2024 - BL highs and lows, best book/story of the year

[theSpirea]

Hello WH/BL fans, it's that time of the year ago to start 'best book of 2024' thread.

 

As always, to make recalling this year’s publications easier, I’m attaching a list of BL releases for 2024. At one point, we were worried that the output had slowed down, but it picked up later. To put things into perspective, here’s a recap of the past few years:

• 2020 - 29
• 2021 - 28
• 2022 - 40 (covid spike)
• 2023 - 31
• 2024 - 28

 

I usually try to read at least half of the newly published novels, but I didn’t manage to do so this year. Instead, I spent my time either reading or re-reading older works or exploring non-BL books. Among the ones I did read, I struggled a bit to pick a favorite. There wasn’t anything that stood out significantly or that I’d rate a 9 or 10, unlike in previous years. But at least most of the books I read from 2024 were above average, many I would rate between 6 and 8. I consider 6 to be a good/decent rating, I don't slap 10/10 on everything.

The top three

 

• Dominion Genesis
• Broken Crusade
• Darkoath

 

Books I haven't read yet but I expect to score high: Above and Beyond, Elemental Council, and The Dead Kingdom

 

What can I say about BL in 2024? It was a strange year. I’m a big fan of short stories, but this year I barely read any. Aside from the pretty decent On the Shoulders of Giants, I didn’t read a single BL short story from 2024. Never happened before.

It was also the year I bought the fewest BL books. I’ve reached the point where my collection includes over 1,000 physical books (not all BL), and instead of buying more, I’ve started selling some.

 

In a way, I’m happy with this year’s BL output, but I do miss the Crime and Necromunda imprints. I’d also love to see more old titles getting reprints, heck, doesn't even to be hardbacks, do PoD paperbacks. BL should also focus on improving the quality control of their LEs and include more artwork.

 

How was your 2024 in BL? Were there any surprises or disappointments? What's your favorite read?

 

[Tolmeus]

I have only read 5 books of the list. Each of these books were okay, some even borderd to be exceptional.

Personally, I always find it difficult to rate books better than mediocre after reading them for the first time. This is because I always have the expectation to experience a similarly gripping plot as in the Horus Heresy or almost all of Aaron Demski-Bowden's books (Spear of the Emperor, Helsreach, ...).

My own ranking is therefore as follows:
1. The End and the Death Vol. III (only at the top because the end of the series also resonates here for me. I find the ending itself weak compared to other works in the SoT series)
2. Broken Crusade (a really great surprise)
3. Lord of Excess
4. Oath of Damnation
5. Eidolon: The Auric Hammer

[darkhorse0607]

Thanks as always for putting this together

 

After looking through the list I honestly didn't read enough 2024 books to fill a top five. I spent most of it going back to older releases that I never got around to (or re-reading Alpharius Head of the Hydra for the 500th time)

 

What I did read

 

Broken Crusade-Good, pleasantly surprised, and will be one I recommend to those interested in the Black Templars

Lazerus- Also good, one nitpick with the story but other than that I enjoyed it, especially since it had little to do with the Fallen

Deathworlder- Another pleasant surprise. I'm not one for the Catachans but I enjoyed it, and the more horroresque spin on the Tyranids

 

And that's all of my 2024 books. Like @theSpirea said above, none of the ones I read were bad, but also weren't 9s or 10s. 2024 was a weird year for releases, where everything was ok, but nothing really blew my socks off. I'm still putting off End and the Death 3 as quite frankly 1 and 2 left such a meh impression I don't know if I am ready for another 16 hours of that yet. I'll get around to Dominion Genesis, Oath of Damnation, and a few others in time, probably in 2025 if the releases are like 2024s and I don't need to front-load anything

 

But

 

If I were to top five books I got through this year, including those from other years

 

1) Fall of Cadia. Enough said really, the entire time I was going through it I just kept wishing Rath had done the Siege of Terra. It was comprehensive enough to cover most everything, still had good characters for both sides and made you feel the tension. It probably would've made the list for the Abbadon boarding scene alone

2)Fabius Bile: Primogenitor (still working on the last two). Just a really solid novel, We didn't see all that much from Bile during the Heresy, and almost never see Harlequins and this book gave us both, and fleshed out Bile more than just a 40k Doctor Frankenstein

3)The Carrion Throne. Not too into Inquisitor-based novels but this one was good.

