Hey folks! You might have noticed this week’s column has dropped significantly later in the day than usual. Between the drive back and an all-day hockey tournament for three of my kids yesterday, writing time was unusually scarce. Normal broadcast service is expected to resume next week, thanks for your patience!
This past Thursday, my wife and I bid a farewell to Texas. We’d been in Houston the better part of two weeks this time around, just the two of us. With our five kids back home in school, my mother kindly came down from Connecticut to quarterback things there. We hadn’t intended to be there so long; initially it was just for the third round of chemotherapy in her clinical trial, but when they noticed the cancer was spreading to her bones they recommended we start another round of radiation therapy immediately1.
The final rug-pull came at the tail end of our stay, when we were advised that she was being removed from MD Anderson’s clinical trial. The results weren’t what we were all hoping for, and their recommendation was that she seek hospice care and prepare for end of life surrounded by family and loved ones.
Knowing it was the last time we’d be in Texas, we took a small detour on the way home and checked out the Warhammer Store & Cafe in Grapevine.
Heard it Through the Grapevine
The store is Games Workshop’s flagship location in North America, closer in many ways to Warhammer World in Nottingham than the small Warhammer stores most of us are more familiar with2.
Here are a few of the things I noticed from my long-awaited visit.
It’s Smaller on the Inside
The first thing that really surprised me is how much smaller it was than I expected. I’m not sure what I’d built up in my head, but in terms of square footage its only about the equivalent of four or five of the standard retail stores. That sounds like a lot- and it is- but about half of it is taken up by playing space.
They Have (Almost) Everything
That said, they have a ton of product. It felt like they had at least one of everything currently available for retail, as well as lots of things that are typically website-only such as the resin Primarch kits, Forge World goodies, and Limited/Special Editions of Black Library books.
One of the things I was delighted to pick up was the 30th anniversary reprinting of the original Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader rulebook. I’d understood that these were exclusive to Warhammer World (and a wide-release print on demand in 2023), so finding them here in the wild was an unexpected treat.
It’s a Museum!
Under ordinary circumstances I could have spent the day there taking it all in. Multiple glass cases containing so much of the history and lore of the game. Dioramas, replica displays, statuary… and on the walls throughout the store were mounted some of the different model boxes throughout the years, labeled to indicate when it was released.
Here, too, the feeling lingered that this should be bigger. More shelves! More displays! More history! I know that retail realities mean that square footage needs to be earning its own keep, but a fella can dream, right?
Note in that first picture the Limited Edition of Robert Rath’s Fall of Cadia, too. You love to see it!
Books Need More Love
In the above photos is the entirely of the Black Library stock. Considering that about half of each bookshelf is taken up with non-Black Library product, this is about the same amount of available product as my local Warhammer store. That seems a touch light, but again retail realities rule the roost. There are only so many books that are in print at a given time, and if they have most or all of them available what more could I ask?
Don’t be fooled by the seemingly impressive stock of deluxe editions- almost all of these were copies of just one book, Danie Ware’s Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith.
The third picture is a display that showcased the Black Library books. Thus far when I’ve noted how the store fell short of my hopes, they’ve been relatively fanciful things (more square footage, more museum displays, more books). This, however, is the one thing in an otherwise wonderful experience that I took issue with. These books deserve more love than they’re being shown here. For starters:
Center the books attractively. This looks disordered.
Print out the back-of-book summary for each book in the display. Use a simple laminate or thicker stock for rigidity, then cut cleanly and display next to each book like they do in museums.
Stick a couple miniatures in there next to the relevant books. Put an Orikan, the Diviner box next to The Wicked and the Warped, for example (a box of five Praetorians might be a little too large for Tomb World here). Tie the paper to the plastic for the consumer.
There’s a Cafe
It’s a long drive back to Kentucky, so while we were tempted to enjoy some delights from the Cafe in the interests of expediency we took a raincheck. Still, I love the theming here and it’s too awesome not to share. Huge kudos to the chalk artist(s) who made this signage look amazing. Pity the pastries got lost in the Warp.
