The speculative fiction world lost one of its giants this week, as we learned of the passing of Ian Watson. Watson, who was inducted into the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame twice for his outrageously provocative novels Inquisitor (1990) and Space Marine (1993) was already a successful writer when he was brought aboard to write novels for Games Workshop.
Here’s how he was profiled in the 40K History of the Black Library last year in a piece titled, fittingly enough, “Adieu Mr. Watson.”
By 1997, everything we’d seen so far for Games Workshop’s foray into speculative fiction would change. Gone would be the startup model of hiring established voices to put their spin on the Warhammer universe, and in its place a more deliberate effort to develop and cultivate talent that could channel GW’s developing vision of what they wanted their properties to look like.
But the mid-90s, those still belonged to Ian Watson.
When asked how he ended up writing for the sci-fi side of things, Watson noted that when Pringle had put out the call for writers, “all the buggers chose to write a normal medieval fantasy and just put in Warhammer names. So when I came to realize I was going to have to bite the bullet… there was only 40K left.” A slightly uncharitable take, perhaps, but certainly Pringle had no shortage of writers for fantasy stories as Games Workshop released two full anthologies of shorts in the Autumn of 1989 (Ignorant Armies and Wolf Riders) alongside the novel Drachenfels.
Watson had no particular attachment to the Warhammer properties, but was certainly keen for a paycheck. Games Workshop’s offer of £40,000 for services rendered was too good to pass up. Very quickly, however, something in Watson changed as the mercenary wordsmith element took a back seat.
“As soon as I started,” he noted, “I became thoroughly involved and had wonderful hectic fun going over the top in bizarre lurid Gothic madness. Writing should be fun. Writing should disorder and then re-organize readers’ minds so that they see the world in a different way.”
Love his Warhammer books or hate them- and there are plenty of both- truly it can be said that we will never see his like again. “Heretic Tome” or otherwise, what he gave to the early Black Library helped inspire many that came after. He leaned heavily into the weird and grotesque of the setting, establishing its possibilities even if the Black Library would eventually pull back onto the more solid ground of military science-fiction.
A booksmith to the end, his obituary urged mourners not to send flowers, but to buy books instead.
As word of his passing spread, many Black Library writers past and present took to social media to honor the man and his legacy. I’ve included a few here:
Arrival and Departure
Don’t look now, but the Era of Ruin print-on-demand (POD) Special Editions have started to appear in the wild, as those who preordered them late last December are seeing their orders fulfilled. It looks to be a gradual process as mine hasn’t arrived yet, but there’s still plenty of time ahead in the 180-day window.
On the downside of things, WARCOM stealth-updated last week’s Sunday Preview with some disappointing news for those excited at the opportunity to preorder the Limited Edition of Dan Abnett’s Hive.
NOTE: We previously announced that the special edition of HIVE by Dan Abnett would be available to pre-order on Saturday. Unfortunately, this release has been delayed. We'll let you know when it will be available as soon as we can – so stay tuned to Warhammer Community.
My heart is saddened, but my wallet rejoices.
Congratulations Winners
Last week we celebrated the kickoff of Black Library Weekly here on Substack with a giveaway: two copies of the Black Library Celebration up for grabs!
Thanks to the mighty power of the Random.org cogitator, I’m pleased to announce that Nick and Jan are the two winners. Congratulations to you both, and I’ll be in touch to get your shipping details.
Up for Preorder
Hooboy, I hope you enjoyed the unexpected Wallet Appreciation Week we had when Hive got yoinked, because we’ve got an almost Celebration-sized haul coming up this week.
Da Freebooterz Code, by Justin Woolley
His second Black Library novel after 2022’s Catachan Devil, Woolley’s latest sees him return to the greenskin territory he mined for 2024’s novella, Long Live Da Red Gobbo. Orks are certainly enjoying a moment right now and the hits keep coming in the lead-up to our return to Armageddon with the 11th Edition tabletop.
