Black Library Weekly: Solomon, Huron, and the Homies of Ultramar

Image credit: Games Workshop

I'm so out of practice with ordering Limited/Special Editions after our long break that I actually didn't jump off the blocks for Danie Ware's Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith until after it was well underway. While it gave me a start, I needn't have worried- at time of writing it appears there are still some copies available in the webstore. That's not entirely unusual for the "character series" books, but that was probably my "first one's free moment." I don't expect the same leniency in the next preorder window, given what's coming to market.

Hail Hydra

First up, Death Rider by Rhuairidh James comes galloping into print. A couple weeks ago Warhammer-Community posted an interview with James about the book, which centers on a Commissar of the Death Korps of Krieg having to withdraw a regiment of the notoriously fatalistic Krieg in the face of certain defeat as the planet goes to hell around them. I love the idea of rapid. planetary ecological disaster as a timer mechanism, something Victoria Hayward did to terrific effect in 2024's Deathworlder with Cadians and Catachans. Now the Krieg get a bite of the poisoned apple, and I'll be excited to read it as well as it is the author's debut Black Library novel.

Then we've got a new arrival from one of the veteran wordsmiths, Mike Brooks. Ghost Legion will be arriving in both standard hardcover as well as Special Edition, continuing the story of the Alpha Legion warlord Solomon Akurra that began in 2022's Renegades: Harowmaster.

Last November, a Special Edition of Harrowmaster was released, which we can now see was a harbinger of the sequel (particularly as both Special Editions will feature a similar art style and book treatment). We saw this as well earlier in the year when Guy Haley's 2019 novel Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work was given a Special Edition issue in advance of November's Archmagos.

Image credit: Games Workshop

So a word to the wise- if the Black Library releases a new Special Edition of an older book, there's a pretty good chance there's a reason that hasn't been announced yet₁.

Sticking with Brooks for a minute, Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom is coming to paperback. Originally released in 2022 it may have taken its time getting here in softcover, but it makes perfect sense to issue it now as Blackheart is having his moment in the spotlight. Hot on the heels of 500 Worlds and the Ultramarines, The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant is the next narrative expansion and will follow the same format (a slipcase of three books, one of which is a lorebook).

Image credit: Games Workshop

Just as 500 Worlds saw the simultaneous release of the Captain Titus and the Wardens of Ultramar miniatures box₂, The Maelstrom will get Huron Blackheart and the Masters of the Maelstrom. I'm a sucker for boxes like this that feature named characters (years of Magic: the Gathering has me calling them "Legends," though in the context of Warhammer that word has a different meaning).

Image credit: Games Workshop

Finally, a big blanket with a map of the Imperium, checking in at around 5 feet by 3.5' feet and featuring, according to the WARCOM, a "blank space where Cadia used to be."

It's Dangerous to Go Alone! Take this.

Last September when reviewing Chris Thursten's Abraxia, Spear of the Everchosen, I noted how the book was a reference-rich reward for those who were heavily invested in Age of Sigmar lore. For less-enfranchised readers like me, it was still an enjoyable read, but I couldn't escape the feeling that I was missing out on additional layers of engagement by being less than familiar with what had led up to that point.

While it looks like Mike Brooks has crafted a similarly-referential tale with Ghost Legion, he was kind enough to provide the prospective reader with a suggested background. On his website, he posted:

Ghost Legion picks up a few different threads from different pieces I’ve written for Black Library since my first-ever short story for them (The Path Unclear), and while you can absolutely read Ghost Legion as a standalone novel (although probably advisable to have read Harrowmaster first), to get what I would consider to be the absolute very best experience from it, I would recommend the following...

It's great to see a kind of "Brooksiverse" similar to what Peter Fehervari does with his Dark Coil, an invisible thread that links stories that otherwise don't appear to be directly connected. Mike's recommending a trio of novels and half-dozen short stories for the full experience, but of course can be enjoyed with as little as one (Harrowmaster) or none.

