The Hall Monitor is published every other week, the same day as the latest installment of the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame drops on Tabletop Battles (here’s today’s). A cross between a director’s cut and a backstage pass, it’s a look behind the scenes at the Hall of Fame project.

Every word you’re reading now… every article you’ve read or seen on the Warhammer Wordforge… every piece or review I’ve written for Tabletop Battles (formerly Goonhammer)… it all springs from one single font of inspiration.

It might surprise you to learn that it’s not Warhammer. It’s cancer.

Strap in for a personal one today, folks. If getting hit with an involuntary trauma-dump right off the bat isn’t what you' signed up for, that’s okay, I get it. Skip down to The Vox Populi Top Twenties below- I’ve made a really cool change this week to the format of the Top Twenties (note the plural!) that you won’t want to miss.

My Warhammer discovery story came about fifteen years ago, back when I was playing Aussie Rules football. One of my teammates, upon learning I was a sci-fi and fantasy buff, was eager to share the gospel of the grim and the dark. He let me borrow three of his omnibus books, and so I became acquainted with Eisenhorn, Gaunt’s Ghosts, and Commissar Ciaphas Cain.

I remember reading them, and I certainly remember enjoying them. I especially remember sitting on the front stoop of the family cottage in Cape Cod, on vacation with my girlfriend devouring Eisenhorn greedily in the fading light of the evening as she read beside me.

All that reading put Warhammer firmly on the map for me, and I’d go on to read plenty more. The books occupied a small corner of my personal library, with me adding a new one every great now and again when the mood stuck. I wasn’t so much a fan as I was an enjoyer, and I enjoyed a great many different books and genres.

As for the girlfriend, well, Jimi was a keeper. A couple years later, in an event we’d both anticipated from the first day we met, we made it official. Sometimes you just know.

A lot of this followed. In addition to the wonderful two she brought with her from her first marriage, we continued to be blessed with children. First Liam in 2010, then the twins Declan and Lorcan, followed by Ruari and finally Moira.

I’d scarcely had time to pick up a book, and when I did- sitting out on the back porch listening to the tree frogs and crickets wake up at the end of a long day, it was usually a history. Fiction was a rare treat, so my Warhammer books sat in good company on the shelf with all the other ones I seldom touched.

In 2013 we became FLGS owners, buying our town’s comic and game store from its previous owner. No Warhammer, I’m afraid. Games Workshop required a minimum buy-in of $2000 of stock, and situated between two larger markets (Louisville and Lexington) there just wasn’t enough local demand to justify it (though we’d stock the tabletop games and RPG’s from Fantasy Flight, who held the license back then).

Between my day-job career and the shop I was putting in 80-hour weeks. When we learned we were once again expecting (this time our daughter, Ruari), I realized I had to pick two: my career in health insurance, a game store owner, or a father to my kids. A bittersweet decision but not a difficult one, we sold the game store.

Life continued as it does. She got prettier, I got older.

In 2023, we got our big break. She’d landed her dream job, a doula at a Louisville hospital helping bring babies into the world. She’d been freelancing for years, but this was like getting called up to the majors. The following year, we moved to Louisville, and in one of those happy little accidents life can bring, we found ourselves just up the road from the Warhammer store.

It was full steam ahead, things were looking up for the Kirkmans…

…until they weren’t.

A saying that’s kept us going these last couple years is, God gives you what you need, not what you want. We certainly didn’t want Jimi’s job to go away at the hospital, but when a few months later she found a lump on her breast we were grateful she’d had time to grieve the loss of it and ready herself for the battle ahead. The battle of her lifetime.

Jimi’s energy is infectious. She walks into a room full of strangers and leaves a room full of friends. Me, I find a reason not to go in at all, happier to read and write in quiet and relative solitude1. She is vibrant, gregarious, disarming, alive. Not one to ever do anything in her life by halves, she wouldn’t be content with just garden-variety, run-of-the-mill cancer. No, that wouldn’t do at all. Instead, she picked the rare and aggressive triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer.

Great choice, babe.

Those early days are very much a blur. The shock of it all, slowly giving way to dread, punctuated with bouts of sorrow- but gradually becoming replaced by resolve. It was unimaginable that something with such long odds could be happening to us, but then it has to happen to someone, right?

It was in those early days, her first round of chemotherapy in Autumn of 2024, that I’d picked up a bit of light reading at the Warhammer store. Something to take my mind off things, some book called the Night Lords Omnibus by some guy named Aaron Dembski-Bowden, whoever that was. Very casually invested in Warhammer, all I knew about the Night Lords were that they were the edgelord legion, the one preferred by nine out of ten Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails fans2. All the same, the book came highly recommended by the store manager and the sheer length of it meant I’d have something to keep my mind occupied for awhile.

And so I’d sit next to my wife, with an IV full of chemicals in her arm as she drifted in and out of sleep, and read about Talos Valcoran, Septimus and Octavia, and the rest of First Claw. Page after page, IV bag after IV bag.

Week after week. Story after story.

When I talk about the three great books I’ve read in my life, it’s never just because they’re terrific reads. It’s because they meant something profound to me in that time that I read them. Frank Herbert’s Dune showed me what depths science-fiction could explore. Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, prompted a change in the way my inner self thought and acted, giving me the focus and awareness to tame the terrible rages of my adolescence. And about R. A. Wilson’s The Illuminatus! Trilogy, well, perhaps the less said the better^fnord.

The Night Lords Omnibus takes a comfortable place amongst them now, opening up as it did a place of refuge for me at a time I needed it the most. I went from being an occasional reader back to being the voraciously daily one of my youth and young adulthood, always having an answer for ‘what are you reading right now?’

Night Lords then opened the way to reading Krieg, to reading Bloodlines, to reading every other Warhammer book I’ve read since then. Opened the way to delighting in building miniatures after a lifetime of disinterest. Opened the way to writing about my hobbies for the first time in a decade3, to then getting paid to write about them again… and to once more founding a site of my own.

Is this at least in part a trauma-induced escapist hyperfixation? Of course it is. My wife wasn’t given cancer just so that I’d rediscover my love of books and stories, writing and publishing. I’d give all of it up if it took her sickness away without a moment’s hesitation, but that’s not how it ever works.

But gratitude is how you keep it together when life throws its worst at you, because screaming at it sure doesn’t do a damned thing.

Just last month I lost my job, my career of twenty years. It came out of nowhere, but it came at a time when my wife needed me more than ever. The cancer hasn’t been idle, you see, and despite the best efforts of the physicians and the pharmacology industry… its grown. And spread. Now Stage IV, she’s been accepted into a clinical trial at MD Anderson, which means trips to Houston, 800 miles away. Lots of trips. I’ve been able to focus on her and our family, and for that I am grateful.

She can’t drive anymore. Some days, she can barely walk. But she remains that beautiful, amazing soul I fell in love with two decades ago, and I am grateful for that, too. She’s a fighter, and if anyone can prevail through this it’s her. It would be easy to look at all the misfortunes that have befallen us these past two years, an annus horribilis that’s well overstayed its welcome, and lose sight of all the blessings we’ve been given over the years.

But that’s how you lose.

“I lived a life of repetition,” noted Septimus to Octavia in Soul Hunter, “another tiny cog in a vast, dull existence. But this? This is different. Every week will bring something new, something incredible, something that takes my breath away.”

“Rarely in a good way, I confess.”

So why did I choose to share all this today? I had occasion to reflect on my own Warhammer origin story this week as Soul Hunter entered the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame with the Class of 2010, an induction that surprised me with just how personal it somehow felt. It’s a book that has given me so much.

Life throws a lot of shit at us, it’s true… but it’s the other stuff that gets us through.

Thanks for reading. Now, let’s get to the fun stuff!

The Vox Populi Top Twenties

In one of those ‘so obvious, why didn’t I think of it sooner” moments, I realized that Fantasy was at risk of disappearing into oblivion entirely as more and more 30K/40K books came in with dominating board positions. Why not just… break them out seperately?

So going forward, we’ll have two different Top Twenties, one for each side of the Black Library.

30K/40K

Aaron Dembski-Bowden came storming onto the table this week, with a remarkably tight grouping. Soul Hunter, Helsreach, and The First Heretic all enter the table with an approval rating in the mid-80’s, while Dan Abnett’s Horus Heresy story Prospero Burns squeaks in at the bottom.

Of course, that means we must bid farewell to those books who have departed. With the above four coming in, we say goodbye to Traitor General and Legion by Dan Abnett, as well as Graham McNeill’s Fulgrim.

Wait, you might say, how did four come in and only three go out? That’s because we’ve also removed the two Fantasy books that were previously on the combined table. They get their own now, and here’s how it looks.

Fantasy

It’s amazing to consider that the entirety of Fantasy’s top twenty belongs to only six different authors: Dan Abnett, William King, Mike Lee, Nathan Long, Kim Newman (writing as Jack Yeovil), and C. L. Werner. Of these, only Long has yet to be inducted into the Hall, but it represents quite the body of work- particularly around the characters Gotrek and Felix, and Malus Darkblade.

The divide in popularity between the two halves is also evident in the approval ratings. To crack into the Fantasy Top Twenty you can sneak in with less than half, but you need to be in the top three-quarters for 30K/40K.

Hall Winners Leaderboard

Finally, with the bounty of new inductees this time around there’s been some movement on the Leaderboard:

Extra special congratulations to Steve Lyons, who made his Readers Hall of Fame debut!

Thanks for reading as always, for I am grateful too for all your support! And if you haven’t already, please don’t forget to vote for your choices in the Class of 2011!

It’s time to finally start talking about White Dwarf.

In the last eighteen months that I’ve been covering the Black Library beat (first and currently on Tabletop Battles/Goonhammer (TTB), but increasingly so here on the Warhammer Wordforge), it’s been the red-headed stepchild, occasionally mentioned but generally neglected.

In my defense, it’s an oddly-shaped puzzle piece. I can do a review of a Theme Week of short stories and that’s a full article on TTB, but a single short story in White Dwarf is too small to carry a review on its own. But that was before the Wordforge, and here I can cover anything I want. I’ve been covering Warhammer audiobooks with Audio Impressions, WarhammerTV animations with Show and Tell, and now- at last- that corner of the Black Library that lives within the pages of Games Workshop’s monthly periodical will get the spotlight they deserve with White Dwarf Stories.

One Caveat

I’m a subscriber to the magazine, which means two things. First, mine arrive with a beautiful, full-art cover available only to subscribers. And second, I get them two weeks later than everyone else.

Now we’ll add a third to that: I’ll be seeing out my current year’s subscription and then reverting back to in-store purchasing, so that I may be more ‘current’ with covering new issues’ stories. But for now, we’ll have a small delay built into White Dwarf Stories for any tales in the current issue.

Now, let’s talk horror!

Black Sails on the Horizon

Tattered Sails, by Jake Ozga, appeared in the October 2025 issue of White Dwarf (#517). An Age of Sigmar horror story, this was a Hallowe’en treat for readers from an author who has (this far) largely flown beneath the radar.

Tattered Sails puts us in amongst a Freeguild company that’s been assigned to keep watch from a beachside fort somewhere on the coast of Shyish, the Realm of Death. It’s an isolated and miserable posting for Tomas and his fellow Five Bars Artillery Regiment soldiers.

Foggy and grey, a constant, drizzling rain has turned the ground to sandy mud, and the nightly chill has settled into their bones. To make matters worse, Tomas has begun having unsettling visions, and his sketchbook- the one he’s used like an amateur naturalist to capture the flora and fauna of places he’s been posted- now contains strange drawings he has no memory of doing.

“This place,” he observes, “could grind a man down.”

Tasked with keeping watch for raiders, they are entirely unprepared for what arrives one day on tattered black sails in a still wind.

For who could be prepared for that?

Going on Pilgrimage

This is a terrific slice of Age of Sigmar horror, in a setting that’s perfect for it. Ozga clearly has spent time on a coast, his descriptions so evocative that it brought back childhood memories spent on that little slice of heaven on Earth known as Cape Cod.

Ozga is terrific with the economy of the short story here, using the space allotted him to full advantage. Just enough characterization to give us a sense of the players without padding out the length; just enough time spent before the climactic moment to give the telling body and balance; and just enough of a wickedly evocative finale to see the story out in a wonderfully unsetting conclusion. It’s very well written, unsettling and atmospheric, easily one of the stronger Age of Sigmar shorts I’ve had the occasion to enjoy.

Writer Ozga landed his first two Black Library tales in 2019- and both, interestingly enough, set in Shyish. A look at his background shows him well-positioned to bring Shyish to life, he was one of the principals (Bruticus) behind the Ex Profundis website:

Interestingly, Ex Profundis appeared to sunset right as his involvement with the Black Library was beginning to take shape. “I got in through open submissions, Ozga related to Track of Words, “I submitted the usual Space Marine sample and was then asked to try submitting something for the horror imprint instead, and to try it in my own style, my own voice.”

And so he did, with Supplication soon appearing in the Warhammer Horror anthology, Invocations.

Since that time Ozga has existed as a bit of a fringe figure, with contributions largely limited to inclusions in subsequent Horror-imprint anthologies. With both Crime and Horror appearing to have come to an end, one has to wonder where these stories might be able to squeeze in. Indeed, it may well be the case that Tattered Sails was a submission from this period of time that the Black Library didn’t manage to find a home for, making an October White Dwarf a good opportunity to move it to published status.

That’s a shame. Ozga is terrific at this, with Michael at Track of Words having similar words of praise in his review of Ozga’s second Black Library story, Skull Throne.

Here’s to hoping we see more of him.

Bits n’ Pieces (Spoilers)

• For whatever reason, with a name like Tattered Sails for a story set on Shyish, I was expecting a Death ship, but that’s not what we get here at all. Instead, the force that visits the hapless Freeguilders belongs to the minions of the Grandfather.

• Ozga packs in the usual stuff we associate with Nurgle- the rot, the eviscerated bodies, the gore- but there’s a lushness to the writing that really underlines the horror of it. By the time you get to the story-ending “banquet,” you know poor Tomas has passed the point of no return- but it’s impossible to look away.

I never really knew John Blanche.

When I think of the foundational artists I came up with in my hobby, those whose visual imaginings perfectly encapsulated the fantastic worlds they were depicting, I think of Ralph McQuarrie, Larry Elmore, and (later) Tony DiTerlizzi.

Though he was certainly a contemporary of all of them. there wasn’t a lot of Warhammer Fantasy in Dragon Magazine and my gateway to Warhammer 40,000 came many years later in the form of omnibuses for Gaunt’s Ghosts, Eisenhorn, and Ciaphas Cain.

But much like dark matter, you don’t need to see a thing to have it made plain through its gravitational influence. Blanche was foundationally influential on the worlds of Warhammer, and even if you didn’t know the first thing about it you could see the mark he made by the reaction to the news of his passing.

There were also some wonderful tributes posted across the hobby, including by Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson on Tabletop Battles, Simon Berman on Bell of Lost Souls, Ben Sledge on TheGamer, and Wargamer’s Timothy Linward.

And, finally, the one from Games Workshop with that very touching final line.

I never really knew John Blanche, and yet I can only imagine how much poorer my life would have been had he himself never been.

Thank you, John.

Arrivals & Departures

While previously I’d focused more on what was right around the corner with Up for Preorder, the new Arrivals & Departures section will also serve as a reminder to what’s been released this past weekend.

Arrivals

If anyone else found the lack of a deluxe edition of Jude Reid’s Armageddon: Season of Fire puzzling, at least we weren’t left scratching our heads for long. After all, the tie-in novels from previous editions had been given the royal treatment, so why not this one?

Well, the wait is over and it seems well worth it- that’s a stunning treatment. Reid must be friends with someone in the design department because the deluxe editions of her books have been home runs (see below).

In addition, we get a trio of superb novels arriving in paperback for the first time. Voidscarred by Mike Brooks (review), Mike Vincent’s The Remnant Blade (review), and Jonathan D. Beer’s Tomb World (review, author interview).

Departures

The only ‘new’ book leaving the “Upcoming Releases” lists is a paperback reprinting of Horus Rising by Dan Abnett that I’d added to the Coming Attractions section at some point. A new reprinting, perhaps, one little distinguishable from ones before it? Amazon yields curious results, sometimes, like this possible mini-less reissue of the Warhammer Character Encyclopedia by Wade Pryce releasing on 1/5/27.

Music in the Sighing of a Reid

With apologies to Lord Byron, Jude Reid’s string of visually striking deluxe treatments is pretty impressive. Here’s a pocket visual history of her novels, any of which would make a nice display in your library/museum.

Creed: Ashes of Cadia, 2023

Creed wasn’t a bad Special Edition, but the treatment looks a bit plain with a spine layout indistinguishable from an academic text. I suspect it looks better in person, which as you’ll see is a bit of a trend.

Don’t worry, it only gets better from here.

Daemonbreaker, 2024

There’s something very elegant in the line art and white front cover here, and the sprayed edges really make for a gorgeous piece.

Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith, 2024

Not just a Limited Edition, Morvenn Vahl received the Mega Limited Edition treatment this time. A set of six illuminated prints accompany the book, which- and the pictures do it no justice here- is a lush black velvet rather than the flat black it appears here. There’s also a second book, 56-pages and cloth-bound, called The Book of Saints.

Fulgrim: The Perfect Son, 2025

If there’s a poster child for books that look far better in person than they do in the promotional pictures, it’s this one. An absolutely stunning treatment, here’s what I wrote at the time:

As it turned out, one of the nicest things about this design wasn't something that translated well in photographs- its satin finish. The book is absolutely sumptuous in person with a rich magenta hue, and the "it's nicer than I expected" comments rang through the Black Library community on Reddit.

"I remember thinking how flat red it looked in the pictures compared to the glorious magenta of my author copy," noted Jude Reid in an exchange we had on BlueSky. "Nice that people are pleased with how it looks in the flesh."

With Armageddon: Season of Fire, the design team at the Black Library have delivered once again. Unfortunately, it’s not so apparent that the same care has gone into its marketing…

Integrated Marketing

So let’s talk about that marketing for a moment. Two Sundays ago, the Sunday Preview was short, sweet, and to the point with just three items available:

• Warhammer 40,000’s new Armageddon box,

• The standard hardcover of Armageddon: Season of Fire

• White Dwarf #525

Notably absent was any mention of a deluxe edition of the book, which was curious because past tie-in books were given the bonus treatment. Like lots of folks, I went ahead and ordered myself a copy of the standard hardcover (and we’ll get into that experience in a moment).

Lo and behold, just one week later we get the Special Edition and what feels like it should be a celebration is instead a bit of a “gotcha!” See, while we do have a few “completionists” in the Black Library Nutters group on Facebook ordering one of every edition that’s released, most folks who want deluxe editions will not feel the need to also purchase the standard one.

Most of the time, when deluxe editions are offered either in advance of, or at the same time as the standard edition, folks can choose which version they want. But the end result this time is you’ve got a bit of heartburn in the community as those who would normally have just gone for the Special Edition find themselves already locked in to a standard edition.

In this case, a simple acknowledgement that there would be a Special Edition in the future, perhaps in this article, would have been the right move.

But hey, no points for guessing what my Black Library Giveaway book for July’s gonna be.

Credit Where Due

If this was a miss on the part of the Black Library, we did have a couple of hits this week in the marketing department. If you logged in Saturday for the usual preorder window, you might have been surprised to note that they had a queue system in place due to the expected demand for the new 11th Edition box.

So the first bit of credit comes to whomever decided not to release the Special Edition of Armageddon: Season of Fire on the same day, saving many of us from the traffic jam just to get a book.

Second, hats off to whomever suggested letting folks in the preorder queue read an excerpt of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Helsreach. They also had lore primers and even painting tutorials, all things you could enjoy without losing your place in line.

Finally, one more bit of integrated marketing has been a welcome sight. While the Sunday Previews have done an okay job of listing the upcoming WarhammerTV content, the new format for that information is outstanding. WarhammerTV is one of Warhammer house media’s most-maligned avenues, and whoever pitched this format (pictured above) deserves a raise.

Bigger in Texas

I’ve spent most of the last week in Houston with my wife and three daughters as Jimi is getting treatment at MD Anderson. As I often like to do when visiting a different city, I make a point to stop in at the local Warhammer Store and pick up something for the Museum.

I’ve never found a state prouder of its own identity than Texas- and it’s not close. It’s everywhere. The state flag, state outline, state name. You can’t go a hundred yards without being reminded where you are, with the clear subtext that this fact should be regarded as one of God’s own blessings.

And so it came as little surprise when we stopped in at the Warhammer Store in Houston and met the manager Kenzie, the first thing she said when she learned we were from Kentucky was, “I’m sorry.”

“You know, sorry that you’re not from Texas,” she helpfully clarified with a laugh, lest there be any doubt.

