The Emperor’s Children Army Box has been released into the wild, and this week’s preorder list sees the box’s constituent units now available for individual preorder. Fancy another Lord Exultant? Go for it. More Noise Marines? Why not. Lord Kakophanist, Lucius, or even Fulgrim? All there.
Of course, this being the Black Library Weekly, you know what we’re most excited for.
Preordering this Week
Jude Reid had quite the busy 2024. First, she saw not one but two novels published (Daemonbreaker, Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith). Her short story The Reskard Purgation was not only published online as part of the Black Library Celebration eShort Subscription, but it then was scheduled for the Blood of the Imperium anthology that released just last month.
Her short story The Sheltain Affair, digitally published for 2022’s Advent Calendar, was selected to represent the Horus Heresy in 2024’s paperback Black Library Celebration anthology. Another story, Anathema, was published for 2024’s Advent Calendar, and Infernal Motives was included as part of last July’s Daughters of the Emperor Week.
Whew! After all that, you’d think a writer would welcome a little break, but instead Reid was hard at work writing the next new novel up for grabs this Saturday, Fulgrim – The Perfect Son. In addition to having a wonderful double entendre of a title (the kind that should please the fans who enjoy saying that Magnus did nothing wrong), it arrives in a fetching Special Edition.
This next story sees Fulgrim overseeing the siege of an Imperial world, but things don’t go according to plan. Instead of simple conquest they’re embroiled in a siege, and with the stridently perfectionist Primarch looking over their shoulders, Fulgrim’s lieutenants must find a way to orchestrate a victory.
Fulgrim – The Perfect Son will release simultaneously in a regular hardcover edition.
Ahriman Undying was originally released in hardback and Special Edition last July, but finally arrives in paperback. French’s fifth novel featuring the enigmatic Thousand Sons sorcerer, French has been writing this character’s journey for more than a decade. Here, finally having found the Key of Infinity, Ahriman finds himself betrayed and stripped of everything he holds dear.
2025’s Reader’s Choice Voting Underway
It’s time once again to vote for two classic Warhammer works that will be reprinted for next year’s Black Library Celebration.
This year we got to enjoy another run of Titanicus, by Dan Abnett, as well as Grey Seer by C. L. Werner. What’s in store for next year? That’s where you come in! The top vote-getter for one Fantasy book as well as one 40K one will each see a new printing next year. Voting has been open for about a week now, so make sure to get your vote in while you still can!
ICYMI: Warhammer Fantasy
Last week we published a complete retrospective for 2024 for Warhammer’s fantasy worlds. The year saw eight new novels- and a raft of new short stories- released for the Black Library, including the first new novel for the Old World’s World of Legend time period with Graham McNeil’s Lords of the Lance.
Take a stroll through the year that was- you just might find your next read. Or you might want to check out our review of this year’s Verminslayer by David Guymer!
What Makes a Great Horror Story?
Tim Waggoner lent his pen to the Warhammer Horror imprint with Skin Man, from 2020’s anthology Anathemas. A four-time Bram Stoker Award winning writer, he certainly has a pen for horror and opened up this past week about the writer’s craft and his work within in.
In an interview with Winding Road Stories, Tim’s discussion included:
- Finding inspiration for stories
- Common pitfalls for new and aspiring horror writers
- Characteristics great horror short stories all have in common
- Must-read books for the neophyte to become literate in the horror genre
What Lore Would You Want to See a Book About Next?
Every week there seems to be another great discussion over on the Black Library’s subreddit, and this week did not disappoint! u/Hiasubi asked what lore folks would love to see more stories about, and there were about as many different answers as there were answerers!
Suggestions included the Scouring, the Badab War, the Unification Wars, the Battle of the Black Skies, and more.
Got a few ideas you’d like to see more out of from the Black Library? Hope on over and share!
Quick Hits
- The Finalists for the 2025 Hugo Awards were announced, with Black Library writer Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Day of Ascension) scoring multiple nominations for Best Novel (for both Alien Clay as well as Service Model) as well as Best Series (for The Tyrant Philosophers). Congratulations and best of luck, Adrian!
- Speaking of Tchaikovsky, Tor Books revealed the cover for Made Things, his new upcoming novel now available for preorder.
- “Not how I wanted to get famous.” We’ve all seen funny moments on the internet where someone gets confused for someone else due to having a similar name. Sometimes it’s not so funny, as A Child Foretold author Nicholas Kaufmann found out recently. He shares a name (just one letter different) with the lawyer defending the Philipine former president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court.
- Author Cavan Scott (Plague Harvest, Tomb of the Necron) shared some insights on how to deal with strong reactions from fans when what you create doesn’t meet their expectations.
Writers Are Fans, Too
With all of the Emperor’s Children business going on lately, it only seemed right to end on some miniature work for them from another Black Library author. Ben Counter is one the longest-serving writers for the Black Library, having written nearly two dozen novels and novellas. His works include Horus Heresy’s Galaxy in Flames, Grey Knights, and my current read, Blood on the Mountain. Terrific work, Ben!
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