This is probably my favorite Warhammer meme, because each answer is both correct and wrong. If you’re relatively new to the lore, the Emperor (beloved by all) created twenty Primarchs.
Or was it twenty-one? There’s that curious business of the Alpha Legion leadership. And then, of course, there are the two Primarchs that never existed. Wait, who?
It’s enough to do one’s nut in trying to get it right, so it’s probably a kindness that this poor fella is about to receive the Emperor’s Mercy…right?
In the annals of the Black Library, one author that comes close to being one of those ‘Lost Primarchs’ stricken from history is Henry Zou. His name came up in a Reddit thread this week, as it does every now and again, so let’s jump in today on an interesting bit of Black Library history.
Zoutopia
Sydney, Australia native Henry Zou was a soldier in the Australian army, and idle time during long training exercises was fertile ground for his budding writer’s imagination. His military experience gave him plenty of inspiration, and in 2008 he placed his first short story with the Black Library, Voidsong.
Voidsong, part of that year’s Planetkill anthology, tells the tale of an insurgency on the planet Sirene Primal that pits Imperial Guard forces against a mysterious rebel leader known as the Sirene Monarch. Meanwhile, a member of the Inquisition, Inquisitor Roth, has arrived on-planet to investigate a mysterious psychic signal that’s been broadcasting into the void. Fans of the three-armed amigos probably know where this is going, and it was well-received enough by the Black Library team to springboard Zou into a book deal.
2009: Emperor’s Mercy
It’s not at all uncommon for Black Library writers to use short stories to introduce characters that will feature in their own novel (for instance, Mike Vincent’s Blades of Atrocity paved the way for The Remnant Blade), and here Zou was no exception. Inquisitor Roth returned for his novel debut, chasing down ancient artifacts on the planet Medina while contending with a Chaos warband known as the Ironclads.
While much of the official documentation of the time has been lost to history and memory, it’s clear that the Black Library was giving Zou a significant push. His gritty realism, grounded in his own military experience1, was just the thing Games Workshop wanted to offer fans of Gaunt’s Ghosts and other military-focused 40K stories, and towards that end they took the unusual step of securing a front-of-book endorsement from none other than Dan Abnett himself (visible on the front cover, above).
Crunchy and vivid, sure- but Abnett would likely soon come to rue the use of the word “memorable” here.
2010: Flesh and Iron
If you needed further evidence of the Black Library’s investment in Zou- a writer who had no previous published stories but certainly had impressed with his audition- it’s the branding of Zou’s novels as the “Bastion Wars series.”
This was Zou’s sandbox, much in the same way the Sabbat Wars were Abnett’s, and to land such license as a relative unknown was something of a coup. Zou took full advantage, handing in a highly-acclaimed sophomore effort that surprised many by being a sort of plot-twist stealth prequel to Emperor’s Mercy.
The story centers on the 31st Riverine Amphibious, a sort of bayou-coded Guard regiment that is up against a (non-genestealer) rebellion. One contemporary reviewer praised its parallels with the river battles of the Vietnam War as well as its focus on water-navy engagements, and combined with a very tragic, human narrative element it seemed clear that Zou had delivered something unique2.
2011: Blood Gorgons
Zou was on a roll, and his stock amongst Black Library readers (and, no doubt, editors) was climbing. His third effort, Blood Gorgons, also managed to stand out in its more thoughtful, even sympathetic portrayal of its renegade Astartes. Instead of Chaos-obsessed two-dimensional moustache twirlers, Zou’s Blood Gorgons played in that ‘middle ground’ space inhabited by others like the Night Lords, Red Corsairs, and Ashen Claws.
The tale was also noted for its lack of an Imperial perspective, instead focusing on the internecine squabbles of those who had turned from the Emperor’s light as the Blood Gorgons battled Chaos Astartes and Drukhari to protect their territory.
The Fall from Grace
Zou in 2011 was at the peak of his powers, having delivered hits for two completely different factions.
And then everything fell apart.