The first thing I noticed in Kenzie’s store was the prominent display of Black Library books on the table (pictured above). I’ve never seen an official store do more than simply having the books on shelves, so this was a welcome sight.

Kenzie shared that the store had been founded in 2009, making it one of North America’s oldest still-operating locations. Speaking to her, it wasn’t hard to see why as she did a terrific job of mixing sales with conversation. Was there anything in particular that brought me in that she could help me find? Did I know about the new release box, and that there was a special coin I could get for ordering it? And of course, ordering in Houston for Louisville delivery, that would be no problem at all1!

As a onetime FLGS owner, I love to see staff that take both sides of the role seriously. She was also very friendly with my daughters, and we each walked out with a Mini of the Month. And while I’d arrived hoping to pick up Commissar Yarrick for the Museum, they were all out. Still, Inquisitor Greyfax will certainly look great somewhere.

June’s Black Library Weekly Giveaway: A Winner Appears!

Last week we unveiled a copy of Hive as the prize for June’s Black Library giveaway, and all folks had to do to enter was share their favorite book from Dan Abnett. We had some terrific entries:

Javericks, selecting First & Only, noted that his “collection of his works has mostly ended up in audiobook format now which, for me, means everything I have listened to has been elevated by Toby Longworth's narration.” I loved this one because I’m considering giving the Ghosts series a listen in audio, and it’s encouraging to hear that it’s well-done in that format.

Dawfydd Kelly had a deeper cut with Hammers of Ulrik, due to its centering on Middenheim. Bonus points for pointing out some of Abnett’s non-Black Library work, including Triumff and Embedded!

Then there was Jonas Kaufman, who I think spoke for most of us when he noted that “picking a favourite Dan Abnett book is like picking which pizza is best. They're ALL yummy!”

I threw everyone’s name into the ol’ randomizer, and the winner is…. Jonas Kaufman! Congrats, Jonas, feel free to order some pizza to celebrate and keep an eye on your messages here, we’ll be getting Hive into the post for you soon!

Creative Uncommons (Redux)

Last week we shared a look at a 3-D printed custom slipcase for Hive that Vyas Sundarrajan made and shared with the folks at the Black Library Nutters Facebook group. Well, Vyas went back in the lab this week and reappeared with this absolute beauty, for Robbie MacNiven’s Carcharodons trilogy.

This is stunning work, and another great example of how much creativity goes into storing and displaying these wonderful books- as well as the generosity of spirit that brings so many of us together. Thanks again, Vyas!

Black Library App Sales for June

A new month means a new slate of sales on the Black Library app. As a reminder, this is a very new (and very welcome) approach; previously there was only one eBook offered on sale each month. With the introduction of the new app, each month appears to be bringing with it a much larger number of eBook and audiobook releases at a discounted price (50% off the eBook, 66% off the audio).

For June, these are:

• Dante, by Guy Haley (narrated by Gareth Armstrong)

• Gloomspite, by Andy Clark (narrated by Harry Myers)

• The Gate of Bones, by Andy Clark (narrated by John Banks)

• Realm-Lords, by Dale Lucas (narrated by Richard Reed)

• Cadia Stands, by Justin D. Hill (narrated by David Sneddon)

• Helsreach, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (narrated by Jonathan Keeble in an absolute masterclass of a performance2)

• Warboss, by Mike Brooks (narrated by Harry Myers)

• Renegades: Lords of Excess, by Rich McCormick (narrated by Richard Reed)

ICYMI

Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!

Black Library Dispatch

• First up is the big news that the site’s tweaking its branding. I announced yesterday that we were changing from The Black Library Dispatch to the more all-encompassing Warhammer Wordforge.

• This week’s review content takes a look at the audiobook for Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s The First Heretic, narrated by Gareth Armstrong. It’s a good origin story- but perhaps a little thinner than I’d hoped in the faith department.

• Finally, for you RPG folks out there, this week’s Warhammer RPG SITREP saw a new cover reveal from Cubicle 7 Games for Warhammer: The Old World.

Tabletop Battles

• This week’s review took us back to the Mortal Realms, courtesy of Saelfe. He cracked into Queen of the Rose Throne, the latest by Gary Kloster.

• TTB has been running a multi-part Lore Explainer series on Armageddon, beginning with a look at the planet and then the First War of Armageddon. Part Six (time jump!) landed this week, Rob “The Chirurgeon” Jones laid out what’s going on with Operation Imperator.

Warhammer Community

• All last week we saw a number of interviews with Warhammer studio staff about the upcoming new edition. Make sure to catch the installment with Phil Kelly (Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter, Farsight: Blade of Truth) on the latest developments in the lore.

• For those Black Library Bibliophiles out there, make sure to check out the latest collectible coin available at Warhammer stores this month. If you’ve got a Yarrick or Armageddon section in your library, this makes a terrific accompaniment.

• Well lookie here, what’s this coming up in the next White Dwarf? New Armageddon-set fiction from Russell Zimmerman (Seven Ships, Resounding)? Let’s go! “I knew that this was coming for months,” shared Russel on Facebook, “but I’m still kinda geeking out about being in a White Dwarf magazine, y’all. I wrote Armageddon fiction well before I had any inkling it had to do with the launch of the new edition, or a major new global campaign with the Return to Armageddon event, etc, etc. I didn’t know WHY they liked my story pitch, I was just glad to pitch it. But now that it’s all falling into place, it’s still pretty danged neat.”

WarhammerTV (paywalled)

• With the debut episode of the brand-new animated series Aeronautica Imperialis out last week, we’re counting down until the next installment, In Death’s Shadow, on 12 June. Can’t wait til then? Check out the episode 2 trailer!

Around the Webway

• Not technically Warhammer, but fans of Dark Future will be keen to note that The Oldhammer Fiction Podcast is diving in to Kim Newman’s Krokodil Tears this week.

• Cinderfall Gaming reviewed David Annandale’s Apostle this week, giving it 4/5 stars.

Cold Open Stories

• Two of Cold Open’s recent curated anthologies of fan-made Warhammer 40K fiction, XV and XVI, have now been made available in more formats, including EPUB, MOBI, PDF, and AZW3.

Quick Hits

• Josh Reynolds (Neferata, Deathstorm) published the latest installment of the who’s-who in his Royal Occultist compendium, which you can find for free here and focuses on the Necromancer of Paris!

• The next chapter in Dan Abnett’s Brink releases this week. Look for it in the pages of 2000AD, prog 2485.

• John Goodrich (Mud and Mist) announced that his upcoming fantasy/noir novel Dead Wrongs will be releasing in July 2027 from Grand Central Publishing.

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.

Upcoming but Undated

• Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley

Current PODs in Production

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition)

Upcoming in 2026

• Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid (hardcover, 6/20)

• Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid (Special Edition, 6/27)

• Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/27)

• The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/27)

• Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/27)

• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)

• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)

• Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)

• Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by various (paperback, 7/28)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/11)

• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/11)

• Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/6)

• The Sundering, by Gav Thorpe (paperback, 10/6)

Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!

With much of my contemporary reading in service to writing reviews, audiobooks are my chance to “play catch-up” on the older catalogue of Black Library books. What you will find in this occasional feature is neither a full, formal book review nor a simple blurb, but rather something comfortably in between: impressions.

In a previous Audio Impressions, I went to bat for some of the Heresy’s less-loved books I’ve already come across (including James Swallow’s assassin-fueled heist-style adventure). For the Heresy’s “missteps,” I wondered, could it just be a matter of placement?

…the first five books of the Heresy are one hell of an act to follow. And in these, the Horus Heresy itself is the story. The tale of the Warmaster’s rise and fall is riveting fiction, and the overall success of the series is due in no small part to its incredible kickoff. Little surprise that Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, The Flight of the Eisenstein, and Fulgrim have all been inducted into the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame. These tales cover monumental events, ones which resonate all the way through to the 41st millennium.

For other stories like Battle for the Abyss, though, the Horus Heresy is less the story and more the setting. In this Ben Counter’s novel might have suffered somewhat from heightened expectations, and I would put Nemesis right there alongside it. Readers were looking for the Sturm und Drang of the earlier books, and instead were getting some of the smaller-focus stories that helped make up the weave of the Heresy’s tapestry rather than being whole sections of it on their own.

Well, suffice it to say that The First Heretic does that hypothesis no disfavor, being perhaps the most consequential book (lore-wise) since the original trilogy. That’s not selling books like A Thousand Sons or Legion short, but rather a reflection that those stories- filled with the mythologies of the universe as they were- were largely contained to a single Legion.

And yes, while The First Heretic is inarguably the origin story of the Word Bearers, it is so much more than just that. Little surprise, then, that it is one of the twelve selections of the new Horus Heresy Saga reprint series.

The Story

In A Thousand Sons, Graham McNeill built up the Emperor’s case against Magnus, using the ruination of their homeworld Prospero that resulted as the book’s climactic event. Here, Aaron Dembski-Bowden instead puts the legion’s chastisement at the beginning. Both the Thousand Sons and Word Bearers were humbled for daring to look for meaning in the supernatural, and the wages reaped by each was damnation and destruction.

For the Word Bearers, who took great pride in bringing new human civilizations not only into Compliance with the Imperium but also in fostering their faith and spirituality, this arrived as the obliteration of Monarchia, crown city of Khur and pearl in the Legion’s crown. Its population, devoted in worship to the divinity of the Emperor of Mankind, given seven days to evacuate by the Ultramarines before the commencement of orbital bombardment.

As with the Council of Nikaea, the Emperor likes to issue his correctives in person, and Lorgar and his Legion are summoned to the ruins of Monarchia, there to kneel in its ashes as one. The Emperor upbraids Lorgar for wasting time on the hollow pursuit of faith rather than devoting that time to bringing more worlds into Compliance. The Legion, he notes, is one of the most populous in number but slowest at accomplishment and consequently, he has failed in the aims of the Crusade.

Chastened, Lorgar falls into deep depression. Two of his closest advisors, First Chaplain Erebus and Kor Phaeron, First Captain (and Lorgar’s foster father) convince him that while the Emperor may have indeed rejected his own divinity, other gods must surely exist elsewhere in the cosmos if they had but the courage and means to find them. Renewed in hope, Lorgar launches a pilgrimage under the guise of the Crusade. To all observing (including the host of Custodes the Emperor assigned to keep watch on the Word Bearers), it would look like Lorgar is merely bringing worlds into the Imperial bosom, as commanded.

But in realty, the search is on for a deeper, more primordial truth. And when they find it- and find it they do- the fate of Lorgar and his Legion will be forever changed.

Giving Voice

The book is read by Gareth Armstrong, who we last saw just two books ago in Graham McNeill’s A Thousand Sons and was given a full profile just before that for his work on Fallen Angels by Mike Lee. Here’s what I’ve observed from his work before:

But whereas some narrators will use accents to differentiate characters, Armstrong instead relies more on pitch and cadence- with much more mixed results. Zahariel and Nemiel in particular often sounded unimposing, at times more like a short-of-breath old man shouting rather than a towering transhuman warrior issuing decisive battlefield commands. I suspect Armstrong might be a better fit for books with a smaller cast of characters, and given the breadth of his body of work in the Heresy I’ll have a number of opportunities to put that theory to the test.

Armstrong here, too, delivers a solidly serviceable performance. His strongest feature still tends to be his default reading voice, which carries plenty of the dramatic gravitas needed for telling tales of this scope. How you feel about his Lorgar probably depends on how you feel about Lorgar to begin with. As with Magnus, Armstrong doesn’t try to imbue his Primarchs with deep or resonant vocalizations to elevate their stature. Rather, both sound surprisingly ordinary- though at least with Magnus, Armstrong gave him an air of certainty and confidence befitting The Smartest Person in the Room.

Lorgar, however, by contrast seemed small, almost weak at times. Sure he had his moments, such as when he stands up to Guilliman and Malcador in the ruins of Monarchia, but overall I found the character to be largely uninspiring. To be fair, much of that comes down to ADB’s portrayal- Armstrong, after all, only reads what’s in front of him- but more than once I found myself wondering how an entire Legion of Word Bearers chose to follow this guy into damnation1.

One stylistic choice Armstrong made was pitch-perfect: the sibilant whispering he adopted for the voice of the demon Raum, who sets up shop inside the body of Argel Tal. It’s perfect not only for the character, but also because it made it immediately clear which character was speaking- not always entirely evident otherwise given Armstrong’s lack of vocal differentiation.

Bits n’ Pieces (Spoilers)

• This was an excellent book overall, and it’s not hard to see why it’s so highly rated by the Warhammer community. What’s really fascinating is how quickly Dembski-Bowden hit his stride in the Black Library. His debut novel, Cadian Blood, arrived in 2009 and was the year’s only inductee to the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame. 2010 brought with it not only The First Heretic, but Helsreach as well.

• If I’m really picking nits, though, I don’t think ADB did full justice to the Word Bearers. I expected a lot more philosophical reasoning from this most spiritual of all Legions, a genuine depth to their faith that would slowly unravel before reforming into the path of damnation. For all Lorgar, Kor Phaeron, and Erebus trumpeted about the contribution faith has made to the evolution of mankind (which is one of their central tenets- that all human cultures have instinctively reached for something greater than themselves), never once did ADB note that one of the most significant is that it impels the individual to strive to be better than they are. The benefits of religion seemed limited to the external rather than the intrinsic.

• I kept waiting for this, because I wanted to see how they squared that with the obvious evil of the so-called primordial truth. It never happened, as the characters tended to use faith as a synonym for religion. We get why the Word Bearers developed a spiritual void that throws their entire raison d’être into crisis. Far less clear is why the embrace of Chaos was so uncritical that it blew past the border of gullibility.

• I’m probably expecting too much here from IP tie-in fiction. I gave David Annandale a lot of credit for even trying conversion dialogues in his recent Word Bearers novel Apostle (reviewed here), but those tended to fall well short of the mark as well. To date, the only book I’ve found that really seems to touch the essence of faith is Steven B. Fischer’s Broken Crusade- the first Warhammer book I ever reviewed for Tabletop Battles (then Goonhammer).

• While this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the “lost Primarchs” of the 2nd and 11th Legions- they’ve been at least hinted at before- that bit of lore gets a bit more fleshing out here. That’s a nice get for ADB who, don’t forget, is the new guy in the writer’s room at this point.

• Lots of great little touches in the story throughout. You could have written an entire novella out of Incarnadine, the Conqueror-class battle-automata belonging to the Legio Cybernetica that was adopted by the Word Bearers. A sequence where his handler, Xi-Nu 73, tries to figure out how his brain was spontaneously rewiring itself was almost criminally underdeveloped- a fantastic idea that’s given a brief mention and never expanded upon.

• Finally, while ADB is perhaps best-known for his humanizing treatment of the Night Lords, he truly excels at bringing out the human character in characters that may otherwise be harder to redeem. He makes little secret that Argel Tal will ultimately betray his friend, Aquillon of the Custodes, and he weaves in the tension throughout the latter half of the book to terrific effect. For all you know it’s coming, it’s still heartbreaking when it happens.

I’m continuing on with the Heresy, with Abnett’s Prospero Burns already underway. With a road trip back to Houston this week (16 hours, one-way), I’ll have plenty of time for listening. Thanks for reading!

The year 1994 stands not only as a major turning point in the history of the Glasgow Celtic football club, but also a rare and triumphant example of how ‘people power’ can change the way beloved companies operate.

It was, admittedly, a pretty lousy time to be a Celtic fan. Crosstown archrivals Rangers were in the midst of a nine-in-a-row championship run, and the White and Kelly families that had controlled Celtic for nearly a century seemed unwilling both to invest in the club financially or adapt to the changing face of modern football. Celtic was falling further and further behind Rangers both on and off the pitch, and there didn’t seem to be any ambition or urgency to restore the days of past glory.

Eventually, fan misgivings and complaints turned to direct action. Fans banded together in organizations like Celts for Change and Save Our Celts, boycotted matches, protested at games, and even picketed Celtic’s bank. The board splintered, and cast into financial crisis were forced to sell the club to Fergus McCann, Scottish-Canadian businessman and lifelong Celtic fan. McCann had promised to pump money back into Celtic, and had the backing of the fans on his side.

“The game is over,” board member Brian Dempsey famously noted on the steps of Celtic Park on the day of the sale, “the rebels have won.”

There was similar rejoicing around the Black Library community this week as the latest developments in the Hive saga unfolded. I covered much of the twists and turns the story has taken last week, with readers facing the grim prospect of having to find a participating Warhammer store location to get the Special Edition of Dan Abnett’s magnum opus.

But there was one more twist, dropping on Wednesday.

“We’ve received a lot of feedback about the special edition only being available in select Warhammer stores,” Games Workshop noted in an update on Warhammer Community, “and know many of you were worried that you would miss out on getting a copy.”

And then the words so many had been hoping for…

And there it was. No online mad dash to beat the scalpers. No quantity-limited, in-store fight to get them. Instead, a wide-open, print-on-demand reissue. And if anyone thought a 180-day wait was too steep a price to pay, I haven’t heard a peep.

As I noted last week, “I think eventually we’ll look back at this period of time and see a Games Workshop that was struggling to find a distribution model for its deluxe edition Black Library offerings that could satisfy everyone.”

If this week has shown anything, it’s that while Games Workshop may not get things right every time, they are at least willing to listen.

Under McCann’s ownership, Celtic’s change of course bore fruit in 1998 when they stopped Rangers from winning ten championships in a row. Indeed, from then until now they’ve won 21 titles, with Rangers only managing eight1. While a similar renaissance for us Black Library readers is unlikely, this is certainly a step in the right direction.

Not For The Faint of Heart

So if we’ve moved to a print-on-demand model for Hive’s Special Edition, one without numbering or Dan Abnett’s autograph, what’s to become of the original print run? You know, the ones that were shipped to all the stores?

Don’t ask.

It’s been famously noted of Magic: the Gathering players that if you handed them a hundred-dollar bill, they’d complain about how it was folded2. There was an element of that this week in the wake of the Hive news, with a few complaints about the released copies not being available for Saturday purchase.

I mean, c’mon, we just got handed a big concession from Games Workshop, right?

But on the other, they’re probably right. I don’t think there would have been a lot of ill-will if GW had gone ahead and done both. Made the original print run available in-store as they’d prepared to do, and offer the POD window for anyone else unable or unwilling to trek to their closest Warhammer store.

As a bibliophile, the idea of pulping books is painful. Sure, sometimes it’s a matter of legality, as with the story of Dark Hunters: Umbra Sumus, but if you don’t have to, why do it?

Arrivals & Departures

While previously I’d focused more on what was right around the corner with Up for Preorder, the new Arrivals & Departures section will also serve as a reminder to what’s been released this past weekend.

Arrivals

It’s here! The latest from Jude Reid (Fulgim: The Perfect Son, Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith) is the tie-in book for the launch of Warhammer 40,000’s 11th Edition. Armageddon: Season of Fire will be up for preordering this coming Saturday. To my surprise, though, it will only be offered in standard hardcover- no Special or Limited Editions in sight.

Longtime readers may recall I did a pocket history of the previous editions’ tie-in novels here, as well.

Departures

No new books dropped onto store shelves this week, so the runway is clear!

Sharing a Six-Pack With… Justin Woolley!

The Six-Pack is an occasional Black Library Weekly tradition, with a Black Library author past or present sharing some of their personal book recommendations. The ask is simple: three books from the Black Library. Two books that aren’t. And then one book of their own!

If your tastes run to the greenskin persuasion, a return to Armageddon has been a real banquet. New models, a new edition of the game featuring your faction- and plenty of Ork action in the Black Library including the latest book from Justin Woolley!

Woolley, whose previous works for Warhammer have included Catachan Devil, Prisoners of Waaagh!, and Long Live Da Red Gobbo, joined us this week for some of his personal recommendations!

Three Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath. “I mean, this one probably doesn’t need a recommendation because the community has well and truly embraced how terrific it is. Rob Rath’s dueling necron maniacs are like if Itchy and Scratchy were astronomically intelligent ancient creatures whose cartoon battle lasted millennia and stretched across the galaxy. It is funny, smart, epic in scope and still perfectly captures the universe of Warhammer 40k.”

Brutal Kunnin’ by Mike Brooks. “Almost all of my Black Library work has been about orks. I came into Black Library from writing science fiction comedy and I love the orks as the faction that allows us to produce a lighter side to the grim darkness while maintaining them as an utterly brutal and terrifying enemy. I have to credit Mike Brooks with laying the foundation for an increasing desire and foundation for orks to take centre stage in Black Library fiction. Brutal Kunnin’ is, to my mind, where great ork novels really started in Black Library. So I recommend this. Standin’ on da shoulders of giants and all dat.”

