Black Library Weekly: The Relentless Drip Cycle

Is it just me, or does something feel like it’s changed with Black Library’s drip cycle?

I haven’t exactly been keeping track, but it seems like we’re being fed teasers of what’s coming up in the pipeline just a little more frequently. No sooner do a couple upcoming, teased titles get released into the wild (Krakenblood by Marc Collins, John French’s Dropsite Massacre) than we get a couple replicants on the watchlist.

This week- in two different Warhammer Community articles- we were treated to reveals of a new Belisarius Cawl book from Guy Haley, Archmagos, as well as another Yuletide novella with Da Red Gobbo (Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand by Black Library newcomer Andi Ewington).

Indeed, adding those two to the “Upcoming but Undated” section of our Coming Attractions release tracker (at the end of each week’s column) gave us a total of seven books we know are coming up but haven’t been given a release date yet (on Saturday, it was then updated again yesterday after the release of the Sunday Preview)

If keeping a half-dozen or so books teased at any given time is representative of a shift in marketing strategy on the part of Games Workshop, then long may it last!

Up for Preorder

Revealed on Monday, up for preorder the next Sunday, Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand set a record for the drip cycle that will be hard to beat as the Sunday Preview revealed a host of Black Library treasures headed our way!

Perhaps the biggest of these was The Relentless Dead by Steve Lyons (Dead Men Walking, Krieg). The Krieg have had a stellar year with an Army box release and their back catalogue re-released in Special Editions. The Siege of Vraks was the Book of the Year for 2024 on the Black Library, and The Relentless Dead will be getting the same Special Edition treatment as Lyons’ previous three and include an additional short story, The Forge. It will also be available as a standard-edition hardcover.

Back to Da Gobbo for a moment, Da Red Gobbo Collection, first released last year on 16 November, is now being offered in paperback. It features a trio of novellas (Da Gobbo’s Revenge by Mike Brooks alongside Da Gobbo’s Demise and Da Wrong Type of Green by Denny Flowers) as well as a pair of shorts (Da Gobbo Rides Again and The Instigator, both by Rhuairidh James).

And speaking of short stories, fans of Black Library anthologies will be delighted to see not one, but two more up for preorder! Death and Duty: An Astra Militarum Anthology will feature a dozen stories from authors including Steve Lyons, Victoria Hayward (Deathworlder, The Feast of St. Luthera), and Justin Woolley (Long Live Da Red Gobbo, Catachan Devil).

Not only that, but it also includes a trio of brand new short stories included as well from John Sollitto (Redemption through Blood), Russell Zimmerman (Seven Ships), and Tom R. Pike (Dream of the Locust).

Then there’s No Peace Among Stars, which will carry a further sixteen shorts from writers like Richard Swan (Blood Harvest, Tears of Raphaela), Mike Vincent (Blades of Atrocity, The Remnant Blade), and R. S. Wilt (Final Deployment, The Guns of Enth). I love that this one spotlights some of the Black Library’s up-and-coming stars of tomorrow, but both of these will be must-haves.

Finally, Dan Abnett’s brace of books about the Phantine Air Corps, Double Eagle and Interceptor City, will be landing in paperback. And where my Deutschsprachige at? Mike Brooks’ Lelith Hesperax, Die Königin der Messer will be out in hardcover.

Whew! After all that, I need a beer.

Sharing a Six-Pack With…Marc Collins

Nope, it’s not IPA’s, 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 we’re hearing from Marc Collins, whose Krakenblood was just up for preorder in both standard hardcover and a lush Special Edition this past weekend. Collins was also the author of Eidolon: The Auric Hammer, which took runner-up for the Black Library Book of the Year for 2024. He took a moment to share with us some of the reads that have really left an impression upon him.

Three Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

1. Fire Caste, by Peter Fehervari. “Probably one of my favourite ever 40k novels. Drenched in madness and despair, it was ironically a breath of fresh air. Fehervari is one of those people who just gets what the setting is capable of, and his worldbuilding is second to none. Phaedra practically leaps off the page and the fact that he has been able to return to it, time and again, to carve out another horrid little corner is a testament to how deep the Coil goes.”
2. The Carrion Throne, by Chris Wraight. “Speaking of exceptional worldbuilding; Chris Wraight brings Terra to life in a way that really speaks to me. He delves into the banality of living in such an immense and oppressive world, describing it in the Introduction as a
   Gormenghast of the stars. Crowl and his retinue are human and compelling, despite the things they have to do. Even bit players steal the show as they unravel a mystery based around one of my favourite lore tidbits from the codexes.”
3. Honourbound, by Rachel Harrison. “One of my absolute favourite of Guard novels, amidst an ever more crowded bracket of talent. Maybe it was down to the run of short stories that preceded the novel, the care taken to flesh out the regimental culture and the characters who embody it. I really do miss the Antari Rifles and hope that we get to see more of them one day; till then it will always have a special place in my heart.”

