Black Library Weekly: Der Mentsh Trakht un Got Lakht

Plus: Writers are fans, too!

Today’s piece is out a little later than usual. Rather than writing yesterday as I would normally do, I spent the day driving my wife to Houston for our Monday appointment at MD Anderson. The fun part about a sixteen-hour road trip is that there’s plenty of time for audiobooks, and I managed to finish my current book-in-progress, William King’s Space Wolf before starting into Dan Abnett’s Know No Fear. We’ve also been enjoying Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series together.

“No problem,” I’d thought, “there will be plenty of time to get in some writing early Monday and get it out the door.” Ha! I refer the reader to the title of this week’s piece, a Yiddish idiom that means “man plans, and God laughs.”

Being able to write productively here at the hospital means finding the right combination of flat surfaces and electrical outlets, the pairing of which is surprisingly uncommon and often hotly contested. Shortly after her early morning blood draw, I found one and managed to get set up and working. Bingo, here we go! Alas, not half an hour later we were called back down for another round of blood draws due to a clotting issue with the first round.

Once things settled back down, I was eventually able to secure another workspace. Ten minutes later… fire alarm.

It’s been that kind of day.

Of course, the show must go on and eventually I’ll have typed the last word of this week’s column, given it the ol’ once-over¹, and sent it out into the world. Ahh, the carefree life of the writer!

In reality, though, life’s a messy thing. We get to read our books when they’re published, but all writers have endured life’s many trials while pushing forward to get their words into being. Dan Abnett had a serious health scare when writing Prospero Burns (discussed here), for instance. And I can think of more than one Black Library author who struggled with grief over the loss of a parent or loved one in the course of writing a book.

Life, the good and the bad, happens at its own pace and on its own timetable. Not ours.

So here’s to all the writers, who find and make the time to commit the fruits of their passions and imaginings to the page. And to all the readers, who might forgive yer man in Houston a small delay on a Monday.

Now, let’s talk some books!

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Scalpers Gonna Scalp

It was nice for awhile, not talking about scalpers, wasn’t it? Of course, opportunity never sleeps as they say, and where there’s a chance to make a quick buck off the skin of others any respite will prove very short-lived indeed.

Predictably enough, last Saturday’s offering of Ben Counter’s Galaxy in Flames was chum in the water for the opportunist segment. There were also some reports of critical website ordering issues. While many had little problem securing their copy (myself included), for others it was a decidedly less enjoyable experience.

Interestingly, some regions experienced a second window of opportunity as stock returned several hours later. Sharp-eyed readers discovered Galaxy in Flames was back in and let the community know, proving once again the value of participating in places like the Nutters on Facebook and the Black Library Subreddit.

I’m glad to report that this enabled our friend Max Brown here to get his copy, ensuring that- at least for today- his question would go unanswered.

Remember, folks, only in death does duty end. If Big E can sit on the Golden Commode for millennia without uttering a single word of complaint, surely we too can persevere…right?

In the meantime, though, we can continue to hope for a fix.

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Writers are Fans, Too!

While I’ll never scorn an author making an honest living selling the fruits of their imagination, I take an extra degree of satisfaction knowing how many of the writers whose stories and words populate the shelves of the Black Library are genuine Warhammer fans first, and Black Library writers second. Here’s a few who shared that love recently.

Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Starseer’s Ruin)

Adrian unveiled a batch of “springy chaos cultists,” a terrifically-painted box of Kill Team Goremongers. That yellow really pops!

Justin D. Hill (Hell’s Last, The Bookkeeper’s Skull)

Justin showed off his work in progress on a Luna Wolves army. With the release of his Bjorn, the Fell-Handed right around the corner all we can say is, wrong wolves, Justin!

That emblem absolutely pops, though…

Danie Ware (Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith, The Triumph of Saint Katherine)

Finally, here’s a look at one of Danie Ware’s paperback bookshelves. “Top one is Warhammer,” she notes, “middle one is a full row of Fighting Fantasy green spines, bottom one is a lot of very, very old Forgotten Realms books.” Everything you need for a year’s worth of rainy days.

Love to see author shelfies, Danie, and thanks to all for sharing!

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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

Another week, another new Black Library teaser. Fresh on the heels of Krakenblood, Marc Collins is back with Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom. This latest tale sees Huron having to navigate the treacherous web of diplomacy as the shadow of the Great Devourer falls over his domain. No release date yet, though it would have been a synergistic home run if it had been ready this past February. Still, we’ll take it!

We’ve also got a number of things to look forward to coming up for preorder this week.

Deathwatch, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

The Sunday Preview was unusually light on details for this one this week, but we can assume deluxe cover treatment and ribbon bookmark at the very least. It’s been a good Summer for author Steve Parker, with his Rynn’s World recently being reissued in a Special Edition format as well.