4)For the Emperor. I will not apologize for putting a Cain book on here. I spent a lot of time with the series this year and have enjoyed most of them but the first one is my favorite.

5) I dunno. Plague War maybe? This is where I hit the "good but nothing spectacular" section where most of the books I got through in 2024 land. It was good, particularly because of the struggle between the zealous parts of the Imperium and the less zealous

Edited December 8 by darkhorse0607

[System Sound]

I managed to read whooping 2 BL books, since a certain meandering 3 part book managed to finanly burn me out on Warhammer. I spent this year reading non BL stuff mostly. Southern Reach trilogy (quadrilofy now) is bloody amazing btw!

 

1.Hand of Abaddon. Another eh.. entry in the very much eh... Dawn of Fire series. Multiple cliffhanges that most likely won't be resolved in the last novel either...

 

2.The end and the unnecessary volumes of death vol. 3. A door stopper of a book that is a physical manifestation of excess and lack of editorial control, oh and Abnetts indulgence into pointless meanderings... Atleast it's over now... Right? Right!?

Edited December 8 by System Sound

[Roomsky]

Always hard when one hasn't read all the eligible books. I expect the following will affect my list, but I don't know when I'll get to them: Broken Crusade, Above and Beyond, The Dead Kingdom, Dominion Genesis, Elemental Council, Interseptor City

 

So, excluding all those, here's my top 5:

1. Lord of Excess - top prize for ambition and general writing quality. A tad overstuffed, but worth it for all the ideas on display in my opinion.
2. The End and the Death III - NOT top spot out of principle for the bloated mess that is TEATD. Still, the pacing in this one was far better and IMO it actually delivered a good (detailed) Emperor v Horus, something I don't think any other writer has managed. A fantastic ending to a series we didn't actually get, but Abnett thinks we did.
3. Deathworlder - Just a really solid Guard story. Extra points for broaching the grossness of Tyranids in ways most stories are too cowardly to touch.
4. Da Big Dakka - Brooks Orks, they're great, if not as great as the first time round.
5. Lelith Hesperax - Solid Dark Eldar novel, and my favourite with them as protagonists now that I know Chambers' work really isn't for me.

Disappointments:

1. Siege of Vraks - Interminably boring. I see what Lyons was going for, but I don't think it works at all.
2. Hand of Abaddon - It's fine, but I'm disappointed that it's a Kyme rushjob to move things in place for the finale instead of being its own thing.

[DarkChaplain]

7 hours ago, System Sound said:

I managed to read whooping 2 BL books, since a certain meandering 3 part book managed to finanly burn me out on Warhammer. I spent this year reading non BL stuff mostly. Southern Reach trilogy (quadrilofy now) is bloody amazing btw!

 

1.Hand of Abaddon. Another eh.. entry in the very much eh... Dawn of Fire series. Multiple cliffhanges that most likely won't be resolved in the last novel either...

 

2.The end and the unnecessary volumes of death vol. 3. A door stopper of a book that is a physical manifestation of excess and lack of editorial control, oh and Abnetts indulgence into pointless meanderings... Atleast it's over now... Right? Right!?

 

Same here. I read a bit of Age of Sigmar stuff, and tried getting invested in a few books this year (Eidolon, Dawn of Fire), but just washed out very early every time. The End and the Death broke me. If we're talking short stories / re-read, Fehervari is thankfully a thing, but other than that? I just can't bring myself to stick with BL right now. Figured this burnout would abide sooner, but alas.

 

Instead, I've been reading tons of light novels (including the surprisingly engaging Mimosa Confessions, which I'm definitely sticking with til it wraps up next year!), like the entirety of Mushoku Tensei - and here I want to make a bow back to the Horus Heresy, because MT is a 26 novel endeavor that also didn't fully convince me with its ending. Not at first. I felt let down by the wrapup, the dangling plotlines, the setup that never paid off.... and then it clicked. None of that stuff was ever going to be resolved - by design, because it's not that kind of story. It's beyond the scope of the personal drama that it always was, from start to finish. Those pieces were for somebody else to pick up afterwards, elsewhere, in other stories the author may or may not tell, but they've never been vital to the story that was being told.

