BrookM wrote:
Curious what the third story is that goes with the Vaults of Terra omnibus, I remember having read Argent and the Interrogation of <REDACTED>, but can't remember what the third one was and if I've read it or not.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
There were 3 Vaults of Terra books:

Carrion Throne (character intro)
Hollow Mountain (the big astronomicon outage)
Dark City (big demon siege of the Emperor's Palace)

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I don’t know about moving the plot forward, but I really enjoyed reading them. I’d say they’re worth picking up if you like grimdark Warhammer 40k fiction.

 Alpharius wrote:
Is it something worth picking up and reading?

And does it move the story forward at all, or do we end up basically right where we started, minus the death(s) of overall unimportant characters?

Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith (Limited Edition)


Whilst returning the legendary Sword of Saarim to its rightful place upon the necropolis world of Katerah, Aestred Thurga is ambushed by a cult of the Plague God that steals the blade for themselves. Horrified at her defeat, she plunges herself and her Adepta Sororitas companions into a brutal battle against the forces of Chaos that overwhelm the planet from within, in order to reclaim both the relic and her honour.

But when the billions of heroes laid to rest on Katerah begin to rise from their graves, Aestred must choose whether it is more important to defend the Imperium’s people or protect its history, and is confronted with an awful truth: sometimes, a Sister can fail her mission.

The Reliquant at Arms begins her most important mission yet in Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith by Danie Ware, releasing first in a gorgeous Limited Edition. This collector’s piece is signed by the author and is wrapped in a soft-touch cover with embossing on the front and gold foil on the spine and back, with printed page edges and a black ribbon bookmark to complete the package. It will be available while stocks last.*

First Marshal


When the sudden slaughter of a Freeguild marshal and his entire army casts a shadow over Hammerhal, Tahlia Vedra must leave her beloved Aqshy behind and step through the portal to Hammerhal Ghyra, where sinister plots are being forged by the Helsmiths of Hashut.

The spiteful Zharrdron aren’t the only problems she has to contend with, as the verdant side of Hammerhal is full of unfamiliar faces looking to take advantage of the First Marshal’s arrival, and Tahlia is all but a stranger in her own city. Uniting her people will be a battle in itself, and she doesn’t have the luxury of time – for the Helsmiths wield a power that will spell doom for Hammerhal and all who reside within it.

First Marshal by Evan Dicken is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Lioness of the Parch. It will be available to pre-order in hardback, eBook, and MP3 audiobook editions.*

The Witch Hunter’s Handbook


Written by Darius Hinks, The Witch Hunter’s Handbook sets out the requirements governing those Witch Hunters sworn to do Sigmar’s work in the Old World. The Six Holy Principles make up the original founding tenets of The Ancient Initiatic and Holy Order of the Templars of Sigmar – as recorded in Hieronymus Black’s Rules and Statutes.

Every member of the Holy Order is presented with a copy of this 96-page tome to remind them of these Principles and the duties required of them, and now you can own a perfect(ish) replica. This classic background book returns to the shelves with a fetching new cover, so all those fans of the Old World who didn’t pick up a copy previously can now get out there and hunt some witches for Sigmar.*

 Overread wrote:
Once again I'm baffled that another year passes and the fantasy showing from BL is so dire. They've got TWO settings with AoS and Old World - and we get two reprints with nothing new.

At the very least if they weren't doing new stuff they could have done a halfdozen of titles like 40K got.


Even if its slower sales you'd think the big celebration of the year; the biggest marketing focal point for your division would at least save up a chunk of fantasy material.

The planetary governor has fallen amidst scandal and treachery, and the city chokes under the oppressive austerity of Imperial life while roving Adeptus Arbites patrols enforce the Lex Imperialis without so much as a hint of pity. The newly crowned replacement has a lot to contend with – not least that they are an outsider to this rough and dogmatic city – and already whispers of rebellion reach the upper spires.

Who are the people planting seeds of anarchy beneath the sprawl of Sacramentus? Could they topple the new governor’s regime before it gets moving? Are they even the greatest threat lurking below?

Hive is coming out later this year as a two-book set, so keep your eyes trained on Warhammer Community to find out when it will be released.

 Ohman wrote:
New two part novel by Dan Abnett, Hive:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/wlaxvots/revealed-dan-abnetts-latest-novel-sees-a-hive-city-teetering-on-the-brink/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQhPWlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeLapDon-4ECUS683xKpRUhHPv1N9a-_dTzE3j2GLF2hSNmEVkwXK5tqMXkCM_aem_1Sesz4zQ3mxn_dckvJ8U5g

The planetary governor has fallen amidst scandal and treachery, and the city chokes under the oppressive austerity of Imperial life while roving Adeptus Arbites patrols enforce the Lex Imperialis without so much as a hint of pity. The newly crowned replacement has a lot to contend with – not least that they are an outsider to this rough and dogmatic city – and already whispers of rebellion reach the upper spires.

Who are the people planting seeds of anarchy beneath the sprawl of Sacramentus? Could they topple the new governor’s regime before it gets moving? Are they even the greatest threat lurking below?

Hive is coming out later this year as a two-book set, so keep your eyes trained on Warhammer Community to find out when it will be released.

 Overread wrote:
Hive Cities have always had huge open areas - heck areas of Necromunda have huge open seas within their depths.

Hive Cities have insane populations, but they are also insanely large structures even with a relatively "small" footprint.

There will be vast manufacturing rooms which tower over the slaving serfs; huge walkways and craped dense hives of homes and all.

Don't forget this is a structure so vast that whole eco domes and segments can collapse into the under-hive without the upper-hive noticing

Iracundus wrote:
A tapering cone of 10 miles high with a 10 mile base converted to metric units gives a volume of about 1091.23 cubic km.

Iracundus wrote:

 Overread wrote:
Hive Cities have always had huge open areas - heck areas of Necromunda have huge open seas within their depths.

Hive Cities have insane populations, but they are also insanely large structures even with a relatively "small" footprint.

There will be vast manufacturing rooms which tower over the slaving serfs; huge walkways and craped dense hives of homes and all.

Don't forget this is a structure so vast that whole eco domes and segments can collapse into the under-hive without the upper-hive noticing

Again those are vague statements that convey atmosphere but it doesn't hold up to scrutiny of the provided numbers.

Hive Primus on Necromunda, supposedly the largest of them all, is given in the Necromunda sources (picture on Lexicanum) as having a height of 10 miles. Its base is about that as well. Its population is not exactly given but in various online discussions has been estimated in the billions. So you're squeezing essentially the entire modern Earth's population into a ground footprint that is much less than the size of many modern cities. You are not going to get vast open seas or other open spaces with those kinds of numbers and that kind of volume, especially if the nobles in the spire get far more space to themselves.

A tapering cone of 10 miles high with a 10 mile base converted to metric units gives a volume of about 1091.23 cubic km. If this volume were to be evenly divided (which we know it is not because nobles have more) for a population of 8 billion (Earth's current population), that gives about 136.4 cubic meters per person. That gives each person about 4.6 x 4.6 x 6.4 m. This would actually be less since there would be space lost to things like pipes, service conduits, walk spaces, and other non-inhabited purposes. So that is why I stand by my assertion that the artistic depiction of hives in 40K is inconsistent with the other given details of hive cities. Either their physical size has to increase (I prefer the solar pattern hive rather than the termite tower model), and/or their populations have to decrease, in order to produce the kinds of landscapes and densities seen in the artwork.