It started in the fan forums, with sharp-eyed readers discovering content in Flesh and Iron that appeared to be lifted out of 2007’s House to House: An Epic Memoir of War, a book penned by U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia. This wasn’t just concerning overlap, but the kind of full-passage smoking guns that remove even the possibility of the benefit of the doubt. For instance:
David Bellavia (House to House, p. 44):
“I had done it to deny the father a chance to see his children one last time. The men I lost in Fallujah and all the good soldiers killed under my command had not been given the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones... I had denied him the last chance to say goodbye. For some reason, I felt a thrill of joy. It was something I had not wanted to become. They had made me this way.”
Henry Zou (Flesh and Iron, p. 192):
“He had done it to deny the father a chance to see his children one last time. The men he lost in Lauzon and all the good soldiers killed under his command had not been given the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones... Baeder had denied him the last chance to say goodbye. For some reason, Baeder felt a thrill of joy. It was something he had not wanted to become. They had made him this way.”
Beyond that, there were a number of other “liberties” taken. Zou’s character Sergeant Major Pulver was a clone of Bellavia’s Sergeant Major Faulkenberg, from descriptions of their demeanor and appearance to specific actions (like a sequence where he surrenders his weapon to arm a less-equipped junior soldier). Any claims of unintentional or inadvertent similarity would not be credible, and once the axe fell it fell hard.
The Black Library moved to blacklist Zou immediately, though in many ways corporate action is a bit like steering an oil tanker. As a result, Zou didn’t disappear from store shelves overnight, and some things that were in the works snuck under the radar.
In 2012, the Blood Gorgon cover art (featuring a Blood Gorgon legionary) was used for the 6th Edition Codex: Chaos Space Marines. The following year, the massive 40K anthology There is Only War released, with Zou’s Voidsong sitting happily between stories by Sandy Mitchell and John French hit store shelves, and then in 2014 saw the completion of Bastion Wars: The Omnibus. The ghosts linger even now, as you can still find a sample chapter of the offending novel on the Black Library website.
If ever Zou put pen to paper again he did so under a nom de plume, as nothing under his own name has ever appeared. A promising talent and bright future, cut short for committing literature’s greatest sin.
Sharing a Six-Pack with… John Sollitto!
The Six-Pack is an occasional Black Library Weekly tradition, with a Black Library author past or present sharing some of their personal book recommendations. The ask is simple: three books from the Black Library. Two books that aren’t. And then one book of their own!
LA-based John Sollitto’s recent trajectory through the Black Library has been a whistle-stop tour of the talent pipeline that is the Black Library’s short story system. His first story, Redemption through Blood, was part of the Daughters of the Emperor Week in July of 2024 before arriving in print the following July in Paragon of Faith and Other Stories. In my review I wrote the story was “an excellent debut for the writer, and I hope to see more of him in the Black Library in the future.”
I didn’t have long to wait.
That November, Sollitto’s story The Redoubt was contained within Death and Duty: An Astra Militarum Anthology. Another year, another incremental step in 2026 as he was included in another anthology, World Ablaze, but this one released in hardcover and with all-new stories from seasoned vets like Guy Haley, Robbie MacNiven, and Marc Collins.
Outside the Black Library, he’s also written a short story anthology3 called The Ones Who Remain, “that explores what happens when long forgotten grievances create real life problems.”
Here are John’s personal book recommendations!
Three Black Library Books He’d Recommend…
First and Only, by Dan Abnett. “I know I’m not shocking anyone here with this recommendation, but if you’d like a solid entry point into What Warhammer Is without submerging yourself in the minutia of the Horus Heresy, I can’t recommend this enough. Abnett is a master at his craft, and someone I view as a quality bar for the brand. If you like the show Band of Brothers you’ll love this. His characters are deep, the settings are varied, and the story itself has some good twists and turns to leave you guessing. Also, there’s a bunch more in the series if you end up enjoying it!”
Outgunned, by Denny Flowers. “First and Only is a good Old Guard Black Library rec, so I figured I’d also throw one in from the more recent years. I cannot speak highly enough about Denny Flowers’s work here. Lucille Von Shard somehow manages to avoid the trope I hate of ‘so good you have to put up with how much of a jerk they are’ characters, and Propagandist Simlex is a phenomenal perspective character to view her from. Maybe it’s the journalism degree that I’ve yet to dust off since I got it, but something about seeing the thinkings of a media professional in this universe tickles my brain. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book and anything Von Shard related if you’re a dogfight fan and a mystery lover.”
