Forgotten Texts: The Raven’s Claw by Jonathan Curran

“I see ravens wheeling, but beyond the shadows there is only darkness.”

The Raven’s Claw is the first of Jonathan Curran’s two Black Library stories, a tale of betrayal and absolution. On a war-torn Imperial world, the planetary Governor watches from the relative safety of his palace while the city around him burns in the fire of rebellion. His personal psyker, a telepath tasked with identifying threats before they take place, finds his vision clouded and uncertain, his gift strangely dampened. Meanwhile a man wakes in the darkness of a penal legion dropship, with no memory of his name or who he is, and is thrown into the grind of war.

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QUICK REVIEW: Mazlocke’s Cantrip of Superior Substitution – Graeme Lyon

Graeme Lyon’s wonderfully titled Blood Bowl short story Mazlocke’s Cantrip of Superior Substitution sees the legendary Jim and Bob commentating on a lower league match with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. Little do they know that the desperate coach of the Black Water Boyz has hired an unlicensed wizard to give his team an edge over their opponents, the Talabheim Titans. When the wizard’s spell takes effect, what seemed sure to be an uninspiring match turns into something rather more spectacular. Of course, an unlicensed wizard might not prove to be the most reliable of options for the Boyz…
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Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Seven – Blood of Asaheim by Chris Wraight

I’ve had a copy of Chris Wraight’s Blood of Asaheim on my shelf for a few years now, but until it was revealed as the seventh book in Hachette’s Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection I had never got around to reading it. Having two copies on the shelf and STILL not reading it just seemed wrong, so I happily rectified the situation – you can find my review here, but suffice to say I thoroughly enjoyed it!
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Forgotten Texts: Mark Brendan Talks Tenebrae

One of my earlier Forgotten Texts articles featured the short story Tenebrae by Mark Brendan, a bleak, gripping, psychological story that’s quite unusual for Black Library. If you haven’t checked out that article, you can find it here. Mark has kindly agreed to answer some short questions about writing Tenebrae, and what he’s been up to since. Without further ado, here’s the interview…

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Horus Rising – Dan Abnett

This is where it all started, back in 2006 – Horus Rising by Dan Abnett, the first novel in Black Library’s ever-growing Horus Heresy series. It’s the start of the 31st millennium, and the Great Crusade is almost complete. A year after the Triumph at Ullanor, after the Emperor returned to Terra, the newly-elevated Warmaster Horus commands the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet and his Luna Wolves in the continuation of the Crusade and the promulgation of the Imperial Truth. Along their path are set two long-lost human civilisations, each wildly different, who react to being reunited with the rest of humanity in contrasting ways. Hope is still preeminent, but change is in the air.

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Forgotten Texts: The Falls of Marakross – Steve Parker

“Behind the greatest zeal, do we not often hide our secret shame?”

Steve Parker’s first story for Black Library, The Falls of Marakross is set in the Pyrus Reach, the setting for Sabretooth Games’ long out of print Dark Millennium card game. On the Imperial world of Cordassa, under siege by forces of Chaos, the arrival of a Dark Angels force led by Interrogator Chaplain Artemius raises the embattled defenders’ hopes. Inquisitor Heiron, however, is doubtful of the Angels’ objective – are they there to support the defenders, or for shadowy purposes of their own?

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Helsreach Animation

The best Black Library books are often really cinematic, jam packed with scenes that play out in the mind’s eye of the reader as though they were taking place on the big screen. With that in mind, many a fan has wondered why the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 haven’t been translated into films or TV shows, with the exception of the poorly-received Ultramarines movie. It’s a good question, although the answer is probably something to do with Games Workshop’s (perfectly understandable) desire to keep a tight rein on their intellectual property – if they’re going to do it, they’ll want to make sure it’s done their way. I can see how that might not appeal to film and TV studios keen to make as much money as possible.

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Daedalus – LJ Goulding

Another step on his road to world domination instalment in his ongoing Scythes of the Emperor arc, LJ Goulding’s audio drama Daedalus is a tense, breathless hour of aerial Space Marine action. Named for a particular Tyranid Hive Ship, its sees an under-strength assault squad embark on a dangerous mission to rescue a stranded apothecary and, more importantly, the geneseed he’s protecting. Still reeling from their losses at Sotha and Miral, the Scythes’ highest priority is to protect their precious stocks of remaining geneseed, but with so few brothers remaining they can only spare a handful for this risky mission.

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QUICK REVIEW: Foul Play – Andy Hall

Andy Hall’s second Blood Bowl short story, Foul Play follows retired lineman Gulden von Sulkenhof, otherwise known as Sulk, who’s reduced to working as hired muscle for a pair of ogre gangsters. When his bosses place a risky bet on a match between the Gouged Eye and the Dwarf Giants, Sulk is roped in to be the referee in order to ensure the result goes their way. That’s easier said than done, and Sulk quickly finds himself between the Blood Bowl equivalent of a rock and a hard place.

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