Two Non-Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

1. The Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks. “One of my absolute favourite novels of all time, from who I would say is my overall favourite author (my first tattoo was a quote from Use of Weapons). There are other books in The Culture series that I enjoy, but Player of Games is special to me. A game that is so important that it defines your place in the world. A clash of civilisational values that will decide the fate of an empire. Manipulations within manipulations, and Gurgeh’s move from naivety and boredom to a passion for addressing the cruelty he sees. I would recommend it as a starting point for anyone who wants to get into the Culture, more than I would Consider Phlebas.”
2. Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson. “As much as I love the Sprawl Trilogy and Neuromancer especially, I think I’ve returned to Pattern Recognition more times than I have Neuromancer. I think this one sticks with me because it uses the tropes of cyberpunk in a modern setting and shows that we’re not as removed from the techno-dystopia as we might like. Cayce Pollard is an oddball protagonist of the best kind, by turns unknowable and relatable. Also a very candid look at what internet culture and hyper-fixation can do to you.”

And Finally, One of His Own Books He’d Recommend…

1. Always a tough one. I find that my attitude to my books fluctuates wildly in the writing, the editing, and then post-release. I think though that Grim Repast, as my first released, is the best introduction to my work and one that I’m particularly proud of. Warhammer Crime was an incredible opportunity and I’m so glad that I got to contribute pieces of setting and ideas to the glorious tapestry that is Varangantua. To prepare I re-read the crime novels that had always spoke to me; the works of Thomas Harris and Ian Rankin especially. I like to think there’s a bit of Edinburgh claustrophobia and murk in the DNA of the Polaris district.”

Black Library at the Table

As someone who proudly displays minis I’ve built in with my library/museum, I love to see the intersection of the tabletop and the narrative (for instance, a miniature of Chaplain Grimaldus with the copy of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Helsreach on his hip).

This week Ankh-Morpilled on Bluesky shared some amazing scenery work that includes some weathered Imperial propaganda posters.

Any of these look familiar?

Why, that’s none other than Lucille Von Shard: legendary flying ace, star of propaganda picts across the Imperium, and main character of Outgunned and Above and Beyond by Denny Flowers.

Denny himself was delighted. “Awesome work.” I couldn’t agree more.

The Ace of Spade

A member of the Black Library Nutters Facebook Group has announced an intriguing proposition that should make ‘book release’ a little more interesting. Those of us who collect the Special and Limited Editions of Black Library releases know the ritual all too well, flipping over the book package in the packing box to see what number is written on the accompanying post-it note.

The market for specific book numbers is an interesting one, albeit fairly modest. Outside of the obvious ‘0001,’ I’m not aware of any concerted efforts to track down and obtain, say, number 0013’s (for the superstitious), 0069’s (no explanation needed), or even 0099’s (for all you Gretzky fans still out there). Sorry, Battle of Hastings aficionados, but sometimes a 1066 is just a 1066.

Nutters member John Spade has declared an open bounty of $1,000 on the 0001 for the upcoming Limited Edition of Chris Wraight’s Ashes of the Imperium, or $2,000 to a charity. of choice (link here). If he’s managed to score his own (non-0001) copy of Ashes he’ll throw that in too, and- here’s the kicker- he’s looking to make the exchange in person.

Globe-trotting around to collect Black Library books? Truly the Emperor does provide…

Black Library on Audible

I’ve never really been into e-readers or audiobooks, much preferring the tactile reading experience with the weight of actual pages in my hand. But I’ve been experimenting with audio recently, and I have to admit it’s been steadily growing on me. I’ve particularly enjoyed stories where the narrator doesn’t just read the text, but truly inhabits them and brings the characters to life. Indeed, perhaps less literally a ‘narrator’ and more of a voice actor.

The first to unlock that realization for me was Jonathan Keeble’s rendition Helsreach. While his Chaplain Grimaldus was excellent, it was his personification of Sergeant Andrej that truly stole the scene.

