Black Library Weekly: The Calm Before a Storm

Well, we can’t say they didn’t warn us, right?

While we all tend to get pretty excited with each preview, looking forward to what’s finally getting ready to be unleashed upon the world, it’s hard not to enjoy a week like this one where we don’t have anything up for preorder. Sure, there’s a new Arcane Journal and a Legions Imperialis rulebook around the corner, but when it comes to straight-up fiction we get to let our wallets take a welcome breather.

Don’t get too comfortable, though- it’s just the calm before a storm…

Special Editions Ahoy!

Warhammer Community has been spoiling us these last two weeks. First there was the reveal of a trio of upcoming titles from Marc Collins, Jonathan D. Beer, and Mike Vincent (covered here in more detail). That would be plenty to get excited about, but this week they pulled another reveal with a trio of upcoming special editions!

First up is Saints of the Imperium, a slipcase collection themed around notable icons of the Adepta Sororitas.  Although author Andy Clark comes to mind perhaps more for his recent Age of Sigmar work such as Gloomspite and Bad Loon Rising, back in 2019 he penned Celestine: The Living Saint with the short story Celestine: Revelation coming along the following year.

Also in 2020 we saw Davind Annandale’s Ephrael Stern: The Heretic Saint, a novel featuring a character that had first appeared in the Daemonifuge comic series in Warhammer Monthly starting way back in 1998 (and if you’re interested in Warhammer history, here’s where we looked at her in a little more depth as part of our 40K History of the Black Library ongoing series).

The final book comes to us by way of Danie Ware, who has written no small amount of well-regarded Sororitas fiction. Included in the boxed set is 2022’s The Triumph of St. Katherine.

It’s interesting that we’re seeing another three-book slipcase collection so soon after June’s Space Wolves: The Young Wolf and August’s Space Wolves: Spear of Russ. Meanwhile, we’re two-thirds of the way through the year without a single Mega Edition boxed set being announced, despite two being released in 2024 (for Jude Reid’s Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith and Interceptor City, by Dan Abnett).

Have we seen a product lineup shift? I certainly hope not, for as nice as these slipcase collections are I an eager for a new Mega Edition for the museum.

Next up? Assassinorum: Kingmaker, by Robert Rath. I always find it intriguing when Black Library writers stake out a unique corner for themselves and dive in with both feet. From 2019-2022 Rath wrote a novel and trio of short stories all under the Assassinorum banner, and while later work The Infinite and the Divine and Fall of Cadia rightly draw plaudits, these remain a fan favorite due to their resemblance to Cold War-era spy novels.

This printing will not only feature one of those stories- Assassinorum: Iron Sight, but also a new foreword from Rath.

Finally, we’re inching closer to the release of Voidscarred, the only previously-unreleased work of the lot. Warhammer Community first revealed the newest Mike Brooks novel back in early May, and we shouldn’t have much longer to wait. “Black Library doesn’t do a great job of explaining the differences between [Special Editions and Limited Editions],” notes Track of Words, and I can’t disagree. But it’s added that Special Editions are typically released concurrent with the hardcover release rather than ahead of it (as with Limited Editions), so it’s likely that regardless of which hardcover version you’re coveting, you won’t be disappointed.

When I noted the apparent absence of a foreword or afterword from the author, Brooks responded that he was “fairly sure I wrote an introduction to this one, but my memory could be playing tricks…”

Fingers crossed!

No timeline was given for the releases, but the last time Warhammer Community teased out special editions was this past May, and each of the four it announced are already on our bookshelves and in our libraries.

Don’t Sweat It

This week’s cautionary tale comes to us by way of sunny Greece. Sunny- and hot. Black Library fan Thodoris Barlatezu was kicking back with a good book, a hardcover copy of Eidolon, The Auric Hammer by Marc Collins.

As one does when it’s roasting out, Thodoris began to perspire but hard a hard time putting the book down. “I am not a fanboy of those degenerates,” he noted₁, “but it is very nicely written.”

After finishing the book, Thodoris noted with horror that the cover had sustained some ruboff damage on the foil lettering (pictured above). “[It was] sweat from the palm of my hand as i was holding it while reading it. I have to admit this is by far the worst thing to have happened to a book of mine while reading it- and I am very careful how I read my books.”

Because wherever there’s a problem there’s someone selling a solution, apparently “literary reading gloves” are a thing. That might be a bit much for many, but big thanks to Thodoris for wanting to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else!

