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Started on the Magos, quite a lengthy foreword there, but at least we now know (unless it was already mentioned aeons ago) that after Penitent the last book in the Bequin trilogy will be called Pandaemonium, whenever he gets around to them, as they're still in the waiting room awaiting their turn in the writing queue.

Also decided to go through them in order, though I will be skipping the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogy, but kudos for the table of contents giving a recommended reading order and pointing out what novel to read when.

 Yodhrin wrote:
Really? That's surprising, I've yet to read any WHF novel by CL Werner I didn't like. I'm tempted to excuse the author since it's an End Times book and they're all garbage because "wrap up an entire setting with 30 years of history and dozens if not hundreds of beloved characters in half a dozen novels kthxbai" is perhaps the most ludicrous brief ever given to any group of authors. Though is it not five novels? Daemon's Curse, Bloodstorm, Reaper of Souls, Warpsword, and Lord of Ruin all seem to have that Abnett/Lee pairing as author.

I too blame the whole End Times debacle - and would not be surprised if the Deathblade book was a completely different book that got a ”search and replace” treatment in order to be rebranded into a Malus novel.
To quote a review on Amazon: ”A pathetic end to a great series.”

Oh, and I actually recently bought the Bloodwalker Malus short too see if CL Werner had improved his Malus-writing. It was OK, way better than Deathblade - but still miles from the brilliance provided by the original authors.

Sorry about the confusion caused, I was referring to the Chronicles (Omnibus) book one (The Daemon's Curse, Bloodstorm and Reaper of Souls) and book two (Warpsword and Lord of Ruin) as well as the Darkblade graphic novel, all three (or six if bought separately) are great.

 BrookM wrote:

On another note, has anyone bought the postcards?



If so, any comments on them? Seeing some of the covers listed makes me feel somewhat nostalgic and maybe turn it into a scrapbook project.

I didn't even see these when I made my last BL order so I picked up a set while I was in WHW on Sunday for a game. Its a really big stack of postcards as you'd expect. The print quality is decent but not amazing, I could see a picky person not being happy with them as they aren't quite as sharp or detailed as the modern dust sleeves.

Cheers for the pic!

I may pick these up later this month, as I am a sucker for good art and it looks like there's also some of the older pre "Nyeeeeeeeeeeeeh, everything is BAD NOW" cover artwork is also included there. Good bit of nostalgia really. So doing a hobby scrap book now.





Finally reached the main course of the Magos, namely the Magos novel itself! Though reading up on the older "domestic 40k" stories was fun as well, they've aged well and made me feel a bit stupid that when re-reading Playing Patience I missed how she got her surname the first time around.

Also finally got to read the Keeler Image, which was good, if a bit disgusting.

https://www.blacklibrary.com/coming-soon/june

june releases.

Some good stuff there



read a couple and really enjoyed



Also looks interesting

What a terrible book to mark the 50th book of the HH:

Black Library wrote:Finally, all of Nick Kyme's shorter Salamanders stories – a novel, two novellas and two short stories – are collected together into a numbered volume in the series. Dive in and get lost in the fiery action.

Said no one ever, not even his mom.

Heh.

Lots of pauldrons and names with lots of apostrophes - look out!

Vulkan lives! Yadda yadda.

Wrapped up the Magos and feeling sad now, it'll be quite some time until the next installment of the Bequin trilogy will be upon us.

Do we even have a rough estimate for when that might actually show up?

As of the foreword, which was written around August of last year IIRC, they are both still in the "waiting chamber" awaiting their turn to be written. Gaunt's Ghosts is up first with its final(?) arc.

For those interested in the two Tau e-shorts that have just gone up on BL, please be aware that they were already in the Legends of the Dark Millennium collection "The Tau Empire". I nearly bought the damn things again.

The Titan's Bane page has finally got an audio preview up, just days before going up for pre-order: https://www.blacklibrary.com/coming-soon/march/titans-bane-mp3.html

Don't know if this is widely known or bothers anyone but a lot of the HH hardbacks for the older releases are no longer appear to be on sale.

I only discovered this as I'm after 4 of them and was looking on eBay and a load have appeared on there and are going for astronomical prices, Descent of Angels currently at £75, Flight of the Eisenstein at £83!

 Mr Morden wrote:
Some good stuff there



read a couple and really enjoyed

I'd second that. The author really creates a neat theme of Ghaz as Moby Dick to Yarrick's Ahab. Yarrick is dedicated, brave, clever and skilled and no matter what he does, it ain't enough.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/03/14/all-new-all-different-inferno/

The new Inferno will debut later in 2018, and rather than a magazine, it will be a revitalization and reimagining – Inferno Volume One will be the first in an ongoing series of short fiction anthologies. The contents will be fiction from the worlds of Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Warhammer Chronicles and Necromunda, from authors old and new.

At its heart, Inferno will be a celebration of new Black Library writers. The first volume will contain stories by more than half a dozen new talents, many of them appearing in print for the very first time. Their stories will cover a variety of subjects, including the Astra Militarum, Adepta Sororitas and Orks – as well as stories set in the underhive and the Mortal Realms.

