Author Archives: Michael

QUICK REVIEW: The Neverspike – Darius Hinks

A prequel to his Age of Sigmar novel Ghoulslayer, Darius Hinks’ short story The Neverspike sees the Celestial Vindicator Trachos stumble upon Gotrek Gurnisson in the mountains of Aqshy. Troubled by temperamental memories and an unnatural voice in his head, accusing him of weakness and cowardice, Trachos sees in the doom-seeking Slayer an opportunity to return to Azyr in glory. Accompanying Gotrek and Maleneth on their search for the Neverspike – a dangerous fragment of Shyish – he plots how to part the Slayer from the Master Rune embedded in his chest, without quite realising who he’s dealing with.

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Blood Rite – Rachel Harrison

Rachel Harrison’s novella Blood Rite, the second in Black Library’s Space Marine Heroes series (after Phil Kelly’s entertaining Death Knell), is a mournful, characterful exploration of the Blood Angels’ twin flaws and what it takes to resist them. Luminata, an Imperial world protecting a chalice said to have been crafted by Sanguinius himself, has fallen to the corruption of the Word Bearers and their warp magic. Captain Donato leads his Archangels in a lightning assault to destroy the heretics and retrieve the chalice, but to succeed they’ll have to battle their own flawed nature as well as the Word Bearers and their tainted allies.

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QUICK REVIEW: Last Flight – Edoardo Albert

For his second Black Library story – Last Flight – Edoardo Albert delivers a tale of courage and survival in the skies over a war-torn water world. The war on Sagaraya reaches a turning point when the heretic fleet is forced into attack range of the Imperial Navy…just. Pilot Commander Baruch Neriah leads his Marauder squadron on a daring attack run against a gargantuan aircraft carrier that forms the backbone of the Chaos forces, despite knowing that his bomber, the Spirit of St. Pascale, doesn’t have the range to safely return to the following Imperial fleet.

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RAPID FIRE: David Guymer Talks Realmslayer: Blood of the Old World

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

In this instalment I spoke to David Guymer about his latest Age of Sigmar audio drama box set, Realmslayer: Blood of the Old World, the sequel to 2018’s brilliant Realmslayer. Read on to find out more about Gotrek Gurnisson’s next epic audio adventure, which you can order in CD or MP3 formats right now.

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RAPID FIRE: Darius Hinks Talks Ghoulslayer

In this instalment I spoke to Darius Hinks about his latest Black Library book, the Age of Sigmar novel Ghoulslayer featuring everyone’s favourite grumpy Slayer – Gotrek Gurnisson. It’s available to pre-order in ebook, audiobook and hardback right now, so check out the interview and get ordering!

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Monthly Highlights – July and August 2019

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Monthly Highlights post, but I think it’s time to resurrect the concept and get back in the habit – so I’m starting off by looking back at the last two months! I’m going to pick out a few of the best books I’ve read in the second half of the year so far and talk a little about each, linking back to my reviews, then do the same thing for short stories as well. I love a good short story! I’ll quickly touch on some interesting news regarding submitting stories to Black Library, then finish with a look ahead to a few things I’m particularly looking forward to in September.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Warp’s Curse – Michael J. Hollows

The Warp’s Curse is Michael J. Hollows’ second Black Library short story, but his first Blackstone Fortress tale. For Primaris psyker Aradia Madellan, venturing into the fortress is an opportunity to understand the cause of the visions that have been plaguing her, and to find a way to avert the catastrophe they foretell. As she sets out to explore in the company of Taddeus the Purifier and the aeldari Amallyn Shadowguide she’s forced to confront not only the fortress’ dangerous inhabitants but the prejudices of her companions too, with her own warp-born powers proving both a blessing and a curse.

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The Imaginary Corpse – Tyler Hayes

Tyler Hayes’ debut novel The Imaginary Corpse is a rare book which genuinely deserves the label of unique, a wildly imaginative story that’s as much about acceptance, honesty and overcoming trauma as it is about a stuffed-toy dinosaur investigating crimes in a technicolour imaginary world. Detective Tippy (a yellow triceratops) lives in the Stillreal, the place where abandoned Ideas too real to fade away can live and thrive, solving crimes and helping his Friends. When a newly-birthed nightmare – The Man in the Coat – starts murdering other Friends (for real, not just temporarily), Tippy has to work through his own deep-rooted issues and find a way to solve – and survive – the deadliest mystery he’s ever faced.

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QUICK REVIEW: To Speak As One – Guy Haley

Guy Haley’s 40k short story To Speak As One is an unusual tale of conflicting Imperial jurisdiction, and the ongoing repercussions of Guilliman’s return and Belisarius Cawl’s unorthodox genius. Inquisitor Cehen-qui isn’t best pleased to receive orders to hand off a xenos prisoner to one of Cawl’s lieutenants, Magos Qvo-87, so refuses and hunkers down in an abandoned Ordo Xenos void station to defend his prize. To his mind, the Inquisition’s remit supersedes the authority of Cawl, or even Guilliman. Undeterred, Qvo deploys his forces – including Alpha Primus, a Space Marine of ambiguous origins and unusually dour demeanour – to press the issue.

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QUICK REVIEW: Miracles – Nicholas Wolf

For his second Black Library short story – Miracles – Nicholas Wolf ventures into Warhammer Horror territory with a bleak tale of a family man pushed to his limits. Jacen Hertz might not find it easy to pray to the Emperor, but he works hard and loves his wife and children. As tension rises within Praxis Hive amid talk of disappearances and mutilated bodies, Jacen’s past comes back to haunt him when he miraculously survives a terrible disaster only to fall under the suspicion of the enforcers. As the pressure upon him increases, Jacen must decide how far he’s prepared to go to find salvation.

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