 

That dissatisfaction I felt was down to completely different reasons than with TEATD, and that dissatisfaction was resolved by what the ending entailed, how it was bookended, and thinking back on the journey from start to finish - because it was consistent, because it was personal, and because it was never shy about what sort of story it was.

I never got that feeling from TEATD. Even though both stories planted seeds for later use, only one of them felt like it respected my time and investment enough, like it delivered a cohesive vision.

 

And seeing how TEATD is supposedly the magnum opus of the Heresy, and that even knowing it's been out there for months, BL/GW still can't be arsed to even announce that wrap-up anthology? And that's after TEATD was spread out for a long bloody time. Man, do I feel my time and investment disrespected by the publisher at this point, and it's souring me on books by authors I'd actually probably enjoy a great deal more if I could motivate myself to read them.

 

There's a bunch of books they released this year that I'd like to read. I just don't feel like getting more BL whiplash right now. Now excuse me while I watch a 3 hour series recap of The Stormlight Archive so I can see if brick 5, which clocks in at an audio runtime of 63 hours, is wrapping up the first half of the series satisfyingly, at least...

[Felix Antipodes]

I’m also behind on my BL read list, with several books on the lectern waiting their turn.  The constant yo-yoing between famine and flood of releases hasn’t helped either.

 

Like others I’ve also had a post-TEATD burnout of sorts and have retreated to re-reading some non-GW stuff (Moorcock fantasy and some hard SF for a total palette cleanse), so will hold odd on naming favs until the end of the year (or early 2025) so I can give my lonely stragglers a chance at making the list.

[DukeLeto69]

And there was me thinking I may be the only one.

 

 

I am another BL Reader who suffered PTSD after TEATD and since then I have not actually read a single BL book. I think I purchased two (Sea of Souls, Hand of Abaddon) but they remain unread.

 

I like to binge read so had saved up the last five SoT books (originally expecting it to be three books) so then read them back-to-back.  Some of it was excellent but my oh my what a lot of words and sub plots, and unnecessary side plots and new plots and plots and plots and plots!

 

Actually think TEATD book 3 (the only eligible book for this thread) was really good, excellent in fact, made even more so following on from book 2. With judicious editing there is an astoundingly good duology in that trilogy!

 

Been avidly reading dozens of BL books since 2006, every single year. But not this one. I needed some distance. A palette cleanser. And also need some excitement again, the kind that (for ME) will be ignited by:

 

Abnett

Interceptor City, Pandaemonium

 

ADB

Black Legion 3

 

Wraight

Watchers of the Throne 3

 

Fehervari

Anything but please a novel pretty please

 

Multi-Author

WH Crime returning big time!

 

Maybe we need to start a post TEATD support group

[Ubiquitous1984]

I've only read two BL books this year (SoT ending and DoF book 8).  I really enjoyed SoT, the fight between Horus and the Emperor was truly epic and delivered on many levels.  I appreciate I am in the minority with this view!

 

The DoF book was solid, I am looking forward to the last book in the series.

 

But that said I'm pretty done with BL.  They disrespected me as a fan one too many times with their lack of communication, poor quality LE's and terrible buying experience.  

[byrd9999]

I'm a slow reader, so I rarely manage to read book during the year in which they were released.

 

But I did read TEATD 1, 2 and 3 back to back to back, which took me about 5 months.

 

I'm part of the minority on here, but I loved it. Dan's take on the Warhammer universe really resonates with me, so the more words the better. The battle between the Emperor and Horus on multiple planes of existence/dimensions was a tour-de-force. One of my all-time favourite ever BL scenes.

 

Apart from that, the best BL book I read in 2024 was The Death of Integrity by Guy Haley.

[Scribe]

18 hours ago, DukeLeto69 said:

I am another BL Reader who suffered PTSD after TEATD and since then I have not actually read a single BL book.

