Category Archives: Black Library

Ten Years of Black Library

It’s been almost 10 years since I started Track of Words, and over that time I’ve read somewhere north of 400 Black Library books (not to mention goodness knows how many short stories), and reviewed a large proportion of those! As I draw to the end of this 10-year period, I thought it might be interesting to look back at all those BL books and pick out my personal highlights from the last decade. I’ve gone through each year from 2014 to 2023 and, from the books that a) were published that year, and b) I actually read that year, selected a single book as my pick for each year – and I tell you, that was not an easy task!

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5 Age Of Sigmar Books That Deserve Sequels (But Probably Won’t Get Them)

For a while now Black Library’s Age of Sigmar range has been focused very much on individual books rather than trilogies or sequels*, but with the announcement of Richard Strachan’s Temple of Silence – the follow-up to Hallowed Ground – it looks like maybe, maybe, that might be changing. This got me thinking about which other AoS novels deserve the sequel treatment, so I’ve picked out five books that I personally loved, and which have been crying out for sequels. Most of these books have been out for quite a few years already, so chances are the window for sequels is long gone, but that doesn’t mean we as readers should stop talking about them, and asking BL for more!

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Like Warhammer? Try This: Aconyte Books

I know a lot of Track of Words readers are big Black Library fans, but what if – like me – you’re keen to look beyond the boundaries of Warhammer and find new fantasy and science fiction worlds to explore? It can be tricky to know where to start, and with so many SFF books published each year choosing a new book or series can sometimes feel a bit intimidating. The answer, I think, is to try something by an author you’re already familiar with – so think of your favourite Black Library authors, and look for some of their non-BL stories! Not every BL author writes for other publishers, but plenty of them do, so you’ve got a ready-made list of writers whose work will give you great entry points to the wider world of SFF.

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Black Library: Age of Sigmar Grand Alliances

If you’re familiar with Warhammer Age of Sigmar then you’ll probably know that in the game at least, the various armies are grouped loosely into four Grand Alliances – Chaos, Death, Destruction and Order – each containing a range of different factions and races, not all of which always see eye to eye. Recently I got to wondering about how this concept is represented in Black Library fiction, and whether I could think of one standout book for each Grand Alliance – one thing led to another, and the end result is this article. I’ve picked out four Age of Sigmar books that I’ve really enjoyed, and I’ll talk a bit about why each one is – in my opinion – the best place to start (so far) with its Grand Alliance.

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Best of Black Library 2020 – Age of Sigmar

As 2020 comes to a close and 2021 beckons, I’m looking back at the Black Library stories I’ve read over the last twelve months or so and picking out some of my highlights for the year. I’ve already written articles like this for 40k and the Horus Heresy, but now it’s time to look at Age of Sigmar. Have a look at those earlier articles if you haven’t already, then read on for a few thoughts on each of the three Age of Sigmar stories I’ve enjoyed reading the most in 2020. Once again, I’ve set myself two criteria – stories that were published in 2020, and (obviously) that I have read during 2020.

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The Mirrored City – Josh Reynolds

Published in 2018 as a tie-in to the then-new Warhammer Underworlds sub-setting of Age of Sigmar, Josh Reynolds’ The Mirrored City introduces the city of Shadespire, exploring the curse laid upon it and its Katophrane rulers by Nagash, and the damned souls caught within its tangled streets. Seguin Reynar is one such soul, a deserter from the Freeguild who made his way to Shadespire seeking his fortune only to find himself hunted, trapped, and caught up in the schemes of one of the city’s ancient, bitter ruler-spirits. As he explores the city, battling its many and varied denizens and doing his best to avoid the attentions of the blood-crazed Chaos worshipper tracking him, Reynar searches for a way to escape both the attentions of Katophrane Sadila and the cursed city itself.

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Dark Harvest – Josh Reynolds

An Age of Sigmar novel released under Black Library’s Warhammer Horror imprint, Josh Reynolds’ Dark Harvest is a sinister, atmospheric tale of old gods and lost faith in the grey swamps of Ghyran. Once a warrior priest of Sigmar, now reduced to scraping a living as hired muscle, Harran Blackwood finds his quiet life in Greywater Fastness rocked when he receives a message which stirs up painful memories from his past. Setting out with violence in his heart, Blackwood travels to the squalid town of Wald to seek the message’s sender, but finds a deeper and older darkness lurking in the wilds.

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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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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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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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