For the second of my Yearly Roundup articles for the year just gone – after the first one, which looked at 2019 in numbers – I’m taking a look at some of my highlights from the last twelve months. It’s been another busy year, that’s for sure, but a year which has brought with it a couple more interesting milestones, some really great interactions with readers and writers in the science fiction and fantasy community, and an awful lot of tremendously entertaining reading. With that in mind, I’ll talk about some of my personal highlights from running Track of Words before looking at the year in Black Library, and then some of the best stories I read over the course of the year.
If you haven’t already, make sure you check out my 2019 in Number article first!
Track of Words highlights
Before I get onto any reading-related highlights I’m going to veer perilously close to self-indulgence and talk a little bit about personal highlights for the year. Firstly, after 2018’s 1,000 posts achievement, I reached two more fairly significant milestones in 2019 – I passed 1,000 followers on Twitter and ONE MILLION words published on Track of Words. I still can’t quite believe I’ve published so many words (the total was at 1,073,462 before this article); just think, it’s the equivalent of a dozen or so novels! I don’t tend to worry too much about social media followers and whatnot, but still…passing the 1,000 mark (1,167 at time of writing) is pretty cool.
The tally after the article which took me past 1 million
Both of those milestones came in the year in which I slowed down, as well! I’m really pleased I made that decision, as towards the end of 2018 I was finding it a little tough to keep motivated, and while 2019 had its ups and downs I ended the year feeling pretty positive about Track of Words. I think as long as I keep trying to find a decent balance and don’t push myself too hard to always be getting new content out, I’m hopeful for another great year in 2020. Whatever happens, I’m confident of enjoying the experience of getting to know people and making new friends off the back of Track of Words. I’ve made some great new friends recently, both via Twitter and in person at book-related events – you know who you are!
I talked a bit about author interviews in the last post, but I want to mention here that I’m really, really enjoying working on these and I very much hope you folks reading Track of Words enjoy them too. Even though I published 97 fewer posts in total last year, compared to 2018 I only published one fewer interview! They amounted to 20% of my total articles for the year, compared to 15% in 2018, and I’m particularly proud of my second epic, in-depth Peter Fehervari interview and the two short (but sweet, I hope) series of Author Spotlight and Writing for Black Library interviews. I’m hoping to do more like these in 2020.
Finally for this section, I was DELIGHTED in 2019 to be invited onto my first ever blog tour, for the release of Garth Nix’s Angel Mage with Gollancz. Track of Words was one of 60 sites featured on the tour, with two reviews published each day to celebrate the book’s release, and not only was it an amazing experience to get involved in something like that but the book was absolutely wonderful! I’ve got another (smaller, I think) one lined up for January, and I’m hoping to get involved in more of these as the year goes on.
Black Library highlights
I can’t do a 2019 roundup without talking at least briefly about a few of my highlights for what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. Note that I’m not going to include any lowlights – let’s keep things positive! I’m not going to pick out particular books or stories here – I’ll talk a bit about reading highlights later – but instead look at the bigger picture of what was happening in 2020 from the perspective of a Black Library fan. If you’re interested, you can also get the perspective of Neil Coombe, the head of BL, in this recent Warhammer Community article.
First of all, I have to mention the BL Weekender, which yet again was a brilliant event and an absolute highlight of my year – you can read more about it here. I know events like these aren’t easy to get to if you don’t live reasonably close, but if you can make it to one then you’re pretty much guaranteed to have fun. I had an absolute blast, not just with the seminars and author sessions but just hanging out with a bunch of Black Library fans all in the same place! The social element, getting to meet authors, artists, BL staff and other fans, is really what makes these events worthwhile. I can’t wait for the 2020 Weekender, and fingers crossed I’ll see some more of you there.
Something else I loved about 2019’s Weekender was the abundance of new (and new-ish) authors in attendance, reflecting a definite trend towards introducing new voices to Black Library over the last couple of years. 2019 really did feel like a year in which BL made a concerted effort to release stories in all manner of formats from newer authors – two volumes of Inferno!; somewhere in the region of 17 authors making their e-short debuts; fully half of the BL Novella Series 2 featuring authors who had only previously written short stories; first novels from Mike Brooks and Rachel Harrison (and JC Stearns sneaking in on Boxing Day).
