Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. It’s the first full week of March, so that means another month’s worth of upcoming releases has been announced, but that’s not all there is to talk about. As always, let’s start at the beginning…
Monday
Once again, for Digital Monday Black Library have dipped into the archives for a short story that’s previously been released, but not as a standalone – in this case The Pact by Sarah Cawkwell (£2.49 in ebook as usual). Previously available in Hammer and Bolter, it’s one of many Silver Skulls short stories from Cawkwell, who it’s nice to see getting credited once more with her full name rather than the gender-neutral SP Cawkwell. You can read my review here; suffice to say if you’re a Silver Skulls fan there’s plenty to enjoy here, even if it doesn’t quite dig deep enough (in my opinion, at least).
Midweek
As I mentioned at the top, it’s the first full week of the month so that means Wednesday saw the announcement of the next batch of upcoming releases, this time for June. There’s a nice mixture of releases coming up, across multiple settings and formats, and I think there should be something here to please pretty much everyone. Let’s take a look…
Born of Flame by Nick Kyme
Can you believe it? Book fifty of the Horus Heresy series – fifty?! This one is something of a surprise, collecting together all of Nick’s Salamanders stories that haven’t yet had a numbered release, at least one of which we had been told before wouldn’t ever be included in the main line. As it is, the novellas Promethean Sun and Scorched Earth and the short novel Sons of the Forge are all included here, along with two short stories which I’m told are Artefacts and Immortal Duty.
Now…the second of those stories has already been included in a numbered anthology – Shattered Legions – which makes it a rare Heresy short story to get three print releases (it was in Meduson as well). It’s an unusual choice, but it’ll be interesting to re-read it and see how it fits in with the other stories included here.
War of Secrets by Phil Kelly
The third instalment in the growing Space Marine Conquests series, this is set to tackle one of the most interesting questions regarding the integration of the Primaris Space Marines with the main existing chapters. Specifically, how are the super-secretive Dark Angels going to handle an influx of new troops? It should be very interesting indeed to see how that plays out, with the added bonus of the T’au included in the mix.
Martyrs of Elysia by Chris Dows
The third and (I think) final instalment in Chris’ Elysian Drop Troops audio drama series, this one looks like it’s bringing the focus squarely back onto Sergeant Zachariah. The first two instalments have been great, so I’m really looking forward to listening to this and finding out how the overall story ends.
Yarrick: The Omnibus by David Annandale
This promises to be quite the bumper omnibus, as it includes two novels, one novella and no less than seven short stories. That’s a lot of Yarrick. I only wish that the really nice aesthetic that this series began with on its covers (check out how lovely Imperial Creed or Chains of Golgotha look, for example) hadn’t changed when the second novel was released. This omnibus matches that second book (in font style, at least), sadly. But still, covers aren’t as important as content, and the Yarrick stories are great. This should be a blast.
The Darkness in the Glass
The 2017 Advent Calendar included three short Shadespire audio dramas, which are now collected into a single release – Doombound by David Annandale, A Place of Reflection by David Guymer and The Autumn Prince by Guy Haley. Between them they make up the usual 70-ish minute running time; if you didn’t pick them up in December, it’s definitely worth getting hold of this and having a listen.
Mathias Thulmann: Witch Hunter by CL Werner
One of many classic Warhammer series from CL Werner (the man was prolific in the old setting), this is a much-deserved reprint. It’s great to see these Warhammer Chronicles omnibuses venturing beyond the Time of Legends series to something a little different, and giving newer fans the chance to experience some more of these great older books.
So that’s June – the fiftieth Heresy book, the third Space Marine Conquests novel, third Elysians audio drama, the first physical Shadespire release, and another Warhammer Chronicles omnibus. Not a bad haul, overall. I was slightly surprised not to see the next Primarchs novel on the list for June, but as you’ll see in the section below you don’t need to worry – it looks like it’s coming not long afterwards.
Weekend
The weekend’s releases were a little different to usual – event tickets, a sort-of-new-sort-of-not paperback, and two more paperbacks. Let’s look at the event tickets first – these may well be of interest if you’re either in the UK or up for a trip over here, but feel free to skip this section if you’re reading from anywhere too far away to warrant a visit!
Saturday 16th June will see the latest Black Library Live! event take place at Warhammer World in Nottingham, and tickets are now on sale for a measly £15. That includes a free copy of Hammerhall & Other Stories as well, so that’s an extra little bonus if you’re an Age of Sigmar fan. There’s a little bit of information up already on the BL site regarding what to expect, which I’ve summarised below, but if it’s anything like last year’s Weekender I would suggest keeping an eye out for more info over the coming weeks and months. What we’ve got so far is as follows:
- Ten seminars across two rooms (usually there’s one main room and one smaller one).
- Six confirmed guests – Dan Abnett, John French, Darius Hinks, Phil Kelly, Nick Kyme and Josh Reynolds.
- Two pre-release titles – Vulkan: Lord of Drakes by David Annandale and Mephiston: Revenant Crusade by Darius Hinks.
- The Black Library Events Anthology 2017/18 will also be available.
