The Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame is Goonhammer’s long-term, reader-participation initiative to recognize those novels that have “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance” to the Black Library.
Through the votes of readers as well as our community panel of community voices, we’ll examine the entire history of the Black Library, induct the latest winners, and vote for the next round’s candidates every other week.
Hey there, Black Library readers, and welcome to the eighth installment of our regular series where we- with your help- determine the books that get to enter the Hall. The books from
last time really resonated with the voting public, so we've got a bumper crop of titles taking their place of honor today!
The Envelope Please
The last time we saw so many books enter at once was in the
1999-2000 class, which saw seminal titles like
Dan Abnett's First & Only and
William King's Trollslayer. While those were foundational works, an element of nuance has entered the selection this time around.
Michael, Track of Words: "
Sandy Mitchell’s second Ciaphas Cain novel, this is really where it becomes clear that the Cain series is going to become the AC/DC of Black Library. That the whole point of the series is to hit the same beats and play the same jokes, because those beats and those jokes are just so damn good! There’s nothing wrong with wanting more of the same.
"And while some of the later books suffer a little for that, Caves of Ice is one of my personal favourites, with top-tier enemies for Cain to face off against/run away from, and a thoroughly entertaining (if fairly straightforward) plot. It also has probably the best joke in the entire series, in the naming of the world on which it’s set. On Simia Orichalcae, it truly is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. I can just picture him grinning wickedly as he came up with that one."
AJ, The Paladin Journal: "As much as Ben’s
Soul Drinker was a breath of fresh air among Space Marines novels,
Grey Knights does the same trick again successfully. This time we are with the most secretive and important chapters amongst all the ascended warriors of the Imperium, and Ben tells a fascinating story about faith and evil."
Jay, Goonhammer: "In a way the Ben Counter of the early 2000's reminds me of today's Robbie MacNiven, a writer able to take some esoteric and enigmatic Space Marine chapters and give them a depth of intrigue and excitement. As ultra-indoctrinated transhumans, the Astartes tend to have a narrower emotional range than, say, Johnny Conscript of the Imperial Guard soiling himself in his trench and dreaming of his family back home as the shells start raining down. Warhammer makes up for this through giving the chapters and legions distinct character, and so from Ben we get the Soul Drinkers and Grey Knights, and Robbie the Carcharodons and Exorcists.
"Threse early stories were often heavy on exposition, being a literary extension of a Codex, and here
Grey Knights is no exception. But in terms of showcasing not only one of the game's more intriguing factions but also in providing an early template on how to effectively build out a Chapter in story, this is a worthy inclusion.
"Now, if you'll all kindly line up against the wall, I'm afraid you've seen too much already."
Michael, Track of Words: "
One of the strengths of the Gaunt’s Ghosts series is Abnett’s ability to tell different types of war stories using essentially the same cast of characters, and for the eighth novel he pulls together a tight-knit group of fan-favourite Ghosts and throws them into a seemingly impossible mission. There’s no grand, sweeping view here, but rather a tight, focused narrative that really plays to the Ghosts’ strengths.
"If it’s a touch implausible at times, that’s easily forgiven - by this point we’re accustomed to Gaunt et al surviving impossible odds, and the fascinating examination of regular life under the rule of Chaos more than makes up for any minor believability issues. What Traitor General also does, in comparison with previous instalments, is kick off a new arc with a clear sense of where the whole thing is going. And with a series this long, eight books in, that’s both valuable and in some ways refreshing."
Jay, Goonhammer: "It's not often we get to have a look at anything resembling a functional Chaos-centered society, and an early attempt-
Pawns of Chaos by Brian Craig- was consigned to the 'Heretic Tomes' imprint. Too often Chaos was (and often continues to be) portrayed as moustache-twirling villains who are terrible, horrible, no good and very bad for no reason other than 'because, well, Chaos,' but Abnett fleshed out what a hypothetical Chaos world might look like after the conquest was over and the governance began.
Traitor General worked so well in part because it did so through the lens of his well-established Gaunt's Ghosts, and showed once again Abnett's skills at reinvention."
Jay, Goonhammer: "
Ursun's Teeth is exactly the kind of inclusion that I find interesting. McNeill's Ambassador Chronicles is something of a deep cut in a lore- The Old World- that's already itself become something of a deep cut. As the second book of the duology whose kickoff title,
The Ambassador, didn't make the cut for Readers' Hall of Fame inclusion,
Ursun's Teeth exceeds its predecessor not on the strength of its main character but for its contributions to the world's setting and how Black Library books handled its Fantasy narratives.
"McNeill chose to set the story in Kislev, a frozen in-world analogue to Russia and Eastern Europe (many of the Old World nations had loose bases in our own). Kislev to that point hadn't seen the more robust detail and development other regions had enjoyed, giving McNeill a freer hand. In telling the story of an ambassadorial posting (and, of course, a Chaos plot), he breathed life into its people, politics, culture, and faith. It helped lay the path for subsequent works by delivering a much more narratively engaging corner of the map, a contribution easy to overlook (but not by our voters!)."