This one’s getting both the standard and Special Edition treatment, with the latter including the extra short story, Horntoof.
Death World (20th Anniversary Edition), by Steve Lyons
This one genuinely surprised me, seeing as how we just saw a 20th Anniversary release for the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame inductee Faith & Fire by James Swallow. While Death World, an Astra Militarum novel that pits the celebrated Catachan Jungle Fighters against (what else) the Orks, didn’t quite make it into the Hall recently, Lyons’ pedigree as the foremost author of the Death Korps of Krieg (Dead Men Walking, Krieg, The Siege of Vraks, and The Relentless Dead) has made quite a splash in the Black Library. Perhaps in hindsight I shouldn’t have been surprised!
World Ablaze: A Warhammer 40,000 Anthology, by various
This one I’m really excited to see, because I’m keen to see what it means for the future of the Black Library. I’ve often talked about the “talent pipeline” for GW, with short stories often serving as proving grounds for new story writers earning their way up to a novel. In recent years those short stories have frequently been released first in digital forms, often as part of Theme Weeks or other event-related subscriptions like Advent.
After digital release, most would go on to see print release in an anthology (for instance, the recently-reviewed No Peace Among Stars was a combination of three different Theme Weeks). That pipeline is no longer in place, with both last year’s Advent and this year’s Celebration subscriptions being quietly shuttered.
That’s left a bit of a question mark over how the Black Library would be positioning its short stories, and Worlds Ablaze adds an new wrinkle as these are all-new stories. That’s a fascinating pivot away from the digital-first model, but does leave the open question about new talent acquisition since this book is clearly comprised of the work of Black Library veterans.
Legends of the Waaagh!: An Ork Omnibus, by various
Another component of the Ork crash-course we’re getting as we hone in on 11th Edition and Armageddon, this is a trio of unconnected novels featuring Orks as antagonists. Dan Abnett’s I am Slaughter kicks it off, followed by Caves of Ice, the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Famer second book of Sandy Mitchell’s Ciaphas Cain saga.
Perhaps the most exciting inclusion is the third novel, Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. This highly-acclaimed recounting of battle on Armageddon has often commanded quite a price premium in the afermarket, being one of the foremost novels of the Space Marine Battles series. Having an affordable reprint widely available for readers is a big win, with the price of this omnibus well under what you’d normally pay for Helsreach alone.
Yarrick: The Omnibus, by David Annandale
A great option for those who passed on the much-pricier Yarrick Boxed Set last Autumn, this omnibus includes novels Imperial Creed and The Pyres of Armageddon alongside novella Chains of Golgotha and a half-dozen shorts.
Veterans of the Fall, by William Crowe
The next installment in the Astra Militarum Novel series that we last saw with R. S. Wilt’s Final Deployment last August (review), Veterans of the Fall isn’t quite a novel proper but still offers plenty to read! In addition to the titular novella, the book contains the collected story Tatters of Hope that was serialized across White Dwarf 506-510 and the previously-released short story Tattershield.
Tattershield was part of that No Peace Among Stars anthology, and was first released in 2024’s Astra Militarum Week- a good example of the “talent pipeline” I mentioned above.
As with all of the Astra Militarum series novels this one is straight to paperback, no hardcover available.
Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick
Okay, so this technically isn’t Black Library, but these narrative campaign sets are chock full of amazing lore. As I type this, the brand-new Eye of Terror: Reign of Iron sits to my left, waiting for me to get a chance to dive in.
Whether you’re into the lore or the role-playing games (where these make terrific campaign sourcebooks), there’s plenty of reason to give these a look even if (like me) you’re not into the tabletop wargame.
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.
It’s been a busy time for Denny Flowers, what with Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok and Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords in the recent rearview (and recently sharing some book recommendations, too!), but he’s managed to carve out a little time to work on his Tomb Kings team for Blood Bowl (his sixth team!). Terrific work, Denny!
