A book doesn’t need a shiny, spectacular cover to make it a good book, but when you’ve got an artist like Neil Roberts doing the art for you, it’s certainly not a bad thing. Below is the latest example of Neil’s work which will form the cover for the forthcoming audio drama Garro: Sword of Truth.



When we showed James Swallow (author of the Garro series) the cover he had this to say:

Nice! Varren looks just like Gerard Butler, which is exactly what I was going for.

I’m really happy to be working with Neil Roberts on the Heresy series, as he absolutely gets what it’s all about. I like the way that Neil is able to produce the covers ahead of time, so that while I’m writing the story, I can have the cover art up on my wall and can draw on those images for inspiration.

One of the best things about writing for Black Library is that there is such a wealth of imagery to refer to, from John Blanche’s early concept drawings and the fantastic cover art, to the models and rules themselves. Whenever I go to the recording of an audio-drama, I take along my copy of the ‘Art of Warhammer 40,000’ (a now out of print art book compiled by Marc Gascoigne and Matt Ralphs) and show the voice actors who they are portraying. This really helps them develop the character, as they often don’t have much prior experience of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

If this has piqued your interest and you want to explore more art from Black Library, The Emperor’s Will, the first in a new series of art books compiled by John Blanche, is available to buy now.

automatonsleuth wrote:Nice wee bit of artwork there, although it irks me that Varren is still in World Eaters colours when he's meant to have repainted it ghostie grey. Still, it doesn't detract from the artwork, quite the opposite in fact (grey would ruin the colour contrast that's going on between Varren, his fellow astartes and the backdrop), so I'll forgive Mr Roberts... this time.

Jim Swallow wrote:OK; for everyone asking about chronological placement of 'Sword of Truth', it takes place *between* 'Oath of Moment' & 'Legion of One'.

Nathaniel Garro, knight errant and agent of the Sigillite, returns from the battlefields of Calth to find a new mission already waiting for him – a ragged fleet of Space Marines from several Legions lingers at the edge of the Terran system. With the presence of World Eaters and Emperor’s Children causing concern among the loyalist defenders and drawing a grim parallel with his own frantic flight, Garro must look beneath the obvious if he is to determine friend from foe...

A lot of listeners who heard Legion of One asked questions about Varren's appearance in the audio - I deliberately left his backstory unexplained, and the original intention was to explore his escape from the chaos of the dropsite massacre in a short story for one of the Horus Heresy anthologies. But after discussing it with editor Christian Dunn, we decided that it would make a cool audio drama, so Sword of Truth will be the first two-disc Horus Heresy audio, set chronologically between the events of the first and second Nathaniel Garro stories Oath of Moment and Legion of One.

reds8n wrote:

http://jmswallow.livejournal.com/139231.html

reds8n wrote: Certainly looks like it

Between this and a whispered tale involving both The Khan and Horus coming from Mr. Wraight seems the White Scars might be getting some attention at long last. To be fair I guess they'll feature a fair bit during the Siege saga.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An exclusive Black Library product to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Warhammer 40,000.

Check back on Saturday the 25th to find out more.

Created in the Emperor’s own image, the primarchs had long thought themselves to be princes of the universe and masters of their own destiny – they led the Space Marine Legions in glorious conquest of the galaxy, and no enemy of the Imperium could stand against them. However, even amongst this legendary brotherhood, the seeds of dissent had been sown long before the treacherous Warmaster Horus declared his grand heresy. Gathered within this anthology are four novellas focusing on some of the mightiest warriors and leaders that mankind has ever known – Fulgrim, Alpharius, Lion El’Johnson and Ferrus Manus – and the roles that they may have yet to play in a war which threatens to change the face of the Imperium forever.

Table of contents:

Pestilence – Dan Abnett
Wrath of Kharn – William King
Sacrifice – Ben Counter
Red Reward – Mitchel Scanlon
The Last Detail – Paul Kearney
At Gaius Point – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Mistress Baeda’s Gift – Braden Campbell
Survivor – Steve Parker
The Heraclitus Effect – Graham McNeill
Flesh – Chris Wraight
Even Unto Death – Mike Lee
The Carrion Anthem – David Annandale
Bitter End – Sarah Cawkwell
On Mournful Wings – Simon Spurrier
Ancient History – Andy Chambers
The Burning – Nick Kyme
A Good Man – Sandy Mitchell
Suffer Not The Unclean o Live – Gav Thorpe
Orphans of the Kraken – Richard Williams
Bloodline – James Swallow
Snares and Delusions – Matthew Farrer
The Curiosity – Dan Abnett
The Skull Harvest – Graham McNeill
Gate of Souls – Mike Lee
Xenocide – Simon Jowett

Temujin wrote:They were said to be included when the book was first introduced, but were dropped in favour of Space Batman by the time the book made it onto the Black Library site. However, the text on the site has indeed now changed to reflect the original lineup. I'm not sure what's been going on behind the scenes.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/the-primarchs.html

...and the roles that they may have yet to play in a war which threatens to change the face of the Imperium forever.

