Track of Words

Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Three – Warriors of Ultramar by Graham McNeill

The Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection from Hachette continues with Issue Three, featuring Warriors of Ultramar by Graham McNeill. First published way back in 2003, it sees Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines 4th Company leading his men in defence of Tarsis Ultra against the numberless monstrosities of Hive Fleet Leviathan. While not quite such a classic as Issue Two’s Xenos, it’s a popular title from a much-loved series, although there’s one oddity immediately obvious about choosing this for Issue Three…
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QUICK REVIEW: The Fissure – Nik Vincent

Another anthology tale given the e-short treatment, Nik Vincent’s The Fissure was previously only available in the Sabbat Crusade anthology. While set in the Dan Abnett-created/curated Sabbat Worlds this is an Iron Snakes story as opposed to the usual Gaunt’s Ghosts fare, and sees a squad of three Marines sent to Formal Prime when something evil is unearthed in the foundations of a new hive. Told in an unusual structure interspersing action scenes with Ithacan funeral rites, the story gradually unfolds as the full horror of what lurks beneath the hive is revealed and the Iron Snakes’ heroism is aptly displayed.
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Black Library Weekly – W/C 17/10/16

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, where I take a look at the Black Library-related news from the preceding week – announcements, pre-orders and new releases.

After a couple of bumper weeks for Black Library news and releases, things have slowed down a bit with the focus being more on a new boxed game from Games Workshop than anything else. Read on for more details…
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Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Two – Xenos by Dan Abnett

Issue 2 of Hachette’s Warhammer 40,000 Legends partwork series features a stone-cold 40k classic in the shape of Xenos by Dan Abnett. Originally published way back in 2001 and intended to tie in with Games Workshop’s latest game Inquisitor, it subsequently spawned two more books to complete the Eisenhorn trilogy, several short stories and audio dramas, a further trilogy featuring Eisenhorn’s protégé Ravenor, one book of a potential further trilogy (Pariah, which may or may not end up with two more novels to form a third trilogy), and computer game. Suffice to say it’s been quite popular.
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The Dumas Club – Arturo Perez-Reverte

First published in English in 1996, translated from the Spanish by Sonia Soto, The Dumas Club is Arturo Perez-Reverte’s third novel. Though narrated by Boris Balkan, Madrilenian editor, writer and Alexandre Dumas obsessive, its protagonist is one Lucas Corso, a ‘mercenary of the book world’ who approaches Balkan to verify the authenticity of a supposed Dumas manuscript. Finding himself subsequently dispatched by a different client to seek out a rare book on demonology he’s soon caught up in a bizarre trail of events bearing striking similarities to the story of Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, much to Corso’s scorn.

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QUICK REVIEW: In Service Eternal – Matt Smith

A new short story from a new Black Library author, Matt Smith’s In Service Eternal sees Wing Commander Arden Graves and the pilots of the 41st Antropia Aerial Division in action in the murky skies of the gas giant Antropia. Veterans pulled back from the front lines, the 41st act as both test pilots and air cover for Antropia’s Adeptus Mechanicus cohorts. Responding to reports of missing mining servitors in the depths of the planet’s rocky core, Graves leads his Valkyries in a reconnaissance flight which rapidly escalates into a much deadlier mission.
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Black Library Weekly – W/C 10/10/16

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, where I take a look at the Black Library-related news from the preceding week – announcements, pre-orders and new releases.

After a week where new titles by the truckload showed up on the Black Library website it seemed like a good bet that the new releases and announcements would slow down again. As last week went on however, that wasn’t the case – there was nothing quite as explosive as the Coming Soon section showing up, but still plenty to talk about…
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QUICK REVIEW: Ork Hunter – Dan Abnett

An old short story first published in the Black Library anthology Words of Blood, Dan Abnett’s Ork Hunter follows Corporal Ondy Scalber of the Jopall Indentured as he and his fellow guardsmen blunder through the Armageddon swamps under the ‘guidance’ of the wild Sergeant Keyser and his Ork Hunters. As feral as the orks they hunt, indifferent to the fates of the ‘skinbait’ Jopall, Keyser and his men are ruthless killers compared to whom the Jopall are careless children. To survive, Scalber will have to adapt to his environment, the enemy he hunts, and the company he keeps.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 03/10/16

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, where I take a look at the Black Library-related news from the preceding week – announcements, pre-orders and new releases.

After a few pretty quiet weeks we were due something explosive, and that’s exactly what we got last week. If you remember the good old days when Black Library used to put books up for pre-order well in advance, and talk about what’s coming up…you’ll be happy now!
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Black Library Audio App

There’s been a variety of Games Workshop apps available for the last year or two, from the general Warhammer: The App which collects together news and blog posts from across the hobby, to some game-specific companion apps. Not wanting to be left out, Black Library have now got involved with the snappily titled Black Library Audio App, available on iOS and Android.

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