That’s not a bad lineup already, with more due to be confirmed anon. As I mentioned earlier, no need to worry about the next Primarchs novel as it’ll be available in pre-release mid-June, so perhaps an early July main release. Looking at the confirmed authors, we know that Darius, Phil and Nick will all have new books (Darius’ on pre-release with the others’ already confirmed for June – see above), while Josh will have had Blackshields: The Red Fief out in May…and knowing how prolific he is I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another book due as well. As for John, well we know he’s been working on Slaves to Darkness for the Heresy, so who knows – maybe that will be available to buy as well? That would be nice. And Dan…well, he’s always a big draw for BL fans, but if he had a new book out as well then that would be awesome! Time will tell, I’m sure.
I’ve already got my ticket, and having been to maybe two or three Black Library Live! events in the past I’m very much looking forward to this. In my experience these have a slightly different vibe to the Weekenders, if nothing else because you don’t get the ‘Friday night chatting with authors in the bar’ element, but you do get to enjoy the seminars, signings and random chats with authors and fellow fans throughout the day. For £15 I think it’s great value (bear in mind the Weekenders are usually about £75) – hopefully I’ll see you there!
On to the weekend’s book releases, then. The most interesting one is Cult of the Spiral Dawn by Peter Fehervari, which is available in paperback (£8.99) and ebook (weirdly, £9.99). While it sounds like a brand new title, it’s actually a new edition of the 2016 novel Genestealer Cults but with a much better title (thank goodness), and the short story Cast A Hungry Shadow included within the book. If you haven’t already read the novel, it’s packed full of character and an amazing, dark sense of mystery – Fehervari is a phenomenal author, and you should definitely check it out! Here’s my original review of the (boringly named) novel, and likewise here’s my review of the short story.
The other two releases were standard paperback editions, both priced at £8.99. First up there’s Guy Haley’s Dante, which was one of my standout novels of 2017 – it’s a brilliant standalone novel that explores a character who had previously been criminally underused in Black Library fiction. Definitely one to pick up if you’ve not read it, whether you’re an overt Blood Angels fan or not; here’s my review to check out.
The second is The Red Path by Chris Dows, a Khârn the Betrayer novel that was originally released as several serialised short stories. I’m normally a big fan of Chris’ writing, but this one really didn’t do much for me. Have a read of my review; if you’re just after some mindless fighting then it’s fine, but otherwise I wouldn’t really recommend it. Go for something else by Chris instead, like his Elysian Drop Troops stories or the AMAZING Titans’ Bane.
Thoughts on the week
Weeks when upcoming releases are confirmed always provide plenty of talking points, and this week’s been no different. June’s releases look pretty darn good, even if some people are already grumbling about the fiftieth Heresy book being a collection rather than a novel; personally I don’t think that’s a problem, and even though a) I’ve already got all of these stories elsewhere and b) the Salamanders stories aren’t my favourite, I’ll still buy this and enjoy seeing it on the shelf alongside the others.
As for the rest of June’s releases, I’m particularly looking forward to finishing off the Elysians audio series, so I think that’s going to be my personal highlight. I’m also keen to read War of Secrets, because even though I’m not really a Dark Angels fan I think the dynamic between the original Marines and the Primaris should be very, very interesting. I’ve seen a few people online talking about the same thing, so I suspect this could be quite the conversation starter.
I’ve talked plenty about Black Library Live! already, so I’ll just reiterate that I think it’s going to be loads of fun, and for £15 is really good value. Like I said earlier, if you live a long way from the UK then it’s perhaps not the event for you (I imagine you’d be better off coming over for a Weekender), but if you’re in the UK and can get to Nottingham reasonably easily, it’s definitely worth thinking about. Either way, keep an eye out on the BL website and also Warhammer Community for the rest of the information about guests, pre-releases etc. as and when it’s available.
Lastly, I’m conscious of sounding like a broken record when talking about Peter Fehervari, but I really can’t recommend his writing enough to anyone who hasn’t yet checked him out. Cult of the Spiral Dawn is a perfect opportunity to get to grips with his writing style, with the novel and short story fitting together really nicely and demonstrating a little of the way his stories are all interrelated. If you read this and enjoy it, you can go back and pick up pretty much anything else he’s written and find a connection somewhere, if you look closely enough. Seriously…this man is such a good writer!
As always, here’s a quick rundown of everything I’ve posted this week:
- Lukas the Trickster by Josh Reynolds.
- QUICK REVIEW: The Pact by Sarah Cawkwell.
- Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Thirteen – Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill.
- QUICK REVIEW: A Dirge of Dust and Steel by Josh Reynolds.
- Something New (for me) – League of Legends.
- QUICK REVIEW: The Principles of Strength by Anthony Reynolds.
Ok, so those last two aren’t Black Library-related, but rather League of Legends. If you’re reading this, however, there’s a good chance you’ll have read and enjoyed some of Anthony Reynolds’ Black Library stories…in which case I can totally recommend checking out what he’s up to working for Riot Games on the League of Legends stuff…
Coming up…
Next week’s releases are looking pretty damn good, with the limited edition hardback of Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris by Chris Wraight and the fantastic audio drama Titans’ Bane by Chris Dows. Lots to enjoy there.
As always, if you’ve got any thoughts or comments on the week’s news and releases please do get in touch via the comments section below or on Facebook or Twitter.