Category Archives: Black Library

QUICK REVIEW: The Corpse Road – Graham McNeill

Graham McNeill’s short story The Corpse Road does for Honsou what Do Eagles Still Circle the Mountain? did for Uriel Ventris, picking up after The Chapter’s Due and showing us what the Warsmith did next. While Ventris went off hunting orks, Honsou took an unusual route out of the Ultramarines’ domain…in a corpse-hauler. His mission to see Ultramar burn may not have ended how he’d hoped, but his ‘failure’ certainly hasn’t dented his ambition. Here we get a sense of what he’s got his sights set on next…

Keep reading…

Black Library Weekly – W/C 16/01/17

Hello and welcome back to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, where I’m taking a look through this week’s Black Library activity. It’s been a remarkably quiet week on the Black Library front, with nothing really in the way of news and hardly anything released at the weekend. As usual though, let’s start at the beginning…

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: The Shadowmasters – Gav Thorpe

The Shadowmasters by Gav Thorpe has seen three releases; first in prose inside the dust jacket for the Limited Edition Corax: Soulforge, next as a standalone 12-minute audio drama, and finally in prose again within Book 41: Corax. However it’s consumed, it’s a short but sweet exploration of the Mor Deythan, those Raven Guard able to tap into Corax’s gift and become one with the shadows. Set during the events of Soulforge it sees Sergeant Chamell leading his fellow Shadowmasters behind enemy lines to sow fear and confusion as part of the wider Raven Guard assault on Atlas.
 Keep reading…

Corax: Soulforge – Gav Thorpe

First published in 2013, Gav Thorpe’s Corax: Soulforge was the fourth Limited Edition novella to be released in the Horus Heresy series. Set after the events of Deliverance Lost it sees Corax and the Raven Guard fighting their shadow war, determined to be a thorn in the side of the forces of Horus. After learning that Word Bearers are working alongside the Mechanicum overlords of the forge world Constanix II, Corax leads part of his legion to investigate and deal with whatever the XVIIth are planning. Meanwhile Commander Agapito continues to wrestle with his emotions after the horrors of Isstvan V.

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Jonathan Green Talks Salvation

The first of my Forgotten Texts reviews, looking back at vintage Black Library short stories from the days of Inferno! Magazine, was for Jonathan Green’s classic Ultramarines vs Tyranids short story Salvation. As an extra treat, Jonathan has kindly agreed to talk a little about this 20 year old short story and the process of writing it! Without further ado, over to the author…

Keep reading…

Forgotten Texts: Salvation by Jonathan Green

“Left behind, as he himself had been…”

A classic short story from way back in 1997, Jonathan Green’s Salvation follows Brother Rius of the Ultramarines’ 1st Company as he and his brothers battle the Tyranid menace on Jaroth, a newly rediscovered Imperial world. After chancing upon the planet during a routine patrol, the Ultramarines acknowledge their duty to protect its natural resources and defenceless population, despite facing appalling odds. Brother Rius and his squad find themselves in the thick of the action, determined to wipe the Tyranids out to the last creature, but when Rius is badly wounded he earns a newfound respect for the honest, hardy locals.

Keep reading…

Introducing…Forgotten Texts

There’s been fiction set in the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes for a LONG time, in one form or another. Way back in the depths of time you could buy novels set in these world (and indeed all sorts of other Games Workshop-related settings) published by GW Books and then Boxtree, before Black Library itself was set up in 1997, originally as part of the wider BL Publishing division of Games Workshop and later its own division.

Keep reading…

QUICK REVIEW: Fatespinner – Chris Wraight

Another story* originally published in the event-only Honour of the Space Marines anthology, Chris Wraight’s Fatespinner pits two ancient enemies against each other as Rune Priest Thorskir Helsturjm pursues Thousand Sons sorcerer Ramon to the world of Rigo V. Hidden deep beneath the surface is a darkness from an older time that Ramon seeks to unleash, while Thorskir leads his pack in hurried pursuit, determined to finally bring his nemesis to heel and prevent his plans from coming to fruition. As their fates converge, it becomes clear that these two warriors are linked by more than just their age-old enmity.

Keep reading…

Silver Skulls: Portents – SP Cawkwell

Sarah Cawkwell’s Silver Skulls: Portents is her second novel featuring the Silver Skulls chapter of Space Marines (after The Gildar Rift), and features characters who have previously shown up in various short stories. The main protagonist is Sergeant Gileas Ur’ten, considered something of a rogue element by his superiors as a result of his fiery temper and unusual heritage, who leads his squad into battle against the archenemy on Valoria Quintus at the behest of the chapter’s Prognosticators. With the Inquisition involved in the mission however, there’s more at stake than just Gileas’ place in the chapter.

Keep reading…

Black Library Weekly – W/C 09/01/17

Hello and welcome back to Black Library Weekly, where I’m taking a look through this week’s Black Library activity. The week has mostly been focused on the ucoming Magnus the Red book from Graham McNeill, but it’s also seen the first Age of Sigmar release of 2017 as well as a nostalgic look back at a Warhammer classic from the Old World. As usual though, let’s start at the beginning…

Keep reading…