Black Library Weekly: A Star is Bjorn
Plus: Where did all the Age of Sigmar fiction go?
If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to participate in the first-ever Black Library Readers Satisfaction Survey. It closes this Wednesday, and every voice counts! Results will be shared in an upcoming Black Library Weekly.
If you have already, thank you!!
Well, if we thought we were going to get through July with all the hype we could handle, it turns out that there was just a little bit more waiting for us last week as another Black Library teaser article dropped on the mothership.
The next installment in the “Character Series” is right around the corner, as it was announced that Justin D. Hill (The Bookkeeper’s Skull, Hell’s Last) has been cooking up a bit of Dreadnought-y. Bjorn the Fell-handed sees the ancient Astartes awaken on Fenris when a ghost ship carrying the taint of the Death Guard arrives in-system.
One thing I appreciate about Hill is that he frequently posts short videos on his social media (X, BlueSky) discussing the writing craft and how things are going with whatever he happens to be working on at the moment. A professional, he never lets you know precisely what he’s in the middle of writing- but it’s fun when something is announced to consider if/where he might have been referring to it indirectly. Definitely worth a follow if you’re active on those platforms.
Bjorn the Fell-handed will release in Limited Edition first this coming Saturday. As with other titles in the Character Series, a hardback is expected to follow in about a month or so, then paperback some months later.
Speaking of deluxe editions, we’ve got another treat in store. No sooner had it been inducted into the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame than it’s announced that Steve Parker’s Deathwatch getting a new edition. While the mothership notes that the title had recently been reprinted as a 2025 Reader’s Choice selection, this edition is pure shelf candy!
No word (yet) on when this one will be available.
August’s Giveaway!
We’ve got a fun one for this month’s book giveaway, with the winner getting their choice of one of three different books!
Not only that, but thanks to friend of the Wordforge Periklis Begzos, they’ll also get a copy of the Black Library Celebration mini-anthology from 2018! Periklis was the winner of last month’s giveaway (Jude Reid’s Armageddon: Season of Fire).
To enter, you just need to be a Wordforge subscriber (it’s free!) and leave a comment on this post answering the following question:
If you could have the Limited or Special Edition of any book in the Black Library catalogue for your library, which one would you pick and why?
I’ll pick a random entrant next week, and you’ll get your choice from one of three paperback Bundles!
The 40K Bundle
Xenos, by Dan Abnett. Sure you’ve probably read it, but there’s something just cool about having a copy in its first US printing, from twenty-five years ago, right?
Longshot, by Rob Young. With the sequel Ghosts of Cadia now in our hands, this is a good opportunity to get acquainted with Cadian sniper Darya Nevic as she duels her opposite number in the t’au military. Think of this one like Enemy at the Gates, 40K style.
The Age of Sigmar Bundle
Godeater’s Son, by Noah Van Nguyen. I love Chaos corruption stories, and this one’s superb. It’s also a terrific entry-level read for folks who may be new to the setting.
Hallowed Ground, by Richard Strachan. Witch hunter Doralia van Denst searches for her missing father in the wilds of Ghur- and finds much more than she bargained for.
The “Beyond the Black Library” Bundle
Want to try something different? Here are two non-Warhammer books by Black Library Readers’ Hall of Famers Sarah Cawkwell (Valkia the Bloody, The Gildar Rift) and Josh Reynolds (Road of Skulls, Neferata: Blood of Nagash).
Thunder’s Edge was a finalist for Best Original Fiction at the Scribe Awards this year, and is set in the sci-fi world of Twilight Imperium. I reviewed it here for the Beyond the Black Library occasional series on Tabletop Battles, which looks at non-Warhammer books written by our favorite Warhammer authors.
Then there’s White Feathers, Crimson Leaves, by Josh Reynolds. The latest from Reynolds, it’s a supernatural mystery set in Rokugan (the setting for Legend of the Five Rings).
Good luck to all!
Black Library App Sales for August
You know what else turning of the month means? A new slate of sales on the Black Library app! As a reminder, this is a new (and 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 August, the following are on sale:
Abraxia: Spear of the Everchosen, by Chris Thursten (audio, ebook) (my review)
Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work, by Guy Haley (audio, ebook)
Broken Crusade, by Steven B. Fischer (audio, ebook) (my review)
The Ghosts of Barak-Minoz, by Guy Haley (audio, ebook)
Godeater’s Son, by Noah Van Nguyen (audio, ebook)
Luther: First of the Fallen, by Gav Thorpe (audio, ebook) (my review)
The Twice-Dead King: Ruin, by Nate Crowley (audio, ebook)
Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (audio, ebook)
Rynn’s World: Giving Up
So for the past two weeks I’ve shared my struggles trying to get a copy of the Special Edition of Rynn’s World by Steve Parker. To recap:
I successfully ordered the book online.
