Category Archives: Black Library

QUICK REVIEW: Fates and Fortunes – Thomas Parrott

Available in the Vaults of Obsidian anthology, Thomas Parrott’s Blackstone Fortress short story Fates and Fortunes tells the tale of a man running from his past and finding a calling, of sorts, in the darkness of the Fortress. After acquiring an item of great supposed value from the vault of Rogue Trader Janus Draik, self-identified thief Ilden joins a ragtag team of adventurers in heading deep into the Fortress, intending to use the artefact to unlock a treasure trove from the Dark Age of Technology. As the Blackstone takes its toll on them, however, Ilden feels his past catching up.

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Black Library Advent Calendar 2019 – Recap

Another year’s Black Library Advent Calendar series is over, after nearly a month’s worth of brand new short stories, audio dramas and digital-only novels. As is now tradition, I’ve been writing daily reviews for each story as they’re released (excluding the novels – I don’t read that quickly), and you can find all of the links for those reviews right here. In this article, however, I’m taking a look back at the series as a whole to reflect on what’s been released, and talk about how individual stories connect to existing series…and maybe suggest what might be coming in the future.

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The Best Black Library Novels of 2019: July to December

I do like a good ‘best-of’ list, even though they’re tricky to put together! I was recently asked by the Warhammer Community team to write a ‘best Black Library novels of 2019’ article, which was fun (you can find that here), while back in July here on Track of Words I published a series of articles looking back at the first six months of 2019 and highlighting my favourite BL novels, short stories, audio dramas and anthologies that published up to then. It’s almost the end of the year now, so it’s time to do the same thing for the second half of 2019 – July to December. In this article I’m going to focus solely on the novels which stood out to me as the best reads.

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RAPID FIRE: JC Stearns Talks The Oubliette

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to up and coming Black Library author JC Stearns about his new 40k novel The Oubliette, the latest to be published under the Warhammer Horror imprint. The physical edition is due out in February 2020, but the ebook is available early as a ‘digital premiere’, as part of the 2019 Advent Calendar series. Read on to find out more about what horrors await in this latest tome of horrors.

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RAPID FIRE: Gav Thorpe Talks Armageddon Saint

In this instalment I spoke to Black Library author Gav Thorpe about his new 40k novel Armageddon Saint, the first new Last Chancers novel for over fifteen years! The physical edition isn’t due out until March, but the ebook is available as a ‘digital premiere’ as part of the 2019 Advent Calendar series. Whether you’re excited about a new Last Chancers story or wondering what all the fuss is about, read on to find out more!

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QUICK REVIEW: Morningstar – Graham McNeill

A companion piece to Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero, Graham McNeill’s 24-minute Horus Heresy audio drama Morningstar is set just before the Siege of Terra, with Magnus and Ahriman venturing into what remains of Tizca. As father and son explore the ruins of the City of Light, Ahriman questions their purpose in returning to the site of such pain, but Magnus – now largely restored – once more plays the role of teacher, and reveals an unexpected secret to his favoured son. The truth of Morningstar offers power to be wielded, but at a great cost to both Magnus and Ahriman.

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QUICK REVIEW: Divine Sanction – Robert Rath

A tale of the Officio Assassinorum, Robert Rath’s short story Divine Sanction (his first 40k story) offers a close look at the dangerous final stages of a Callidus assassin’s mission. The city of Veridian is wracked by unrest as the sermons of Confessor Illsandor spread the insidious influence of the xenos T’au and set the city’s factions against each other. Sent to infiltrate the city and find a way to remove and impersonate the Confessor, the assassin Sycorax closes in on her target only to face a last-minute challenge that forces her to improvise and start to question her mission.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Test of Faith – Thomas Parrott

Thomas Parrott’s first foray into tales of the Adeptus Astartes, The Test of Faith is a Dark Angels story exploring the strained relationship between two generations of Space Marines. Interrogator-Chaplain Raguel and the younger, second-generation Chaplain Hadariel lead a squad of Primaris Marines into battle aboard a vast, mobile mining vehicle, sweeping through its aged corridors and crushing the resistance of its mortal defenders. As they approach the heart of the vehicle and the nature of its crew is revealed, the bonds between the Dark Angels are tested in the heat of battle and Raguel’s true purpose is challenged.

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QUICK REVIEW: Skull Throne – Jake Ozga

Jake Ozga’s second Black Library short story, Skull Throne is a brave, hypnotic, intense Age of Sigmar story that could only exist as part of the Warhammer Horror imprint. In a silent, desolate part of Shyish, a young woman drifts through what’s left of her life in a distant haze, detached from the world around her and caught in a strange loop of indecision and what might be madness. When her routine is broken by a new presence that forces her to act, she feels something stir within that reawakens her mind and opens up a new path before her.

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Broken Saints – Alec Worley

Alec Worley’s 40k Sisters of Battle series moves into audio territory with Broken Saints, a gripping audio drama (originally released as three individual instalments) in which Sister Adamanthea, no longer a Repentia and now considered a Living Miracle, finds her faith tested like never before. Troubled by rising doubts during a holy day for the garden-temple of Concordia, when disaster strikes Adamanthea is quick to put aside her religious responsibilities and throw herself into the fray. Her presence is meant to help unify the fractious factions on Concordia, but first she must come to terms with her own faith, and lead her sisters to victory against a worryingly co-ordinated heretic uprising.

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