Next was Sandy Mitchell’s For the Emperor. The first Ciaphas Cain novel and one I’d read ages ago, with three different narrators it almost feels more like an audio drama than a book reading. Stephen Perring’s Commissar Cain was pitch-perfect for the role, and Penelope Rawlins (doing Inquisitor Amberley Vail’s annotations) and Emma Gregory (pitch-perfectly reading the in-universe book excerpts from General Sulla’s tortuous memoirs) made for such a delightful experience I immediately jumped right into the next book, Caves of Ice.

After that I jumped genres and had my long-overdue first experience of William King’s Gotrek & Felix with Trollslayer, delighted to see Jonathan Keeble again at the mic. As that concluded this past week, it was time to find my next story. I’d hoped it was going to be Lady of Sorrows by C. L. Werner but I couldn’t seem to get the file to download onto my phone after discovering it wasn’t going to be available for me on the BL Audio app (I shared that cautionary tale last week).

Wanting something particularly seasonal for October, I was delighted to learn that the Warhammer Horror Audiobook Collections were on sale on Audible. Normally the curiously-specific price of $32.68, after joining my price was just $22.88 (a savings of- again with the unusual numbers- 29%). Even at ‘full retail,’ Audible had the Black Library beat by a healthy margin, as the same collection there is stickered at $39.99₁.

Now the Black Library puts one title a month on sale for 75% off, and the sale lasts only a week (the currentl sale, Neferata: The Dominion of Bones by David Annandale, ends today). Looking around Audible, I’ve been blown away. Skavenslayer (the next Gotrek & Felix book) is just $10.76 right now, versus $39.99 on Black Library. The Traitor’s Hand (the next Ciaphas Cane story) is $13.11 on Audible, $39.99 on Black Library.

“Ahh but Jay,” you might say, “aren’t those all older titles? Maybe that explains the deep discounting.” Fair enough. Howabout Tomb World, by Jonathan D. Beer? $39.99 on Black Library. $22.90 on Audible₂.

Sometimes all it takes to lose a customer is a small bump in the road, just enough of a nudge to get them to take a look at the alternatives and realize there are better deals out there (I do this every time my auto insurance renews and they try to jam in a big rate increase).

But now that I’ve seen what’s on the other side, it’s hard to imagine ever buying another eBook off of the Black Library site again_3,4. However much I might prefer to send more of my money to Games Workshop instead of Amazon (and I absolutely do), with prices like these I really can’t afford to.

ICYMI

Lots of stuff going on here at Goonhammer last week. First up was a literary dive into Warhammer and gothic literature through the lens of Dan Abnett’s Pariah. It’s a terrific analysis of Warhammer not just as IP fiction but as literature, and Lenoon and Togepi made me feel like I should be taking notes (in the best way). It’s the first part of a three-part deep dive, so don’t miss it!

For those looking for their lore fix, Rob ‘The Chirurgeon’ Jones has your six with a Lore Explainer piece examining the Helsmiths of Hashut in Age of Sigmar. The Chaos Dwarfs have been out of the game for a decade, making this a great jumping-on point for those who may not be as familiar with their storied history. (And if you want a look at how they do on the actual tabletop, we’ve got you there too!)

Finally, my series focusing on the collection and display of Black Library books continued with a look at one of the most beginner-accessible collectibles for adding a bit of flair to your libraries. The most recent Black Library Bibliophiles looks at coins, from the coin-heavy First Founding Deluxe Edition to the in-store promotional ones given away each month. There’s also an index of what factions have had these coins released for them ocver the last few years, making it easy to see if there might be ones you’ll want to hunt for.

Oh, and by the way Goonhammer crossed the 10,000-post threshold this week. An incredible accomplishment, and one I’m very proud to have (modestly- I only joined the team at the start of this year) contributed to!

Meanwhile over at Warhammer Community, those two new additions to ‘the drip cycle’ had their own articles. You can find out a bit more about the upcoming Belisarius Cawl and Red Gobbo books there.

While It’s fair to say that we’re overdue on the next History of the Black Library series entry (it’s coming, I promise!), those wanting a history fix should definitely check out the latest Fluffenhammer podcast. They’ve been walking through the history of the comic-zine Warhammer Monthly issue by issue, and this week they’re looking at issue #14, “the birthday issue.”

