There’s something deeply, heartwarmingly satisfying about seeing your passions reflected in your children.
Take hockey, for instance. My all-time favorite sport since my New England childhood, I never dreamt in a million years that I would have one of my Kentucky-born children want to play hockey.
One? The universe laughs. Now both my boys and one of my girls play the greatest sport in the world1.
As for Warhammer, all five of my kids have at various times enjoyed the modeling side of it with me, but three of them have gone beyond that and into the lore and culture of the universe.
Both these things overlapped this past weekend on a trip to Evansville, Indiana. My oldest had an away game, and we took the opportunity to stop in at the local Warhammer store on the way home. As it happens, I’d written before about my first visit to the Evansville store back in February. Not only did the store manager, Walker, remember me from that visit, but- and this is impressive- he remembered what I’d bought during that visit, too (an Eternus, Blade of the First Prince).
But for all the fun of a Warhammer store visit and building miniatures, not since the Warhammer Adventures book series have I seen Games Workshop release something so accessible to kids as last Friday’s Only in Death: 40,000 Ways to Die animation.
The hilarious four-and-a-half minute video is a cross between Loony Tunes and Happy Tree Friends- and folks, my kids ate it up. Not only was it wonderfully entertaining, but as an actual lore primer for the world of Warhammer 40,000 it was genuinely informative. Broad strokes sure, but you won’t get much else in so short a time.
Here’s to hoping there’s more where this came from.
Now, let’s dive into this week’s excitement. No giant story, but lots of smaller ones.
Wordforge on Facebook
Never one to be far from the bleeding edge of technology, for those of you on Facebook who like to keep tables on the Wordforge, I’ve created a profile for the site here.
Jokes aside, while I don’t have any particular love for Facebook, I do find myself there regularly as part of the Black Library Nutters community. So for those who call Facebook home, make sure to stop by and say hello!
Who Has a Story to Tell?
You know those podcasts which are full of reader-submitted stories based around a particular theme? u/Adept-Area9557 over on Reddit had a really interesting idea: what if we did one of those, and make it focused on Warhammer?
Here’s the pitch in their own words:
I’m looking for the craziest, funniest, weirdest, most awkward, touching, or unforgettable stories experienced by Warhammer players and collectors. I’m especially interested in stories from regular players and collectors — you don’t need to be a content creator, tournament player, or hobby celebrity.
It can be absolutely anything:
A game that completely went off the rails
A bizarre encounter that happened because of Warhammer
A huge buying or painting mistake
A miniature that was lost, destroyed, or rediscovered years later
A crazy tournament or hobby store story
A completely unhinged player or seller
A relationship, friendship, or family story connected to the hobby
An army bought or sold under ridiculous circumstances
Something that still makes you laugh years later
Or even something much more personal or emotional
So: what’s your craziest Warhammer story?
Stories can either be left on the Reddit thread or emailed to them directly at pro.raphraconte@gmail.com
I absolutely love this idea, and can’t wait to see what comes from it!
Remembering Rosaline
Speaking of moving stories to tell, Jeff Mott shared his this week on Facebook.
Words can not begin to describe how immensely grateful, happy, and honored I am to have been published in this months White Dwarf #528 magazine. Since our daughter’s passing last March, one of my main drives in life has been to help memorialize our beloved Rosaline’s name, her story, and how amazing she is.
But honestly, this is so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined, even when they wrote me letting me know that they wanted to publish her story…
As many of you know I lost my wife to cancer a month ago, and Warhammer too has been a place of incredible refuge and comfort not only through our bereavement, but the entire two-year battle she faced. It’s a bittersweet joy to see that same spirit in the pages of White Dwarf.
Thank you so much for sharing, Jeff, and may her memory be a blessing.
What’s in the Box (Three-dux?)
Last week I talked about Games Workshop’s very eye-watering pricing for the Space Marines Limited Edition Codex, and what the fact that it didn’t sell out might portend for this week’s Adeptus Custodes Codex LE:
While we won’t know until Saturday’s preorder window opens up, it may be a safe bet to assume the pricing will be comparable to the Space Marine Limited Edition. I don’t see it going any higher, but as I see it there’s a small possibility that it might be lower.
At time of writing, the Space Marine one is still available to preorder. It does seem clear from Games Workshop’s preferred production and marketing practices that their preference is to run on the lean side of the supply/demand matrix. Put another way, they have a demonstrated preference for underproducing in order to ensure a product sellout rather than risk having to hold unsold inventory- even if that means leaving potential profit on the table.