For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell. “Among the first Black Library books I ever read many years ago and the first that showed me that Warhammer 40k could be funny. For me, even in the darkest of settings contrast is important. Humour is rife in war. Laughter and dark humour have long been a tool humans have used to endure hard times and build psychological resilience. For a setting born from satire sometimes leaning into the more comedic aspects makes for the most memorable characters and, for me, Ciaphas Cain is one of the settings very best.”

Two Non-Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

The City & the City by China Miéville. “Always one of my go to recommendations when people ask because it combines several things I love in fiction. A police procedural. Meticulous world-building. Highly imaginative fantasy. I won’t reveal too much but this is a special book. A detective novel set in a place where two cities overlap in the same dimensional space and two detective must solve a murder that crosses that boundary. One of my all time favourites.”

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. “I mean, Pratchett is the GOAT of comedic genre fiction and this is, in my opinion, his best book. If you are a fantasy or science fiction reader and you have never delved into the Discworld then you are missing some of the true masterpieces in SFF. The man who inspired me to write and my favourite author of all time.”

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

Da Freebooterz Code. “My newest work for Black Library and one that I really feel I hit my orky stride on. I loved writing the adventure of Kaptin Skeeg Horntoof and hope I managed to achieve what I set out to do, a comedic adventure that still feels at home within the 40k universe. Bonus sneaky second plug, if you like my comedic 40k work you might also like Shakedowners, my comedic science-fiction series.”

Thanks, Justin! And if- like me- you’re curious about Shakedowners, here’s the book’s premise:

Oh, and he’s got signed copies available at his website, too!

June’s Black Library Weekly Giveaway

Some were fortunate to grab a copy of the standard, hardcover edition of Abnett’s Hive when it hit the store shelves. Others will be happy to wait the 180 days to get theirs through the new print-on-demand offering.

But one lucky reader will get to split the difference, winning a copy for the Dispatch’s June Black Library Giveaway!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Make sure you’re a Subscriber to the Black Library Dispatch.

2. Leave a comment below sharing what your favorite book by Dan Abnett is, and why (and it doesn’t have to be a Black Library title). A line or two is perfectly fine, please don’t feel you need to write a Hive-length explanation unless the spirit truly moves you. And hey, if you haven’t read any yet, that’s okay too- we all start somewhere!

That’s it! Next week I’ll pick a winner at random, and ta-daa, you’re getting Hive-d! As the Black Library is a global community, the contest is open to readers from anywhere on Terra. Sorry tech-priests, we’ll have to wait a bit to unlock Mars delivery.

Creative Uncommons

I always love seeing the incredible creativity and passion of the Black Library bibliophile3 community, such as custom bookbinding for the Horus Heresy, or hand-written transcriptions of Black Library stories onto scrolls.

This latest bit of awesome comes to us by way of Vyas Sundarrajan, one of the amazing residents of the Black Library Nutters Community over on Facebook. Vyas noted he wasn’t thrilled with the flimsy cardstock slipcover the books come with by default, so he designed and 3-D printed one of his own.

Not only does it look fantastic, but Vyas has freely shared the STL files with anyone who’d like to print their own! “I have been unconditionally helped by wonderful people here before,” he noted, “and am sure I will be in their debt in the future too - this is just me passing their good will on.”

Thanks, Vyas!

200 Subscribers!

Just 60 days in to the new Black Library Dispatch and we’ve crossed 30 articles and 200 subscribers! I’m delighted on both counts, but the latter is a little bittersweet as I’m frustrated about the issue with polling.

As I covered in the most recent Hall Monitor, I’d been a little perplexed why voting participation was down since we (temporarily) moved it here while Tabletop Battles gets polling fixed in the backend. Turns out, apparently Substack for whatever reason only allows Subscribers to vote in polls.

Now I’m fine with that being an option (and indeed, there is an option where Substack editors can make it even more restrictive by limiting it to paying Subscribers), but not as the basic default. If a Substack editor like me wants their polling to be open, by Jove, that’s a pretty reasonable functionality to expect! To be clear, I’m delighted when someone feels the content here is worth subscribing to, but I don’t like anyone feeling like they have to in order to participate in voting polls.

I’ve sent off a features request to the dev team, but who knows if/when that’ll happen. In the meantime, I’ll try to find a Plan C for voting for the Readers’ Hall of Fame next time.

ICYMI

Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!

Black Library Dispatch

• It’s a Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame week, so that means (at least while Tabletop Battles figures out the polling issues) we’ve got the ballot for 2010 here on the Dispatch. Again, the caveat is that you have to be a Subscriber to vote due to Substack’s design. Kindly bear with us, the show must go on!

• That also means we’ve had a new installment of The Hall Monitor, a sort of “behind the scenes” chat around all things BLRHoF. This week I talked a bit about the mystery of the lower poll voting, a mystery that we then appeared to solve.

• For review content, I took a look at the audiobook of The Daemon’s Curse, the first book in the Malus Darkblade series by Hall-of-famers Dan Abnett and Mike Lee. You won’t find a better voice for Malus than Andrew James Spooner, and I can’t wait to spin up the next one.

• Finally, whether you’re into Warhammer role-playing games or not, this week’s Warhammer RPG SITREP talked about an upcoming book covering the entire history of Warhammer. Exciting!

Tabletop Battles

• The main article for the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame is always at TTB, of course! We crown the inductees for the Class of 2009!

• As part of my new Heroes of the Black Library series, this week I dove into Commissar Sebastian Yarrick. Not only the man, the myth, and the legend- but also the books, the author, his history in miniatures, and on-theme curios to decorate your library.

• TTB has kicked off a multi-part Lore Explainer series on Armageddon, beginning with a look at the planet itself. This week, Rob “The Chirurgeon” Jones was back to talk about the oft-overlooked First War of Armageddon.

• Meanwhile, Saffgor reviewed the new Mechanicus II video game, with writing by the Black Library’s own Ben Counter (Soul Drinker, Grey Knights)!

Warhammer Community

• The Chronicles of Ruin serial mini-anthology for Age of Sigmar dropped a new story this week, The Steel Baron. These unattributed bits of fiction tend to follow the tabletop releases and this one’s no exception, featuring the new Cogforts!

• After his triumphs at Isstvan, Horus and his armies didn’t sit still. This week’s Pages from the Black Books covers his march of conquest through the Coronid Deeps.

• Aside from the Sunday Preview, it’s not every week we get new content but this time they dropped the new Warhammer 40K trailer. Almost four minutes long, if you’re not getting chills or gooseflesh here, what are you even doing?

WarhammerTV (paywalled)

• The first episode of the brand-new animated series Aeronautica Imperialis, Ignorance Leads Death, arrived this week. Dogfights between Imperials and Aeldari? Hell yeah.

• For more book-oriented far, the latest episode of the Black Library Book Club also was released. As we prepare for Armageddon, the lads were discussing Nate Crowley’s Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!.

Around the Webway

• Alex at Wargamer had a humorous rant piece this week talking about why Perturabo is the worst Primarch. Part of his case comes from Guy Haley’s Hammer of Olympia, Perturabo’s entry in the Primarch series, and I found the whole thing an amusing read.

• Jen and Keri of the terrific WH40K Book Club tackled Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords by Denny Flowers this week, and just as I did they found it terrific fun!

• Then over at the 40K Book Club run by Arbitor Ian and Mira Manga, Mike Brooks’s Voidscarred went under the microscope. Voidscarred was the Goonhammer 40K Book of the Year for 2025 as well as the runner-up for the official Black Library Book of the Year, so I was keen to hear their thoughts on it.

Cold Open Corner

• The word “fanfic” tends to get a bad rap (not entirely undeservedly), but Cold Open Stories sets a very high standard of excellence for its Warhammer offerings (although somehow I managed to sneak in, so there’s that). This week they released their latest anthology, Sanctum Librarium vol. 16.

Quick Hits

• If you’re around Nottingham towards the end of this month, make sure to check out the Waterstones booksellers on the evening of the 30th. The event features a conversation with Mike Brooks (Lelith Hesperax, The Lion: Son of the Forest) around his new, original novel This is Where the Future Bleeds. And his interviewer? Some guy named John French (Ahriman: Exile, Dropsite Massacre)!

• In the meantime, if you’re in Kent on the 13th, Dan Abnett will be in attendance at the 2026 Broadside Games Show at the table of the Monster Merchants.

• Crimson Fists Omnibus reprint incoming? One retailer in Germany seems to think so.

• The new James Bond video game, 007 First Light, got a glowing review from the Guardian. Congrats to Simon Jowett (Apothecary’s Honour, Xenocide) who was part of the writing team!

• Exciting news for Adrian Tchaikovsky (Day of Ascension, Starseer’s Ruin), who shared that one of his book series, The Tyrant Philosophers, is being turned into a tabletop RPG by Handiwork Games!

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.

Upcoming but Undated

• Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley

Current PODs in Production

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition)

Upcoming in 2026

• Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)

• Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid (hardcover, 6/20)

• Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)

• The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)

• Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)

• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)

• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)

• Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)

• Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by various (paperback, 7/28)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)

• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/11)

• Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/1)

Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!

The Hall Monitor is published every other week, the same day as the latest installment of the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame drops on Tabletop Battles. A cross between a director’s cut and a backstage pass, it’s a look behind the scenes at the Hall of Fame project.

Another installment of the Hall has come up on Tabletop Battles, and unfortunately the issues we’re experiencing with the site upgrade continue to persist. For those coming to this cold, here’s the quick background. We at Tabletop Battles pulled the trigger on a rebrand, changing from the long-established but now dubious Goonhammer. As part of that, we opted for a full site overhaul, from appearance on the front-end to performance on the back.

In many ways, it’s been a tremendous success. Website operations are like prayers of the Tech-Priests to me, interesting in their effects but well beyond my understanding beyond that. I know that it’s a much more efficient operation, and that’s good enough for me.

On the other hand, a few things got ‘knocked loose’ with the site upgrade, one of them being polling. That means for three cycles in a row, now, we’ve had to host the polling here on the Dispatch. And for the past two, voting has been significantly down, close to a 75% decrease.

This would make sense if we just weren’t getting the traffic, but the metrics show that plenty of folks are reading the Ballot pieces.

They’re just not voting as much.

Isolating the Variable

For the avoidance of doubt, we still get enough activity to make it a legitimate exercise; I’d be a lot more concerned if voting had fallen to the single digits. And looking at historical patterns, the lower vote count isn’t having a particularly distortionary effect on the results. But it’s curious.

The other part of the equation is that we’re not necessarily comparing apples to apples. The changeover in Tabletop Battles coincided with a change in the pace we are conducting the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame initiative. Previously each article covered half a year, mainly because I worried that by doing a full year and giving folks more than two dozen books to vote on, it might cause fatigue to set in.

Eating a slice of cake is great. Eating a whole cake? It gets gross pretty quickly.

So is it the extra step of clicking over to the Dispatch? Too many books at once? I have no way to know, of course, but I’d welcome anyone’s opinion. This project overall has been a runaway success, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve!

UPDATE: Problem solved?

Shortly after this went live and I’d posted the Tabletop Battles article on Reddit, someone raised their hand. u/Kasrkin noted that he has been unable to vote since we moved voting to Substack. While he can see the voting on the Dispatch, he can’t click on anything to register his choices.

This led to some additional research which appears to have resulted in an answer. TLDR: Per Substack’s settings, polls only have two options. Option one is, only subscribers can vote. Option two is, only paying subscribers can vote.

Which, let’s be honest, kinda sucks. I want subscribing to be something people want to do, not something that they are compelled to do. I’ve submitted a request to the developers to add “open polling” to the list of options, but who knows if/when that will ever be looked at.

In the meantime, I can only apologize to anyone who repeatedly ran into a brick wall when simply trying to cast a vote. With no sign of a fix on TTB’s site, I’m going to look into a Plan C for next time.

The Vox Populi Top Twenty

If you needed a visual display of the perceived lack of standout books in 2009, you could certainly do worse than this week’s updated Top Twenty.

That’s because there’s no update.

By this point, a book needs to get a 73% positive vote in the public polls to get their foot in the door, and none of them last time came close. Cadian Blood, the one book that made it into the Hall? Only 48%- with 44% of respondents choosing the No Opinion/Abstain option.

That means our Top Twenty is the same as last time:

Of course, the big news this time is whose name was added for the first time to the Winners’ Leaderboard.

Here are all of the Black Library novels published in 2010 for your voting consideration. Which books do you feel have “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance” worthy of induction?

Reminder: this is not a knockout competition. You can vote in as many books as you feel are worthy of inclusion- every book that ultimately gets enough votes will be inducted! Polls will close at the end of day on Saturday, 6 JUNE.

UPDATE 5/30: Some readers have expressed an inability to vote in the polls. With the help of u/Kasrkin on Reddit, I think we’ve figured out why. Substack only lets Subscribers vote in polls. I think that’s a terrible “feature.” YES, it’s true that subsrcibing to the Dispatch is free, but it’s an extra hassle for people just wanting to vote. I’m going to look into a Plan C for the next time.

The Ballot: The Class of 2010

Warhammer 40,000

Book: Black Tide, by James Swallow

Summary: “Having prevented the ferocious Bloodfiends from bringing disaster to their homeworld of Baal, the Blood Angels go in search of the renegade who almost destroyed them - Fabius Bile. Tracking the Chaos traitor down to his secret base on Dynikas V, a world beset by alien tyranids, the Blood Angels find horrors more terrible than even they can imagine. And with a sample of primarch’s blood in his possession, the Blood Angels must discover what nefarious plot Fabius Bile is bent on.”

Note: Book 4 in the Blood Angels series.

Book: The Chapter’s Due, by Graham McNeill

Summary: “War is unending in the life of a Space Marine. After defeating tau forces, Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines has returned to the Chapter's homeworld of Macragge, but there is little respite. The Ultramarines are thrust back into battle, and this time the enemy is the Chapter's greatest nemesis. The traitorous Iron Warriors, led by renegade Warsmith Honsou, have gathered together a massive and brutal warband. Their target is the realm of Ultramar. Their objective is total annihilation. It is a final showdown between legendary Space Marines, and Uriel Ventris must take on the might of Honsou if he is to save his Chapter's homeworld.”

Note: Book 6 in the Chronicles of Uriel Ventris.

Book: Dark Creed, by Anthony Reynolds

Summary: “Dark Apostle Marduk faces challenges from within his own Legion as he wages war with the White Consuls. Harnessing the power of the Nexus Arrangement, a powerful Necron device, Marduk can turn the tide in the Word Bearer's favour. But just as the White Consuls are on the verge of defeat, an old enemy returns to throw the entire dark crusade into ruin. If Marduk is to survive and fulfil his ambition, he must defy an onslaught from the necrons, White Consuls and his own Legion.”

Note: Book 3 in the Word Bearers series.

Book: Dead Men Walking, by Steve Lyons

Summary: “When the necrons rise, a mining planet descends into a cauldron of war and the remorseless foes decimate the human defenders. Salvation comes in an unlikely form - the Death Korps of Krieg, a force as unfeeling as the Necrons themselves. When the two powers go to war, casualties are high and the magnitude of the destruction is unimaginable.”

Book: The Emperor’s Finest, by Sandy Mitchell

Summary: “Commissar Cain is called to duty once more, saving a governor's daughter from aplanet over-run by rebels. The uprising hides something far more sinister however - genestealer hybrids! The search for the source of the alien threat leads Cain to a drifting space hulk - a far safer place than beside the obsessed governor's daughter. But when the Reclamator Space Marines suffer devastating losses at the hands of the Great Devourer, Cain and his trusty aide Jurgen must go it alone. With the tyranids waking and a group of stow away orks on the loose, there are no safe places to run or hide, and Cain must use all his ingenuity and cunning to escape the space hulk alive.”

Note: Book 7 of the Ciaphas Cain series.

Book: Firedrake, by Nick Kyme

Summary: “When Chaplain Elysius of the Salamanders is taken captive by Dark Eldar, he faces a fight for survival at the hands of these cruel aliens. The Firedrakes of 1st Company attempt a daring rescue mission, but much more is at stake than the Chaplain's life. He holds the key to secrets buried beneath Mount Deathfire, secrets that could reveal the damnation - or salvation - of their home world. The Salamanders must penetrate the Port of Anguish and defeat the xenos threat there if they are to unveil the mysteries within the Tome of Fire. Meanwhile, Dak'ir battles to survive the brutal Librarian training, and in his visions lie an even darker future…”

Note: Book 2 of the Tome of Fire.

Book: Flesh and Iron, by Henry Zou

Summary: “There are reports of an uprising on the planet of Solo-Baston. Indigenous forces are rebelling against Imperial rule, led by the mysterious 'Dos Pares'. Amidst the conflict, the 31st Riverine Imperial Guard are dispatched to seek and destroy a vital piece of weaponry, but find themselves beset on all sides by hostile forces. And what they originally thought was simple tribal warfare soon reveals a much more sinister activity.”

Note: Book 2 in the Bastion Wars series.

Book: Helsreach, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Summary: “When the world of Armageddon is attacked by orks, the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter are amongst those sent to liberate it. Chaplain Grimaldus and a band of Black Templars are charged with the defence of Hive Helsreach from the xenos invaders in one of the many battlezones. But as the orks numbers grow and the Space Marines dwindle, Grimaldus faces a desperate last stand in an Imperial temple. Determined to sell their lives dearly, will the Black Templars hold on long enough to be reinforced, or will their sacrifice ultimately be in vain?”

Book: The Hunt for Voldorius, by Andy Hoare

Summary: “Captain Kor'sarro Khan of the White Scars is petitioned by his Chapter Master to hunt down and destroy the daemon prince Voldorius, a warleader of the renegade Alpha Legion, thus ending his reign of terror across the stars. Hunting the beast doggedly for over a decade, Kor'sarro finally brings Voldorius to battle on Quintus, a world that has totally given itself over to the Alpha Legion. Together with their Raven Guard allies, the White Scars must fight an entire planet if they are to slay the daemon prince.”

Book: Path of the Warrior, by Gav Thorpe

Summary:

Note: Book 1 of the Path of the Eldar.

Book: Redemption Corps, by Rob Sanders

Summary: “Led by the fearsome Major Mortensen, the Redemption Corps is a regiment of ultra-tough storm troopers sent to the deadliest warzones on missions of mercy and destruction. But when Mortensen comes to the attention of the deadly sorority of the Battle Sisters, he not only has an ork invasion to contend with but these fearsome warrior-fanatics too. Caught between the xenos and the fury of the Imperium, can the Redemption Corps fulfil their mission and survive into the bargain?”

Book: Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker

Summary: “When the ork hordes of Warlord Snagrod lay waste to the planet of Badlanding and wipe out the Crimson Fists sent to stop them, Chapter Master Kantor prepare a hasty line of defence on the Fists home planet of Rynn's World. Tragedy strikes when an errant missile destroys the Space Marine's Chapter monastery, killing most of their warriors. With a handful of Crimson Fists left, Kantor must fight the campaign of his life, to defeat Snagrod's orks and prevent his Chapter's annihilation.”

Book: Sons of Dorn, by Chris Roberson

Summary: “Having survived the Imperial Fists brutal recruitment regime, rivals Zatori, du Queste and Taloc advance to the ranks of Scouts. When they join the Imperial Fists in their action on Vernalis, a planet blighted by Chaos, their loyalty to the Emperor and their fortitude in battle will be sorely tested. They must overcome the power of the Roaring Blades Traitor Guard in order to ensure victory.”

Book: Soul Hunter, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Summary: “The Night Lords were once among the most potent forces of the Imperium, Space Marines who used fear itself as their weapon. Now, cast adrift from the Emperor's light and hunted as heretics after their monstrous betrayal, the Night Lords clad themselves in symbols of death and fight the Long War, bringing pain and terror to all who worship the corpse-god of Terra. A summons from Warmaster Abaddon sends these rebels on a dangerous journey that leads inexorably to a conflict with the Emperor's chosen warriors: the Blood Angels.”

Note: Book one in the Night Lords series.

The Horus Heresy

Book: The First Heretic, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Summary: “Amidst the galaxy-wide war of the Great Crusade, the Emperor castigates the Word Bearers for their worship. Distraught at this judgement, Lorgar and his Legion seek another path while devastating world after world, venting their fury and fervour on the battlefield. Their search for a new purpose leads them to the edge of the material universe, where they meet ancient forces far more powerful than they could have imagined. Having set out to illuminate the Imperium, the corruption of Chaos takes hold and their path to damnation begins. Unbeknownst to the Word Bearers, their quest for truth contains the very roots of heresy...”

Note: Book 14 in the Horus Heresy.

Book: Nemesis, by James Swallow

Summary: “After the horrors of Istvaan V, Horus declares outright war against the Imperium. In the shadows of the Emperor's Palace, powerful figures convene. Their plan is to send a team of assassins to execute the arch-traitor Horus and end the war for the galaxy of mankind before it's even begun. But what they cannot know is that another assassin is abroad already, with his sights firmly set on killing the Emperor.”

