Upcoming BL Stuff - 2023

[Sothalor]

Yeah, their whole Warhammer Crime shtick of "A [charname] Novel" feels rather pointless when they all seem to be one-shots so far.

[Arguleon Veq]

Has anyone heard of any rumors of BL rolling out some publications that feature and support the Leagues of Votann rollout?
 

 (Apologies if this is wrong location)

[Felix Antipodes]

Don’t believe in less is more and as good capitalists neither do GW.  One new novel and an anthology of previously released (for the most part) shorts isn't enough.  More proof that the imprints like crime and horror are on the way out imho.  Come on BL, either commit to them or give them the Emperor’s mercy.

[Felix Antipodes]

41 minutes ago, Arguleon Veq said:

Has anyone heard of any rumors of BL rolling out some publications that feature and support the Leagues of Votann rollout?
 

 (Apologies if this is wrong location)

Nothing so far from any of the usual sources like FNAC or Amazon.  Except for the occasional bit of throwaway fluff in stuff like the Arks of Omen books you would think they never happened.

[theSpirea]

15 hours ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

I dunno, I think less is more when it comes to Crime.  If we had 2-3 novels per year I could see the setting becoming a bit stale.  It’s best to leave us wanting more!

I definitely agree with quality over quantity. If this was a project by two or three authors then it would be completely reasonable to have one novel per year out. Around 20 authors contributed to Crime (counting all formats) so far. Now, I don't expect every single author will have their own series or even ends up writing a full novel but a follow-up on obviously started series such as Bloodlines and Flesh and Steel taking close to 3 years already isn't good.

Here's a list of dates and titles so far (it seems Crime got August/September slot and the recently announced anthology is scheduled for October as well. Can't find the novel listed anywhere yet):

 

17.09.2022	Vorbis Conspiracy, The [Anthology]
13.08.2022	Wraithbone Phoenix, The
18.09.2021	Grim Repast
28.08.2021	Sanction & Sin [Anthology]
07.08.2021	Broken City [Anthology]
26.09.2020	Flesh and Steel
22.08.2020	No Good Men [Anthology]
01.08.2020	Bloodlines

 

If the imprint is going to flop simply because BL/GW is atrocious at marketing... These books were aimed at newcomers, attracting new fans to the setting, yet you can't find copies in regular bookstores (there are a few exceptions). And there is no advertisement. I don't count one or two lazy articles on the WH Community page, only dedicated WH fans go to there.

 

While we're talking about Crime, here's a list for the Horror imprint:

 

04.03.2023    Black-Eyed Saint
04.03.2023    Resting Places, The [Anthology]
15.10.2022    Briardark
29.01.2022    Gothghul Hollow
08.01.2022    Bookkeeper's Skull, The
23.10.2021    Accursed, The [Anthology]
13.02.2021    Harrowed Paths, The [Anthology]
30.01.2021    Deacon of Wounds, The
24.10.2020    Reverie, The
07.03.2020    Sepulturum
07.03.2020    Anathemas [Anthology]
26.12.2019    Oubliette, The
30.11.2019    Dark Harvest
30.11.2019    Invocations [Anthology]
23.03.2019    Maledictions [Anthology]
23.03.2019    Wicked and the Damned, The [Anthology]

 

I apologize if I sound negative. WH is my favorite IP and I've been a fan for over 20 years. I think Crime/Horror is one of the best moves BL/GW have made. These are the books I can happily recommend to my non-WH fans and they also enjoy them. Some of them decide to venture further out and reach out for non-Crime/Horror books.

[System Sound]

To be fair, at least we're getting new books. Unlike Magic the Gathering, for example.

[Taliesin]

21 hours ago, Lord Marshal said:

More Warhammer Crime.

 

 

The novel looks very interesting, but the anthology as well actually if you read those story synopsis. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Taliesin

[Felix Antipodes]

2 hours ago, System Sound said:

To be fair, at least we're getting new books. Unlike Magic the Gathering, for example.

I realise that I’ve been sounding fairly negative myself of late and for that I also apologise.  Normally, I just go with the flow, read the new releases and see what my fellow fraters think of them.

I think it’s frustration with the sudden dearth of new product in recent times (or so it seems anyway).  Coupled with the underutilisation of their imprints it sometimes feel like they are working against themselves.

Let’s hope it comes together when the new edition arrives mid year.  No doubt they will have lined up something to mark the occasion.

[cheywood]

3 hours ago, Felix Antipodes said:

I realise that I’ve been sounding fairly negative myself of late and for that I also apologise.  Normally, I just go with the flow, read the new releases and see what my fellow fraters think of them.

I think it’s frustration with the sudden dearth of new product in recent times (or so it seems anyway).  Coupled with the underutilisation of their imprints it sometimes feel like they are working against themselves.

Let’s hope it comes together when the new edition arrives mid year.  No doubt they will have lined up something to mark the occasion.

We have seen fewer books this year than we had at this time last year. If the coming soon page is complete we’re looking at 13 new releases through May. Last year we were at 17 releases through May. However, I think last year’s high number of new releases, 40 total I believe, was partially a result of BL catching up after Covid delayed a number of books. I’m expecting around 30 new releases in total this year, which is pretty darn good for a small publisher.

[Felix Antipodes]

I’ve been reading BL fiction since before it was called BL (Boxtree was my intro) and ridden the ups and downs over the years.  I guess I got used to them releasing a couple of books a week and the sudden drip feed of one at best lately was jarring.  Especially since a lot of them have been PB editions of previous (HB) editions.  I don’t usually read the AoS stuff either (unless it has a name ending in Wright, French or Haley) as I find the setting boring for the most part, so that reduces what I perceive as new releases.

