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!
In fairness, here’s their next tweet:
I’ve started chronicling this journey in a series called Audio Impressions, which are sort of a mini-review of the audiobooks I’m reading. For instance, here are my thoughts on the audiobook for Graham McNeill’s A Thousand Sons.
I’ll get more into all this on Wednesday, when I publish Audio Impressions: Nemesis, by James Swallow.
If you’re a Kill Team player, my deepest condolences.
The first time was when they announced the Hive Limited Edition, only to pull it off the market a day or so later, editing it out of the Sunday Preview.