And finally, in answer to the question everyone wants to know but is afraid to ask…
Yes, Even the Bathroom is Themed
Stand at the men’s urinal and look slightly up, and this life-sized happy chappy is greeting you with an exhortation from the Litany of… ahem… Accuracy3.
Thanks to the staff at the store for making us feel welcome and right at home. It was a wonderful detour to break up the long trek, and a much-needed bit of joy to carry with us.
Commemorative Modeling
I’ve often talked about how I like to visit Warhammer or gaming stores in my travels and pick up a miniature as a little souvenir of my trip. Throughout my home office and Museum are a number of such displays, small figures of plastic that carry an extra bit of sentimental resonance. Most of them sweet, such as the Clan Rats my youngest daughter has loved building with me… others significant in a different way, like the Catachan Colonel I picked up on the day I found out I’d been laid off of my 20-year career last May.
I recall too the first time I was inspired to make a model diorama, after I’d read Jude Reid’s Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith. Vahl on the one side, the kickass two-headed Heldrake on the other. Of course, it’s a reach that well exceeds my kitbashing grasp, but my wife quietly held onto that (for almost a year!) and last Christmas I found two Heldrake kits under the tree.
Warhammer has been in so many ways my own place of refuge during my wife’s cancer battle over the last couple of years. I can get lost in a book or building a mini at my desk for a few minutes here and there when I need a little distraction or time to re-center, and she’s always been very supportive.
As I walked the Grapevine store’s huge inventory on Friday, I didn’t know what I wanted to get to commemorate my visit. I just knew that I felt moved to pick up one model, one I wouldn’t build right away. Perhaps, God willing, one I’d never have to build at all. But one that- if that awful day arrived as it may well do soon- I’d allow myself to get lost in some evening after the kids were all in bed and my heart was especially heavy.
With the little energy she had expended and her resting in the car, I soon found it.
For now, may the dust it gathers be abundant.
The Raldoron Reschedule
Some interesting news this week on the books front, with Games Workshop springing a surprise change on us for the Special Edition release of Guy Haley’s Raldoron: Revenant.
Rather than being offered as originally scheduled this past Saturday with the other preorders, the preorder window for the Special Edition only was moved to this coming Wednesday at 3pm BST (that’s 10am EST for me). This is a global window, so wherever you are in the world that’s when you’ll hear the crack of the starter’s pistol.
While this isn’t entirely unprecedented- you may recall that Era of Ruin had a similar, special preorder window in June of 2025, it’s certainly curious for a couple of reasons.
First, with no slight intended to Mr. Haley, Raldoron: Revenant is merely part of the Horus Heresy’s Character series rather than the mainline Siege of Terra book that Era of Ruin is. Special Editions of Character series books have generally seen demand somewhat lower than the absolute frenzy mainline Horus Heresy/Siege of Terra books have commanded.
Second, the Black Library turned right around and announced it would be doing the same for Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom. Same day of the week, same start time, just one week later. Whether this is a temporary measure or the sign of things to come, I can only turn to the late, great Sir Ian Fleming:
“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”
As you’d expect, the change hasn’t been universally embraced by the Black Library community, with concerns raised including:
Dismay around the inconvenient timing of the window.
The need for some purchasers to have to go through two preorders in a week to get everything they want, rather than just the one.
The standard edition being offered before the Special Edition. For those who have been in the habit of buying a standard hardcover only if they weren’t able to secure a deluxe edition, now they may have to spend more to ensure they at least get one copy of the novel.
These are valid concerns, though there were some opinions in the other direction as well including:
The new preorder window actually being more convenient for some than before.
The hope that this will help ensure greater platform stability for the many Warhammer fans not always interested in the deluxe edition Black Library offerings.
The appreciation that Games Workshop is at least taking some action to help the public’s buying experience, rather than just adopting that ‘classic definition of insanity’ of doing the same thing every week and hoping for different results.
While I’m not personally adversely affected by the change4, I do have two concerns about this apparent new policy.
