War of Secrets – Phil Kelly

The third instalment of the Space Marine Conquests series, War of Secrets sees Phil Kelly explore the integration of Primaris Marines into the ever-secretive, antagonistic Dark Angels Chapter. In battle against the t’au on the industrial world of Saltire Vex, Lieutenant Xedro Farren and his Primaris brothers find the Dark Angels under Interrogator-Chaplain Zaeroph to be less than welcoming. It’s not long before Farren sees hints of an ulterior mission and another shadowy enemy, whom Zaeroph will do anything to catch. Meanwhile within the ranks of the t’au a separate conflict is brewing, and loyalties on both sides are questioned.

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Soul Wars – Josh Reynolds

Josh Reynolds’ seventh (!) Age of Sigmar novel, Soul Wars sees the Mortal Realms take a darker turn, as the dead begin to rise in horrifying numbers all across the Realms. In the Realm of Shyish, the Free City of Glymmsforge is under the protection of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer, but as Nagash grows bolder Sigmar reinforces the city with warriors from the secretive Sacrosanct Chambers. For Lord Arcanum Balthus Arum, the deployment to Shyish is an opportunity to atone for a mistake, but even his prodigious powers are tested by the Nighthaunt hordes flocking to Glymmsforge.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 02/07/18

Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. After a couple of relatively quiet weeks, this time around it’s been all go with cool new releases, some intriguing news and another month’s worth of newly-announced titles. Let’s get straight into it…

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RAPID FIRE: Darius Hinks Talks Mephiston: Revenant Crusade

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 Darius Hinks about his latest 40k novel Mephiston: Revenant Crusade, his second to feature the Blood Angels Chief Librarian. It’s available to order right now!

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Callis & Toll: The Silver Shard – Nick Horth

An Age of Sigmar story set in the Realm of Ghur, Nick Horth’s novel Callis & Toll: The Silver Shard is a direct sequel to the short but very enjoyable City of Secrets, and explores Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll’s single-minded pursuit of ex-High Arbiter Ortam Vermyre. Leaving Excelsis behind, Toll and ex-Freeguild soldier Armand Callis pursue their enemy across the land, sea and air as Vermyre seeks out a long-lost artefact with the power to inflict untold damage on the Mortal Realms. It’s a journey that forces them to call upon all their skill and determination, and allies, just to survive.

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QUICK REVIEW: From the Deep – Jaine Fenn

A Black Library debut from Jaine Fenn, From the Deep is an Age of Sigmar short story set during the War of Life in the Realm of Ghyran. While the events of CL Werner’s Wardens of the Everqueen are taking place, in the shallows of the Sea of Serpents Kelara, Guardian of the Kelp Forests, marshals her Naereids in a determined defence against sorcerous underwater Rotbringers. As Nurgle’s influence extends into the sea, Kelara and her folk must choose whether to remain hidden from sight, or get involved in the wider war taking place in Ghyran.

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Monthly Highlights – June 2018

It’s July already, which means we’re halfway through the year – and also means it’s time for another roundup of the best books and short stories that I read over the course of June. As with previous months it was a difficult decision narrowing things down to just a handful of stories to talk about out of the fourteen reviews I posted across the month. In fact, it was so tough that rather than picking one highlight with a couple of notable mentions, this month I’m going to pick out three equal highlights and talk a little about each of them.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 25/06/18

Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. This week has been another fairly quiet one, so once again it’s not going to be a particularly long post. As always, however, there’s still enough to talk about – so let’s get cracking…

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RAPID FIRE: Oldhammer – Nathan Long Talks Ulrika the Vampire

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 Nathan Long about his old school Warhammer series, Ulrika the Vampire: The Omnibus, which is getting a long-awaited rerelease under the Warhammer Chronicles series. It’s available to order right now, for anyone who’s keen to spend some time in the Old World.

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QUICK REVIEW: Exhumed – Steve Parker

The second of Steve Parker’s Deathwatch short stories following the exploits of Talon Squad, Exhumed sees Karras and his adopted brothers – accompanied by the Dreadnought Chyron – sent to an abandoned Exodite world where the Adeptus Mechanicus are on the brink of unearthing something ancient from deep beneath the surface. Inevitably that turns out to be something horrifyingly dangerous, and Talon Squad are called upon to protect the interests of their mysterious inquisitorial handler, Sigma. Quickly embroiled in a battle it seems impossible for them to win, Karras fears this might be the day he finally loses one of his squad.

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