Introducing The Hall Monitor
Behind the scenes at the Black Library Readers' Hall of Fame
When I first conceived of the Black Library Hall of Fame, it was shocking to me that I couldn’t find any trace of it ever having been done before. It just seemed like one of those obviously fun ideas that someone would have picked up and run with.
Sure, Games Workshop gave it a shot back in 2016, but that was a very different creature. That “Black Library Hall of Fame” consisted each month of a Black Library writer selecting work to be entered. It sadly proved to be brief, lasting less than a year and recognizing only ten titles before being shuttered.
For the curious, here are the books:
August 2016 (David Guymer): The Ambassador, by Graham McNeill
September 2016 (Josh Reynolds): The Siege of Castellax, by C. L. Werner
October 2016 (L. J. Goulding): Know No Fear, by Dan Abnett
November 2016 (Neil Roberts): The Emperor’s Will (artbook)
December 2016 (Matt Renshaw, Black Library Audio Producer): Parting of the Ways (audio drama) by Chris Wraight
January 2017 (Chris Wraight): Riders of the Dead by Dan Abnett
February 2017 (David Guymer): Death of Integrity by Guy Haley
March 2017 (Ian St. Martin): Soul Hunter by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
April 2017 (Guy Haley): Headtaker by David Guymer
What’s interesting is that while this was a short-lived effort, there was a long memory of it within the Black Library itself. Note, for example, this mention of it from 2021 in a Warhammer Community article that mentions Death of Integrity.
It’s been a dream of a project to work on, and every installment brings for me the thrill of watching a sports match as I get to see which books take their worthy place in the Hall. With seven other members of the Hall of Fame Committee- plus all the readers who vote each round in the polls- I am just one voice amongst many and entry for most books is far from certain.
The Hall Monitor will be a new update feature here at The Black Library Dispatch, a place to put my own musings about the Hall and its progress that wouldn’t fit in one of the official Goonhammer articles. I intend to run them on the day after each Readers’ Hall of Fame article is published as a bit of added content for those who have a real interest in the project.
I’ll also look to update the “Top Twenty,” an unofficial look at which books got the highest percentage of positive support in the public vote. What can I say, I like stats-and-tables and it’s fun to see them evolve over time.
The Top Twenty
Following the Readers’ Hall of Fame piece we published on 21 March, here’s how the Top Twenty looked, ranked by percentage of positive votes.
Note that titles listed in bold are ones that have just entered the table, and there should be little surprise that Horus Rising (2006) came in as high as it did. Acclaim in the public vote was near-universal, and it’s incredible to see how dominant a writer Dan Abnett is, holding as he does four of the top five spots and twelve of the twenty overall.
Congrats are due as well to Graham McNeill, whose False Gods cracked the top ten.
Of course, with two new titles cracking the list that means that two other books were knocked off their perches. We bid adieu to His Last Command by Dan Abnett and Sandy Mitchell’s Caves of Ice, the second book in the Ciaphas Cain saga. Both terrific books, but just not able to hold on.
With this debut installment coming midway through a Hall cycle, look for the next one to drop this coming Sunday… and then they’ll be arriving every other week.
Have any questions or thoughts about the Hall? Drop ‘em in the comments and I’ll be delighted to throw them into the mix!