Black Library: Where to Start for Younger Readers

I originally wrote this article in 2018, in light of all the discussions regarding the just-announced Warhammer Adventures series of Warhammer books for 8 to 12 year olds, as I had been thinking about where I would suggest younger readers start in terms of the main Black Library range. There had never previously been Warhammer stories published specifically for youngsters (or at least not as far as I’m aware) so the question was whether there’s anything out there in the BL range which would provide a suitable place to start.

This isn’t just about how to get into 40k or Age of Sigmar – it’s more than that. I’m trying to think of stories which provide good entry points from the perspective of starting with those settings, for sure, but also stories which are likely to appeal to children, or at least someone considerably younger than myself. I know plenty of people would argue that they started off by reading super-dark old school books like Space Marine, complete with all the bonkers weirdness of the early days of Warhammer and 40k – to be fair, that’s where I started – but I don’t think that’s appropriate for everyone.

Now, I don’t have kids so it’s difficult for me to say what’s appropriate – but then I guess what one person might be totally fine with, another might not enjoy. And that’s not to mention what parents are going to think. So rather than worry about that, I’m going to focus on a few key points which in my opinion (which you’re welcome to disagree with) younger readers might look for in stories. Those are:

• Adventure: great, exciting, fast-paced stories full of thrills and peril.
• Good writing: nothing too dense or difficult to get into.
• Young protagonists: characters who young readers can empathise with, and see themselves in.
• Not too dark/violent: ok, it’s Warhammer – there’s going to be violence. Nothing too graphic, though…so probably no Night Lords, for example.

I’m not suggesting every story needs to include all of those (well, maybe every story should have good writing), but I think that’s a useful set of criteria to aim for. Think there’s anything I’ve missed? Let me know – I’d love to hear from parents, or indeed from young readers themselves, about what they look for in stories.

So, with that in mind I’ve pulled together some suggestions for stories – some novels, some shorter – that I think might be good places to start.

Kingsblade by Andy Clark
Hand on heart, this is the first thing that came to mind when I started thinking about younger readers. It’s one of those books that I absolutely devoured, with a really strong adventure-style story…and the main characters just happen to be young men out to prove themselves. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a 40k book so there’s lots of violence, but it’s mostly seen at a slight remove as it’s being observed from within the confines of Imperial Knights. It’s definitely not written specifically for younger readers, but as main-range 40k novels go I think it’s definitely worth looking at.

Space Wolf by William King
A classic 40k novel that I suspect was an awful lot of existing fans’ gateway to Black Library, this feels like another obvious choice. King’s writing is eminently readable, it’s from an era of 40k stories that sits somewhere between the madness of Ian Watson-esque books and the more developed darkness of modern Black Library, and is somehow a little more innocent for that. In Ragnar Blackmane it’s got a great character, and as befitting the start of a series it focuses on young Ragnar, which is likely to appeal to youngsters – I certainly remember enjoying this when I first got hold of it.

Dante by Guy Haley
A bit of a left-field choice here, and one that I’m perhaps not quite as confident about, but it’s one of my favourite 40k books of recent years, by an author who I always enjoy reading, and with a character who for large parts of the book we see in his youngest incarnation. While it might not be quite so easy to get into, given the way it straddles two timelines and isn’t quite as obviously 40k as some, I still feel like it would be a good option…although possibly not for the very first book to try.

City of Secrets by Nick Horth
I’ve actually just read this myself, which is perhaps partly why it comes to mind. I wanted to suggest an Age of Sigmar novel, but I’d say that the Realmgate Wars novels – while being the obvious place to start from a pure narrative perspective – don’t quite feel like a good option in this instance, as it’s so heavily focused on grinding, attritional warfare. Instead, City of Secrets is a short, fast-paced adventure with regular human characters, and there’s action and violence but nothing too graphic. Worth a look, I think.

Crusade + Other Stories (for 40k) and Hammerhal & Other Stories (for Age of Sigmar)
These two short story anthologies are clearly intended to be places to start for someone looking to get into the two settings, and if nothing else they’re priced remarkably well (at a fiver each), so are certainly cost-effective entry points. There’s plenty of good stuff in both of these, but it’s hard to say how many of the stories are going to overtly appeal to younger readers – I don’t think there are any stories from the perspective of young characters, and there’s a fair bit of real heavy darkness (in stories from John French and Peter Fehervari especially). As such I’d probably suggest these should be considered carefully – I think short stories are great ways to get into the settings, but I’m not entirely convinced these particular stories are the best choices…

Flayed or Hidden Treasures by Cavan Scott
Speaking of short stories, however, it’s worth mentioning two written by Cavan Scott – who’s writing at least some of the 40k Warhammer Adventures books – and which both feature young protagonists. They’re both short, dark stories that take place away from the battlefields but still manage to feel very much like 40k – they might be a bit too scary for really young readers, but I think they’re worth checking out. It’s almost like Black Library and Cavan Scott were preparing for Warhammer Adventures…

Gotrek and Felix
There’s not a lot of old-school Warhammer stories coming to mind for younger readers, but you could maybe look at the Gotrek and Felix series, originally by William King and subsequently written by various other authors. If I remember right there are some fairly dark stories in Trollslayer, but quite a few of the novels are relatively lighthearted, especially when Grey Seer Thanquol is involved. I’m not quite so certain about these, so probably go with caution, but they’re undoubtedly full of action and adventure, and great fun.

Ciaphas Cain
Carrying on with the (unusual) lighthearted theme, another proceed with caution possibility might be the Ciaphas Cain series for 40k – these have plenty of the usual 40k trademarks, but are also chock full of fun and Mitchell’s trademark sense of humour, and never get too dark. After all, Cain always ends up smelling of roses, right? One problem with these might be that they give an odd impression of 40k, as there’s not a lot else out there with this tone of voice or sense of humour. I could definitely see some younger readers enjoying the fun, though.

Lastly…
The last possibility that comes to mind is a bit left-field – the recent-ish Blood Bowl short stories. It’s a setting that’s not quite like the main Warhammer universes, but these stories do tend to be a little less dark and gloomy, and while there’s plenty of violence and bloodshed, it’s not quite so serious. There’s a lot of fun to be had with most of these stories, and Blood Bowl is a game that probably appeals to younger players who might well be interested in exploring things as an entry point.

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Whether ANY of these would be suitable for that 8 to 12 age group remains to be seen, but I hope that amongst that selection there might be at least a couple of stories that would make good starting points. It’s obviously going to depend on each reader, what they’re interested in, whether they’re already involved in the gaming side of Warhammer, what their parents are comfortable with, and various other points…but maybe there’s something here that might work.

Whatever we each think about youngsters getting into reading about Warhammer, there are always going to be kids wanting to make a start. Some will be happy to jump straight in, and in those cases this list probably isn’t that helpful. Some, however, might prefer to start off gradually and work their way into the darker themes and so on…in which case they could try some of these stories – or head straight to the Warhammer Adventures range!

Anyway – I could talk about this for ages, but that’s probably a good point to stop. Let me know what you think, whether you agree on any (or none) of these suggestions, and whether you think I’ve missed anything. I’m sure there are others that I’ve not thought about! Get in touch in the comments below, or find me on Facebook or Twitter.