Tag Archives: Horus Heresy

The Seventh Serpent – Graham McNeill

The Horus Heresy series grinds ever onwards with the release of the eleventh (!) limited-edition novella, The Seventh Serpent, the first such novella from Graham McNeill. Black Library kept this one nice and quiet and sprung it as a surprise for those attending the Black Library Weekender III event (2014), prior to its general release. The typically brilliant Neil Roberts cover art appears to show Alpha Legion fighting each other, with a handful of Iron Hands thrown in for good measure, though as ever with the XXth Legion things are possibly not quite what they seem. Underneath the dust jacket the book’s cover shows an Iron Hands legion symbol, cracked and shattered, while the back cover sees a scrawled message of ‘For the Emperor’.

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Daemonology – Chris Wraight

Of all the Traitor Legions the Death Guard have had by far the least coverage in Black Library’s Horus Heresy series so far, barring the loyalist Nathaniel Garro. With only the odd exception they have largely been observers or at best incidental players, Mortarion’s duel with The Khan in Scars being perhaps their most exciting scene yet. Whether as an intentional part of the wider Heresy plan or simply by happenstance, we simply haven’t had much of an insight as yet into Mortarion and his legion, either during or prior to the Heresy, though long-term fans of Warhammer 40k will know his eventual fate. On the basis of Daemonology, a new short story from the pen of Chris Wraight, that could be changing pretty soon.

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Death and Defiance – Black Library Anthology

As Black Library’s Horus Heresy series rolls inexorably onwards, reaching thirty novels with the release this year of The Damnation of Pythos, the authors’ output seems matched only by the appetite of the fans for new stories. The latest release in the series is Death and Defiance, a collection of five short stories from Nick Kyme, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Guy Haley, Andy Smillie and James Swallow. It’s a novella-sized collection, of a similar length to Sedition’s Gate, but unlike that and The Imperial Truth, which were limited-edition event-only releases, this is in the same ‘Collector’s Edition’ hardback as the novels are now initially released in.

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Thief of Revelations – Graham McNeill (audio drama)

Released alongside Hunter’s Moon by Guy Haley, Thief of Revelations is Graham McNeill’s latest contribution to Black Library’s range of Horus Heresy audio dramas. Running to just under 40 minutes, it features the welcome return of Ahzek Ahriman, Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons, tragic hero (anti-hero?) and without a doubt one of Warhammer 40,000’s greatest characters. We see Ahriman post-the burning of Prospero, living on the Planet of Sorcerers and working on what will become the infamous Rubric of Ahriman.

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Hunter’s Moon – Guy Haley (audio drama)

Audio dramas (not audio books, there’s a difference) are a relatively late addition to the Black Library stable, but have nevertheless become an established format, especially within the Horus Heresy series where there are now more than 20 of varying lengths. Guy Haley’s second, Hunter’s Moon, is a 35-minute piece available either as a standalone MP3 download or in CD format accompanied by Thief of Revelations, by Graham McNeill. It concerns the Space Wolves of the Vlka Fenryka, specifically one particular squad who were sent to ‘watch over’ the Alpha Legion and their primarch Alpharius. Three guesses as to how well that went.

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The Purge – Anthony Reynolds

Hot on the heels of the 30^th Horus Heresy book’s official release comes the latest limited edition novella – The Purge, by Anthony Reynolds. It’s the author’s first Heresy book, following on from a couple of short stories and an audio drama, and is a welcome return to his beloved Word Bearers. Some will undoubtedly wish for a non-limited release, but once again Black Library have produced a beautiful object complete with blood-stained cover and silver page edges. Is it worth the asking price? Irrelevant really, as for collectors and completionists it’s another piece of the Heresy puzzle.

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Sedition’s Gate – Black Library Anthology

Released at the 2014 Horus Heresy Weekender as an event-exclusive anthology, Sedition’s Gate collects together short stories from five Black Library authors in a format to match the limited-edition Horus Heresy novellas. There is no overarching theme for these stories, so instead they each focus on a different snapshot of the Heresy, some focusing on familiar characters and others on brand new characters and story lines.

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Ravenlord – Gav Thorpe

As the seventh limited edition novella in the Horus Heresy range, the release of Gav Thorpe’s Ravenlord will no doubt prove a ripe topic for conversation among Black Library fans regarding cost versus value. Irrespective of price however, the great thing about the Horus Heresy novellas is that they bridge the gap between short stories and full novels, allowing authors to go into more detail on specific characters or engagements than they would be able to otherwise. With Ravenlord we get a second novella featuring Corvus Corax (after Corax : Soulforge), this time focusing on the Raven Guard’s assault on the prison planet of Carandiru.

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The Damnation of Pythos – David Annandale

The clue is in the title really – ‘Damnation of Pythos’. Not salvation, damnation. Given David Annandale’s love of horror films and monsters it should come as no surprise to find that his first novel in the Horus Heresy series is somewhat on the bleak side. For the 30^th novel in this every-growing series we find ourselves back with the Iron Hands in the aftermath of Isstvan V and the Dropsite Massacre, with the loss of Ferrus Manus still fresh and raw in their minds.

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Vengeful Spirit – Graham McNeill

From humble beginnings in 2006 Black Library’s Horus Heresy series has grown and grown, and we now have the 29^th book in the series in the form of Graham McNeill’s epic novel Vengeful Spirit. Epic in both scale and physical size, over 500+ pages we get titans, Imperial Knights, five (yes, five!) primarchs, Malcador’s Knights Errant and the return to the printed page of a fan favourite from the original trilogy. Speaking of the original trilogy, Vengeful Spirit is the first novel since those heady days where we see Horus as a main protagonist – after 20-odd books of lurking in the shadows he has finally come out into the spotlight once again. And boy, has he come out swinging!

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