Fear of the Dark (Angels)


There can be no more noble and awe-inspiring sight than a fully armoured Space Marine soaring into battle on a jetbike, guns blazing and power sword held high, ready to decapitate the foes of the Imperium. In this new cover for Gav Thorpe’s forthcoming novel Ravenwing, we get to see Sammael, Master of the Ravenwing, doing just that. Well, who else would it be?
This is the first piece of art that Jorge Fares has done for Black Library. We’d say he’s off to a flying start (sorry, couldn’t resist). There is a great sense of scale in this piece. The warships soaring overhead and the pall of smoke shrouding the battlefield, so that all you can see is the flash of muzzle-fire and the indistinct shapes of tanks and explosions give an epic feel to the battle scene.

Although this book isn’t released until January next year, you can set a reminder now and we'll let you know when it's available to buy.

If you can’t wait that long for some Gav Thorpe Dark Angels action, we’ve got plenty to keep you going. The eBooks Angels of Darkness and Purging of Kadillus are available to download now, and the first part of Gav’s new Horus Heresy novella The Lion is featured in this month’s Hammer and Bolter, with part two in issue 18 - available to pre-order now.

Out now – Nocturne has been out since November and kicking celebrated ass as the finale to my Tome of Fire trilogy about the Salamanders. There are some cliffhangers and that’s because I am returning to the Chapter and some of the characters (plus new ones) in a new book around 2013.

Also… Dwarfs. If you can can’t wait for The Great Betrayal then you can always get hold of this omnibus edition by myself and fellow author Gav Thorpe. It contains three stand alone novels about the dwarfs (well, duh…), a short story by Gav and a cut down version of the old hard to find background book Grudgelore. Oh, and both authors have written an intro too.

Coming out soon – The Primarchs in which I have a novella ‘Feat of Iron’, which is about Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands and really delves into his psyche and how he sees himself ranked up against the other primarchs. It runs concurrently with the storyline of Promethean Sun but is in no way dependent on that story. There some pretty fething ! awesome revelations in it about Ferrus Manus and a hint about what’s to come in the next phase of the Heresy storyline too. It’s previewed at BLL and released ‘officially’ in June 2012.

Perfection is my fourth (ish) audio drama and it’s all about a warband of the Emperor’s Children called the Incarnadine Host. It’s a bit different as it’s kind of a battlefield mystery story but with lots of extremely visceral action, and a killer twist. The read through was done last week and now it’s off to be recorded. Expect it around October 2012.

And what I’m working on right now – The Great Betrayal. My first Time of Legends book set during the War of Vengeance has been a right bast to get into shape. With a six book series, my first experience of working in tandem with another author, and this being the first book has meant I’ve really had to find new levels of dedication and ingenuity to make this work. It’s now well on track, over 70,000 words down (out of a likely 120,000) and slated for a November 2012 release.

And soon to be on my writing desk – Tome of Fire. For all Salamander fans everywhere, this is an anthology of all my short stories for the Salamanders. It also includes the audio drama Fireborn and will contain a brand new novella (which is where the work comes from). Rare gems such as The Burning will also be in there (that was a chapbook story from BLL 2009 – I think) and I might see if Emperor’s Deliverance will fit in too (it’s more focused on Marines Malevolent but does have a rather cool cameo by Tu’Shan).

Scorched Earth is next up. This is a Horus Heresy novella that won’t be limited edition but will be a forerunner to a later novel I have in the works. It’s set in the aftermath of Isstvan V and features two Salamander characters searching for Vulkan’s body amongst the ruins and devastation. Expect a cameo from one of the Iron Hands in ‘Feat of Iron’ too… Oh, and the cover by Neil Roberts is absolutely stunning. Very moody and something rather different for the Horus Heresy, not really seen before.

That’s your lot. Further out is well… top secret at the moment. Updates will filter through BL’s site as usual.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Well let us know what you think after the adamantium balls.

Zothos wrote:I am truly saddened that the Kurze novella seems to have been dropped from "The Primarchs" lineup.

Anybody know why?

Aaron Dembski-Bowden + Night Lords = win