Haighus wrote:
I like that figure case with the warhammer design! Very, well, Warhammer-y. Reminds me of the older 40k rulebooks with a dirty great hammer on the front.

 Harriticus wrote:

 Enigwolf wrote:
Oh lord, we're up to 32 HH books now? That's 22 I need to catch up on...

None besides Fear to Tread, Betrayer, and maybe Vulkan lives have been worth reading since 2011ish.

 Enigwolf wrote:

 Haighus wrote:
I like that figure case with the warhammer design! Very, well, Warhammer-y. Reminds me of the older 40k rulebooks with a dirty great hammer on the front.

Indeed! Exactly what I was thinking! What was that, 4th ed?

 BrookM wrote:
Call me a heretic, I am looking forward to delving into the background of this reboot. Especially interested in finding out what Sigmar has been up to since he vanished.

Interview with Nick Kyme03/07/15
‘Deathfire’, book XXXII in the Horus Heresy series is here. If you pre-ordered, it’ll be winging its way to you, and the eBook and MP3 editions are available to download now. To whet your appetite, we rounded up Nick Kyme, author of this mighty tome, and asked him a few questions about the novel.

BL – Hi Nick! Thanks for talking to us. So… what is ‘Deathfire’ about then?

NK – It's really a direct sequel to ‘Vulkan Lives’ and ‘The Unremembered Empire’, but focusing on the Salamanders. The title refers to Mount Deathfire, the massive volcano on Nocturne. The Legion place a lot of spiritual significance in it, and I've also used it as a metaphor for a trial by fire.

In the story, the Salamanders decide to leave Imperium Secundus with Vulkan's body and strike out for Nocturne. It's a relatively small group of legionaries that make this arduous journey. Most are doing it because they want to bring Vulkan home and have him interred in the mountain, so he can be laid to rest. Others, a small number at first, believe that Vulkan can rise again and that he will be reborn in the mountain as the heartblood of Nocturne restores his life.

It's an odyssey story on the surface, but at its core it's about a father's relationship with his sons and how his death affects them in different ways, and how they deal with their grief.

Oh, and there's also kick-ass, fiery Salamanders action.

BL – How does the story fit into the wider Horus Heresy and Salamanders narratives?

NK – I've kind of answered this one already, but the story gets the Salamanders and Vulkan off Macragge, so it's an integral part of the Imperium Secundus arc. You'll also see how the three 'ruling' primarchs are managing the new empire. It picks up a lot of the dangling threads from Vulkan Lives too. Oh, and there's a secondary part for a certain maverick Ultramarine as he tries to find his place and his purpose in Guilliman's new order.


BL – How did you handle the Imperium Secundus setting, given that it’s an unexplored part of the Horus Heresy?

NK – With extreme care and attention. I had Dan's map of Macragge Civitas in front of me the whole time and while I've added a few specific locations, or rather fleshed them out, I made sure I stayed faithful to his original vision. This was the toughest part of the book to write simply because of the amount of reading and research involved.

I'd read ‘The Unremembered Empire’ already, but for pleasure; this time, I had to give it a much more analytical read. I was keen to give Imperium Secundus due time and service but also not to get bogged down in the setting.

BL – What’s your favourite line from the novel?

Ah, that would be telling. I can say it's the very last line in the novel, but I won't go any further than that. When you read it, you'll understand why…

BL – What’s next for the Salamanders? (If you can say!)

It's actually a shorter novel that goes off to the side slightly and picks up some threads left dangling from the Quick Read 'Artefacts'. It will seek to answer one of the fundamental questions about the Legion (and later the Chapter): what did happen to Vulkan's artefacts? I don't want to say too much more, because it'll spoil it.

T'kell is one of the main characters and there's some connective tissue to another story I wrote for the ‘Meduson’ collection called 'Immortal Duty'. It's one of the things I like to do with my writing, provide small (and sometimes extremely big) connections to other stuff I've done so it feels like it's all part of one interlocking story.

