Sanction & Sin, the third short story anthology from Black Library’s Warhammer Crime range, collects together nine stories from a mixture of BL veterans and newer names (including debuts for J.S. Collyer and Jude Reid) exploring the trials and tribulations of some of the women living amidst the blood, the dirt, the crime and corruption on the grim streets of Varangantua. Whether trying to maintain the Lex, care for others’ bodies and souls, make a killing or just make a living, each of these characters is forced to confront the realities of life in this vast and unforgiving city, the inequality and the brutality, the squalid streets and the merciless conditions. While some thrive despite the odds, others aren’t so strong or so fortunate, and justice means little in Varangantua.
Continue readingTag Archives: Darius Hinks
RAPID FIRE: Darius Hinks Talks Gitslayer
Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of author interviews, where today I’m chatting to the excellent chap that is Darius Hinks about his new Black Library novel Gitslayer. Darius already has form writing about the irascible Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson in the Age of Sigmar, and this is his second Gotrek novel after 2019’s entertaining Ghoulslayer. It also bears what is surely one of the finest titles in all of the Black Library range! Gitslayer goes up for pre-order in hardback (via the Games Workshop website), ebook and MP3 audiobook (via the Black Library website and, presumably by then, Amazon) on Saturday 15th May, so if you’re keen to get your hands on Gotrek’s next adventure read on to find out more about it!
Continue readingA Few Thoughts On: Champions of the Mortal Realms
Black Library’s Age of Sigmar anthology Champions of the Mortal Realms collects together four novellas originally published in 2018 as part of the ‘Black Library Novella Series 1’ – Warqueen by Darius Hinks, Heart of Winter by Nick Horth, The Red Hours by Evan Dicken and The Bone Desert by Robbie MacNiven. All four novellas are excellent, and as an anthology this offers great value for a collection of stories covering a wide variety of characters, locations and themes from across the Mortal Realms. It’s had a slightly strange publication history, however (as has its 40k companion Servants of the Imperium), so I’ll talk a bit about that as well as taking a quick look at each story and linking out to my individual reviews.
Continue readingNo Good Men – Warhammer Crime Anthology
Taking its place in the first wave of Black Library’s Warhammer Crime releases (alongside Chris Wraight’s Bloodlines and Alec Worley’s Dredge Runners), short story anthology No Good Men explores some of the different ways in which Imperial justice is loosely interpreted on the mean streets of Varangantua. Eschewing the usual battlefields and familiar tabletop characters in favour of ordinary citizens simply trying to survive the brutal realities of Imperial life, these stories all explore Varangantua’s atmospheric, cyberpunk-esque stylings and the towering inequalities corroding the heart of the Imperium. As the title suggests, there are no heroics here – just regular people doing what it takes to get by, whether that falls within the remit of the law or not.
Continue readingRAPID FIRE: Darius Hinks Talks Blackstone Fortress: Ascension
Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with 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 Black Library author Darius Hinks about his new novel Blackstone Fortress: Ascension, the follow up to his excellent 2018 novel Blackstone Fortress. It’s available to pre-order in a variety of formats – including a swanky Special Edition hardback – and promises to be another tremendously entertaining 40k novel exploring the stranger, darker corners of the setting. If you haven’t already checked out Black Library’s range of Blackstone Fortress stories, now is as good a time to start as any! Continue reading
Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages (Part Two) with William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks
Welcome back to part two of Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages, in which I’m talking to the four Black Library authors most associated with the enduring character of Gotrek Gurnisson. The first part of this article (check it out here if you haven’t already read it) covered an introduction to Gotrek, an exploration of why he’s proved such an enduringly popular character, and a history of the Nounslayer series from William King’s earliest stories through to Nathan Long’s five novels. That took us up to 2010’s Zombieslayer, Long’s final instalment in the series.
In this second part we’re going to move the timeline on to look at David Guymer taking up the reins, followed by Darius Hinks joining the writing team, before taking a quick look at the future of the character and what we might be able to expect to see next. I’ve also asked the authors to talk a little about the challenges involved in writing such a well-loved character created by another writer entirely. Without further ado, let’s get straight onto the next step in the history of Warhammer’s favourite grumpy dwarf (don’t call him a Duardin)…
Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages (Part One) with William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks
First introduced over 30 years ago, Gotrek Gurnisson – depending on how you look at it either the best or worst dwarf Slayer of all time – has gone on to be one of the most successful and enduring Warhammer characters of all time, featuring in eighteen novels, four audio dramas, one novella and loads of short stories…so far. Three decades after his first appearance, 2019 was a bumper year for him, with a second massive four-hour audio drama (voiced by Brian Blessed, no less) and the first new Gotrek novel since 2015’s Slayer in the shape of Darius Hinks’ Ghoulslayer. Oh, and a new plastic miniature, too.
I thought it was about time I took a look at the grumpy Slayer’s long history, so I enlisted the help of the four Black Library authors most associated with him – William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks. Join me as I look back through the history of this most well-loved of Warhammer characters, drawing upon the memories and thoughts of these four fantastic writers. In this first part, we’re going to talk about who Gotrek is and why he’s so popular, and start to go through a brief history of his adventures – then once you’ve read this, there’s a link at the end for the second part in which we’ll continue the history, look ahead to the future, and talk about what it was like writing this most enduring character.
Anthemas – Warhammer Horror Anthology
Black Library’s third Warhammer Horror short story anthology, Anthemas follows in the footsteps of Maledictions and Invocations not just in terms of the naming convention and visual design, but by offering up a compelling collection of low-key tales highlighting the strange, sinister fringes of the 40k and Age of Sigmar universes. Across fourteen stories from thirteen authors, all but two of which are published here for the first time, it’s an exploration of characters driven by fear and desperation, ordinary people just trying to survive in the midst of terrible, horrifying worlds. These are stories to unsettle, that keep you wondering where they’re going and leave you feeling uncomfortable afterwards.
QUICK REVIEW: Illyrium – Darius Hinks
A quiet, low-key 27-minute Horus Heresy audio drama featuring Barnaby Edwards, Jonathan Keeble, Penelope Rawlins and Andrew Wincott, Darius Hinks’ Illyrium explores the character of Rouboute Guilliman through the memories of his chamberlain, Tarasha Euten. With the Macragge’s Honour under attack, Euten and Ultramarines Sergeant Ammon find themselves cut off and trapped as fires rage all around. While they wait for assistance to reach them, Euten tells Ammon the real story behind one of Guilliman’s early campaigns on Macragge, demonstrating how the reality of Guilliman’s genius differs from the official history books.
The Beast Inside – Darius Hinks
A follow up to his novel Blackstone Fortress, Darius Hinks’ audio drama The Beast Inside sees dashing, debonair Janus Draik return to the Blackstone to seek out the dreaded Ambull. Fearing that rival Rogue Trader Ava Victrix means to try and capture the beast and return it to Precipice – where it might run riot and cause untold chaos – Draik is determined to find it first and kill it. Accompanied by the kroot Dahyak Grekh and a group of retainers he sets off in search of the Ambull, but finds the fortress crawling with Chaos cultists and strange, lethal insect-like creatures.