To the consumer community this tends to appear like Games Workshop is leveraging FOMO to drive sales, but I suspect the reality is a bit more prosaic.
This all is to suggest that GW may have gotten the price wrong this time around. There are two reason consumers will generally turn their nose up at these kinds of offerings. Either the perceived value isn’t there, or the value is there but the price itself is too high a barrier to overcome for most.
When this happens, a smart business will either adjust the price downward and accept a lower profit margin, or reduce the contents of the offering until it better matches the price point realities of the consumer base. It’s far too late in the game to do the second one for the Custodes, but we might see a slight, downward revision in the sticker. I’m not sure GW will be happy with two pallets of unsold Limited Edition Codex stock occupying vital space in the warehouse.
Welp, Games Workshop clearly hasn’t lost the ability to surprise. Despite many seeing the Custodes LE as even more sumptuous than the Space Marine one in terms of perceived value, the price was significantly lower. Dropping the price from USD $420 to $315 was rewarded by the collector community, with the Custodes Codex LE selling out.
The Space Marine Codex still remains available for order.
You don’t always have to take action to make your feelings known. Indeed, sometimes the best way to send a message is to do absolutely nothing at all.
I’d anticipated a price decrease, but this was well past what I could have even hoped to see. And now with the sellout, you can probably expect $315 to be the new $2502.
I’d wanted to talk a bit more this week about the preorder side of the business today (“other hobby companies have been successfully implementing some very interesting options in this space,” I noted last week, “and we’ll look at two of them next week.”), but this week’s column is already massive enough. Next week it is!
Love is a Battlefield (Redux)
Last week I talked about the notion of a Warhammer Romance line- a common subject of the community’s whimsical speculation and wishcasting- and how Catalyst beat them to the punch by releasing an official BattleTech Romance novel, Marie Bilodeau’s Hearts of Iron.
Firstly, if you’re curious about what that even looks like, Lynn of Tabletop Battles wrote an outstanding review that assess it both as a romance novel as well as a work of BattleTech fiction (her eye for detail with the mechs is truly next level).
But also, that prompted a comment from Auxilia and Seven Ships author Russell Zimmerman, whose body of work for BattleTech (for the moment) happens to exceed his Black Library footprint:
Fun fact: this is the SECOND BattleTech Romance novel. One came out last year, Hungry Like The Wolf, which was ALMOST a joke product and a Valentine’s Day release...but then did so well they decided to continue the line.
There are a number of reasons that a Warhammer Romance line almost certainly will never get past the conceptual stages- Catalyst’s market footprint is such that it can afford to take these sorts of creative risks moreso than Games Workshop’s- but that doesn’t mean that romance is not an element of the creative toolkit of the property.
I mean, c’mon, tell me this doesn’t look like a romance novel:
Chamon wails in anguish. An untraceable blight has engulfed the realm, and oases scattered across its deserts recoil and fester at the dread touch of Nurgle. Lands once brimming with life now suffocate beneath a leprous undergrowth. The stink of rotting souls, wracked by the pestilence that compels them, spreads throughout the metallic dunes, and the tendrils of decay ever broaden their reach.
Resisting the epidemic are witch hunters of the Order of Azyr, Talorcan and Esselt. A renowned tracker amongst the Brotherhood, Talorcan’s brooding severity is matched only by the ruthlessness of his lover’s sword. Together they pursue a cultist whose bloody trail leads them to the site of a massacre, whereupon the witch hunters stop at nothing to purge the realm of its loathsome affliction – until they’re confronted with their greatest challenge yet.
Faced with the unthinkable, the battle against corruption swiftly escalates into the ultimate test of faith, and Talorcan and Esselt turn to the only certainty they have: each other.
It’s not just me, right?
And believe me, the grim dark future is not immune. The love between Septimus and Octavia is part of the emotional core of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s masterful Night Lords trilogy, Commissar Ciaphas Cain and Inquisitor Amberly Vail’s “offscreen” relationship is a key element of Sandy Mitchell’s Cain series, the impossible longing of Dan Abnett’s Gregor Eisenhorn and Alizebeth Bequin or doomed spark between Cherish and Loria in Hive…
When William King published Ragnar’s Claw over a quarter-century ago, it’s fair to say that the lore around Astartes (and much of everything else) was a bit less entrenched. Thus we can find even an unlikely attraction grow between a Space Wolf and Inquisitor, with passages like this that could come straight out of a romance novel:
‘I wanted to speak to someone,’ she ventured. ‘This is a vile place and I have no desire to share that thought with our troops.’