Note: Book 13 in the Horus Heresy

Book: Prospero Burns, by Dan Abnett

Summary: “The Emperor is enraged. Primarch Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons Legion has made a terrible mistake that endangers the very safety of Terra. With no other choice, the Emperor charges Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, with the apprehension of his brother from the Thousand Sons home world of Prospero. This planet of sorcerers will not be easy to overcome, but Russ and his Space Wolves are not easily deterred. With wrath in his heart, Russ is determined to bring Magnus to justice and bring about the fall of Prospero.”

Note: Book 15 in the Horus Heresy.

Book: A Thousand Sons, by Graham McNeill

Summary: “Censured at the Council of Nikea for his flagrant use of sorcery, Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Legion retreat to their homeworld of Prospero to continue their use of the arcane arts in secret. But when the ill-fated primarch foresees the treachery of Warmaster Horus and warns the Emperor with the very powers he was forbidden to use, the Master of Mankind dispatches fellow primarch Leman Russ to attack Prospero itself. But Magnus has seen more than the betrayal of Horus and the witnessed revelations will change the fate of his fallen Legion, and its primarch, forever.”

Note: Book 12 in the Horus Heresy.

Warhammer Fantasy

Book: Bloodborn, by Nathan Long

Summary: “Ulrika, recently turned as a vampire, attempts to adjust to her new way of life. But when a fellow vampire is killed in Nuln, Ulrika and her mentor, Gabriella, are sent to investigate. Soon they find themselves facing danger from all sides as they attempt to solve a mystery that threatens the very existence of the Lahmian bloodline. How can they hope to destroy something with the power to kill a vampire?”

Note: Ulrika the Vampire book 1.

Book: Call to Arms, by Mitchel Scanlon

Summary: “Dieter Lanz is a young recruit to the 3rd Hochland Swordsmen, otherwise known as 'the Scarlets'. His regiment is called into battle when an orc army starts to rampage across the countryside, and when the Scarlets are defeated, Hochland is threatened with collapse. As a desperation measure, legendary general Ludwig Von Grahl is brought out of retirement - he is the last hope to stem the vicious green tide.”

Book: Grimblades, by Nick Kyme

Summary: “When orcs and goblins invade the Empire, the Emperor Dieter IV does nothing. While the other elector counts bicker, Prince Wilhelm is left to defend the Reikland alone. The Grimblades are among his brave army that opposes the greenskins. Amidst desperate war across the Empire and a plot to kill the prince, the Grimblades must survive this orc invasion and be victorious.”

Book: Nagash the Unbroken, by Mike Lee

Summary: “The powerful necromancer Nagash, having suffered defeat on the battlefield at the hands of the priest kings, is forced to lick his wounds in the mountains of Nehekhara. Over time he rebuilds his strength and finds new allies in the skaven, mutant ratmen that live beneath the earth. In his new lair of Cripple Peak, the necromancer discovers something dark and powerful - warpstone. Coveted by the skaven, this magical rock could make the evil Nagash unstoppable.”

Note: Book 2 of the Rise of Nagash.

Book: Sword of Justice, by Chris Wraight

Summary: “Fresh from the slaughter of the Emperor's enemies in the north, Ludwig Schwarzhelm, Emperor's Champion, is sent to Averland to oversee the inauguration of a new elector count. Beset by greenskins, and hampered on all sides by the ambitions of rival magnates, he is soon fighting to keep the fractious province together. But the rot runs deep. Powerful forces in Altdorf seem determined to see him fail, and suspicion falls on even his most trusted allies. When all is at its bleakest, the mark of Chaos and the full horror of his task is finally revealed. Alone, doubted by those closest to him, this will be Schwarzhelm's greatest ever challenge, one on which the destiny of the Empire itself depends.”

Book: Temple of the Serpent, by C. L. Werner

Summary: “After a series of failures, Grey Seer Thanquol is offered a chance to redeem himself by going to the island of Lustria to kill the Prophet of Sotek. Dogged by assassins and stranded in a foreign land of giant lizards, temple cities and endless jungle, Thanquol must use all of his cunning and magic if he is to come out alive.”

Note: Thanquol & Boneripper book 2.

Book: Warrior Priest, by Darius Hinks

Summary: “Warrior Priests are the holy crusaders of the Empire, crushing daemons, witches and heretics alike with righteous fury. These bold men wield death and damnation, with warhammers held high and the word of Sigmar on their lips. They provide the final bastion against the forces of darkness that would run rampant and forever turn the hearts of men. Jakob Wolff is one such warrior, and sets out to track down his brother, whose soul has been tainted by the Ruinous Powers. Family must be put to one side as he battles to prevent the Empire from sinking into Chaos, with only his strength of arms and the purity of his beliefs to call upon.”

Book: Wulfrik, by C. L. Werner

Summary: “Emerging from the mists, Wulfrik the Wanderer brings destruction and death everywhere he treads. Cursed by the Ruinous Powers, the champion must travel across the Old World and seek prizes to appease the forces of Chaos. But now dark forces plot against Wulfrik, and he must discover the enemy within or else his soul will be lost to the Dark Gods forever.”

Book: Zombieslayer, by Nathan Long

Summary: “Pursued by the dark forces of the necromancer Heinrich Kemmler, Gotrek and Felix arrive at Castle Reikgard, where they must hold out against the zombie hordes.The brutality of the siege is unremitting as wave after wave of horrific creatures, led by the undead champion Krell, attempt to take the walls. With supplies running low and morale sinking, the defenders begin to hear terrible whispers and endure awful nightmares. Suspicion and paranoia run rampant within the castle walls, and the defence seems impossible. Somehow Gotrek and Felix must unite the forces of the Empire against Kemmler's ever-growing legion until help arrives, or will the Slayer find his doom amidst the unrelenting undead?”

Note: Gotrek & Felix Book 12.

Thanks for voting, and we’ll have the results announced in two weeks’ time!

One of the fun side-effects of quarterbacking the Black Library Reader’s Hall of Fame has been how much more I’ve been exposed to Warhammer Fantasy. Back when I began at Tabletop Battles (formerly Goonhammer), I was much more focused on the 40K side of things. Back when I was frequently reading the genre, my IP fantasy flavor of choice had always been TSR’s, if that gives you any idea of what era I’m referring to.

But this past year has been a year of discovery, and one of the early audiobooks that made a real impression on me was William King’s Trollslayer. I’d grown curious about Warhammer Fantasy in general1 (and Gotrek & Felix in particular), and very quickly I realized how much I’d been missing out on.

Recently in one of the Black Library forums I haunt, someone gave a ringing endorsement of the audio version of The Daemon’s Curse, the first Malus Darkblade book from 2005 by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee. Curious both for the book as well as the opportunity to explore a narrator I hadn’t listed to yet, I gave it a go- and am delighted I did!

The Story

The Daemon’s Curse is essentially the origin story of Malus Darkblade, druchii (Dark Elf) highborn of the city of Hag Graef. Warhammer’s Dark Elves share very similar DNA as the Drow of Dungeons & Dragons, so the book’s endless scheming and betrayals had a very familiar ring.

We open with Darkblade bringing a huge wealth of slaves to court as tribute to his father, the ruler of Hag Graef. Betrayed along the way, he is forced to show up to court empty-handed, and his exposed position leaves him vulnerable to exile or assassination. Desperate to rebuild his power base, schemes with his half-sister to betray their brother, pilfering a relic that can lead the way to a temple in the frigid Chaos Wastes, home to immeasurable power and treasure.

But as perilous as the dangers of the North are, he must contend with the schemes and intrigues of his own warband at every step of the way. And perhaps worst of all, the realization that note every kill is worth the chase.

Giving Voice

The book is read by Andrew James Spooner, and his Malus is every bit as pitch-perfectly iconic as Keeble’s Gotrek. Like many of the other narrators in Warhammer fiction, he has a background rich with voiceover work for television and video games, as well as a smattering of live-actor credits to his name. For Warhammer, he’s lent his voice to Space Marine II, Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, Darktide, and Total War: Warhammer III in the gaming department, and more notably brought Hendrick Silverwolf to life in WarhammerTV’s Blacktalon series.

Spooner also has a rich involvement with the art of puppetry, including performances in Muppet Treasure Island and 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted. If you’ve never seen the former, take a moment to appreciate the opportunity to work alongside the likes of Tim Curry and Billy Connolly on one of puppetry’s biggest stages. Amazing.

While other narrators have the ability to alter their voice enough to represent an ensemble cast, Spooner’s range was noticeably more limited. The steely menace he imbued Malus with made the book, and while the remaining cast was less distinctive they still earned a passing grade. Fortunately, the book didn’t call for a large cast, and Spooner resisted the temptation to get too lost into vocalizing the Beastmen- something that would probably have sorely tempted Keeble.

Bits n’ Pieces (Possible Spoilers)

• Two things really elevated my enjoyment of The Daemon’s Curse, and were more than enough to see me toss an Audible credit at Bloodstorm, the second book in the series. The first was Spooner’s scintillating Malus, and the second was the way that Abnett and Lee wrote him. Malus is thoroughly wicked and irredeemable, an anti-hero in every sense of the word. But he’s not an unfathomable one, and the writers did an amazing job of giving you a window seat to his internal dialogue throughout the book.

• Often when we’re treated to a character’s internal workings, it’s in lengthy monologues. There are some benefits to that approach- for one thing, it affords the writer the ability to expand on their character and its backstory- but Lee and Abnett took a different approach here. Through frequent use of short asides and reactions, we’re continuously aware of Malus’s thoughts and suspicions. The face he presents others in the story is blustery and arrogant, so this ‘parallel track’ lets us see the paranoia and scheming that’s running constantly just beneath the surface. Superb work.

• This gives us a larger insight into Druchii society, where alliances are temporary, transactional, and often merely a prelude to eventual betrayal. Honestly, it must be exhausting to live like that, and The Daemon’s Curse highlighted that far better than any of the books set in Menzoberranzan that I can remember.

• Finally, huge marks to the writers for keeping this fantasy story heavily grounded. Hunger, thirst, injury, and fatigue are constant companions in the story, lending it a gritty realism that at times reminded me of the best elements of survival games.

This was a terrific detour into Fantasy, and while I’m headed back to the Horus Heresy next, it won’t be long before I check in with the next part of Malus’s story. Highly recommended.

No business intentionally sets out to make bad decisions. Let’s start today with that.

In hindsight, I think eventually we’ll look back at this period of time and see a Games Workshop that was struggling to find a distribution model for its deluxe edition Black Library offerings that could satisfy everyone. If we’re assuming good faith- which in my experience one always should- then in such situations steps will happen alongside missteps.

The news in yesterday’s Sunday Preview regarding the Special Edition release of Dan Abnett’s Hive is a misstep. Today we’re going to dive in as to why. But first, here’s what we’ve lined up today for you:

More Questions than Answers (Part 1)

If you’re coming to this cold, yesterday’s Sunday Preview confirmed what had been rumored this past weekend: that the Special Edition of Hive was going to be offered as an in-store item only at participating Warhammer stores.

Lay of the Land

Here’s what the footprint looks like, in terms of those stores.

Europe: Eleven stores. Seven locations in the UK, and then Prague, Zurich, Geneva, and Dublin.

Australia and New Zealand: Fifteen locations.

North America: All locations. 2021 stores.

This means it will not be available for pre-order online. If you don’t live within convenient distance of an official participating location, you will need to either acquire your copy on the secondary market- or simply go without.

When considering your ability to secure one, there are naturally two things you need to take into account. The first is, how far away is your closest store. The second, how much competition are you likely to face2?

Here’s some fun, back-of-the-napkin math for my fellow statheads3, showing the geographic footprint for each participating store as well as the slice of the population they’re expected to serve. (For instance, the UK figures came from dividing the population and land area by 7, because there are seven participating stores in that region.)

Western Europe is clearly the most disadvantaged here, since there are only four eligible locations. UK has the most favorable geography, while the US is optimal for lower potential competition.

Bottom line: My personal advice? If you really want this thing, you should plan to be at the store two hours before it opens. At least.

Why Are They Doing This: The Proactive Scenario

Ahh, the $64,000 question. Cui bono?

Obviously we don’t work for Games Workshop, and therefore we’re left to reading tea leaves and making educated guesses. But to cover our bases there are two different scenarios that we’ll need to consider.

Scenario 1: This is a proactive move by Games Workshop.

Scenario 2: This is a reactive move by Games Workshop.

Let’s start with the first one, that this deployment strategy is the result of a deliberate choice by GW. Why would they do this? I spoke to a source within the GW ecosystem, and these are the possibilities that came up.

Scalpers: Scalping has been the single largest persistent problem the Black Library has had to deal with as it seeks to cultivate a loyal and growing consumer base. We’re all likely familiar with the old pattern: online sales stock depleted minutes after a chase product goes on sale, then like mushrooms after a rainfall the eBay aftermarket listings spring up at 2x-3x the cost. This isn’t just a Black Library issue, but rather one that impacts GW’s offerings across the board. Go look at eBay listings for the Kill Team: Terror on Devlan release real quick, you’ll see the same story played out.

YES, there is certainly a larger conversation to be had about Games Workshop’s supply model and the artificial FOMO-driven consumer behavior it generates, but that’s outside of the scope for today. For the present we’re going to play the ball where it lies, not where we might prefer it to be.

The idea many of us have in our minds of industrial-grade scalpers are people who employ armies of bots to flood the zone, buying up multiple copies which they can then turn around and flip for a high profit. Indeed, this is exactly what happened about a year ago with the release of the Era of Ruin’s Special Edition (and if you weren’t part of that interesting event, I told the full story here).

Well, certainly one way to take the bots off the table is to restrict purchasing to in-person locations. And by limiting quantities to one per person, you can depress (but not eliminate) the capacity for scalpers to snatch up a greater share of the offerings. Naturally, nothing might stop a scalper from showing up with a friend or two in tow, but it is what it is.

As I noted in the beginning, this has been a year of GW experimenting with different approaches to curb one of their customers’ greatest pain points. Consider what else we’ve seen:

• The Era of Ruin Special Edition being moved from a regular release model to a guaranteed-stock, print on demand model.

• Chris Wraight’s Ashes of the Imperium being released as a new “premium edition,” which was not only de-limited but also with the promise of “potential future restocks.”

• The release of the new Horus Heresy Saga run of Horus Rising as a “premium hardback,” again with the possibility teased of “returning to print at a later date.”

The Ashes of the Imperium case is particularly interesting, as copies have been seen in the wild that did have sequential numbering pages- suggesting a change in strategy that happened fairly late in the game.

Juicing the Books: Games Workshop’s fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to the end of May. All companies in general, but publicly-traded ones in particular are under immense pressure to show healthy balance sheets by the end of a fiscal year for a number of reasons. Pushing for an end-of-year spike in sales performance is incredibly common- there’s even a term for it (“channel stuffing”) for when it gets taken too far. For some this is a matter of meeting Wall Street expectations. For others; for others, there may be executive bonus structures that incentivize these last-minute pushes.

It’s not outside the realm of the reasonable that GW might be using this as a way to drive one last bump of in-store traffic to its official stores right at the end of the fiscal year.

Now, let’s switch gears from “they jumped,” to “they were pushed.”

Why Are They Doing This: The Reactive Scenario

Remember, Hive’s Special Edition was launched in a Sunday Preview, only to be quietly clawed back with a stealth-edit to the original article two days later:

If we assumed (as above) that this was a planned event, it seems another case similar to Ashes of the Imperium, where it almost feels like one hand didn’t know what the other one was doing over at GW, or someone had a last-minute change of heart that forced a big, dramatic change. But what if it wasn’t planned at all, but rather something dictated by misfortune or circumstance?

One theory making the rounds is that this was a result of some adverse event happening to the physical stock, like flood or fire in the warehouse or accidentally being shipped to stores (like regular copies of Hive would have been). This theory does check a few boxes, as it certainly could explain the last-minute pulling of Hive’s SE from the announced preorder model. If the warehouse sustained damage four days before you’re pre-selling product, it’s probably wise to yank the listing and start over once you’ve got a better idea of both surviving stock as well as any possibilities for an expedited restock. The last thing a company ever wants to do is sell product it doesn’t have and can’t (affordably) get.

If we assume we’re dealing with depleted stock, this might also explain the decision to ship the surviving copies to stores rather than hold an online pre-sale, one which would sell out almost instantly (due to insufficient stock) and lead to higher-than-usual consumer frustration.

While this makes a certain amount of sense, I’m not fully convinced this is what we’re seeing. For one thing, my aforementioned source noted that to their understanding there were 2,000 copies available worldwide, which is right in the ballpark of most recent deluxe editions4. This seems to discount the “copies were somehow destroyed” theory.

Then there’s another reputable member of the Black Library Nutters, the Facebook group I always recommend, who confirmed with three regional stores that they’ll have four copies per store (a figure that falls within the range my own source gave me). If we take this as correct (which I’m comfortable doing), that puts us at a little over 800 copies just here in North America alone5.

Assuming no copies are held in reserve (unlikely), that leaves about 1200 to account for across the remaining 26 participating stores (15 in Aus/NZ, 11 in UK/Europe). Now obviously Warhammer World is going to get a larger allocation, perhaps some other stores as well. But 40-odd copies per store? I wouldn’t have thought so- but then I’ve also heard that the Dublin store has confirmed that they have 30 copies.

At this point it’s pure speculation, but those wondering whether GW might put some up online at a later date are probably going to be disappointed.

The Law of Unintended Consequences

If this is an anti-scalping measure, I applaud GW’s willingness to continue to tackle the problem- but I’m not sure they thought this one through. Let’s talk about Cannibal Gate and Other Stories for a moment, as it’s an example of this distribution model.

Each year, Games Workshop allows their retail locations to celebrate the anniversary of the store’s founding. Special miniatures, pins and other goodies…and a special hardcover short story anthology (Cannibal Gate being this year’s model). They’re only available as part of the special event, and only if you attend in person.

My local store in Louisville had six copies this year, four copies last year. Both times the books were already spoken for by people in line by the time the store opened for business. This, for a small anthology of previously-released stories.

As a result, most readers- those who don’t live near a store6- have no choice but to shop the secondary market if they want a copy of the Store Anniversary anthology each year. You enfranchise some, while disenfranchising others- simply on the basis of geography. For a store celebration item this isn’t too objectionable, but far less so for a Special Edition by your IP’s most celebrated author.

To be sure, you can make a case that there are haves and have-nots no matter what method you use. But the online model at least offers fans an comparatively equitable shot- at least, the ones like me who aren’t buying to flip and don’t have a legion of bots at their disposal. Rightly or wrongly, the Black Library marketplace has been based on a kind of social contract of (reasonably) fair access. A location-driven distribution model represents a pretty significant departure, one whose juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze7.

All this is before we even get into, shall we say, variations in the intended distribution model. Stores that release theirs ahead of time (there are already several reports of this8), or managers that put the thumb on the scale to make sure their best customers (read: friends) get a copy… these petty corruptions are unavoidable. You can’t fight human nature, not fully.

It’s also unfortunate that there was no suggestion of a possible future print-on-demand run, as GW had done with the Era of Ruin event, as this would have gone some way towards retaining the goodwill of the community.

Ultimately, a business looks to do the most good for the most customers. While it’s good news for me personally (my local is right up the road), I’m not sure this distribution model fits that bill.

June’s Black Library Weekly Giveaway: A Sneak Peek

I wouldn’t normally tease a giveaway, but I think we could all use a little good news about Hive today, don’t you think? June’s giveaway will be in next week’s Black Library Weekly, and it’s a copy of Hive. Not the Special Edition, sadly, but the beautiful standard hardcover box all the same.

Especially good news for those who held off on getting the regular edition in expectations of the deluxe9.

More Questions than Answers (Part 2)

As if one mystery wasn’t enough, we’ve got a second one to unpack this week as well. Fittingly enough, this one involves the mysterious and enigmatic Alpha Legion.

Last March as part of my post-mortem on this year’s Black Library Celebration, I talked about the curious case of Solomon Akurra, hero of Ghost Legion by Mike Brooks. All signs pointed to Akurra being this year’s Celebration mini. The Celebration coin was for the Alpha Legion. Brooks noted in Ghost Legion’s SE introduction that Akurra had “been immortalized as an absolutely stunning miniature!”

“I'd love to say that the model inspired the novel,” he went on, “but the novel was written before I'd even seen it.”

But then the Celebration arrived… and no Akurra. Just the coin. Curious.

Well, this week a few canny collectors noticed something truly interesting appearing on eBay: a Black Library Celebration-branded, Alpha Legion medal with Akurra on the cover of the box (shown above).

