The ‘Start Here With Black Library’ Novellas

Over the summer of 2018 Black Library released a series of six paperback novellas, all previously available in different formats and editions, under the label of Start Here With Black Library. These went somewhat under the radar, as they weren’t (and still aren’t) available via the Black Library or Games Workshop websites, instead being available to pick up in book shops, and on Amazon. They’re absolutely amazing value, however, at a mere £3 each, so obviously I picked up a copy of each of them for myself (I found them at Forbidden Planet in London), and I wanted to talk a little bit about them here.

I’ve previously written ‘Getting Started With…’ posts for both 40k and Age of Sigmar, in which I’ve put forward my opinions on good places to start reading about each setting, but it’s definitely worth taking a look at what Black Library are putting forward as their own recommendations. Here’s the list of books included in this range:

• Crusade by Andy Clark
• City of Secrets by Nick Horth
• Assault on Black Reach by Nick Kyme
• Hammerhal by Josh Reynolds
• Sin of Damnation by Gav Thorpe
• Wolf King by Chris Wraight

As you can see these books cover 40k, Age of Sigmar and the Horus Heresy, and range in publication date from 2008 (Assault on Black Reach) to 2017 (Crusade and Hammerhal). As I mentioned earlier they’re all novellas – even City of Secrets, which is still listed as a novel on the BL website – with page counts of between 130 and 140 pages, but at £3 each it’s pretty hard to argue with the price point! They’re certainly the cheapest ways of getting hold of each of the books, although not necessarily the most cost-effective depending on whether they’re also available in anthologies.

When I picked all six up a few weeks ago I hadn’t actually read all of these novellas, with Assault on Black Reach and Sin of Damnation both being notable gaps in my BL reading. I’ve since remedied that, and I’ve linked out to reviews of each book if you want to check those out. I’ve broken things out by setting, and taken a look at how – in my opinion – each of the novellas works as a place to start.

Warhammer 40,000
Three of the six novellas are 40k stories, which makes sense given that of the three settings here (unsurprisingly there are no old-school Warhammer stories) 40k has the greatest range of books to draw from.

Sin of Damnation
One of two books that I hadn’t previously read, this was originally released as Space Hulk: The Novel to tie in with the release of the boxed game of the same name, and features Blood Angels terminators taking the fight to the seemingly endless hordes of genestealers aboard the space hulk Sin of Damnation. It’s jam-packed with action and as tense as you’d expect from a space hulk story, and rattles along at a great pace. While it’s not the most characterful of stories, it’s not really supposed to be – so while I’m not convinced I’d suggest this as a way for new readers to really dig into the mindset of 40k-era characters, it probably would be a good illustration of the tone and type of action that 40k tends to feature.

There’s also the short story Sanguis Irae included here, which does provide more of the character side of things, albeit in a pretty small dose.

Assault on Black Reach
Another novella originally released as a tie-in with a boxed game – this time the starter set for 5th edition 40k – this one makes total sense to be included in the range as it was originally written as a starter story pitting Ultramarines against orks. I know not everyone is a fan of the Ultramarines, but it does actually make sense for new readers focus on them as they’re probably more universal and easier to immediately identify with than a lot of other Chapters. I was pleasantly surprised with how much character development went into this novella, and the way in which it made the Ultramarines relatable while also appearing powerful and (largely) aspirational. In Sicarius, as well, there’s a named character who provides a link for new readers to follow into other stories.

Crusade
Another Ultramarines story, and likewise a story that was written specifically to be an introduction for new readers – in this case to the current timeline of 40k, and to the Primaris Space Marines as they battle the Death Guard. Of the three novellas here this probably cleaves most tightly to the idea of really introducing the setting and the character archetypes, so for a brand new reader I’d say it’s a perfect choice. It’s probably the most straightforward of the three, but that’s really a strength in this context, and in Clark’s writing there’s always a great sense of adventure to be found. The only negative for me is that for £2 more you could pick up the Crusade + Other Stories anthology and get hold of a load of great short stories as well, which means this particular edition isn’t quite as good value (in relative terms) as the other novellas.

None of these three novellas offers the deepest of insights into the setting or the characters therein, but that’s not what they’re designed to do, nor what most new readers are going to be looking for. As such, I’d say they’re pretty well chosen. I can’t come up with too many alternative suggestions at the moment – David Annandale’s Yarrick novella Chains of Golgotha perhaps? Or maybe stretch to Fifteen Hours by Mitchel Scanlon for something just a little longer?

Beyond that you’re getting into full-length novel territory, at which point you start coming up with the usual suggestions like Dan Abnett’s Xenos, the Ciaphas Cain novels, or the Space Marine Battles series. For that, I’d suggest checking out my Getting Started With Black Library – Warhammer 40,000 article.

Age of Sigmar
Just the two novellas for Age of Sigmar, but that’s not surprising considering there’s only twenty or so books (so far) to choose from. What’s really interesting is that I picked out both of these novellas as part of my own suggestions, and likewise they both came up in the expert recommendations I sourced from elsewhere in the community.

