2020 - BL highs and lows, best book/story of the year

[Tymell]

I really wish I loved Saturnine as much as many seem to.

 

I definitely liked it, and there were individual scenes I absolutely adored. But I struggled quite a bit to get into it during the first half, and I still believe Solar War ultimately did a better job of balancing the cast and the scope of the conflict with the need for a focused tale.

 

Anywho, I haven't read an awful lot from 2020 itself (though I see a few common mentions in here I may have to check out). Despite the above, Saturnine is still probably the one I've liked the most overall, while Lion's Primarchs novel was the biggest letdown for me, because he could've done with a solid entry, and I really enjoyed Guymer's previous Lion novella. This one just felt limp and empty.

[Red_Shift]

Warhammer Crime was the standout for me this year so unsurprisingly I have to put Flesh and Steel and Bloodlines at the top.

 

I also enjoyed the latest Cain novella, firstly because it's Cain and secondly because it was clearly written in lockdown and the references to Nurgle's plague were quite humerous.

 

I did enjoy Saturnine but maybe not as much as the rest of you guys.

 

The really big disappointment for me was anthologies. Inferno! was great as ever but I'm really quite annoyed about how many supposedly new anthologies have reprinted shorts in them. The worst being Uprising which shamelessly includes a whole novella from last year's Xmas line up, taking up a third of the book, along with at least one other reprinted short.

[Knockagh]

I think that Cain novella is several years old. I read it for the first time this year but I’m pretty sure it has been released several times at events etc.

[DarkChaplain]

Yup, Old Soldiers Never Die was originally released in 2012.

 

Re: Uprising, the point of that anthology, like Underhive before it, was to collect all those eShorts and the previous year's novella series entry in one paperback. Underhive did it, Uprising did it, and the next book will do it too, with the inclusion of Spark of Revolution. Not really surprising, I'd say.

 

I do agree on the frustration of the reprinted shorts in general, though. A lot of anthologies have been going far back instead of having new content. Ideally, I'd like to see a 50:50 mix from here on out at least, especially after the dropping of monday/whenever shorts.

Edited December 19, 2020 by DarkChaplain

[DarkChaplain]

WarCom has a new article up about 2020 in BL releases.... it's about what you'd think

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/12/30/black-library-2020-in-review/

 

I mean, come on. They're highlighting their new imprint (good thing), but mention none of the Horror releases of the year (and we still had Dark Harvest, The Oubliette and Sepulturum at the start of the year, plus Requiem Infernal for Halloween).

 

Then they highlight the Ciaphas Cain novella that has merely been a reprint, after already being out for nearly a decade and Omnibus'd.

 

Dawn of Fire ended up with no news about the follow-up until this month, but at least it was a new major project.

 

Darkness in the Blood only received the mass-release, but was actually a 2019 release in its limited edition.... with apparent delays in the hardback edition.

 

Indomitus, the obligatory starter set tie-in of questionable quality apparently constitutes a highlight.

 

At least The Infinite and the Divine & Brutal Kunning deserve special mention, seeing how they're pioneering modern Xenos novels.

 

And then the Siege of Terra, where going by the usual schedule, we'd be holding a new novel in our hands about now, at least in limited edition format. Nevermind that Primarchs has been on hiatus for almost the entire year.

 

No mention of Manflayer or Kal Jericoeither, no surprise there.... But I'd have expected them to at least put The Hammer and the Eagle in there, or Lord of the Dark Millennium (the Abnett anthology), or Armageddon Saint, seeing how it's a revival of a classic series. Even Inferno! is fully absent.

 

The biggest point of laughter for me was that the entire article didn't even acknowledge that they also publish AoS fiction. At all.

[b1soul]

Any word on the third novel in French's Horusian Wars?

 

I hope it doesn't end up like Blood of Anaheim, Stormcaller.........and then Helwintr Gate

[DukeLeto69]

Any word on the third novel in French's Horusian Wars?

 

I hope it doesn't end up like Blood of Anaheim, Stormcaller.........and then Helwintr Gate

Pure speculation but I reckon we will get that in 21. John French’s priority was clearly SoT: Mortis but that would have been finished approx 6mths ago. His two SoT novels and role with Forgeworld/Specialist Games clearly took precedence over Abomination this past 2(ish) years.

[Taliesin]

From Warcom:

 

 

If any Black Library series was the talk of 2020, it was the Siege of Terra. Four novels (and two novellas) in, this is proving to be every inch the epic saga you’ve always imagined, and it’s only halfway done. A new limited edition – Mortis – will continue the story very early in 2021, and that’ll be far from all the action from the Siege that the year will bring. Oh, it’s going to be big… 

 

What stood out to me was their comment that this would be a big year for the Siege of Terra. It seems to suggest to me that we might see books 6 and 7 because that is the original plan. Its possible that with Mortis releasing straight away in January they still plan to release 3 LE's in 2021.

 

The counter argument to that would be that it requires that ADB to have finished book 7 soon. Which I question.