Sometimes you wanna write, and sometimes you just need a break from the desk. What better way to unwind that purging xenos, heretics, and mutants? Here’s Victoria Hayward (Deathworlder, The Feast of St. Luthera) getting ready to do just that!
Tabletop is a great, wide world, and all sorts of minis spring from the sculptor’s imagination to the painter’s hands. Here’s some “clever girls” from the table of George Mann (Shrike, The Unkindness of Ravens).
Finally, Anna Stephens (Gothgul Hollow, River of Death) shared her own work in progress. “As a writer,” she notes “I am intimately familiar with the idea of slow but steady progress and allowing myself grace.”
ICYMI
This past week on the Dispatch I had two other articles posted in addition to the Black Library Weekly as I continue to find my cadence of output here. First up was the debut of a new, occasional series where I chat about the audiobooks I’m listening to. First up was Black Library Readers’ Hall of Famer Mike Lee’s Fallen Angels, book eleven in the Horus Heresy.
Then my companion regular column, the Warhammer RPG SITREP, looked at the Horus Heresy RPG’s delays and imagined what I might do differently if I ran Cubicle 7 Games for a day. (Hint: it involves the Black Library, naturally!)
Over on Goonhammer, Contemptor Kevin dove into Graham McNeill’s Hall of Fame novel Storm of Iron as the release of Eye of Terror: Reign of Iron. If you haven’t yet had occasion to read it, Kevin will let you know why you should!
Not only that, but we also finished out the year 2006 with the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame. No points for guessing which novel made it in this time- and yes, it was indeed only one! We’re excited to announce two new Hall of Fame Committee members as Arbitor Ian and Jordan Sorcery join the team, and beginning with our next installment we’ll be covering an entire year at a time- not just half! Sure, it’ll mean more polls each episode, but I think a little extra work will be worth it as it lets us cover even more ground as we recognize the best of the best in the Black Library.
Back to my Substack (The Black Library Dispatch) for a moment, I’ve also started a series called The Hall Monitor that serves as a sort of “director’s commentary” companion to the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame series. They’ll run on alternate Sundays, the day after the Hall of Fame piece drops on Goonhammer. Here’s the latest!
Meanwhile at Warhammer Community, the weekly curated lore drops from the Horus Heresy Black Books continues, this week with loads about the Space Wolves! Fans of lore had more in store with a look at the world of Armageddon, plus for Age of Sigmar enjoyers there was some Kairos Fateweaver mini-fiction!
There was plenty going on around the webway this week as well. The TTP Field Manual pod took a look at Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, as we prepare for a return to that meatgrinder of a planet. Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club, meanwhile, reviewed Death Rider by Rhuairidh James. “Unfortunately,” they note, “this one had so many problems.”
Finally, Arbitor Ian’s Book Club with Mira Manga moved another step closer to the end of the Heresy, giving Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Betrayer a thorough look. They also explored Mark of Calth, the Horus Heresy anthology. Busy readers!
Moving to the realm of the physical, White Dwarf 522 dropped with a ton of lore on Huron Blackheart and the gang from the Maelstrom. Also of note was Chronicles of Bain: Glory Makes Us Fools, part three of the serialized Bain story by Neil Andrew Miller.
Quick Hits
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Thunderbirds, the classic television adventure series that ran for three years in the 60’s. As part of this anniversary year, a new anthology of short stories is in the works, entitled Thunderbirds: Hidden Dangers - International Rescues, and will be co-edited by none other than Black Library Readers’ Hall of Famer James Swallow! (The Flight of the Eisenstein, Deus Encarmine).
Cavan Scott (Plague Harvest, Attack of the Necron) has a new Audible Originals Star Wars story coming out later this month, Terror on Mustafar. As he puts it, “Darth Vader vs. X-Wings. Imperial Cadets in danger. Hideous experiments in Vader’s Castle.” Almost sounds a little…grimdark, doesn’t it! Cavan also recently shared that he’s recovered from an operation to remove a rare tumor from his foot, so we’re delighted to hear he’s on the mend!