First, it’s only treating the symptom. This isn’t a product scheduling issue, it’s an ecommerce architectural one. Despite having a revenue and customer base other companies would kill for, Games Workshop has a longstanding habit of adopting fairly miserly technological solutions. One need only look at the transition to the Black Library app for evidence that robust, full-featured enterprise solutions aren’t the ones that appear to be getting greenlit by the C-suite in Nottingham.
Second, it’s another messaging fail. This one really boggles the mind sometimes, because corporate messaging is not only vital but generally easier to get right than to screw up. Repeated, last-moment changes in product release strategies suggest a lack of competence and/or coordination on the part of the planning team, and while the community would never be fully happy with their cheese being moved when it comes to preordering, a longer lead time to adjust and shape the messaging was likely there.
People wouldn’t automatically celebrate a message that noted, “starting in 2027 we will be having special preorder windows for deluxe Warhammer goods in order to balance demand,” but they’d certainly appreciate having time to adjust. And c’mon, being realistic you could squeeze some additional goodwill even out of that by adding, “…as well as address community concerns around multi-ordering and ‘scalper bot’ behaviors, ensuring everyone has a better chance of getting the products they want on the day of offer.”
There you go, James Workshop, the fruit of my MBA degree offered to you, free of change. Messaging is an opportunity to shape consumer expectation, and a failure to do so suggests- whether with a basis in truth or otherwise- that consumer expectation is not a priority.
I know the more cynical and jaded amongst us will disagree, but I genuinely believe that it is. Game companies have traditionally been a bit more susceptible to being steered by product experts rather than businesspeople. This is occasionally useful, such as in the case (I would argue) of pre-HASBRO Wizards of the Coast. More often, though, it’s closer to the late, great (pre-Wizards of the Coast) Tactical Studies Rules (TSR).
So it’s not that I think that Games Workshop holds its customers in contempt. Rather, I think it’s more the case that they just don’t always know how to effectively show us the opposite.
Good messaging, James, is a fantastic place to start5.
Turning Over a New Leak (Redux)
Last week you might recall we highlighted a listing on Vinted for an apparent leaked copy of James Swallow’s Flight of the Eisenstein, as part of the Horus Heresy Saga reissues. We’ve had a second such sighting in the wild, this time a completed eBay auction. Full credit to eagle-eyed Calum Mills in the Black Library Nutters Facebook Group for the catch, it’s uncertain if this represents a second, unrelated listing or simply the Vinted purchaser (who paid just £3 for it) flipping it for immediate profit.
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
There’s plenty to talk about here this week, with another trio of new novels teased on Warhammer Community! I’d just gotten used to these dropping on Wednesdays when last week the piece came on a Thursday. Guess it’s not as predictable as I’d thought, but new book teasers are always welcome! First, let’s see what’s going up for preorder this Saturday.
We’d had a little warning in the community about this one coming, but thrilled to see it drop so soon. Richard Swan has penned a number of short stories for the Black Library, including Ash and Steel and Tears of Raphaela, and now makes his novel debut. Interestingly, this one appears to be in hardcover despite the Astra Militarum Novel series being first-release in softcover, and goes up for preorder this Saturday.
The 2002nd Cadian Mechanised Regiment has been sent to retake a fallen shrine-city on the planet Nymea. Can Colonel Gabriel ‘Venom’ Velterson overcome the toxic light of mysterious blue star, the endless heresy broadcast over the hijacked vox-network, being quarantined by the Inquisition, and having his forces squandered by capricious Nymean commanders?
Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom by Marc Collins has arrived, hot on the heels of his recent appearance on Scribes & Scriveners on WarhammerTV. This arrives in standard hardcover, and will preorder as normal this coming Saturday.
Driven from Chogoris, Huron continues to bait the White Scars throughout the burning ruins of the Yasan Sector, yet as his schemes and insults threaten to ensnare the sons of Jaghatai, a new threat emerges. Out of the tumult of the Cicatrix Maledictum, the Great Devourer pours into Huron’s domain. The Tyranids threaten not only his war, but all he has built since the fall of Badab.
On the other hand, as noted earlier the Special Edition of the book- and my word they’ve outdone themselves on the design of this one- will be offered in a special preorder window the following Wednesday, 09 September at 3pm BST.