[cheywood]

From Warcom:

 

 

If any Black Library series was the talk of 2020, it was the Siege of Terra. Four novels (and two novellas) in, this is proving to be every inch the epic saga you’ve always imagined, and it’s only halfway done. A new limited edition – Mortis – will continue the story very early in 2021, and that’ll be far from all the action from the Siege that the year will bring. Oh, it’s going to be big…

What stood out to me was their comment that this would be a big year for the Siege of Terra. It seems to suggest to me that we might see books 6 and 7 because that is the original plan. Its possible that with Mortis releasing straight away in January they still plan to release 3 LE's in 2021.

 

The counter argument to that would be that it requires that ADB to have finished book 7 soon. Which I question.

Could also be book 6 and a novella or two, or maybe something unexpected like a short story anthology. All we know for sure is more SoT is coming.

Edited December 31, 2020 by cheywood

[Taliesin]

I think thats more likely yeah, 2 additional novellas.

[DukeLeto69]

Siege of Terra in 2021 - my guess would be Mortis plus the Chris Wraight novel plus another novella.

 

2022 will be the ADB and 2nd Abnett novel plus a final novella.

 

Saying that it does seem odd if we don’t get at least one anthology to tie up lose ends.

[DarkChaplain]

I honestly expect an anthology with the two Siege prequel novellas from Annandale and Guymer, plus the two McNeill novellas, or at least one of them plus shorts, towards the latter half of 2021.

[b1soul]

I'd really look forward to a SoT anthology of new short stories set during the Siege, not repackaged stuff

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

 

Any word on the third novel in French's Horusian Wars?

 

I hope it doesn't end up like Blood of Anaheim, Stormcaller.........and then Helwintr Gate

Pure speculation but I reckon we will get that in 21. John French’s priority was clearly SoT: Mortis but that would have been finished approx 6mths ago. His two SoT novels and role with Forgeworld/Specialist Games clearly took precedence over Abomination this past 2(ish) years.

 

 

John French was also supposed to have a Cypher audio drama out in 2020. That could have been more of a Covid casualty though, given the production that goes into them.

 

[Kelborn]

New year, first reminder to stay on topic.

 

Talk about your favourite stuff of 2020. Keep the potential release talk for upcoming stuff.

 

 

Happy New year btw. ;)

Edited January 1, 2021 by Kelborn

[RedFurioso]

The counter argument to that would be that it requires that ADB to have finished book 7 soon. Which I question.

If I may quote him:

 

>It'll be a while, yet - I spent most of 2018 and 2019 being ill and almost entirely shut down. I have some nearly-finished manuscripts to get back to. However, I have a feeling that when I break my book silence, it'll be a bumper year.

https://twitter.com/adembskibowden/status/1321758025095536640

[DukeLeto69]

 

The counter argument to that would be that it requires that ADB to have finished book 7 soon. Which I question.

If I may quote him:

 

>It'll be a while, yet - I spent most of 2018 and 2019 being ill and almost entirely shut down. I have some nearly-finished manuscripts to get back to. However, I have a feeling that when I break my book silence, it'll be a bumper year.

https://twitter.com/adembskibowden/status/1321758025095536640

Yep saw that too. My guess is we might see SotE2 and BL3 in 21 and SoT7 in 22.

[Carach]

Can't say I agree with anyone posting up Saturnine as the best Siege book. Solar War still wins easily imo. Saturnine would fall into the disappointment category for me if pressed. It was ok but bit fillerish.

 

Regents Shadow wins a mention for one of the better books for me. As I said in the other thread it actually did a good job in making me get irritated with certain characters, so much so that events ended up making me chuckle to think that I could ever have doubted Chris.

[aa.logan]

So I thought I’d wait until I’d read everything from 2020 that I wanted to read before I listed my favourite shorts/audios, but it turns out that Saga of the Beast, whilst good, doesn’t make my top 5.

 

They are-

 

-Cargo

-Dredge Runners

-War in the Museum

-The Birth of Hunger

-Nightbleed

 

As I said in the The Helwinter Gate thread, Cargo is amazing. The premise of it is one so central to 40k I’m flabbergasted that I’ve not read it elsewhere. Not only is it a great idea, it’s superbly executed- characters flash by on the page, but in the space of a few lines they’re really well fleshed out. It’s seriously good.

 

Dredge Runners is fun in the way that the best BL audios can be- a great story elevated by fantastic performances and production. All of WHC has been a revelation, and this is no exception.

 

War in the Museum is good in all the same ways as The Infinite and the Divine is. Despite how much I enjoyed this though, I didn’t expect the novel to be even better and so different. Which I hopes makes sense.

 

The Birth of Hunger is genuinely unsettling; it has the bleakness I like a Necromunda story to have coupled with a nice depiction of the insidious nature of Chaos. It feels really fresh though. In many ways, the rest of it’s anthology suffered for following it.

 

Nightbleed is also disconcerting to read. Like my previous choices it is pretty different from standard BL fare but is still very much a 40k story; aspects of it could be from any setting, but overall it is indisputably in the 41st millennium.