 

We joke, but the way this all went down and the state of non Wraight/ADB 40K?

 

I'm completely turned off of Black Library. 

[System Sound]

5 hours ago, Scribe said:

 

We joke, but the way this all went down and the state of non Wraight/ADB 40K?

 

I'm completely turned off of Black Library. 

I think it's just an accumulation of all BLs f***ups recently. Botching the siege, botching the Dawn of Fire, TEatD fiasco, quality of LEs dropping of a cliff, near 0 communication, scalpers... Ect ect.

 

Both SoT and DoF had some good books, but the majority was a letdown... So when you get stuff like this can you blame the long term fans for wanting to go to greener pastures?

 

While we do get a pretty hefty influx of new authors these days, this is starting to feel like the twilight hours for BL... They really need to get their :cuss: together or just outsource the entire thing to a company that can and will bother to do better than just half ass it...

[DukeLeto69]

You have to wonder whether the corporate focus for “drama” related to the IP has shifted to the Amazon deal. If that lands, and if it goes well, that will generate a LOT more revenue for GW than BL. Saying that, if they adapt existing books/series then a “movie tie in” release(s) could also have a positive impact on BL sales!

 

Edit: as if by magic the announcement has been made to the London Stock Exchange that the Amazon deal is very much alive and creative guidelines finalised and agreed. Watch those shares jump up.

 

 

Edited December 10 by DukeLeto69

[grailkeeper]

I've read 7 novels and 2 short stories. Thought it was more. 

[darkhorse0607]

*edit

 

Tolmeus is right

 

 

Edited December 10 by darkhorse0607

[Tolmeus]

No offense, but can we avoid this controversial topic in a post that is about something completely different?

[wecanhaveallthree]

I read TWO Black Library books this year, Genefather (IT RULED) and TEDTEDATD3 (IT SUCKED). Less importantly than not reading much BL, I haven't written any 40K since late last year, either. High Kahl looks interesting (I'm waiting for reviews) and Elemental Council (I'm waiting for reviews), but I have to concur with my learned fraters. TEATD sucked the enjoyment of the setting out of me. 

 

In all honesty, I think I'll be back on the wagon once Age of Ruin drops and there's more grist for the discussion mill. If not that, my enthusiasm for McNeill's Horus book still hasn't waned. I'm getting less optimistic about it releasing in a timely fashion, yes, but I'm still very keen to see the madman get weird with it. 

[skylerboodie]

I've read 8.5 Black Library books this year, though only one from 2024, as although I've read all of the Heresy, I'm a late joiner to 40K reading and have been going chronologically so still have 20+ years of catch up to do.

• The End and the Death Volume 3 ~ I fall into the 'write as much as you like Dan' camp with the SoT, I enjoyed Volume 2's small fragments etc, but still hoped for more closure on hanging plot-threads, and the final scene/page was anticlimactic for me. Loved the little scenes for Perturabo / Lorgar at the start and hoped all the absent Primarchs would get one but sadly didn't
• Gaunt's Ghosts: Necropolis and Honour Guard ~ very different but really enjoyed both
• The Last Chancers: 13th Legion and Execution Hour ~ a lot more enjoyable than expected (albeit early-Heresy entries did set permanently lower expectations from Mr Thorpe)
• Pawns of Chaos ~ felt more like fantasy, was a struggle to complete
• Eisenhorn: Xenos and Malleus ~ I found Xenos didn't live up to the enormous hype for me, but enjoyed Malleus much more
• Execution Hour ~ the half book, I find space battles boring and couldn't finish it

And I'm ~30 pages from finishing Nightbringer too; was expecting it to be Ultramarine bolter-p0rn but they've felt very much like side characters, and more than anything it reminds me of Necropolis; have enjoyed it, not spectacular but solid. First proper taste of some Drukhari in fiction; far less pleasant than the sexy dark elves I like to think they are!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 10 by skylerboodie
typo

[grailkeeper]

3 hours ago, grailkeeper said:

I've read 7 novels and 2 short stories. Thought it was more. 

 7 new  novels. Also read a few older ones

 

The new ones

 

TEATD 3 (What else needs to be said about this one?)