And inside…

What’s truly intriguing, though, is what’s on the back of the box.

Assuming this is legitimate and not some elaborate hoax10, this seems to indicate that there was some sort of “activity” planned for 2026’s Black Library Celebration- one which had this medal as a reward.

And then at the last minute11, Games Workshop canned it.

I asked my local store’s manager about it, and this was the first he’d heard of this. So it never got as far as the local level, but that still leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

And the Alpha Legion wouldn’t have it any other way.

Arrivals & Departures

While previously I’d focused more on what was right around the corner with Up for Preorder, the new Arrivals & Departures section will also serve as a reminder to what’s been released this past weekend.

Arrivals

The Hive Special Edition will be available this Saturday in-person, but there’s nothing else this week for preorder. And honestly, if you’ve read this far you probably already knew that…

Departures

Zip! No books hit the bookshelves this week for the Black Library. Plenty of time for us to keep working our way through Hive, amirite? (The standard editions, at least).

ICYMI

Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!

Black Library Dispatch

• It’s back! Black Library Bibliophiles, my occasional feature dedicated to the art of Warhammer book collection and display, made its glorious return in the wake of the Warhammer Skulls event!

• This week’s content review took a look at Pariah Nexus, the three-part animated series on WarhammerTV.

• Finally, for those (like me) who also enjoy role-playing games, this week’s Warhammer RPG SITREP column takes a look at some shipping issues with the new Warhammer: The Old World RPG that caused some folks to get double what they ordered. Hey, beats the alternative, right?

Tabletop Battles

• It’s not Black Library related, but speaking of Warhammer Skulls, here’s the official TTB overview from Marcy! If you can’t find at least one video game in here you’d like to play, I don’t know what to tell you.

• For this week’s Lore Friday, Contemptor Kevin took a look at Warboss, by Mike Brooks. As we head for a return to Armageddon with the game’s 11th Edition, everything’s coming up greeen!

• Finally, for those of you that play competitive tabletop, we’ve announced what might be the last-ever Goonhammer Open, this July in Baltimore. Don’t worry, the event isn’t going anywhere, it’s just about the name!

Warhammer Community

• The Pages from the Black Books series continues this week with The Wars of Retribution, covering some of the earliest engagements in the Horus Heresy after Isstvan.

• A new trailer dropped for the upcoming animation Aeronautica Imperialis, whose debut episode is right around the corner on WarhammerTV this week.

Around the Webway

• The Lorebeards had a terrific sit-down chat with “the man, the myth, the legend” Gav Thorpe (The High Kahl’s Oath, Azrael). These guys are content machines, to make sure to check out their slate of offerings while you’re at it!

• What a week for Mira Manga! She’s dropped interviews with both James Swallow (Nemesis, Faith & Fire) as well as Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Starseer’s Ruin).

• Not enough James Swallow? Mira and Arbitor Ian chatted all things Faith & Fire for the most recent 40K Book Club episode this week as well!

Quick Hits

• Over at the Black Library subreddit (like the Nutters group, my homes away from home), a new Writers of the Black Library periodic discussion thread kicked off, opening with- who else- the man of the hour, Dan Abnett.

• Aconyte Books released Season Two of Arkham International: Call of the Cursed Sea. Some terrific Lovecraftian fiction has been coming out in service to the Arkham Horror line of games, and this one’s written by Josh Reynolds (Manflayer, Shadespire: The Mirrored City).

• Ben Galley’s (Mournclaw) fantasy epic the Bloodwood Saga is now complete with the release of Demon’s Ruin, co-written with David Estes. You can find the book here on Amazon, but of course I always recommend your local independent bookstore instead!

• Finally, Amanda Bridgeman (Paragon of Faith, Reconsecration) revealed the cover for her upcoming book, The Survivalist. The latest in her Salvation series, it’s hitting shelves this August!

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.

Upcoming but Undated

• Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley

• Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid

Current PODs in Production

• None

Upcoming in 2026

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition, 5/30)

• Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)

• Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)

• The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)

• Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)

• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)

• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)

• Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)

• Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by various (paperback, 7/28)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)

• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/11)

• Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/1)

Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!

So yesterday kicked off the Warhammer Skulls celebration for 2026, the tenth anniversary of the event no less! Although most of what was revealed were video games, there were a few things in there for those on the lookout for decorations and curios to accent their Black Library bookshelves.

Presenting this year was Alanah Pearce, an actress who has lent her voice to Cyberpunk 2077 (as Lana Prince) and is voicing one of the two playable characters in Boltgun II. Of course, to call this presenting is a bit generous- her aggregate screen time is about a minute or so in total, with the majority of the Skulls presentation consisting of commercials for the video games. That’s no shade on her- it’s always great to see a lifelong fan get the chance to contribute to this amazing universe of imagination!

And while I’ve certainly been known to enjoy Warhammer video games (Rogue Trader owns me), I was more looking forward to seeing offerings in the physical realm- and I was not disappointed.

Dark Heresy (Owlcat Games)

Skulls certainly kicked things off with the 800-pound gorilla, showcasing the incredible collector’s edition of the upcoming Dark Heresy. Owlcat Games’s previous offering, the aforementioned Rogue Trader, wasn’t too shabby in the extra goodies department. A character statuette was the centerpiece, with a banner, warrant of trade, an art book, and I guess stickers.

Owlcat’s landed a massive coup this time- though one not without some controversy. First up, an Inquisitor’s rosette.

If that’s metal, as I hope, then it’s a very nice curio to hang near the Eisenhorn section of your library and comparable to something Starforged might produce.

Next up there’s another companion statuette, this one of Ra’akhti, the Kroot tracker. I’m of two minds on this one. First, companion curios are usually only as good as the companion they’re depicting. Cassia was a fine character (albeit devastating in combat), but we don’t have much to go on with our future Kroot friend yet.

On the other hand, I think Owlcat would have knocked it out of the park if the statuette was of a Night Lord antagonist instead. Space Marines tend to be a little more exciting than Navigators and Kroot, but I’ll have to reserve final judgment for after I play the game.

Maybe Ra’akhti will surprise me.

Finally, the pièce de résistance…

Here it is, the thing that had me opening up the wallet the moment I saw it. A new Night Lords novella from none other than Aaron Dembski-Bowden. His Night Lords trilogy is legendary, widely considered one of the finest works the Black Library has ever produced. The last time we saw him was 2022’s Siege of Terra title Echoes of Eternity, and for him to re-emerge back with new tales of the 8th Legion is a marketing masterstroke.

It’s also a rather contentious one, and to help illustrate why it might help to look the Wu-Tang Clan.

Back in 2015, the band released their seventh studio release, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. This was no ordinary album, but rather an artistic experiment designed to spark discussion around the commodification of music and the value of fine art. Only a single copy was ever made, and it eventually sold at auction for two million dollars1.

As intended, the album drove a wider conversation about exclusivity versus availability in art. For some, it was “their album, their rules.” Others found the idea of “putting art behind an artificially high paywall” to be fundamentally objectionable. With Games Workshop releasing a novella whose availability is presently limited to those shelling out USD $289 for the Collector’s Edition2, it’s rekindled a similar divide.

Ultimately, I think a lot of the angst around this will be decided on the basis of what the Black Library does longer-term. If Dark Heresy: The Night Lords Story gets re-released as a standard offering, I’d expect most in the Black Library community to see the one in the Collector’s Edition the functional equivalent of a Special or Limited Edition.

If, however, it’s only ever available in this format, that will likely prove more problematic.

I can understand the radio silence about the matter from GW. If they came out and said that the book would also be available in a regular edition separate from the Dark Heresy Collector’s Edition, that would rather defeat the purpose of shifting preorders.

So for now, it’s anyone’s guess.

Wētā Workshop

I’ve talked about New Zealand’s renowned propmaker before, but was surprised to see some reveals during Skulls as I much more associate their offerings with the annual Relics merchandising festival.

I mentioned above the debate around fine art and money, and to be sure Wētā’s pieces are not easy on the wallet. Sure he’s $1900, but clocking in at around three feet tall the Abaddon the Despoiler isn’t a shelf centerpiece, he’s a room one.

Of course, Wētā has a range of smaller offerings (Abaddon is 1:6 scale), and the recently-released Boingrot Bounder is a 1:10 scale statuette that stickers for a much more affordable $179.

To date, though, if you wanted some lower-priced Wētā window-dressing for 40K, you were stuck with the (very nice) collection of miniature helms.

Not anymore.

For Skulls, we got the big reveal of the next two in the 1:10 statuette line, a Blood Angel Intercessor Sergeant (above), and the Dark Angel Veteran (below).

If these hold to $179, that puts them in the same price range as JOYTOY’s wearable helmet line. The Bounder was just under 7” of height, so these will offer a commanding presence for your book displays.

Yootooz

If all that’s a little too much grimdark and you prefer the lighter side of the hobby, we also were shown some upcoming vinyl collectibles from Canadian toymaker Yootooz coming up that are tied in with Dawn of War IV.

These have a cartoonish appearance similar to Funko! Pop figures, although a little less blocky (and a little more pricey). They released a series of them in the wake of Space Marine II a couple years ago, such as the Thousand Sons chonky boi below.

You can find the rest of their current crop of Warhammer offerings here.

Laced Records

Speaking of vinyl, these guys were a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention at the tail end of Skulls, so small that they didn’t even get a nod on the official Warhammer Community article. A shame, because they not only have a massive catalogue of Warhammer official soundtrack (OST) music available, but they’re producing some of it… in physical form.

Don’t worry, Laced, we got you.

In the age of digital media, something you can hold in your hand makes for a terrific display item for a collection. I kid you not, an official release on audiocassette would be a no-look-buy from me, just to be able to put that in the Museum.

While this wasn’t highlighted on the presentation, a quick look at Laced Records’ website showed that, indeed, they do have a Limited Edition pressing available for the Space Marine II soundtrack…and it’s beautiful.

$42 for a double-LP special pressing is very reasonable, and I’ll be keeping an eye to see what else they come up with3.

Anything Else?

I was hoping to see more Collector Edition’s for some of the video game offerings, but nothing else was unveiled for Skulls. That said, there was an interesting featurette from DK Books on the Art of Warhammer Video Games4, but that’s a book that’s been out awhile already so it wasn’t particularly breaking news.

Finally, the Warhammer merch site has a Skulls-tied 20% off sale happening for the next week.

And that’s a wrap for this year’s Skulls. By this time next year at least a couple of these items will be decorating my own library, and I look forward to seeing some of them captured in yours!

So who else likes lists? As a ‘history guy,’ seeing where something exists in a timeline helps give it additional context, so as I continue to look at WarhammerTV’s slate of animations1 it can be useful to know where each title stands.

Let’s kick things off today with a lay of the land.

The WarhammerTV Timeline

August 2021: Angels of Death

August 2021: Hammer and Bolter

March 2022: The Exodite

June 2022: Interrogator

November 2022: Angels of Death: Origins

March 2023: Iron Within (reviewed here)

May 2023: Blacktalon Season 1

September 2023: Pariah Nexus

March 2024: Broken Lance

August 2024: The Tithes

October 2024: The Enemy Without: A Deathwatch Vignette

March 2025: Blacktalon Season 2

May 2025: Kill Lupercal

September 2025: Sigmar’s Toll

February 2026: Adepta Sororitas: Penitence

May 2026: Aeronautica Imperialis

It’s worth nothing that some of these shows ran over the course of several months (or more- Hammer and Bolter only concluded last year with Return to Cadia). The date listed reflects the debut date, not the conclusion of the run.

Today’s offering, Pariah Nexus, is right in the middle era, and while it drew acclaim for its high-quality animation it was not without criticism from the community.

Unlike Iron Within, Pariah Nexus is a three-part series that in total clocks right in at 60 minutes. Being a trio of episodes rather than a single, long one means there’s some filler time in there with intro/outro content, but thankfully no “Previously On…” segments.

The Story

Once a beautiful shrine world, Paradyce III has been broken under the hammer of the Necron invasion. Its cities lay in ruins, strewn with the corpses of Necrons and Guardsmen and Astartes under grey skies roiling with the Stilling effect of Necron noctiliths.

The war is over, now there is only survival.

Sister Danica, a battle-weary Sororitas whose faith (and perhaps sanity) is fraying at the edges is accompanied by a Cadian Shock Trooper named Georgina. As the pair pick their way through a ruined cathedral they see an Astartes gunship on fire crash in the distance, and make their way towards it.

In the wreck, grievously injured Brother Sa’kan of the Salamanders is the sole survivor of the crash. Their original mission- linking up with other Astartes elements within the city- is obviously over before it began, so when he finds a group of human citizens hiding with nowhere to go, he vows to escort them to safety.

As these two groups come together, they quickly realize that they are being hunted by the Necrons. Illuminor Szeras, who has been conducting horrific experimentation on captured humans and turning the leftovers loose out onto the streets, sends a Deathmark assassin after the survivors.

Can the Imperials get the survivors to safety before their time runs out?

The Talent

Sadly, not even IMDb has the info for the director and writers of Pariah Nexus, with us instead seeing a credit for Warhammer Storyforge. On the upside, we do know a few of the folks who came together to make this one possible, including the three exceptional primary voice actors.

First off, this was produced by Mads Munk’s M2 Productions, based in Bangkok. This is the studio that’s also been behind Warhammer’s Blacktalon and Interrogator animations.

Georgina is voiced by Helen Keeley, who also is the voice of Lorai in Blacktalon. In addition, she’s appeared in Baldur’s Gate III (Nightsong), Horizon Forbidden West (Untalla), and Warhammer 40,000 Darktide (The Cut Throat).

Sister Danica, meanwhile, was given life by Hannah Melbourn. Melbourn has also appeared in an episode of Hammer and Bolter (Remiah), while also boasting video game talent work including Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Path of Exile II, and the terrific We Happy Few.

No less a Warhammer pedigree, though, belongs to James Phoon. In addition to Brother Sa’kan, the Bridgerton supporting actor has contributed to Space Marine II (Astra Militarum Trooper), The Tithes (Sa’kan, again), and Total War: Warhammer III (Cathay Astromancer). He’s also been in games Crimson Desert and Black Myth: Wukong.

Animation was driven by Varut Bambat, who also did The Tithes the following year. He’s also done work for Lego Friends, Team Mekbots: Animal Rescue, and 2015’s Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Finally, music was supplied by Emmy-nominated composer Paul Edward-Francis, whose other Warhammer credits include The Tithes and Sigmar’s Toll.

Notes & Impressions (Spoilers Ahead)

• I watched this one with my daughter (12yo), and we loved it. While it’s not without its flaws, this had a very high production value relative to Iron Within and it showed.

• One of the community criticisms that I think lands well is that it was too short, or tried to do too much in its runtime. Pariah Nexus had a lot going on, from early exposition to three different narrative arcs, flashbacks, and even a big ol’ plot twist (which I’m going to spoil, be warned). This would have been better served as a single episode instead of three mini-ones, if only to get a little of that time back to put into the story. Slow down some of the rushed pacing (particularly at the end), and this could have easily filled out 75 minutes.

• All three of the primary characters (Danica, Georgina, and Sa’kan) were outstandingly written. The bickering between Danica and Georgina in particular were terrific, a Battle Sister and Cadian Shock Troop engaging in a frank and open exchange of ideas (and ideals) to pass the time as they traverse the ruins.

• Georgina had some truly cynical bangers. “Where has your faith led you,” she asks her companion at one point. “One of the last to draw breath in a land of the dead?” When Danica’s zealotry increasingly begins to blame the citizens of Paradyce III for not defending their world to the very death, Georgina counters, “without the faithful there is no faith.”

• The first thing we see of Georgina is a close-up of her purple eyes. Points for the show-don’t-tell approach here.

• I’m not a big Salamanders guy but Sa’kan was a terrific ambassador for their noted compassion. It’s not grounded in needless sentimentality and he’s nobody’s fool, going from praising a Guardsman he encounters to killing him an instant later when he realizes the threat. This kind of thing gets written as weakness all the time- the soft-hearted soldier lets the enemy get lethally close because he’s unable to get past his own mercy- but Sa’kan was pitch-perfect.

• Pariah Nexus was very beginner-friendly, so if you’re looking for an animation to show a friend curious about Warhammer you could do worse. It’s not that it spends a lot of time explaining itself, it’s that it doesn’t need to.

• The plot twist arrives in the third episode, where we learn that Shock Trooper Georgina had died in an earlier engagement with the Necrons and existed only as a figment of the unstable Sister Danica’s imaginings. I’d had a hunch (it was the lack of interaction between Georgina and Sa’kan that eventually made me start to wonder), but it worked very well and telegraphed how far Georgina had been impacted by battle strain without having to specifically call it out.

• With Sa’kan seemingly fallen, when Danica takes it upon herself to escort the refugees to safety (a thing she’d been vehemently against initially), it seemed like the story had gone full circle and I expected to see end credits roll on that high note, but…

• …instead we get an ending that reminded me of 2007’s The Mist in terms of last-scene bleakness. This is the grim, dark future after all.

And that’s Pariah Nexus in the books! One we can definitely recommend no matter what stage you’re in on your Warhammer journey. Happy watching!

This is probably my favorite Warhammer meme, because each answer is both correct and wrong. If you’re relatively new to the lore, the Emperor (beloved by all) created twenty Primarchs.

Or was it twenty-one? There’s that curious business of the Alpha Legion leadership. And then, of course, there are the two Primarchs that never existed. Wait, who?

It’s enough to do one’s nut in trying to get it right, so it’s probably a kindness that this poor fella is about to receive the Emperor’s Mercy…right?

In the annals of the Black Library, one author that comes close to being one of those ‘Lost Primarchs’ stricken from history is Henry Zou. His name came up in a Reddit thread this week, as it does every now and again, so let’s jump in today on an interesting bit of Black Library history.

Zoutopia

Sydney, Australia native Henry Zou was a soldier in the Australian army, and idle time during long training exercises was fertile ground for his budding writer’s imagination. His military experience gave him plenty of inspiration, and in 2008 he placed his first short story with the Black Library, Voidsong.

Voidsong, part of that year’s Planetkill anthology, tells the tale of an insurgency on the planet Sirene Primal that pits Imperial Guard forces against a mysterious rebel leader known as the Sirene Monarch. Meanwhile, a member of the Inquisition, Inquisitor Roth, has arrived on-planet to investigate a mysterious psychic signal that’s been broadcasting into the void. Fans of the three-armed amigos probably know where this is going, and it was well-received enough by the Black Library team to springboard Zou into a book deal.

2009: Emperor’s Mercy

It’s not at all uncommon for Black Library writers to use short stories to introduce characters that will feature in their own novel (for instance, Mike Vincent’s Blades of Atrocity paved the way for The Remnant Blade), and here Zou was no exception. Inquisitor Roth returned for his novel debut, chasing down ancient artifacts on the planet Medina while contending with a Chaos warband known as the Ironclads.

While much of the official documentation of the time has been lost to history and memory, it’s clear that the Black Library was giving Zou a significant push. His gritty realism, grounded in his own military experience1, was just the thing Games Workshop wanted to offer fans of Gaunt’s Ghosts and other military-focused 40K stories, and towards that end they took the unusual step of securing a front-of-book endorsement from none other than Dan Abnett himself (visible on the front cover, above).

Crunchy and vivid, sure- but Abnett would likely soon come to rue the use of the word “memorable” here.

2010: Flesh and Iron

If you needed further evidence of the Black Library’s investment in Zou- a writer who had no previous published stories but certainly had impressed with his audition- it’s the branding of Zou’s novels as the “Bastion Wars series.”

This was Zou’s sandbox, much in the same way the Sabbat Wars were Abnett’s, and to land such license as a relative unknown was something of a coup. Zou took full advantage, handing in a highly-acclaimed sophomore effort that surprised many by being a sort of plot-twist stealth prequel to Emperor’s Mercy.

The story centers on the 31st Riverine Amphibious, a sort of bayou-coded Guard regiment that is up against a (non-genestealer) rebellion. One contemporary reviewer praised its parallels with the river battles of the Vietnam War as well as its focus on water-navy engagements, and combined with a very tragic, human narrative element it seemed clear that Zou had delivered something unique2.

2011: Blood Gorgons

Zou was on a roll, and his stock amongst Black Library readers (and, no doubt, editors) was climbing. His third effort, Blood Gorgons, also managed to stand out in its more thoughtful, even sympathetic portrayal of its renegade Astartes. Instead of Chaos-obsessed two-dimensional moustache twirlers, Zou’s Blood Gorgons played in that ‘middle ground’ space inhabited by others like the Night Lords, Red Corsairs, and Ashen Claws.

The tale was also noted for its lack of an Imperial perspective, instead focusing on the internecine squabbles of those who had turned from the Emperor’s light as the Blood Gorgons battled Chaos Astartes and Drukhari to protect their territory.