Next, here are the two from Warhammer Community’s article on Thursday (the third one was Voice of Command, but that went straight from teaser to preorder in nearly the same breath.)
First up is the newest from Dark Coil author and Black Library Readers’ Hall-of-Famer Peter Fehervari (Fire Caste, Genestealer Cults), Cold Covenant!
After months stationed on a remote planet, the 27th Halgarth Brine Dogs are finally due to depart for a new war zone. However, upon discovering they are bound for a death world, four Brine Dogs conspire to desert – a decision which sets off a spiral of tragedy and terror that will cast a long shadow, for the frozen world they’re on harbours a primal darkness.
Finally, we see another novel debut coming this time from Russell Zimmerman, with Auxilia. Zimmerman was a two-time winner in 2025’s Goonhammer Book Awards, for Best Black Library Debutant6 (for his Death Guard story Seven Ships) as well as Best IP Tie-In Novel (non-GW)7 for BattleTech’s Violent Inception.
Auxilia follows a fresh-faced Cadian Castellan who is forced to take command of a ragtag auxilia unit of abhumans, drawing the ire of his callous – and frankly murderous – Commissar, all while civil war erupts around him. Will his first command also be his last?
Finally for those abroad (or who just like to practice their language skills), The Relentless Dead by Steve Lyons will be available in both German and French, and Apostle by David Annandale will be released in French as well.
Departures
Plenty of stuff now available to buy in the bookstores this week! The latest in the Horus Heresy Saga, Ben Counter’s Galaxy In Flames, released in both Special Edition and regular hardcover, while False Gods by Graham McNeill came out in Saga paperback.
For the fantasy side of things, Blood of the Godeater by Noah Van Nguyen dropped in standard hardcover, while the newest collection, Witch Hunters: The Omnibus, by Nick Horth and Richard Strachan will keep readers busy for some time to come!
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!
Warhammer Wordforge
So this isn’t the first time I’ve written about last week’s visit to the Grapevine store. I had a few more observations from a role-playing game perspective in last week’s Warhammer RPG Weekly.
For the Wednesday feature, Audio Impressions was revisiting the world that was, taking on the second book in the Malus Darkblade series, Dan Abnett and Mike Lee’s Bloodstorm.
Tabletop Battles
No Lore Friday this week- I’m still playing catch-up on my reading- but Lynn had a fantastic BattleTech introductory lore primer I’d definitely recommend to anyone curious about the setting or (like me) looking to catch up after years away.
Warhammer Community
The Pages from the Black Books series was a big one last week, with a “bumper-size” treatise on the ‘Hidden War’ between the Imperium and daemonic manifestations of the Warp. Fascinating!
In case you missed it when it was announced, there was also a reminder piece this week about the changes to the Warhammer+ subscription, including getting two miniatures as well as a yearbook.
WarhammerTV (paywalled)
Scribes & Scriveners is back! Following the recent interview with Marc Collins (Krakenblood, Eidolon: The Auric Hammer), they’re sitting down with Mike Vincent (The Remnant Blade, Helbrecht: Sin of Hope) in tomorrow’s episode.
Around the Webway
Arbitor Ian and Mira Manga are back with the latest episode of their Book Club! This time around, they’re taking a look at Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Day of Ascension.
Meanwhile, Jen and Keri of the WH40K Book Club checked out Justin Woolley’s Da Freebooterz Code, with a special nod of appreciation to Harry Myers for his audiobook narration. “No one brings voice to the orks like this guy.”
The Fluffenhammer gang tried something a little different this week. They regularly do deep dives into Warhammer Monthly, but this time it’s a look at Marvel’s Marneus Calgar comic!
Hachette has launched its newest subscription Warhammer magazine, this one for the Age of Sigmar. Spearhead follows in the footsteps of Warhammer 40K’s Combat Patrol, offering four issues a month with loads of miniatures, lore, and even stories at a not inconsiderable discount from the usual retail price for the models.
