QUICK REVIEW: Expectatio – Matt Keefe

Twelve years after his novel Outlander, Matt Keefe returns to the underhive with a Necromunda audio drama – Expectatio. The bounty hunter Arturos is ready to claim a bounty, but it turns out Guilder Meriko doesn’t have the credits to settle up…so he takes his payment in the form of a Spiraptor – a rare piece of technology in the form of a mechanical bird. After learning a little of its secrets, Arturos hatches a plan to put his newfound acquisition to good use and claim a different prize, one which comes with considerable risk but which promises rich rewards.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Palace of Memory – David Guymer

In a welcome return to the audio format for Hamilcar Bear-Eater, David Guymer’s The Palace of Memory sees the Lord Castellant of the Astral Templars venturing into Shadespire in search of secrets for Sigmar. Lost within the labyrinth of shadeglass, Hamilcar finds himself in the titular palace and confronted with ghosts of his past, facing obstacles even the mighty Bear-Eater can’t defeat with brute strength. Reliving moments of his life both before and after his reforging, Hamilcar is forced to consider that his faith in Sigmar might not be quite what he claims it to be.

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Blackstone Fortress – Darius Hinks

Darius Hinks’ Blackstone Fortress was released at the same time as the game of the same name, although it’s not so much a novelisation of the game but a standalone tale simply featuring the same setting and characters. As befits a Warhammer Quest game this is a warped, 40k-style dungeon-crawler adventure centred on Janus Draik, the disgraced scion of a noble Terran house. Determined to honour his family name, Draik gathers a motley selection of companions and ventures deep into the Blackstone, but rather than seeking out riches he plans to take control of the Fortress in the Imperium’s name.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Battle of Blackthunder Mesa – Phil Kelly

A sequel to Blades of Damocles and a companion piece to the various Farsight stories, Phil Kelly’s short story The Battle of Blackthunder Mesa tells a tale of the fundamental differences between the T’au and Imperial ways of war. On the embattled world of Dal’yth Prime, the T’au forces are being pushed back by endless numbers of Imperial tanks, but Commander Bravestorm is determined to strike a telling blow before withdrawing. With a new weapon at his disposal – the Onager Gauntlet – he has a tool to do just that, but its use seems to go against the T’au’s very ethos.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 10/12/18

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. It’s been another week dominated by the Advent Calendar, with the first of several short audio dramas as well as six short stories. There are a few other bits and pieces to talk about, but Advent is the main focus, so let’s get cracking with that straight away.

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RAPID FIRE: William King Talks The Tyrion and Teclis Omnibus

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.

For this instalment I spoke to legendary Black Library author William King about the latest Warhammer Chronicles release, The Tyrion and Teclis Omnibus – which collects together his classic novels Blood of Aenarion, Sword of Caledor and Bane of Malekith. Read on to delve back into the earlier days of the High Elves in the Warhammer Old World, and then don’t forget to go out and grab your copy of the book, as it’s available to order right now.

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QUICK REVIEW: One, Untended – David Guymer

A sequel of sorts to the epic audio drama Realmslayer, David Guymer’s short story One, Untended sees dwarf-out-of-time Gotrek Gurnisson embark on a perilous quest into the tunnels under Hammerhal Ghyra in search of a lost child. Despite being somewhat worse for wear after a heavy night, when Gotrek hears of a fearsome spirit said to haunt the catacombs he immediately joins the search alongside a party of humans, dragging Maleneth along for the ride. The aelf is none too keen to be accompanying Gotrek, but down amongst the darkness she sees an opportunity waiting to be grasped.

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QUICK REVIEW: Motherlode – Nick Kyme

Nick Kyme’s Motherlode is a cheeky, irreverent little Blackstone Fortress short story featuring the ratling brothers Rein and Raus, ex-Militarum auxiliaries who survive by virtue of nimble fingers, sharp wits and brotherly teamwork. After ditching their last client and returning to Precipice with valuables to sell, the brothers’ celebratory mood doesn’t last very long. When an attempt to offload their prize goes awry, it soon becomes clear that enemies from their shady past are returning to haunt them, and their survival instincts are going to be sorely tested if they’re to find a way out of this particular pickle.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Last Council – LJ Goulding

Occupying an interesting point in the Horus Heresy timeline somewhere between The Binary Succession and The Solar War, LJ Goulding’s short story The Last Council tackles the final session of the Council of Terra before it’s disbanded in anticipation of the Siege. As High Lords posture and bicker over costs, priorities and jurisdictions, Malcador finds himself dwelling on the purpose of the Council and his role as Regent. While the debate continues, the Sigillite looks to both the past and future, his mind occupied by Horus of course, and also by buried secrets and unpalatable truths.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Deserter – Justin D Hill

Justin D. Hill’s 27-minute audio drama The Deserter holds the honour of being the first ever Necromunda audio drama from Black Library, and delivers a character-driven story that cuts to the heart of life in the underhive. Corenne and her mother have been driven out of their home and forced to scrape a living in Dust Falls, scrabbling in the dust and hawking what few possessions they still have. Starving and desperate, Corenne turns to a strange, barely-lucid ex-soldier in the hope that he can help her reclaim her home, but the Deserter seems bound to let her down.

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