Another quiet week for new Black Library releases, a continuing mercy for those of us deciding which kidney we’ll be flogging so we don’t miss out on Saturnine. That’s right the new edition of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy has finally arrived for preorder.
That’s not to say fans of fluff, lore, and stories were totally left out in the cold. For one thing, the paperback edition of Dan Abnett’s The End and the Death Volume II tagged along for the ride.
Not only that, but fans of the collectible maps were treated to not one, but two treasures this week as well. The first of these is the Carta Galactica: The Imperium of Man map, which depicts the expanse of humanity during the time of the Heresy.
The other is a deluxe collector’s piece detailing the flagship of Horus himself, the Vengeful Spirit. While the Carta Galactica map is on paper stock, this one’s printed on cotton with a faux-leather cover.
ICYMI
If you’ve ever wondered what was out there for 40K role-playing these days, we published a primer this week on Cubicle 7 Games’ Warhammer: Wrath & Glory RPG. Neither a comprehensive deep dive or a review, but more a ‘what’s this game system like’ piece, it gives a good overview of how Wrath & Glory works.
For you historians out there, we also released the latest installment in my History of the 40K Black Library series. Covering the seminal year of 1999, we saw the return of the novel to the Library’s stable of offerings.
Around the horn Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club have reviewed Fifteen Hours by Mitchel Scanlon, the classic Imperial Guard story that was given a hardcover Twentieth Anniversary reprint earlier this year.
Finally, big congratulations to the Lorehammer Podcast for ringing in their 200th episode! That’s no small amount of persistence and dedication!
Want to Work for the Black Library?
For those of you on the hunt for a dream job, one of these might fit the bill. Games Workshop has two job listings up for the Black Library, and they offer a bit of insight into how things function behind the scenes.
The Desk Editor proofreads and copyedits upcoming Black Library releases, making sure things line up with the appropriate lexicons and style guides and that the “brand is authentically represented.” This role also works closely with the printers, making sure books look the way on paper they’re intended to look.
Meanwhile, the Commissioning Editor plies their trade further upstream, working from story pitches to completed manuscripts. Editing for story content, structure, and character development, this role makes sure that by the time the books get to the printers they’re the best version of the story they could be,
Both jobs will remain open for about another week, so if this is something you’re keen to be considered for you’ll want to jump on it soon.
Age of Sigmar Turns Ten
The Age of Sigmar setting rang in its decennium, and folks have been marking the occasion. “Surreal to think that I’ve had the opportunity to leave my own mark on the setting, noted Chris Thursten (Darkoath, Cauldron of Blood), “more to come!”
“Stop!” said David Guymer (Realmslayer, Lords of Stone, Fire, and Sky), pointing at Beneath the Black Thumb, “I don’t want to be this old!”
AoS fiction fans were also in for a treat this week as the next installment of Warhammer Community’s Chronicles of Ruin mini-stories was dropped, this one featuring the Idoneth Deepkin.
And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Warhammer Summer Preview on 18 July. A new Age of Sigmar army has been teased (Chaos Dwarfs seem to be the odds-on favorite), and there will be plenty of reveals for the other games as well.
Quick Hits
- Huge news from Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Day of Ascension) this week, as Universal Pictures has acquired his novella Saturation Point for film adaption. No less a pair of names than Cynthia Erivo and Michael Bay are attached as producers, and it seems they’re potentially looking to make a film franchise from it.
- Tim Waggoner (Skin Man) continues to cement his title of ‘hardest working man in horror’ with another short story just out in the latest issue of Chthonic Matter Quarterly, And You Will Live Forever in Horror. He also sat down for a video interview on words, images, and worlds.
- Torunn Grønbekk (Sisters of Battle) announced the release of the first part of BASTIAN, a comic story she wrote with Dave Acosta providing the art. The story is set in the Three Worlds / Three Moons comic universe.
- Looking for your next read? Maria Haskins (The Jagged Edge) has her next list of recommended books with a Pride Month theme.
- Shauna Lawless (The Last Psyker) just released Dreams of Chaos, her latest novella in her Gael Song series. “A young Irish prince must forge his own path in a land of war and magic..”
- Rob J. Hayes (Anarchy’s End, No Quarter) next book in the science-fantasy epic God Eater Saga, Black Cloaks, is releasing on 29 July. Here’s the Amazon link, but as always I recommend ordering through your local independent bookseller whenever you can.
- Juliet McKenna (Fear Itself) revealed the title and cover for her next book in the Green Man series, The Green Man’s Holiday. The book will be releasing this October.
- Mark Latham (Kobos Falls, Judgement) will be doing an AMA on Reddit’s r/Fantasy on 17 July, with the occasion of the release of his newest novel The Last Vigilant.
Writers Are Fans, Too
While I’ll never scorn an author making an honest living selling the fruits of their imagination, I take an extra degree of satisfaction knowing how many of the writers whose stories and words populate the shelves of the Black Library are themselves genuine Warhammer fans first, and Black Library writers second. Here are some who shared that love this week.Â
Here’s Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the recent Age of Sigmar novella On the Shoulders of Giants (review here) showing off his Sanctifier Kill Team, “A Flamethrower for Liebowitz.”
Denny Flowers (Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok, Above and Beyond) showed off his Blood Bowl work in progress. Looking great, Denny!
And that’s it for this week. Until next, happy reading!
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