When the package came, the order picker had screwed up fulfillment. No Rynn’s World in the box when we opened it at the store.
My Warhammer store manager emailed customer service.
GW opted to issue me a refund, adding an additional $80 in credit for my misfortune1.
Now, since the preorder the book has shown this when accessed on the GW shop:
Knowing that sometimes has meant a restock at a later date, I began checking the store inventory to see if I could catch a second round of the things. I hate admitting defeat, so let’s just say I checked it a lot. I pretty much just left the tab open on my phone and refreshed when I had an idle second.
Day after day, no change, but always keeping me on the hook with the tantalizing possibility. Until this past Friday, when I finally got the dreaded “404 - Page Not Found” result. To my knowledge, no restock ever happened.
And that’s fine. Sometimes people get lucky, sometimes they don’t. The only reason I’m sharing this is to underline that “temporarily out of stock” is not a promise, it’s just hope.
And as Corax said in Deliverance Lost,
We have no room for hope. We plan and we act. Hope is for dreamers and poets. We have our will and our weapons and we shall dictate our own fate.
Or put another way, “we buy, we retreat, then we buy again.”
Age of Sigmar: A Horror and a Crime?
In 2024, there were eight new Black Library releases for the Age of Sigmar setting: Anvils of the Heldenhammer: The Ancients, Callis & Toll, Darkoath, The Dead Kingdom, The Ghosts of Barak-Minoz, Lioness of the Parch, On the Shoulders of Giants and Other Stories, and Skaventide.
That’s a new book every six weeks or so, which- for the AoS side of things- wasn’t too bad.
2025 kept a similar energy, with seven books on offer: Abraxia: Spear of the Everchosen, Grombrindal: Ancestor’s Burden, Queen of the Rose Throne, Shade of Khaine, Starseer’s Ruin, Ushoran: Mortarch of Delusion, and Verminslayer.
Now eight months in to 2026, we’ve had two (Grombrindal: The Legend of the White Dwarf, First Marshal).
Even if we suddenly went back to getting a new release every six weeks again, that would still only leave us at around half the number of releases we were getting not that long ago.
Theories abound on the internet, as they are wont to do. One purported “leak” claims that GW is going to be nuking the planar model of the setting for the next edition, moving back to a terrestrial one (the “Last World.” It may instead just be a narrative hold as they determine what the focus will be for the next edition, possibly arriving next year.
I’d be stunned if AoS fiction went the way of Warhammer imprints Crime and Horror altogether, though. And in the meantime, fans of the Mortal Realms can take some comfort that we’re getting a new, five-part serial fiction kicking off in the next White Dwarf.
Ian Green’s Doomwheel was released as part of the 2024 Advent subscription, and 2025’s Black Library Celebration subscription carried his sophomore effort The Reservoir of Rot (review). This is an encouraging sign for Green, particularly when you look at the track record of extended serials in the magazine.
Chronicles of the Wanderer was a six-part serial written by David Guymer in 2021, later reprinted in 2023’s Grombrindal: Chronicles of the Wanderer.
Tome Keepers: Legacy of Defiance ran for four issues in 2024. Written by Jon Flindall, it would be reprinted in its entirely in 2025’s Blood of the Imperium anthology (my review).
Also in 2024, Tatters of Hope by William Crowe kicked off, which formed part of the recently-released Veterans of the Fall (my review).
While it’s true that others haven’t seen a reprinting as of yet, multi-part serials are a great step in the development of Black Library’s stable of writers (and something I’m now regularly looking at here on the Wordforge).
Arrivals & Departures
In this section I look at what’s coming up around the corner (Arrivals) and what’s landing on bookstore shelves (Departures).
Arrivals
Announced on Wednesday, and landing in the preorder preview four days later- a wonderfully quick turnaround for Hill’s Bjorn this week! Aside from that, a quiet week for the Black Library.
Departures
Mephiston: The Box Set, by Darius Hinks arrived this week. As a special-order item, you’re not likely to find one on the store shelves unless you are either absurdly lucky, or live near Warhammer World2.
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!
Warhammer Wordforge
This week’s Wednesday feature was the latest Audio Impressions. As I make my way through the Horus Heresy in audio format, I’ve got a look at the second anthology of the mainline series, Age of Darkness.
If you haven’t already, please make your voice heard in the Black Library Reader Satisfaction Survey. The polling closes Wednesday, don’t miss out!
For you Warhammer RPG players, we had a double-dose last week! Not only did we have the regular Warhammer RPG Weekly column, but also a review of the new, Arbites-themed Lex Imperialis supplement for Wrath & Glory.
