to anyone looking read more about the Sisters of Battle or anyone thinking about starting them as an army. It might even inspire a few hobby ideas along the way.