Upcoming BL Stuff - 2022

[DarkChaplain]

Leave it to BL to make the omnibus of three short small hardback anthologies also a small hardback.

Again just 12 offerings for advent. Go figure...

And :cuss:, just release audiobooks of anthologies on the regular, BL. You even do it sometimes! Just do it.

 

Audio dramas are dead for good, it appears. F.

[System Sound]

2 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

Leave it to BL to make the omnibus of three short small hardback anthologies also a small hardback.

Again just 12 offerings for advent. Go figure...

And :cuss:, just release audiobooks of anthologies on the regular, BL. You even do it sometimes! Just do it.

 

Audio dramas are dead for good, it appears. F.

Guess we can kiss that Cypher audio drama by French, good-bye...

[DarkChaplain]

I figured they'd already laid it to rest by not mentioning it again, ever, in what, 3 years? :')

[System Sound]

9 minutes ago, DarkChaplain said:

I figured they'd already laid it to rest by not mentioning it again, ever, in what, 3 years? :')

Fair enough i guess.

[Noserenda]

If the Lion rumours are true we might see a return to the Cypher/Fallen plots they dropped back then though. Fingers crossed!

 

[Ubiquitous1984]

1 hour ago, Noserenda said:

If the Lion rumours are true we might see a return to the Cypher/Fallen plots they dropped back then though. Fingers crossed!

 

Perhaps the Garro SoT novella will revisit the Loken and Cypher plot, with possible links into the Fallen storyline and 40K universe?  

[Sothalor]

That would be a bizarre work to do that in. Garro has no real ties or involvement with the Dark Angels, Caliban, or Luther. He visited the place once as a Knight Errant and then left. 

 

Frankly, the plot boat of Loken and potential/future Cypher or Caliban has long sailed and shipwrecked somewhere offscreen. Loken and Garro have their own, more personal arcs and plot threads to conclude in the remaining Siege materials.

 

There's almost certainly going to be nothing about Caliban in the remaining Siege books. It's just not the focus. For some hypothetical future Sundering series, sure. That's where to expand on the First Legion -> Unforgiven road.

[Ubiquitous1984]

33 minutes ago, Sothalor said:

That would be a bizarre work to do that in. Garro has no real ties or involvement with the Dark Angels, Caliban, or Luther. He visited the place once as a Knight Errant and then left. 

 

Frankly, the plot boat of Loken and potential/future Cypher or Caliban has long sailed and shipwrecked somewhere offscreen. Loken and Garro have their own, more personal arcs and plot threads to conclude in the remaining Siege materials.

 

There's almost certainly going to be nothing about Caliban in the remaining Siege books. It's just not the focus. For some hypothetical future Sundering series, sure. That's where to expand on the First Legion -> Unforgiven road.

Oh I fully agree it would be bizarre - I’m just trying to figure out what they can square off in the Garro book, considering we know Motarion is dead already, and there is the Typhon/DA plot threads that need concluding.  It would now feel out of place IMO to re-visit the DA plot in book 8, considering how focused book 7 was on the Inner Palace itself.  This novella seems like the last opportunity to resolve Garro/Loken, plus the many other minor storylines and plot threads that they have been embroiled in over tight last 15 years!

 

PS - its a long time since I listened to the story where Loken visits Caliban, but IIRC he had some major interactions with the Watchers and Cypher at the end, which could conceivably flow into the ‘mystery DA on Terra’ plot thread from the end of Mortis.  

Edited November 2, 2022 by Ubiquitous1984

[DarkChaplain]

Wouldn't be the first time Swallow came along with bizarre plotlines in his novels or novellas. At this point though I'm hoping to at least see Garro and Loken interact in that novella at all, rather than refusing to let them exist in the same room together, like for most of the Siege.

 

Then, it's already bizarre that Garro is supposed to be fighting Mortarion, who was banished two books ago. That's gonna require some serious handwaving or timeline hopping.

 

As for Loken and Cypher, iirc, Loken recognized who it was. However, this would've been around Zaramund, where Loken was at best a captain, as that'd have been the last opportunity for Loken and Luther's angels to meet. Luther isn't sure when he saw Loken but doesn't remember him specifically.

 

This would have been before Angels of Caliban, when Zahariel took up the role of Cypher, though. And in AoC, Zahariel recognizes who Cypher was, before bad things happen, but we aren't privy to that information. They could drop that recognition between Loken and the previous Cypher on that note, with Zahariel probably killing him during the schism.