The Fall from Grace

Zou in 2011 was at the peak of his powers, having delivered hits for two completely different factions.

And then everything fell apart.

It started in the fan forums, with sharp-eyed readers discovering content in Flesh and Iron that appeared to be lifted out of 2007’s House to House: An Epic Memoir of War, a book penned by U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia. This wasn’t just concerning overlap, but the kind of full-passage smoking guns that remove even the possibility of the benefit of the doubt. For instance:

• David Bellavia (House to House, p. 44):

“I had done it to deny the father a chance to see his children one last time. The men I lost in Fallujah and all the good soldiers killed under my command had not been given the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones... I had denied him the last chance to say goodbye. For some reason, I felt a thrill of joy. It was something I had not wanted to become. They had made me this way.”

• Henry Zou (Flesh and Iron, p. 192):

“He had done it to deny the father a chance to see his children one last time. The men he lost in Lauzon and all the good soldiers killed under his command had not been given the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones... Baeder had denied him the last chance to say goodbye. For some reason, Baeder felt a thrill of joy. It was something he had not wanted to become. They had made him this way.”

Beyond that, there were a number of other “liberties” taken. Zou’s character Sergeant Major Pulver was a clone of Bellavia’s Sergeant Major Faulkenberg, from descriptions of their demeanor and appearance to specific actions (like a sequence where he surrenders his weapon to arm a less-equipped junior soldier). Any claims of unintentional or inadvertent similarity would not be credible, and once the axe fell it fell hard.

The Black Library moved to blacklist Zou immediately, though in many ways corporate action is a bit like steering an oil tanker. As a result, Zou didn’t disappear from store shelves overnight, and some things that were in the works snuck under the radar.

In 2012, the Blood Gorgon cover art (featuring a Blood Gorgon legionary) was used for the 6th Edition Codex: Chaos Space Marines. The following year, the massive 40K anthology There is Only War released, with Zou’s Voidsong sitting happily between stories by Sandy Mitchell and John French hit store shelves, and then in 2014 saw the completion of Bastion Wars: The Omnibus. The ghosts linger even now, as you can still find a sample chapter of the offending novel on the Black Library website.

If ever Zou put pen to paper again he did so under a nom de plume, as nothing under his own name has ever appeared. A promising talent and bright future, cut short for committing literature’s greatest sin.

Sharing a Six-Pack with… John Sollitto!

The Six-Pack is an occasional Black Library Weekly tradition, with a Black Library author past or present sharing some of their personal book recommendations. The ask is simple: three books from the Black Library. Two books that aren’t. And then one book of their own!

LA-based John Sollitto’s recent trajectory through the Black Library has been a whistle-stop tour of the talent pipeline that is the Black Library’s short story system. His first story, Redemption through Blood, was part of the Daughters of the Emperor Week in July of 2024 before arriving in print the following July in Paragon of Faith and Other Stories. In my review I wrote the story was “an excellent debut for the writer, and I hope to see more of him in the Black Library in the future.”

I didn’t have long to wait.

That November, Sollitto’s story The Redoubt was contained within Death and Duty: An Astra Militarum Anthology. Another year, another incremental step in 2026 as he was included in another anthology, World Ablaze, but this one released in hardcover and with all-new stories from seasoned vets like Guy Haley, Robbie MacNiven, and Marc Collins.

Outside the Black Library, he’s also written a short story anthology3 called The Ones Who Remain, “that explores what happens when long forgotten grievances create real life problems.”

Here are John’s personal book recommendations!

Three Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

First and Only, by Dan Abnett. “I know I’m not shocking anyone here with this recommendation, but if you’d like a solid entry point into What Warhammer Is without submerging yourself in the minutia of the Horus Heresy, I can’t recommend this enough. Abnett is a master at his craft, and someone I view as a quality bar for the brand. If you like the show Band of Brothers you’ll love this. His characters are deep, the settings are varied, and the story itself has some good twists and turns to leave you guessing. Also, there’s a bunch more in the series if you end up enjoying it!”

Outgunned, by Denny Flowers. “First and Only is a good Old Guard Black Library rec, so I figured I’d also throw one in from the more recent years. I cannot speak highly enough about Denny Flowers’s work here. Lucille Von Shard somehow manages to avoid the trope I hate of ‘so good you have to put up with how much of a jerk they are’ characters, and Propagandist Simlex is a phenomenal perspective character to view her from. Maybe it’s the journalism degree that I’ve yet to dust off since I got it, but something about seeing the thinkings of a media professional in this universe tickles my brain. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book and anything Von Shard related if you’re a dogfight fan and a mystery lover.”

Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. “I hadn’t read much Age of Sigmar until very recently but boy howdy did I love Starseer’s Ruin. Tchaikovsky’s ability to weave varying perspectives around a common theme, give insight into each individual character through that, and tie it all together with a single plot that touches each of their lives is astounding. If you’re on the fence about AoS right now and not sure where to begin, pick this up. I can now confidently say I want to read anything by this author, as well as delve more into the races and realms that he’s written here.”

Two Non-Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman. “It’s been said that Grim-dark War Fiction starts here with The Forever War and I’d be hard-pressed to disagree with that. This is a rough read for those who are not prepared for it, but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I have. A bit dated with some of its topics and timelines (so come at it with an open mind), but still poignant in its themes and message, this book really is a time capsule that shows us the same things have always been on our minds, and war is perhaps the only constant we shall ever see.”

Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. “I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of this book going into it, but much like The Forever War I find myself thinking about it long after I finished it. If you’re looking to read more diverse authors for different kinds of sci-fi, Butler is one of the masters who is always brought up for contemporary fiction. She has an incredibly evocative writing style and her characters possess a realistic depth that is, at times, uncanny and arresting.

“I genuinely wished some of the ideas and thoughts in this book were in non-fiction form for me to read just as an academic and philosophical exercise, but will gladly take them in the form of this great work. Another rough read, so gird yourself for it, but I think you’ll come out the other side changed for the better. Or, at the very least, thinking.”

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

“This was hard to narrow down as I’ve just begun my journey with the Black Library and I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to do so. I think my short Rok Crackers in the latest World Ablaze anthology is one of my favorite things I’ve written. I had a blast working with The Steel Legion and getting a little more room to play with some new characters. I hope you all enjoy them!

“Buuuuuut my personal portfolio prior to working on Warhammer happens to include quite a bit of comics work! I recently have been working on the next instalment of my all-ages mech fighting comic Circuit Champ which I’m incredibly proud of. It takes a lot of influences from manga and my collaborator Brendan Albetski is knocking it out of the park with his unique style. I know it’s very different fare compared to the things I’ve recommended above, but maybe you’d like to take a chance on something new! Who knows? I’ve got other comics that might be more your speed if not, just ask. *Winkwinknudgenudgefollowmeonsocialmedia*”

Meanwhile, Back at the App

One of the big changes to the Black Library this year has been the rollout of the new app, accompanied by the end of support for the official website. When I talked about it this past February after the announcement, I referred to it as the “answer to a question no-one was asking.”

Three months on, I’ll admit my impression hasn’t much changed. Outside of claiming the raft of free books they offered to entice adoption at the outset, I haven’t been on it. Out of curiosity this week I logged in, and the first thing that jumped out at me was…

…sales!

That’s right, genuine, bonafide discounted goods and offerings. Previously these were a relative scarcity, with a “Book of the Month” offering and little else. These days in the app, they’ve gotten with the times and offered a number of books at half off or more4:

• I Am Slaughter, by Dan Abnett

• Soul Wars, by Josh Reynolds

• Steel Tread, by Andy Clark

• Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok, by Denny Flowers (review)

• Levaithan, by Darius Hinks

• The Fall of Cadia, by Robert Rath

• Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, by Chris Wraight

• Hallowed Ground, by Richard Strachan

Some good reads on there! Soul Wars comes up frequently as a “best-of” for readers new to the Age of Sigmar setting, and the audiobook of The Fall of Cadia holds firm as the best audiobook experience I’ve ever had. Pure cinema.

The discounts aren’t entirely uniform, but it looks like it’s mostly 50% off the eBook and 66% off the audiobook. Happy shopping!

Arrivals & Departures

Based on some feedback I’ve received, starting this week I’ll be covering books that have hit the bookshelves in addition to what’s coming up. While previously I’d focused more on what was right around the corner with Up for Preorder, Arrivals & Departures will also serve as a reminder to what’s been released this past weekend.

Arrivals

Nothing! Not only is it another Wallet Appreciation Week for us Black Library fans, but there was very little on offer at all this week. Though if you’ve been waiting for a French translation of Abnett’s Eisenhorn Omnibus, a winner is you!

Departures

Hive, by Dan Abnett. After a false start with the Limited Edition, the long-awaited little baby is all growsed up. Early returns suggest it’s a bit chewy with the early worldbuilding but worth powering through!

And that’s it for new books, a fairly quiet week.

ICYMI

Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!

Tabletop Battles

• It was a Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame weekend, and we announced the two winners of 2008. Let’s just say it was a(nother) good year for Dan Abnett.

• Unfortunately, the website woes for TTB continue when it comes to polling integration, so the voting for the Class of 2009 will be hosted again at my Substack. PLEASE take a moment to cast your votes!

• For Lore Friday, I reviewed Zardu Layak, The Crimson Apostle by Rich McCormick, a book with a lot of great ideas but somewhat uneven execution.

• Sure it’s not Black Library, but I love to see more books getting the TTB treatment. My friend lynnding-library reviewed the Battletech story Ghosts of Timkovichi by Bryan Young.

Black Library Dispatch

• I started a new series called Show and Tell, giving impressions and reviews for different WarhammerTV animated programs. In the crosshairs for the debut was 2023’s Iron Within, a cautionary tale of being careful of what you wish for…

• For you RPG fans, my weekly column Warhammer RPG SITREP this week covered Cubicle 7 Games’ continuing on the interview circuit with an under-the-hood look at the Warhammer: The Old World RPG.

• One more time, here’s the voting post for the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame Class of 2009. If you haven’t already, please take a minute to have your voice heard!

• Finally, a slight change to my biweekly Hall Monitor series. These are pieces that act as “director’s cut” companions to the Hall of Fame articles, providing thoughts, reactions, and behind-the-scenes looks at how it all comes together. This week I looked at the sad decline of Warhammer Fantasy in the Black Library, well worth a read (if I do say so myself!).

Warhammer Community

• The Pages from the Black Books series has finally touched on the Warmaster himself, examining Horus’s preparations for taking on Terra.

• This year’s Warhammer Skulls fest is coming this week, highlighting the new and exciting in the world of Warhammer video gaming.

Around the Webway

• So not exactly Black Library either, but Poorhammer released a ranking of every Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition Codex. I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for content like this.

• The Lorebeards pod sat down to interview Mark Gibbons, Warhammer illustrator extraordinaire (and World of Warcraft, and…)

• Our friends Jen and Keri at the WH40K Book Club tackled Chem Dog, by Callum Davis this week. (My review here as well).

• I loved this from Arbitor Ian this week: Why is everyone in Warhammer so old? Seeing as how I can’t read a YA fantasy or sci-fi novel without feeling like a left-behind fossil, maybe that’s not such a bad thing?

• And finally, on the reviewing front Arbitor Ian and Mira Manga took on Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Betrayer this week as well!

Quick Hits

• The Guardian posted a wonderful obituary for Ian Watson (Inquisitor, Space Marine) this week. As one of the early forefathers of Black Library literature, it’s well worth a read- and thanks to Juliet McKenna (Fear Itself) for the share. (I reflected on his life in a previous Black Library Weekly here as well).

• Carrie Harris (The Strength of Symbols, a Forbidden Meal) shared that she’s starring in Echoes under Ashwood, a “actual play meets audio drama podcast. It's a Gen X themed slowburn horror using Call of Cthulhu rules.” She plays a county coroner with a rebellious punk rocker past. Two episodes have been released, as well as some bonus content!

• Jacob Peppers (Reclaimed Honour) has a newly-released boxed set comprised of the first three books of his grimdark fantasy epic, The Nightfall Wars. “They are called nightlings—creatures out of legend, hungry for blood, waiting just beyond the light. Once before, they nearly destroyed the world and were defeated only by warriors chosen and empowered by the gods themselves. Now, the nightlings have returned.” Best of all, it’s in eBook format for ten bucks.

• Amanda Bridgeman’s Black Library novella Paragon of Faith has been shortlisted for a Tin Duck Award. This award highlights excellent in speculative fiction for writers from Western Australia. Best of luck, Amanda!

• The upcoming fantasy novel by Mike Brooks, This is Where the Future Bleeds, has seen its release date pushed out a week to 7 July, and Brooks will be doing a brief tour in support of the book. If you happen to be near any of the stops, make sure to put that on your calendar!

May’s Black Library Giveaway

This month’s giveaway is a paperback copy of Ghoulslayer, by Darius Hinks, in celebration of my Heroes of the Black Library piece this month on Maleneth Witchblade. To enter, readers simply needed to comment about their dream team-up with Gotrek Gurnisson, and we had some terrific entries!

Andrew Wilmot had the entry I’d most love to read:

I’m going to go REALLY weird and say Grand Justice Gormayne.

If you didn’t know, Grand Justice Gormayne is a ghoul who is a bit more aware than most that he’s a ghoul, and has to hide these moments of lucidity from his fellow ghouls. He’s also described as a learned fellow and a scholar. This may be from a ghoul perspective, but maybe the man behind the delusion knows something Gotrek needs?

The obvious counterpoint is that Gotrek would just kill him without asking questions, but that is just a challenge to write around!

It’d be brilliant to get a more humanised portrayal of the Courts, teased a bit in Ushoran, and an opportunity to show how Gotrek reacts when presented with a monster he needs to not kill.

Of course, this month’s winner is randomly selected (I’m not a big fan of contests that make you do a dog & pony show for a chance to play), so using all the powers of randomness available to me I can announce that our winner is: Ullyses!

Congrats to all who entered, and we’ll have another giveaway in just a few weeks for June!

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.

Upcoming but Undated

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Limited Edition)

• Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley

• Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid

Current PODs in Production

• None

Upcoming in 2026

• Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)

• Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)

• The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)

• Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)

• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)

• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)

• Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)

• Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by various (paperback, 7/28)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)

• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/11)

• Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/1)

Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!

So let’s start with a quick change to scheduling: starting this week, The Hall Monitor will coincide with the latest Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame post on Tabletop Battles, rather than follow behind it a day later.

Two reasons for the change. First, site traffic tells us that the majority of activity takes place on the first day of a new post (no shocker there). With The Hall Monitor being a sort of ‘director’s commentary,’ it makes more sense to have them available at the same time for those interested.

Second, as someone who writers a lot of content I try to be mindful of the balancing act that is self-promotion on forums like the Black Library subreddit and the Black Library Nutters Community on Facebook- both areas where I am a very active member. Never shit where you eat, right? By combining the days the Hall of Fame content is going live, I can put both links in the announcement posts instead of two over two days.

I never want to get to the point where my passion for the Black Library is generating more noise than signal, and this will help.

Now, let’s talk some books!

The Decline of Fantasy

This week I’d like to talk about the decline of Warhammer’s Fantasy property (as it pertains to the Black Library). Here we are entering the Class of 2009 this week, and for those keeping score at home we haven’t inducted a Fantasy title into the Hall since the first half of 2006.

Because of the binary nature of any Hall of Fame (you’re in or you’re out), this dropoff can look sharper then it actually is. Graham McNeill’s Heldenhammer and Nagash the Sorcerer by Mike Lee each got 55% of the voting this time around- just 5% shy of what they needed. Other books, like David Bishop’s A Murder in Marienburg and, frankly, just about anything Gotrek & Felix, manage to secure the popular support (Vox Populi) vote but come up short in the Committee.

But it certainly seems like the writing is on the wall.

In the early years of Warhammer fiction, Fantasy and 40K were roughly co-equal partners. While we don’t have access to sales and engagement figures inside Games Workshop, going by the external signs it’s obvious that at some point a burgeoning 40K began to shade out its less-thriving Fantasy nestmate.

There are a lot of reasons for this which I’ll dive into at a later date, but they include declining interest in the Fantasy tabletop game, the fact that Fantasy didn’t stand out in a crowded genre field the same way 40K did, and the talent shift over to 40K writing in the wake of the tremendous, unexpected success of the Horus Heresy line.

The Black Library tried to ‘capture the magic’ with the Time of Legend series, but it wasn’t enough. We all know how this story Ends, right? Blowing up the Old World. The dawn of the Age of Sigmar. And here in 2026, where the fantasy titles command about one-third of the overall Black Library support.

I’m a little disappointed that Heldenhammer and Nagash didn’t make the cut this time- but I also understand it. We’re running this Hall of Fame exercise now, not ten years ago, and there’s a certain survivor’s bias in play. Fantasy died, therefore perhaps its books were a little less “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” than if the property had survived. At 55% support, they’re forever going to be just on the outside of the window, looking in.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the perception of Black Library’s fantasy line changes with the introduction of the Age of Sigmar in 20151.

The Vox Populi Top Twenty

Both of 2008’s Hall inductees had a large groundswell of popular support, as evidenced by the fact that both made it into the Vox Populi Top Twenty.

As a reminder, this table ranks the books with the highest percentage of support in the public (VoxPop) polling.

Dan Abnett absolutely rules the roost here, and things like this really help put that into focus. This is particularly true in the modern era, where Abnett’s once-manic pace of production has greatly declined.

We must bid adieu to William King’s Skavenslayer, joining his Space Wolf, McNeill’s Storm of Iron and others that have been bumped off the table since we started keeping track.

And now with Abnett’s double win this week, here’s the updated author leaderboard:

Abnett seems almost uncatchable, but there’s still plenty of time ahead. As his output declines and other notable authors start coming into their own, there’s every chance we could see the gap close. But in a sense, there’s a certain “antiquity premium” for those who get in on the ground floor. Shohei Ohtani is probably never going to be regarded in the same way as Babe Ruth, because Ruth was an exceptional talent at the (relative) dawn of the game.

In that sense, there will only ever be one Dan Abnett- but there’s still plenty of baseball to play.

Thanks for reading, folks! I love to see the enthusiasm and passion for this in the community matching mine. If you’d be so kind to grant a favor, would you mind helping get the word out for the 2009 Balloting? Share the link on social media, nudge your friends to vote, and so on. Having the article on TTB but polling over here is a little clunky (though understandably necessary), so I’d like to keep participation high while we work on ironing out the TTB site upgrade’s kinks.

Here are all of the Black Library novels published in 2009 for your voting consideration. Which books do you feel have “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance” worthy of induction?

Reminder: this is not a knockout competition. You can vote in as many books as you feel are worthy of inclusion- every book that ultimately gets enough votes will be inducted! Polls will close at the end of day on Saturday, 23 MAY.

The Ballot: The Class of 2009

Warhammer 40,000

Book: Blood Pact, by Dan Abnett

Summary: “The Tanith First have been pulled back from the front line and are enjoying some well-deserved rest. But that is about to end. An enemy prisoner - one of the deadly Blood Pact - wants to betray his masters, but he will only talk to Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. Can he be trusted, and what exactly does he know? Gaunt must discover the truth and avert a deadly threat to both his own life and to the Sabbat Worlds Crusade itself.”

Note: Book 12 in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series.

Book: Cadian Blood, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Summary: “When the Imperial shrine world of Kathur is blighted by Chaos, the brave Guardsmen of Cadia are sent to reclaim it. The plague of Nurgle has set in deeply on the planet, forcing the Cadians into battle with an innumerable legion of the infected. In the midst of battle, Captain Parmenion Thade is thrust into an unlikely commanding role. Yet, he cannot imagine what lies ahead on Kathur, and just how important it will be to ensure victory there.”

Book: Courage and Honour, by Graham McNeill

Summary: “The Ultramarines are the epitome of a Space Marine Chapter. Warriors without peer, their name is a byword for discipline and honour, and their heroic deeds are legendary. Newly reinstated as Captain of the Ultramarines Fourth Company, Uriel Ventris leads his warriors in battle once again on the world of Pavonis, now a target of invasion by the upstart T’au Empire. With the eyes of the Chapter upon him, Uriel must win this war by following completely the wisdom of the Codex Astartes, lest he be exiled once more. But no plan survives contact with the enemy, and the tau are a dangerous and unpredictable foe…”

Note: Book five in the Chronicles of Uriel Ventris.

Book: Dawn of War II, by Chris Roberson

Summary: “Led by a newly promoted sergeant who is determined to prove himself, Blood Ravens Space Marines arrive on a desert world to recruit additional warriors to their Chapter only to find it overrun with alien orks. After blunting the main ork assault, the Blood Ravens launch a series of raids into the enemy's territory only to discover that at the root of the attacks there waits a much deadlier horror...”

