Upcoming BL Stuff - 2022

[caladancid]

It is really weird to me that Severina Raine was removed from the Guard codex. I was really excited by Rachel Harrison's novels a few years back, but instead of capitalizing on her ability GW and BL seem to have just let her go and generally erased her characters.

[cheywood]

1 hour ago, caladancid said:

It is really weird to me that Severina Raine was removed from the Guard codex. I was really excited by Rachel Harrison's novels a few years back, but instead of capitalizing on her ability GW and BL seem to have just let her go and generally erased her characters.

Honourbound’s begging for a sequel too. I wonder if it’s just taking her a while to write it. Harrison’s BL employee (I think she’s in charge of covers/internal art for all the books) so I doubt there’s been any sort of falling out.

[caladancid]

1 hour ago, cheywood said:

Honourbound’s begging for a sequel too. I wonder if it’s just taking her a while to write it. Harrison’s BL employee (I think she’s in charge of covers/internal art for all the books) so I doubt there’s been any sort of falling out.

That’s good to hear! Both of her novels were great. 

[kamedake88]

7 hours ago, theSpirea said:

I'd say it's a fitting topic for the already existing thread:

https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/375159-black-library-and-their-flaws/

 

Posted a preliminary stream of thought on the thread you suggested. There is much, much more to write about.

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

5 hours ago, caladancid said:

It is really weird to me that Severina Raine was removed from the Guard codex. I was really excited by Rachel Harrison's novels a few years back, but instead of capitalizing on her ability GW and BL seem to have just let her go and generally erased her characters.

 

Well, she was never in the Guard codex so she wasn't exactly "removed" from it. The model is no longer available on the GW site and it was a resin model at that. Plus the only difference between her datasheet and a regular Commissar's was one power level, one point lower save, and a bespoke ability that would have been out of whack with 9th-Ed rules anyway.

 

Given all that...

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Lord Nord

[caladancid]

1 hour ago, Lord Nord said:

 

Well, she was never in the Guard codex so she wasn't exactly "removed" from it. The model is no longer available on the GW site and it was a resin model at that. Plus the only difference between her datasheet and a regular Commissar's was one power level, one point lower save, and a bespoke ability that would have been out of whack with 9th-Ed rules anyway.

 

Given all that...

 

Yeah I suppose a more precise way of saying it would have been that her datasheet is gone. However, I think the point remains.

[Urauloth]

Here's hoping she gets another book and a plastic miniature someday (you know what they say about hope, haha)

[Noserenda]

Angron getting another book set in modern times, by David Guymer with a beautiful limited edition! Though now i cant find the link again...

[theSpirea]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/11/16/black-library-gets-really-angry-with-a-new-angron-novel/?

[System Sound]

I want that LE cover as a poster!

[Fire Golem]

Anyone know why the community site does that? Sometimes links are up on Facebook and stuff for like half an hour before they show on the front page. Sometimes going to ‘all news & features’ shows them, sometimes it doesn’t. 
 

Anyway, the LE is really cool.

Edited November 16, 2022 by fire golem

[DarkChaplain]

Not at all a fan of the regular edition cover. Looks way too much like somebody took a photo of the game board like they do for Codex releases.

 

But getting a new modern Angron novel has potential. Maybe we'll even see Khârn's relationship with him. I just wonder: How sane is he? How much can he really drive a novel at this point?

 

....on another note, i swear, if GW just offed Yarrick off-screen, I'll punch the head off the new lord solar. Don't even joke about this, WarCom!

[Lord Marshal]

15 minutes ago, DarkChaplain said:

Not at all a fan of the regular edition cover. Looks way too much like somebody took a photo of the game board like they do for Codex releases.

 

But getting a new modern Angron novel has potential. Maybe we'll even see Khârn's relationship with him. I just wonder: How sane is he? How much can he really drive a novel at this point?

 

....on another note, i swear, if GW just offed Yarrick off-screen, I'll punch the head off the new lord solar. Don't even joke about this, WarCom!

 

Agreed on the cover. The LE one looks great, but the regular is pretty yuck. Very World of Warcraft. 

 

I suspect Yarrick is dead for all intents and purposes, but they're deliberately leaving it jjusstt ambiguous enough they can safely keep him buried but with the door ajar wide enoughto bring him back if they decide to. Like how Creed Sr. is probably never getting out of the Pokeball now his daughter has a model, but they can still bring him out if they need to (but probably won't).