Quick Hits

• One of my early 40K History of the Black Library pieces embarrassingly misspelled a couple of notable names, a fact which no less a personage than Marc Gascoigne was only too happy to point out. While I’ve harnessed the not-inconsiderable embarrassment of that moment as an impetus to greater vigilance, it’s a curious comfort when I see that the Black Library themselves aren’t immune. One eagle-eye member of the Black Library Nutters Facebook Group spotted Peter “Feheravi” on the back cover of Peter Fehervari’s The Dark Coil: Damnation omni. Hey, when even the pros can get it wrong, what hope is there for the rest of us, right? Thanks, Felipe Borges!
• If you find yourself around Brighton this Halloween, you won’t want to miss this year’s World Fantasy Convention. Not only are there panels and presentations like ‘The Radical Politics of Grimdark,’ and ‘Bleeding, Burns, and Broken Bones – A Crash Course to Writing Injuries in Fantasy,’ but Black Library authors will be in the mix as well! Mike Brooks (Voidscarred, Lelith Hesperax) is part of the ‘Satirical Fantasy’ panel, and Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Day of Ascension) will be speaking about ‘Animals in Fantasy.’ For those of us in the rest of the world, the Convention will be streamed online as well! Check it out!
• Okay, if that wasn’t quite enough incentive for you to head to Brighton, what more could you want? What if we threw in a massive autograph signing session? Well you’re in luck! Victoria Hayward, Gav Thorpe (Kill Team, Indomitus), and James Brogden (The Cache, Blood Drinker) will be amongst the many in attendance ready to give you a souvenir to remember.
• Nathan Long (Blackhearts: The Omnibus, Orcslayer) shared the sad news that he’d been laid off from his job as a senior writer at InXile Entertainment. InXile, part of the Xbox Game Studios since acquisition in 2018, is the group behind games like Wasteland 3, Torment: Tides of Numanera, and the upcoming Clockwork Revolution. Xbox has had a virtual epidemic of layoffs in recent months, and our best wishes go out to Nathan as he bounced back. He’s a tremendous talent, and any studio who snaps him up will be lucky to have him.
• Juliet McKenna (Fear Itself) just had her story The Riven Kingdom picked up by Angry Robot Books. Described as a blend of “politics, religion, and a battle for a dead king’s throne, perfect for fans of the Realm of the Elderlings series”, the book will be published next year. Congratulations, Juliet!
• From time to time, us subscribers to Warhammer+ get some free virtual goodies in the email, and I’m happy to give them away to readers if I don’t intend to use them before they expire. Here’s a 35% off coupon for Displate (FGC3C89E), and if you’re a Tacticus player here’s a code to unlock Lucien, a Blood Angels Intercessor (000J48HTFVAT3YT). First come, first served!

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
• Steel Tread, by Andy Clark (hardcover and Special)
• Demolisher, by Andy Clark (hardcover and Special)
• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (hardcover and Special)
• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (hardcover and Special)

Upcoming in 2025

• Dropsite Massacre, by John French (hardcover, 10/25)
• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (hardcover and Special Edition, 11/1)
• Abraxia, Spear of the Everchosen, by Chris Thursten (hardcover, 11/1)
• The Dark Coil: Ascension, by Peter Fehervari (paperback, 11/1)
• Anvils of the Heldenhammer: The Ancients, by Dale Lucas (paperback, 11/1)
• On the Shoulders of Giants and Other Stories, by various (paperback, 11/1)
• Warhammer Character Encyclopedia (Library Edition), by Wade Pryce (hardcover, 11/4)
• Ashes of the Imperium: The Scouring, by Chris Wraight (hardcover, 11/4)
• Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand, by Andi Ewington (hardcover. 11/8)
• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (Special Edition and hardcover, 11/8)
• Da Red Gobbo Collection, by various (paperback, 11/8)
• Double Eagle, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/8)
• Death and Duty: An Astra Militarum Anthology, by various (paperback, 11/8)
• Interceptor City, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/8) (review)
• No Peace Among Stars, by various (paperback, 11/8)
• 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)

Footnotes

1. As a new member, it gets even sillier. I signed up for three months of Audible for 99 cents a month, giving me one ‘credit’ a month for a free book. That means I essentially bought this collection- almost twenty-four hours of content- for just under fifty cents.
2. In fairness these are ‘member prices,’ and the standard (non-promotional) Premium membership cost is $15 a month. But let’s not forget that Premium members also get a free book each month, too.
3. And I really don’t like buying books through Amazon to begin with, preferring to ‘vote with my wallet’ to support local, independent booksellers and game retailers- even when it’s more expensive to do so.
4. For the avoidance of doubt, I don’t work for Audible. Promise. But I have five kids, three of whom play hockey. Resisting a bargain of this magnitude is almost budgetary malpractice.

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