Category Archives: Books

Cadian Honour – Justin D. Hill

Justin D. Hill’s Cadian Honour – a sequel to 2017’s Cadia Stands but interestingly billed by Black Library as ‘Book 1 of the Cadian series’ – is an action-packed story of what life is like for the Cadian Shock Troops in the Dark Imperium. Burdened by the loss of Cadia and the disapproval of other Imperial forces, the remnants of the Cadian 101st are posted to Potence, capital world of the Gallows Cluster. As Chaos forces make worrying inroads into the system and peace on Potence is threatened, what should be an easy posting turns into a desperate defence against enemies within and without.

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Honourbound – Rachel Harrison

Rachel Harrison’s debut Black Library novel, Honourbound follows on from several excellent short stories and features Commissar Severina Raine serving with the 11th Antari Rifles as part of the decades-long Bale Stars Crusade. As Raine and the Antari grind their way to hard-fought victories over the chaos cult known as the Sighted, the stress of constant attritional warfare starts to show – even on the resolute Commissar. With the Sighted changing tactics and darkness forming within the Crusade, Raine knows that her faith and determination will be tested like never before as she wrestles with the implications of her past and the dangers of the present.

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Maledictions – a Warhammer Horror Anthology

One of the first releases for Black Library’s brand new Warhammer Horror imprint, Maledictions features eleven stories across both Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar which dig a little deeper than usual beneath the surface of the settings. There are contributions from a range of authors both familiar and new (to Black Library, at least), covering an expansive array of topics and characters, united by a focus on the more personal and less militaristic aspects of Warhammer fiction. From dense jungles to rural communities, enginseers to dryads, it’s a characterful and wide-ranging anthology packed full of strange, unsettling stories.

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The Buried Dagger – James Swallow

Book 54 in the Horus Heresy, James Swallow’s The Buried Dagger brings the main-range series to a close as the final book before the Siege of Terra begins. It’s a deserved moment in the spotlight for the Death Guard both past and present, told across two narratives with similar themes. One strand features the long-awaited ‘doom of the Death Guard’, the moment when Mortarion and his sons are becalmed in the Warp and turned to Chaos, while the other focuses on ex-Death Guard Nathaniel Garro and Malcador’s Knights Errant as they unravel a series of complex, unexpected mysteries back on Terra.

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Angron: Slave of Nuceria – Ian St. Martin

Book 11 in Black Library’s Horus Heresy: Primarchs series, Ian St. Martin’s Angron: Slave of Nuceria explores a key moment in the early development of the World Eaters legion. Given lordship over a legion who in his eyes pale in comparison with the brothers and sisters he left behind on Nuceria, Angron demands that his sons remake themselves in his image by accepting the Butcher’s Nails. All his sons are desperate to earn his regard, but while some work tirelessly to re-engineer the Nails to be implantable into legionaries, others look to the future and fear for what will become of the legion.

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Scions of the Emperor – Anthology

Continuing with the template (and naming convention) laid down with 2018’s Sons of the Emperor anthology, Scions of the Emperor is a Primarchs anthology featuring eight Horus Heresy short stories from eight different authors. Where it differs is that these stories are almost all from authors not normally associated with their chosen characters. There’s a mixture of stories from across the breadth of the Heresy timeline, from young Ferrus Manus and Roboute Guilliman on their respective home worlds to Rogal Dorn on Terra on the eve of the Siege, via the highs and lows of the Great Crusade and onwards.

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Warped Galaxies: Attack of the Necron – Cavan Scott

The Warhammer 40,000-set Warhammer Adventures series Warped Galaxies (for readers aged 8 and above) opens with Cavan Scott’s Attack of the Necron, a planet-hopping tale of action, danger and bravery in the face of an ancient alien menace. Zelia Lor and her mother, along with Lexmechanic Erasmus and young Martian tech-savant Mekki, travel the galaxy excavating ancient technology and unearthing pre-Imperial history. When their latest expedition is curtailed by a devastating alien invasion, Zelia finds herself torn from her familiar life and thrown into a perilous journey through the void of space with the relentless Necron threat looming ever-present.

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Hamilcar: Champion of the Gods – David Guymer

After appearing in various audio dramas and short stories, Hamilcar Bear-Eater – mightiest of Sigmar’s Stormcast Eternals (and modest, as ever) – gets his own novel in David Guymer’s Hamilcar: Champion of the Gods. Taking place in the Realm of Ghur, this sees the Astral Templars’ Lord Castellant boldly set out to drive the forces of Chaos from the region surrounding the ancient fortress known as the Seven Words. He soon realises that the real threat is actually from the skaven, and is forced to pit his strength – and his wits – against Ikrit, a worryingly powerful warlock engineer with designs on Sigmar’s secrets.

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Realm Quest: City of Lifestone – Tom Huddleston

Tom Huddleston’s Age of Sigmar series Realm Quest – part of the Warhammer Adventures range of stories for younger readers – kicks off with City of Lifestone, which introduces us to 14 year-old Kiri. After escaping from a life of slavery Kiri sets off alone in search of the city of her birth – Lifestone – where she hopes to find a new start. Things don’t quite work out how she hoped, and she’s soon being hunted by skaven and begrudgingly caught up with a strange group of children and their mentor, who tells her of a mysterious purpose for which she’s been chosen.

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Corax: Lord of Shadows – Guy Haley

For Guy Haley’s second novel in the Horus Heresy Primarchs series, he’s tackled the conflict at the heart of the Raven Guard primarch in Corax: Lord of Shadows. The 27th Expedition has stalled attempting to bring the Carinae Sodality – a civilisation spanning a thousand artificial moons – to compliance. While the Expedition’s commander requested assistance from the Night Lords, Corax answers instead and is determined to succeed without resorting to Curze’s tactics. The Sodality’s stubborn resistance forces Corax into escalating levels of violence, while back on Kiavahr conflict is brewing as resentment towards the Guilders spills over into bloodshed.

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