Best of Black Library 2023

Following on from my Best SFF Books of 2023 article, this time I’m turning my attention to Black Library in particular (as I always do), and picking out the best BL books that I’ve read over the last twelve months. It’s always interesting to go back through and think about what the highlights have been, and as ever there have been some really great releases this year. Compared to previous years (like 2018 for example, when I read a whopping 65 BL books) I haven’t read quite as many BL books in 2023, but the 24 I did read this year still gave me a decent pool to choose from, and all the books I’ve picked out are genuinely fantastic, and very much worth reading!

The usual caveat applies here, too: of those 24 BL books, I’m only counting titles that were actually released in 2023. However, rather than sticking to just novels, this year I decided I’d include novellas too…largely because of one particularly great novella that I simply couldn’t leave off the list! So read on to find out the five best Black Library books I read this year (this isn’t a ‘top 5’, so I’ve listed them in the order in which I read them).

The King of the Spoil by Jonathan D. Beer

The Warhammer Crime range has been consistently great so far, and that impressive run continues with this, the debut novel from Jonathan D. Beer (coming after a few really good Warhammer Crime short stories). Where previous novels have explored the inevitable inequality of everyday life in the Imperium by way of corrupt corporations, bounty hunters, cults and more, here Beer tackles what in my review I called “the socio-political implications of a power vacuum” as a brutal gang starts to fall apart in the wake of its leader’s murder. It’s less of a detective-driven story than most in the range, which gives it a tone and feel all of its own, and even in a range as grim and dark as this it has a definite sense of channelling old-school 40k-isms throughout. For me its tagline of ‘A Melita Voronova novel’ doesn’t quite suit it, as while she’s one of the main characters (and appears in a couple of previous stories) it’s actually the other one that resonated most with me, but that’s ok – Haska’s a great character!

See also: my review of The King of the Spoil and RAPID FIRE: Jonathan D. Beer Talks King of the Spoil

Longshot by Rob Young

2023 has been a great year for Astra Militarum Imperial Guard fans, with a wide array of new novels released or announced including this, the debut from Rob Young (after a couple of great short stories – almost like that’s an intentional strategy from BL!). Pitting the Cadian 217th against the forces of the T’au Empire, it focuses on Darya Nevic – a decorated sniper sergeant, but also an outsider, a non-Cadian drafted in from another regiment who has to deal with the distrust of her fellows despite her obvious skill and considerable achievements. One the one hand this is just a fantastic boots-on-the-ground Imperial Guard novel, really emphasising the brutal grind of city warfare and offering a slightly different perspective with its focus on the role of a sniper. On the other hand, it also digs into themes of tribalism and identity, as well as the role that propaganda plays in an organisation like the Imperial Guard, adding thematic complexity to an already entertaining story. All told, it’s a cracker of a book.

See also: my review of Longshot and RAPID FIRE: Rob Young Talks Longshot

Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid

Another debut novel, another Imperial Guard tale, another Cadians story, Jude Reid’s first BL novel not only introduced the character of Ursula Creed (daughter of Ursarkar) but also returned to the (somewhat diminished) world of Cadia for the first time in this new era of Warhammer 40,000. The plot revolves around the theory that Ursarkar Creed left behind some great weapon that he wasn’t able to use before the Fall of Cadia, with Ursula being tasked to lead a small band of Cadians back home to retrieve this weapon so that it can be put to good use. What follows is a character-driven tale of disaster and hardship, drilling into Ursula’s experience of trying to climb out from under her father’s shadow, along with the uncomfortable realities of life for the remaining Cadians. It’s a great introduction to a compelling new character, a great addition to the ever-growing range of Cadian fiction, and a bleakly entertaining story in its own right – excellent stuff!

See also: my review of Creed: Ashes of Cadia

Da Gobbo Rides Again by Rhuairidh James

The first two Red Gobbo novellas – Mike Brooks’ Da Gobbo’s Revenge (2021) and Denny Flowers’ Da Gobbo’s Demise (2022) were a lot of fun, but this year’s instalment in the series absolutely nailed it for me. While it does unsurprisingly concern Da Red Gobbo, unlike its predecessors this is told from an Ork’s perspective – in this case a painboy named Stimma who returns to the ravaged Imperial world of Karanos V in the wake of a devastating greenskin invasion. Weirded out by the eerily compliant grots he finds there, Stimma sets out to ‘create’ a Red Gobbo who can return the grots to their normal state of malicious malingering, which he attempts to do with the assistance of various oddboyz…with varying degrees of success. Orks are always fun to read about, but James inhabits a similar zone of peak 40k orkishness to Nate Crowley, with a pitch-perfect blend of absurdity, humour, warmth and (brutal) casual violence that’s deeply entertaining, while simultaneously providing a deceptively rich and thoughtful perspective on the 40k universe. If you have any interest in 40k greenskin stories, get this novella!

