December has come round once again, which means it’s time for the 2018 Black Library Advent Calendar! As is the Black Library tradition, there’s going to be 24 days of Black Library fiction in the run up to Christmas, with a new* short story or audio drama revealed each day. This year it’s mostly short stories, with just six of the tales coming in as audio dramas (compared to 10 audios in 2017), and things are split across 40k (including Blackstone Fortress!), Age of Sigmar, Necromunda and the Horus Heresy.
* It looks like a few of this year’s stories have actually been released before in event-only anthologies, so technically they’re not ‘brand new’ stories. They haven’t had proper releases though, so I imagine most people won’t have read them.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how the stories are split out:
- 18 ebooks
- 7 40k (including 3 Blackstone Fortress stories)
- 6 Horus Heresy
- 5 Age of Sigmar
- 6 audio dramas
- 3 Age of Sigmar
- 3 Necromunda
It’s not just Black Library who have got an Advent tradition, either. Every year that Track of Words has been running I’ve kept up with the releases and published a review a day throughout December, and this year is going to be no different. I’ve picked up the subscription package (24 stories for the price of 19) so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that each story is going to show up bright and early in my account every morning, and I’m aiming to have reviews with you the day after each one is released.
This year we don’t have a lot of specific information about each day’s story just yet. I’ve pulled a list of characters and subjects from the Warhammer Community site – see the bottom of this page – so while we don’t yet know what each story will be called we can at least engage in a bit of light-hearted speculation as to what’s coming soon. As each day’s story is revealed I’ll remove it from the list at the end of the article and add it to the page just below here alongside cover images and links to my reviews once they’re ready.
Merry Christmas everyone, and happy reading!
Day 1: Old Wounds, New Scars by Graham McNeill – a desperate flight through the warp for Alivia Sureka. Click here to order.
Day 2: Blood Gold by Gav Thorpe – an ancient tale of the Fyreslayers. Click here to order.
Day 3: Fire and Thunder by Rachel Harrison – Commissar Severina Raine and the 11th Antari Rifles trapped in an enemy-infested city. Click here to order.
Day 4: Man of Iron by Guy Haley – a tale of the ‘Imperial Robot’ UR-025 exploring the Blackstone Fortress. Click here to order.
Day 5: The Deeper Shade by CL Werner – a Chaos sorcerer seeks something best left alone. Click here to order.
Day 6: Abyssal by David Annandale – terror in the depths of a Black Ship. Click here to order.
Day 7: Acts of Sacrifice by Evan Dicken – a saga of sacrifice from the Age of Chaos. Click here to order.
Day 8: The Son of Sorrows by John French – the past exploits of the specialist Koleg. Click here to order.
Day 9: A Lesson in Iron by David Guymer – Ferrus Manus has the rare chance to see his future. Click here to order.
Day 10: A Dirge of Dust and Steel by Josh Reynolds – the Vanguard Chamber of the Hallowed Knights in action. Click here to order.
Day 11: The Deserter by Justin D Hill – an unnamed Astra Militarum deserter helps a young woman reclaim her family’s legacy. Click here to order.
Day 12: The Last Council by LJ Goulding – the Council of Terra sits for the last time as war looms. Click here to order.
Day 13: Motherlode by Nick Kyme – the ratlings Rein and Raus face their past in Precipice. Click here to order.
Day 14: One, Untended by David Guymer – Gotrek Gurnisson delves into a haunted catacomb. Click here to order.
Day 15: The Battle of Blackthunder Mesa by Phil Kelly – the origins of a piece of T’au Empire technology. Click here to order.
Day 16: The Atonement of Fire by David Annandale – Roboute Guilliman attacks a force of World Eaters on the Eastern Fringe. Click here to order.
Day 17: The Palace of Memory by David Guymer – Hamilcar Bear-Eater in Shadespire, in audio. Click here to order.
Day 18: Expectatio by Matt Keefe – an archeotech treasure proves dangerous for a fortune-seeking bounty hunter. Click here to order.
Day 19: Neferata: Black Atonement by David Annandale – Neferata doing what she does best…manipulation. Click here to order.
Day 20: Purity is a Lie by Gav Thorpe – Taddeus the Purifier is tested to the limits of his faith. Click here to order.
Day 21: Hungerfiend by Guy Haley – Prince Maesa ventures into a graveyard in Ghur. Click here to order.
Day 22: Sand Lords by Peter McLean – a tense tale of the Tallarn Desert Raiders as they try and outrun an Ork warboss. Click here to order.
Day 23: Half-Horn by Josh Reynolds – the legend of Gor Half-horn spreads as he seeks fugitives in the deep sump. Click here to order.
Day 24: A Rose Watered With Blood by Aaron Dembski-Bowden – horrors in the bowels of the Conqueror. Click here to order.
To finish things off, Black Library have released a couple of digital premieres – one each on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and one each from Age of Sigmar and 40k.
Christmas Day: Scourge of Fate by Robbie MacNiven – a Warhammer Age of Sigmar novel focused on the forces of Chaos, and packed full of action, drama and a chilling look at some of the servants of the Dark Gods. Click here to order.
Boxing Day: Cadian Honour by Justin D. Hill – a novel from the 41st millennium which promises to deliver insights into some of the Emperor’s most devoted soldiers. Click here to order.
If you’ve got any thoughts, comments or suggestions about this year’s Advent Calendar then please do let me know in the comments below, or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter.