They said it couldn’t be done, but by Jove I aimed to prove them wrong! This past Saturday saw me thousands of feet above the Earth in an American Airlines passenger jet headed for DC- just as the preorder window was getting ready to open. I’d made peace with the fact that I might have to miss out on the Yarrick Box Set given the vagaries of air travel, internet, and device usage- but I was determined to try.
Knowing I’d probably have to roll a natural 20 to pull it off, I used the voucher method to preload my Warhammer.com account. This would sidestep any need to enter in credit card info or link to PayPal- the latter being my usual modus operandi- and deduct the total directly from my store credit.
As the clock ticked towards that fateful 12:55pm EST, I had to shell out twelve bucks to access the plane’s wi-fi network. Turns out you can text and access select streaming options for free, but if you wanted to roam the web you had to open the wallet. But logged in and ready to go, Yarrick landed at 12:56, I shot my shot… and boom, baby! That’s how I became a member of the second-most-exciting Mile High Club this Saturday.
Up for Preorder
Just one book this week and it’s a regular hardcover, John French’s Dropsite Massacre. After the Box-set-palooza we’ve had lately, my wallet’s been pulling a Roberto Duran. Weeks like now- especially as we work our way through the holidays- are particularly welcome.
Speaking of holidays, if the Christmas-cum-Warhammer stuff is your thing, new ornaments and decorations are getting ready to roll off the assembly line.
There will also be two more audiobooks around the corner, with Spear of Ultramar by David Annandale and David Guymer’s Dreadwing.
As an aside, a lot of us use Amazon as a sort of preview of upcoming Warhammer releases and their release dates- the “Coming Attractions” section I include every week leans heavily upon it. A good example of why you need to take release dates with a few grains of salt is that it’s got the release date for Dropsite Massacre listed as 18 November, about a month later than when we now know it’s being released.
Believe It…or Not
While Warhammer isn’t beyond the occasional image leak (for instance, the reveal of Kill Team: Shadowhunt forced GW to announce it early on WARCOM), you don’t generally see leaks of physical product quite as often. Thus the community was surprised to discover a Limited Edition of Ashes of the Imperium by Chris Wraight had not only somehow made it into the wild over a month early, but had then sold on eBay (for a sum many would consider shockingly modest).
Real? Fake? Speculation abounded, but if it’s confirmed there’s a bit of good news for collectors- the limited run appears to have a quantity of 3,500 copies.
Still no word on Era of Ruin’s LE, though copies continue to slowly trickle through GW’s instore distribution channels.
Sharing a Six-Pack With… Jonathan D. Beer
Nope, it’s not ciders, it’s- what else- books! In our new occasional for the Black Library Weekly, we bend the ear of Black Library authors to get a half-dozen book recommendations.
This week it’s the Black Library’s man of the hour, Jonathan D. Beer. The author of The King of the Spoil and recently-in-paperback Dominion Genesis (reviewed here), Jonathan gets to see his first-ever Limited Edition novel arrive this weekend with Tomb World. Not only that, but he recently sat down with Goonhammer for an in-depth, comprehensive interview about his writing journey, what it’s like to write for the Black Library, and a dissection of the AdMech-centered Dominion Genesis.
So what books would he suggest you read? Let’s find out!
Three Black Library Books He’d Recommend…
- Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!, by Nate Crowley. “I loved this book from start to finish. A fascinating look at Ork psychology and society, that fits perfectly within the existing canon and approach to Warhammer 40,000 while broadening and deepening our understanding of da boyz and der Waaagh.”
- Black Legion, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. “Hardly needs any introduction from me. An absolute classic that takes moments of myth from the 40K canon and opens them up to glorious effect. The finale remains among my favourites from everything I’ve ever read: ‘He just wouldn’t die.'”
- Storm of Iron, by Graham McNeill. “One of the first Warhammer 40,000 books I read, and it remains a favourite. A great setup, great characters, great action – everything you could want from a throw-down between the Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists.”
Two Non-Black Library Books He’d Recommend…
4. American War, by Omar El Akkad. “A novel that has sadly only grown more relevant since its release. An uncomfortable read, painting an all-too-plausible picture of the future, exploring how radicalisation can arise from the choices others make for us.”
5. Luna: New Moon, by Ian McDonald. “The start of a cracking trilogy exploring the cultures that might emerge from the colonisation of the Moon. Places the plausible right alongside the weird, making for an extremely engaging read.”