‘This is an evil place,’ he agreed.
‘Your nose tells you that?’
‘My nose and my spirit… and my common sense. Were it not our duty to do so, we should not have come here.’
‘But it was our duty. And our duty often takes us to places we would rather not be, to do things we would rather not do.’
‘I am a Space Wolf,’ he said. ‘I live to fight. There is nothing I would rather do.’
‘You lead a rather simple life then, Ragnar of the Space Wolves.’
‘No. You lead a rather complicated one.’
‘Perhaps… but I sense there is more to you than meets the eye, Ragnar, and that you are not quite as unafraid as you would have me believe.’
Her words brought back his dark thoughts from earlier and he looked away, embarrassed. They were his secret shame, one that he wanted no one to know. He certainly did not want this woman, with her disturbing beauty, to be aware of them. He said nothing and simply stared off into the distance.
So ultimately, perhaps the best answer we have to, "“will we ever see Warhammer Romance?” is, no… but it’s always been there.
Trick or Treat: October’s Black Library Giveaway
One of the great themes of the past two years of my life has been finding the blessings hiding inside of misfortune. A spirit of gratitude has seen us through some of the worst things that life has thrown at us, and my outlook on life and the world has been forever changed. For the better, I think.
When it came to pass that Black Library Weekly’s run at Tabletop Battles was ending3, I was deeply disappointed. I’d gotten my foot in the door over there at the beginning of 2025 writing book reviews and histories, but my Monday-morning riff on the world of the Black Library had become my signature work.
But that decision became the catalyst for the Warhammer Wordforge, and this past week I crossed the milestone of 500 subscribers.
That seemed like an impossible number when I started this last April, but here we are. Writing the articles here feels less like ‘content creation’ and more like having a chat about some of my favorite things with a bunch of fellow enthusiasts.
Want to know what’s really crazy?
Since I started writing Black Library articles last year, I’ve penned about two hundred and sixty-five pieces (between TTB and here). I thought 2025’s quantity was impressive (106 articles), but I’m on track to just about double it for 2026. If you assume a conservative 1,500 words per piece, then I’ve written the content equivalent of four books.
Mind-boggling to consider- and it’s still only about half the amount I wrote about Magic: the Gathering a decade ago.
So to celebrate that nice little milestone, we’re doing an extra-special giveaway for October.
That’s right, October’s winner will get their choice of one of two recent, deluxe edition releases: the Galaxy in Flames Premium Edition or Deathwatch Special Edition.
How to Enter
As always, I’m not gonna make people do Stupid Human Tricks for my own amusement to enter the giveaway. It’s simple:
Be a Subscriber to the Warhammer Wordforge, and
Leave a comment on this article letting me know which of the two you’d like if you win.
Yeah, that’s it. Want a bonus entry? Then,
Go follow the Warhammer Wordforge Facebook Page.
Good luck everyone, and hey- thanks for your continued support of the page. It really does mean a lot.
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
With the new Tone Pro paints dominating this week’s Sunday Preview, for those of us who don’t paint it’s another Wallet Appreciation Week!
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some Black Library news in store, as the mothership dropped a teaser for Hal Wilson’s upcoming Black Library novel debut, Whisperblade.
Wilson seems to have followed the familiar short-story-to-novel path, with a trio of Age of Sigmar shorts under his belt (Past Returns, The Nameless, The Wanderer). Interestingly, The Nameless- originally part of 2024’s Wanderers of the Realms eShort week (and also one of the two standout short stories from On the Shoulders of Giants and Other Stories, reviewed here), was reprinted in this year’s Black Library Celebration mini-anthology.
I’ve never gotten around to tracking it, but I’ve long wondered to what degree the Black Library editors ‘prime the pump’ for upcoming releases by using these to shine a little light on specific authors or characters. If Wilson’s inclusion foreshadowed things to come (as it may well have), then this will put future such reprints in an interesting light!
REMINDER: The Special Edition of Peter Fehervari’s latest Dark Coil story, Cold Covenant, will be up for preorder this Wednesday (10/7) at 3pm BST.
