QUICK REVIEW: Redemption Through Sacrifice – Justin Woolley

Established sci-fi author Justin Woolley makes his Black Library debut with Redemption Through Sacrifice, a Warhammer 40,000 short story featuring penal legionnaires, filthy heretics and the Inquisition. Ex-sergeant Marcus van Veenan, late of the Talissian 51st, joins thousands of other under-equipped cannon fodder – members of the Second Rapture Penal Legion, the ‘Meat Dogs’ – on Vandicius, tasked with shoring up the Imperial defences against a rampaging heretical cult. The disciplined days of his past in the Imperial Guard are gone, replaced by the chance to earn the Emperor’s forgiveness with his death, but van Veenan’s usefulness to the Imperium isn’t over yet.

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The Best Black Library Anthologies of 2019: January to June

For my fourth and final article looking back at the best Black Library releases from the first half of 2019 – after looking at novels, audio dramas and short stories – this time I’m picking out my favourite anthologies published between January and June. While some of the other categories have been pretty tricky, this one was less of a tough choice, simply because there hasn’t been anywhere near as many anthologies released in 2019 as novels. I’m a huge fan of short story anthologies, however, so I think it’s definitely worth looking at a few of the best of these as well – if nothing else, they help demonstrate the sheer breadth of storytelling available to Black Library fans!

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The Best Black Library Short Stories of 2019: January to June

I’ve already written articles about the best Black Library novels, audio dramas and anthologies of 2019 so far, so this time around I’m picking out my personal favourite short stories released from January to June. For me personally the first couple of months of 2019 were a bit disappointing from the perspective of BL’s Digital Monday short stories, as the vast majority of them were pulled from older anthologies rather than being brand new stories. That changed as the year moved on, however, and looking back now there have been some fantastic tales released over the first half of the year.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Book of Transformations – Matt Keefe

Matt Keefe’s first contribution to the Age of Sigmar setting – and first Black Library short story for some years – The Book of Transformations takes the feel of an old-school Warhammer story and updates it for the Mortal Realms. In the magic-infused streets of a Chamonite city, the alchemist-turned-apothecary Mehrigus practices his art and dreams of greater things. To Mehrigus, the pinnacle of the apothecary’s arts would be to meld art, science and magic and achieve transformation as a cure. Though scorned by the Collegiate Arcane, his obsession continues to deepen, and as plague wracks the city his efforts appear to be rewarded.

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The Best Black Library Audio Dramas of 2019: January to June

The first half of 2019 brought with it a LOT of new content for Black Library fans to enjoy, with almost forty new books or audio dramas released between January and June, not to mention an impressive number reprints and digital-only short stories. In other articles I’ve run through my personal choices for the best BL novels, short stories and anthologies released so far, and in this article I’m going to do the same thing but for audio dramas. In recent years Black Library have invested heavily in this particular storytelling medium, and so far 2019 has – in my opinion – continued to show the benefits of that investment with some genuinely fantastic new releases.

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Apocalypse – Josh Reynolds

Part of Black Library’s Space Marine Conquests series, Josh Reynolds’ Apocalypse is the first in the range to not focus on a single specific Chapter of Space Marines. Instead, it features a mixed Imperial force defending an isolated system against Word Bearers intent on conquest. As Amatnim Ur-Nabas Lash leads his fractious forces towards the Ecclesiarchy world of Almace, Lieutenant Calder of the Imperial Fists plans the loyalist defences with the aid of Suboden Khan of the White Scars and Raven Guard Lieutenant Karros. If he’s to succeed Calder knows he must play to his forces’ unique strengths but also get the most out of Almace’s Ecclesiarchy overlords.

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The Best Black Library Novels of 2019: January to June

2019 so far has been a busy year for Black Library, whose punishing release schedule continues to churn out new books, audio dramas and short stories at a phenomenal rate. Over the six months from January to June BL released somewhere in the region of FORTY new books or audio dramas, as well as a similar number of reprints (i.e. paperback editions, or reprinted hardbacks) and almost as many short stories. In this article I’m taking a look back at the first half of 2019 to highlight what I personally think have been the best new novels to have been released.

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RAPID FIRE: Chris Wraight Talks The Hollow Mountain

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to Black Library author Chris Wraight about his new Warhammer 40,000 novel The Hollow Mountain, the second book in the excellent Vaults of Terra series, which is available to pre-order right now in ebook, hardback and audiobook.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Darkling Hours – Rachel Harrison

This short story is available in the Black Library Events Anthology 2018/19 or as a standalone e-short.

A dark and folklore-tinged tale featuring Commissar Severina Raine and the 11th Antari Rifles, Rachel Harrison’s Scribe Award-nominated short story The Darkling Hours pits Raine, Captain Andren Fel and his Duskhounds against an unseen foe able to tap directly into their fears. Dispatched by aerial insertion into the sinister depths of a vast open-pit mine controlled by the Sighted, the small squad’s mission is clear – to infiltrate the mine complex, find the witch lurking at its heart, and kill it. Down in the cold darkness however, the witch’s power grows as they draw closer, and their strength is sorely tested.

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The October Man – Ben Aaronovitch

The second novella in Ben Aaronovitch’s long-running Rivers of London series, The October Man is the first instalment in which the action takes place out of the UK and away from the usual cast of characters. This time around the focus is on Tobias Winter, apprentice wizard and Investigator in the German Federal Police, who’s dispatched to the city of Trier when a man’s body is discovered covered in fungus. Ably assisted by the enthusiastic Vanessa Sommer from the local Trier police, Tobias’ investigation ends up involving Trier’s wine growing traditions, reluctant water spirits, dangerous magical history and middle-age adventurousness.

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