Inferno

[DukeLeto69]

On thebolthole.org Peter Fehervari has confirmed he has a short story in Inferno #2 next year. So THAT will be a good reason to buy it if nothing else

[DarkChaplain]

Well, preorder placed on Amazon.

[Knockagh]

I’ve managed two of the stories so far. The sisters one by a new author can’t remember her name, thought it was a good but very very short. Would like to see more from the author. Also the zavant short which is SUPERB! Well done that man.

Anyone got any further?

[Red_Shift]

I've got the last story to read. None bad so far, most very good. I enjoyed the story with the two primaris marines. Really showed a tactical side to them not just charge all guns blazing. The battle sister story was really good, shame it was so short. The enemy of my enemy was good as a self contained short, I also thought the vostroyan story was very sequelisable. The tales set in the old world just make me mourn its passing, the empire itself was an incredibly well developed setting, imo the rest of it was a bit generic fantasy but it's a shame age if sigmar couldn't recreate the original empire so we could still enjoy the old cities, regions and peculiarities.

[DarkChaplain]

I'm about halfway through the second story, No Hero, by McLean. It's been a pretty good debut, in my opinion. First person narratives have me excited in general, but seeing Guard troopers going MIA and having to brave the jungle and orks to get "home"? Awesome premise.

 

Annandale's Primaris story I felt didn't really live up to it's full potential. It was pretty straightforward in its action, but the Rat should have been in the spotlight more. It got too deep into the heads of the Primaris marines for my taste, when the first page basically sets it up to be more about a mortal scavenger witnessing Astartes-gods vs monsters. It had me expect something more remote from the marine action, with an unlikely hero watching from the vents or the likes, rather than getting sidelined so quickly.

[Red_Shift]

Just finished the last story. Real let down. Really interesting and then just ends abruptly, I assume they are planning more instalments in the same story. Problem is if I have to wait a year for inferno 2 I will have forgotten half of the first story by then!

 

@Dark Chaplain that guard story Is good, I had images of predator going through my mind. Honestly it's one of the best anthologies I have read in a while, normally there are a few stories I struggle with. It's made me realise how much I miss guard stories, much more relatable characters than marines.

[DarkChaplain]

Inferno! vol.2 should be out in January (listed on Amazon as well). We're not looking at annual volumes, but one every 3-4 months.

 

 

Next installment in the new anthology series, penned by debut and established authors,
Showcasing the best works from across Black Library’s many universes. 

The second volume of this anthology collection comprises more new short fiction from the worlds of Warhammer. Penned by debut and current Black Library authors, its tales range from the fighting pits in the realm of Ghur to the mists of Chamon, while in the brutal galaxy of the Dark Imperium, mysteries must be solved but that doesn’t mean escaping the horrors unscathed.

In this volume, Guy Haley continues the story of the aelf wanderer, Prince Maesa, as he rides out a storm in the depths of Shyish. A skaven team attempt to carry out a daring heist in a tale of villainous betrayal, and an Imperial Guardsman must investigate an isolated town’s secret if he and his men are to survive the night. These and many other stories are collected here for the first time.

 

So that's good news in my book. I preordered them both a few months back, simply on principle. I hope this series will continue for years to come, since frankly, it's a great format that can both clean up a lot of the eshort leftovers while also boosting newer authors and offer space for more experimental stories that don't quite fit the mold.

 

I'm notoriously terrible with anthologies myself, though, so actually sitting down and reading through them has been tricky over the years. If there's a bummer that I find hard to get through, chances are the book will lie in waiting for ages.

[Brother Lunkhead]

Cheap capitalization on a fun old magazine ……. Don't get me wrong. It's a fine collection of short stories.... but Inferno! it ain't  

[DarkChaplain]

Yeah, it really is just a cheap moneygrab to have a 400 page anthology of mostly entirely new stories from some debut and some veteran authors, all of which seem to be fairly decent at minimum level, and showcase their various product lines while also offering a jumping off point for new faces to gain traction, all on a 3-4 month schedule, all presented as a tribute to the classic magazine series which... was also an anthology format to begin with, where many authors got their footing.

 

Frankly, I don't see any reasons for complaint here. It's a cheap 400 page straight to paperback release for 10 bucks. The only "recycled" content were two ebook only shorts that had not been in print before, with the bulk being brand new. Even those "recycled" shorts are great leadups to the Novella Series 1 that goes up for preorder on Saturday, since the authors have similar stories for that one too.

 

It BY FAR beats Hammer & Bolter, which went for 4€ or something for maybe 3 short stories, a serialized novel that was, in both instances, a sequel (with Phalanx being book 6 in a series!) that tied you down for 12 months, and some half-baked interview content they didn't really see through to the end. Just to then be collected in two Omnibus volumes that cut out the interviews, serializations and extracts, iirc (am frankly too lazy to check my copies right now). The individual issues were also pulled from sale and the individual stories sold for almost the same as an entire issue containing that story.

 

I honestly don't know what more you may want out of these anthologies. They're good collections with nice variety. They're scheduled for regular release. They're inexpensive. They promote new talents. They don't excessively recycle content. They pay homage to one of the earliest formats in the publisher's history. It's a clear win for Black Library AND the readership, because it allows them to spearhead new content and authors alongside proven faces and topics that may attract more attention, when an individual story may flounder if sold as an individual eShort, despite being brilliant. It also allows for a quick turnover from digital shorts to print, without printing more anthologies or omnibuses that consist pretty much solely of recycled material, which has had people up in arms before.

