Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of quick author interviews, in which I’m chatting to Robert Rath about his debut novel for Black Library, The Infinite and the Divine. This exciting new Warhammer 40,000 title is the first full novel to feature the ancient technological menace of the necrons as its protagonists, and promises to be something a little different to the usual Black Library fare. It’s available to pre-order as of Saturday the 3rd October.
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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 ever-prolific Black Library author Guy Haley about his new Warhammer Crime novel, Flesh and Steel, which is available to pre-order as of the 26th September. If you’re interested in a bit of ‘domestic 40k’, with a look at one of the most interesting factions in the setting, this looks like being the next book to check out!
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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.
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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.
For this interview I spoke to the prolific Mike Brooks about his new Warhammer 40,000 novel Brutal Kunnin’ – the first ever Black Library novel to be written from an ork’s perspective! It’s available to pre-order as of Saturday 12th September, so if you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like inside an ork’s head while he’s getting stuck into a good fight…now’s the time to find out!
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Alec Worley kicks off the audio side of Black Library’s Warhammer Crime imprint with Dredge Runners, an hour-long audio drama which introduces the pairing of ratling Baggit and ogryn Clodde in a brilliant tale of dirty dealings, rampant corruption and abhuman prejudice. Facing the ire of vicious crime lord Tabidiah Kruger after a deal gone awry, Baggit and Clodde find themselves tasked with digging up dirt on the (supposedly) squeaky-clean sanctioner Savriel Sabbriatti. Putting their unusual combination of skills to good use, the pair uncover secrets that might see them richly rewarded if only they can find a way out from between two such dangerous enemies, and overlook a few moral objections while they’re at it.
Keep reading…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
Released as part of Black Library’s 2019 Novella Series 2, Graham McNeill’s Warhammer Horror novella The Colonel’s Monograph is a quiet, creepingly sinister portrayal of the slow road to corruption. Grieving in the wake of her husband’s death, retired archivist Teresina Sullo takes on a private commission to catalogue the library of a celebrated war hero, the late Colonel Elena Grayloc. As her work progresses Sullo fixates on finding one particular book, which she hopes might shed light on the mysterious circumstances of the colonel’s return to Grayloc Manor and subsequent death. The deeper she digs, however, the more it becomes clear that something sinister lurks behind the colonel’s heroic facade, and that Sullo’s obsession with finding answers is leading her down a dark path from which she might not return.
The first Black Library novel published under the Warhammer Crime label, Chris Wraight’s Bloodlines is a tale of corruption, brutality and rampant inequality which takes a close look at the gritty realities of life for everyday Imperial citizens. In the vast, continent-sized hive city of Varangantua, Probator Agusto Zidarov is tasked with investigating the apparent disappearance of a spoiled scion of one of the city’s most powerful families. Despite his initial misgivings, it gradually becomes clear that something vile and deeply dangerous is going on in Varangantua. In order to get to the bottom of it Zidarov must navigate vicious cartels, the over-privileged ruling elite, and the corrupt systems of law and bureaucracy in which he himself works.
Welcome to this instalment of my Author Spotlight series of interviews, which aim to give an overview of each author’s background and approach to writing, and a slightly more detailed look at one of their new releases in particular. In this instalment I spoke to Marc Collins about his background, influences and route to writing for Black Library, his new story Cold Cases – included in the upcoming anthology No Good Men (which goes up for pre-order this weekend) – and his thoughts on the Warhammer Crime imprint as a whole.
Without further ado, let’s get straight into the interview.
Featuring the legendary outlaw D’onne Ulanti – or ‘Mad’ Donna – Will McDermott’s Necromunda short story Underhive Apex is a chainsword-fuelled shot of frantic, explosive underhive action. On the hunt for a uniquely useful mutant known as Lumpy Nox, D’onne and her pet ogryn Dog have tracked their quarry to a Cawdor-owned manufactorum, only for an entire Goliath gang to arrive and steal him away from under their noses. Not to be denied, D’onne adjusts on the fly and happily throws herself into the fray despite being outnumbered, outmuscled and outgunned, confident that she’ll figure something out and walk away the victor.