Andi Ewington (Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand) shared this week that he’s been designing campaign scenarios for the upcoming Elden Ring: Rot & Sorcery board game from Steamforged Games! He also shared that he’s got a new story coming up in the pages of 2000AD.
Chasing the Dragon, Nicholas Kaufmann’s 2010 Thriller Award and Shirley Jackson Award finalist, has landed in paperback. The story, about the last living descendent of St. George who is destined to vanquish the dragon once and for all- if she can vanquish her own personal demons first- is available here on Amazon (but as always, I recommend trying your friendly, local independent booksellers first!).
There’s a long story about the difference between Free Comic Book Day and Comics Giveaway Day, but suffice it to say that it’s one of the biggest days of the year for your comics retailers- and it’s right around the corner. Black Library Readers’ Hall of Famer Simon “Si” Spurrier (Lord of the Night, Elucidium) is the writer behind Minotaur, one of the many comics you can pick up for free on Saturday, 02 May.
Josh Reynolds (Skaven Pestilens, Hammerhal) dropped a new piece of fictional history around the Office of the Royal Occultist, who battles the forces of darkness for God, King, and Country. Not only entertaining, this is terrific worldbuilding, too!
John French (Dropsite Massacre, Ahriman: Exile) sat down this week with The Imperial Truth podcast, chatting about his experiences writing the Horus Heresy. For writers (and especially aspiring ones), he also posted an article on his own site this week talking about what writing software he recommends.
Cameron Johnston (Faith in Iron)’s latest, First Mage on the Moon, arrived on bookshelves this week. A fantasy story that sees wizards racing to be the first to land on the moon- the “forbidden home of the gods”- it’s available here on Amazon (and again, check local too!)
Finally, the Locus Awards have announced their finalists for this year. Nominees include Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Starseer’s Ruin) for his novel Shroud and novella Lives of Bitter Rain. Good luck, Adrian!
Fans of Vampire Hunter D will no doubt be excited by the recent announcement of a new, 20-issue comic based on the property. It will be written by Brandon Easton (Embers of Extinction) and kick off this Summer.
Steven Sheil (Ghost Planet, Tithemarked) wrote a recent piece for the Mayhem Film Festival Letterboxd page discussing the differences between writing about corpses in horror versus crime fiction. “In crime stories,” he writes, “as is shown in the familiar opening beats of Scarpetta, the corpse is a repository of story.” Fascinating!
Chris Roberson (Dawn of War II, Sons of Dorn) will be writing The Foundry, a new four-issue comic from Dark Horse that lands this Summer. Set in the Hellboy universe, it showcases the predecessor to the B.P.R.D. battling the supernatural in the Victorian Era.
Finally, Nicholas Wolf (Negavolt, Sorrowcrown)’s latest installment in the Tidestone Chronicles, The Battle of Sapphire Bay, will be released on 28 April. If you like airships, robots, and pirates- and stories with all three- make sure to check it out.
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 (hardcover, Limited Edition)
Rynn’s World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)
Veterans of the Fall, by William Crowe
World Ablaze, by various
Da Freebooterz Code, by Justin Woolley
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
Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith, by Danie Ware (hardcover, 4/18)
Paragon of Faith and Other Stories, by various (softcover, 4/18)
Carnage Unending, by various (paperback, 4/18)
Zardu Layak, the Crimson Apostle by Rich McCormick (Special, hardcover, 4/25)
Legends of the Waaagh!, by various (paperback, 5/19)
Yarrick: The Omnibus, by David Annandale (paperback, 5/19)
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 in the new digs, and see you next week!
There should be something in the lore about the scribe who penned the now banned and prohibited tale of the events of the Inquisitor trilogy was also the chronicler of the Lost Primarchs and their legions, whose tales have been expunged for similar reasons. Now that the scribe has passed on, those tales are truly lost forever.