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…
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.
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.
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.
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…
Keep reading…
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!
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.
Available as a standalone e-short or within the Path of the Eldar omnibus, Gav Thorpe’s short story Dark Son takes an interesting look at whether a warrior of Commorragh might be able to find peace and redemption through the Craftworlders’ concept of the Path. Dark Eldar incubus Kolidaran has spent his entire life fighting – to survive, to find the incubi shrine, to keep his soul safe from She Who Thirsts – but is there another option for survival, one that the Commorraghans have never considered? After joining a raid on an Alaitocii eldar ship, he has the chance to find out.
Hello and welcome to another instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. While last week ended up surprisingly busy and full of interesting goings-on, this week has been somewhat quieter. As usual, though, there’s still been enough to talk about here. Let’s get to it…
The third Dan Abnett novel to be included in the series so far, book eight in the Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection from Hachette and Black Library is First and Only. In 40k terms they don’t come much bigger or popular than Gaunt’s Ghosts, so the first book in the series is another complete no-brainer, the sort of book that long-running fans will enjoy revisiting and brand new fans will love reading for the first time. It’s also, fact fans, the first ever Black Library novel – previous books, including classic novels by the likes of Ian Watson, were published by various imprints before Black Library was launched.