Where to Start with Black Library: Necromunda

If you’ve ever looked at Black Library’s range of Necromunda stories and thought “that looks cool, but I’ve no idea where to start” then don’t worry – I’m going to do my best to help! As with pretty much everything BL produces, it’s tough to figure out in which order to read these stories and whether any of them are connected, but that’s where my series of Where to Start With Black Library articles comes in. I’m always keen to try to demystify Warhammer fiction, so in this article I’ll offer a few suggestions for what I think might be good entry points to Necromunda as a setting and as a fiction range.

In the case of Necromunda, in my opinion there isn’t (yet, at least) a single definitive story that I would always suggest as a starting point. Perhaps surprisingly, there aren’t even that many books where you can easily say “this one is a great place to start if you want to know about X gang/house”. While it might slightly defeat the purpose of this article, I would actually say that you could pick up pretty much any of the recent Necromunda novels and get a good feel for the setting as a whole, and likewise the short story anthologies. That being said, I promised some suggestions so what I’m going to do is talk about a few different approaches you might want to consider taking, and which stories would suit each approach. But first…

What’s so great about Necromunda?

Main range 40k stories are cool, and it’s often a lot of fun to read about massive battles and the grand, sweeping narrative of the galaxy as a whole. On the other hand, there’s more to the 40k galaxy than all-out warfare (I know, ‘there is only war’ and all that…but take it with a pinch of salt!), and what Necromunda offers as a sub-setting of 40k is the chance to spend some time with the ordinary citizens of the Imperium. In the case of the poor souls living in the underhive, of course, we’re talking regular people forced to do terrible things to survive – it’s still 40k, after all!

Check out this amazing illustration of Hive Primus, the main setting of Necromunda (click to expand)

So Necromunda stories still feel grounded in 40k, but they provide a different angle on the setting, and that often gives them a really fresh and interesting perspective. They offer the opportunity to get to know all sorts of intriguing factions and great characters, to explore fascinatingly horrible locations and shudder at the thought of all the disgusting beasties lurking in the darkness (I’m looking at you in particular, Justin D. Hill!). They’re usually packed full of plenty of action, but are much less about the big battles than a lot of Black Library fiction, focusing instead on smaller-scale, character driven stories.

Perhaps what I personally enjoy the most about Necromunda, though, is the way that by narrowing the focus down to one world and its inhabitants, and moving away from straight-up war stories, you actually end up with the scope for a broader range of stories. You can still tell war stories in Necromunda of course, but you can also explore pretty much any type of story you want, in a way that 40k fiction about Space Marines, Inquisitors, aliens and daemons maybe doesn’t allow. As such, Necromunda fiction can comfortably move between (often black) humour, madcap adventure, gritty crime, very human love stories, grimy and horror-inflected grimdark, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. If you love 40k, Necromunda offers a fascinating opportunity to explore this one tiny corner of the galaxy in detail. And that’s cool.

A note on the older stories
Before I get any further, I want to quickly mention the older Necromunda stories. In the early to mid 2000s Black Library published a range of Necromunda novels, short stories and graphic novels to tie in with the first edition of the game – if you search ‘Necromunda’ on the BL website, these are the earliest books you’ll see on the list. I confess I’ve only read a few of these stories – if you’re interested, you can read my reviews of the novel Survival Instinct (by Andy Chambers) and the short stories The Demon Bottle (Alex Hammond) and Rites of Passage (Gordon Rennie).

It wasn’t until 2018, after the new edition of the game launched, that BL returned to the setting for further stories, which are all based on the updated lore for the game. For the purpose of this article I’m going to focus mostly on the newer stories, because while the older stuff is in many cases pretty cool, it’s also a bit dated (in some respects very dated) and not necessarily in keeping with the current canon. Long-term Necromunda fans will probably have plenty of great memories of the older stories, but for a new reader – in particular someone keen to get a handle on the current Necromunda lore – I think the best bet is to focus on the new stuff. Of course the older stories are all still available for anyone who does want to read them, and I’ll reference them where appropriate.

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So with that out of the way, I think the best way to talk about the newer Necromunda stories is to try and group them together into a few options.

Get an overview with an anthology

This might not be to everyone’s taste, as not everyone enjoys short stories and novellas, but personally I think shorter stories are often the best way of getting your head around a series or a setting. With that in mind, if you’re keen to a) get an overview of what to expect from Necromunda stories, and b) try a few different authors to see whose approach you like the most, then I would suggest picking up one or both of the Necromunda anthologies – Underhive and Uprising. They’re good value (especially compared to buying the various stories individually) and they’re great for exploring the setting widely – if something particularly catches your eye, you can then go and read more about that aspect of the setting (if there are other stories available), or more from that author.

These anthologies feature one novella each, alongside a range of short stories from lots of different authors, and I think that’s a nice combination. The novellas dig a little deeper into one aspect of Necromunda, while the short stories offer a broader range of ideas. Here’s a very quick overview of each of these anthologies.