Check out my friend Tim Van Lipzig’s great review of Da Gobbo Rides Again

Sea of Souls by Chris Wraight

Book seven of the Dawn of Fire series, this is a book that I almost didn’t read…but absolutely loved. The reason I did read it is that it’s essentially a standalone story, rather than a book which requires the reader to be familiar with the six books that came before – think of it as an ‘Era Indomitus’ story, rather than Dawn of Fire, I’d say. It’s the story of a single Imperial Navy vessel, the Judgement of the Void, and the incredible efforts of its crew to survive and succeed when what should be a routine mission goes horribly wrong. Ignore the ridiculous synopsis that BL has provided, because it’s way off the mark – this isn’t about Fleet Secundus taking the fight into the Eye of Terror, it’s about this one ship, its captain and crew, and the appalling realities of void warfare. It features a standout Adepta Sororitas character, a tiny handful of Space Marines, and a whole bunch of brilliantly-drawn Naval officers, and if you’ve any interest at all in an Imperial Navy novel (especially if you fondly remember the incredible darkness of early 40k fiction) then this is for you. It’s bleak, brutal and hugely impressive, although this is Chris Wraight…so that’s hardly a surprise.

2023 TBR

For this last section, I’m carrying on the trend from the last couple of years of also mentioning a few 2023 releases that I’m keen to read but haven’t got to yet. So here are five novels that were published this year, and which I’m hoping to read in 2024 (listed alphabetically by author)!

Genefather by Guy Haley: I’ve actually just reread Haley’s Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work in preparation for Genefather, to make sure I can properly remember what went before. That’s a great book, and I’m a big fan of both Cawl and Fabius Bile, so I’ve got high hopes for this one (and I’ve been hearing good things)!

The Last Volari by Gary Kloster: I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read from Kloster so far, including a couple of short stories that act as prequels to this novel, which were good fun. I do like a good vampire story, and the Mortal Realms provide endless opportunities for this sort of thing!

Vainglorious by Sandy Mitchell: I mean, it’s a new Ciaphas Cain novel – what more do you need to know? I certainly don’t need any convincing to read this! I fully expect it to basically just be more of the same, but that’s totally fine. When I need something light and fun, this will be near the top of my list.

The Fall of Cadia by Robert Rath: as I’ve already said, 2023 has been a good year for Imperial Guard books! This one intrigues me – it’s not often that BL goes back to an earlier point in the main 40k timeline to expand upon something covered in a background book, but this is such a crucial event I think it’s right that they’ve done so. I’m confident that Rath will have pulled it off, too!

Blightslayer by Richard Strachan: a bit like with Ciaphas Cain, I always look forward to a new Gotrek Gurnisson novel, and the combination of a favourite character and one of my favourite BL authors means I definitely want to read this. Will it be dramatically different from the rest of the series? Probably not. Will I love it even so? Almost certainly!

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So there you have it, my personal Black Library highlights from 2023, as well as a few recent releases that I’m keen to read soon! If you’re wondering about a particular book (or rather, books) that’s missing from my list, let me address that now – no, neither Volume 1 nor Volume 2 of Dan Abnett’s The End and the Death are in my top 5 for this year. Partially that’s because they’re kinda weird and I’m not entirely sure what I think about them, and partially it’s because the book isn’t actually finished yet, so I want to withhold judgement until I’ve read Volume 3! We’ll see…

What is notable about this list, however, is that it includes a lot of relatively new (to BL, at least) authors – three debut novels and a debut novella! That honestly isn’t a reflection of any deliberate focus in my reading, it’s just pure happenstance…but I’m very happy with it. You might also spot that there’s not a Space Marine in sight in my top 5 (well, maybe one in Sea of Souls, but still!) – this probably does reflect the fact that I’m increasingly keen to read more about regular human characters than Space Marines, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy a great SM book.

Anyway…what were your favourite Black Library books of 2023? And, if you’ve read some or all of my choices, what did you think of them? Drop me a line in the comments below or find me on social media.

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