ICYMI

This week's review was a bit beyond the usual as we dropped the latest entry in my occasional series Beyond the Black Library. Here we look at non-Warhammer books from our Black Library authors, with Da Red Gobbo's Last Stand author Andi Ewington getting into the limelight with a medieval fantasy detective comedy he co-wrote with Erica Marks. Silence of the Dead concerns a necromancer, his talking skull- and a series of murders involving poisoned pie? It was a riot to read, and I hope you'll check it out.

Then we had the latest installment of the Black Library Readers' Hall of Fame initiative. Four new books made their way in to the hall, and we've got a new crop for the readers to vote on as well!

Over at WARCOM, the downloads series of curated content from the old Black Book releases continues apace. This week's trove involves the worlds of the Eastern Fringe.

Cinderfall Gaming did a quick-hit video review of Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks. The plaudits for this one have continued to pile up, with the book the winner of the Goonhammer Book Award for Best Black Library Novel in 2025 as well as being the runner-up in the official Black Library Book of the Year.

Finally, Jen and Keri of the WH 40K Book Club dove in to Archmagos, by Guy Haley. "How is Belisarius Cawl's team like Winnie the Pooh? Oh, it's a thing!"

Image credit: Mad Cave Studios

Quick Hits

Still no sign of a Black Library Celebration this month, though we're not yet past the point of no return. Fingers crossed!
Russell Zimmerman (Seven Ships, Resounding) appeared on ">the most recent episode of the Lorebeards vidcast, connecting over abhumans specifically and Warhammer in general!
Danie Ware had this to say in her newsletter about her brand-new book with Aestred Thurga: "It’s a very special book, not only because of Aestred herself and the Auto-Tapestry, a character and a relic that I had a huge amount of fun exploring, but because of the world that this tale is set upon. I can’t give too much away, because spoilers, but it was a concept that I’d been waiting to explore for many years, and gave me the opportunity to make a character from the planet itself. I always enjoy world-building and this one had so many layers, so much history and nuance, that it’s perhaps one of the creations that I’m genuinely most proud of." I don't know which movie meme is more appropriate here, Starship Troopers' "desire to know more intensifies" or Spider-Man 3's "Harry, you don't need to sell it to me"), but either way I'm really looking forward to this one!
Overwatch ">just released a short cinematic reading of the comic Vengeance Comes. Read by the voice actor behind Vendetta, Chiara Preziosi, it was written by Black Library alum Brandon Easton (Embers of Extinction).
A new Flash Gordon comic is being launched by Mad Cave Studios and King Features, with issue #0 arriving in comic stores this April. You may have heard of the writer, a guy named Dan Abnett (Horus Rising, Eisenhorn).
DSTLRY Publishing has announced a delay in several of its anticipated comic titles this year, one of which is A Mischief of Magpies. Written by Si Spurrier (Daemonifuge, Lord of the Night), he calls this three-issue series "the most beautiful thing we've ever made."

Image credit: Games Workshop

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known 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.

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

(none)

Current PODs in Production

Era of Ruin, by various (POD Special Edition, window end 12/24)
Anarch, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)
Blood Pact, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)
Salvation's Reach, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)
The Warmaster, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)

Upcoming in 2026

Apostle, by David Annandale (hardcover, 2/14)
Death of Integrity, by Guy Haley (audio, 2/14)
First Marshal, by Evan Dicken (hardcover, 2/21)
Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith, by Danie Ware (Limited Edition, 2/21)
Death Rider, by Rhuairidh James (hardcover, 2/28)
Ghost Legion, by Mike Brooks (hardcover, Special Edition, 2/28)
Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 2/28)
The Green Tide, by various (paperback 4/7)
Carcharodons: Void Exile, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 4/7) (review)
Carnage Unending, by various (paperback, 4/21)
Legends of the Waaagh!, by various (paperback, 5/19)
Yarrick: The Omnibus, by David Annandale (paperback, 5/19)
Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)
Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)
The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)
Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)
Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)
Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)
Starseer's Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)
Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by James Swallow (paperback, 7/28)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

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Footnotes

Interestingly enough, they broke a different way for Andy Clark. Steel Tread and its sequel Demolisher both saw their Special Editions announced at the same time (though released apart).
Someone online referred to it as "Captain Titus and the Homies of Ultramar" and now this name has eclipsed the official one, brainworm-style.

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