Edited November 16, 2022 by Lord Marshal

[Tolmeus]

53 minutes ago, DarkChaplain said:

 

But getting a new modern Angron novel has potential. Maybe we'll even see Khârn's relationship with him. I just wonder: How sane is he? How much can he really drive a novel at this point?

 

Not sure if the novel will touch Angron's insights most of the time. I could rather imagine that it will be written like 'Khârn - Eater of Worlds': We got Dreagher as protagonist who looks at Khârn from his point of view. Or like in 'Dark Imperium - Plague War', where Guilliman got as many scenes as protagonist as well as a character described from another view.

 

At least the supportive text mentions that the World Eaters champion Kossolax plays a bigger role. 

 

I certainly hope that my expectations are going to be proved wrong though

Edited November 16, 2022 by Tolmeus

[Nagashsnee]

Terrible artwork aside i wish they would not have gone with the Grey Knight ultimate plan to destroy angron once and for all! They wont, we all know it, upping the scales has no meaning in these kind of cases and its unessacery, could of just as easily have been their plan to deal with him they have worked on since the last time they dealt with him. 

 

Realistic stakes people! It makes the plots way more interesting vs will this be the last time we see 'insert mini based character here'.

[chevalierdulys]

Is this novel going to be live when? I can't enter the warhammer community page (This one- giving an error)

[Kelborn]

Can live with the cover. Seen worse.

 

Surprised by Guymer though, did he tackled Angron and his unwanted sons before?

His work for the other ipis usually very good but his 40k contribution were a mixed bag for now.

 

Also not a huge fan of the "big ol' plan going on to get rid of him" although we already know it'll fail kind of stuff.

 

And also also: if they killed off Yarrick of-screen, I'll be quite mad. 

 

Prediction: the novel ends with Ghaz showing up demanding revenge for old Bale-Eye (half joking here)

[Noserenda]

I mean, they absolutely could kill him, though i suspect that would only happen id the book was written by a more "A tier author" and i dont think Guymer gets to hit that big. Wouldnt be the first surprise Primarch kill, though we know theyve turned them down in the past too (ADB wanted to kill Lorgar already) and plenty of special characters have had rules/minis when dead in the present day.

Plus, Daemon Angron is barely a character separate to any other Khorne daemon prince at this point, all his plots are essentially, "go places, kill everything, build skull pyramids" unlike his brothers.

I dont expect it when its essentially a tie in novel but the potential is there.

But hell, how cool would an Armageddon trilogy throwing all the various plotlines there together to tie up and conclude things be?

[DarkChaplain]

I don't really have a problem with the Grey Knights making big plans to banish Angron once and for all. We know they were prepared to counter his initial Armageddon incursion, and came away with far too many sacrifices. We also know they had that whole prophecy true name thing for Mortarion, that ended with Draigo going toe to toe with him.

I'd find it stranger if the Grey Knights didn't try to banish Angron. I believe they were even looking into banishing Mortarion in Ultramar, but since Guilliman did some... unconventional things, they got upset and left it to him. And they were trying against Magnus, iirc.

 

But yeah, we obviously know he won't get banished, thanks to the book happening in the current timeline and him getting an actual model. At least I assume that's the timeline. It's still a rematch that I feel has a good basis in the lore and has big reveal potential. And while banishment isn't an option this time, diversion and limiting his reach are.

[Tolmeus]

No, it is not live. They haven't announced a release date yet. Keep your eyes on the Sunday Preview page

[Ubiquitous1984]

Warcom on instagram said its likely 2023.  

[Fedor]

On the regular cover, Angron looks like a "my first kitbash" attempt with a Knight Questoris torso and some Bloodthirster parts.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Fedor

[Bobss]

On 11/14/2022 at 4:16 AM, kamedake88 said:

Replying to DarkChaplain and the long term lot that posts here, Failing mate. I have some pressing professional concerns about any sort of operating future for GW subsidiaries. I'm an accountant btw and all the alarm bells of a failing business are going off in my head.  The same alarm bells that would go off during a post mortem audit on a company I would be farmed out to do for example.  We can get a speculative thread going to discuss this as well with a mod pointing the way to the right sub etc. 

