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Black Library Celebration 2021
Black Library Celebration 2021
Celebrate the fantastic fiction of Black Library with this selection of five action-packed tales from the worlds of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a set of five must-read stories by some of Black Library's greatest authors, showcasing the scope and grandeur of Warhammer fiction. Many of the tales tie in to other Black Library products, making it a perfect starting point for someone new to the books. Also, did we mention that it's free?
DESCRIPTION
Black Library produces adrenaline-fuelled fiction set in the worlds of Warhammer. From the grim darkness of the far future in Warhammer 40,000 to the war-torn fantastical landscapes of Warhammer Age of Sigmar's Mortal Realms, there have been countless tales of action and adventure, packed with epic battles, mighty heroes, mysteries galore, triumphs, tragedies, and much more.
This FREE anthology contains five stories from Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar, showcasing some of the finest writing talent Black Library has to offer.
Customers will have a copy of the ePub automatically added to their account following purchase of any other costed product.
CONTENTS
The Strong Among Us by Steve Lyons
Skull Throne by Jake Ozga
Champions, All by Marc Collins
Death on the Road to Svardheim by Darius Hinks
To Speak As One by Guy Haley
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a set of five must-read stories by some of Black Library's greatest authors, showcasing the scope and grandeur of Warhammer fiction. Many of the tales tie in to other Black Library products, making it a perfect starting point for someone new to the books. Also, did we mention that it's free?
DESCRIPTION
Black Library produces adrenaline-fuelled fiction set in the worlds of Warhammer. From the grim darkness of the far future in Warhammer 40,000 to the war-torn fantastical landscapes of Warhammer Age of Sigmar's Mortal Realms, there have been countless tales of action and adventure, packed with epic battles, mighty heroes, mysteries galore, triumphs, tragedies, and much more.
This FREE anthology contains five stories from Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar, showcasing some of the finest writing talent Black Library has to offer.
Customers will have a copy of the ePub automatically added to their account following purchase of any other costed product.
CONTENTS
The Strong Among Us by Steve Lyons
Skull Throne by Jake Ozga
Champions, All by Marc Collins
Death on the Road to Svardheim by Darius Hinks
To Speak As One by Guy Haley
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2021
1 person is currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Steve Lyons
186 books105 followersSteve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 28, 2021
A great collection of short stories previously published electronically for this year's Black Library Celebration. The Gotrek story was my favorite as it shows no good deed goes unpunished even in the Age of Sigmar.
If you are at all interested in the lore of Games Workshop, this is a great place to start.
If you are at all interested in the lore of Games Workshop, this is a great place to start.
June 1, 2021
I was quite happy to get this one as a bonus at my local GW store--who can say no to 124 pages of free entertainment? And for the most part, it was good entertainment, too. A quick breakdown:
"To Speak As One" by Guy Haley: This one stood out because it showed conflict within the Imperium's government (Indomitus-era), specifically the Inquisition and the agents of Roboute Guilliman. Great action and serviceable prose.
"Death on the Road to Svardheim" by Darius Hinks: I have to admit, I know basically nothing about either Warhammer Fantasy or Age of Sigmar, and I hadn't read a single story in those settings until I picked up this one. It follows the uneasy duo Gotrek and Maleneth as they track down a stolen artifact in the desert. There are some interesting reveals, and I liked the look at an unfamiliar setting, but the writing quality is subpar.
"Champions, All" by Marc Collins: Black Templars and Sisters of Battle team up to recapture a former Imperial shrine from orks. The weakest story in this collection, by far. Collins has some good imagery at times, but the prose doesn't impress, some of the battle scenes defy logic, and everything feels so overwhelmingly conventional. Characters talk about sacrifice and service to the Emperor, but there's just not enough flavor to make it anything other than hackneyed.
