Author Archives: Michael

Cadia Stands – Justin D. Hill

Justin D. Hill’s previous Black Library works have included three Ursarkar E. Creed short stories, including The Battle of Tyrok Fields – the story of a key event at the outset of the 13th Black Crusade. His novel Cadia Stands tells (some of) the story of what happened next, although it’s a very different beast, not least because it isn’t Creed’s story. Instead it tells the tale of Cadia’s stubborn defence against the Black Legion, during the events of the Gathering Storm, via a wide spread of characters across the breadth of the Cadian forces.

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Josh Reynolds Talks Humour, Horror and the Age of Reynolds: Part One

From his early work in the Old World through the End Times and beyond, and onto more recent work on Age of Sigmar, Fabius Bile and even the Horus Heresy, Josh Reynolds has for a long time been one of the most prolific Black Library authors. If you’re a Black Library fan, chances are you’ve read at least a few of Josh’s stories.

I’ve been following Josh’s career for a few years now, mostly through his Black Library work but also with a couple of other publishers, so I was delighted when he agreed to an interview. Rather than focusing in on one specific book or series, I wanted to cover quite a wide range of topics so we bounce from Josh’s early short stories to his most recent work, by way of music (including the soundtrack to Fabius Bile), invasive plants, Cryptids, the question of faith in Warhammer, and Space Wolf ‘knock knock’ jokes.

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QUICK REVIEW: Execution – Rachel Harrison

The first Black Library short story published under the name Rachel Harrison, rather than Ray Harrison, Execution is a powerful depiction of the human cost of war for the Imperial Guard, and the burdens placed upon their political officers. Having executing the captain of the 11th Antari Rifles for refusing to follow orders, commissar Severina Raine takes command of a daring mission to break the siege of a rebel-held fortress. After her uncompromising show of authority, Raine has to maintain her grip on the morale of her troops while leading them into ferocious battle.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 16/10/17

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. Some weeks are full of interesting news, while others bring with them masses of new releases – this week has been the latter, with loads of cool new titles to get excited by. Let’s have a look…

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RAPID FIRE: Gav Thorpe Talks Ghost Warrior

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their 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 it.

In this instalment I asked Gav Thorpe about his new novel Rise of the Ynnari: Ghost Warrior, which is available to buy right now. Gav’s well known for his eldar stories, so this promises to be a fascinating read.

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RAPID FIRE: Josh Reynolds Talks Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix

In this instalment I asked Josh Reynolds about his new Horus Heresy Primarchs novel Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix, which is available to buy right now.

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Jain Zar: The Storm of Silence – Gav Thorpe

2015’s Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan, the first Phoenix Lords novel, was a short, tightly-written book from Gav Thorpe that gave us the first proper glimpse of both a Phoenix Lord’s thought processes and the time immediately before and during the Fall – the pivotal moment in eldar history. Fast-forward to 2017 and Jain Zar: The Storm of Silence carries on the series with a tale of the first Howling Banshee as she uses any means necessary to reach the craftworld Ulthwé and prevent them starting on a path that will lead to disaster far in the future.

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Skaven Pestilens – Josh Reynolds

As the title suggests, Josh Reynolds’ Age of Sigmar novel Skaven Pestilens – available as a standalone novel or within the Legends of the Age of Sigmar omnibus – focuses on the disease-ridden skaven of the Clans Pestilens. Taking place in the realm of Ghur, the plot revolves around the machinations of Verminlord Skuralanx, who manipulates two rival plague priests into attacking Shu’gohl the Crawling City in order to retrieve one of the Thirteen Great Plagues on his behalf. Standing in their way are Zephacleas Beast-bane and his Astral Templars, and the natural skaven inclination to treachery and deceit.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Path Unclear – Mike Brooks

The debut Black Library story from Mike Brooks, The Path Unclear is an Inquisitorial tale of action and intrigue that bodes well for future stories. Told from the perspective of Alyss Nero, newly recruited acolyte of Ordo Xenos inquisitor Zaretta Ngiri, it sees the inquisitor and her retinue investigating a mysterious artefact recently uncovered from an archaeological dig amongst xenos ruins. While Ngiri is determined to ascertain the artefact’s true provenance, Nero is keen to prove her value to her new mistress and companions, but things are never simple when xenos are involved.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 09/10/17

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. It’s been something of an odd week to be honest, with a new Horus Heresy novel and a couple of reprinted short stories, then nothing much else ‘official’…plus some very interesting news from the grapevine so to speak. Let’s crack on and take a look…

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