If you’re a regular reader of Track of Words you’ll know how much I enjoy IP (or tie-in) fiction – stories which expand and develop fantasy and science fiction worlds that already exist in board games, video games, films and other media. I’ve tended to read a lot of Warhammer fiction from Black Library, and I know a lot of ToW readers are BL fans too, but there are all manner of fantastic IPs out there as well, bringing their worlds to life with great fiction. Over the course of the last year or two I’ve been dipping my toe into a few other IPs and really enjoying the results, so in this article I’m going to pick out a few recommendations for anyone who’s keen to try exploring a new world or two.
There are far too many IPs out there for me to include them all in this article, and I’m sure there are plenty that I haven’t even come across, so this is absolutely not intended to be a definitive guide! Bear in mind, as well, that while I’ve been a fan of the various Warhammer worlds for more than twenty years (and am at least reasonably familiar with the games), I’ve largely explored the IPs in this article purely through the written medium. I’m coming at these worlds from the perspective of a science fiction/fantasy reader rather than a gamer, which is probably quite different to a lot of people, and I’m still getting to know them myself.
I’ve had a lot of fun visiting these worlds so far though, and bearing all that in mind, here are a few suggestions of interesting IPs and where to start with their fiction. Four of the five IPs come via the excellent Aconyte Books, who are doing sterling work with everything they’re publishing (and who I can’t keep up with – there are still loads of their books that I haven’t managed to read yet), while the fifth comes from Riot Games. Note that if you’re already a fan of Warhammer fiction, you’ll probably recognise quite a lot of the authors I’m going to talk about…!
Legend of the Five Rings (Aconyte Books)
First created as the background to the original Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) card game before being developed into a roleplaying game as well, the world of Rokugan is a fantasy realm inspired by feudal Japan and inhabited by samurai, priests, courtiers, spirits and demons. Built around a series of rival clans and an external threat from the demonic hordes of the Shadowlands, it’s an ideal setting for thrilling adventure, political machination, devious plots and supernatural horror.
Curse of Honor by David Annandale
This dark, fantasy horror novel features a glory-hungry but ultimately inept clan heir, a hidden city deep in the mountains, a terrible evil unleashed upon the inhabitants of a castle, and an exploration of the complex power struggles between clan and family. It’s bleak, powerful, evocative and instantly intriguing, and provides a fantastic introduction to the more martial elements of Rokugan and the L5R setting.
Check out my review of Curse of Honor, and an interview with David Annandale.
Poison River by Josh Reynolds
For something a little less action-packed, this novel eschews almost all of the magical, spiritual elements of Rokugan and instead offers a sort of Golden Age detective story, in which a bored aristocrat ends up investigating a mysterious plot that threatens the political balance of his city. It’s full of sharp dialogue and great characters, and offers both an entertaining depiction of city life and a fun mystery full of twists and turns.
Check out my review of Poison River, and an interview with Josh Reynolds.
Keep an eye out as well for The Night Parade of 100 Demons by Marie Brennan, which is coming in February 2021.
Arkham Horror (Aconyte Books)
Cosmic, Lovecraftian horror set in 1920s America – what’s not to like about the premise of Arkham Horror? It’s the setting for both a board game and a card game, inspired by the classic Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game and the wider Lovecraft Mythos, and is a perfect IP for pulpy, speculative, entertaining storytelling. There have been various Arkham Horror novels over the years, with the latest coming via Aconyte Books (which is where I started to come across them).
Wrath of N’Kai by Josh Reynolds
A heist-turned-mystery story, this entertaining occult fantasy novel is a tale of a gentlewoman thief, an ancient mummy, and rival powers in Arkham’s criminal underworld and upper class society. Reynolds builds up a fantastic picture of Arkham itself, including a few of the cosmic horror elements as background texture rather than the main focus, and proceeds to spin a pacy, character-driven story that’s equal parts noirish thriller and pulpy mummy story, and just an awful lot of fun.
Check out my review of Wrath of N’Kai, and an interview with Josh Reynolds.
You can also check out The Last Ritual by S.A. Sidor (see my author interview here), which is out now, and keep an eye out for Mask of Silver by Rosemary Jones (see my author interview here), which is coming in January 2021.
KeyForge (Aconyte Books)
Think of every fantasy and science fiction trope, setting and archetype imaginable, smash them all together, and what you’ll end up with is something along the lines of KeyForge, whose setting – the Crucible – is a single (surprisingly coherent) world incorporating pieces of countless other environments and societies. It’s a clever basis for a collectable card game, and that deliberate blending of so many ideas works remarkably well as a setting for stories as well. The possibilities are essentially limitless, and as long as you like your sci-fi bright and bold there’s almost certainly something to enjoy here.
