Category Archives: Black Library

Black Library in 2021: Online Preview Reaction

With no Black Library Weekender in 2020 – for obvious reasons – the ‘Coming Soon’ seminar that usually closes the event was replaced by an online Black Library preview from the Warhammer Community team. You can check out all the reveals, and re-watch the whole stream, over on the Warhammer Community website, but in this article I’m going to offer up some of my reactions to the preview and the books announced. I’ll give an overview of the preview to begin with, then go on to cover what was announced for each of the main ranges, including a little bit about which of my predictions/hopes proved accurate.

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QUICK REVIEW: Death by a Thousand Gnaw-Bites – David Guymer

A typically devious tale of warring clans and dubious alliances, David Guymer’s Age of Sigmar short story Death by a Thousand Gnaw-Bites continues to demonstrate his skill at writing skaven. Forced out of their own holdings by the deadly war machines of Clan Zappitch, Things-Master Krowl and the tattered remnants of Clan Grench seek refuge with Clan Fetter and Under-Clawlord Thiskrule, agreeing upon a cunning plan that will benefit them both. Though clans Grench and Fetter have long been allies, the line between ally and enemy is paper-thin, but for Krowl the plan’s risks are outweighed by its potential rewards.

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Spark of Revolution – Gary Kloster

Part of the Black Library Novella Series 3, Spark of Revolution is Gary Kloster’s first Necromunda novella, and makes for an excellent introduction to his writing. Breaker Brass is an ogryn servitor, one of many toiling contentedly in a factorum owned by House Goliath and overseen by the Slag Krocs. When Goliaths start fighting Goliaths and a rival gang takes over the factorum, however, Breaker Brass soon finds himself used up, discarded and left for dead by the callous new gang leader. Against all odds Breaker survives his ordeal, and is reborn with his eyes opened and his mind expanded. Now able to see the world around him differently, he sets out to fight back against his oppressors, determined to find a better life for his fellow ogryns.

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From Humble Beginnings 2: Age of Sigmar Short Stories That Deserve Their Own Series

As I discussed in my article 40k Short Stories That Deserve To Be Series, it’s common in Black Library fiction for characters to be introduced in short stories before going on to have their own series. In the previous article I looked specifically at Warhammer 40,000 stories and characters, but this time I’m going to pick out some Age of Sigmar stories in the same vein. While AoS has much less of a back catalogue (so far) than 40k, by virtue of only being around for a few years, a few new names have already started to become well-known (and loved) – Hamilcar, Gardus, Maesa – alongside some familiar names from the World That Was…but it’s going to be interesting to see which ones go on to become the next batch of recurring characters.

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The Black Library Online Preview – Hopes and Predictions For 2021

There might not have been a Black Library Weekender this year (it’s 2020 after all – what do you expect?!), but on Saturday 5th December there’s going to be an online Black Library preview, replicating the ‘Coming Soon’ seminar that usually closes each Weekender. I thought it might be interesting to look ahead to the online preview and speculate a little on what’s going to be announced for 2021. It’s all guesswork at this point, but a bit of speculation is always fun, and I’ve thrown in some of my hopes for 2021 as well (i.e. things I’m not expecting to be announced, but that I’d love to see).

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QUICK REVIEW: Sacrifice – Danie Ware

Part of Danie Ware’s excellent series of Adepta Sororitas tales, short story Sacrifice sees Sister Augusta and her squad in dire straits when their shuttle is shot down over a toxic chem-planet. Cut off from Imperial forces in inhospitable terrain, the Sisters need to defend their position until they can be safely extracted, but they’re pinned down and vulnerable with an unarmoured Sister Hospitaller and an injured pilot in their midst. As enemies close in all around, Augusta and her Sisters look to their faith to not just protect them, but also guide them to survival.

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The Infinite and the Divine – Robert Rath

For his debut Black Library novel, Robert Rath goes big with The Infinite and the Divine, a grand tale spanning thousands of years of bitter rivalry between two virtually immortal Necrons. Trazyn the Infinite (archaeovist and Overlord of Solemnace) and Orikan the Diviner (Master Astromancer of the Sautekh Dynasty) have been rivals since their days of flesh and blood, opposites in both outlook and temperament. After Orikan steals the Astrarium Mysterios from Trazyn’s galleries on Solemnace, their enmity escalates into a deadly feud as, over the course of millennia, each attempts to outdo the other in pursuit of the ancient artifact and the power (or in Trazyn’s case, the collectible history) they hope it can unlock.

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From Humble Beginnings: 40k Short Stories That Deserve Their Own Series

There’s a long history in Black Library fiction – and Warhammer 40,000 in particular – of characters who started off in short story form and went on to bigger things. From the early Inferno! days of Gaunt’s Ghosts and the Last Chancers, to Severina Raine and Sister Augusta more recently, characters who started off in a single short story have regularly gone on to feature in novels and novellas of their own, or simply long-running series of short stories. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some recent-ish 40k short stories and pick out a few which seem ripe for developing into longer stories, and whose characters (or settings) could go on to be the fan-favourites of the future.

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Author Spotlight: Gary Kloster

Welcome to this instalment of my Author Spotlight series of interviews, in which I’m chatting to author Gary Kloster to find out a bit more about his work, especially the writing he’s done for Black Library in the Necromunda setting. With his first BL novella – Spark of Revolution – available to order now, there’s no better time to take a look at it, and what makes Necromunda such an interesting setting to explore.

Without further ado, let’s get straight into the interview and over to Gary.

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Blood of the Everchosen – Richard Strachan

The debut Black Library novel from Richard Strachan, Blood of the Everchosen is labelled as a Warcry Catacombs story but in truth is simply a fantastic Age of Sigmar novel which offers the best depiction yet of life for the mortal followers of Chaos. In the benighted lands of the Eightpoints, a child is born beneath a savage storm, his destiny entwined with that of Archaon himself. As the boy’s father races for safety, powerful forces converge from across the Bloodwind Spoil. Some, like Burak the Bloodseer and his Untamed Beasts, or Lord Rakaros’ Scions of the Flame, seek to kill the child while others, like the Splintered Fang of Ashrath Silenthis, hope to protect him. All hope to gain Archaon’s favour through their actions, except for the hunters in gold who search out the child for their own mysterious purpose.

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