Departures
Now on store shelves is Gav Thorpe’s Malekith Malerion omnibus, as well as the latest from DK Books, Words of Waaagh!. The latter is a 64-page book of Orkish quotes in the same vein as their previous release, Words of War.
Black Library App Sales for October
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 relatively 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 (typically 50% off the eBook, 66% off the audio).
For October, the following are on sale:
Blacktalon, by Liane Merciel (audio, ebook)
Dark Imperium, by Guy Haley (audio, ebook)
Ushoran, Mortarch of Delusion, by Dale Lucas (audio, ebook)
Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (audio, ebook)
The Return of Nagash, by Josh Reynolds (audio, ebook)
Renegades: Harrowmaster, by Mike Brooks (audio, ebook)
Demolisher, by Andy Clark (audio, ebook)
Red Tithe, by Robbie MacNiven (audio, ebook)
With four of these (Horus Rising, Dark Imperium, The Return of Nagash, and Red Tithe) being Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame-winning books, it’s not a bad time to stock up!
Meanwhile, there are some titles popping up for sale on Audible. While not one of the highly-awaited sitewide sales, the Warhammer Horror collections I saw for about six dollars (USD) apiece. That’s a steal for three full-length novels, and a great listen this time of year.
Caveat Emptor
Craig Lewis of the Black Library Nutters group on Facebook had this cautionary tale to share this week in relation to the Special Edition of Mike Vincent’s Helbrecht: Sin of Hope.
Has anyone else received a very dodgy looking email from Warhammer in regards to the Helbrecht: Sin of Hope (Special Edition)? Going on about it being stuck in the system and they have to cancel and to get it, I have to buy gift vouchers.
What’s giving me pause is it appears to be from the proper Warhammer email and also states the correct order number and product but doesn’t mention my name?
All Very Strange!
The email read as follows:
This is Ellie from Warhammer customer services, I hope that you are well!
I am emailing regarding your order for Helbrecht: Sin of Hope (Special Edition).
I would first like to start by putting your mind at ease that your order is still going to be processed, however, we have been made aware that this has got stuck in the system! We do apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Due to this being stuck, we do need to cancel and refund the order, however, we can still organise a new order for you if you did wish to continue with your purchase.
Should you want to proceed we would politely ask that you purchase a virtual gift voucher for £45.00 to cover the cost of the book. Then, please provide us with the voucher code, and we can use this as your payment for your new order.
Important: please don’t redeem this voucher to your account as we will be unable to process your voucher or the new order.
Just for some clarity, as the product is not currently available to purchase on warhammer.com this is why we have to secure payment via this method.
If you have any questions regarding this process, please get back in touch directly or via a phone call and we will be happy to support you further.
Now I know what you’re thinking, because we all thought it too. This raises a lot of red flags we’d associate with scammers, right down to the “please buy a voucher but do not redeem, just give us the code” instructions.
But he’s not the only one who’s received one of these this week, it seems. Andy Shiels also reported having the same email4, and confirmed after a call to customer service that it was, indeed, legitimate.
As always, the best response when confronting anything that seems dodgy is to take no action until you’ve confirmed its legitimacy.
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!
Warhammer Wordforge
With Spooky Season fast approaching, I thought I’d dive into a Warhammer Audiobook to greet October properly. It was so good that it never made it that far… My review of Josh Reynold’s Dark Harvest audiobook was this week’s Warhammer Wednesday feature!
For the Warhammer RPG Weekly, there was a new product teased by Cubicle 7, this one for the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.
Finally, in Trench Crusade Weekly, we looked at the incredible cartography of Jared Blando.
Tabletop Battles
Our Lore Friday review this week was my look at Justin D. Hill’s terrific Bjorn, the Fell-Handed.
Warhammer Community
No Black Library-related content this week, aside from the aforementioned announcement of Whisperblade. The Pages from the Black Books series concluded last week as well.
WarhammerTV (paywalled)
For Warhammer+ subscribers, there’s a massive JOYTOY bundle being given away for the month of October. The announcement is here, but you’ll have to scroll down a bit to find it.
The release date for the next animation, the Age of Sigmar tale Arkanaut, has been revealed to be 16 October. Another three-part story, it will be a weekly release so you won’t have long to wait for the whole thing!
