“Do something you love,” the old adage goes, “and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
When we announced the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame last November, we had no idea how it was going to be received- only that it was an idea long overdue in the community, and since it had never been done before it was time someone gave it a go.
From where I’m sitting, quarterbacking the logistics of it, it’s been an absolute blast. I’m working with great people, enjoying seeing the discussion in the reading community, and getting a ringside seat week after week on the incredible, unfolding history of the Black Library.
I’m gonna miss all this once its done.
Now I guess technically, as long as the Black Library keeps printing books (and may that be as enduring as the Emperor), this project will never really conclude. But by the time 2026 comes to a close, we’ll have worked our way through the Black Library’s catalogue and caught up to the present day.
That’s what I refer to as the project “reaching maturity.”
In most halls of fame there’s a certain “cool-off period” between when a player retires from the sport and when they become eligible for induction to the hall. That helps ensure that their candidacy is both assessed dispassionately, removed from hype and sentimentality, as well as the full impact of the player is understood. I wouldn’t want to be doing a Readers’ Hall of Fame for 2026 at the start of 2027, right?
What that cool-off period for us in this project isn’t fully sorted yet, but will probably be either two or three years. That means the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame will eventually transition from biweekly to annually, though, likely becoming something of a Spring tradition on Tabletop Battles much like the Goonhammer Book Awards1 will be.
So I hope you’re enjoying it while it lasts this year, folks, because we certainly are loving the ride. And if you’re reading this, that means you probably are too- and thank you for helping make this project such a success!
The Vox Populi Top Twenties
So here are the updated Top Twenties for both halves of the Black Library.
Fantasy
I’ve been delighted to see Fantasy rage against the dying of the light. We all know that the entire line is about to be nuked from orbit, replaced by Age of Sigmar, and we’ve watched Fantasy seem to slip from contention for the Hall. But reports of its death have proved premature, with Mike Lee’s Nagash the Unbroken arriving in the star-studded Class of 2010, and Blood of Aenarion by the legendary William King now enshrined as of today.
However, no Fantasy title from the Class of 2011 managed to score high enough in the Vox Populi vote to knock anyone off its perch, and the table remains the same as it did two weeks ago here.
30K/40K
We did see a touch of movement on this side of things, though, as Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Blood Reaver landed at the #14 spot. That means we bid farewell to Dan Abnett’s Prospero Burns, which at 76% approval slips off the Top Twenty.
Hall Winners Leaderboard
Congratulations first to Chris Wraight, notching his first entry into the Hall of Fame- one that’s unlikely to be his last.
Second, William King and Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s wins help solidify them in a strong “second tier.” It’s amazing to think that just a couple years ago we weren’t even mentioning ADB, whose success mirrors the early days of Abnett and King.
Thanks for joining me on this look behind the curtains of the Hall, and if you haven’t already please make sure to vote your picks for the Class of 2012!
I’m using the old name of the site here deliberately. While we’re likely to change the name to the Tabletop Battles Book Awards, like the Oscars and Emmies we’d still like to be able to call them the “Goonies.”