While I would've loved for a return to the pulp mag format, this all sounds good to me, first issue lineup is certainly promising.

 Ghaz wrote:
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/03/14/all-new-all-different-inferno/

The new Inferno will debut later in 2018, and rather than a magazine, it will be a revitalization and reimagining – Inferno Volume One will be the first in an ongoing series of short fiction anthologies. The contents will be fiction from the worlds of Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Warhammer Chronicles and Necromunda, from authors old and new.

At its heart, Inferno will be a celebration of new Black Library writers. The first volume will contain stories by more than half a dozen new talents, many of them appearing in print for the very first time. Their stories will cover a variety of subjects, including the Astra Militarum, Adepta Sororitas and Orks – as well as stories set in the underhive and the Mortal Realms.

Oho, what's all this then. Are we really going to be getting new short fictions in the proper Warhammer Fantasy setting? The cynic in me thinks it'll just be occasional reprints of existing short stories, but I do hope there's some new stuff.

 BrookM wrote:
The Titan's Bane page has finally got an audio preview up, just days before going up for pre-order: https://www.blacklibrary.com/coming-soon/march/titans-bane-mp3.html

Gave this a go yesterday, its pretty good if you like their audio dramas. They do need to consider using a wider cast of voice actors though as some of the voices are too similar to other characters in other series.

I've got it in my shopping basket over at the GW site since it went up for pre-order, I'm going to order it alongside Truth and Dreams when it goes up for pre-order next weekend.

https://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/featured/mercy-eshort.html

Mercy
An Adepta Sororitas story

Called to a distant world to solve a mystery that could link to the history of her order, Sister Superior Augusta contends with orks as well as her own hopes…

LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE
It sheds light on the Sisters of Battle from a different angle, and explores their relationship to their history, as well as their interactions with the Missionaries of the Imperial Church.

THE STORY
Sister Superior Augusta of the Order of the Bloody Rose has been called to a planet in the far reaches of the Imperium, a world where no Imperial foot has stepped in thousands of year, save a missionary sent to bring the Emperor's light to the natives. On the world is a cathedral, ancient and run down – but with an icon at its heart, a warrior-woman with a bloodied rose on her chest. Is this a symbol that Saint Mina, founder of the Order, once walked on this world? Augusta is determined to find out…

Written by Danie Ware

did anyone pick this up ?

I'm kinda tempted but don't really like the e-format.

Finished a re-read of all Abnett's Inquisition stuff due the Magos release.

Holds up very well indeed IMO.

Bit frightening looking at some of the original release dates

I think I enjoyed "Pariah" more this time around too.

The burnt through "Ashes of Prospero" which was a fun filled , almost romp like, story.

I think I prefer Mr Reynold's take on Lukas but TBF he had a lot more space/room to develop the character in a whole book than Mr Thorpe had here.

Be interesting to see what affect -- if any -- the end result of the book has on the SW going forwards.

One hopes it isn't simply ignored like some of the best BL stuff has been at times -- alas.

.. and yes I am still bitter about Mr Wraights superb "swords of the empire" books.

plan to pick up :

https://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/featured/carcharodons-outer-dark-ebook.html

but in dead tree format when possible, next week I think ?

The Magos was depressingly good, though I will admit I stepped into this with low expectations. Depressing because the sequels are still quite a few years off. But it was a good read that went back to the roots of the series, while also tying everything together, somehow. Bit of author spank I suppose. It was also nice to finally get to read the Keeler Image and that other one I hadn't read yet.

As for the eshorts, I am very selective, as I find them a bit on both the expensive and short side to be something worth pursuing every time one is released. So I tend to only get the ones that really fall in my sphere of interest, like Execution and the Necromunda stories. Though I suppose these shorts can be seen as treading the water for some future projects?

Picked up the postcard box myself on Friday, still need to check the contents, but a quick glance shows that they're nice quality, along with the publishing year and the artist responsible, will be a fun trip down memory lane for sure, not to mention some cheapo birthday cards for some people.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Looky Likey wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
The Titan's Bane page has finally got an audio preview up, just days before going up for pre-order: https://www.blacklibrary.com/coming-soon/march/titans-bane-mp3.html

Gave this a go yesterday, its pretty good if you like their audio dramas. They do need to consider using a wider cast of voice actors though as some of the voices are too similar to other characters in other series.

Mine is on its way now, looking forward to it.

I find the current batches of audio dramas to be hit and miss so far, though is more to do with the writing than the actual production value. Though I do hope that this improves with time, or they find dedicated audio drama writers who can really work well with the medium.

 reds8n wrote:
https://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/featured/mercy-eshort.html

Mercy
An Adepta Sororitas story

Called to a distant world to solve a mystery that could link to the history of her order, Sister Superior Augusta contends with orks as well as her own hopes…

LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE
It sheds light on the Sisters of Battle from a different angle, and explores their relationship to their history, as well as their interactions with the Missionaries of the Imperial Church.

