Every once in a while a whole bunch of information about upcoming Black Library books shows up online, sometimes just titles, other times along with synopses and covers. Quite a lot has showed up recently, so I thought it might be good to pull together everything I can find about these books. Of what I’ve included below, some have been kicking around online for a while so you might be familiar with those, but others have only just showed up.
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 it.
In this instalment I asked David Annandale about his new Horus Heresy novel Ruinstorm – book 46 in the series! It’s available to order now, so let’s get straight on with the interview.
For the fifth instalment of the ongoing Horus Heresy-set The Primarchs series, Gav Thorpe takes a look at the primarch of the Word Bearers in Lorgar: Bearer of the Word. When disgraced preacher Kor Phaeron finds a strange infant – clearly touched by the gods – in the company of a band of ragged nomads travelling the arid lands of Colchis, he instantly recognises the potential for his own gain represented by Lorgar. We watch as he exerts his influence upon the impressionable Lorgar, and how their relationship develops as Lorgar himself changes.
Available as a standalone e-short or within the Sedition’s Gate and War Without End anthologies, Guy Haley’s The Laurel of Defiance sees Ultramarines Captain Lucretius Corvo honoured by Guilliman for his role in the defence of Ultramar. As he mingles with the great and good of the realm, uncomfortable with the esteem in which he’s held and the message behind his recognition, he recalls the events which led there. Events, on the world of Astagar, which saw him lead his men against the forces of the Word Bearers and World Eaters, and their horrific allies.
Josh Reynolds’ first contribution to the Horus Heresy series, Blackshields: The False War is a 72-minute audio drama featuring ex-World Eater Endryd Haar…and lots of arguing. On the prison Forge of Xana-Tisiphone, Archmagos Gilim Raijan waits to make a trade with Horus’ emissary, even as a loyalist fleet battles against the system’s defences in orbit. Meanwhile Haar and his warband of Blackshields, having cast off their legion loyalties and offering fealty to neither Horus or the Emperor, seek only to survive and to find their own path through the war.
Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their 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 it.
In this instalment I asked Gav Thorpe about his new Primarchs novel Lorgar: Bearer of the Word, which was first released a few months ago in limited edition format, and is now available to order in standard edition. Without further ado, over to Gav.
Day Seven of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign
Chris Wraight’s White Scars stories are rightly acknowledged as some of the best in the Horus Heresy, but if you thought that arc was over after The Path of Heaven, the short story Restorer is a reminder that their story isn’t finished. Entirely spoilerific if you’re not up to speed with events – be warned – it sees Shiban Khan back on Terra, attempting to recover both physically and psychologically from the various traumas he’s suffered since Prospero. Taking in the corridors of the Imperial Palace and the wilds of pre-Siege Terra, it’s a story of reflection and atmosphere as much as action.
Day One of 2017’s Black Library Summer of Reading campaign
Unexpectedly branded as a Horus Heresy Primarchs series short story (the first one ever!), Grandfather’s Gift by Guy Haley is an entertaining and surprisingly light tale of Mortarion, primarch of the Death Guard. After waking within the Garden of Nurgle with no memory of how he got there, Mortarion sets off along its paths to discover – or maybe rediscover – how he came to be there, while marvelling at the wonders he sees along the way. To avoid giving anything away let’s just say he’s not alone in the Garden, and during his time there we gain an insight into his place within Nurgle’s ranks.
Guy Haley’s first contribution to Black Library’s The Horus Heresy Primarchs series is Perturabo: The Hammer of Olympia, appropriately the fourth book in the series for the IVth Legion. For the first time in the series we get an origin story, with the narrative split between Perturabo’s early years on Olympia and the ongoing difficulties his sons face during a campaign against the time-manipulating hrud. With the additional viewpoints of Warsmith Dantioch and Fortreidon, a newly-inducted legionary, it’s a layered depiction of Perturabo, the events which moulded his character and that of his legion, and their inevitable fate.
Having tackled the character of Horus in a short Horus Heresy audio drama before – the appropriately named Warmaster – John French takes a longer, darker look in Dark Compliance. A simple but effective portmanteau, it sees the ruler of one planetary system – defiant in the face of Horus’ demands – regaled with the horrifying tale of another system’s demise…over a single day. A statement of Horus’ intent as much as his military power, the story of Accazzar-Beta’s destruction, as told by Sons of Horus emissary Argonis, demonstrates the fate awaiting those who defy the Warmaster. As threats go, it’s pretty compelling.