Author Archives: Michael

Reading for Review and Reading for Fun

There was a time, a few years ago when Track of Words was still in its infancy, when I made a point of writing reviews for every book I read. That was great, but it did lead to some reviews which don’t sit quite so comfortably alongside the science fiction and fantasy that make up the majority of what I cover. These days, for various reasons, that’s no longer the case; instead, I only review some of the books I read, and not only does this keep me happy, but I’m actually reading more! With that in mind, I thought it might be interesting for this article to talk a bit about the differences between reading for the purpose of reviewing, and reading just for fun.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: The Shaper of Scars – Marc Collins

Introducing the character of Katja Helvintr, daughter of Fenris, queen of her Rogue Trader dynasty and jarl of the Wyrmslayer Queen, Marc Collins’ 40k short story The Shaper of Scars is an intriguing tale of a battle being fought on both the physical and spiritual planes, and a culture clash between the rituals of Fenris and the strictures of the Imperium. As she lies on death’s door in the cold apothecarion of her ship, Katja relives the moments leading up to her grievous wounding, while medicae thralls tend to her ravaged body and an old gothi sees to her still-strong soul.

Continue reading →

RAPID FIRE: Chris Wraight Talks The Helwinter Gate

Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of quick author interviews, in which I’m talking to Black Library author Chris Wraight about his new Warhammer 40,000 novel The Helwinter Gate. This long-awaited conclusion to the Járnhamar trilogy is out tomorrow in swanky ‘Mega Edition’ format, complete with all sorts of additional bits and pieces and an eye-watering price tag to patch – while the standard editions should (assuming past release schedules apply) come along in about six months time. Whether you’re grabbing a Mega Edition or not, however, this sounds like another great book from Chris – so read on to find out more about it!

Continue reading →

Cover Reveal: Hochmuller’s Hound by Josh Reynolds

I’m delighted to be able to exclusively reveal the fantastic cover for Josh Reynolds’ new short story anthology Casefiles of the Royal Occultist Volume Two: Hochmuller’s Hound, due out from 18th Wall Productions on the 21st December! I’m a huge fan of Josh Reynolds’ writing (I’ve reviewed over 50 of his stories) and I love his Royal Occultist series, so it’s really exciting to be able to offer this first glimpse of the latest anthology. Read on to see the cover itself, hear some of Josh’s thoughts on the artwork, and find out a little bit more about the anthology itself.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Battle of the Archaeosaurs – Barrington J. Bayley

Originally published back in 2000 in the pages of Inferno! Magazine issue 18, Barrington J. Bayley’s Warhammer 40,000 short story Battle of the Archaeosaurs pits the pride of the Adeptus Titanicus against the might of vast saurian war-beasts. It’s Titans vs. dinosaurs, in other words. With two prior forces having bafflingly failed to take control of a backwater world and its Stone Age-level population, Imperial commanders dispatch a battle-hardened Imperial Guard regiment accompanied by a pair of Warlord Titans to finally get the job done. The Princeps’ confidence of a quick resolution, however, is dented when they see the sheer scale of what they’re up against.

Continue reading →

Best of Black Library 2020 – 40k

It’s almost the end of 2020, so I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the Black Library stories that I’ve read this year and pick out a few personal highlights – in this article I’m looking specifically at Warhammer 40,000 stories, but I’ll do the same thing at some point for some of the other settings as well. These are just my own choices, based on what I’ve personally enjoyed reading the most, and I’ve based my selections on stories that were released in 2020 and that I read during this year (so for example I’ve had to miss off a few short stories that I read in anthologies in 2019 but which subsequently got standalone e-short releases in 2020).

Continue reading →

A Few Thoughts On: Downdraught by Gareth L. Powell

I love a good novella, and I’m a big fan of Gareth L. Powell, so picking up his new novella Downdraught was a bit of a no-brainer. It’s set in the same world as his short stories The Last Reef, Hot Rain and Flotsam – all of which are collected in The Last Reef and Other Stories – although unlike those other stories, this one is for the most part rather more down to earth (literally and figuratively). It’s labelled as a ‘science fiction horror novella’, and while the book is as much a small-scale character drama as anything else, it proves to be a good example of how closely linked those two genres are – and how both SF and horror can sit comfortably in grounded, human stories.

Continue reading →

Black Library in 2021: Online Preview Reaction

With no Black Library Weekender in 2020 – for obvious reasons – the ‘Coming Soon’ seminar that usually closes the event was replaced by an online Black Library preview from the Warhammer Community team. You can check out all the reveals, and re-watch the whole stream, over on the Warhammer Community website, but in this article I’m going to offer up some of my reactions to the preview and the books announced. I’ll give an overview of the preview to begin with, then go on to cover what was announced for each of the main ranges, including a little bit about which of my predictions/hopes proved accurate.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Death by a Thousand Gnaw-Bites – David Guymer

A typically devious tale of warring clans and dubious alliances, David Guymer’s Age of Sigmar short story Death by a Thousand Gnaw-Bites continues to demonstrate his skill at writing skaven. Forced out of their own holdings by the deadly war machines of Clan Zappitch, Things-Master Krowl and the tattered remnants of Clan Grench seek refuge with Clan Fetter and Under-Clawlord Thiskrule, agreeing upon a cunning plan that will benefit them both. Though clans Grench and Fetter have long been allies, the line between ally and enemy is paper-thin, but for Krowl the plan’s risks are outweighed by its potential rewards.

Continue reading →

Spark of Revolution – Gary Kloster

Part of the Black Library Novella Series 3, Spark of Revolution is Gary Kloster’s first Necromunda novella, and makes for an excellent introduction to his writing. Breaker Brass is an ogryn servitor, one of many toiling contentedly in a factorum owned by House Goliath and overseen by the Slag Krocs. When Goliaths start fighting Goliaths and a rival gang takes over the factorum, however, Breaker Brass soon finds himself used up, discarded and left for dead by the callous new gang leader. Against all odds Breaker survives his ordeal, and is reborn with his eyes opened and his mind expanded. Now able to see the world around him differently, he sets out to fight back against his oppressors, determined to find a better life for his fellow ogryns.

Continue reading →