Black Library Weekly: Beauty and the Beast

Image credit: Games Workshop

This past Saturday was an unusual one for the Black Library's preorder sweepstakes.

Up for grabs were a pair of new novels, Adrian Tchaikovsky's Starseer's Ruin and Vagabond Squadron by Robbie MacNiven, the latter of which also being offered in a Special Edition. And in the last year I've been keeping a close eye on these things, I can't recall the last time a Warhammer 40,000 solo-book Special Edition sold quite so anemically.

There's a core of Black Library readers who will snap up almost every prestige edition offered. Doesn't matter what the book's about, doesn't matter who wrote it, doesn't even matter what it looks like. Special Edition, Limited Edition, Mega Edition, whatever, it's an automatic buy.

I am one of those people.

On the other hand, I believe most readers tend to go for the ones that speak to them, and one of the consequences of keeping your products in very limited supply- that artificial scarcity- means it's very difficult to parse between the two when it comes to gleaning insights into consumer behavior.

This point becomes clear when we pretend for a moment that the Black Library prestige releases were print to order. Instead of having just 2,500 books first-come, first-served we had instead, say, a one-day window where everyone who ordered one could get one. That would yield amazing consumer data!

Sure they'd have to detangle it a bit to understand what specific factors made one book a smashing success versus another that failed to launch, relatively speaking. It could be the characters, could be the writer, could be the treatment, or any combination thereof. But they'd clearly know which books were the hits and which the misses, right?

But that's not the situation we're in. Instead, we see a very small supply throttle a demand that typically meets or exceeds it and in that situation it's very difficult to gauge success. After all, if most of your offerings sell out within 30 minutes or less, how would you know? Are they really looking at one book selling out in 10 minutes versus another that sold out in 8?

That's not great data.

Saturday's Vagabond Squadron was a miss, with copies appearing to still be available a full day after the preorder. Many folks who normally would be on the outside looking in, complaining that they missed it, walked away satisfied this time. If scalpers were heavily after this title, they are very likely to be disappointed with the returns on their 'investments' (sorry, "3-dprintruns" with 13 positive feedbacks, you ain't getting $160 for this one anytime soon, 'free delivery' or no).

What lessons and insights will Games Workshop be concluding from this one? Is it author, subject, or treatment?

It's probably not an issue with MacNiven, whose Special Editions for his Carcharodon trilogy went like hotcakes. It could be the subject, though. Dan Abnett's Interceptor City- another book about dogfighting barnstormers- was available for quite some time after its initial offering, but that was a Mega Edition bundle with all the accessories and goodies that trebled its price point₁.

Listening to the community, though, it does seem that the book's Special Edition treatment did it no favors either. Many expressed disappointment in the layout and design, comparing the book unfavorably to other recent Special and Limited Edition treatments.

Because when it comes to paying twice as much for a version of the same story, turns out people really do judge a book by its cover.

Image credit: Jay Kirkman

Case in Point

It wasn't all bad news this weekend on the Special Edition front as Marc Collins' Krakenblood arrived, and it's gorgeous. Occasionally Games Workshop's official photographs of the product fail to fully capture the visual effect of the treatment, most notably with Jude Reid's Fulgrim, the Perfect Son (covered in greater detail here). This seemed to be one of those times.

The official image doesn't do full justice to this one, so in the picture above I tilted the book a bit to more fully bring out the cloth texturing. I'm not even a Space Wolves guy but I'll be making space for this one soon in the display cases of the Black Library museum. Nicely done!

Image credit: Games Workshop

Up for Preorder

Oh to be a fly on the wall of the business meetings for the Black Library! Two weeks ago I wrote about the "drip cycle" of building anticipation for upcoming releases and then delivering them, and with the release of Guy Haley's Archmagos we get not only a new hardback, but a new Special Edition as well.

But then- surprise!- out of nowhere and without any "dripped" forewarning₂ there's a second Special Edition release. 2022's Renegades: Harrowmaster by Mike Brooks is getting the posh treatment as well, and I can't help but wonder why this one dropped out of the blue. Someone had to sign off on the forward planning document that said they were going to tease every other release except Harrowmaster. Do they think we just like surprises or something?₃

(And for that matter, why such a long 'drip' on Rob Young's Master of Rites? And where's our Era of Ruin Limited Edition? Questions, so many questions!)

We'll also be getting the third installment of Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn trilogy, Hereticus, in the wonderful Illustrated and Annotated Edition. With Malleus late last year and Chris Wraight's The Lords of Silence earlier this year, I'm hopeful we're seeing something of a renaissance era for the format.

Next, Nate Crowley's Twice-Dead King Omnibus has arrived as well. Featuring two novels (2021's Ruin and 2022's Reign), a novella (2019's Severed), and a trio of short stories, you'll have enough Necrons to fill a tomb world.

(And speaking of filling a tomb world, of course all these goodies happen to drop during the same week as a new Kill Team expansion. I guess I don't really need two kidneys, right?)

Finally, White Dwarf #518 will feature a retrospective of 50 years of Games Workshop, including a look back at the Black Library.

Image credit: Games Workshop

Cast Your Votes

Normally I'd tuck this into the ICYMI section, but it's such big news I wanted to give it the extra spotlight. This past week we kicked off a major new initiative, the Black Library Reader's Hall of Fame.

Every other week we'll be walking the entire history of the Black Library, selecting those novels (and novellas) with the greatest cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance to Warhammer fiction. We've assembled a terrific committee of experts, and will also have a popular vote to help decide!

In our debut feature we're starting with the very first books in 1989, moving up through the next ten years. Make sure to check it out and cast your votes!

Image credit: Night Shade Books

Sharing a Six Pack With... Nathan Long!

Nope, it’s not Bugman's Brew, it’s- what else- books! In our occasional featurette for the Black Library Weekly, we bend the ear of Black Library authors to get a half-dozen book recommendations.

This week we're chatting with Nathan Long, author of the Black Hearts trilogy (Valnir's Bane, Broken Lance, Tainted Blood) as well as picking up the Gotrek-shaped ball and running with it after the handoff from William King. His credits there include Orcslayer, Elfslayer, and Zombieslayer, but he's also done some video game writing (Wasteland 3, Torment: Tides of Numanera) and screenwriting for screens both large and small (Gehenna: Where Death Lives, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight).

Three Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

Fell Cargo, by Dan Abnett. "Probably not canon anymore, probably never was, but a great little naval adventure by a great author."
The Demon's Curse. "The first Malus Darkblade book by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee. Rip roaring adventure and an excellent look into Dark Elf society."
Grey Seer, by C.L. Werner. "My favorite Warhammer villain brought to life through Clint's pitch perfect pitch black humor."

Two Non-Black Library Books He’d Recommend…

The Ten Thousand, by Paul Kearney. "A fantastic fantasy retelling of Anabasis by Xenophon from an author who has also written for the Black Library."
Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir. "A wild sci fi novel with a big ensemble cast and a lot of intrigue, a little romance, and a bonkers prose style."

And Finally, One of His Own Books He’d Recommend…

"I guess I'll go with my first published non-tie-in novel, Jane Carver of Waar, which is a parody/rip off of the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burrows, about a biker chick who gets transported to another planet and has pulpy cliffhanger adventures."

Okay, I gotta admit the John Carter parody hook had me intrigued, so here's the full blurb for the curious:

Jane Carver is nobody's idea of a space princess.

A hard-ridin', hard-lovin' biker chick and ex-Airborne Ranger, Jane is as surprised as anyone else when, on the run from the law, she ducks into the wrong cave at the wrong time-and wakes up butt-naked on an exotic alien planet light-years away from everything she's ever known.

