Author Archives: Michael

Black Library Weekly – W/C 05/12/16

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, where I take a look at the Black Library-related news from the week just gone – announcements, pre-orders and new releases.

Advent is rolling on this week, with a full set of seven stories released one per day, although it’s not just been short stories that have seen the light of day. The weekend saw all manner of titles released or announced, including the expected refresh of the Coming Soon section on Black Library’s website, and overall it’s been another impressive week!

Instead of the usual structure, I’m going to take a look at all of the week’s Advent Calendar content first, then move on to the rest of the news and releases. So without further ado…
Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Wraithbound – JC Stearns

The eldar arrive on day eight of Black Library’s 2016 Advent Calendar in Wraithbound by JC Stearns, in which a combined force of craftworld and corsair eldar make a daring webway assault onto an Imperial world that’s been overrun by orks. Among the first wave is Crimson Hunter pilot Seoci, firmly on the path of the hunter but not yet lost to it. Donning his war mask as he goes into battle, he pushes aside thoughts of his previous path until his past comes back to haunt him when his craftworld’s wraith constructs take to the field.
Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Fixed – Robbie MacNiven

Fixed by Robbie MacNiven is the sixth story in Black Library’s 2016 Advent Calendar, and the first of three Blood Bowl escapades. When Nordland Raiders star blitzer Greig Garr undergoes unorthodox surgery after suffering a potentially career-ending injury, he’s approached by a decidedly shady character who offers to have him back on his feet in no time…for a price. With the Raiders’ promotion to play for in a crucial match against arch rivals the East End Boyz, and his own career at stake, Garr is faced with a tricky decision to make.
Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: The Howling Ship – Josh Reynolds

Included in the Limited Edition hardback of Fabius Bile: Primogenitor, Josh Reynolds’ The Howling Ship sees Fabius launch a daring attack on the Black Ship Savonarola as it returns to Terra carrying amongst its cargo of psykers a particularly nasty specimen known as The Howling Man. As the crew work to fight off the void assault, Inquisitor Borja races to where The Howling Man is being held, determined to use any means necessary to prevent the psyker being taken. Faced by the Butcher of Terra however, all of his certainties are challenged and his willpower tested to the limit.
Keep reading…

Shoe Dog – Phil Knight

Distance runner, backpacker, entrepreneur, leader, father, philanthropist – Phil Knight is, or has been, all of these, and his memoir Shoe Dog offers an honest and insightful depiction of his journey from college graduate to CEO of Nike. It’s the personal, human story of a man who’s deeply driven, plagued by doubts but utterly determined not to lose. It’s a potted history of one of the most famous brands in the world, from humble beginnings to vast multinational. It’s a fascinating journey through mid to late twentieth century America, and an inspiring (if occasionally terrifying) demonstration of how a business can maintain its values through thick and thin.
Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Argent – Chris Wraight

Originally released as part of the event-only Black Library Live! 2016 chapbook alongside A Memory of Tharsis by Josh Reynolds, Chris Wraight’s Argent is an Inquisition short story that links in with his excellent novel Vaults of Terra: The Carrion Throne. In it, Interrogator Luce Spinoza tells a tale of joining the Imperial Fists in an assault on a traitor-held hive, during which her perception of the Angels of Death is profoundly affected. Fighting alongside the Fists as part of a wider mission to cleanse the hive, she faces both the horror of corruption and the ferocity of the Space Marines’ ardent faith.
Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: A Memory of Tharsis – Josh Reynolds

Currently only published in the Black Library Live! 2016 chapbook (alongside Argent by Chris Wraight), Josh Reynolds’ short story A Memory of Tharsis sees Fabius Bile paying a visit to Lady Spohr, Magos-Queen of the forge world Quir, to make a trade. He needs her services to repair his ancient medicae equipment in order for him to continue his grand work, but if he’s to succeed he knows he will have to offer her something new and unique. If he fails to provide something suitable he might not survive the visit, but he has something up his (rather disturbing) sleeve.
Keep reading…

Black Library Weekly – W/C 28/11/16

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, where I take a look at the Black Library-related news from the week just gone – announcements, pre-orders and new releases.

It’s been another bumper week after last week’s bounties – a different feel to things, but a lot of interesting releases throughout the latter half of the week. Christmas continues to loom large with the opening few titles from the 2016 Advent Calendar, while the mixture of new and re-released titles carries on as it has for the last few weeks. There was also an interesting announcement which will be of interest to fans of ebooks…
Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: The Maiden of the Dream – John French

Day two of Black Library’s 2016 Advent Calendar brings us The Maiden of the Dream by John French, the second ‘story of the Horusian Wars’ after The Purity of Ignorance. The titular Maiden is Mylasa, a powerful psyker who, as one of Inquisitor Covenant’s acolytes, uses her gifts to interrogate prisoners of the Inquisition and purge their memories. Can she be trusted, however? Beneath the accumulated memories ripped from the minds of others, is her soul still pure? Keep reading…

Interview with Laurie Goulding – Part Two (December 2016)

Earlier in the week I posted the first part of a wide-ranging interview with Black Library Commissioning Editor Laurie Goulding, which included loads of fascinating details about Laurie’s work chronicling the Scythes of the Emperor chapter of Space Marines (which he writes under the name LJ Goulding). In this second part of the interview we talk about the other side of Laurie’s work for Black Library, as the man responsible for editing the Horus Heresy series!
Keep reading…