Book: Emperor’s Mercy, by Henry Zou

Summary: “Inquisitor Roth and his henchman Silverstein are sent to the worlds of the Medina Corridor to uncover the location of a set of ancient artefacts. Meanwhile, the Ironclads, a force of Chaos traitors, invades the subsector in search of their artefacts for their own nefarious ends. With the Ironclads' indomitable army crushing all before it, will Roth be able to find the artefacts in time and prevent a terrible cataclysm engulfing the Medina worlds?”

Note: Book five of the Bastion Wars

Book: Gunheads, by Steve Parker

Summary: “Sergeant Wulfe leads his armoured tank company, the Gunheads, to the hostile alien world of Golgoltha as part of an Imperial battlegroup. Their mission is to locate and retrieve the Fortress of Arrogance, a battle tank that belonged to the legendary Commissar Yarrick, hero of Hades Hive. If Wulfe can keep his mind and men together, and the Imperial forces can retrieve the tank, this will have a huge boost on morale in the Armageddon campaign‚ but are they risking their lives needlessly?”

Book: Hellforged, by Ben Counter

Summary: “The Space Marines are humanity's champions, their loyalty to the Emperor beyond question. When a Chapter falls from grace, the Imperium will stop at nothing to hunt them down and exterminate them. The disgraced Soul Drinkers Chapter attempts to elude their pursuers in a desolate area of space, but Sarpedon and his battle-brothers soon find themselves fighting for their lives against a deadly new enemy: the necrons!”

Note: Book 5 of the Soul Drinkers series

Book: Innocence Proves Nothing, by Sandy Mitchell

Summary: “With Kyrlock and Elyra inflitrating the network of rogue psykers, the rest of the team start investigating the xenos artefact smuggling ring. As the operatives work their way deeper into the two criminal organisations, they unravel clues that suggest they might both be part of one greater evil. With danger at every turn, and paranoia running rife, can the Inquisition figure out what is going on before the Scintilla system is overrun by heretics?”

Note: Book two of the Dark Heresy series

Book: Salamander, by Nick Kyme

Summary: “Hailing from the volcanic world of Nocturne, Space Marines from the Salamanders Chapter are in search of an ancient artefact that leads to a world overrun by Chaos. They are the fire-born: implacable warriors with iron hard determination. But all is not what it seems as far more dangerous foe is revealed. As bitter rivalries break out amongst the Salamanders their endurance will be tested to the limit. Will the Salamanders survive long enough to discover the truth about this world and the revelations that will shake the very foundations of this Chapter forever?”

Note: Book one of the Tome of Fire series.

The Horus Heresy

Book: Fallen Angels, by Mike Lee

Summary: “With news of Horus's treachery spreading across the galaxy, the Great Crusade grinds to a halt as the primarchs and their Legions decide where their loyalty lies ‚Äì with the Emperor, or with the rebel Warmaster. The Dark Angels, too, face a time of testing, both among the stars and on their home world Caliban. Luther, once Lion El Jonson trusted second-in-command, now languishes as an exile in all but name while his master struggles to thwart the traitors advance upon the forge world Diamat. But an ancient evil gathers its strength beneath the surface of Caliban, and the First Legion will soon be thrust into a deadly conflict where all that they know will be cast into doubt.”

Note: Book eleven of the Horus Heresy

Warhammer Fantasy

Book: Empire, by Graham McNeill

Summary: “Having driven back the orc invaders, Sigmar unites the tribes of men and founds the Empire. The fledgling empire grows, but its prosperity is not assured. The lands are still wild and untamed, and many enemies lurk in the forests and the mountains. When a Chaos invasion sweeps down from Norsca, the ensuing conflict tests the abilities of Sigmar and his chieftains to the utmost.”

Note: Book two of the Legend of Sigmar series. Book four in the Time of Legends.

Book: Forged by Chaos, by C. L. Werner

Summary: “The Forces of Destruction wage war upon the civilised lands and the Raven Host is poised to march upon the Empire in an unstoppable tide. To ensure victory against the Order of the Griffon, the power of the Winds of Chaos must be fully unleashed. But to work such awesome magic, the marauder Kormak must dare the Bastion Stair, portal to the Realm of Khorne, and defy the Blood God's wrath. The warriors of the Raven Host are not the only ones with an interest in harnessing Chaos. Treacherous dark elves and brutish orcs would each seize the power for themselves, while a desperate Imperial army races to deny all of their foes the dread might of Chaos.”

Book: Grey Seer, by C. L. Werner

Summary: “Nefarious Grey Seer Thanquol, skaven sorcerer and arch-enemy of Gotrek & Felix, embarks on his own adventure to recover the deadly artefact known only as Wormstone. With this dread substance, he plots to poison the city of Altdorf and rise to power in the eyes of his masters amongst the Council of Thirteen.”

Note: Book one of the Thanquol & Boneripper series.

Book: Honourkeeper, by Nick Kyme

Summary: “In the ancient days of the Old World, long before the time of men, the dwarfs and elves are at the height of their prosperity. As King Bagrik of the dwarfs and Prince Ithalred of the elves forge a trade pact, a vast horde of northmen attacks the elf settlement. When King Bagrik's son is slain, the dwarfs join forces with the elves, eager for vengeance. Can the dwarfs and the elves put aside their differences long enough to prevail over foe?”

Book: Iron Company, by Chris Wraight

Summary: “When retired engineer Magnus Ironblood is tempted into one more campaign, he finds himself working alongside some unlikely allies. Sent as part of an Imperial force to bring to heel the secessionist forces of Countess von Kleister, this rag-tag army finds themselves outgunned. Digging deep into their

reserves of courage and ingenuity they must fight the enemy forces with everything they have. But will it be enough to succeed where other have failed?”

Book: Knight of the Realm, by Anthony Reynolds

Summary: “Bretonnia is a land shrouded in myth and legend. Protected by its gallant knights, this magical land is ever under threat from the forces of darkness… In the aftermath of the beastmen invasion of Bordeleaux and the death of his father, Calard must face up to his responsibilities as a knight of the realm. But there is little time for respite as a new terror comes to plague the land of Bretonnia.”

Book: Malekith, by Gav Thorpe

Summary: “Passed over to succeed as king, elf general Malekith is wracked by jealousy and bitterness. Under the pretence of rooting out the pernicious cult of pleasure that is corrupting elf society from within, Malekith plots his revenge. When he betrays Phoenix King Bel-Shanaar and attempts to seize power for himself, Malekith triggers a tragic sequence of events that plunges the realm of the elves into a civil war from which they will never recover.”

Note: Book three in the Time of Legends.

Book: Reiksguard, by Richard Williams

Summary: “The Reiksguard knights are entrusted with the sacred duty of the Emperor's protection from foes within and without. Under the command of Marshal Kurt Helborg, the Reiksguard live and breathe their code of loyalty, courage, strength and honour. But in the midst of a ruinous war, the young knight Delmar von Reinhardt discovers that this most venerated order hides deadly secrets. Battling an unholy alliance of a goblin warlord and an ogre tyrant, Delmar must unearth the truth no matter which noble knight he should find at its heart.”

Book: Shadow King, by Gav Thorpe

Summary: “When his family is betrayed and slain, Alith Anar, ill-fated prince of the Nagarythe, is forced to walk a dark path. With the island of Ulthuan in the grip of a civil war with their evil counterparts, the druchii, Alith Anar follows his destiny to become the Shadow King. Hunting his enemies from the darkness, he is now on a quest for vengeance that will never end.”

Note: Book five in the Time of Legends.

Book: Shamanslayer, by Nathan Long

Summary: “When Gotrek and Felix travel north to seek the remaining members of the Order of the Fiery Heart, they find themselves with new companions and allegiances. Of course they have heard the rumours of beastmen lurking in the Drakwald, but there is far more to the story than they could have imagined. The malignant forces of Chaos are at work, and Gotrek and Felix find themselves battling not only for their honour, but for the very future of the Empire itself.”

Note: Book 11 in the Gotrek & Felix series.

Thanks for voting, and we’ll have the results announced in two weeks’ time!

Last week we covered Dom and Pádraig of Cubicle 7 Games appearing on WarhammerTV’s Deep Strike, a show where they go into some of Warhammer’s many licensed products. It was a light, breezy chat for the better part of an hour largely aimed at folks who are fans of Warhammer but not necessarily into role-playing games.

This week both gentlemen sat down with Miniature Realms to dive into Warhammer: The Old World for about half an hour. This one is definitely aimed at a more experienced audience, and therefore much more nutrient-rich. While the PDF copies have been in circulation for awhile, this is the print debut of the new game system and host Stuart wanted to hear some thoughts and impressions from the both of them as it prepared to launch fully into the world.

I particularly enjoyed the section on what both guys were most proud of with TOW. For Pádraig, he noted that they’ve gotten a lot of positive reception to the bestiary section, which injects some personality into the different foes the party may face rather than just presenting generic mobs. In addition, he highlighted the “hit point free and consequence-dense” combat system, which Dom seconded as it helps the game feel suitably “dangerous” for players. There’s also a sneak peek at the upcoming Talagaad Adventures.

They also touched on WFRP’s upcoming 5th Edition, which Dom noted is “more of an evolution than a revolution,” and will be backwards-compatible with the current 4th. It’s a real treat, make sure to give it a look.

ICYMI

• The Lorebeards have been ridiculously busy this week with coverage relevant to Warhammer RPG fans, including:

  • A conversation with Andy Law (Adventure Afoot in the Reikland!, Death on the Reik Companion), WFPR producer and designer, about how to be a great gamemaster at the table

  • An interview with Andy Leask (Enemy in Shadows, Buildings of the Reikland)

  • Finally, an interview with Lindsay Law (Old World Adventures: Night of Blood, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set)

• Over on Ill Met by Morrslieb, Zekiel gave a review of the Imperium Maledictum Gamemaster’s Screen as well as the content within

• Curious about Warhammer: The Old World RPG? Actual play videos are a great way to check out new games, and what better time to get in on the ground floor than with character creation? This week Dungeon Musings posted a video doing precisely that!

• At the r/warhammerfantasyrpg subreddit, there was an interesting thread from someone interested in a Warhammer Fantasy RPG, but not sure which game to begin with. I always enjoy hearing veterans give their opinions of the different games and editions.

• And while on the subject of interesting things on Reddit, here’s an Imperium Maledictum player-made campaign, The Glass Suture, that’s getting ready to be released by u/pjrgaming89. With adventure material for the game in short supply compared to other systems, it’s a welcome sight!

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known upcoming releases from Cubicle 7 based on the available preorder information we have. Note that Cubicle 7’s own delivery estimates appear to be just that- estimates- which is why many products have an upcoming delivery listed for Q1 while we’re already into Q2.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, with new or updated info presented in boldface.

To make this section more useful, starting this week I’ll be breaking them out by game.

Shipping Q3

• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Temple of Spite

• Limited Edition Warhammer Fantasy Map Bundle 1 (July 2026)

• Limited Edition Warhammer Fantasy Map Bundle 2 (July 2026)

Shipping Q1

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Weapons & Armour Card Deck

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Spells Card Deck

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Prayers & Miracles Card Deck

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Wounds & Conditions Card Deck

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Allies & Antagonists Card Deck (Q1)

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Grand Duchy of Talabec Dice Set

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Character Sheet Pad

Shipping Q2

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Player’s Guide (April 2026)

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Gamemaster’s Guide (April 2026)

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Collector’s Edition (April 2026)

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game Starter Set

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game GM’s Screen

• Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Grand Duchy of Talabec Map Pack (May 2026)

Shipping Q1

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound, Champions of Chaos: Dark Gifts Card Pack (Q1)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound, Champions of Chaos: Spells Lore Card Pack (Q1)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound, Champions of Chaos: Artefacts & Wargear Card Pack (Q1)

Shipping Q3

• Limited Edition Age of Sigmar Map Bundle (July 2026)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound, Champions of Chaos: Core Rulebook (Standard and Collector’s Edition) (Q3/4)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound, Champions of Chaos: Bloodwind Spoil Map (Q3/4)

Shipping Q1 2027

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound: Champions of Chaos: Carngrad Adventures

Shipping Q2

• Warhammer 40,000: Wrath & Glory, Sons of Russ (Standard and Collector’s Edition)

• Warhammer 40,000: Wrath & Glory, Adventures in Gilead

Shipping Q2

• Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum, Voll Adventures (May 2026)

• Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, Imperium Maledictum: Adeptus Mechanicus Collector’s Edition

• Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, Imperium Maledictum: Adeptus Mechanicus Player’s Guide

• Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, Imperium Maledictum: Adeptus Mechanicus GM’s Guide

• Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, Imperium Maledictum: Adeptus Mechanicus Character Sheet Pad

Shipping Q3

• Limited Edition Imperium Maledictum Macharian Sector Map (July 2026)

Undated

• (Nothing at this time)

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

To be honest, I’ve barely scratched the surface of what WarhammerTV offers, typically leveraging my subscription just to make sure I have access to the various Black Library author interviews and the Book Club series. But these are stories every bit a part of Warhammer lore as the Black Library, and this was creatively attributed to the Warhammer StoryForge team- the team tasked with bringing Warhammer’s fiction into the world of animation.

We’re going to kick things off with Iron Within, a self-contained half-hour story that arrived in 2023.

The Story

Nothing quite says grimdark like being a citizen on a dismal Imperial planet whose governor has surreptitiously decided to start paying a ‘peace tithe’ to the Drukhari. It’s a terrific device because it works in both directions; one could make a case that sacrificing a hundred to save a thousand is a moral choice, but that’s not how the Imperium works- nor the Drukhari, for that matter.

Give the Drukhari a hundred, and it soon becomes 150. Becomes 250. Becomes whatever the hell they feel like taking, while the corrosive social effect of a permission-based chattel system poisons the society from within.

That’s the situation we find the nameless world at the heart of Iron Within, with its Imperial Guard gamely trying to hold off the latest Drukhari raid. Unbeknownst to them, the craven Governor not only has signed off on the raids, but is wanting to seal up the palace and leave the citizenry to fend for itself.

As things spiral out of control, in desperation the Guard play the only card they have left: the age-old myth that the “Angels of Death” have promised to return when called, a debt to be paid for the planet’s original tithe. With nothing left to lose, they have their astromancer send out the distress call… and are stunned to find it soon answered. A rain of drop pods falls from the sky, Astartes warriors emerging with their guns blazing, mowing down the raiding Drukhari.

Astartes with black and yellow hazard stripes.

Notes & Impressions (Spoilers Ahead)

• This was a great story, and it used up every bit of its 27 minutes. The action snaps, it doesn’t use battle as padding or filler, and the dawning realization that they’ve summoned the devil to counter a demon is delicious.

• I loved seeing the Iron Warriors fighting. The massive Terminator at the head, Astartes with the riot shielding in a flanking line, firing controlled shots with a slow march and terrific discipline. The story itself offers up almost no exposition about the Legion, but you definitely get a sense of who they are from how they fight. Showing, not telling. Bravo!

• I did happen to catch one incident of recycled animation, where a Guardsman gets sniped in the right temple early on, then again later in the episode. As long as it’s not as obvious as the old looping background like the old Hanna Barbera cartoons always did, not a dealbreaker.

• Speaking of animation, it was very well done by Codex Films. The generally dark color palette and unsteady camera effects during action sequences probably allowed a bit of creative fudging on having to do detailed backgrounds, but overall it was certainly on par from what I’d expect of a AAA video game cutscene of the past few years.

• Two years before its debut, the project was mentioned on the mothership with Codex Films quoted as saying, “As long-time Warhammer fans, we're very excited to combine our passion for the Warhammer hobby with our experience in CGI. It was a surreal feeling when Games Workshop approached us. It brings a lot of new possibilities, and we can't wait to deliver this story of Iron Warriors and Drukhari to the community!” Just in case you ever wondered about the lead time for some of these types of projects.

• At 27 minutes, this one was paced very well, with the setup and execution on par with you usual you’d expect from a Black Library short story. It didn’t feel rushed, nor did it overstay its welcome, and it paid off well in the ‘twist’ ending.

All in all, an easy one to recommend, and a genuine delight for fans of the Iron Warriors.

By way of illustration, here’s a pocket history of the last several expansions.

Dark Imperium, by Guy Haley

Year: 2017

Tabletop Edition: 8th

Summary: “Fell times have come to the galaxy. Cadia has fallen, destroyed by the onslaught of Chaos. A Great Rift in the warp has opened and from its depths spew daemons and the horrors of Old Night. But all hope is not lost...

“A hero, long absent, has returned and with him comes the wrath of the Ultramarines reborn. Roboute Guilliman has arisen to lead the Imperium out of darkness on a crusade the likes of which has not been seen since the fabled days of the Emperor. But never before have the forces of Ruin amassed in such numbers, and nowhere is safe from despoliation.

“From the dreaded Scourge Stars come the hordes of the Plaguefather, Lord Nurgle, and their pustulent eye is fixed on Macragge. As the Indomitas Crusade draws to an end, Guilliman races to Ultramar and a confrontation with the Death Guard.”

Indomitus, by Gav Thorpe

Year: 2020

Tabletop Edition: 9th

Summary: “For nearly ten years, the Indomitus Crusade has waged a war of defiance and reconquest in the war-torn Imperium. Attached to Crusade Fleet Quintus – dubbed the Cursed Fleet by many – the Ultramarines of the Ithraca’s Vengeance are drawn to a stricken world. With millions enslaved, a malign necron technology siphons the souls of the innocent and heralds the Silent Kingdom’s expansion. The Ultramarines face an impossible decision: mount a desperate last stand to destroy the Pariah Nexus, or break away and damn the entire sector to bring word of this ancient foe’s resurgence to the only being capable of halting it – the Lord Primarch Roboute Guilliman.”

Leviathan, by Darius Hinks

Year: 2023

Edition: 10th

Summary: “‘The dream.... it is a portent... of the end.’

“The fortress world of Regium has a proud history, For millennia, it has endured when others have fallen to ruin and damnation, standing defiant in defence of the Imperium of Man. But now it is shaken. Parasitic plagues run rampant, and Regium’s citizens are haunted by dreams of horrific monsters feasting upon their flesh and marrow.

“Lieutenant Castamon of the Ultramarines recognises these signs of an impending Tyranid invasion all too well. Rallying his warriors, the battle-hardened veteran launches a strike force to slaughter the xenos in the outer system, before it can reach Regium. But as this new tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan proves unpredictable and deadly, Castamon and the First Company must harness all their skill, might, and zeal, or face utter annihilation.”

This brings us to the most recent installment, the newly-revealed Armageddon: Season of Fire. Warhammer Community posted a short interview this week with author Jude Reid, who noted that “from the start, this novel was always going to be a love letter to Armageddon throughout the ages.”

Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid

Year: 2026

Edition: 11th

Summary: “Armageddon is dying. Hive Tartarus will fall. In Armageddon: Season of Fire, Major Ambrosius Roth of the Steel Legion, Sister Superior Sabreen of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, and Brother Gavriel of the Blood Angels face impossible choices as they try to hold back the Ork advance.

“This is a look at one of the key battles on Armageddon and how it’s been fought over the generations, told from three perspectives – Astra Militarum, Adepta Sororitas, and Space Marines.”

These tie-ins aren’t exclusive to the grim, dark future either, as books like Gary Kloster’s Skaventide (Age of Sigmar 4th Edition), Dominion by Darius Hinks (3rd Edition), and Harrowdeep by David Annandale (Warhammer Underworlds) can attest to.

The other thing we can glean from looking at the past pattern of tie-ins is that we’re highly likely to see a Special Edition of Armageddon: Season of Fire on offer here as well before too long.

May’s Black Library Giveaway

I had a lot of fun writing the latest Heroes of the Black Library installment over on Tabletop Battles this week, featuring one of Gotrek Gurnesson’s sidekicks that graduated into her own novel. It’s a deep dive into Maleneth Witchblade, from the novels we see her character grow and develop, the tabletop miniature, and even some ideas for decorating your library!

That’s why this month’s giveaway is a new paperback copy of Ghoulslayer, by Darius Hinks! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below answering the following question:

Which Age of Sigmar character would you love to see as a one-off Gotrek sidekick, and why?

One line will do, I’m not asking for the Great American Novel here (unless you’re happy to write it!). And if you don’t have one, that’s okay too, I’ll take that answer too.

I’ll pick a random comment this coming Sunday and voila, a winner is you!

In my last giveaway, there was a question about whether the giveaway was open to folks outside the US. YES, the Black Library is a global community, and I’m happy to send a bit of Gotrek & Maleneth to wherever you may be.

Judging a Book by its Cover

Back in April of last year, Jude Reid’s Fulgrim: The Perfect Son arrived in both standard hardcover and a satin-covered Special Edition. As I talked about in detail here, many were surprised at just how incredible the Special Edition looked, after the official Games Workshop pictures hadn’t appeared to capture it’s rich texturing and hue.