 

Inferno! is a good thing all around. I fail to see the negatives.

[Brother Lunkhead]

Yeah, it really is just a cheap moneygrab to have a 400 page anthology of mostly entirely new stories from some debut and some veteran authors, all of which seem to be fairly decent at minimum level, and showcase their various product lines while also offering a jumping off point for new faces to gain traction, all on a 3-4 month schedule, all presented as a tribute to the classic magazine series which... was also an anthology format to begin with, where many authors got their footing.

 

Frankly, I don't see any reasons for complaint here. It's a cheap 400 page straight to paperback release for 10 bucks. The only "recycled" content were two ebook only shorts that had not been in print before, with the bulk being brand new. Even those "recycled" shorts are great leadups to the Novella Series 1 that goes up for preorder on Saturday, since the authors have similar stories for that one too.

 

It BY FAR beats Hammer & Bolter, which went for 4€ or something for maybe 3 short stories, a serialized novel that was, in both instances, a sequel (with Phalanx being book 6 in a series!) that tied you down for 12 months, and some half-baked interview content they didn't really see through to the end. Just to then be collected in two Omnibus volumes that cut out the interviews, serializations and extracts, iirc (am frankly too lazy to check my copies right now). The individual issues were also pulled from sale and the individual stories sold for almost the same as an entire issue containing that story.

 

I honestly don't know what more you may want out of these anthologies. They're good collections with nice variety. They're scheduled for regular release. They're inexpensive. They promote new talents. They don't excessively recycle content. They pay homage to one of the earliest formats in the publisher's history. It's a clear win for Black Library AND the readership, because it allows them to spearhead new content and authors alongside proven faces and topics that may attract more attention, when an individual story may flounder if sold as an individual eShort, despite being brilliant. It also allows for a quick turnover from digital shorts to print, without printing more anthologies or omnibuses that consist pretty much solely of recycled material, which has had people up in arms before.

 

Inferno! is a good thing all around. I fail to see the negatives.

 

It's just my opinion brother, no need to get upset. I did say it was a fine short story collection, but it doesn't have the variety the original Inferno! had...… "It's a dog license with the word 'dog' scratched out and the word 'cat' written in with a crayon."* That's all I'm saying...….

 

*thank you Monty Python 

[Knockagh]

I can’t find fault with it either. Some of the stories aren’t for me and it has a story by Annandale but you have to expect that you won’t get everything you like in a book like this. Also I don’t mind the ebooks making their way into these as I never buy ebooks.

BL haven’t given us even one full length necromunda story as yet (something that annoys me way more than the odd bad story in a cheap compilation book!) either so it would seem shorts and this upcoming novella series is the only place I’m likely to get some necromunda love.

[Red_Shift]

I don't read ebooks but I agree re the comment about giving new authors a go, having read these shorts there is now a short list of names I wouldn't mind reading a novel from. It's probably going to push me into reading the novellas. For me it's impressive that as a publisher black library are so willing to give new authors an opportunity.

[DarkChaplain]

Are we really judging the variety against the original run of Inferno! already when we have only a single volume out so far? It certainly isn't lacking in the amount of content. The only thing it does not have are comics and color pages or general articles, being kind of what WD and Warhammer Community are for these days anyway.

 

As for the author push, a bunch of them actually appear to be at the Weekender, which is awesome news I'd say. BL have been fine with getting their newer authors to events for a while, but I can't remember if they did it this early before, especially without a novel or two under their belts. And that's even with a couple of those authors having their first longer stories in that novella series. Frankly, I think I'll order them all before long.

 

Volume 2 of Inferno! should be on presale at the Weekender too, if I'm not mistaken - if there's anyone picking it up, please keep us (me!) posted about the table of contents, especially if there's a new Peter Fehervari story in it.

[Brother Lunkhead]

"Are we really judging the variety against the original run of Inferno! already when we have only a single volume out so far? It certainly isn't lacking in the amount of content. The only thing it does not have are comics and color pages or general articles, being kind of what WD and Warhammer Community are for these days anyway."  - DarkChaplain 

 

I don't think "we" are judging the variety against the original Inferno!. I think "I" am judging the variety and format against the original Inferno! I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion on this (nor do I want to). I'm just throwing my opinion out to the forum. I fully endorse BL's effort to support new talent (as they always have). I'm just saying that if they are going to brand a anthology as Inferno! then they should put some effort into the format. This is what most publishers do when they reintroduce an old title. 

 

If most folks don't have a problem with BL's format or the pro's outweigh the con's and they support it, that's great. I simply hold a different opinion and admittedly I'm a bit blunt about it (that's just my sweet quirk) I'm not out to change anyone's mind. But you Brother Dark seem very upset that my opinion differs from yours and you seem determined to have the last word on this. So be it..... I've spent more time on this than planned. I'm out. Ave Imperator

[DarkChaplain]

Volume 3 is lsted on Amazon now, coming May, with part three of the Sign of the Brazen Claw and including a great cast. Josh Reynolds and John French are in, for example.