So this week I’m going to open up and get a little personal, because I continue to appreciate how incredible this hobby of ours is and how filled it is with amazing, creative people. If you’re just here for the books, that’s okay too! Just skip on down to the “Up for Preorder” section and enjoy.
Modern Horror in Louisville
This past Saturday my daughter and I went to see Vision Video perform, a post-punk goth band suffused with the new wave sounds of the 80’s. After my wife’s cancer diagnosis last year, building Warhammer minis in my office and listening to music after the house was asleep became my own little zen refuge, a time to relax, decompress, and re-center myself.
Vision Video is one of the groups that have established a sort of permanent rotational residency throughout that time, and my daughter Lorcan in particular has also become a huge fan. I’ve gotten to know lead singer Dusty Gannon a bit through social media, connected as we are through our mutual love of Warhammer.
One of the many joys of parenthood is watching your children discover the joy of things you love, and it was a delight watching her take in her second-ever concert. Eyes almost as wide as her grin as she stood in front of the stage, singing along and swaying with the music. Pure magic.
The show was fantastic, and in that way that kind-hearted people do the band made it extra special for Lorcan. The keyboardist brought her a setlist and guitar pick. The fella at the merchandise table gave her an enamel pin and 8×10 to get signed. And Dusty had all the time in the world for her after the show.
But Lorcan hadn’t come empty-handed either. Knowing that Vision Video had been on tour for awhile, she wanted to surprise him with the newest Warhammer miniature of the month from our local store. Two Krieg Engineers delivered made for one happy vocalist.
Again, our hobby is amazing, filled as it is with so many creative, passionate people. Take some time to appreciate that today.
Now, on to the books!
Up for Preorder
Nothing! Not a damn thing. Not a book, not a miniature, zip! Zero! Zilch!
Enjoy it while it lasts, wallets deserve the occasional week off too. That said, one does have to wonder at the strategy of dropping two pricey, limited-edition codices last week and then bupkis the next.
Trompe-l’œil
While opinion was far from universal, I noted more than the usual dissent when the Limited Edition design of Fulgrim- The Perfect Son was announced. There’s a certain evergreen element to this, as we also saw recently with the rather contentious Limited Edition design of Lucius: The Faultless Blade.
With Lucius, what you saw was what you got, love it or hate it. Not so with Fulgrim.
As it turned out, one of the nicest things about this design wasn’t something that translated well in photographs- its satin finish. The book is absolutely sumptuous in person with a rich magenta hue, and the “it’s nicer than I expected” comments rang through the Black Library community on Reddit.
“I remember thinking how flat red it looked in the pictures compared to the glorious magenta of my author copy,” noted Jude Reid in an exchange we had on BlueSky. “Nice that people are pleased with how it looks in the flesh.”
Master of Rites Confirmed
A couple weeks ago we noted that a bit of internet sleuthing had revealed the titles of a couple of upcoming Black Library releases (auf Deutsch, at least). This week, one of them was officially confirmed with a teaser on Warhammer Community.
Rob Young’s tale centers Ultramarines squaring off with Death Guard, and we’re assured that you don’t need to be all the way through with the Dawn of Fire series to properly enjoy. With Young’s previous work including Leontus: Lord Solar (our review here) and Longshot, we’re in for an action-packed ride when it releases later this year.
This Week’s ICYMI
Black Library coverage on Goonhammer continues full-throttle, and this week we featured not one but two book reviews. First, Aaron “Lenoon” Bowen offered up a terrifically colorful review of the full contents of the Minka Lesk: The Last Whiteshield omnibus. Once you’re done checking that out, I did a story-by-story review of the recent Blood of the Imperium anthology here. File this under “authors are fans, too” as it’s nice to see the writers active in the Black Library community on Reddit.
Archer’s story The Dust that Remains was one of the anthology’s standouts, a medical mystery of sorts set within a concentration camp filled with Imperial Guard veterans.
Finally, I continued my reviewing of 2024’s Black Library offerings with a look at the novels of 40K. I’d previously tacked the year in review for the fantasy side, and I’ll conclude the series soon with a look at the 40K short stories and other goodies that made 2024 one to remember.
Quick Hits
- Speaking of Reddit, there’s a Black Library book club forming up. If you’re looking for a good group to jump into for some reading, have at it!
- Brandon Easton (author of 2020’s Embers of Extinction) announced a huge win this week, as a film he’d written (Takeover, an action thriller starring Billy Zane and Quavo) will be screening at the Cannes Film Festival. Congrats, Brandon!
- Gav Thorpe has been busy serving as the creative lead on worldbuilding for an upcoming mecha miniatures skirmish game called Zeo Genesis. With the crowdfunding campaign kicking off tomorrow, Gav appeared on the Brush Wielders Union podcast to discuss the game.
- Trying to get your big break into writing? John French of Ahriman fame posted a terrific article on breaking into the profession. It’s filled with great guidance with more to come in a part two.
- Speaking of Ahriman, the latest in the series, Ahriman: Undying, was just released in paperback.
- If you like guidance and advice from established writers, you might want to check out the latest from Cavan Scott (Plague Harvest, Attack of the Necron) where he shares his strategies for time management.
- Guy Haley is featured in the latest episode of Scribes & Scriveners on WarhammerTV. He chats a bit about creating Drekki Flynt, how he got started writing for Warhammer, and more.
- Signing up for the Cohesion Press email newsletter comes with a sweet bonus- a free digital copy of a horror anthology that includes stories from Amanda Bridgeman (Reconsecration), Josh Reynolds (Fabius Bile, Lukas the Trickster), and Richard Lee Byers (The Enemy Within). Billing their offerings as “the Best Horror Anthologies in Military Action, Post-apocalyptic, and Creature Features,” that just sounds awesome anyway- the freebie is a nice bonus!
- Adrian Tchaikovsky (On the Shoulders of Giants, Day of Ascension) has started a new podcast with fellow writer Emma Newman called Starship Alexandria. In the inaugural episode they chat about the 1953 sci-fi classic The Kraken Wakes, and in what I wish more podcast creators did, they helpfully provide a list for a number of the other topics they touched upon.
- Combining the Cold War and Lovecraftian mythos is right up there with chocolate and peanut butter, and a new anthology of short stories is dropping next month from PS Press. Cold War Cthulhu includes a contribution from Nicholas Kaufmann (A Child Foretold).
- Finally, Tim Waggoner (Skin Man) will have a short story in another upcoming horror anthology, Fever Dreams from Flame Tree Publishing.
RPG Corner
Cubicle 7 is the current licensee for Warhammer role-playing games, and they’ve been making prodigious use of the properties with several different systems and settings. They’ve just released the latest offering for the Warhammer Fantasy Role-Playing system, Lords of Stone and Steel. As you might guess, it’s everything you wanted to know about Dwarves but were afraid to ask. Probably for good reason.
It’s available now in PDF format, with preorders for a hardcover release slated for later in the year for those of us who like thumbing through the parchment. Like the Black Library, Cubicle 7 offers enhanced collector’s editions for many of their releases, so if you want some shelf candy you won’t have far to look.
And that’s it for this week! Enjoy the week-long break Games Workshop has kindly provided, and see you next with the latest from all around the Black Library!
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