"Skull Throne" by Jake Ozga: Still don't know what was going on with this one. There are Khornate warriors in it, and something about the Realm of Death, but the Age of Sigmar setting continues to elude me. The extremely abstract and surreal style didn't help. That said, it was beautifully written, with richly crafted prose and powerful moments even if I didn't get the big picture.
"The Strong Among Us" by Steve Lyons: My favorite of the bunch, but I'm a sucker for Chaos cults and the Death Korps of Krieg. The story follows a laborer forced to work for heretics in a besieged forge. It's very well written, and Lyons gets tons of mileage out of the premise, despite a limited page count. The ending could have been a little more developed, but this is clearly a standout work of fiction.
My overall thoughts? If you can score a copy of this anthology---possibly a challenge, I don't know what the print run was like---it's absolutely worth your time. Three of its five stories are solidly written, and that's more than good enough.
"To Speak As One" by Guy Haley: This one stood out because it showed conflict within the Imperium's government (Indomitus-era), specifically the Inquisition and the agents of Roboute Guilliman. Great action and serviceable prose.
"Death on the Road to Svardheim" by Darius Hinks: I have to admit, I know basically nothing about either Warhammer Fantasy or Age of Sigmar, and I hadn't read a single story in those settings until I picked up this one. It follows the uneasy duo Gotrek and Maleneth as they track down a stolen artifact in the desert. There are some interesting reveals, and I liked the look at an unfamiliar setting, but the writing quality is subpar.
"Champions, All" by Marc Collins: Black Templars and Sisters of Battle team up to recapture a former Imperial shrine from orks. The weakest story in this collection, by far. Collins has some good imagery at times, but the prose doesn't impress, some of the battle scenes defy logic, and everything feels so overwhelmingly conventional. Characters talk about sacrifice and service to the Emperor, but there's just not enough flavor to make it anything other than hackneyed.
"Skull Throne" by Jake Ozga: Still don't know what was going on with this one. There are Khornate warriors in it, and something about the Realm of Death, but the Age of Sigmar setting continues to elude me. The extremely abstract and surreal style didn't help. That said, it was beautifully written, with richly crafted prose and powerful moments even if I didn't get the big picture.
"The Strong Among Us" by Steve Lyons: My favorite of the bunch, but I'm a sucker for Chaos cults and the Death Korps of Krieg. The story follows a laborer forced to work for heretics in a besieged forge. It's very well written, and Lyons gets tons of mileage out of the premise, despite a limited page count. The ending could have been a little more developed, but this is clearly a standout work of fiction.
My overall thoughts? If you can score a copy of this anthology---possibly a challenge, I don't know what the print run was like---it's absolutely worth your time. Three of its five stories are solidly written, and that's more than good enough.
September 28, 2023
A short, fun anthology series to get you enthused to dive into the literary world of the 40K universe. This universe will always capture my attention and I loved this book as a way to pass my breaks at work.
March 23, 2021
Good collection of Black Library short stories, from all but one of their Warhammer lines.
April 20, 2021
Great short stories, especially for free. I love that the Black Library does these.
June 29, 2022
Brilliant and Daring! Get it when you can!
December 20, 2023
Not the best celebration ever, one good story, didn't like the others. Also, are these shrinking?
March 28, 2025
Nice little jumble of extracts, especially Dead Men Walking which I intend to read in future.
June 27, 2025
some of these stories were interesting some were just guys with big guns and muscles which was fun. it was alright
June 11, 2023
This 2021 short story anthology includes three Warhammer 40,000 stories, one Warhammer: Age of Sigmar story, and one Warhammer Horror story.
The first story is 'To Speak as One' by Guy Haley, and a very entertaining Warhammer 40,000 story about a conflict between an Inquisitor and Belisarius Cawl’s agents Qvo-87 and Alpha Primus. I enjoyed this story a lot as it has some nice action and a good twist at the end. I also liked the character of Alpha Primus and I am looking forward to see more of him when I get around to read Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work. I think the story on its own is probably worth around four and a half stars, loosing half a star due to the Inquisitor and his retinue being underused.
