Author Archives: Michael

QUICK REVIEW: The Battle of Blackthunder Mesa – Phil Kelly

A sequel to Blades of Damocles and a companion piece to the various Farsight stories, Phil Kelly’s short story The Battle of Blackthunder Mesa tells a tale of the fundamental differences between the T’au and Imperial ways of war. On the embattled world of Dal’yth Prime, the T’au forces are being pushed back by endless numbers of Imperial tanks, but Commander Bravestorm is determined to strike a telling blow before withdrawing. With a new weapon at his disposal – the Onager Gauntlet – he has a tool to do just that, but its use seems to go against the T’au’s very ethos.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 10/12/18

Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. It’s been another week dominated by the Advent Calendar, with the first of several short audio dramas as well as six short stories. There are a few other bits and pieces to talk about, but Advent is the main focus, so let’s get cracking with that straight away.

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RAPID FIRE: William King Talks The Tyrion and Teclis Omnibus

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.

For this instalment I spoke to legendary Black Library author William King about the latest Warhammer Chronicles release, The Tyrion and Teclis Omnibus – which collects together his classic novels Blood of Aenarion, Sword of Caledor and Bane of Malekith. Read on to delve back into the earlier days of the High Elves in the Warhammer Old World, and then don’t forget to go out and grab your copy of the book, as it’s available to order right now.

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QUICK REVIEW: One, Untended – David Guymer

A sequel of sorts to the epic audio drama Realmslayer, David Guymer’s short story One, Untended sees dwarf-out-of-time Gotrek Gurnisson embark on a perilous quest into the tunnels under Hammerhal Ghyra in search of a lost child. Despite being somewhat worse for wear after a heavy night, when Gotrek hears of a fearsome spirit said to haunt the catacombs he immediately joins the search alongside a party of humans, dragging Maleneth along for the ride. The aelf is none too keen to be accompanying Gotrek, but down amongst the darkness she sees an opportunity waiting to be grasped.

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QUICK REVIEW: Motherlode – Nick Kyme

Nick Kyme’s Motherlode is a cheeky, irreverent little Blackstone Fortress short story featuring the ratling brothers Rein and Raus, ex-Militarum auxiliaries who survive by virtue of nimble fingers, sharp wits and brotherly teamwork. After ditching their last client and returning to Precipice with valuables to sell, the brothers’ celebratory mood doesn’t last very long. When an attempt to offload their prize goes awry, it soon becomes clear that enemies from their shady past are returning to haunt them, and their survival instincts are going to be sorely tested if they’re to find a way out of this particular pickle.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Last Council – LJ Goulding

Occupying an interesting point in the Horus Heresy timeline somewhere between The Binary Succession and The Solar War, LJ Goulding’s short story The Last Council tackles the final session of the Council of Terra before it’s disbanded in anticipation of the Siege. As High Lords posture and bicker over costs, priorities and jurisdictions, Malcador finds himself dwelling on the purpose of the Council and his role as Regent. While the debate continues, the Sigillite looks to both the past and future, his mind occupied by Horus of course, and also by buried secrets and unpalatable truths.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Deserter – Justin D Hill

Justin D. Hill’s 27-minute audio drama The Deserter holds the honour of being the first ever Necromunda audio drama from Black Library, and delivers a character-driven story that cuts to the heart of life in the underhive. Corenne and her mother have been driven out of their home and forced to scrape a living in Dust Falls, scrabbling in the dust and hawking what few possessions they still have. Starving and desperate, Corenne turns to a strange, barely-lucid ex-soldier in the hope that he can help her reclaim her home, but the Deserter seems bound to let her down.

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RAPID FIRE: Mike Lee Talks The Rise of Nagash

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases – or in this case, a slightly older release from the Warhammer Chronicles series. 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 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 Mike Lee about his classic Warhammer Time of Legends series, The Rise of Nagash, which is available as a single-volume omnibus in the Warhammer Chronicles series. With Nagash playing a big role in the Age of Sigmar at the moment, there’s never been a better time to look back to the Great Necromancer’s earliest days!

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Anarch – Dan Abnett

The fifteenth (!) Gaunt’s Ghosts novel, and the fourth and final instalment in the long-running The Victory arc, Dan Abnett’s Anarch picks up almost immediately after the conclusion to The Warmaster (so beware spoilers if you’ve not read The Warmaster), on Urdesh. In the aftermath of Sek’s aborted assault on Eltath, most of the Ghosts are still dug in around the Tulkar Batteries, though some are in uneasy residence in makeshift billets beneath the Urdeshic Palace, while Gaunt wrestles with the realities of his new role. Neither Gaunt nor Rawne believe Sek was truly defeated, but nor do they yet understand the parts they have to play in coming events.

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QUICK REVIEW: A Lesson in Iron – David Guymer

A Horus Heresy Primarchs story set during the Great Crusade, A Lesson in Iron sees David Guymer tackle his favoured Iron Hands and give their primarch Ferrus Manus a little more time in the spotlight. Pursuing the fleeing remnants of the greenskin Rust empire and determined to finish them off, Ferrus takes his flagship – the Fist of Iron – into a strange warp rift. Instead of orks waiting for them, the Iron Hands find an unknown Imperial ship which appears to belong to their legion. What they find upon boarding that ship appears impossible, though it hints at a strange future.

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