Tag Archives: Warhammer 40k

RAPID FIRE: Graham McNeill Talks The Swords of Calth

Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of author interviews, where today I’m talking to veteran Black Library author Graham McNeill about his new novel The Swords of Calth, the long-awaited return of Uriel Ventris to 40k. Whether you’re a long-term fan of the series or this is your first introduction, read on to find out more about Uriel Ventris, who this character is within 40k, and how he fits into the changing universe! I also asked Graham for a series reading order, so anyone who wants to check out the whole thing can do so in chronological order.

It’s been over a decade since the previous book in this series was released, so it’s great to see such an iconic character return – The Swords of Calth goes up for pre-order on the 20th February, in Special Edition hardback, standard hardback, ebook and audiobook formats.

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A Guide to John French’s Ahriman Series

Regular readers of Track of Words will probably know how much of a fan I am of John French’s Warhammer 40,000 series of Ahriman stories. I remember reading Ahriman: Exile back in 2012 and just being blown away by the atmosphere, the storytelling and the depth of this intriguing character, and as the trilogy progressed it developed into one of my all-time favourite Black Library series. It might not be for everyone, but I just love the narrative complexity and the detail of these characters! There’s more to this series than just a trio of novels (and counting) though, and one of its strengths is the way the books are complemented by a host of additional short stories. The only problem is, it’s not necessarily easy to know where to start – so that’s where this article comes in!

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RAPID FIRE: David Annandale Talks The Deacon of Wounds

Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of author interviews – today I’m chatting to David Annandale about his new Warhammer Horror novel The Deacon of Wounds, his second book in Black Library’s growing range of Warhammer 40,000-set horror stories. If you’re keen to know more about this novel, and how a plague story came to be released in the midst of a global pandemic, read on to find out! The Deacon of Wounds will be be available to pre-order from Black Library on the 30th January, in both hardback and ebook formats (no word as yet on whether there will be an audiobook or not).

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A Few Thoughts On: Servants of the Imperium

Black Library’s Warhammer 40,000 anthology Servants of the Imperium features a trio of novellas, all of which were first published as part of the ‘Black Library Novella Series 1’ back in 2018 – Auric Gods by Nick Kyme, Danie Ware’s The Bloodied Rose, and Steel Daemon by Ian St. Martin. As with its Age of Sigmar counterpart Champions of the Mortal Realms, this anthology has had a slightly strange release history, but it’s worth checking out for anyone interested in Imperium-focused stories a little different to the usual Space Marines fare. I’ll take a quick look at each novella and link out to my individual reviews, but before that I’ll talk a bit about the anthology as a whole and its unusual publication history.

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Black Library: ‘New 40k’ Reading List

After decades of remaining more or less static, these days the Warhammer 40,000 setting is evolving before our eyes, and many of the new and upcoming novels from Black Library are helping to shed light on these new developments in the lore. It’s not always clear how the various stories fit into the ongoing timeline, however, and Black Library as usual doesn’t seem inclined to provide anything in the way of an official reading order. I’ve put together this reading list to try to fit together where all of the recent books go in the ‘new 40k’ timeline – it’s entirely unofficial, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll have got everything right, but hopefully it will be a useful resource to anyone interested in keeping up with Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

NOTE: until such time as BL produces an official resource, I’ll do my best to keep this reading list up to date with new releases as and when they’re published. This version of the article was created in January 2021, but I’ve added books in here and there along the way – the last minor update was in August 2022.

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Avenging Son – Guy Haley

Guy Haley’s novel Avenging Son kicks off the nine-part Dawn of Fire series, which promises to explore in detail the events of the Indomitus Crusade – the driving force behind the ‘current’ Warhammer 40,000 timeline. This first instalment features the first great battle of the Era Indomitus, as Fleetmistress VanLeskus leads Fleet Tertius against the Khornate Crusade of Slaughter for control of the Machorta Sound, determined to stop the forces of Chaos from claiming territory that would allow them to threaten Terra itself. Before the returned Primarch Roboute Guilliman can dispatch VanLeskus and Fleet Tertius, however, he has to navigate his way through the byzantine politics of an Imperium still reeling from the opening of the Great Rift, a task which even a Primarch can’t manage alone.

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Rise of the Ynnari: Wild Rider – Gav Thorpe

Word is that 2019’s Wild Rider, Gav Thorpe’s second Rise of the Ynnari novel, is likely to be the final instalment in the series, which is a shame as it’s both an entertaining story in its own right and a fantastic exploration of the Ynnari and their role within Aeldari culture. After unintentionally awakening a Necron tomb complex on the maiden world of Agarimethea (see the events of short story Fireheart), Wild Lord Nuadhu Fireheart returns to Saim Hann to try and rouse his Craftworld into an alliance with the Ynnari of Yvraine. Nuadhu hopes to reclaim his honour by returning to Agarimethea in force to deal with the Necrons before they can fully awaken, but the council of Saim Hann are loath to commit their forces, wary of Yvraine’s motives.

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QUICK REVIEW: His Will – Guy Haley

Labelled as ‘a Dark Imperium prequel story’, Guy Haley’s short story His Will features Frater Mathieu aboard the captured Macragge’s Honour, tying this character – and the Dark Imperium series as a whole – in nicely with the earlier Gathering Storm-era narrative around the return of Roboute Guilliman. With the Ultramarines’ flagship under the control of the Red Corsairs, Mathieu and his flock – including young, nervous Brother Clydeus – share their faith in secret, despite the dangers. When they risk the ire of the traitors to help a crewmember in need, Clydeus finds himself exposed to truths that challenge his faith like never before, but somehow bring hope as well.

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QUICK REVIEW: Live Wire – Robert Rath

With his third 40k Officio Assassinorum short story, Live Wire, Robert Rath returns to Callidus Assassin Sycorax (previously introduced in Divine Sanction) for a second instalment of stealthy, polymorphine-induced infiltration. At the frozen pole of Sanga Kappa, one of the twenty planets of the Meloc Worlds, the heretek Programmator Quavarian works to perfect a potentially deadly meme-virus. When engine-master Jezette Vaal is captured and brought to Quavarian’s base to be infected by the virus and ‘reformatted’ to serve the glory of Chaos, an unexpected chance to serve the Omnissiah one last time provides the cover that Sycorax needs to finally track down and deal with the heretek before he can do any more damage.

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The Reverie – Peter Fehervari

Peter Fehervari’s fourth Black Library novel, and his first under the Warhammer Horror label, The Reverie is his most assured book yet, an understated masterclass in balancing complexity and readability. Three travellers make their way to shining Malpertuis, homeworld of the glorious Angels Resplendent, in search of answers, inspiration, judgement or clarity. Amongst the tiered galleries of the capital, Kanvolis, they begin to understand the truth of the world – that behind the veneer of enlightenment and artistic sophistication, an insidious darkness lurks within Malpertuis and the Chapter of Space Marines who call it home. Each of the three has a part to play as the boundaries between past, present and future blur and a shadow leaks from a wound at the heart of the world.

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