Underhive
The first anthology in the updated Necromunda range, this features Mike Brooks’ excellent novella Wanted: Dead (first published in the BL Novella Series 1 – check out my review here) and nine short stories, including six that were released as e-shorts for Necromunda Week back in 2018. If I remember rightly, these particular short stories were the first to be released in the new Necromunda range, and I can definitely remember being delighted to have new stories to enjoy! There are too many stories across the anthology to mention, but amongst them they look at Eschers and Goliaths, Enforcers, Ratskins and even the infamous Kal Jerico.

Check out my review of Wanted: Dead by Mike Brooks.

Check out my reviews of all six short stories from Necromunda Week 2018.

Uprising
This anthology features Denny Flowers’ (highly entertaining) novella Low Lives and the accompanying short story The Last Voyage of Elissa Harrow, along with eight additional short stories – one of these, Mike Brook’s Dead Drop, was previously released as a standalone e-short, while the rest were all brand new to the anthology. Again, too many to cover in detail, but between them they cover Caleb Cursebound (the underhive’s ninth most dangerous man), Cawdors, Orlocks and even the Corpse Guild.

Check out the next section for a bit more about Caleb Cursebound…

Follow some ongoing stories

If standalone short stories aren’t your thing, or you’ve read a few already and want to dig into something a bit meatier, then one option you have is to follow the adventures of a recurring character. Unlike 40k or Age of Sigmar, Necromunda doesn’t have a whole lot in the way of long-running series, but there are a few options you could try.

Caleb Cursebound
I’ve already briefly mentioned Caleb Cursebound, reputedly the underhive’s ninth most dangerous man, but he’s worth mentioning more than once. He’s a fun character, and along with his partner Iktomi offers an entertaining and (unusually for Black Library) relatively light-hearted viewpoint on the underhive. I say this quite often, but I really do think that BL fiction could do with a little more humour, and these stories hit the sweet spot of being genuinely funny without really losing any of the fundamental darkness of the setting. You can read either of the first two stories without necessarily needing to read the rest (don’t read the third one without having read the first two, though), but I personally think they’re best taken as a whole.

Here are the three stories (all by Denny Flowers) – click on the links below to read my reviews.

• The Hand of Harrow (short story)
• Low Lives (novella)
• The Last Voyage of Elissa Harrow (short story)

For more information about Low Lives, read my Author Profile interview with Denny Flowers.

D’onne Ulanti (otherwise known as Mad Donna)
Long term Necromunda fans may well be familiar with the character of D’onne Ulanti, or Mad Donna as she was originally (and occasionally is still) known, the one-woman force of nature who fled her home in the Spire and forged a fearsome reputation for herself in the underhive. For those who aren’t familiar, let’s just say she’s a lot of fun to read about, in that kind of implausible but deeply entertaining total badass sort of way – there’s not a lot of subtlety in her character (or her name) or her stories, just action-packed carnage. She’s one of a couple of older characters whose stories have continued in the latest incarnation of Necromunda, and you should be able to either start with her latest adventures or go back to the beginning for the full picture.

Here are the various stories D’onne appears in – click on the links below to read my reviews.

• Survival Instinct by Andy Chambers
• Soulless Fury by Will McDermott
• Underhive Apex by Will McDermott (short story – standalone, so can be read in any order)

See also my interview with Will McDermott for more information about Soulless Fury.

Kal Jerico
Perhaps the most well known character from the original set of Necromunda stories, bounty hunter Kal Jerico was featured in a trio of novels and a series of graphic novels. Cocky, arrogant, quick with his wits and his guns, Jerico is one of those characters who tends to talk his way into and back out of trouble, usually accompanied by his long-suffering sidekick Scabbs (who’s half-Ratskin), so you can expect plenty of snappy dialogue along with all manner of close escapes. The original novels have a reputation for being…let’s say ‘of their time’ (so your enjoyment may depend on your tolerance for descriptions of ‘buxom’ ladies, for example), but Josh Reynolds’ recent work bringing the character into the current canon is well worth checking out even if you don’t bother with the older stuff.

Josh’s two Kal Jerico stories are:

• Sinner’s Bounty (novel)
• Red Salvage (short story)

If you want to check out the older stories, you can still get hold of the omnibus which includes Will McDermott’s three novels:

• Blood Royal
• Cardinal Crimson
• Lasgun Wedding

As far as I’m aware the graphic novels are all out of print, but you might find them if you have a look on eBay etc.

Guilders
Most Necromunda fiction has tended to focus on gangers, bounty hunters, those sorts of characters, but recently Denny Flowers has been exploring the lesser-known characters of the Guilders, to great effect. In particular, he’s recently (at the time I write this article) written stories featuring members of the Guild of Flame and Guild of Light, characters who hold a different sort of power to what you might normally read about with gang members and so on. It’s good to be reminded that there’s more to Necromunda than just the underhive, and these stories offer glimpses of other ways of living in Hive Primus.

Currently there are three of Denny’s Guilders stories available:

• Salvation’s Crucible (short story)
• A Question of Taste (short story)
• Fire Made Flesh (novel)

Both of the short stories introduce characters featured in the novel, but I don’t think they’ll be essential to your enjoyment if you want to go straight to the book.