Deathworlder (I wanted to like it more, people here love it and the author is quite nice. Wasnt for me)

Lazarus (DNF)

Lord of Excess (Forgettable)

Above and Beyond (Enjoyable)

Dominion Genisis (Enjoyable)

High Kahls Oath (About half way through but I stopped to read Elemental Council)

Elemental Council (Currently reading and enjoying)

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

The only Black Library book that I've read this year and is forum-appropriate is Above and Beyond, which I quite enjoyed.  

 

I'm looking forward to Interceptor City* and Pandaemonium, when they finally appear ...  

 

* I only do e-books and audiobooks, so the LE doesn't count  

Edited December 10 by Firedrake Cordova

[Roomsky]

I'd say it's a fairly common phenomenon that, whether you love it or hate it, the finale to something as long-running and mentally taxing as the Horus Heresy is going to leave people feeling totally burned out of the surrounding setting. For a mainstream equivalent, see people's general reaction to Marvel movies after Endgame. It feels like it should be done, despite the Heresy being a prequel, and yet we keep on trucking.

 

I generally try to avoid dismissing stuff by people other than my usual go-to authors as dross, usually just by taking it on its own terms. That I don't enjoy something like Deathworlder as much as (nearly) any ADB book doesn't mean I don't think it's worth it - it's a one-and-done Guardsman story, I'm not penalizing it for failing to blow my mind. This isn't to invalidate other people's experience, rather, I'm just outlining why I'm immune to the burnout so far (though I will admit to a reduced compulsion for BL at this point - now the Heresy is over there's very little making me say "I've gotta stick around for THIS project's completion.")

 

Reading other stuff helps, of course - I just do a lot of reading in general. 40k is just that deliciously unhealthy candy that reliably fills the time between more serious and devoted reads, or gives a warm palette-cleanser after reading something better regarded that just ends up being boring and pretentious.

 

 

[DukeLeto69]

29 minutes ago, Roomsky said:

I'd say it's a fairly common phenomenon that, whether you love it or hate it, the finale to something as long-running and mentally taxing as the Horus Heresy is going to leave people feeling totally burned out of the surrounding setting. For a mainstream equivalent, see people's general reaction to Marvel movies after Endgame. It feels like it should be done, despite the Heresy being a prequel, and yet we keep on trucking.

 

I generally try to avoid dismissing stuff by people other than my usual go-to authors as dross, usually just by taking it on its own terms. That I don't enjoy something like Deathworlder as much as (nearly) any ADB book doesn't mean I don't think it's worth it - it's a one-and-done Guardsman story, I'm not penalizing it for failing to blow my mind. This isn't to invalidate other people's experience, rather, I'm just outlining why I'm immune to the burnout so far (though I will admit to a reduced compulsion for BL at this point - now the Heresy is over there's very little making me say "I've gotta stick around for THIS project's completion.")

 

Reading other stuff helps, of course - I just do a lot of reading in general. 40k is just that deliciously unhealthy candy that reliably fills the time between more serious and devoted reads, or gives a warm palette-cleanser after reading something better regarded that just ends up being boring and pretentious.

 

 

I hear you. Sometimes you want a steak. Sometimes you want a burger. Nothing wrong with either but you wouldn’t want to eat them all the time. Generally I’d say BL is a burger, except Fehervari which is multi-course fine dining.

[LemartestheLost]

I have finished 7 out of 18 new 40k novels released this year. I'm hoping to bump that to 9 before 2025 by closing out Morvenn Vahl and binge reading Elemental Council when it arrives in the post tomorrow (Word Bearers trilogy, my sweet, I will finish you, I pinky promise). Would've loved to read more BL this year, but finding the time to read at all has been challenging to say the least.

 

As it stands now, however, my Top 3 novels this year are:

 

1. Broken Crusade

2. DoF: Hand of Abaddon

3. Oaths of Damnation

 

Honorable Mentions:

1. Lord of Excess

2. Lazarus: Enmity's Edge

 

My biggest letdowns:

1. Siege of Vraks

2. Dominion Genesis

3. (Not 40k but needs mention) TEATD Vol. 3

 

I'm not surprised to see so many of you completely burnt out after reading whatever the hell TEATD was, I am burnt out as well. Not from the setting, just Abnett and BL book series in general. I won't be reading the Scouring series because that's essentially going back to an abusive relationship, and I just refuse to watch Abnett weave his Web of InterconnectednessTM again. After Interceptor City and Pandaemonium, I'm done with Abnett for good.