Tabletop Battles
A quieter week here than usual (at least for the Black Library), we did nevertheless take a look at Veterans of the Fall by William Crowe, the lastest installment in the Astra Militarum Series.
Warhammer Community
In addition to what I covered above, the mothership posted a teaser excerpt from the upcoming Robert Rath book, The Wicked and The Warped. As if we needed any more reason to get excited, right?
In the ongoing Pages from the Black Books series, this week we look at the Xana Incursion. A Forge World caught between Traitors and Loyalists, it fiercely insisted on its neutrality. Then one day, everything changed…
WarhammerTV (paywalled)
No Black Library content this week.
Around the Webway
If you prefer to enjoy reviews through podcast rather than video form, don’t look now but Arbitor Ian and Mira Manga’s recent review of Nick Kyme’s Vulkan Lives dropped this week.
Want more podcast review goodness? Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club tackle Part 1 of Dan Abnett’s Hive this week, and boy I’ve been waiting for this one!
Cinderfall Gaming is back with another look at the Warhammer Adventures series, the Black Library books originally intended for younger readers. This week he reviews the audio of Tom Huddleston’s Forest of the Ancients.
The Unseen Library gave a rave review of Justin Woolley’s Da Freebooterz Code, which didn’t surprise me at all considering how much I enjoyed the book as well!
Over on Reddit, some fantastic stuff was coming out of the different Warhammer communities this week, including:
One of the translators bringing the Horus Heresy books into Chinese, u/Haldir_, sharing some of their incredible work (pictured above)
A terrific review of Guy Haley’s The Devastation of Baal by u/UltramarineMD, including- and I love this- a review of the book’s physical quality in the Special Edition
A look at Gav Thorpe’s two Phoenix Lord books, Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan and Jain Zar: The Storm of Silence by u/JustANewLeader
Cold Open Stories
This week’s featured story is The Ones We Leave Behind, by C. T. Bing. “Sister of Silence Ketta Voss has a secret, which is exposed when she is called upon to purge chaos from an infested world; she knocks at a familiar door and her secret is revealed.”
Quick Hits
Looking for some new reads? Nathan Long (Manslayer, Valnir’s Bane) reviewed a number of novellas this week for Sword and Sorcery Magazine!
Not enough? Howabout Maria Haskins (The Jagged Edge) with a story review roundup for Locus! I mean, between the two if you can’t find something to grab you, I’m not sure what to say3.
If you’re looking for new listens, Audible is having a sitewide sale for Premium members that’s up to 80% off. I just bought a dozen off my wish list for abut fifty bucks. BIG thanks to u/ExpectoAstartes in r/BlackLibrary for the head’s up!
James Swallow’s spy thriller Nomad returns in a 10th Anniversary Edition, complete with a new short story. If you enjoyed Nemesis in the Horus Heresy (as I did), definitely check this one out!
Big congratulations to Gareth Hanrahan and Pelgrane Press! Just a week in and the crowdfunding campaign to their latest initiative, the cozy fantasy mystery RPG Merryshire Detective Club, has smashed past its fundraising goal! “Halflings, dwarves, pooka, and boggarts uncover secrets, scandals, and suspicious happenings across a countryside full of gossip, tea, and entirely too many cousins.”
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
Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley
Deathwatch, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)
Bjorn, the Fell-handed, by Justin D. Hill (hardcover)
Current PODs in Production
Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition)
Upcoming in 2026
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/8)
The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/8)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/11)
The Wicked and the Warped, by Robert Rath (hardcover, Special Edition, 8/15)
The Infinite and the Divine, by Robert Rath (hardcover, 8/15)
Bjorn, the Fell-handed, by Justin D. Hill (Limited Edition, 8/22)
Raldoron: Revenant, by Guy Haley (hardcover, Special Edition, 9/24)
Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/6)
The Sundering, by Gav Thorpe (paperback, 10/6)
Dropsite Massacre, by John French (paperback, 10/20)
Apostle, by David Annandale (paperback, 10/20)
Master of Rites, by Rob Young (paperback, 10/20)
Death Rider, by Rhuairidh James (paperback, 11/19)
Ghost Legion, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 11/19)
Chem Dog, by Callum Davis (paperback, 12/17)
Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords, by Denny Flowers (paperback, 12/17)
Ashes of the Imperium, by Chris Wraight (paperback, 12/17)
Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!
…which I then used to get the Mephiston Box Set. You win some, you lose some, but you always play the game.
Same thing, really.
Actually, I do: read more Black Library? But really, there’s some terrific ground covered here that’s well worth checking out.
Man, another great issue. I was wondering what’s going on with Sigmar.
Anyway, special edition wise I’d love to see special editions of my beloved horror imprint. Specifically one of Unholy Tales of Horror and Woe anthology. You just know that would be gorgeous and macabre.