Author Archives: Michael

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Carrie Harris Talks Liberty & Justice For All

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I chat to author Carrie Harris about her new book Liberty & Justice For All, which kicks off a new series of Xavier’s Academy novels from Aconyte Books. What’s not to love about prose novels exploring interesting characters from amongst Marvel’s X-Men? If, like me, you grew up watching X-Men: The Animated Series, this is a very exciting proposition! It’s due out in ebook and as a US paperback on the 3rd November, with the UK paperback due a little bit later on the 10th December.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tim Pratt Talks The Fractured Void

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I chat to science fiction author Tim Pratt about his first novel for Aconyte Books – The Fractured Void. Set in the Twilight Imperium universe, this promises to be a fun, action-packed sci-fi adventure, from an author who’s got form with the space opera genre. It’s due out in ebook and as a US paperback on the 3rd November, with the UK paperback due a little bit later on the 10th December. If you’re a fan of the Twilight Imperium game, or just fancy a good old space opera, this sounds like one to keep an eye on!

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A Traveller’s Guide to Peter Fehervari’s Dark Coil

With the release of the short story Altar of Maws (May 2023), Peter Fehervari’s catalogue of Warhammer 40,000 fiction – known informally as The Dark Coil – currently totals 18 stories. Every piece of 40k fiction is linked by taking place within a single shared universe, but The Dark Coil goes way beyond that. These stories share much deeper connections, between them forming a web of characters, locations, themes and recurring motifs that is gradually becoming more and more apparent as additional stories are published. One of the joys of reading Fehervari’s work is in unpicking these subtle connections, but it can be daunting to know where to start looking.

Welcome, then, to A Traveller’s Guide to the Dark Coil.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: S.A. Sidor Talks The Last Ritual

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I chat to author S.A. Sidor about his new novel The Last Ritual, his first for Aconyte Books. It’s the second Aconyte novel to be set in the world of Arkham Horror (after Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai), and looks like being a fascinating read for horror fans and Arkham aficionados alike. Keep an eye out for the ebook and the US paperback edition releasing on the 3rd November, with the UK paperback edition coming a little bit later on the 10th December.

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The Key To Fear by Kristin Cast – Via Grimdark Magazine

The latest book I’ve reviewed for the fine folks over at Grimdark Magazine is Kristin Cast’s The Key To Fear, a surprisingly dark and bloody young adult novel set fifty years after a pandemic killed off the vast majority of the American population. Published in the UK by Head of Zeus, it’s out in hardback and ebook on the 5th November, and you can read my full review on the GdM website right now. As usual I’m putting down a few additional thoughts here in this article/review, so you can check out the GdM piece for my standard third person/objective review, and this one for some more subjective comments.

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QUICK REVIEW: Nightbleed – Peter Fehervari

The first of Peter Fehervari’s short stories officially released under the Warhammer Horror label, Nightbleed lives up to expectations as both a creepy, low-key horror story in its own right and an intriguing addition to The Dark Coil. In Carceri Hive, on the night-shrouded world of Sarastus, two souls find themselves bound together. Reduced to applying her skills for a dubious synth-protein supplier, ex-medicae Chel forces herself not to question where the raw materials come from, but suffers dark dreams nonetheless. In shadowed alleys, street prophet Skreech plans his next offering to the Night Below. As True Night approaches, the two spiral ever closer to a fateful meeting.

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RAPID FIRE: Guy Haley Talks Darkness in the Blood and Astorath: Angel of Mercy

Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of quick author interviews, in which I’m talking to the incredibly hard-working and prolific Guy Haley about not one but two new books – Darkness in the Blood and Astorath: Angel of Mercy! Fans of Guy’s Warhammer 40,000 Blood Angels stories – primarily Dante and The Devastation of Baal – have got lots to look forward to with a pair of new additions, and seeing as both new books are due out within a few weeks of each other I’ve asked Guy to give us the lowdown on what we can expect, and how they fit in with the existing books.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Matthew Ward Talks Legacy of Steel

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I’m talking to Matthew Ward about his new novel Legacy of Steel, the sequel to 2019’s Legacy of Ash (which I spoke to Matthew about in a previous interview). It’s due out from Orbit in both hardback and ebook in early November, so whether you’ve read and enjoyed Legacy of Ash and have been looking forward to book two, or are coming to the Legacy Trilogy for the first time, it’s a great opportunity now to find out more about this brilliant epic fantasy series.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Hounds of Nagash – Guy Haley (At the Sign of the Brazen Claw Part Five)

Guy Haley’s five-part Age of Sigmar serial At the Sign of the Brazen Claw comes to an end with The Hounds of Nagash, in which the tavern and those sheltering within it are assailed by implacable spectres. In the wake of Pludu Quasque’s revelation that his foolishness has incurred the wrath of Nagash, spectral glaivewraiths search for a way through the tavern’s magical defences. With the storm howling all around and a desperate fight for survival breaking out, the very structure of the tavern itself begins to come apart as the giant demigod upon which it’s built begins to wake.

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RAPID FIRE – Gav Thorpe Talks Luther: First of the Fallen

Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of quick author interviews, in which I’m talking to Black Library author Gav Thorpe about his new novel, Luther: First of the Fallen. This is the second (short) novel in the Horus Heresy Character Series, after 2019’s Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, and is available to pre-order today as a Limited Edition hardback ahead of its standard release in a few months’ time. It promises to be an in-depth exploration of the Dark Angels through the eyes of Luther himself, and coming from Gav – who’s done a lot of work with this Chapter/Legion over the years – it should be a fascinating read.

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