BL – Thanks Nick! To see what Nick’s talking about and discover what’s going on in Imperium Secundus and the next stage of Vulkan’s journey (and what that mysterious last line is!) order or download ‘Deathfire’ now.

 Accolade wrote:
I stumbled upon the ad for Deathfire on GW's website, and apologies if I a have misunderstood or it's been talked to death...

But WTF- why is this book $40?! Is this what they're charging for Black Library books these days?

... it’s hard to believe that the Horus Heresy series has been around almost ten years.

Knockagh wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
Call me a heretic, I am looking forward to delving into the background of this reboot. Especially interested in finding out what Sigmar has been up to since he vanished.

Me too. I'm quite excited about it. Im on book 3 of the end times and really enjoying it. I think Chris wraight is the best regular writer in the stock at the mo, with the others having gone on hols. He is also excellent at traditional fantasy. I just hope we don't loose the inn and wench with a strong arm proping up the bar feel totally.

Free Horus Heresy story!

In other news, we’ve a free Horus Heresy story for you.

Since the Warhammer app launched on Android just two weeks ago, the number of downloads has beaten all our expectations. More than 100,000 of you are now enjoying a daily dose of Warhammer news.

To celebrate, we’ve got a new, free Horus Heresy story by Aaron Dembski-Bowden starring the Night Lords. The only way to read it will be on the app, and it’ll only be available next week.

If you’ve yet to download the Warhammer App for your iOS or Android device, you can do so with the links below.

–MESSAGE BEGINS–
Lord Dorn,

Our attention must turn again to Mars. It is held by the enemy, and poses a clear and present danger to Terra. There is only one solution.

Mars must be purged. The Red Planet must burn.

The Sigillite
–MESSAGE ENDS–

The war for Mars is coming. Be amongst the first to find out more.

Chris Wraight is the author behind ‘The Gates of Azyr’, the very first Black Library story set in the Age of Sigmar. Being the lovely chap that he is, he sat down with us for a few minutes to talk about the book.

BL – Hi Chris! Thanks for talking to us. What was it like to write the very first Warhammer Age of Sigmar fiction from Black Library?

CW – About as daunting as you could imagine! As with the End Times, I was writing in parallel with the Studio developing background, all in deadly secret, and it was initially a challenge to get the whole 'feel' of the new world and its denizens. Thankfully there was lots of superb artwork available to look at, which was invaluable, and I got the chance to see some of the models and chat to the world's designers ahead of time. I suspect that, just like Warhammer did, the world of the Age of Sigmar will evolve as the setting beds in, but it was a fascinating experience to help start it moving.

BL – How did you approach writing the Stormcast, a brand new faction?

CW – The Stormcast Eternals really are like nothing from the old Warhammer world. You could perhaps say there’s a bit of warrior priest, crossed with a high elf aesthetic, mixed in with some Bretonnian, but they're essentially a complete departure. There might be some Warhammer 40,000 inspiration there, but I tried not to make that too literal. Stormcast Eternals are mortal and fallible in a sense that Space Marines aren't, for example, despite their elevated status. As hopefully comes across in the story, they don't really know who they are yet – they're brand new, thrown into a world that has never seen anything like them before. They'll change things, and they'll be changed in turn.

BL – Which characters were the most enjoyable to write, and why?

CW – I probably enjoyed writing about the hapless mortals in the Realm of Fire best, as they're really our eyes into the new and terrifying world of Aqshy. Although they're one of the first things we see in the book, they're not the stars – the Stormcast and the Goretide are the heroes and villains. So I'd go for Ionus Cryptborn as the most fun to write. He's really intriguing, and I hope we'll see his story develop, as I'm sure there's lots of dark corners in his psyche to unlock…

BL – Is there any more Warhammer Age of Sigmar on the horizon from you?

