Description

Storm of Iron is Graham McNeill's 2002 standalone novel about the Iron Warriors, following Warsmith Barban Falk and his Grand Company as they launch a massive siege against the Imperial fortress of Hydra Cordatus. The Iron Warriors descend upon the planet with an overwhelming force of Chaos Space Marines, supported by armour, artillery and hordes of mortal troops, while the fortress defenders prepare for a battle they know they may not survive. Inside the citadel, Castellan Prestre Vauban and the soldiers of the Jouran Dragoons attempt to hold their positions against an enemy whose entire way of war is built around breaking fortifications. As the siege develops into a grinding battle of bombardments, assaults and counter-attacks, Falk's principal champions - the veteran Forrix, the brutal Kroeger and the ambitious Honsou - compete for influence while directing different parts of the attack. The defenders are gradually pushed to the brink, struggling to hold the fortress long enough for Imperial reinforcements to arrive. A defining early novel about the Iron Warriors, Storm of Iron presents Chaos Space Marines from their own perspective and introduces Honsou, who would go on to become a recurring antagonist in McNeill's later novels.