--- title: "Review of Midnight on the Street of Knives" subtitle: "Warhammer 40,000 short story" author: "Seth Kenlon" publish_date: 2026-05-23 00:01 date: 2026-05-23 00:01 hero_classes: text-light title-h1h2 overlay-dark-gradient hero-large parallax hero_image: long-cathedral-hallway-1600x800.jpg show_sidebar: true show_breadcrumbs: true show_pagination: true taxonomy: category: culture tag: [ settings, scifi, wargame, warhammer ] --- [Midnight on the Street of Knives](https://www.blacklibrary.com/authors/andy-chambers/midnight-on-the-street-of-knives-ebook.html) is a **Warhammer 40,000** short story by Andy Chambers. This is my review of it, with no spoilers. From the site description: > Xagor is on an errand for his haemonculus master, the delivery of a > thoroughly unimportant package and some tremendously important news. > A Dysjunction is coming, and Commorragh will be shaken to its very > foundations. As Xagor travels the dangerous streets of the dark city, > he is sure he is being followed. If you've played the [Rogue Trader](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2186680/Warhammer_40000_Rogue_Trader/) video game, then you know the city of Commorragh all too well. My time there was so unpleasant and frustrating that I initially considered quitting the game entirely, until I realised that _the pain was good_. In fact, I came to realise that I deserved the pain of Commarragh, for all the times I'd failed the Emperor. Enduring Commarragh was the only way for me to atone for my lack of faith. I learned to love Commarragh, its desolation and danger, its bizarre feudal inhabitants, and its demented overlords. If you've never played the **Rogue Trader** video game, then you might not love Commarragh, but if you read **Midnight on the Street of Knives** you'll at least you'll get to know a little bit about it. Commorragh is an ancient Webway port city, established by the Aeldari as a centre of transit and trade. Because of its remote location, however, Commorragh attracted Aeldari seeking to live outside the law of their societies. After the fall of the Aeldari, this included most prominently the Drukhari. Commorragh came to be known as the Dark City, and was infamous for its ruthless aristocracy and murderous streets. In **Midnight on the Street of Knives**, a haemonculus has sent his servant, Xagor, on an errand. Haemonculi in 40k are the Drukhari version of a mad scientist, a purveyor of pain and horror and torture. They're powerful beings, so when one asks you to do something it's in your best interest to comply. And that's exactly what's foremost on Xagor's mind. During his fetch quest, Xagor overhears some hot gossip that he decides his master needs to hear, so now he's got two quests. First, he must get back to his master alive with the item he was sent to obtain, and then he must divulge the rumours he's heard on the streets. The problem is, the streets of Commorragh are deadly, and to reach his master Xagor must pass through an active hunt. To make matters worse, Xagor feels he's being followed. ## Atmosphere a-plenty **Midnight on the Street of Knives** does have a plot that makes sense and tells a (more or less) complete story, but the story for me was less remarkable than the atmosphere. The city is absurdly dangerous, and you really have to wonder how anyone survives there, but that's the fun of Commarragh. It's the most depraved city you can imagine, darker and foggier than Jack the Ripper's London. As you read, you can almost feel the chill of the Dark City's night air. I like the Drukhari, and this is the first fiction I've read featuring them as the main faction. As I'd hoped, it renders some pretty weird fiction. ## Awkward ending The only problem with this short story is the ending after the ending, which I think is meant to be an introduction to the **Dark Eldar** books series. I haven't read that series yet, so the second ending feels like a misplaced epilogue. It's too bad, because the story has a perfectly suitable ending, but the Big Secret that Xagor has to deliver is, for the reader anyway, a big flop. It's utterly meaningless to you as you read the story, so I have to assume it becomes important later in the book series. ## A lesson in Commorragh The abrupt and seemingly pointless ending aside, this is a good short story for learning about Commorragh, and to gain some insight into the Drukhari way of life. I don't know how meaningful it would be to anyone completely unfamiliar with the Drukhari, so I think this is probably a story best suited for readers familiar with **Warhammer 40,000**, and a must-read for anyone planning on running a Drukhari army on the tabletop.

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