Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library (I feel like I really need a new intro to these articles…#brokenrecord). The weeks in the middle of each month can sometimes feel a little less exciting than those at the start, but this week has broken that mold with some great new releases and exciting news. Lots to talk about, so I’ll jump straight in as usual…
Monday
As always the week started with a new short story – amusingly spoilered last Sunday on the Warhammer Community site – which this time around was Signal to Noise by CZ Dunn (£2.49 in ebook). You might previously have read Ship of the Damned or Within These Walls, in which case the main character – Sister Agentha – will be familiar to you. Signal to Noise is actually the first of her stories chronologically, and technically speaking in terms of publication order as well…but it was only available in an event-only anthology previously, and this is the first time it’s been made available to everyone else. It’s another fun story where the focus is on character over action – it’s pretty short, but worth checking out.
Midweek
At first I thought that this Wednesday hadn’t brought with it any news, until I spotted that the Black Library Weekender page had been updated – with more authors confirmed, another book announced to be available, and even some of the activities confirmed. If you haven’t spotted, here’s a quick look at who’s currently lined up to be attending:
- Dan Abnett
- Chris Dows
- David Guymer
- Justin D. Hill
- Toby Longworth (ok he’s not an author, but as the voice of Garro he’s very welcome!)
- Robbie MacNiven
- James Swallow
- Chris Wraight
As you can see it’s already looking like there’s going to be A LOT of great authors in attendance, and I suspect there will be still more to be announced in time. I’m really pleased that Toby Longworth is going to be there – at previous events there’s been quite a lot of interest in the audio side of things, but we’ve never had one of the actors in attendance. I have a sneaky suspicion that Toby’s presence might have something to do with how good this episode of the Combat Phase podcast was, with actor John Banks.
As for the other book announced, The Last Hunt by Robbie MacNiven looks really cool – the full cover was revealed on the Warhammer Community site and it’s rather lovely:
Lastly, the activities – the Saturday night quiz is something of a staple of the Weekenders, even if it does usually degenerate into childishness when the plasticine phalluses start being produced…so I’ve got slightly mixed feelings about that. On the other hand, the “unique, one night only, Black Library Audio Drama” sounds fantastic! That’s another thing which was mooted on the Combat Phase podcast with John, and I’m really excited to see what it’s like…
Weekend
This week the weekend started on Friday with – you guessed it – a limited edition hardback release. The Horusian Wars: Resurrection is John French’s latest novel, and the first book in a series which had already seen several short stories released. Friday saw the £40 hardback’s official release date, while Saturday saw the standard hardback (£18), ebook (£9.99) and MP3 (£29.99) versions released. As usual this had been available to pre-order for a while, but the digital versions can now be downloaded and hopefully the physical versions will be winging their ways to everyone who ordered. I’ve been writing quite a lot about this series recently, so check the section below for links to what I’ve produced so far.
Saturday also saw the release of Andy Clark’s second Black Library novel – Shroud of Night – in the standard hardback (£18) and ebook (£9.99) formats. Sadly no audiobook version. This is the second book to be set in #new40k, and in fact takes place in Imperium Nihilus, away from the light of the Astronomicon. It’s got various Chaos factions, including bonus Khârn the Betrayer, as well as Primaris Marines and Saint Celestine…so what’s not to like?
Thoughts on the week
I’d say it’s been a pretty cool week overall, with an interesting mixture of stuff going on. I say this sort of thing lots, but it’s always good to see previously unavailable (i.e. event only) stories getting proper releases, and I’m also of the opinion that the Sister Agentha stories are the best things CZ Dunn has written…so I’d definitely suggest checking them out.
As for the Weekender news, this event is looking even cooler now with a great range of guests and some elements that really look like they might set it apart – largely the audio stuff. According to the Black Library website there are only 200 tickets left, so if this is looking like something you fancy then I’d absolutely suggest getting your tickets soon. The Weekenders tend not to be cheap when you factor in travel, accommodation, food etc. – not to mention new books – but in my experience they’re TOTALLY worth it. If you do buy a ticket, come and say hi!
Next, onto the weekend’s releases beginning with The Horusian Wars: Resurrection. I’m a big fan of John French’s writing, so I’ve been really excited about this book, and the series overall, for a long time. In my opinion, it doesn’t disappoint – you can check out my review below. I must say, though, that I’m slightly disappointed Black Library didn’t put more effort into publicising it in advance. There was very little about the book until the end of the week, which I thought was a shame. That being said, I’ve put together a few resources for anyone who’s interested in learning more about the series, and John’s writing overall – including an interview where we talked really quite in depth about the Inquisition, and how John’s Ahriman series has influenced this new series. I hope these are useful!
Here’s the interview with John.
Lastly…Shoud of Night. I really enjoyed Andy Clark’s first novel – Kingsblade – so I’m hoping this one will be as much fun. It does, however, seem a bit weird that it came out on the same day as The Horusian Wars: Resurrection. I don’t quite understand why Black Library didn’t release it the previous weekend alongside Glory Imperialis, so that they could avoid as much as possible of the potential confusion that fans might feel around multiple new novels being released on the same day. That’s just my two cents, obviously, but it does seem strange.
Anyway, as you can see there’s been plenty to talk about this week. I’m really pleased with how it’s panned out, I think it’s been a really interesting one. More like this, please!
Coming up…
Next week’s big release looks like being The Horus Heresy Book 45 – Tallarn by John French. If you haven’t come across this, it’s a bind-up of the main stories from the Tallarn arc, including the novella Tallarn: Executioner and short novel Tallarn: Ironclad along with the short stories Tallarn: Siren and Tallarn: Witness. Note that it doesn’t include Black Oculus, The Eagle’s Talon or Iron Corpses, all of which have been included in recent(ish) anthologies.
As always, if you’ve got any thoughts on the week’s news and releases please do give me a shout to let me know!