Tales from the Crucible – edited by Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells
Not everyone gets along with short stories, but personally I think they’re the ideal medium for getting to know a new setting – or at least a short story anthology is. This one features nine stories (from eight different authors) all exploring totally different characters, locations and cultures from within the Crucible, bringing this vibrant world to life via an appropriately wild and diverse mix of story types. It’s about as far away from the grimdark of Warhammer as you can get in terms of IP fiction, but for all its bold, bright colours the stories in this anthology are all excellent, impactful narratives.
Check out my review of Tales from the Crucible, and an interview with editor Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells.
Keep an eye out as well for The Qubit Zirconium by M. Darusha Wehm coming in April 2021.
Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Aconyte Books)
The Descent board games are mostly set in the realm of Terrinoth, which also acts as the backdrop to a range of other games including Rune Age and the Rune Wars miniatures game. It’s a classic high fantasy setting, with a wide variety of fantasy races – including the usual Elves, Dwarves and Orcs – along with a long history of conflict and a wider sense of scale, being part of the vast world of Mennara. There’s something very satisfying about the ‘dungeon crawl’ style of game, and that translates nicely into all manner of interesting storytelling opportunities.
The Doom of Fallowhearth by Robbie MacNiven
Offering a clever twist on the usual dungeon crawl adventure, this features a (once) close-knit band of adventurers long past their collective prime, brought back together for one last hurrah, as their investigation into a missing noblewoman reveals dark powers at play and the return of a danger they thought was long behind them. MacNiven even shakes up the character archetypes, with a pragmatic orc hunter, a dwarf alchemist and a pampered, out-of-his-depth human rogue. It’s a lot of fun, proves surprisingly emotional, and offers an entertaining introduction to Terrinoth and its many diverse and unusual denizens.
Check out my review of The Doom of Fallowhearth, and an interview with Robbie MacNiven.
Keep an eye out for The Shield of Daqan by David Guymer coming in February 2021.
League of Legends (Riot Games)
One of the most popular video games in the world, League of Legends is a bit daunting to get your head around (from a fiction perspective) at first, but dig into it and there’s an incredible wealth of content available, much of it for free! While there are a few alternate universes (and to be honest, I don’t fully understand how these relate to everything else), most things take place in the world of Runeterra, which features an engaging mixture of fantasy tropes including pirates, cosmic horrors, mystic priests, merchants, barbarians, and the like. There are all sorts of different storytelling mediums available for exploring Runeterra, from comics and animations through to written fiction of varying lengths, not to mention masses of incredible concept artwork (which I absolutely love!).
Garen: First Shield by Anthony Reynolds
Most League fiction is available for free on the Universe website, but First Shield is Riot’s first ever novella-length story exploring part of Runeterra, and as such it’s available as an ebook to purchase. Working within the constraints of a novella, it focuses on the realm of Demacia and the noble, virtuous warriors of the Dauntless Vanguard, and does a good job of balancing visceral action with interesting world building, offering a good introduction to the setting and these characters. It’s pretty action-heavy, but once it gets up to speed there’s plenty to enjoy, and it’s great to see Riot branching out into longer form fiction like this!
Check out my review of Garen: First Shield, and an interview with Anthony Reynolds.
Make sure you also check out the Universe website, which is absolutely packed to the gills with great content. I would personally recommend just clicking through and checking out some of the artwork, then picking a few stories at random and seeing where they take you. There’s loads to enjoy, and it’s all free!
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So that’s a brief selection of IPs that I’ve personally been enjoying exploring over the last year or two, and a few specific books to check out. I can very much recommend these worlds and the books I’ve included for each one, but really I’ve only scratched the surface. As I’ve mentioned for each world, there are plenty more stories either coming out soon or already available to read, so there’s loads more to enjoy even within these five worlds, and I haven’t even touched upon IPs like Star Wars or the various Marvel settings! I’ve read a few things set in both of those worlds recently (including several Marvel prose novels from Aconyte, who are smashing things out of the park at the moment), but I’m very much a beginner when it comes to them so I’ll leave other, more knowledgeable folks to talk more about those.
Have you read any of these books, or other stories set in these worlds? Are there other IPs that you think I should check out? Let me know in the comments below, or over on Twitter.
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