Since then I’ve paid closer attention to books “that look better in person,” and found another one this week with Justin Woolley’s Da Freebooterz Code. I wasn’t particularly impressed with it when I ordered it, but once I got in in hand it was a completely different story.

This cover pops, and it’s gone from being something that would be filed away in the library to something I’d like to display in the Museum’s eventual Ork display.

Up for Preorder

It’s another Wallet Appreciation Week this week, as no Black Library books are up for preorder. There was much rejoicing!

ICYMI

This week on the Black Library Dispatch, I took a look at James Swallow’s Nemesis as part of my Audio Impressions series- the occasional feature where I discuss not only the book I’ve finished listening to, but share thoughts about the performance of the voice talent as well. Nemesis has a bit of a bad reputation, but is it deserved? I certainly didn’t think so.

And if that’s not enough, ‘Keeble phlegm’ gets a mention as well.

For those who enjoy Warhammer role-playing games in addition to their Black Library reading, this week’s Warhammer RPG SITREP covered Cubicle 7 Games’ appearance on WarhammerTV this week.

I also had a couple of pieces this week at my other home, Tabletop Battles. In addition to the feature on Malaneth Witchblade, I reviewed the recent anthology Carnage Unending. And while it’s not at all Black Library related, our literary reviewer Lenoon posted the next installment in his Warhound series that’s absolutely worth a read.

Over on the mothership, the latest Pages from the Black Books downloads focuses on the Raven Guard in the aftermath of Isstvan V. Then around the webway the Lorebeards interviewed David Guymer (Verminslayer, Lion El’Jonson: Lord of the First), Jordan Sorcery’s Book Club revisited the Codex: Armageddon.

A quieter than usual week here, too!

Quick Hits

• Josh Reynolds (Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty, Manflayer) shared that the Oldhammer Fiction Podcast had turned one of his Turnip tales into an audio narration.

• Fission is an annual anthology produced by the British Science Fiction Association, and Mike Brooks (Ghost Legion, Voidscarred) will have a short story, Remembrance, in the next issue this Summer!

• Brandon Easton (Embers of Extinction) shared that Takeover, a ,movie he co-wrote starring Billy Zane and Quavo, opened in theaters this week.

  ---

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.

Upcoming but Undated

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Limited Edition)

• Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley

• Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid

Current PODs in Production

• None

Upcoming in 2026

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (hardcover, 5/16)

• Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)

• Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)

• The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)

• Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)

• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)

• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)

• Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)

• Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by various (paperback, 7/28)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)

• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/11)

• Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/1)

Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!

With much of my contemporary reading in service to writing reviews, audiobooks are my chance to “play catch-up” on the older catalogue of Black Library books. What you will find in this occasional feature is neither a full, formal book review nor a simple blurb, but rather something comfortably in between: impressions.

It’s no secret that some books of the Horus Heresy are more popular than others. After all, in a series as sprawling and epic as this one- fifty-four mainline books before you arrive at the Siege of Terra- not every book is going to appeal to every reader.

Thirteen books in and I’ve already crossed a few. Using Goodreads ratings as a barometer for community sentiment, most of these early Heresy novels clock in reliably North of a 4.00 score. A few do not, and the list of them isn’t entirely unexpected:

• Descent of Angels, by Mitchel Scanlon (3.63)

• Battle for the Abyss, by Ben Counter (3.42)

• Mechanicum, by Graham McNeill (3.89)

• Fallen Angels, by Mike Lee (3.76)

And now, we can add James Swallow’s Nemesis, with its 3.72 score. What’s wrong with these books?

A Team-Building Exercise

My wife and I had another trip to MD Anderson in Houston this past week, and this time we chose to drive instead of fly. That meant I had plenty of time for audiobook enjoyment, and I devoured Nemesis in record time.

I loved it.

It’s got one hell of a premise. Imagine a target so high-value, so nearly unkillable that the only way you have a shot of taking it out is to do something that has never been done before in the history of the Officio Assassinorum: sending a kill team of six assassins- one from each specialty (or clade).

Much of the book’s early direction follows the “building a team” blueprint made famous in Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, Seven Samurai, and widely used in films such as Ocean’s Eleven and The Avengers. You almost certainly know the structure: a leader must assemble a team, and they move from one scene to the next where their target gets to show off their skills before being recruited, the team getting bigger with every stop.

One of the benefits to that approach is that by giving each character a scene to show off their particular set of skills, even readers who might now know anything about the Officio Assassinorum’s clades will have a much deeper understanding by the time they’re ready to move on their target.

Oh, speaking of, that high-value, nearly unkillable target that’s forced the clades to work together? His name is Horus Lupercal.

The Story

Swallow does amazing work weaving together different genre narratives into a firecracker of a story here.

As mentioned about, you’ve got the first arc which is “putting the team together,” with Captain-General Constantin Valdor tasked with getting the ball rolling. Then you’ve got a (seemingly) unrelated thread that plays out like a police procedural, with a serial killer on the loose on the planet Iesta Veracrux. Then it all comes together in the assassination scheme which more than once reminded me of a gripping Cold War tale with the target in the crosshairs being the Soviet Premier- untouchable, unreachable, almost certain to fail… but maybe.

Of course, it’s no spoiler to note that no Horus Lupercals were harmed in the making of this novel- but even knowing that I was still on the edge of my seat when the plan kicked off.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

So what is it about Nemesis that readers haven’t seemed to click with? I’m increasingly of the mind that the culprit is- at least in part- the difference between story and setting.

I first noticed this with Battle for the Abyss, the lowest-rated Horus Heresy book on Goodreads I’ve read thus far. Battle gets a fair share of hate, seen by many as inconsequential bolter porn, but I think there’s a case to be made in its defense.

For one thing, the first five books of the Heresy are one hell of an act to follow. And in these, the Horus Heresy itself is the story. The tale of the Warmaster’s rise and fall is riveting fiction, and the overall success of the series is due in no small part to its incredible kickoff. Little surprise that Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, The Flight of the Eisenstein, and Fulgrim have all been inducted into the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame. These tales cover monumental events, ones which resonate all the way through to the 41st millennium.

For other stories like Battle for the Abyss, though, the Horus Heresy is less the story and more the setting. In this Ben Counter’s novel might have suffered somewhat from heightened expectations, and I would put Nemesis right there alongside it. Readers were looking for the Sturm und Drang of the earlier books, and instead were getting some of the smaller-focus stories that helped make up the weave of the Heresy’s tapestry rather than being whole sections of it on their own.

“For a book that, at the time, was not intended to link to anything else,” noted Horus Heresy editor Laurie Goulding in the hardcover edition’s afterword, “Battle for the Abyss showed how the hubris or heroism of a few relatively unknown characters could affect the future of the galaxy, for better or worse.”

Giving Voice

Of all the many voices in the Black Library’s stable of talents, Jonthan Keeble is inarguably one of the best. My first-ever Warhammer audio story- one I’d tried on a lark- was The Last Church, by Graham McNeill. I remember being absolutely riveted not only by its story and structure- it’s essentially one long dialogue between two people- but at the incredible sense of atmosphere in the voice acting. Like I was there, fully present and watching a conversation between two people, rather than hearing a story being read to me like my mother’s old bedtime stories.

Keeble has had bit parts in film and television (notably the 2022 Bill Nighy film Living, and an episode of a Doctor Who spinoff), but it’s in voice that his career has truly blossomed. From video games (Star Wars: The Old Republic, Elden Ring) to animations (Warhammer: Angels of Death, Strange Hill High) to an impressive catalgoue of audiobooks, it’s not difficult to see why he’s been a Voice Arts Award winner (in 2016, for Paul McCartney: The Life by Philip Norman)

If The Last Church intrigued me, making me look twice at a format I’d until then entirely disregarded, his narration of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Helsreach is responsible- more than anything else- for showing me what the medium was capable of. More than just an incredible story, Keeble brought the different characters to life- with Steel Legion Storm Trooper Andrej Valatok being an exceptional, standout performance that stole every scene he was in.

Soon after I landed on Trollslayer, William King’s classic novel that first featured Gotrek and Felix. Keeble delighted here again, and his Gotrek has gone down in my head as the character’s definitive voice.

Of course, that isn’t to say that in some ways he doesn’t fly perhaps a little too close to the sun. I got a good chuckle from a comment I came across in the Black Library subreddit this week1:

Right there with you, friend.

Bits n’ Pieces (Possible Spoilers)

• Nemesis was the first book in the Heresy that really got down to what normal, everyday life might have looked like in the Imperium as the tides of history came crashing in. Not just a few token mortals, not a bunch of remembrancers, but people who get up in the morning and go to work and start hearing news and rumors though the fog of war about what’s happening in the galaxy. Swallow had me riveted with this approach, even if it didn’t take up a lot of word count in the book overall. For example, cops gossiping about rumors of certain planets going silent after declaring for the Warmaster is a great way to add a sinister sense of dread without ever once having to add a scene with any traitor Astartes.

• I thought Spear was a terrific villain, internally messy and chaotic as I think many devotees of Chaos must be (whether it’s because of the influence of Chaos, or just he nature of those who would seek it out).

There’s a meme I keep coming back to in my head, the Twitter post from the person who finished reading the entirety of the Horus Heresy.

“Are they good?” someone asks.

“No.1”

It’s funny, of course, in its irreverence. One doesn’t expect the endeavor of seven months to result in such disappointment. But the relative quality of the Horus Heresy- both collectively and individually- is the fodder for endless debates amongst fans, a fact which itself speaks to their incredible popularity and elevated position within the Black Library canon.

One of the common topics in the community involves reading orders. Which books are considered essential? Which can safely be skipped in a dash for the end. Which books are can’t-miss, and which ones are a chore?

I’ve been making my way through the Horus Heresy series in audiobook2, and as I prepared for a sixteen-hour drive last week to Texas I downloaded my next read in the series, James Swallow’s Nemesis. I had low expectations given a lot of the opinions surrounding it. Instead, I loved it3.

Over on the Black Library subreddit, u/Fresh-Spinach-5198 made a terrific post about skipping through the Heresy.

I realized you only get 1 first time through the Heresy. Why not embrace the whole damn thing? So I did. A lot of talk is made of reading order etc. I was attempting to read it in chronological order. Skipping the Anthologies. It was fluf, right? I found the Omnibus. Started back at the beginning. This time, adding in all the short stories and the novellas (skimming the books I'd already read just to refresh) and a funny thing happened, I discovered Calth. The Mark of Calth. Went all-in. Took some time. There's a lot going on. And then I hit 2 of the best books in the ENTIRE Heresy…

Point I'm making to all Heresy newbies is don't rush it. Read it all. You only get 1 first time. The Siege will be there.

Not every book is going to land with every reader, and of course it’s perfectly okay not to like things. But if you give things a chance, you might well be surprised how much there is in this literary universe of ours to enjoy.

Anyway, that’s quite enough of that, let’s get to the books!

Up for Preorder…?

Once again it appears we have a Wallet Appreciation Week on our hands, not a book in sight on the Sunday Preview4.

Of course, that’s what I said last week, too, and then Games Workshop went and made a liar out of me by stealth-editing the article with the preorder for Dan Abnett’s Hive.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. After all, who wouldn’t want Hive sooner rather than later? But that’s twice in the last couple months we’ve seen stealth edits to the Sunday Preview5, so believe me I’ll continue checking the Preview today and tomorrow… just in case.

ICYMI

This week was another Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame week, with a trio of novels from the Class of 2007 getting inducted. And of course, that means another edition of The Hall Monitor, my regular “inside look” at the Hall of Fame as someone who sits on the Committee. This week I did a deep dive into what it takes for a book to get inducted, and- fair warning- there’s a little bit of math.

Speaking of the Hall, here’s another reminder to cast your vote for the books of 2008! I know it’s a little irregular- up until now we’ve conducted voting on-site at Tabletop Battles, but our big site upgrade has knocked polling into the warp for the moment. We’re working on getting things back to normal, but until then the show must go on!

Of course, if it’s the usual Lore Friday book reviews you’re after, Mustercrux on Tabletop Battles took a run at Ghost Legion, the new Harrowmaster sequel from Mike Brooks. But more than that, we also had a Lore Explainer drop from Rob “The Chirurgeon” Jones, featuring Damnos and the Necrons!

Finally, I missed it in the TTB roundup last week, but we also had a summary and review of the lore portion of Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick, another cracking read from ContemptorKevin.

Moving next to the mothership, the big news this past week of course was the unboxing of the upcoming Armageddon box, as the game rings in its 11th Edition. That doesn’t mean, though, that there weren’t a few things for us readers. The Pages from the Black Books series marched on, this week with a lore dump on the Raven Guard. Then for Age of Sigmar, a short primer on the Cogforts- essentially, the fantasy version of 40K’s Titans.

Around the webway, meanwhile, TTB wasn’t the only one jumping into the lore of Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick, as Arbitor Ian did a deep dive of his own. Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club had a very different opinion of Ghost Legion than Mustercrux, while Mira Manga chatted with Dan Abnett about how the Battle of Britain inspired some of the dogfights he’s written about in his novels.

Cinderfall Gaming reviewed Death World by Steve Lyons, which is about to be released in a 20th Anniversary Edition. And finally, Poorhammer put together a list of every 40K faction’s must-read Black Library book!

Quick Hits

• John French (Dropsite Massacre, Ahriman: Exile) continues to write terrific pieces exploring different aspects of writing, and this week he looked into the importance of credit- and he’s not talking about buying a house.

• Big congratulations on a successful Kickstarter campaign for Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Four, which hit their initial target within 90 minutes of launch and just concluded last week at around five times goal. Amonst the array of incredible talent on board is Maria Haskins (The Jagged Edge).

• Sarob Press has announced a new short story collection from Josh Reynolds (Clonelord, The Return of Nagash). The stories in Ancient Tracks “all feature intrepid folklorist and adventurer Artemis Whitlock as she delves into strange folk customs and weird and supernatural goings-on in 1920s England.” These will be beautiful, hand-numbered limited editions, so make sure to act fast. He also has an interview up at Aconyte Books, discussing his latest release for Legend of the Five Rings, White Feathers, Crimson Leaves!

• Enjoy history? Robert Rath (The Infinite and the Divine, The Fall of Cadia) announced they’ve got the latest episode of Extra History up, this one about Caternia Sforza, “one of the most interesting women of the Renaissance.”

• Finally, James Swallow (Faith & Fire, Deus Encarmine) wrote a short piece on the “rarest book in his writing career,” the book Jade Dragon for Games Workshop’s 1988 Dark Future game. It’s an interesting tale, as he notes that “Jade Dragon and Reality Bites were the last two Dark Future books out the door, both victims of late-stage reduced print-runs and near-zero promotion. Only a few thousand copies of each were produced.”

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.

Upcoming but Undated

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Limited Edition)

• Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley

Current PODs in Production

• Era of Ruin, by various (POD Special Edition, window end 12/24)

• Anarch, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)

• Blood Pact, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)

• Salvation’s Reach, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)

• The Warmaster, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)

Upcoming in 2026

• Da Freebooterz Code, by Justin Woolley (Special, hardcover, 5/9)

• Death World (20th Anniversary Edition), by Steve Lyons (hardcover, 5/9)

• Veterans of the Fall, by William Crowe (paperback, 5/9)

• World Ablaze, by various (hardcover, 5/9)

• Legends of the Waaagh!, by various (paperback, 5/9)

• Yarrick: The Omnibus, by David Annandale (paperback, 5/9)

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (hardcover, 5/16)

• Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)

• Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)

• The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)

• Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)

• Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)

• Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)

• Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)

• Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by various (paperback, 7/28)

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)

• Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

• The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/11)

• Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/1)

Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!

1

In fairness, here’s their next tweet:

The Hall Monitor is published every other week, the day after the latest installment of the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame drops on Tabletop Battles. A cross between a director’s cut and a backstage pass, it’s a look behind the scenes at the Hall of Fame project.

One of the questions we often see from folks discovering the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame project for the first time is about the process by which a book gets into the Hall. Today I thought I’d take a little time to pop the hood and show off the machinery, because as you’ll see it does take a bit of coordination.

In a nutshell, to be inducted to the Hall a book must secure a minimum of 60% of the available Committee Votes. Let’s explore what that means.

First, what’s the Committee?

The Hall of Fame Committee is made up of eight volunteers who represent the Black Library community, and then a ninth “member” being the Vox Populi (or “voice of the people”). Besides me, the volunteers right now include:

• AJ of The Paladin Journal

• Arbitor Ian

• Jordan Sorcery

• Keri, of the WK40K Book Club

• Lenoon of Tabletop Battles

• Michael, of Track of Words

• Parker, admin of r/BlackLibrary

Each member of the Committee gets a vote when it comes to deciding what books are going to be inducted to the Hall, and we take the opportunity to discuss the books in Discord together alongside past (non-voting) members of the Committee. It’s a fun and engaging deliberative process as we look to assess the books on the standard of “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance” to the Black Library.

Then there’s the Vox Populi. Those polls we conduct for each book? Those are the means by which the reading public expresses their collective opinion. Every book that gets more than 50% of the non-abstaining voting in the public polls has earned the Vox Populi endorsement, and this counts for four Committee votes.

When you combine the volunteer votes (eight) with the Vox Populi votes (four), this means that each book can earn up to twelve Committee votes. (I say “up to” because just like the public voters, volunteer voters also occasionally abstain from voting on a book, lowering the total available votes).

Once the polls all close, we round up the Vox Populi and volunteer votes and see which book(s) have cleared the 60% hurdle. Pop the champagne!

Um, I was told there would be no math?

It’s a natural question to wonder whether or not this method is useful and valuable, or just represents a needless overcomplication of the process. To illustrate that, let’s imagine that we’re only doing it one way or the other- not both.

Well, if we dropped the public “Vox Populi” vote, then I feel the project would lose a great deal of its legitimacy right off the bat. Now it’s just eight people rather than the masses of Black Library fans and readers, and I think we’d be hard-pressed to find any eight people who could speak for the entire community.

What if we dropped the volunteers and just went straight public vote? This one’s more interesting.

(Total books equal all candidate novels. VP Only indicates number of books that won the Vox Populi vote. Actual indicates number of books inducted into the Hall of Fame.)

Quick impressions:

1. We’re still in the era where Fantasy and 40K are considered relatively coequal partners in the Black Library, though the Necromunda and Horus Heresy lines have opened the gap up a bit. These days Age of Sigmar has only about a one-third share.

2. Under the VP columns, we can see what would happen if we removed the volunteer committee voting and made entry into the Hall a simple pass/fail on a public vote: one-half (87 of 173) of all novels ever published would be ensrhined in the Hall. At that point, is it really an elite Hall of Fame, or just a Hall of Good Books?

3. “Not so fast,” you might say. The Vox Populi vote is awarded to books exceeding a 50% threshold of the public vote. What if we made that 75%? That’s a fair point, and one that casts into focus the value of having the Committee in the first place. When we planned the structure of this initiative, we patterned this off of certain existing halls of fame (Soccer, NASCAR, Rock n’ Roll) that have impactful public voting alongside a committee vote. By selecting volunteer members of the Committee that represent important segments of the Black Library community, we get multiple perspectives that help critically assess which books truly are vital for the Readers’ Hall of Fame to have a credibility that stands on its own.

4. One thing that intrigues me looking at the data here is that 40K books are getting elected in at nearly twice the rate as Fantasy books. Even the Vox Populi vote is tougher on the Fantasy books, and I think that may be a telling indication of the decline of Fantasy over time. It’s not that there weren’t good books being written for the Fantasy line, it’s just that given that line’s diminishing prominence compared to the burgeoning 40K fewer of them have withstood the test of time. Put another way, how might we have seen the results for Fantasy if we were doing all this in 2016, say, rather than 2026? An interesting thought exercise.

Ultimately, having the expert panel helps offset some of the tendency for “block voting” we see in the results of the public polling as well. By “block voting” I mean voting for every book in a particular series based not on the contributions of a particular book, but rather on the esteem the series holds overall.

A good example of this is Gaunt’s Ghosts, but it also holds true for each book in a trilogy. Whereas the public vote seems to accord them all equal acclaim (in the words, they all get the “yes” votes), we on the volunteer crew look to assess each book on its own merits. Did Malleus, for instance, do enough to advance the trilogy and stand on its own as a Hall of Fame book? Was Hereticus a worthy conclusion to the beloved Eisenhorn series, or did it just sort of wrap things up?

These are questions that are probably interesting for only a small number of Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame readers, but that’s why this feature exists here on Substack. All of us on the volunteer committee feel a genuine sense of duty to the body of work, and of course we’re grateful for the continued input from the Black Library community at large.

After all, at least so far no book has managed to enter the Hall without first winning the support of the public in the polls.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to cast your vote this week!