Around the Webway
At Boundary’s Edge was back this week with more book reviews, taking aim at Death Rider by Rhuairidh James as well as William Crowe’s Veterans of the Fall.
Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club reviewed Ghosts of Cadia, by Rob Young.
While not specifically Black Library-related, Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame Committee member Aasa Timonen penned a fascinating scholarly piece originally intended as a presentation at the recently-concluded Warhammer Conference, The Madness of King Ushoran: Hegemonic consent in Flesh-Eater Courts. I always enjoy reading things that make me feel smarter, and it’s a bonus when it’s Warhammer-related!
Cold Open Stories
For October, Cold Open Stories is giving us a special treat: audiobooks of selected flash fiction tales! They kick things off with One Hundred and Fourteen Kilos, written by Mario F. Telarico and narrated by Ann Hurd.
Quick Hits
Adrian Southin (Da Stink of Defeat, Path of Grief) shared that he’s been a key part of the writing team for the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day video game. It releases tomorrow, so we’ll have plenty of opportunity to see what he’s come up with. Congrats, Adrian!
Tom R. Pike (Crucible of Fire, Worm of Valhalla) has a new short story appearing this month in the pages of Analog Magazine. Conscience is “about an LLM that goes rogue, eliminates all life, feels vaguely bad about it, and simulates people to try over and over again to try to coax us into forgiving it.”
Richard Swan (Voice of Command, Blood Harvest) revealed the cover art for his upcoming novel, Blood Dynasty. This looks to be an April 2027 release, so there’s just a little more to wait for this conclusion to the Great Silence trilogy. Where Magick fails, industry prevails!
Kieron Gillen (Marneus Calgar, Crown of Destruction) has been writing an ongoing series listing out his top 100 RPG’s of all time. This week he’s posted the grand finale, the top ten, and it’s terrific reading.
While I don’t generally post paywalled content here5, I’m making an exception for this one. Si Spurrier (Lord of the Night, Fire Warrior) is launching a Patreon for his next novel, The Cretan Project. A historical/mythical novel featuring the legendary minotaur, what’s intriguing about this project is that Spurrier will essentially be opening up ringside seats to the writing process. If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel of your own, or even just wondered how the sausage gets made, this might be worth checking out!
Finally, Anna Stephens (Gothgul Hollow, River of Death) will be appearing at FantasyCon in Glasgow this weekend. She’ll be doing a reading, signing books, and even have some goodies to give away! Other authors in attendance will include Adrian Tchaikovsky (Starseer’s Ruin, Day of Ascension), Cameron Johnston (Faith in Iron), Mike Brooks (Da Big Dakka, Ghost Legion), Michael J. Hollows (Ashes of Grimnir, The Warp’s Curse), Gavin Smith (Suffer Not a Human to Live, Apex Predator), Sarah J. Daley (Sigmar’s Fist), and John French (Dropsite Massacre, Ahriman: Exile).
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
Crucible of Fire, by Tom R. Pike
Raptors: War and Shadow, by William Crowe
Blood of the Bastion, by Evan Dicken
Shadow of the Silver Wolf, by Gary Kloster
Whisperblade, by Hal Wilson
Current PODs in Production
Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition, estimated deliver-by date of 11/26)
Upcoming in 2026
Cold Covenant, by Peter Fehervari (hardcover, Special Edition, 10/17)
Auxilia, by Russell Zimmerman (paperback, 10/17)
Dropsite Massacre, by John French (paperback, 10/17)
Apostle, by David Annandale (paperback, 10/17)
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!
And “most expensive,” can’t leave that part out, sadly.
The price point of last year’s Chaos Codex Limited Editions.
It didn’t align with what TTB was looking for from content, which was articles with a longer ‘tail’ of readership. Black Library Weekly gets a nice initial pop of readership, but let’s face it- not a lot of folks are going back and reading old issues, right? I respect this decision and think it was the right one for TTB- and, ultimately, for me.
In a Facebook group called The Black Library (unofficial)
Mainly because it’s not accessible to all readers and I, like most others I imagine, don’t love clicking the link to an article that sounds cool, only to be unable to access it. This is in no way a value judgment; I have no issues whatsoever with writers paywalling content. We gotta earn a living, too!
Congrats on another year of prolific quality writing! I’d love that beautiful Galaxy in Flames. Good luck to everyone:)
Deathwatch LE looks amazing, hoping for a chance to win. Thanks for hosting giveaways