THE STORY
Sister Superior Augusta of the Order of the Bloody Rose has been called to a planet in the far reaches of the Imperium, a world where no Imperial foot has stepped in thousands of year, save a missionary sent to bring the Emperor's light to the natives. On the world is a cathedral, ancient and run down – but with an icon at its heart, a warrior-woman with a bloodied rose on her chest. Is this a symbol that Saint Mina, founder of the Order, once walked on this world? Augusta is determined to find out…

Written by Danie Ware

did anyone pick this up ?

I'm kinda tempted but don't really like the e-format.

Finished a re-read of all Abnett's Inquisition stuff due the Magos release.

Holds up very well indeed IMO.

Bit frightening looking at some of the original release dates

I think I enjoyed "Pariah" more this time around too.

The burnt through "Ashes of Prospero" which was a fun filled , almost romp like, story.

I think I prefer Mr Reynold's take on Lukas but TBF he had a lot more space/room to develop the character in a whole book than Mr Thorpe had here.

Be interesting to see what affect -- if any -- the end result of the book has on the SW going forwards.

One hopes it isn't simply ignored like some of the best BL stuff has been at times -- alas.

.. and yes I am still bitter about Mr Wraights superb "swords of the empire" books.

plan to pick up :

https://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/featured/carcharodons-outer-dark-ebook.html

but in dead tree format when possible, next week I think ?

Its rare that I pick up the shorts these days as they always seem to end up in a compilation sooner or later and I feel ripped off buying them twice. I do want to read the story though.

I'm waiting till Imperator is up for pre order before I pick up the new Carcharodons book. Really hope it is as good at the last book, one of my favorite 40k books I read last year.

Anyone else picked up and read Outer Dark yet? I read it over the weekend, and found it reasonably enjoyable.

It does reference some of the other Carcharodon stories though, but can still be read as a standalone book.

Not sure it provided as much new insight into the Chapter as expected though.

hope to get it this weekend, really enjoyed the first book.

today's offering :

https://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/featured/flayed-eshort.html?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=BLDigiMonMar26&utm_content=BLDigiMonMar26

Flayed
A Death Spectres story

As Alundra searches for her brother on a world haunted by the fearsome Flayers, she encounters what might be her people's saviours – or their destroyers.

READ IT BECAUSE
It's a sinister story set on a world overrun by Necron Flayed Ones – a distinctly dark horror-tinged tale from the pen of Cavan Scott.

THE STORY
The world of Sandran is plagued by an eternal horror. Terrifying mechanical monsters with knives for fingers, which drape themselves in the flesh of the dead, raid the planet periodically. The people of Sandran have learned to live their lives in the shadow of the creatures they know as the Flayers. But as Alundra, a young woman in search of her errant brother, comes face-to-skull with one of the Flayers, her fate – and that of her world – is radically changed. The Death Spectres have come to defeat the metallic monsters. But will the people of Sandran be saved, or will they be collateral damage?

Not BL related as such, but worth a read if you get a moment :

http://kenilworthbooks.co.uk/publish-and-be-damned/

 reds8n wrote:
Not BL related as such, but worth a read if you get a moment :

http://kenilworthbooks.co.uk/publish-and-be-damned/

"Getting books at a discount is fine for us, so we can make profit. It is not fine for you, since all you need money for is survival and whatever few brief moments of meaningless joy you can scrape together before the grave claims you."

Standard "Old World" whinging of people seeking to use the law to preserve a business model that is no longer viable due to technological advances and changing social attitudes. Yes, that's a grotesque simplification, but it's pretty much the reality - the only difference between what these folk are seeking to do and what other entertainment industries have tried - with varying degrees of success - to do is the latter groups had huge legal and lobbying budgets to throw around, and the strategy here is to instead tug on the heartstrings with a "poor starving artist" routine.

The traditional publisher model is a millstone around the neck of 99% of authors and aspiring authors, it largely benefits only the tiny handful of "big names" who can churn out a bestseller a year, and that is not some novel situation that's only cropped up recently. The traditional retail model benefits exactly one group: traditional retailers. The vast majority of writers will earn as much or more using self- or hybrid-publishing models, even with the Great Bezos Devil insisting they price their work super cheap, than they ever would have endlessly pitching to trad publishers putting out full-price books via physical stores.

But then, the middlemen always try to divert the blame away from themselves when customers and many producers find ways to cut them out and the handful of people who did well out of the status quo ante realise their gravy train has reached the end of the line.

Titan's Bane came in today and I decided to give it a listen while working on my Armigers.

Not bad! Not bad at all!

Roll on next week for the next audio serving:

Looks like the BL has tripped up over Easter; got an e-mail about the latest Primarchs novel (Ferrus Manus), ordered the eBook, now it won't let me download it. I can't see anywhere that indicates it's pre-order only - anyone else having the same problem?

 BrookM wrote:
Roll on next week for the next audio serving:

Listened to this on the way home yesterday. I enjoyed it but it wasn't as good as the first episode, felt like a LARP session if that makes sense? Fans of the tech priest will likely be unhappy with this episode as he is hardly in it, and when he is in it he isn't sassy.