Finally, over at my local watering hole r/BlackLibrary, u/Own_SD conducted a reader poll pulse-check to see what the top frustration was for the subreddit’s many residents regarding the Black Library. Would you be surprised to learn it was scalpers? Anyone?
Cold Open Stories
This week’s featured story is The Last of Vireshan, by Alexander Hamilton. “Ashur is the last of his line, clinging on by a thread to the life he once has, and the Imperium he once served. But the Heresy has blurred the boundaries between alliances and factions, and in its ragged aftermath, dogma burns away whatever mercy might have existed before. Clarity is now found in the barrel of a gun.”
Quick Hits
Here’s this week’s feelgood story from around the Black Library world. David Annandale (The Pyres of Armageddon, Apostle) attended the store anniversary celebration at the Warhammer store in Winnipeg, and in appreciation for all his support over the years the store made a special Commissar Yarrick desk display for him. This checks all my boxes, from the blending of plastic miniatures with the metal coins for display, right down to celebrating a Black Library author. Bravo, Winnipeg!
Pour one out for BlackLibrary.com; the often frustrating but always indispensable website goes forever dark tomorrow, having been replaced by the Black Library App. Farewell, sweet prince, so long and thanks for all the fish!
The subject of whether or not a writer is well-served by reading the reviews of their books is one that comes up regularly. Here’s a wonderfully candid take from Justin D. Hill (Hell’s Last, Storm of Damocles) on what he’s seeing come back for his latest, Bjorn, the Fell-Handed.
Anna Stephens (Gothgull Hollow, Trisethni the Unseen) has a new fantasy romance novel releasing this October, The Sport of Wings. “Ogawa Ryota, disgraced son of the famous Scarlet Triple dragon-racing stable, has one year to prove he can make it on his own. Keaton Merriwether, petty criminal and illegal night-race jockey, has only ever wanted to race dragons, any way she can. Together, they make up the sport’s newest, smallest stable, determined to take on the competition’s greatest dragons and wealthiest owners.” Check out her latest piece for the cover reveal as well as the book’s opening chapter!
Andi Ewington (Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand, Fire and Fungi) was delighted to share that his story, Amok, will be the cover story for the next issue of 2000AD magazine. Congrats, Andi!
Carrie Harris (A Forbidden Meal, The Strength of Symbols) has written a short story for the Zeo Genesis game, Hound of Fortune. A futuristic, sci-fi skirmish game, Zeo Genesis counts Warhammer notables such as Andy Law (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition Rulebook, Ubersreik Adventures) and Black Library Readers’ Hall-of-Famer Gav Thorpe (Kill Team, Luther: First of the Fallen) amongst its editorial team.
Humble Bundle has a massive drop of Warmachine fiction on offer, called “Tales from the Iron Kingdoms.” There are some familiar names amongst the long list of authors, including Richard Lee Byers (The Enemy Within), Matt Forbeck (Sudden Death, Blood Bowl), Hall-of-Famer C. L. Werner (Grey Seer, Blood Money), and Dave Gross (Mourning in Rainhollow). Benefiting the charity Child’s Play, it’s available for one more week!
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
Helbrecht: Sin of Hope, by Mike Vincent
Cold Covenant, by Peter Fehervari
Auxilia, by Russell Zimmerman
Current PODs in Production
Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition)
Upcoming in 2026
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, 9/12)
Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom, by Marc Collins (hardcover, Special Edition, 9/198)
Voice of Command, by Richard Swan (hardcover, 9/19)
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!
For newer readers, here’s a bit of context.
This sentence will need a bit of updating in a year’s time, but for now it’s accurate.
In other words, don’t piss on the floor, troopers.
Yet. I reserve the right to update my opinion after this Wednesday’s foray.
My dance card is pretty open right now, James, feel free to have your people reach out to my people!
Shared with Avalon Irons for Imperfect Engines
Shared with Bryan Young for Outfoxed
With the split preordering window, I’m not 100% on the delivery date for the Special Edition.
My thoughts and prayers going out to you and your family.
May that "Lady of Grief" model remain un-built indeed... Wishing you all, the best Jay!