Upcoming BL Stuff - 2022

[ACoolBird]

Devestation of Baal (SE) already sold out before it even hit 10am

[Taliesin]

Got a copy of the stunning Devastation of Baal edition. Very pricy and really too much money but I had been looking forward to it and there was no time to doubt because it sold out in 3 minutes.

[Noserenda]

I recall Souldrinkers starting strong and going downhill, not read them in a long while though!

[Jareddm]

On 7/21/2022 at 11:29 AM, cheywood said:

There’s an as yet unannounced BL book up for preorder on August 13th. Outgunned by Denny Flowers. No description on Fnac but the cover pretty clearly indicates it’s about Imperium fighter pilots vs Orks. Here’s the link: https://www.fnac.com/livre-numerique/a17231058/Denny-Flowers-Outgunned#omnsearchpos=2

Very excited for more Denny Flowers.  I thought Fire Made Flesh was an underrated gem.  I do wish it wasn't Aeronautica though, as I'm kinda burned out on it after going through the On Wings of Blood anthology.

[byrd9999]

Inferno! Presents: The Emperor's Finest has a bit more blurb for the stories from Chris Wraight (Cadia), Marc Collins (Templars) and Jude Reid (Sisters of Battle):

https://catalog.simonandschuster.com/TitleDetails/TitleDetails.aspx?cid=1440&isbn=9781800261402&FilterByName=&FilterBy=&FilterVal=&ob=0&pn=1&ed=&showcart=&camefrom=&find=&a=

 

[cheywood]

17 minutes ago, byrd9999 said:

Inferno! Presents: The Emperor's Finest has a bit more blurb for the stories from Chris Wraight (Cadia), Marc Collins (Templars) and Jude Reid (Sisters of Battle):

https://catalog.simonandschuster.com/TitleDetails/TitleDetails.aspx?cid=1440&isbn=9781800261402&FilterByName=&FilterBy=&FilterVal=&ob=0&pn=1&ed=&showcart=&camefrom=&find=&a=

 

Cadia’s an excellent read in conjunction with The Helwinter Gate (it was the bonus short in the LE). Not sure how well it’ll hold up on its on own thematically, but it’s Wraight so the writing’s great. 

Edited July 25, 2022 by cheywood

[Sothalor]

Print on Demand Poll up on Warhammer Community

On the 40k side, we have:

Angel of Fire, William King (Book 1 of the Macharius trilogy)

Rebel Winter, Steve Parker

Hammer of Daemons, Ben Counter (Book 3 of his Grey Knights series)

The Gildar Rift, Sarah Cawkwell (from Space Marine Battles)

Wrath of Iron, Chris Wraight (from Space Marine Battles)

 

Seemingly a bit of a random lineup to my eyes. Of these, I haven't read Rebel Winter or The Gildar Rift. Of the other three, quality-wise I'd give it to Wrath of Iron as the best written, though people may be more interested in Macharius as a character. I just don't find King's writing to be enjoyable.

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

Is there an option to write in any of the recent books that were only in print for five seconds?

[Ubiquitous1984]

40 minutes ago, Lord Nord said:

Is there an option to write in any of the recent books that were only in print for five seconds?

The Dark City would hands down win this vote!

[Roomsky]

4 hours ago, A Melancholic Sanguinity said:

Print on Demand Poll up on Warhammer Community

On the 40k side, we have:

Angel of Fire, William King (Book 1 of the Macharius trilogy)

Rebel Winter, Steve Parker

Hammer of Daemons, Ben Counter (Book 3 of his Grey Knights series)

The Gildar Rift, Sarah Cawkwell (from Space Marine Battles)

Wrath of Iron, Chris Wraight (from Space Marine Battles)

 

Seemingly a bit of a random lineup to my eyes. Of these, I haven't read Rebel Winter or The Gildar Rift. Of the other three, quality-wise I'd give it to Wrath of Iron as the best written, though people may be more interested in Macharius as a character. I just don't find King's writing to be enjoyable.

That's a whole lot of I don't care on the 40k side. Voted for Wrath of Iron because I know some Fraters are pining for an affordable copy in good condition.

Even if you don't like Haley, read Skarsnik if it wins.

[Cherubael]

I was wondering if the revised versions of Dark Imperium and Plague War are different enough from the original versions to warrant a purchase as I already have the originals.  Any new material or just revised dates?  

[Roomsky]

2 hours ago, Cherubael said:

I was wondering if the revised versions of Dark Imperium and Plague War are different enough from the original versions to warrant a purchase as I already have the originals.  Any new material or just revised dates?  

 

There's a couple of Reddit threads with a fairly comprehensive breakdown of the changes. I won't steal the OP's thunder so here's some links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/nogxam/spoilers_deep_dive_in_changes_between_old_and_new/

https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/np2eaj/spoilers_deep_dive_in_changes_between_old_and_new/

[Felix Antipodes]

10 hours ago, A Melancholic Sanguinity said:

Print on Demand Poll up on Warhammer Community

On the 40k side, we have:

Angel of Fire, William King (Book 1 of the Macharius trilogy)

Rebel Winter, Steve Parker

Hammer of Daemons, Ben Counter (Book 3 of his Grey Knights series)

The Gildar Rift, Sarah Cawkwell (from Space Marine Battles)

Wrath of Iron, Chris Wraight (from Space Marine Battles)

 

Seemingly a bit of a random lineup to my eyes. Of these, I haven't read Rebel Winter or The Gildar Rift. Of the other three, quality-wise I'd give it to Wrath of Iron as the best written, though people may be more interested in Macharius as a character. I just don't find King's writing to be enjoyable.