Hammerhal
Much like Andy Clark’s 40k novella Crusade, this was specifically written to be an introduction to the Age of Sigmar setting, and it does a grand job of that. In fact, I was surprised at just how much was going on in this novella, with a nice little link to Josh’s Hallowed Knights stories that provides an introduction to the Stormcast Eternals, as well as a fun exploration of the city of Hammerhal and some of its residents. I very much enjoyed this, and it’s an absolute no-brainer as somewhere for new readers to pick up Age of Sigmar. Like Crusade, however, from a pure value perspective I’d suggest the Hammerhal & Other Stories anthology would actually be a better option, as the extra £2 gets you lots more content.

City of Secrets
When I wrote my article about where to start with Age of Sigmar, this is the book that came up the most – it was one of my recommendations, and was suggested by three of the four guests I asked to contribute. Despite its billing as a novel, it’s absolutely a novella, and I’d actually say it deliberately takes advantage of its short word count to tell a gripping, pacy story that largely avoids the shiny new Age of Sigmar toys in favour of exploring how the ‘ordinary’ mortal population live their everyday lives. Some new readers might want to go straight to the Stormcast Eternals, which to be fair are featured here – just in an unusual way – but for everyone else this gives a perfect introduction to the ground level of the setting.

Even more so than the 40k novellas in this collection, I’d say both of these do a great job of introducing both the overall tone and feel of the setting, and the characters who live, breathe, fight and die therein. I agree 100% with the inclusion of these novellas – you could maybe go with Chris Wraight’s The Gates of Azyr as well, as the first ever Age of Sigmar story, but these two are undoubtedly better introductions overall. As with the 40k stories, once you look beyond these you’re starting to look at novels (or short stories), at which point I’d suggest having a read of my article Getting Started With Black Library – Age of Sigmar.

Horus Heresy
The sixth and final novella is a Horus Heresy story, one of about 25 novellas (or novella-length anthologies) currently available in the Heresy range. To me, this stands out within the group of novellas we’re talking about, by which I mean while it’s a damn fine story, I’m not convinced it’s actually a good place to start with the Heresy.

Wolf King
First of all let’s be clear – Wolf King is an absolutely wonderful story, and one of many examples of just how good an author Chris Wraight is. Seriously, it’s really good. However. Is it the right place to start if you’ve not read any of the Horus Heresy before? Nope. It’s just not. Sure, it’s a standalone story in that it has its own start, middle and end, but it relies on the reader having at least a passing familiarity with the ongoing events of the Heresy, and ideally having followed the specific story arc of the Space Wolves following on from the events on Prospero. I’m sure a new reader could find plenty to enjoy in Chris’ writing but I can’t help thinking they’re going to be confused by the wider narrative.

Surely the place to start with the Heresy is always going to be Horus Rising? I mean, you could start elsewhere, but it makes most sense to at least read the opening trilogy – if you don’t want to read the rest in release order then you can pick a Legion and go from there, but the first three books really set the scene for the whole series. Looking at the other novellas in the series, I’m not convinced any of them even come close to being the right place to start – it’s got to be Horus Rising.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Wolf King. My gut feeling tells me that BL included it because the Heresy is such an important part of their catalogue and they wanted to have at least one Heresy story included in this mini range – so they picked this one because it’s as good a novella as any of them, in its own right. Does it work as an entry point for a brand new Black Library reader? Not so much – I’d say it would have been better to keep the focus of this range on 40k and Age of Sigmar, and just not worry about the Heresy. But that’s me, with the benefit of hindsight!

In Summary
There are always going to be new Games Workshop fans looking for a way to get their head around Black Library stories – and likewise SF&F fans looking for new worlds to explore – so it makes absolute sense for Black Library to provide a range of entry options. Alongside anthologies like Crusade + Other Stories, Hammerhal & Other Stories, and even the new Inferno!, a range of (very) cheap novellas is a great idea, especially when they’re stories which – through design or happy accident – provide strong groundings in the basics of the settings.

While I’m certainly not convinced about the inclusion of Wolf King, I’d say that the other five novellas are great choices, and would make excellent starting points for any new fans. Especially the two Age of Sigmar stories.

The only other issue, then, is availability. I think it’s great that these are available in the wider book trade, and I hope they’re showing up in the Science Fiction sections of lots of bookshops out there – that seems to be the point of them. I just wonder why they’re not also available on the BL website. I can only assume it’s an intentional decision to avoid ‘devaluing’ the full price editions, but I wonder if listing them online might actually have a positive impact as existing fans pick up second copies, or buy them as presents for younger readers in their families. Or even use them as a reason to pick up books they never got round to reading, like I did! It just seems a shame, really, to restrict their availability.

Anyway, questions of availability aside I think this is clearly a great idea, and I hope these books are successful in drawing new readers into the worlds that we all know and love. I’ll be very interested to see if this range is ever expanded upon, so I’ll be keeping my eyes open for that. If you’ve picked up some or all of these novellas, drop me a line and let me know what you think. You can get in touch in the comments below, on Facebook or Twitter, or by emailing me at michael@trackofwords.com.