 

I've found that the "conclusion" of that epic has left me invigorated to read 40k stuff by newer names in the BL stable. Sure, some of this year's crop has been unpolished to say the least, but there have been many flashes of brilliance as well that leave me quite excited for the future. I actually really liked the direction of BL's approach towards 40k this year. Moreso than in the past 3-4 years, it feels like the majority of this year's releases were really focused on widening the setting, something I think most of us can get behind. It's just so unfortunate that BL can't/won't let authors finish their respective trilogies/sequels, because these newer authors aren't getting nearly the spotlight they should be receiving due to a good chunk of the readership saying "Bu-, bu-, but it's not Black Legion 3! It's not Pandaemonium! It's not Spears 2! It's not Watcher's 3, so I won't read it!"

 

BL, I implore you to stop trying to capture the HH success again and give the people what they want so we can all move on from this miserable drama.

 

[Roomsky]

10 minutes ago, LemartestheLost said:

"Bu-, bu-, but it's not Black Legion 3! It's not Pandaemonium! It's not Spears 2! It's not Watcher's 3, so I won't read it!"

 

I would actually like Abomination and The Sapphire King to come out before anything else. 

 

But I agree 100% - let authors carve our their own corners of the setting again. I'm not going to pretend I don't still want to see series of some kind (Badab, AoApostasy, etc) but I'd love for those setting-widening books and series to return to the forefront. 

[DukeLeto69]

47 minutes ago, LemartestheLost said:

I have finished 7 out of 18 new 40k novels released this year. I'm hoping to bump that to 9 before 2025 by closing out Morvenn Vahl and binge reading Elemental Council when it arrives in the post tomorrow (Word Bearers trilogy, my sweet, I will finish you, I pinky promise). Would've loved to read more BL this year, but finding the time to read at all has been challenging to say the least.

 

As it stands now, however, my Top 3 novels this year are:

 

1. Broken Crusade

2. DoF: Hand of Abaddon

3. Oaths of Damnation

 

Honorable Mentions:

1. Lord of Excess

2. Lazarus: Enmity's Edge

 

My biggest letdowns:

1. Siege of Vraks

2. Dominion Genesis

3. (Not 40k but needs mention) TEATD Vol. 3

 

I'm not surprised to see so many of you completely burnt out after reading whatever the hell TEATD was, I am burnt out as well. Not from the setting, just Abnett and BL book series in general. I won't be reading the Scouring series because that's essentially going back to an abusive relationship, and I just refuse to watch Abnett weave his Web of InterconnectednessTM again. After Interceptor City and Pandaemonium, I'm done with Abnett for good.

 

I've found that the "conclusion" of that epic has left me invigorated to read 40k stuff by newer names in the BL stable. Sure, some of this year's crop has been unpolished to say the least, but there have been many flashes of brilliance as well that leave me quite excited for the future. I actually really liked the direction of BL's approach towards 40k this year. Moreso than in the past 3-4 years, it feels like the majority of this year's releases were really focused on widening the setting, something I think most of us can get behind. It's just so unfortunate that BL can't/won't let authors finish their respective trilogies/sequels, because these newer authors aren't getting nearly the spotlight they should be receiving due to a good chunk of the readership saying "Bu-, bu-, but it's not Black Legion 3! It's not Pandaemonium! It's not Spears 2! It's not Watcher's 3, so I won't read it!"

 

BL, I implore you to stop trying to capture the HH success again and give the people what they want so we can all move on from this miserable drama.

 

Not seen anyone say they don’t want to read new authors, but the point is they are new and mostly an unknown quantity. The reason I listed pretty much the same books you just lampooned is because A) I DO want to read them and B) I already know they will be quality based on track records. But I am totally all ears for new author recommendations