Starseer’s Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. “I hadn’t read much Age of Sigmar until very recently but boy howdy did I love Starseer’s Ruin. Tchaikovsky’s ability to weave varying perspectives around a common theme, give insight into each individual character through that, and tie it all together with a single plot that touches each of their lives is astounding. If you’re on the fence about AoS right now and not sure where to begin, pick this up. I can now confidently say I want to read anything by this author, as well as delve more into the races and realms that he’s written here.”
Two Non-Black Library Books He’d Recommend…
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman. “It’s been said that Grim-dark War Fiction starts here with The Forever War and I’d be hard-pressed to disagree with that. This is a rough read for those who are not prepared for it, but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I have. A bit dated with some of its topics and timelines (so come at it with an open mind), but still poignant in its themes and message, this book really is a time capsule that shows us the same things have always been on our minds, and war is perhaps the only constant we shall ever see.”
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. “I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of this book going into it, but much like The Forever War I find myself thinking about it long after I finished it. If you’re looking to read more diverse authors for different kinds of sci-fi, Butler is one of the masters who is always brought up for contemporary fiction. She has an incredibly evocative writing style and her characters possess a realistic depth that is, at times, uncanny and arresting.
“I genuinely wished some of the ideas and thoughts in this book were in non-fiction form for me to read just as an academic and philosophical exercise, but will gladly take them in the form of this great work. Another rough read, so gird yourself for it, but I think you’ll come out the other side changed for the better. Or, at the very least, thinking.”
And Finally, One of His Own Books He’d Recommend…
“This was hard to narrow down as I’ve just begun my journey with the Black Library and I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to do so. I think my short Rok Crackers in the latest World Ablaze anthology is one of my favorite things I’ve written. I had a blast working with The Steel Legion and getting a little more room to play with some new characters. I hope you all enjoy them!
“Buuuuuut my personal portfolio prior to working on Warhammer happens to include quite a bit of comics work! I recently have been working on the next instalment of my all-ages mech fighting comic Circuit Champ which I’m incredibly proud of. It takes a lot of influences from manga and my collaborator Brendan Albetski is knocking it out of the park with his unique style. I know it’s very different fare compared to the things I’ve recommended above, but maybe you’d like to take a chance on something new! Who knows? I’ve got other comics that might be more your speed if not, just ask. *Winkwinknudgenudgefollowmeonsocialmedia*”
Meanwhile, Back at the App
One of the big changes to the Black Library this year has been the rollout of the new app, accompanied by the end of support for the official website. When I talked about it this past February after the announcement, I referred to it as the “answer to a question no-one was asking.”
Three months on, I’ll admit my impression hasn’t much changed. Outside of claiming the raft of free books they offered to entice adoption at the outset, I haven’t been on it. Out of curiosity this week I logged in, and the first thing that jumped out at me was…
…sales!
That’s right, genuine, bonafide discounted goods and offerings. Previously these were a relative scarcity, with a “Book of the Month” offering and little else. These days in the app, they’ve gotten with the times and offered a number of books at half off or more4:
I Am Slaughter, by Dan Abnett
Soul Wars, by Josh Reynolds
Steel Tread, by Andy Clark
Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok, by Denny Flowers (review)
Levaithan, by Darius Hinks
The Fall of Cadia, by Robert Rath
Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, by Chris Wraight
Hallowed Ground, by Richard Strachan
Some good reads on there! Soul Wars comes up frequently as a “best-of” for readers new to the Age of Sigmar setting, and the audiobook of The Fall of Cadia holds firm as the best audiobook experience I’ve ever had. Pure cinema.
The discounts aren’t entirely uniform, but it looks like it’s mostly 50% off the eBook and 66% off the audiobook. Happy shopping!
Arrivals & Departures
Based on some feedback I’ve received, starting this week I’ll be covering books that have hit the bookshelves in addition to what’s coming up. While previously I’d focused more on what was right around the corner with Up for Preorder, Arrivals & Departures will also serve as a reminder to what’s been released this past weekend.
