Category Archives: Black Library

Agent of the Throne: Blood and Lies – John French

The opening instalment of John French’s Agent of the Throne audio drama series, which ties into the wider Horusian Wars arc, Blood and Lies sees Ianthe (first seen in the short story The Purity of Ignorance) recounting the tale of her first solo mission for Inquisitor Covenant. Dispatched to Mithras to deal with a troublesome cult before it becomes too much of a problem, only to find a deeper darkness lurking beneath, she has to use of all the tools – human and otherwise – at her disposal in order to fulfil her oaths and complete her mission.

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Carcharadons: Red Tithe – Robbie MacNiven

Carcharadons: Red Tithe is Robbie MacNiven’s second Black Library novel (after the serialised Legacy of Russ) and the first novel to really focus in on the Carcharadons as a Space Marine chapter. On the penal world of Zartak, deep within the dwindling adamantium mines, thousands of convicts toil under their arbitrator overseers’ supervision. Only young Skell, gifted with the mixed blessing of foresight, understands that darkness is approaching Zartak. Two fleets of predators, each intent on the same objectives – slaves, materiel and Skell himself. Caught between the Carcharadons and the Night Lords, the Imperial defenders see little to choose between the two.

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QUICK REVIEW: Hidden Treasures – Cavan Scott

Not quite a micro-short, Cavan Scott’s Warhammer 40,000 short story Hidden Treasures provides a brief, bleak look at life away from the battlefield in the 41st millennium. For brothers Elias and Marco, scavenging in the dark corners of Manos City and trying to avoid the attention of the local gangs, life is hard. When they stumble across an unexpected bounty, the ever-present dangers are increased exponentially as the line between their world and the Imperium’s eternal, ongoing war is somehow blurred.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 07/08/17

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. August is rapidly progressing, but after an exciting week last time around things have calmed down a bit – which is good for the wallet, albeit a bit less interesting. Let’s take a look at what’s been going on, though…

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Architect of Fate – Cawkwell, Counter, French and Hinks

Part of Black Library’s Space Marine Battles series, Architect of Fate is made up of novellas from Sarah Cawkwell, Darius Hinks, Ben Counter and John French featuring various Space Marine chapters and members of the Inquisition battling against daemonic plots and manipulations on the fringes of the Eye of Terror. Four quite different stories told in each author’s distinct style, they nevertheless fit together nicely with common themes, the occasional bit of connective tissue, and a consistent tone.

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Legends of the Dark Millennium: Ultramarines

Collecting together stories about the boys in blue from five different authors, Legends of the Dark Millennium: Ultramarines features two novellas, prose versions of two audio dramas, and five further short stories. The emphasis is on named characters, with such Ultramarines luminaries as Marneus Calgar, Chaplain Cassius, Cato Sicarius, Torias Telion and Varro Tigurius shared out across four stories by Graham McNeill, two by Nick Kyme, and one each from Steve Lyons, Josh Reynolds and Gav Thorpe. Lyons’ novella Knight of Talassar is exclusive to this collection, while the remaining stories are available elsewhere as well.

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QUICK REVIEW: Old Scars – George Mann

One of only a handful of Black Library stories featuring the Brazen Minotaurs chapter of Space Marines, George Mann’s Old Scars sees Captain Daed and his brothers descend up on ice-bound Imperial world to liberate it from the invading orks. Keen to inflict a decisive victory and dismissive of the Imperial Guard’s efforts to date, Daed plans an all-out frontal assault despite the doubts of his closest brothers, who question whether vengeance for his old wounds is driving his decisions.

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 31/07/17

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. It’s the first week of August, which means two things – the announcement of November’s upcoming releases, and the release date for Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Black Legion novel! Lots to talk about, so without further ado…
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Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Nine – Angels of Darkness by Gav Thorpe

For issue nine of Hachette’s Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection, Black Library legend Gav Thorpe gets his first inclusion with Angels of Darkness. First published way back in 2003, this is one of the seminal 40k novels, widely credited with nailing down much of the Dark Angels’ backstory and regularly referenced as one of the best books from that period of Black Library’s output. Typically, I somehow missed it first time around – it was just one of those books that I always meant to read, but never did. Happily, its inclusion in this collection gave me the perfect opportunity to remedy that situation!

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Shroud of Night – Andy Clark

Billed as ‘a novel from the Dark Imperium’, Shroud of Night was only the second Black Library novel to be released post #new40k, and coincidentally Andy Clark’s second novel. Within Imperium Nihilus, away from the light of the Astronomicon, the world of Tsadrekha is a point of light amidst the darkness, its miraculous beacon holding the armies of Chaos at bay. Sent by one of the competing Chaos warlords to find and and corrupt the beacon, the Unsung – an elite Alpha Legion unit – are soon caught between the Imperium’s defences and a brutal assault led by Khârn the Betrayer himself.

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