Waar is a savage world of four-armed tiger-men, sky-pirates, slaves, gladiators, and purple-skinned warriors in thrall to a bloodthirsty code of honor and chivalry. Caught up in a disgraced nobleman's quest to win back the hand of a sexy alien princess, Jane encounters bizarre wonders and dangers unlike anything she ever ran into back home.

Then again, Waar has never seen anyone like Jane before…

Both a loving tribute and scathing parody of the swashbuckling space fantasies of yore, Jane Carver of Waar introduces an unforgettable new science fiction heroine.

Yup, that's going straight into the TBR pile₃, and biker-fantasy is an underappreciated trope (q.v. Lugan Vision Quest by Danie Ware).

Finally, it's worth noting that Nathan wasn't the first to recommend Gideon the Ninth in their Six Pack- Adrian Tchaikovsky did as well in our inaugural featurette.

Penitent, Dan Abnett. Credit: Black Library

ICYMI

Lots of fun stuff here on the site this past week as we ran the second part of Lenoon and Togepi's long-form series on Warhammer, Dan Abnett, and Gothic literature! (If you need to catch up first, here's the first part.)

And while not strictly Warhammer-related, 'tis the season for the spooky and Falcon40k delivered with a list of some of the best horror podcasts out there. Hope you enjoy losing sleep!

Meanwhile, the Fluffenhammer crew dove straight in to Warhammer Monthly #15. Warhammer Monthly was the long-running comic book serial from the Black Library and they're doing an issue-by-issue walkthrough. In this issue, it's Inquisitor and Kal Jerico!

And having spoken about Dan Abnett's Interceptor City earlier, it's surely just a happy coincidence that Arbiter Ian and Mira Manga reviewed the book this week for their Warhammer Book Club.

Image credit: Cubicle 7 Games

RPG Corner

Our friends at Cubicle 7 Games have been pretty busy with the Warhammer role-playing games as of late, so we've got a few recent developments here.

The biggest news is the announcement of a 5th Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Role Play, which is getting ready to ring in its 40th anniversary. Cubicle 7 CEO Dominic McDowell-Thomas revealed the plans for the new edition in an interview at Wargamer.
Cubicle 7 does a pretty good job making their games easily accessible through Starter Sets, which gives you a game-in-a-box for a good session or two with pregenerated characters to get you going. Their latest line, The Old World, has a Starter Set right around the corner, with the cover art being revealed recently. A GM screen is on the way, too.
The upcoming Sons of Russ supplement for Wrath & Glory is now available for preorder, including a lovely Collector's Edition that will eventually be going into the Museum right next to my copy of Krakenblood.
They've also announced two upcoming Warhammer-based tabletop games. One is a full card game based on Darktide, the other a social deduction game (think: Werewolf) called Day of Ascension (a nice nod to the book written by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and tied in with their Imperium Maledictum line).
Finally, my fellow bargain-hunters will be happy to see there's a Hallowe'en sale going on right now on their site, up to 50% off. It runs until 04 November.

Quick Hits

Pete Knifton was a titan of British fantasy art whose work filled early issues of White Dwarf and Games Workshop publications (that's his illustration above that graced the album cover for Bolt Thrower's 1991 album War Master). A huge influence on so many visual artists that followed, he sadly passed away last week and Goonhammer's thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends, and loved ones. Cherish your legends while they're still here, folks.
Wombat Wargames has released a new book, Wargaming Interviews: Volume I. It features a number of interviews with some of tabletop wargaming's most recognizable names, including John Blanche, Rick Priestley, and Dan Abnett.
I've noted before that James Swallow (Faith & Fire, Garro: Knight of Grey) had done some writing for a recent audio drama for V:UK, based on the 1983 alien invasion miniseries. Last month the second box set of V:UK dropped (trailer ">here), and Swallow has posted some author commentary for his work on the series. Warning: here be spoilers!
Remember those Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, and how the format quickly was embraced by the gaming industry? Perhaps you have fond memories of the Endless Quest or Fighting Fantasy books₆? The concept of solo gamebooks remains alive and well, and Jonathan Green (Iron Hands, Necromancer) has announced the publication of his third for Aconyte Books. Set in the Call of Cthulhu-based game setting Arkham Horror, The Kingsport Metamorphosis will be releasing next year.
Looking for your next ghost story? Maria Haskins (The Jagged Edge) has put together a list of recommendations- perfect for reading on these crisp Autumnal evenings₇!
Andi Ewington (Da Red Gobbo's Last Stand) announced that he's the lead writer on the new Bardsong: Tale of the Forsaken Glade board game from Steamforged Games. The game's trailer is ">here; not only does it look terrific, but with Ewington at the helm it should be a cracking story, too!
Open Owl Studios is currently crowdfunding its next venture, the co-op and solo fantasy game Threshold. At time of writing they're a whisker away from being 900% funded (not a typo), Will McDermott (Lasgun Wedding, Cardinal Crimson) has been a major writing contributor.