Now we’ll turn to the next round of candidates, representing the final books of 2004. They’re all notable, but only the most notable from a 'cultural, historical, or aesthetic' sense can make it into the Hall- and they’ll need your help to do it!
Reminder: this is not a knockout competition. You can vote in as many books as you feel are worthy of inclusion- every book that ultimately gets enough votes will be inducted!
The Ballot: The Class of 2004 (July to December)
Image credit: Games Workshop
Warhammer 40,000
Image credit: Games Workshop
Book:
Dawn of War, by C. S. Goto
Synopsis: "The Blood Ravens, Space Marine warriors with near superhuman strength, are sent to destroy the planet Cyrene and its heretical populace, but one of the warriors, Brother-Captain Angelos, is faced with a difficult choice because Cyrene is his own native world."
Note: Book 1 of the Dawn of War series.
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Dead Sky, Black Sun, by Graham McNeill
Synopsis: "Exiled from the Ultramarines Chapter by Marneus Calgar, Captain Uriel Ventris ventures deep into the dreaded Eye of Terror to atone for his disgrace. There, Uriel must unleash the Emperor's vengeance upon the followers of the Dark Gods and bring His divine light to this area of darkness. But a far more terrible foe dwells within these worlds of insanity: the ancient Chaos Space Marine Legions! With dishonour behind him and certain death ahead, Uriel must gather every ounce of courage if he is to survive and regain his honour!"
Note: Book 3 of the Chronicles of Uriel Ventris.
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Deus Encarmine, by James Swallow
Synopsis: "On the remote world of Cybele, the Adeptus Astartes of the Blood Angels Chapter are fighting a losing battle against the forces of Chaos. Yet as Battle-brother Arkio leads a counter-attack that has the enemy reeling, there is sudden talk that this is a holy sign. Does the spirit of Sanguinius indeed bless Arkio, or is the turmoil for the Blood Angels just beginning?"
Note: Book 1 in the Blood Angels series.
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Double Eagle, by Dan Abnett
Synopsis: "High-speed air combat in the war-torn Sabbat Worlds!
When the elite fighter pilots of the Phantine XX arrive on the beleaguered world of Enothis, they know it is a desperate hour. The forces of Chaos are closing in and their final push could well wipe out all human life on the planet. Thousands of refugees flee the dark armies and the infamous Chaos fighter pilot Khrel Kas Obarkon is always hunting the skies for more prey…
And so it falls to the brave men and women of the Phantine fighter corps. Can they hold off the Chaos advance until reinforcements arrive? In the high-speed, white-knuckle terror of aerial combat, can they defeat an enemy possessed by daemons?"
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Iron Hands, by Jonathan Green
Synopsis: "With Abaddon the Despoiler’s Thirteenth Black Crusade engulfing the galaxy, Iron-Father Gdolkin and his company are pulled away from the defence of Medusa to honour an ancient oath to the Adeptus Mechanicus. A trail of clues leads Gdolkin to a long-lost world, home to an ancient weapon that might turn the tide of war in the Imperium’s favour. But for Gdolkin, the quest is personal, as this mysterious planet might also contain the answer to the oldest mystery of the Iron Hands Chapter... the resting place of the Primarch Ferrus Manus."
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Ravenor, by Dan Abnett
Synopsis: "When his body is hideously damaged in an enemy attack, it looks as though Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor's promising career would be abruptly brought short. Now, encased in a life support sytem that keeps him alive but forever cuts him off from the physical world, Ravenor utilises his formidable mental powers to continue his investigations. Along with his retinue of warriors and assassins, Gideon Ravenor fights to protect an Imperium he can no longer see, hear or feel."
Note: Book 1 of the Ravenor series.
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Warhammer Fantasy
Image credit: Games Workshop
Book:
The Heart of Chaos, by Gav Thorpe
Synopsis: "Once a noble warrior of the Empire, Kurt Leitzig has fallen prey to the evil clutches of Chaos, and his former lover, Ursula, must risk everything to raise an army to stop him from being transformed into a daemon that would destroy the Warhammer world, in the fantastical conclusion of the Slave to Darkness trilogy."
Note: Book 3 of the Slaves to Darkness series.
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Wild Kingdoms, by Robert Earl
Synopsis: "Florin and Lorenzo journey across the vast wilderness beyond the Empire in search of a rich merchant's daughter who disappeared many years ago. A straightforward rescue mission becomes rather more dangerous when they journey into the heart of the Ogre Kingdoms."
Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]
Book:
Witch Hunter, by C. L. Werner
Synopsis: "In the grim medieval Old World, the dreaded witch hunters are feared above all others. These puritanical individuals are tasked with hunting out evil throughout the lands, using whatever means necessary to destroy those foolish enough to ally with the Dark Powers. Counted amongst the most able of the Witch Hunters is Mathias Thulmann, a ruthless devotee of Sigmar whose exploits are recounted to scare citizens of the Empire. Investigating a series of grisly deaths, Thulmann is drawn into a web of deceit that could see an untimely end to his glorious career…"
Note: Book 1 in the Mathias Thulmann series.
[poll id="103"]
Good luck to all the books this week!
The Banner of Glory
Finally, here’s a look at all of the current members of this most prestigious Hall!
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