Author Archives: Michael

The Court of Broken Knives – Anna Smith Spark

The first book in Anna Smith Spark’s Empires of Dust trilogy, The Court of Broken Knives is a grand, sweeping, brutally violent and beautifully written tale of ambition, politics and power. In the city of Sorlost, heart of the once-mighty Sekemleth Empire, powerful men plan a bloody coup in the name of protecting their way of life against the growing boldness of enemies all around. The Free Company of the Sword, contracted to kill the Emperor, make their way through the desert to Sorlost, in their midst a young man fleeing from disgrace but destined for great and terrible things.

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Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty – Josh Reynolds

With Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty, Josh Reynolds takes the reins from Gordon Rennie and Will McDermott and reintroduces the suave bounty hunter for a new generation of Necromunda fans. Accompanied by put-upon partner Scabbs and sort-of-but-not-really wife Yolanda, Jerico is on the trail of Desolation Zoon, a Redemptionist zealot whose bold behaviour has roused the ire of the Guilders. With every other venator worth the name on the same trail, however, they must keep ahead of the competition and survive the many and varied dangers of the underhive – including a worrying number of muties on the move – if they’re to claim this bounty.

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RAPID FIRE: Nick Kyme Talks Knights of Macragge

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 veteran Black Library author Nick Kyme about his new Warhammer 40,000 novel Knights of Macragge, which is available to order right now in paperback, ebook and audiobook editions.

Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Nick’s answers.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Iron Promise – Josh Reynolds

Josh Reynolds’ short story The Iron Promise, available from Black Library either as a standalone e-short or within the Warcry anthology, is a tale of twisted honour, oaths and bloodshed in the Age of Sigmar. Vos Stalis, Dominar of the Iron Golems, has been tasked with a dangerous mission, leading a small warband into the Bloodwind Spoil to assess the loyalty of a duardin forgemaster whose tithe to the Iron Golems has dried up. A test of his strength and loyalty as much as the forgemaster’s, it sees Vos venture deep into the forge and confront the danger that lurks within.

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Writing for Black Library – Nicholas Wolf Talks the Open Submissions Window

Welcome to this instalment of Writing for Black Library, a new series of quick author interviews in which I chat to Black Library authors about how they got started with writing for the worlds of Warhammer. Whether you’re actively hoping to be published by Black Library yourself, or just interested in getting a peek behind the scenes, these interviews will offer insights into the backgrounds and working processes of some of the authors who are lucky enough to contribute to the ongoing development of Games Workshop’s various worlds and settings.

In this instalment I spoke to Nicholas Wolf, one of Black Library’s newest authors, who made it through the 2018 open submissions process to have his debut short story – Reborn – published as a standalone e-short for Digital Monday in May 2019.

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QUICK REVIEW: Bonegrinder – Josh Reynolds

This story is currently only available within Inferno! Volume 3.

A sequel to 2018’s Death’s Head, Josh Reynolds’ Necromunda short story Bonegrinder continues to follow the exploits of smarter-than-the-usual Goliath ganger Topek Greel. Now a full member of the Steelgate Kings under the watchful leadership of Irontooth Korg, Greel is a dangerous combination of brawn, brains and ambition, and he’s got his sights set on consolidating his position through the manipulation of the Kings’ rival gangs. When Korg brings him along as a second in a parlay with an opposing gang leader, however, it begins to look as though Greel’s ambition might have got the better of him.

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Writing for Black Library – Jamie Crisalli Talks the Open Submissions Window

Welcome to this instalment of Writing for Black Library, a new series of quick author interviews in which I chat to Black Library authors about how they got started with writing for the worlds of Warhammer. Whether you’re actively hoping to be published by Black Library yourself, or just interested in getting a peek behind the scenes, these interviews will offer insights into the backgrounds and working processes of some of the authors who are lucky enough to contribute to the ongoing development of Games Workshop’s various worlds and settings.

For this instalment I spoke to Jamie Crisalli, one of Black Library’s newest authors, who made it through the 2018 open submissions process to have her debut short story – Ties of Blood – published in Inferno! Volume 2.

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Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter – Guy Haley

The twelfth novel in Black Library’s The Horus Heresy Primarchs series, Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter is Guy Haley’s third contribution and by a comfortable margin his most unconventional one yet. A twitchy, jittery collection of characters and plot threads, it sees Curze – twisted, haunted, damaged – spending the final hours of his life reliving some of the key events which led him inevitably to a moment he’d long foreseen. Crouched in the darkness, talking in his madness to a (literally and figuratively) distant father, his only thoughts are to justify his monstrous actions and find vindication in light of the Emperor’s own cold contempt.

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Writing for Black Library – Robert Rath Talks the Open Submissions Window

Welcome to this instalment of Writing for Black Library, a new series of quick author interviews in which I chat to Black Library authors about how they got started with writing for the worlds of Warhammer. Whether you’re actively hoping to be published by Black Library yourself, or just interested in getting a peek behind the scenes, these interviews will offer insights into the backgrounds and working processes of some of the authors who are lucky enough to contribute to the ongoing development of Games Workshop’s various worlds and settings.

In this interview I spoke to Robert Rath, one of Black Library’s newest authors, who made it through the 2018 open submissions process to have his debut short story – The Garden of Mortal Delights – published as a standalone e-short for Digital Monday in May 2019.

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QUICK REVIEW: Hunger and the Lady – Peter McLean

In Peter McLean’s War for the Rose Throne series, one character of particular interest is Billy the Boy, the young orphan described with considerable understatement in the dramatis personae of Priest of Bones as “a very strange young man”. Featured in Grimdark Magazine Issue 18, the short story Hunger and the Lady offers the first opportunity to explore a little of Billy’s backstory. It’s the tale of an eleven year-old boy scraping a living in the ruins of war-torn Messia as enemy soldiers close in, a story about survival, about enduring hardship, and maybe even the presence of a higher power.

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