Image credit: Games Workshop

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the date-set upcoming releases from the Black Library based on the available preorder information we have. As always, take all of this with a grain of salt unless it’s Games Workshop-confirmed.

Going forward, this section will be updated weekly in this column. Any titles that are announced but without a date will be added once a date is assigned it, and anything highlighted in green is something just added (or updated) this week. Books that are underlined are previously unpublished titles.

Upcoming but Undated

Master of Rites, by Rob Young
Steel Tread, by Andy Clark (hardcover and Special)
Demolisher, by Andy Clark (hardcover and Special)

Upcoming in 2025

Warhammer Character Encyclopedia (Library Edition), by Wade Pryce (hardcover, 11/4)
Da Red Gobbo's Last Stand, by Andi Ewington (hardcover. 11/8)
The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (Special Edition and hardcover, 11/8)
Da Red Gobbo Collection, by various (paperback, 11/8)
Double Eagle, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/8)
Death and Duty: An Astra Militarum Anthology, by various (paperback, 11/8)
Interceptor City, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 11/8) (review)
No Peace Among Stars, by various (paperback, 11/8)
Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (Special Edition and hardcover, 11/15)
Starseer's Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (hardcover, 11/15)
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (Special Edition and hardcover, 11/22)
Eisenhorn: Hereticus Illustrated and Annotated Edition, by Dan Abnett (hardcover, 11/22)
Renegades: Harrowmaster, by Mike Brooks (Special Edition, 11/22)
The Twice-Dead King: The Omnibus, by Nate Crowley (paperback, 11/22)
The Art of Warhammer Video Games, by Andy Hall (hardcover, 11/25)
Ashes of the Imperium: The Scouring, by Chris Wraight (hardcover, 12/16)
Hell’s Last, by Justin D. Hill (paperback, 12/16)
The Rise of Nagash, by Mike Lee (paperback, 12/16)

Upcoming in 2026

Farsight: Blade of Truth, by Phil Kelly (paperback, 1/27)
Fulgrim: The Perfect Son, by Jude Reid (paperback, 1/27) (review)
Siege of Terra: The Shattered and the Soulless, by Graham McNeill (paperback, 1/27)
Vaults of Terra: The Omnibus, by Chris Wraight (paperback, 1/27)
Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 3/10)
Carcharodons: Void Exile, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 3/10) (review)
The Green Tide, by Mike Brooks, Nate Crowley, and Justin Woolley (paperback 3/24)
Carnage Unending, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 4/21)

Footnotes

It was also billed as a sequel to Double Eagle, a book from 2004 that- safe to say- many modern readers hadn't even read. That no doubt contributed.
Kind of on-brand for the Alpha Legion, though, innit?
In fairness, who doesn't?
"To Be Read," just in case the term is unfamiliar.
I talked a lot about what Aconyte's been getting up to in my recent book review of Poison River by Josh Reynolds.
Knifton drew some of those, too. Again, legend.
Or the burgeoning Spring season for our friends in Australia! There really isn't a bad season for a good haunt.