Still, credit where due.  They do punch out a lot of books for a minor publishing house.  Sometimes I think we forget that BL is just a small cog in the GW engine.

[theSpirea]

I'm curious if they are going to drop Lion on pre-order next week, some retailers/libraries have it listed on the 15th. Right after they updated the Coming Soon section.

[cheywood]

29 minutes ago, theSpirea said:

I'm curious if they are going to drop Lion on pre-order next week, some retailers/libraries have it listed on the 15th. Right after they updated the Coming Soon section.

They almost certainly are. The coming soon section frequently (maybe always?) doesn’t list novels directly tied in to big tabletop releases. 

[darkhorse0607]

Got the notification from Audible this morning. Lion book for pre-order next weekend, release date 22 April

[Ubiquitous1984]

1 hour ago, darkhorse0607 said:

Got the notification from Audible this morning. Lion book for pre-order next weekend, release date 22 April

Any info on duration and narrator?

[System Sound]

The Lion, standard (less limited) and Limited editions are up for preorder next week. Called it?

 

 

Oh and a Dark Angels omnibus. Dont know if any of the stuff in here is good, never have read it.

[theSpirea]

So the retailers were correct with listing for Lion on the 15th.

The Martyr's Tomb is now listed for the first week in July.

[darkhorse0607]

19 hours ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

Any info on duration and narrator?

 

The narrator is Timothy Watson, duration is 12 hours and 15 minutes, so pretty decently sized.

[Ubiquitous1984]

3 hours ago, darkhorse0607 said:

 

The narrator is Timothy Watson, duration is 12 hours and 15 minutes, so pretty decently sized.

Thanks, not listened to him before but can see he has a few WH books under his belt so hopefully he does a decent job.

 

Pleased to see that this is a full-sized novel!

[b1soul]

23 hours ago, System Sound said:

Oh and a Dark Angels omnibus. Dont know if any of the stuff in here is good, never have read it.

 

Once upon a time, the Dark Angels and Blood Angels were the first founding legions/chapters that intrigued me the most. I yearned to delve into the literary worlds crafted around them. So I picked up some tales by Gav Thorpe for the DA (and James Swallow for the BA)...and promptly stopped reading: Thorpe's writing style is the literary equivalent of a cheap TV dinner (and Swallow's is about as bland). I quickly started looking for something else and switched focus to White Scars after reading Brotherhood of the Storm: day and night in terms of quality. Gav also made me lose interest in the Raven Guard, so I'm pretty biased against him.

Edited April 10, 2023 by b1soul

[SteveAntilles]

Thorpe ruined the Dark Angels AND the Last Chancers. Worst writer BL has IMHO.

[cheywood]

12 minutes ago, SteveAntilles said:

Thorpe ruined the Dark Angels AND the Last Chancers. Worst writer BL has IMHO.

While I agree wholeheartedly about the Dark Angels, I rather like his work on The Last Chancers to be honest. I think Thorpe, like Haley, is at his best writing about small casts of eclectic characters. 

[DarkChaplain]

I genuinely enjoy most of what Thorpe has put out. Damn, I love his Sundering trilogy for Time of Legends... And while his Dark Angels: Legacy of Caliban trilogy has plenty of flaws, it was still an enjoyable ride (literally, considering it kicks off with the Ravenwing). I'll also fight people over the merits of his Raven Guard Heresy novels - I went for a re-read of the entire arc 5ish years ago and it's been much better than I'd remembered it (especially after all the bashing it received); the foreshadowing throughout Deliverance Lost was actually rather clever, in my experience.

 

But he's definitely at his best when he's writing stuff like Elves and Eldar; his sense of scope in writing lends itself well to the long-lived races than, say, Space Marines.

[SkimaskMohawk]

51 minutes ago, DarkChaplain said:

I'll also fight people over the merits of his Raven Guard Heresy novels - I went for a re-read of the entire arc 5ish years ago and it's been much better than I'd remembered it (especially after all the bashing it received); the foreshadowing throughout Deliverance Lost was actually rather clever, in my experience.

 

His raven guard arc is definitely a lot better having been completed and understanding what he's trying to say about corax, especially paired with the primarch book. Corax is basically a huge hypocrite and gets blinded with anger and pettiness, and his arc is basically him acting worse and worse until he finally realizes that he's not the high-logic, embodiment of Justice and that's he's actually a terrible person. 

[skylerboodie]

5 hours ago, SteveAntilles said:

Thorpe ruined the Dark Angels AND the Last Chancers. Worst writer BL has IMHO.

 

I'm not sure how you can say he ruined the Last Chancers, when they were his own creation in the first place and he's the sole writer of their stories. Ruined from what base? I accept you may not like the stories.

[Grenzer]

I actually really liked the Gav Thorpe Dark Angels books. The Legacy of Caliban trilogy was enjoyable even after a re-read, and I thought Luther was fantastic. I cant say they were great literary works but Im not sure if anything from Black Library is. Im a simple reader and I enjoyed them for what they were. I can understand folks not liking them, but the amount of hating on Gav Thorpe's DA books has always had the same meme-energy as "The Dark Angels are a traitor chapter! hurr hurr"

 

Anyways, I think Ill be picking up the omnibus, and looking forward to Son of the Forest. Right now Im wondering how much it will tie in to The Lion AoO book, and if it would be worthit (doubt).