Tag Archives: Graham McNeill

Sons of the Selenar – Graham McNeill

While Black Library’s Siege of Terra series is closing off the Horus Heresy with eight novels covering the major story beats, Graham McNeill’s Sons of the Selenar marks the first in an additional set of novellas which tackle slightly smaller subjects within the context of the Siege. In this case, the story of Sharrowkin, Wayland and the Sisypheum continues as, returning to the Sol System, loyalties within the crew begin to fracture. Drawn to embattled Luna, the few remaining Shattered Legionaries must put division aside and act as one if they’re to ensure vital secrets remain out of the traitors’ hands.

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The Horus Heresy: Preparing for Sons of the Selenar

I don’t know about you, but after nearly 15 years and goodness knows how many stories, I’m increasingly finding it tricky to keep track of characters and story arcs in Black Library’s Horus Heresy series. Not so much the main series beats, but the smaller arcs and threads that run throughout the Heresy – there are just so many of them, and in some cases it’s been years since I last read these stories. Now that the Siege of Terra sub-series (or whatever you want to call it) is here, it feels more important than ever to have a good handle on who’s who; I want to get as much enjoyment out of these final few books as possible!

Having just got my hands on a copy of Graham McNeill’s Siege of Terra novella Sons of the Selenar, I realised that I really couldn’t remember much about the characters I was going to be reading about. I could have jumped straight in and I’m sure I would have got the gist, but as this was likely going to be the final mission for the crew of the Sisypheum, I wanted the book to have the greatest possible impact! With that in mind, I dug back through my copies of previous Heresy books and revisited each of the key stories which lead up to Sons of the Selenar. Having done so, I thought I would put together a quick article pointing out what those stories are and where to find them, in case it’s useful to anyone else.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Death of Uriel Ventris – Graham McNeill

Graham McNeill’s provocatively-titled short story The Death of Uriel Ventris, available in Warriors and Warlords or the Black Library Events Anthology 2018/19, revisits a much-loved Black Library hero in a thoughtful, action-light story of consequences and change. As Uriel Ventris lies dying, the Captain of the Ultramarines 4th Company finds his mind disassociating, and he relives – in a way – the pain and suffering that forged him into the Space Marine he would eventually become. Unaware of what’s happening to his physical body, he’s tested in spirit by not just physical and emotional pain but also the manifestation of his greatest fears.

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RAPID FIRE: Graham McNeill Talks Sons of the Selenar

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 legendary Black Library author Graham McNeill about his new Horus Heresy novella Sons of the Selenar, which is the first novella in the Siege of Terra series that’s concluding the Heresy as a whole. The Limited Edition hardback of this novella has been released and subsequently sold out, but whether you grabbed a copy of that or you’ve been waiting for the standard release, read on to find out more about what you can expect from the latest exploits of the Shattered Legions.

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QUICK REVIEW: Morningstar – Graham McNeill

A companion piece to Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero, Graham McNeill’s 24-minute Horus Heresy audio drama Morningstar is set just before the Siege of Terra, with Magnus and Ahriman venturing into what remains of Tizca. As father and son explore the ruins of the City of Light, Ahriman questions their purpose in returning to the site of such pain, but Magnus – now largely restored – once more plays the role of teacher, and reveals an unexpected secret to his favoured son. The truth of Morningstar offers power to be wielded, but at a great cost to both Magnus and Ahriman.

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QUICK REVIEW: Old Wounds, New Scars – Graham McNeill

Following on from Vengeful Spirit and Wolf Mother, Graham McNeill’s Horus Heresy short story Old Wounds, New Scars follows Alivia Sureka, the Perpetual, as she reluctantly returns to Terra. Over the course of a long and dangerous journey through the warp on a battered warship along with her adopted family and countless thousands of refugees from Molech, Alivia has worked hard to ensure as many people survived as possible. As their destination draws closer, and the whispers of the warp grow louder, Alivia recalls moments and people from her long life, and looks ahead in concern to the dangers approaching on Terra.

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RAPID FIRE: Graham McNeill Talks The Legend of Sigmar

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases – or in this case, with The Legend of Sigmar, a slightly older release from the Warhammer Chronicles series. 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 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 Graham McNeill about his legendary Warhammer series, The Legend of Sigmar, which is available as a single-volume omnibus in the Warhammer Chronicles series. In fact, this was the first of these old-school Warhammer series to get the new omnibus treatments! It’s available to order right now, and is a great place to start if you want to dig into the stories of the World that Was.

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Mechanicum – Graham McNeill

Graham McNeill’s Horus Heresy novel Mechanicum is book nine in the series, and McNeill’s third contribution, but it’s a book of firsts as well – the first proper look at Mars and the Mechanicum (ever, really, but certainly in the Heresy series), the first depiction of Imperial Knights in Black Library fiction, and the first female-led Heresy novel. Young scribe Dalia Cythera is whisked off to Mars by Adept Koriel Zeth, who puts her innate understanding of technology to use working on a ground-breaking project. Meanwhile tensions are mounting between rival factions on Mars, even bringing the Titan Legions into conflict.

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Storm of Iron – Graham McNeill

2002’s classic Iron Warriors novel Storm of Iron was Graham McNeill’s second Black Library novel, and introduced us to Honsou, a villain who would go on to feature heavily in future books. On the barren world of Hydra Cordatus, the 383rd Jouran Dragoons man the defences of an Adeptus Mechanicus fortress. Nobody seems quite sure exactly what they’re defending, but a massive invasion force of Iron Warriors suggests it’s something important. The Imperial defenders believe themselves safe behind formidable fortress walls, but the Iron Warriors bring 10,000 years of guile and brutality as well as their mastery of siegecraft.

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Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Thirteen – Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill

Issue thirteen of the Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection takes us back to 2002 for Graham McNeill’s much-loved Iron Warriors novel Storm of Iron. One of Graham’s earliest Black Library novels – alongside Nightbringer, which was also released in 2002 – this tells the story of the Iron Warriors’ invasion of Hydra Cordatus, and introduces a certain Iron Warrior named Honsou who went on to have a rather important career and feature heavily in a number of his other novels. It’s still widely considered a genuine classic Black Library novel, over fifteen years after publication; at the time of writing this article it rates at an impressive 4.12 on Goodreads.

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