For readers like me, who enjoy checking out new authors with different styles, it was a year packed full of variety! That can only be a good thing, in my opinion. It was a great opportunity for Track of Words as well, giving me not just a load of new stories to read and review but a bunch of new authors to talk to for the first time(s)! I’ve already mentioned by Writing for Black Library and Author Spotlight interview series, but both of those were inspired by my interest in getting to know some of these new authors – I’m a big advocate for supporting newer writers, and I had a lot of fun putting those interviews together. I hope you enjoyed them too.
The House of Night and Chain by David Annandale – the first Warhammer Horror novel
I should also mention Warhammer Adventures and Warhammer Horror here, along with the announcement at the Weekender of the upcoming Warhammer Crime. For as long as there’s been a Black Library there have been all manner of styles of story being set in the Warhammer universes…but there was never really the sense that Black Library or Games Workshop wanted (or knew how to) broaden the readership out to appeal to people who might be put off by a straight-up war story. That has definitely changed, with these new imprints clearly designed to get BL books in front of a wider set of readers. I can’t speak for the sales figures (which I hope are suitably high) but I’ve certainly enjoyed the corresponding sense of BL embracing different kinds of stories and storytelling, from thrilling adventures for youngsters to strange/creepy/stomach-churning horror stories for adults. I’m looking forward to reading the new crime novels, too!
Reading highlights
Each year I set myself the target of reading 52 books – the equivalent of one a week. The idea is that it’s a target I should comfortably surpass (I’m a fast reader, and I spend a lot of time reading), so my secondary target was to read more than I did in 2018. I managed 88 books in 2018, and I was delighted to hit 90 in 2019 – not bad! I wonder if I’ll be able to surpass that in 2020…?
As you may know, I’m a fan of all manner of story formats: novels, novellas, short stories, audio dramas, anthologies, the lot. Back in July I wrote a few articles – broken down by type – on Track of Words about my favourite Black Library stories from the first part of the year, so check these out for some of my favourite novels, short stories, audio dramas and anthologies. After another six months’ worth of stories, however, there are plenty more to choose from if I’m going to pick out highlights from the year as a whole!
Rather than talking here about my favourite Black Library novels from the whole of 2019 I think I’ll just recommend you go check out the article I wrote on the subject for Warhammer Community – it’s right here. I will, however, say that if you only have time to read one of the 10 books I’ve recommended, do me a favour – make it Requiem Infernal, which is a total masterpiece!
It’s really tough to pick out favourite short stories, but I’ve narrowed it down to three…although if you ask me again in a week or two my list might have changed! That’s not quite the case with audio dramas, as until the Advent Calendar series I hadn’t really listened to that many in the second half of the year (something I intend to change in 2020). Luckily, some great audios landed in December! I’m not going to put together a list of my favourite short story anthologies – just pick up any volume of Inferno! for a brilliant cross-section of Black Library stories!
Short stories:
- Last Flight by Edoardo Albert
- The Thirteenth Psalm by Peter Fehervari
- He Feasts Forever by Lora Gray
Audio dramas:
- Our Martyred Lady by Gav Thorpe
- I’m going to cheat here, and say all three multi-part Advent audios:
It’s not just Black Library that I want to talk about, either – while my short story and audio consumption is almost entirely BL-focused, I made an effort to read a little more widely in 2019 when it came to books. BL still accounted for the majority of the books I read, but 34 of the 90 were from other publishers (and I’m hoping to make it a bigger proportion in 2020), so I’ve got plenty of other books I want to recommend as well! I’ve picked out my three favourites, although this list could have been a lot longer!
- The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack by Nate Crowley
- Priest of Lies by Peter McLean
- We Are the Dead by Mike Shackle
I wholeheartedly recommend you check out all three of those books – they’re all absolutely wonderful, and I think a lot of Black Library fans in particular will find things to enjoy in all three of them.
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There you have it, my highlights for the year just gone. Check out my 2019 in Numbers article for a roundup based more on stats and top articles, and keep an eye out for another article coming soon in which I’ll look ahead to what I hope 2020 will bring.
I’d love to know what your highlights were for 2019, whether they’re your own personal highlights, thoughts on Black Library or favourite stories that you read. Let me know in the comments below or get in touch on Twitter, and thank you once again for checking out Track of Words – here’s to a fantastic 2020!
Thank you, Mike! An honour to be included among such great writers. Also, can I say that you do a great service to the readers by highlighting, in such clear, well written reviews, good books and stories.