Category Archives: Black Library

QUICK REVIEW: Serpents of Ardemis – Mike Brooks

A prequel to Rites of Passage, Mike Brooks’ short story Serpents of Ardemis adds a little context to a key character in the novel, and provides a sharp exploration of the abuse of power amongst the privileged. Chetta and her (not yet dead) husband Azariel are on the water world of Ardemis for an annual social engagement, rubbing shoulders with other Navigators and nobility whilst simultaneously maneuvering for political gain. Chetta’s disarmingly blunt approach to diplomacy makes as many unexpected friends as it does enemies, friends which will come in handy if she and Azariel are to achieve their goals.

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QUICK REVIEW: Strong Bones – Michael R. Fletcher

His second Black Library short story, Michael R. Fletcher’s Strong Bones is another tale of the Ossiarch Bonereapers, this time from the perspective of a trio of young ogors. Bored of eating leftovers and waiting behind when their elders head off to raid, Stugkor and his mates Algok and Chidder have the bright idea to go out on their own raid, just the three of them. Forging off into the frozen wilds of Ghur, the youngsters find raiding to be less exciting than they expected, until they stumble across a human settlement presided over by an army of strange-looking deaders.

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Augur of Despair – Chris Dows

A three-part Blackstone Fortress audio drama, Chris Dows’ Augur of Despair is an action-packed adventure featuring an odd-couple pairing of protagonists facing off against all manner of potentially deadly denizens of the Blackstone. Rogue Trader Neyam Shai Murad and crusader Gotfret de Montbard make their way back to Precipice in the possession of an artefact which might change the balance of power in the Fortress. To unlock its potential they must escape the attentions of an Ambull, enlist the help of a deeply untrustworthy genetor, battle mutants and cultists, and put their trust in a creation of the Fortress itself.

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Low Lives – Denny Flowers

Following on directly from his debut Black Library story The Hand of Harrow, Denny Flowers’ Necromunda novella Low Lives is a tall tale of confidence and consequences in the underhive. Caleb Cursebound – allegedly the underhive’s ninth most dangerous man – and his partner Iktomi arrive in the (literal) dead-end settlement of Hope’s End with hunters on their tail after their last, somewhat botched, job. They’re quickly forced to abandon their plan to lay low when Caleb heroically (or at least drunkenly) promises to rid the settlement of a gang of Orlocks who recently took control of the locals’ potentially lucrative mine.

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Chris Dows Talks Audio, Comics and Augur of Despair

Chris Dows is a hugely experienced writer across multiple formats, publishers and settings, on top of being a university lecturer, and he’s been writing for Black Library for a few years now. Over that time he’s tackled stories in both prose and audio about Elysians, Cadians, World Eaters and most recently explorers in the Blackstone Fortress, and I’ve been meaning for a while now to get him on Track of Words for a proper interview. With his latest audio drama, Augur of Despair, being released in three parts over the 2019 Black Library Advent series, now seems like a perfect opportunity.

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QUICK REVIEW: A Question of Taste – Denny Flowers

A rare Necromunda story set almost entirely uphive, Denny Flowers’ A Question of Taste is a tale of civilised dispute between Guilders over contracts and business relationships. Having just overseen the implementation of the Mercator Lux’s latest contract to supply solar power to an underhive factorum, Tempes Sol returns uphive for a dinner meeting with the representatives of two other Guilds. As they dine on delicacies of sufficient sophistication to almost mask the flavour of corpse starch, Sol attempts to turn the conversation towards business, though the agents of Guilds Pallidus and Temperium appear to have him at a disadvantage.

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QUICK REVIEW: Reflections in Steel – CL Werner

Billed as “a Kravoth’s Reavers short story” (suggesting there will be more), CL Werner’s Age of Sigmar story Reflections in Steel is a typically vicious, bleak tale of the dangers inherent to walking the Path to Glory. When Kenji’s town is sacked by a bloodthirsty Chaos warband, the young man expects to die alongside his family but finds himself taken as a slave and forced into servitude to his brutal overlords. As the months pass in misery, Kenji’s anger keeps him alive and determined to find the opportunity to strike back. When it arrives, however, he’s already taken his first steps down a new path.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Crystal Cathedral – Danie Ware

Danie Ware continues her excellent run of Adepta Sororitas stories with The Crystal Cathedral, her second Order of the Bloody Rose story to look back to an earlier incarnation of Sister Augusta. The young Sister and her squad are sent to the mining moon Caro to attend the reconsecration of an awe-inspiring cathedral, built as a memorial to a great victory for Sisters of their Order a thousand years earlier. What should be a simple, non-combat mission turns into a profound test of Augusta’s faith, as an unexpected evil reveals itself and the Sisters are forced into action.

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Black Library Advent Calendar 2019

As usual, now that we’re into December (somehow – where has 2019 gone?) Black Library are starting to release loads of new short fiction as part of their latest Advent Calendar series. Between the 1st and 24th of December, we’re going to see one new short story or audio drama every day, and as is my tradition I’ll be writing a review of each one to go along with it. This year the series is split evenly between short stories and audio dramas, along with two brand new novels getting digital-only premieres on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

In this article I’m going to provide a roundup of what information has been made public so far regarding these stories, consolidating the details provided by Warhammer Community along with what’s available elsewhere online (i.e. Amazon) and giving you everything you need in one place. Each day I’ll update the information below with the name and description for the latest story, as well as a link to my review. For now, here’s a quick run through of how the stories are split out, based on the information Black Library have provided so far:

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QUICK REVIEW: Illyrium – Darius Hinks

A quiet, low-key 27-minute Horus Heresy audio drama featuring Barnaby Edwards, Jonathan Keeble, Penelope Rawlins and Andrew Wincott, Darius Hinks’ Illyrium explores the character of Rouboute Guilliman through the memories of his chamberlain, Tarasha Euten. With the Macragge’s Honour under attack, Euten and Ultramarines Sergeant Ammon find themselves cut off and trapped as fires rage all around. While they wait for assistance to reach them, Euten tells Ammon the real story behind one of Guilliman’s early campaigns on Macragge, demonstrating how the reality of Guilliman’s genius differs from the official history books.

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