 

On the flipside, we have somebody mysterious at the Hollow Mountain, who was not expected. I don't think this could be Zahariel-Cypher, as he was supposedly still at Caliban until the Lion returned; at least Luther believes he was, and believes he was killed there. His chance to leave would've been alongside the recruits handed to Corswain at Zaramund, something that happened parallel to Calas Typhon's visit to Luther there.

 

We definitely DO have a string between the Fallen / Luther / Cypher / Corswain and the Death Guard under Typhus, that could be picked up on. We also have a potential thing with Loken, but I don't think that'll pay off.

 

Considering that Swallow himself wrote Exocytosis, the Zaramund Typhus story, we could see something happen, but I wouldn't count on it, especially with how he ignored the rivalry between Typhus and Corswain in The Buried Dagger.

Edited November 3, 2022 by DarkChaplain

[Taliesin]

21 hours ago, cheywood said:

The weekly BL previews have been rather lackluster the past month or so, focusing on smaller titles. I wonder if we’re getting a BL preview event sometime soon for some of next year‘s big releases. There’s a few books we know are coming (The End and The Death, Garro, Wrath of the Lost), but 2023’s mostly a mystery. 

 

They are indeed.

I share your hope for a proper BL preview like they did last year in Nov/Dec. I think we almost have to get one since there has been very little news on what is actually gonna happen from December onwards. Normally they did the preview at the BL Weekender, which unfortunately they have once again decided not to organize ( which I find to be a huge bummer as I really enjoyed those events).

[Ubiquitous1984]

2 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

Wouldn't be the first time Swallow came along with bizarre plotlines in his novels or novellas. At this point though I'm hoping to at least see Garro and Loken interact in that novella at all, rather than refusing to let them exist in the same room together, like for most of the Siege.

 

Then, it's already bizarre that Garro is supposed to be fighting Mortarion, who was banished two books ago. That's gonna require some serious handwaving or timeline hopping.

 

As for Loken and Cypher, iirc, Loken recognized who it was. However, this would've been around Zaramund, where Loken was at best a captain, as that'd have been the last opportunity for Loken and Luther's angels to meet. Luther isn't sure when he saw Loken but doesn't remember him specifically.

 

This would have been before Angels of Caliban, when Zahariel took up the role of Cypher, though. And in AoC, Zahariel recognizes who Cypher was, before bad things happen, but we aren't privy to that information. They could drop that recognition between Loken and the previous Cypher on that note, with Zahariel probably killing him during the schism.

 

On the flipside, we have somebody mysterious at the Hollow Mountain, who was not expected. I don't think this could be Zahariel-Cypher, as he was supposedly still at Caliban until the Lion returned; at least Luther believes he was, and believes he was killed there. His chance to leave would've been alongside the recruits handed to Corswain at Zaramund, something that happened parallel to Calas Typhon's visit to Luther there.

 

We definitely DO have a string between the Fallen / Luther / Cypher / Corswain and the Death Guard under Typhus, that could be picked up on. We also have a potential thing with Loken, but I don't think that'll pay off.

 

Considering that Swallow himself wrote Exocytosis, the Zaramund Typhus story, we could see something happen, but I wouldn't count on it, especially with how he ignored the rivalry between Typhus and Corswain in The Buried Dagger.

I am always in awe at how much about the lore you know … how do you remember all these things?!  

 

I’m very interested in the plot for the Garro novella.  I’m hoping that the front cover featuring Motarion is some kind of swerve, as post-Warhawk I’ve got no interest in a Garro/Mortarion confrontation whatsoever.   

[cheywood]

Sanguinius is up for preorder on the 26th: https://www.fnac.com/livre-numerique/a17501511/Chris-Wraight-Sanguinius-The-Great-Angel#omnsearchpos=7

 

Very curious to see how Wraight tackles the Blood Angels after the elegiac brilliance of EoE.

 

Oddly enough there’s no mention of when Witchbringer’s coming yet, but maybe BL just isn’t listing that one.

[Kelborn]

Chris' take on the BA as part of the Khans Primaech novel caught my interest and was a well depiction.

At least one I enjoyed as a non BA fan.

 

So my hopes are high for this one.

[DarkChaplain]

8 hours ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

I am always in awe at how much about the lore you know … how do you remember all these things?!  

 

I’m very interested in the plot for the Garro novella.  I’m hoping that the front cover featuring Motarion is some kind of swerve, as post-Warhawk I’ve got no interest in a Garro/Mortarion confrontation whatsoever.   

 

Honestly, I'm just glad I actually can remember stuff like this easily enough - otherwise I'd be screwed, reading a half-dozen books in parallel all the time, continuing them based on current moods. I'm not sure if the memory thing is why I can be this crazy, or was born out of necessity from being crazy to begin with.

