About Witchbringer
Witchbringer is written by author Steven B. Fischer and published by Black Library.
Synopsis: Suffer not the witch to live, unless by their service they might earn redemption. This is the creed of the Scholastica Psykana, a brutal foundry in which those with psychic power might be taught to serve. On the eve of her sanctioning as a primaris psyker within these very halls, Glavia Aerand, former captain of the Cadian 900th Regiment, receives a startling premonition – one concerning her old unit, and a dangerous psychic artefact hidden on the planet where they are deployed.
After a reunion she never expected – or wanted – Aerand finds herself mired in a vicious campaign on the psychically active world of Visage, where the shallow seas and endless fogs are rumoured to swallow the souls of the dead. Haunted by growing suspicions of her new commander and the manifestations of the sinister relic, Aerand must trust in her new-found abilities to keep her former comrades alive, and confront an ancient threat that could consume Visage entirely.
Publisher: Black Library
Genre: Horror/Science Fiction
Release date: December 6, 2022
Witchbringer Review
Few authors have dived into the mysteries surrounding the Scholastica Psykana as intricately. Yet, Steven B Fischer’s Witchbringer provides a different approach to Imperium-level psychers without disrupting the Warhammer 40,000 lore too much. Following former captain of the Cadian 900th regiment turned Primaris Psyker, Glavia Aerend, with a gift of (somewhat) useful precognition. Aerend receives a startling vision about her old unit and a dangerous psychic artefacts sees her dispatched to the murky swamp world of Visage.
From the moment she arrives planetside, Aerend is met with aggressive suspicion, as the Cadian regiment is constantly besieged by the local population led by Witch Psykers who, unbeknownst to Aerend and her fellow Cadian soldiers, is being led by a former Imperial Guard Colonel, who is plagued by the guilt of following the Emperor despite losing his family.
Steven B. Fischer uses a variety of horror and war story tropes to communicate the dangers of this new and unknown world to the reader. As Aerend’s story unfolds she comes up against stories of undead soldiers causing her fellow Cadians to disappear. Then she’s besieged by numerous squads of Witch Psychics with little Cadian-support which causes her to use psychic abilities with a little Cadian Imperial Guard ingenuity.
While the final reveal of what the Witchbringer artefact is provides a Catch 22 situation of whether to destroy it or not, thereby presenting an interesting science fiction-laced conundrum. There’s time where Fischer’s writing, devolves into Warhammer jargon and lore-heavy gobbledygook which, unlike Victoria Hayward’s Deathworlder, is enough to alienate a 40K first timer.
Still, if you can get past wordy descriptors and chain of command politics in favour of a spooky behind enemy lines sci-fi horror story then Witchbringer will quench your appetite for even more grimdark shenanigans. Even if, at times, it does feel like an Imperial Guard side quest.
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