Now, if only there was a way to save a beloved book from damage to the cover…

And In the Darkness Bind Them…

A few weeks ago we were delighted to showcase some custom bookbinding of Sandy Mitchell’s Hero of the Imperium and Dan Abnett’s Horus Rising.

Another fan in the Black Library subreddit shared a work they’d recently completed, a stunning custom binding of the Night Lords Omnibus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

Curious how to do it yourself? You’ll be delighted to learn that u/Gingerbre159 not only posted the fruits of their work, but also wrote up a complete guide on how! Check it out here, and who knows, maybe the next custom job we feature here will be yours!

ICYMI

With some of the other Goonhammer Gang stepping up with book reviews lately₂, I’ve been able to focus on developing some of our other Black Library content such as our 40K History, our exciting new regular series Black Library Bibliophiles, and some other exciting top-secret stuff I can’t wait to share with you all.

But this past week I chipped in a review of Gav Thorpe’s Luther: First of the Fallen, which just recently was released in paperback after being in limbo since April 2021. Featuring an unusual narrative structure- essentially a series of monologues- the book gives you a rare glimpse of what makes one of its more iconic villains tick. It got some love in the comments section as well. “This novel is required reading for any Dark Angels fan,” noted sentaph, with Dawfydd calling it “a fascinating read.”

Then there’s also this, a Lore Primer on the Grey Knights from Rob and Togepi! Lots of background on that most mysterious of chapters- and some book recommendations too!

Around the web, WarCom had some new Age of Sigmar mini-fiction this week in its Chronicles of Ruin series. The Aspirant’s Tale takes us to the Flesh-Eater Courts with a “a rip-roaring tale of chivalry and derring-do.”

Quick Hits

• If you’re seeing this for the first time then you’ve got a chance to get in before the window closes, as BlackLibrary.com brought back its book of the month promotion this week. August’s title is Broken Crusade by Steven B. Fischer (reviewed here), which also just released in paperback.
• Back in June we noted that Richard Swan (Tears of Raphaela, Blood Harvest) had an upcoming fantasy novella from Grimdark Magazine. Titled The Scour, it’s set in the world of his Empire of the Wolf trilogy. Reviewer Nils Shukla shared a picture of a proof copy and it looks gorgeous!
• Graham McNeill (Storm of Iron, Lords of the Lance) appeared on The Corner of Story and Game Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of writing within existing IP’s. Aspiring Black Library writers (and others) take note!
• We’ve posted before (most notably here) about the ongoing concerns the writing community has with the use of AI. This week Tim Waggoner (Skin Man) approached the issue from a different angle- his experiences as a collegiate professor.
• Paul Kane (Triggers) has co-edited an upcoming short story anthology for Flame Tree Publishing, revealing the cover this week. Beyond & Within: Witchcraft will feature folk and horror stories around what it means to be a witch.

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.

2025

• The High Kâhl’s Oath, by Gav Thorpe (paperback, 8/26) (review)
• The End and the Death: Volume III, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 8/26) (review 1, 2)
• The Legend of Sigmar, by Graham MacNeill (paperback, 9/9)
• Ciaphas Cain: The Anthology, by Sandy Mitchell (paperback, 9/23)
• The Twice-Dead King: The Omnibus, by Nate Crowley (paperback, 9/23)
• Elemental Council, by Noah Van Nguyen (paperback, 10/7) (review)
• Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith, by Jude Reid (paperback, 10/21)
• Double Eagle, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/18)
• Death and Duty, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 11/18)
• Interceptor City, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/18) (review)
• Hell’s Last, by Justin D. Hill (paperback, 12/16)
• The Rise of Nagash, by Mike Lee (paperback, 12/16)

2026

• Farsight: Blade of Truth, by Phil Kelly (paperback, 1/27)
• Fulgrim: The Perfect Son, by Jude Reid (paperback, 1/27) (review)
• The Shattered and the Soulless, by Graham McNeill (paperback, 1/27)
• Vaults of Terra: The Omnibus, by Chris Wraight (paperback, 1/27)
• Siege of Terra: The Shattered and the Soulless, by Graham McNeill (paperback, 1/29)
• 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)

That’s it for this week, happy reading!

Footnotes

1. Posted from the Black Library Nutters Facebook group here.
2. Seriously, they’re crushing it. Check out recent pieces like Lenoon’s terrific review of the Forges of Mars trilogy by Graham McNeil, Togepi taking aim at the Era of Ruin anthology, or Falcon’s examination of Robbie MacNiven’s Void Exile. 

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