Arrivals
Nothing! Not only is it another Wallet Appreciation Week for us Black Library fans, but there was very little on offer at all this week. Though if you’ve been waiting for a French translation of Abnett’s Eisenhorn Omnibus, a winner is you!
Departures
Hive, by Dan Abnett. After a false start with the Limited Edition, the long-awaited little baby is all growsed up. Early returns suggest it’s a bit chewy with the early worldbuilding but worth powering through!
And that’s it for new books, a fairly quiet week.
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!
Tabletop Battles
It was a Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame weekend, and we announced the two winners of 2008. Let’s just say it was a(nother) good year for Dan Abnett.
Unfortunately, the website woes for TTB continue when it comes to polling integration, so the voting for the Class of 2009 will be hosted again at my Substack. PLEASE take a moment to cast your votes!
For Lore Friday, I reviewed Zardu Layak, The Crimson Apostle by Rich McCormick, a book with a lot of great ideas but somewhat uneven execution.
Sure it’s not Black Library, but I love to see more books getting the TTB treatment. My friend lynnding-library reviewed the Battletech story Ghosts of Timkovichi by Bryan Young.
Black Library Dispatch
I started a new series called Show and Tell, giving impressions and reviews for different WarhammerTV animated programs. In the crosshairs for the debut was 2023’s Iron Within, a cautionary tale of being careful of what you wish for…
For you RPG fans, my weekly column Warhammer RPG SITREP this week covered Cubicle 7 Games’ continuing on the interview circuit with an under-the-hood look at the Warhammer: The Old World RPG.
One more time, here’s the voting post for the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame Class of 2009. If you haven’t already, please take a minute to have your voice heard!
Finally, a slight change to my biweekly Hall Monitor series. These are pieces that act as “director’s cut” companions to the Hall of Fame articles, providing thoughts, reactions, and behind-the-scenes looks at how it all comes together. This week I looked at the sad decline of Warhammer Fantasy in the Black Library, well worth a read (if I do say so myself!).
Warhammer Community
The Pages from the Black Books series has finally touched on the Warmaster himself, examining Horus’s preparations for taking on Terra.
This year’s Warhammer Skulls fest is coming this week, highlighting the new and exciting in the world of Warhammer video gaming.
Around the Webway
So not exactly Black Library either, but Poorhammer released a ranking of every Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition Codex. I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for content like this.
The Lorebeards pod sat down to interview Mark Gibbons, Warhammer illustrator extraordinaire (and World of Warcraft, and…)
Our friends Jen and Keri at the WH40K Book Club tackled Chem Dog, by Callum Davis this week. (My review here as well).
I loved this from Arbitor Ian this week: Why is everyone in Warhammer so old? Seeing as how I can’t read a YA fantasy or sci-fi novel without feeling like a left-behind fossil, maybe that’s not such a bad thing?
And finally, on the reviewing front Arbitor Ian and Mira Manga took on Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Betrayer this week as well!
Quick Hits
The Guardian posted a wonderful obituary for Ian Watson (Inquisitor, Space Marine) this week. As one of the early forefathers of Black Library literature, it’s well worth a read- and thanks to Juliet McKenna (Fear Itself) for the share. (I reflected on his life in a previous Black Library Weekly here as well).
Carrie Harris (The Strength of Symbols, a Forbidden Meal) shared that she’s starring in Echoes under Ashwood, a “actual play meets audio drama podcast. It's a Gen X themed slowburn horror using Call of Cthulhu rules.” She plays a county coroner with a rebellious punk rocker past. Two episodes have been released, as well as some bonus content!
Jacob Peppers (Reclaimed Honour) has a newly-released boxed set comprised of the first three books of his grimdark fantasy epic, The Nightfall Wars. “They are called nightlings—creatures out of legend, hungry for blood, waiting just beyond the light. Once before, they nearly destroyed the world and were defeated only by warriors chosen and empowered by the gods themselves. Now, the nightlings have returned.” Best of all, it’s in eBook format for ten bucks.
Amanda Bridgeman’s Black Library novella Paragon of Faith has been shortlisted for a Tin Duck Award. This award highlights excellent in speculative fiction for writers from Western Australia. Best of luck, Amanda!