 

Said this about 6 months ago and had to deal with the BLDF shooting down my completely, self-admittedly, anecdotal argument. I've been reading these books for 20 years, which is over two thirds of my life, and despite the tabletop still going strong (with the usual market turbulence going on right now), the book side of things seems to be nosediving. I don't know if this is down to horrendous levels of mismanagement at Black Library Towers, or if the readership is vastly smaller than what some people here pretend it to be (which is my own belief as nerd culture circles have changed drastically in the past 5 years, never mind the past 10-20 years), or probably a mixture of both. I don't know if BL flew too close to the sun, having a Prometheus moment of their own, but the writing on the wall is clear and covid can only be blamed for so much and for so long

 

I've been saying this for a while now. Abnett has 3 books left in him, and ADB has 3-4 depending on whether a Scouring-era sandbox materialises. Swathes of authors have gone elsewhere, and all of those experimental, out-on-a-limb series people loved, like Severina Raine and the Necron geezers, will be wanting for sequels for ages to come. Expect most releases to be heavily tied into what the company's main branch is doing

 

At this point I just want Black Legion 3 and I'm happy to ride off into the sunset

[cheywood]

39 minutes ago, Bobss said:

 

Said this about 6 months ago and had to deal with the BLDF shooting down my completely, self-admittedly, anecdotal argument. I've been reading these books for 20 years, which is over two thirds of my life, and despite the tabletop still going strong (with the usual market turbulence going on right now), the book side of things seems to be nosediving. I don't know if this is down to horrendous levels of mismanagement at Black Library Towers, or if the readership is vastly smaller than what some people here pretend it to be (which is my own belief as nerd culture circles have changed drastically in the past 5 years, never mind the past 10-20 years), or probably a mixture of both. I don't know if BL flew too close to the sun, having a Prometheus moment of their own, but the writing on the wall is clear and covid can only be blamed for so much and for so long

 

I've been saying this for a while now. Abnett has 3 books left in him, and ADB has 3-4 depending on whether a Scouring-era sandbox materialises. Swathes of authors have gone elsewhere, and all of those experimental, out-on-a-limb series people loved, like Severina Raine and the Necron geezers, will be wanting for sequels for ages to come. Expect most releases to be heavily tied into what the company's main branch is doing

 

At this point I just want Black Legion 3 and I'm happy to ride off into the sunset

Are Abnett and ADB known to be dissatisfied with BL? It seems a bit of a leap to go from ‘the current economic climate might change how BL does business’ to ‘the best authors are leaving and the novels you want aren’t going to happen’ but what do I know.

[Nagashsnee]

9 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

But yeah, we obviously know he won't get banished, thanks to the book happening in the current timeline and him getting an actual model. At least I assume that's the timeline. It's still a rematch that I feel has a good basis in the lore and has big reveal potential. And while banishment isn't an option this time, diversion and limiting his reach are.

 

Banish yeah, deal with yes, trap why the hell not could even succeed and set up a second novel where they break him out on the way back to titan.  But destroy? Permanent banish? Just makes me roll my eyes faster then a Abaddon vs 2 founding chapter master duel/other know HH survivor would. 

 

Trap would have been my favorite route for the backcover , it would genuinely raise my interest, when is this book set? Is it pre first war of Armageddon? Does it tie into that? is after that but well before current timeline setting up his return? Will they actually trap him setting up a second book that then leads us into the current timeline? Are they going WAY WAY back say M35 and setting up a whole little mini story about the time the grey knights trapped Angron and almost got away with it only for it all to be buried on some library on titan? 

 

Fabius bile Clonelord did this so so well as even tho we all kinda knew how it would end, there was always that most elusive and intoxicating little voice going but what if...they carry this to book 3? What if they make it an actual minor plot point in the wider setting. Heck even after it ended the way it did places like Reddit are still having talks about the what ifs and what could be.  

 

Having a end goal that is inevitable 100% like here is boring, having one that is 99.9% makes a UNIVERSE of difference to me at least. Because every now and then BL pulls out a genuine shock.

 

So have the Grey knights have their ULTIMATE COUNTER all planned and stuff, but have it so i don't know it fails without even having touched the book.  Because for me it makes said book a hard 'borrow' and then buy for bookshelf if its any good, rather then 'buy' cause i want to read it NOW and i dont even feel bad about it.  And isnt getting us to buy them what back covers are all about? 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Nagashsnee