Funnily enough, I just read the Macharius trilogy as part of my background research into Pacificus.  I ended up voting for Wrath of Iron but I quite liked Rebel Winter when it was originally released.  A shame the lost Parker as he was showing promise of stepping up to another level.

I really wish they would do these reader’s choice reprints some love by giving them a similar format/dress to the anniversary re-issues they are putting out.  I have most of these nominees in PB already.  Giving me the same format and book dress as the original is not going to get any money from me, which is GW’s aim after all.

[Sothalor]

Oh? Is Parker definitely not writing for BL anymore? He hadn't ever been prodigious in output as far as I remember.

Actually, come to think of it: since the whole "author retention" issue has cropped up here and there - short of some official statement by one party or another, what's the difference between "losing" a writer versus, say, infrequent or inconsistent releases?

[Felix Antipodes]

To me, if they are no longer being published by BL they have been ‘lost’ to the company.  Parker hasn’t put out anything new in the IP for awhile (need to check to confirm just how long) although his name pops up regularly in their anthologies like Nexus, Crusade and The Long Vigil which have reprinted various shorts.  Peter Fehervari is an example of an infrequent contributor.

[cheywood]

6 hours ago, A Melancholic Sanguinity said:

Oh? Is Parker definitely not writing for BL anymore? He hadn't ever been prodigious in output as far as I remember.

Actually, come to think of it: since the whole "author retention" issue has cropped up here and there - short of some official statement by one party or another, what's the difference between "losing" a writer versus, say, infrequent or inconsistent releases?

I’d say BL’s definitively lost a writer when they explicitly state ‘I’m not writing for BL again’ or BL bans them. In recent years Reynolds is the glaring example, but you’ve also got Parrott, McLean (left in solidarity with Parrott), and Mark Clapham who said he ‘never really grasped the setting’ or something along those lines. 

[theSpirea]

7 minutes ago, cheywood said:

I’d say BL’s definitively lost a writer when they explicitly state ‘I’m not writing for BL again’ or BL bans them. In recent years Reynolds is the glaring example, but you’ve also got Parrott, McLean (left in solidarity with Parrott), and Mark Clapham who said he ‘never really grasped the setting’ or something along those lines. 

And Michael R. Fletcher (I love his writing) said the BL "haven't offered enough to make it worth the time"

[DukeLeto69]

Unless you are one of the bigger selling authors (such as Abnett) and you have some leverage to negotiate a better royalty rate, my understanding is that the standard BL royalty rate is not very good.

[DarkChaplain]

I wonder if it used to be better, or has stagnated in the face of price increases, inflation and what not. I seem to recall some authors previously stating that it was paying reasonably well, with the added plus of Space Marine books in particular selling consistently. Though even then, that was compared to similar gigs. I wouldn't be surprised if the rise of Aconyte has thrown a bit of shade on BL's payments.

Few of their authors ever seemed to earn royalties anyway, though. They wrote from advance to advance, rarely out-earning it to be eligible for actual royalties, or they'd end up being peanuts. You had to keep writing plenty of projects throughout the year to keep your finances flowing.

Which, to me, is more of an indicator of them "losing" authors: where before they'd try to always have a gig going, now they're looking for outside jobs, which presumably pay better with hopefully less taxing deadlines and stress. These authors didn't stop writing, they just found greener pastures that probably treat them better.

[Sothalor]

The thing with royalties is you have to sell enough copies to "make up" the advance, and after that do royalties begin.

Barring known cash cows like Siege of Terra or Gaunt's Ghosts, does BL currently even print enough copies of an individual work to do that? 

[skylerboodie]

4 hours ago, cheywood said:

McLean (left in solidarity with Parrott)

I hadn't heard this, sad news to lose another!

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by skylerboodie
duplication

[cheywood]

4 minutes ago, skylerboodie said:

I hadn't heard this, sad news to lose another!

 

He didn’t make a big deal about it. I think he mentioned it in a tweet a while back.

[Ubiquitous1984]

4 hours ago, A Melancholic Sanguinity said:

The thing with royalties is you have to sell enough copies to "make up" the advance, and after that do royalties begin.

Barring known cash cows like Siege of Terra or Gaunt's Ghosts, does BL currently even print enough copies of an individual work to do that? 

It’s a great tactic to never have to pay royalties: have all books sell out within 30 minutes and never re-print them!

[Cherubael]

Is it common knowledge that Gav Thorpe is doing the Rogal Dorn Primarch book?  I don't recall hearing that but it was just recommended to me on Amazon.

Edited July 29, 2022 by Cherubael

[theSpirea]

15 minutes ago, Cherubael said:

Is it common knowledge that Gav Thorpe is doing the Rogal Dorn Primarch book?  I don't recall hearing that but it was just recommended to me on Amazon.

Yes, this was already mentioned here and the LE is listed on Coming Soon page: https://www.warhammer-community.com/blacklibrarycomingsoon/

And Chris Wraight is doing the Sanguinius Primarch book