The upcoming fantasy novel by Mike Brooks, This is Where the Future Bleeds, has seen its release date pushed out a week to 7 July, and Brooks will be doing a brief tour in support of the book. If you happen to be near any of the stops, make sure to put that on your calendar!
May’s Black Library Giveaway
This month’s giveaway is a paperback copy of Ghoulslayer, by Darius Hinks, in celebration of my Heroes of the Black Library piece this month on Maleneth Witchblade. To enter, readers simply needed to comment about their dream team-up with Gotrek Gurnisson, and we had some terrific entries!
Andrew Wilmot had the entry I’d most love to read:
I’m going to go REALLY weird and say Grand Justice Gormayne.
If you didn’t know, Grand Justice Gormayne is a ghoul who is a bit more aware than most that he’s a ghoul, and has to hide these moments of lucidity from his fellow ghouls. He’s also described as a learned fellow and a scholar. This may be from a ghoul perspective, but maybe the man behind the delusion knows something Gotrek needs?
The obvious counterpoint is that Gotrek would just kill him without asking questions, but that is just a challenge to write around!
It’d be brilliant to get a more humanised portrayal of the Courts, teased a bit in Ushoran, and an opportunity to show how Gotrek reacts when presented with a monster he needs to not kill.
Of course, this month’s winner is randomly selected (I’m not a big fan of contests that make you do a dog & pony show for a chance to play), so using all the powers of randomness available to me I can announce that our winner is: Ullyses!
Congrats to all who entered, and we’ll have another giveaway in just a few weeks for June!
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
Armageddon: Season of Fire, by Jude Reid
Current PODs in Production
None
Upcoming in 2026
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!
Ironic foreshadowing alert.
See #1
Link provided to Amazon for convenience, but I always encourage buying through your local independent bookseller
I’m assuming these are broad-based promotions and not targeted to me as a specific user, so take this with a grain of salt if your discounts look different.
Unironically the old App was better because it can actually remember what sorting I had it on, secondly it didn't fucking wait for 2 seconds just for the app to log in to my account. Everytime I open this app it asks me "log in with warhammer.com" or "skip" and it takes it a while to load in to the main page.
Third, when you connect your car and phone by android auto (i got android so thats why i use) the black library app now shows up, the old app didn't. However the Black Library app on phone for some audio's don't read "the" at the beggining of a novel. So a audio drama like "The Art of Provocation" appears right under "Alpharius: Head of the Hydra" however on the car the Black Library app still counts "the" as a word so I was looking under novels start with "A" trying to find it until I realised it's under "T"
But these are minor issues compared to fucking price hikes. I live in Turkey so I am famous for having high inflation and terrible currency. But Black Library app always had the same prices for Novels and Audio dramas until like December when I started seeing novels in aggregious prices. Normally a novel would cost 120 liras but when I log in now what do I see 1760 liras for a audio novel. That shit is way too much. I built most of my library over this app and now it stagnated.
And it's like, why even bother with audio anymore, there aren't any new audio dramas. I loved them so much. Why not just buy your stuff from Amazon or your local hobby store if it's gonna be the same price or cheaper.
Since you mentioned the app, two things I like about it: the monthly discounted offerings and that we finally see publication dates for books (bafflingly missing from the old website).
However, the first point is nearly moot for me since the e-reader is probably the worst on the market? Gotta be bottom 3 at least. Zero incentive to switch from Kindle or Apple, even with a discount. I say nearly moot, because the audio discounts are good. Audio is audio.
That said, the publication dates are literally the only good thing about the app. It has the look and feel of an unfinished high school tech project. I thought there might be some improvement to the UI a few months in (or even just the way the content is [dis]organized) but no. I won't belabor with the list of literally 20 things that just plain suck about it. It's simply grossly disrespectful to fans/consumers (new and old) and truly mystifying how this is a rational move even from a purely financial perspective. Everything about Warhammer in 2026 looks almost impossibly cool, detailed, engrossing, aesthetically compelling, expensive as hell--except for the official storefront for the mountains of Warhammer fiction. Just embarrassing.