CW – Right now I'm very busy writing a Horus Heresy novel that follows on from ‘Scars’. That'll keep me fully occupied for a while, so I'm not really looking beyond that at the moment. I'd love to go back to the Mortal Realms when the schedule allows, but in the meantime I'll be looking forward to seeing what other stories will be coming out in due course – there are many more in the pipeline, so it'll be fascinating to see where the setting goes.

BL – Thanks, Chris. There are indeed many more Warhammer Age of Sigmar stories coming soon, but there’s no better place to start than ‘The Gates of Azyr’, which (as Chris noted) establishes the world and sees the Stormcast Eternals battling in the Mortal Realms for the first time. The eBook will be available to download from midnight, and if you prefer a dead tree version, you can order the Limited Edition now!

THE STORY
Orius Adamantine, Lord-Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar, leads a ferocious attack on the Tephra Crater to unseat the dread lord Anhur of the Bloodbound. In his path lies the Mandrake Bastion, a fortress saturated with dark magic. Succeed here and the Adamantine Warrior Chamber will have a vital foothold in the ongoing war against the Chaos forces seeking to open the Black Rift of Klaxus!

READ IT BECAUSE
The Stormcast Eternals ride the lightning into the Realm of Fire to stop the followers of the Blood God from opening the Black Rift of Klaxus. The first part of a serialised novel, this introduces us to the Adamantine Warrior Chamber of the Hammers of Sigmar, and shows the epic scale of the war for the mortal realms.

Free story: Aaron Dembski-Bowden speaks12/07/15
We’ve mentioned that you’re getting a free Horus Heresy story, right? Beginning tomorrow (and for one week only), you’ll be able to read ‘Massacre’ by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, a brand new serialised story ONLY available here on the Warhammer app. Aaron kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the tale for us, so without further ado…

BL: Hi Aaron. Thanks for talking to us, and thanks for writing the first ever app-exclusive story. The first thing everyone will want to know: what exactly is ‘Massacre’ about?

ADB: It's a vignette look into what Talos and the Night Lords’ Tenth Company got up to during the Horus Heresy. Just a glimpse here and there, to answer some of the bajillions of questions I still get asked by readers who dug the Night Lords series and want to know what the atmosphere among the characters was like back then. You see some of the Siege of Terra in flashbacks during the novels, but this was a chance to dial it back before even then.

BL: Sounds like we’ll get to see some of the characters from the Night Lords trilogy then?


ADB: Several, in their Heresy-era incarnations. Malcharion is still in command of Tenth Company. The Exalted is just ‘Sergeant Anrathi’. Talos is an Apothecary and is on the verge of suffering his first vision. Cyrion is still a git. You know the score.

BL: Why is this a must-read for fans of both the Horus Heresy and the Night Lords?

ADB: The connective tissue. I tried to frame it as a reflection of the visions Talos sees in the future: fragmented and torn, but with insight into other characters lurking amidst the chaos. I'm a big believer in not wanting to reveal too much about what my Warhammer 40,000 characters did long ago, but there are some narrative beats here that bind the story to the series in some subtle (and hopefully interesting) ways. Vignettes let you glance back to characters' origins without ruining the mystery.

BL: And what’s your favourite part of ‘Massacre’?

ADB: I think it's cool that we see Talos and First Claw the moment they got the Legion-wide message from Sevatar calling all of the Night Lords to Isstvan They're still licking the relatively fresh wounds from annihilating their home world, Nostramo. Really though, my favourite part is that connective tissue: the last scene (and the build up to the very last line), which is a little like holding up a dark mirror to the opening scene of the novel series. It ties in pretty firmly to what's destined to happen to them all 10,000 years later.

Thanks, Aaron. You’ll be able to start reading ‘Massacre’ tomorrow. In the meantime, you can catch up with what Talos, Cyrion and the other characters did after the Horus Heresy in the Night Lords Omnibus, and see some of that connective tissue Aaron was talking about.