It’s here! We’ve known this one was coming since last March, but the next installment of the Illustrated and Annotated Edition series is here with Nate Crowley’s Prophet of the Waaagh!. Here’s my look at the last two in this series, For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell and Robert Rath’s The Infinite and the Divine.

Just two short weeks since the Limited Edition was offered, the standard hardcover is coming up for order. Justin D. Hill’s story features the oldest living Space Marine in existence standing vigil on Fenris and taking on all comers.

Finally, Andy Clark’s Demolisher arrives in paperback! The tank crew is assigned to escort duty for a Commissar on a Chaos-infested world in this sequel to 2021’s Steel Tread.

Departures

This week saw Robert Rath’s Necron duology The Wicked and the Warped arrive, as well as the hardcover reissue of The Infinite and the Divine.

Fans of Age of Sigmar weren’t left out either, with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide from DK Books landing in stores this week as well.

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Swan Song

Last June in my review of the anthology World Ablaze, I noted that author Richard Swan (Tears of Raphaela, Blood Harvest) had shared in a Reddit AMA that he had a Black Library novel in the pipeline, with an expected released of this Summer. \

It looks like that day is fast approaching! r/BlackLibrary subredditor u/Hasvik212- the Roboute Guilliman of Black Library publishing data- uncovered what appears to be information on that very novel. Titled Voice of Command, the back-cover blurb reads:

Saint Stanislava’s Adoration was once the Maelstrom Zone’s finest shrine-city, and the crowning jewel of the planet Nymea. Now, it’s a blasted, Chaos-infested ruin.

For two years Imperial forces have slowly unpicked the Archenemy’s grip on the world, finger by finger, and Adoration is all that stands between Humanity and victory.

For Colonel Gabriel ‘Venom’ Velterson, leader of the 2002nd Cadian Mechanised Regiment, the end cannot come quickly enough. When his troops are not bathed in the toxic light of a mysterious blue star, or enduring the endless heresy broadcast over the hijacked vox-network, they’re being quarantined by the Inquisition or squandered by capricious Nymean commanders. Indeed, on the eve of the final assault, the Archenemy may be the least of his problems.

Will Adoration be the end of the campaign, or will it be the end of the regiment?

Fandoms can be incredibly persistent at ferreting out info that hasn’t quite been made public yet, since publishers have to prime the media ecosystem in advance for any such releases. That’s why we can sometimes find placeholder listings for unannounced books on Amazon, for instance.

Hasvik212 notes, of course, that this is all unconfirmed, so… big if true?

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ICYMI

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

Warhammer Wordforge

• I took a bit of a detour this week with Black Library Bibliophiles, giving a look at the JOYTOY line of Astartes helmets as ways to spruce up a library or collection. Don’t worry, there was plenty of books to talk about too!

• In Warhammer RPG Weekly, I took advantage of a slow news week to talk a bit about the Wordforge’s plans for regular RPG content.

• And finally, speaking of RPG content, I debuted a new regular feature, RPG Conversions! This series will adapt Warhammer lore and stories to the tabletop, and I kicked it off with a couple of Warcry warbands for Cubicle 7’s Soulbound.

Tabletop Battles

• Meanwhile at Tabletop Battles, I reviewed the new Illustrated and Annotated Edition of For the Emperor, by Sandy Mitchell. Another win for an amazing series!

• For you Battletech fans, lynnding-library also reviewed Bryan Young’s These Violent Ends!

Warhammer Community

• Butcher’s Nails, the next Warhammer+ animated series, has seen a slight delay. Rather than this month, it will be releasing in October. Worth the wait? Let’s hope so!

• In the ongoing Pages from the Black Books series, this week saw a look at Horus Lupercal’s early campaigns in the planning stages!

• And of course, there was the aforementioned teaser for the upcoming Huron Blackheart book by Marc Collins here!

WarhammerTV (paywalled)

• Marc Collins (Eidolon: The Auric Hammer, Helbrecht: Knight of the Throne) is appearing on Scribes & Scriveners this week, the Black Library author interview series as we start preparing for the upcoming Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom.

Around the Webway

• New YouTube channel Concilium Historica Imperialis did a deep dive video review on Dead Men Walking, by Steve Lyons.

• Into Orks? Mars Garrett of Bell of Lost Souls published a guide to a number of Ork books and Ork-themed merchandise this week. Treat yourself!

• Jordan Sorcery sat down for an interview with Nicola Griffith (Vespertine, The Voyage South). Nicola’s wrote some of Warhammer Fantasy’s earliest fiction, and this is a real treat!

• Cinderfall Gaming has been rocking the Warhammer Adventures series recently, and they’re back this week with a look at Tom Huddleston’s Fortress of Ghosts. These were the Black Library’s short-lived experiment to aim fiction at a younger audience, and make for interesting reading now.

