Category Archives: Black Library

RAPID FIRE: Gav Thorpe Talks Death’s Mercy

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library 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 Gav Thorpe about his new Warhammer 40,000 audio drama Death’s Mercy, the second part of his ongoing Heirs of the Laughing God series. You can order this audio in CD or MP3 formats right now.

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QUICK REVIEW: Anarchy’s End – Rob J Hayes

The Black Library debut for fantasy author Rob J Hayes, Anarchy’s End is an Imperial Guard short story set almost entirely within the confines of a Baneblade super-heavy tank – the titular Anarchy’s End. Battling the endless hordes of a tyranid swarm, loader Vi Modine and the rest of the crew of Anarchy’s End struggle to keep the ageing tank operational long enough to strike a decisive blow. As the longest-serving member of the crew Vi knows the history of the vehicle well, but as the battle grinds bloodily on she starts to wonder at the nature of its ancient machine-spirit.

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Agent of the Throne: Ashes and Oaths – John French

The third instalment in the excellent Agent of the Throne audio drama series (and follow up to the Scribe Award-winning Truth and Dreams), John French’s Ashes and Oaths continues the story of inquisitorial agent Ianthe and the dangerous missions she’s sent on by Inquisitor Covenant. This time around Ianthe and her team are tasked with acquiring the services of an ex-Administratum information broker, on the war-scarred world of Dustcorn. When things don’t quite go to plan, and a dubious figure from a past mission reappears, Ianthe is forced to make some unwelcome compromises in order to get the job done.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Unlamented Archpustulent of Clan Morbidus – David Guymer

A tale of scheming skaven in the Age of Sigmar, David Guymer’s wonderfully-titled The Unlamented Archpustulent of Clan Morbidus reimagines the political maneuvering of a papal conclave as the vicious, backstabbing process of electing the new spiritual leader of Clan Morbidus. As the voting draws nearer, several candidates for the position of Archpustulent employ bribery, cunning and violence to ensure they, and only they, are elevated to this vaunted – and dangerous – position of power. In typical skaven fashion, however, each candidate’s devious schemes clash, backfire and generally get in each other’s way causing carnage in the depths of Blight City.

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QUICK REVIEW: Dismember the Titans – Graeme Lyon

This story is currently only available within Inferno! Volume Three.

A much-deserved sequel to the excellent Mazlocke’s Cantrip of Superior Substitution, Graeme Lyon’s Blood Bowl short story Dismember the Titans returns to the characters of Juliana and Johann, now the Talabheim Titans’ star Blitzer/Catcher duo. Death is a workplace hazard for Blood Bowl players, but it usually happens on the pitch and in front of a crowd, not in secret. When their fellow players start turning up very dead, and minus some body parts, it falls to Juliana and Johann to investigate and try to find out who it is that has a grudge against the Titans, and why.

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QUICK REVIEW: City of Blood – Matt Smith

This story is currently only available within Inferno! Volume Three.

Matt Smith’s short story City of Blood is a Necromunda-esque tale of fast-paced underhive action in the 41st millennium, just not set on Necromunda. In the labyrinthine slums beneath Obergard Secundus, Jesca Veil – deserter, formerly of the 151st Hadran Rifles – has made a deal to get herself off-world. If she’s to see the deal through and make it to safety, however, she’ll have to contend with not just the untrustworthy nature of her shady contact but also the vengeful presence of the Officio Prefectus and the many and varied dangers lurking in the darkness of the underhive.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Prince’s Tale (At the Sign of the Brazen Claw Part Three) – Guy Haley

This story is currently only available within Inferno! Volume 3.

The third instalment of At the Sign of the Brazen Claw, Guy Haley’s serialised story of a group of strangers swapping stories while waiting out a storm, The Prince’s Tale sees aelven Prince Maesa tell the tale of how he met Shattercap. As the storm rages, Maesa relives a time of heartache and loneliness as he wandered the Mortal Realms aimlessly, haunted by the loss of his beloved Ellamar. Only when he finally encountered a match for his own grief did the exiled prince find himself drawn back into the lives of mortals, and set against the pitiless sylvaneth.

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The Imprecations of Daemons – Nick Kyme

Nick Kyme’s first Age of Sigmar audio drama, The Imprecations of Daemons sees a Stormcast Eternal revisit the birthplace of her former self to aid her family and confront an old enemy long thought defeated. Over a decade after being borne away by Sigmar to become a Stormcast, Malleon – formerly Mallaeh – returns to the Iron Fastness at the request of her sister Galaeda, to assist their father with a task too great for the old warrior-priest. She finds her home much changed from what she remembers, both the land and the people turned bitter and in great need of Sigmar’s light.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Price of Duty – Matt Smith

A standalone Imperial Guard short story by Matt Smith, The Price of Duty takes a familiar setup – a straight-laced commissar serving with an ill-disciplined regiment of Catachan Jungle Fighters – and delivers a slightly different take to usual. For young Commissar Jasper Nevin, serving under a Lord-Commissar whom he idolises is a dream come true, however the soldiers of the Catachan 64th don’t seem to hold him in much regard. Surrounded by warriors of strength and fortitude, Nevin finds his own skill and bravery lacking, but to survive he’s going to have to find a way to earn at least someone’s respect.

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Vaults of Terra – The Hollow Mountain by Chris Wraight

Book two in Chris Wraight’s Vaults of Terra series featuring Inquisitor Crowl and Interrogator Spinoza, The Hollow Mountain picks up pretty much straight away after the end of The Carrion Throne. Though disaster was averted on the throneworld, Crowl believes that the powerful people behind the conspiracy to bring a xenos creature to Terra are still at large and need to be brought to justice for their crimes. Despite Spinoza’s misgivings, they continue to investigate – albeit in secret, fully aware of the dangers involved in doing so – even while Terra seethes in a worrying atmosphere of unusual friction and unease.

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