 

And honestly, I'm in the same boat. The simple fact that Garro seemingly hasn't given a damn about Mortarion, and wasn't even namedropped in Warhawk when there was plenty of opportunity to tease an upcoming, already planned novella, just confounds me. I don't want a backfill novella from before his banishment, not when we're two books on. Both Sons of the Selenar and Fury of Magnus released right when they should, in-between books, when they were relevant to plot developments.

[Sothalor]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Garro's beef with Mortarion is perhaps the least interesting aspect of his character to me. Even back in Flight of the Eisenstein he seemed to have such a tangential relationship to the Primarch. The whole path to damnation that Mortarion takes the XIVth Legion down was never core to Garro's story; his was always about an Astartes from the old ways wandering into the new. 

 

Garro's identity as a Death Guard is almost inconsequential. The core of his story is an Astartes of Terra who goes through the Great Crusade, sees his Legion transformed by reuniting with their Primarch, and then being personally transformed by the crucible of the Heresy. Garro is the archetypal forerunner who embodies the change of Legiones Astartes to Adeptus Astartes - of Great Crusade Space Marine to 41st Millennium Space Marine. His story is ultimately about the journey from Imperial Truth to Imperial Creed.

 

And that's what I think the Siege novella should focus on - not some grudge match against Mortarion. My hope is that "Mortarion" in the novella is more metaphorical, like an allegorical embodiment of the downfall of the triumphant icons of the Imperial Truth or something. That Garro's true struggle isn't a sword fight against a superhuman father figure as much as it is a spiritual battle against the fundamental realities of a horrifically broken universe.

 

But we all know what hope is the first step on the road...

[Urauloth]

As an aside, I see that Noah Van Nguyen has an upcoming novel (or novella? I don't think they specified) which, despite being AoS and thus outside the remit of this thread, is very much worth noting in terms of upcoming BL releases. That should be very good, based on the quality of Van Nguyen's work so far.

[byrd9999]

NvN has a wonderfully kinetic writing style. His work in the Crime series has been very entertaining.

[Krelious]

On 11/3/2022 at 11:09 AM, cheywood said:

Sanguinius is up for preorder on the 26th: https://www.fnac.com/livre-numerique/a17501511/Chris-Wraight-Sanguinius-The-Great-Angel#omnsearchpos=7

 

Very curious to see how Wraight tackles the Blood Angels after the elegiac brilliance of EoE.

 

Oddly enough there’s no mention of when Witchbringer’s coming yet, but maybe BL just isn’t listing that one.

 

So do you know if the Cadian Blood novel will be up on the 12th or the 19th?

[cheywood]

59 minutes ago, Krelious said:

 

So do you know if the Cadian Blood novel will be up on the 12th or the 19th?

I don’t unfortunately. Fnac doesn’t list limited/special editions. Sorry about that!

[Alby the Slayer]

So, I was hoping for something massive for the Xmas's BL release and I am quite disappointed.

 

I was dreaming about the Emperor's Spears volume second, or some amazing edition.

 

Two anthologies one for 30k and one for 40k and a red good novel is something meh, for me.

[DarkChaplain]

Fun fact: In their newsletter with today's preorders, they forgot the ebook icon on the AoS anthology & Kragnos. It only has the print icon, while the 40k anthology and Inferno! Presents: The Emperor's Finest have both icons. Thorough work, BL intern.

[Ubiquitous1984]

Still no sign of that Harrowmaster audio either, despite it being mentioned in the Sunday preview two weeks ago. 

 

It’s not coming, is it?  

[darkhorse0607]

6 hours ago, Alby the Slayer said:

So, I was hoping for something massive for the Xmas's BL release and I am quite disappointed.

 

I was dreaming about the Emperor's Spears volume second, or some amazing edition.

 

Two anthologies one for 30k and one for 40k and a red good novel is something meh, for me.

 

Wasn't there a Black Library preview event early/mid December last year? Think we might see another one?

[Taliesin]

It hasnt been announced, but as we discussed a little bit upthread, thats what we are hoping for and expecting, considering we have had no news of 2023 releases yet and they have done a preview every year so far.

[theSpirea]

Amazing interview, as expected from Track of Words: https://www.trackofwords.com/2022/09/07/author-spotlight-steven-b-fischer/

 

I truly wish GW/BL put a fraction of Michael's effort and did something similar on their website.

I'm immediately more interested in the novel and Steven's enthusiasm sold me the book. The book I wasn't originally planning to get.