• The TTP Field Manual Book Club tackled The First Heretic, Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame novel of the Word Bearers. As an added bonus, they’re reviewing the audiobook version, narrated by Gareth Armstrong (my thoughts here).

• Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club reviewed William Crowe’s Veterans of the Fall. “The perfect palate cleanser,” they noted. “It’s exactly what we needed and wanted.”

• In the odd chance BL Readers’ Hall of Famer Josh Reynolds (Lukas the Trickster, Nagash: The Undying King) was having a down week, here’s a terrific appreciation thread that popped up this week on Reddit.

Cold Open Stories

• This week’s featured story is Home Sickness, by Alex Gentem. “After six long years of war, the Guard is finally called home. The initial emotions are myriad, and mixed – relief, astonishment, disbelief that it has happened at last. But once those settle, other things come in their wake. What has changed in their absence? Are the people they left still the same? Are they?”

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Quick Hits

• Black Library Readers’ Hall of Famers Dan Abnett (Hive, Interceptor City) and James Swallow (The Flight of the Eisenstein, Nemesis) will be appearing at Monster Mania 2026, which is taking place in Kent on 30 August. Attendees are encouraged to bring memorabilia for them to sign, and Swallow has more details on his site here. He’ll also be appearing in Bexley for An Afternoon With James Swallow this coming Saturday (8/22), so make sure to check it out!

• Gareth Hanrahan (Grit in the Wheels, Rites of Binding) held an AMA on Reddit last week as he promotes his latest novel, The Dungeon Book. It’s “Kipling’s The Jungle Book meets Dungeons & Dragons,” as he describes it², and he’ll also be doing a book signing at the Cork Waterstones this Saturday!

• Not enough Black Library author appearances, you say? Fine, fine, howabout Gav Thorpe (Kill Team, Luther: First of the Fallen) and Victoria Hayward (Deathworlder, Blood Sands)! On 24 October they’ll be appearing at three different locations- alas none in Kentucky, it seems. Sheesh, don’t any of these writers like a good bourbon?

• Maria Haskins (The Jagged Edge) has a new story appearing in Translunar Travelers Lounge magazine. Entitled The Fall of the Automatous Abbey, she describes it as a story about “a cleaning bot, a war, and finding something new at the end of all things.”

• It’s always great to see it when my favorite Black Library writers work with other, unrelated properties that I love, almost like chocolate and peanut butter. Andi Ewington (Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand, Fire and Fungi) has an ongoing Rogue Trooper story playing out in the pages of Judge Dredd Megazine #495, with the latest installment dropping in two days!

• Speaking of chocolate meeting peanut butter, this isn’t directly Black Library related but just too good not to share. Last year Bryan Young won a Goonhammer Book Award for the BattleTech novel Outfoxed, an award he co-shared with Russell Zimmerman (Seven Ships, Resounding) for Violent Inception. This week he posted an interview with James Luceno, one of the two authors who wrote Robotech novels back in the 90’s under the name Jack KcKinney. I’m not sure how big the Venn overlap is between Warhammer, BattleTech, and Robotech, but I’ll be happy to save you a seat in here.

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Combat Cards Code

Last week I had a Tacticus code up for grabs, and this week there’s one for any of you Warhammer Combat Cards players for the game’s seventh anniversary. As part of my Warhammer+ subscription I get the occasional code for bonus goodies and like to pass them along to a lucky reader.

The latest code is: reilvfww

Using that will grant you a nice little tranche of bonus summons and resources, including Supreme Commander Belisarius Cawl! As always, I simply ask that the first person to redeem it leave a comment below so that everyone after knows it’s been used.

Enjoy!

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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

• Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom by Marc Collins

• Voice of Command, by Richard Swan

Current PODs in Production

• Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition)

Upcoming in 2026

• Bjorn, the Fell-handed, by Justin D. Hill (Limited Edition, 8/22)

• Galaxy In Flames, by Ben Counter (Premium Edition, hardcover, 8/29)

• False Gods, by Graham McNeill (paperback, 8/29)

• Blood of the Godeater, by Noah Van Nguyen (hardcover, 8/29)

• Witch Hunters: The Omnibus, by Nick Horth and Richard Strachan (paperback, 8/29)

• Deathwatch, by Steve Parker (Special Edition, 9/5)

• Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley (9/5)

• Bjorn, the Fell-handed, by Justin D. Hill (hardcover, 9/5)

• Demolisher, by Andy Clark (paperback, 9/5)

• 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!

1. I call it the three-quarters-over, because I always find one little thing that I missed after I’ve shipped it. Usually it’s a formatting error, forgetting to boldface an author’s name at their first mention, or italicize a book title.

2. Which conceptually sounds amazing, it’s on my TBR list.