See also my interview with Denny Flowers talking about Fire Made Flesh.

Enjoy some standalone stories

Of course you might just be after a single, standalone Necromunda novel (or novella), which is fair enough. Series and ongoing characters can be fun, but sometimes you want something self contained and satisfying in its own right. Here are a few thoughts on some of the standalone stories…

Road to Redemption – explore faith in the underhive
Mike Brooks’ Road to Redemption might look like it’s a book about House Cawdor, but don’t let its cover fool you. Its protagonist, Zeke, was once a fully paid-up Cawdor ganger, but escaped that life to build something new. The book is about Zeke being pulled back into the world he left behind, choosing to risk his life for others and face up to his personal demons. It certainly provides some interesting insight into the lives of those who belong to House Cawdor, but seen from the outside, with Zeke’s own faith being much more close and personal than the fiery zealotry of his former brothers and sisters. This is a pretty dark book, but it’s brilliantly characterful and hard to put down.

Check out my review of Road to Redemption.

See also my interview with Mike Brooks talking about Road to Redemption.

Terminal Overkill – survive and claim revenge in the darkness
If Road to Redemption is pretty dark, Justin D. Hill’s novel Terminal Overkill ramps the darkness and the nastiness up by several further notches. On the surface it might appear to be a straightforward tale of Eschers and Goliaths, but while technically that’s true – the main protagonist Brielle is an Escher, and her enemy a Goliath – for much of the story it’s really a tale of Brielle desperately trying to survive on her own in the depths of the underhive. Hill goes all in on the horrors lurking in the darkness, and if you’re an arachnophobe then you might want to think twice about this one. If you can stomach both the many and varied beasties inhabiting the dark places and the viciousness of the other people Brielle encounters, however, then this is a powerful coming of age story and a fascinating exploration of the underhive. Did I mention it was super dark, though?

Check out my review of Terminal Overkill.

See also my interview with Justin Hill talking about Terminal Overkill.

Spark of Revolution – get to know the ogryns
I’ve mostly stuck to novels, but it’s worth mentioning Gary Kloster’s novella Spark of Revolution, which is unusual in Necromunda fiction as it focuses on ogryn servitors rather than human gangers. There’s a fair bit to explore in terms of House Goliath, but the ogryns are the main draw here, and Kloster does a great job of making them far more compelling than just the usual slow/strong/stupid stereotypes that ogres and ogryns tend to suffer with in SFF fiction. In my review I called this “Spartacus crossed with Flowers for Algernon set against the brutal backdrop of the factorum”, and while I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this as your first ever Necromunda story, once you’re familiar with the setting it’s an excellent opportunity to see things from a different perspective.

Check out my review of Spark of Revolution.

See also my Author Spotlight interview with Gary Kloster.

Prefer your stories in audio?

Lastly, I can’t go through this entire article without mentioning audio; there aren’t all that many options for the audio format in Necromunda, but there are a few at least. In time, hopefully there will be more, but until then…

Audiobooks
Only two of the Necromunda novels have been published as audiobooks so far, and none of the novellas or short stories. That’s a shame I think, but I suppose two are better than none. It’s possible that Covid-related issues may have prevented Soulless Fury and Fire Made Flesh from being produced in audio, as both of those have been released post-lockdown, but it’s equally possible that BL simply decided not to do audiobooks for them. If you’re keen on audiobooks, there’s no harm in emailing BL and expressing an interest in seeing more Necromunda books released in the format – it can’t hurt. Until then, the two you’ve got to choose from are:

• Terminal Overkill by Justin D. Hill
• Sinner’s Bounty by Josh Reynolds

Audio dramas
At the time of writing there have been three short audio dramas released for Necromunda – they were first published individually in digital format, before being bundled together as Venators which was released as both a CD and in MP3. If you’re familiar with modern Necromunda terminology you’ll already have figured that these are all stories about bounty hunters; in fact they’re stories about specific named bounty hunters. There’s Expectatio by Matt Keefe, which features Baertrum Arturos III; Half-Horn by Josh Reynolds which is about the beastman Gor Half-Horn; and The Deserter by Justin Hill, which unsurprisingly is about the bounty hunter known only as ‘the Deserter’. Between them they add up to about 70 minutes of audio, so that’s roughly equivalent to one regular-length story.

Check out my reviews of Expectatio by Matt Keefe, Half-Horn by Josh Reynolds and The Deserter by Justin D. Hill.

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So there you have it, a range of options for places to start with Necromunda stories. This is a bit of a longer article than my usual ‘Where to Start With’ pieces, but I think that’s just down to the nature of BL’s Necromunda range as it stands. If I could only choose one book to recommend then it would probably be the Uprising anthology, for the range of stories and for the fact that Wanted: Dead is excellent, but that’s just my personal preference! Of course if Black Library commissions someone to write a novel about the Redeemer (who starred in his own graphic novel series back in the day, sadly out of print now) then that might change…

Please feel free to get in touch in the comments below or on Twitter if you have any questions, or to let me know how you get on with these stories, otherwise happy reading and listening.

See also: all of the other articles in the ‘Where to start with Black Library’ range.

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