And Finally, One of His Own Books He’d Recommend…
6. The King of the Spoil. “My debut novel, and the one I recommend to kindly friends and family who ask what it is I do. A story about how people at the bottom of Imperial society look for ways to feel in control of their lives.”
Thanks Jonathan!!
ICYMI
It was a light week last week from me as I was in Florida with the wife, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some great reads hitting the ol’ Goon!
Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones has been on a roll with the Lore Explainers, currently with a three-part deep dive on the Chaos Dwarfs. Last week he looked at the Dwarfs and the Legion of Azgorh, following on from his opener on Chaos Dwarfs in the Old World. Whether your new to the lore or just love basking in the nostalgia, take a look!
Then Lenoon took the opportunity to discuss the role of humor in the portrayal of the Orks in Warhammer 40K as he reviewed Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks. I’ve written before about my pickiness when it comes to Ork humor, notably last June in my review of Denny Flowers’ Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok, so I was delighted to see another take on the subject.
Outside of Goonhammer, the Fluffenhammer gang was at it again with its issue-by-issue podcast review of Warhammer Monthly, the comic book periodical. This time around they’re jumping into Issue #13, which featured Inquisitor, Shadowfast, and more!
Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club did a book review of David Annandale’s The Pyres of Armageddon– just in time for the upcoming Yarrick Box Set release.
Quick Hits
- Apex Magazine, the dark speculative fiction mag, has kicked off a Kickstarter for it’s upcoming issues in 2026. One of the stories you’ll be able to read is Piglet Delivers, by Black Library alum Maria Haskins (The Jagged Edge).
- Also coming up on Kickstarter is The Wolves of Winter, a 250-page epic graphic novel of Vikings fighting demons written by Graham McNeill. Want to know more? Mira Manga interviewed Graham recently all about it, and the fact that it’s launching on 12 November- just two days before my birthday- makes this one an easy back.
- The Waaaghtober! bundle from Humble offers a dozen Warhammer video games including Mechanicus, Inquisitor: Martyr, and Vermintide 2– all for just $25! Okay, so it ain’t books, but who doesn’t love a bargain?
- It’s a thin needle to thread, but if you happen to be in the Havant/Portsmouth/Fareham vicinity between the 15th and 18th of October and looking for something to do, The Spring Arts & Heritage Center is putting on nightly performances of the play Hangmen. Amongst the thespians plying their talents for your amusement is none other than Ben Counter (Battle for the Abyss, Grey Knights).
- Sigmar’s Toll, the new animated series on Warhammer+, just dropped its third episode. If you’re a subscriber, make sure to check it out.
Coming Attractions
Here’s a list of the date-set upcoming releases from the Black Library based on the available preorder information we have. As always, take all of this with a grain of salt unless it’s Games Workshop-confirmed.
Going forward, this section will be updated weekly in this column. Any titles that are announced but without a date will be added once a date is assigned it, and anything highlighted in green is something just added (or updated) this week.
Upcoming but Undated
- Master of Rites, by Rob Young
- Krakenblood, by Marc Collins
- The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (hardcover and Special)
- Steel Tread, by Andy Clark (hardcover and Special)
- Demolisher, by Andy Clark (hardcover and Special)
- Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (hardcover and Special)
Upcoming in 2025
- Tomb World, by Jonthan D. Beer (hardcover and Special Edition) 10/11
- Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith, by Jude Reid (paperback, 10/11)
- Dropsite Massacre, by John French (hardcover, 10/25)
- Ashes of the Imperium: The Scouring, by Chris Wraight (hardcover, 11/4)
- Double Eagle, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/18)
- Death and Duty: An Anthology, by various (paperback, 11/18)
- Interceptor City, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/18) (review)
- The Art of Warhammer Video Games, by Andy Hall (hardcover, 11/25)
- The Twice-Dead King: The Omnibus, by Nate Crowley (paperback, 12/2)
- Hell’s Last, by Justin D. Hill (paperback, 12/16)
- The Rise of Nagash, by Mike Lee (paperback, 12/16)
Upcoming in 2026
- Farsight: Blade of Truth, by Phil Kelly (paperback, 1/27)
- Fulgrim: The Perfect Son, by Jude Reid (paperback, 1/27) (review)
- Siege of Terra: The Shattered and the Soulless, by Graham McNeill (paperback, 1/27)
- Vaults of Terra: The Omnibus, by Chris Wraight (paperback, 1/27)
- Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 3/10)
- Carcharodons: Void Exile, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 3/10)
- The Green Tide, by Mike Brooks, Nate Crowley, and Justin Woolley (paperback 3/24)
- Carnage Unending, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 4/21)
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