Author Archives: Michael

QUICK REVIEW: Stitches – Nick Kyme

The third short story in Black Library’s Digital Horror Week 2019, Nick Kyme’s Stitches deals with the inevitable aftermath of battle for the Astra Militarum and their overworked medical staff. For Medicae Bucher the grinding war of attrition taking place around him is taking a toll, with an endless stream of war-torn bodies requiring his attention, and few of them surviving his tender ministrations. Fearing for his position, he desperately needs something to go right, so when his patients start surviving when they probably shouldn’t, he doesn’t question his fortune and attributes it to the Emperor’s blessing instead.

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Drake – Peter McLean

Peter McLean’s debut novel, Drake is a dark urban fantasy complete with cowardly night creatures, demon mobsters, a faintly inept demonologist, a snarky bound demon and an almost-fallen angel, all wrapped up in a gritty, sweary, fast-paced thriller. When Don Drake, the aforementioned demonologist, winds up owing a gambling debt to a deeply unpleasant ‘businessman’, his already seedy life quickly goes from bad to worse. He soon finds himself with a problem that even the power of his bound demon – the Burning Man – might not be enough to help him with, involving exceedingly dangerous magical enemies and dubious allies who might just be even worse.

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QUICK REVIEW: He Feasts Forever – Lora Gray

Book two of the Digital Horror Week 2019 collection, Lora Gray’s Age of Sigmar short story He Feasts Forever is an unnerving, Gormenghast-esque tale of sinister domesticity and dark glamour. Dedric works as a cook in the king’s kitchens, content to be surrounded by friends and comfortable with his place in the world. While helping prepare a feast for the king’s return, the familiar routine of his work is broken, triggering a chain of events which cause Dedric to feel his certainties begin to fade. As long-buried memories surface, the truth of his past and present slowly comes into horrifying focus.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Hunt – David Annandale

The first Warhammer Horror short story to get a standalone ebook release – and Book 1 of the Digital Horror Week 2019 collection – David Annandale’s The Hunt is an unconventional Age of Sigmar story of guilt, fear, and ghosts both literal and metaphorical. In the Free City of Everyth, in the Realm of Ghur, witch hunter Bered Davan waits for his doom to find him, spending his final moments torn between duty and shame. When a figure from his past calls for him, dredging up painful old emotions, Davan determines to follow his calling and hope for some kind of forgiveness.

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RAPID FIRE: Guy Haley Talks Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library 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 Guy Haley about his latest Primarchs novel, Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter, which is available to order in Limited Edition hardback right now before the ‘standard’ editions go on sale in a few months.

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Shadow – James Swallow

The fourth instalment in James Swallow’s Marc Dane series of contemporary thrillers, Shadow offers up another powerfully topical slice of high-stakes drama packed full of action, excitement, great characters and credible threats. When a bio-scientist and her family are kidnapped in Singapore, Dane and partner Lucy Keyes are sent to investigate, and it quickly becomes clear that there’s more to her work – for the Rubicon Group, no less – than it first appears. Meanwhile the escape of a right-wing extremist from Belgian police custody, and growing unease within the power structure of Rubicon itself, means their mission becomes more dangerous by the minute.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Crown of Thorns – Peter Fehervari

Part of the Angels of Death collection of micro-short stories, Peter Fehervari’s The Crown of Thorns is a tale of the Angels Penitent, a lesser-known Chapter with grim origins. Brother-Sergeant Montaig is charged with bringing a young neophyte before the Crown of Thorns, the assembly of Chaplains who preside over the Chapter, to face punishment for sinning against the Penitents’ creed. As he escorts the prisoner through the dishevelled fortress monastery, Montaig’s thoughts dwell on the turning point in his brotherhood’s recent history, and the consequences – for himself, the neophyte and the Chapter as a whole – of their bitter faith.

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Black Library Monthly – April 2019

Welcome to Black Library Monthly for April 2019, in which I’m going to take a look over the key pieces of Black Library-related news which arose over the last month, as well as talk about the month’s new releases and what I’ve been reviewing. In some respects it’s felt like quite a quiet month on the BL front, but looking back there’s actually still been a decent amount to talk about as well as a fair few new releases – including a rare brand-new Digital Monday short story. As usual, I’ll kick off by taking a look at the month’s general BL-related news before moving onto a couple of more specific topics and then the month’s releases.

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Deathwatch – Steve Parker

Published back in 2013 after two excellent short stories – Headhunted and Exhumed – Steve Parker’s novel Deathwatch winds the clock back and tells the origin story of Talon Squad, and how its various members came to be working together under the burdensome command of the mysterious Sigma. For Lyandro Karras, First Codicier of the Death Spectres, life is about to become unexpectedly complicated as he’s inducted into the Deathwatch – the multi-Chapter force of elite alien hunters – and forced to face up to some uncomfortable truths regarding loyalty, purpose and even fate. Meanwhile beneath the surface of the mining world Chiaro, Inquisitorial agents risk their lives to uncover a sinister cult taking shape in the darkness.

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RAPID FIRE: Steve Parker Talks Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library 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 Steve Parker about Shadowbreaker, his latest 40k release and the sequel to his much-loved novel Deathwatch. It’s available to pre-order right now, so check out the interview and get ready for another slice of epic Deathwatch action!

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