Next up is 'Death on the Road to Svardheim' by Darius Hinks, a good Age of Sigmar Gotrek story that sees the Slayer take on the worshipers of Khorne while his aelf companion tries to teach him the benefits of faith. This was another enjoyable story (as is usually the case with Gotrek stories) that had an interesting plot, with a nice twist, and some good, if short, action. As with some of the other Age of Sigmar Gotrek short stories that I have read, Maleneth was my favourite character. Overall, I feel this is worth a solid four stars.
The third story, 'Champions, All' by Marc Collins, is probably my favourite one from this Anthology, seeing a Black Templars Emperor’s Champion team up with a Sister Repentia to fight Orks. The story has some very nice action throughout, and the two main characters work well together and are nicely developed for a short story The story also has a very good ending, and I would very much like to read more stories staring Cenric, the Emperor’s Champion. I feel that this story on its own is probably well worth a full five stars.
The Warhammer Horror story, 'Skull Throne' by Jak Ozga, is a very atmospheric and creepy story about revenge against a Bloodbound warband that have very little in the way of traditional action. The first-person narrative works well and the story overall is well written, portraying the mental state of the main character nicely. While it does have a bit of a slow start, it finishes well, and I would probably give it four stars individually.
The final story, 'The Strong Among Us' by Steve Lyons, is probably the weakest one in the anthology and is about an imperial citizen trying to survive in a Hive City that has been captured by a Chaos cult. While not great, the story still has some interesting moments, and gives a good look at the main character’s mind as he lives day to day under the influence of the cult. I found the plot to be rather predictable but was well executed and I would probably rate it as being worth three and a half stars.
Overall, the stories in this book are all entertaining in some way or another and I think that most fans should find something they like.
The first story is 'To Speak as One' by Guy Haley, and a very entertaining Warhammer 40,000 story about a conflict between an Inquisitor and Belisarius Cawl’s agents Qvo-87 and Alpha Primus. I enjoyed this story a lot as it has some nice action and a good twist at the end. I also liked the character of Alpha Primus and I am looking forward to see more of him when I get around to read Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work. I think the story on its own is probably worth around four and a half stars, loosing half a star due to the Inquisitor and his retinue being underused.
Next up is 'Death on the Road to Svardheim' by Darius Hinks, a good Age of Sigmar Gotrek story that sees the Slayer take on the worshipers of Khorne while his aelf companion tries to teach him the benefits of faith. This was another enjoyable story (as is usually the case with Gotrek stories) that had an interesting plot, with a nice twist, and some good, if short, action. As with some of the other Age of Sigmar Gotrek short stories that I have read, Maleneth was my favourite character. Overall, I feel this is worth a solid four stars.
The third story, 'Champions, All' by Marc Collins, is probably my favourite one from this Anthology, seeing a Black Templars Emperor’s Champion team up with a Sister Repentia to fight Orks. The story has some very nice action throughout, and the two main characters work well together and are nicely developed for a short story The story also has a very good ending, and I would very much like to read more stories staring Cenric, the Emperor’s Champion. I feel that this story on its own is probably well worth a full five stars.
The Warhammer Horror story, 'Skull Throne' by Jak Ozga, is a very atmospheric and creepy story about revenge against a Bloodbound warband that have very little in the way of traditional action. The first-person narrative works well and the story overall is well written, portraying the mental state of the main character nicely. While it does have a bit of a slow start, it finishes well, and I would probably give it four stars individually.
The final story, 'The Strong Among Us' by Steve Lyons, is probably the weakest one in the anthology and is about an imperial citizen trying to survive in a Hive City that has been captured by a Chaos cult. While not great, the story still has some interesting moments, and gives a good look at the main character’s mind as he lives day to day under the influence of the cult. I found the plot to be rather predictable but was well executed and I would probably rate it as being worth three and a half stars.
Overall, the stories in this book are all entertaining in some way or another and I think that most fans should find something they like.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews