Upcoming BL Stuff 2026

[Casual Heresy]

4 hours ago, grailkeeper said:

@Casual Heresy

 

A few books got leaked early, I'm thinking in particular of the leather bound version of Era of Ruin that was found monthsbin advance. As someone who knows more about the indusrty, what do you think happened there?

My guess that was down to thieving gitz. 
 

It happens, people see a chance and swipe some like in any other industry. And there is a market for early copies of popular books. Hell when the last few Harry Potter books were going to press, they hired private security to patrol the building and search bags of people leaving. 
 

Warhammer is much better known now so plenty of people will know what they’re seeing and that someone will buy it. 

[grailkeeper]

20 minutes ago, Casual Heresy said:

My guess that was down to thieving gitz. 
 

It happens, people see a chance and swipe some like in any other industry. And there is a market for early copies of popular books. Hell when the last few Harry Potter books were going to press, they hired private security to patrol the building and search bags of people leaving. 
 

Warhammer is much better known now so plenty of people will know what they’re seeing and that someone will buy it. 

Makes sense. I had thought about the Harry Potter thing. 

 

I remember the seller saying they found the book in a charity shop, but maybe I'm mistaken or they were lying.

[Casual Heresy]

Interview up on WarCom today with Rhuairidh James for his upcoming debut novel Death Rider. 

 

Can a Commissar really restrain the Death Korps? Ask the author of Death Rider

 

Sounds like this will be a very interesting book.

[grailkeeper]

I'm pretty sure Rhu was the one who came up with the Regimental Standard.

[wecanhaveallthree]

Quote

...What follows is a brutal journey where Valian has to confront the nature of both the Death Korps of Krieg, and himself. 

 

Quote

I think sometimes there’s temptation, when you have a Commissar as a main character, to shy away from the grisly realities of their job. There’s a sequence in Death Rider where Valian, our Commissar, has to decide if he’s going to be a ‘Commissar’ or not, and makes his decision. I think what happens next is going to stick with people who read the book for a long time. 

 

I don't want to sound trite or snippy, but nor do I really want to couch my reaction as anything but 'so like every other Krieg novel, then?' and 'so like every other Commissar in every other novel, then?'. One of the best things about Honourbound (and Imperial Creed) is the discussion around the type of Commissar they are, they've seen and what ideals they believe in and want to aspire to. What 'do you want to be a Commissar or not' always boils down to is 'is the character nice or not', and usually always features the conflict between their duties, their beliefs and the situation they're required to face. What, exactly, is the conflict within a Krieg regiment? If the Death Korps are broken, no amount of executions are going to bring them back to the line. Krieg is literally 'executions: the planet', where every failure is met either with direct death or being sent out into the radioactive wasteland to be training for the people who got it right. They're not called the DEATH KORPS because they have such a premium on life, after all. 

 

I appreciate the work James does, but this is pitched like the most paint-by-numbers small-scale story possible. Maybe I'm just still mad about Straight Silver, but this interview hasn't told me anything about what this book is trying to say or do. Valian wants to get his regiment to the evacuation. They don't want to go. I guess if I wanted to read Dead Men Walking again I'd probably just read Dead Men Walking. 

 

Happy to be proven entirely wrong, but James won't be the first to falter on taking the step from high-concept high-octane shorts to full-length novel.

 

Let's hope it's a megabanger and I have to come back and eat crow and admit that 'what if WW1 cavalry officer IN SPACE' was actually a good idea and that I need to get over Straight Silver (NEVER).

[grailkeeper]

I'm quite looking forward to this. I've only read his short stories, and his War Com work which was largely uncredited. But he used to be so witty on social media. HIs short story was excellent. A bit odd he hasnt produced more of them before going to a full novel but I have high hopes. 

[Bobss]

On 1/14/2026 at 8:16 AM, Nagashsnee said:

BL hasnt really declined, it has evolved alongside GW into an actual corporate entity. 

 

The 'glory days' just like the WD fat bloke era (and god i miss it) also go hand in hand with them being a smaller company both in capacity, structure and profit. The more GW grew and expanded and became an actual for profit for shareholders company (with shareholders being actual investors) . Having people leak or authors talk about things WITHOUT central planning and talking points was always going to go the way of the dodo.

 

Having sub studios (and again i miss the old FW and would wish them back if i could) that often worked AGAINST the main studio was again doomed.  From all available information the fires of Cyraxes disaster of a entire imperial armor being written for a ruleset the main studio was phasing out is the king of waste of funds and time that just doesnt fly in the new type of company GW is.  Looking at it from a purely structure standpoint FW made no sense, why are they independent? Why are they not supporting the main sales push? Why why why...  

 

BL open days if they had them now would be souless sale expos. Marketing dictates what we will be told and how we will be told it, not authors, not BL. Cross company sales synergy is the altar that all things will be laid on. And NO ONE at GW wants Josh Reynolds talking bad about the chaos behind the scenes, never mind at the bar of the hotel the event is hosted on (not saying he ever did, but BL open days had allot of post pint chats).  Everything must be happy and good at all times, all books are the best books, all LE are worth it and everything is always going to plan. 

 

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

 

They want you going to warhammer community, they want constant content and updates on the site, they want complete control on when information goes out just like any big corpo would. And its not a bad thing, its how the game is played,

 

This is a great post. This argument will be rehashed, and maybe even more observations will be added in later years, but you have gotten to the essence of the matter in about 200 words better than I ever could. I could play devil's advocate and argue your post is totalising and vibes-driven and, as you say, I could claim, 'everything [is] happy and good at all times, all books are the best books, all LE are worth it and everything is always going to plan', like a few users have done to my doomsaying around 2022, but I agree with you completely. In summary, BL is in the state a lot of us perceive it to be because... it_just_is. It is the sum of (human) decisions and actions going on behind the scene. I particularly reject the idea this is due to $ - insofar as I care, no business in history has been run completely and utterly with what is best for profitability in mind at all times and at all scales.

 

It's sad, it's lame, it's annoying, it's dispiriting, it's just meh. All of it. Meh meh meh.

Edited Saturday at 02:52 PM by Bobss
.

[Krelious]

The one thing that annoys me of the corporate entity is how they just go radio silence on things and then you get it when you get it. Like we got the first scouring novel and have no idea who is writing the second one or when we can expect any kind of news on it, theres been 0 word from ADB for 3+ years on anything. It would be cool if we knew what our favourite authors were up to or if we got some kind of road map or even like an author pod cast. It would just in general be interesting to get some kinda feel of what to expect or get teased on what to expect. 

[TheVoidDragon]

On 1/22/2026 at 6:17 PM, wecanhaveallthree said:

 

 

I don't want to sound trite or snippy, but nor do I really want to couch my reaction as anything but 'so like every other Krieg novel, then?' and 'so like every other Commissar in every other novel, then?'.

 

 

I thought the same thing. It still sounds alright to me and I'll give it a read, partly because I'm interested in seeing how the Tau are depicted, but it sounds pretty formulaic as a Krieg + Commissar story, really. 

[Jareddm]

On 1/22/2026 at 10:14 AM, grailkeeper said:

I'm pretty sure Rhu was the one who came up with the Regimental Standard.

Wait, really? Was that something stated somewhere?

[grailkeeper]

10 minutes ago, Jareddm said:

Wait, really? Was that something stated somewhere?

No, but based on his writing and imagination I'm pretty sure it's him. He did work on that sort of stuff for them.

[Lord Marshal]

Apostle pre-order next week, alongside an audiobook of Death of Integrity.

[darkhorse0607]

Instant buy for both, I don't care if Apostle turns out not to be the best, I just want more Chaos stuff and I never read Death of Integrity the first time so I'll grab it for the Novamarines alone

Edited Sunday at 07:02 PM by darkhorse0607

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

I've never read Death of Integrity, I'll give it a pop. 

 

I actually like Annadales writing so I'll give Apostle a go. Wasn't there a short story a couple of years back with the guy in it?

Edited Sunday at 10:15 PM by The Praetorian of Inwit

[LemartesTheLost]

1 hour ago, The Praetorian of Inwit said:

I've never read Death of Integrity, I'll give it a pop. 

 

I actually like Annadales writing so I'll give Apostle a go. Wasn't there a short story a couple of years back with the guy in it?

 

Death of Integrity is fabulous imho, classic Pre-Rift 40k Haley. All thriller, no filler with a couple twists that actually land (for me, anyway). Here's to hoping the audiobook does it justice, I'll be intrigued to see who's narrating it.

[DarkChaplain]

Here's hoping Apostle ends up like a bigger, more horror-themed version of Annandale's The Unburdened.

 

Death of Integrity is, to me, the quintessential Space Hulk novel. It's the first and imo only time you actually see the whole topic approached from a "realistic" angle, not just some Movie Marines being dispatched to a Space Hulk without any sort of logistics behind them.

That it manages to balance two very distinct Chapters that are well-fleshed out in their character and culture on top of that is one of the reasons why I've held Haley in such high regard since way back when he started writing for BL.

[Bestkeptsecret]

Can I ask fellow Fraters, that we know that Nurgle's actual goal is to turn human worlds into extensions of his Garden of Decay, Khorne's goal is to kill people, etc.....what this means is that Chaos is not like a political ideology or system of government at all. It is a fantasy supernatural daemon world destination for each of the Chaos gods, and apart from what individual villains like Abaddon or Perturabo want, Chaos is not a real alternative for humanity since it turns life abnormal.

 

While reading the Nurgle Dark Imperium novels, have you ever thought that if Nurgle takes over a world and turns it into his Decay Garden, then normal life completely stops. There is no employment, there is no going to university or school (education), there is no romance or human reproduction (because your body is fully diseased and necrotic), there are no babies and daycare, no politics or political parties, no building infrastructure....normal life completely collapses and gets transformed into a bizzaro daemon world. To me, it seems that if someone does not want to work at a job, they are tired with the drudgery of normal life, then they choose Nurgle. But Nurgle, means all self improvement stops, all ambition to become somebody, to get a career, to get married, to have children, all of it goes down the drain. So Nurgle is not a political ideology or alternative form of government like say Socialism or Capitalism, but stepping into the realm of complete fantasy. Neither the Lords of Silence novel by Chris Wraight or the Dark Imperium novels, adequately showed why for baseline humans following Nurgle has any appeal at all, besides escaping physical pain and becoming undying and forever rotting. There is no school, no job, no marriage, no children, no normal life under Nurgle. Only the most desperate individual will choose Nurgle.

 

Regarding Khorne, a normal person will land in jail if they choose to follow the Blood god.

 

Regarding Slaanesh, someone can engage in their base desires such as drinking, smoking, recreational drugs, prostitution, clubbing, but the more extreme it gets, the more chances of landing in jail or the psychiatric ward. It becomes an obsession. So, neither Slaanesh nor Khorne are alternative political ideologies or systems of human government. One only kills, the other ruins himself through engaging in extremely corrupt activities.

 

Only the Imperium of Mankind offers a system of human government, where it is possible to lead a normal human life (be educated, get married, have a career, reproduce, create something). So, to actually find alternative systems of government or political systems we have to turn to the Xenos factions namely the Aeldari and the Tau. What I am asking is to find a "way of running things which includes normal human activities, but has a political system and a governance philosophy different than the Imperium of Man"...do any Fraters think or can suggest which books offer such an alternative? or has this thought ever occurred to you that Black Library fiction needs to offer us alternative political/governmental systems which function and run differently than the Imperium and are better than the Imperium? I am thinking in the positive side, i.e. a more regulated, more comfortable, more predictable, and more desirable where it is possible to engage in all normal human activities.

Edited yesterday at 04:40 AM by Bestkeptsecret

[Malkydel]

3 hours ago, Bestkeptsecret said:

Can I ask fellow Fraters, that we know that Nurgle's actual goal is to turn human worlds into extensions of his Garden of Decay, Khorne's goal is to kill people, etc.....what this means is that Chaos is not like a political ideology or system of government at all. It is a fantasy supernatural daemon world destination for each of the Chaos gods, and apart from what individual villains like Abaddon or Perturabo want, Chaos is not a real alternative for humanity since it turns life abnormal.

 

While reading the Nurgle Dark Imperium novels, have you ever thought that if Nurgle takes over a world and turns it into his Decay Garden, then normal life completely stops. There is no employment, there is no going to university or school (education), there is no romance or human reproduction (because your body is fully diseased and necrotic), there are no babies and daycare, no politics or political parties, no building infrastructure....normal life completely collapses and gets transformed into a bizzaro daemon world. To me, it seems that if someone does not want to work at a job, they are tired with the drudgery of normal life, then they choose Nurgle. But Nurgle, means all self improvement stops, all ambition to become somebody, to get a career, to get married, to have children, all of it goes down the drain. So Nurgle is not a political ideology or alternative form of government like say Socialism or Capitalism, but stepping into the realm of complete fantasy. Neither the Lords of Silence novel by Chris Wraight or the Dark Imperium novels, adequately showed why for baseline humans following Nurgle has any appeal at all, besides escaping physical pain and becoming undying and forever rotting. There is no school, no job, no marriage, no children, no normal life under Nurgle. Only the most desperate individual will choose Nurgle.

 

Regarding Khorne, a normal person will land in jail if they choose to follow the Blood god.

 

Regarding Slaanesh, someone can engage in their base desires such as drinking, smoking, recreational drugs, prostitution, clubbing, but the more extreme it gets, the more chances of landing in jail or the psychiatric ward. It becomes an obsession. So, neither Slaanesh nor Khorne are alternative political ideologies or systems of human government. One only kills, the other ruins himself through engaging in extremely corrupt activities.

 

Only the Imperium of Mankind offers a system of human government, where it is possible to lead a normal human life (be educated, get married, have a career, reproduce, create something). So, to actually find alternative systems of government or political systems we have to turn to the Xenos factions namely the Aeldari and the Tau. What I am asking is to find a "way of running things which includes normal human activities, but has a political system and a governance philosophy different than the Imperium of Man"...do any Fraters think or can suggest which books offer such an alternative? or has this thought ever occurred to you that Black Library fiction needs to offer us alternative political/governmental systems which function and run differently than the Imperium and are better than the Imperium? I am thinking in the positive side, i.e. a more regulated, more comfortable, more predictable, and more desirable where it is possible to engage in all normal human activities.

Traitor General has a great look at a world under the thumb of the Archenemy and the cultural turns that it inflicts upon the human population. It gets to the point that they actually have officials who study the Imperial way of life and interpret it accordinly. The Gods themselves are a hemogenizing influence, but Chaos has contributed to culture for time out of mind. 

 

Plenty of worlds during the Great Crusade which had embraced the Warp or Chaos still had evidence of distinct culture. Many of them had layers and nuance, that meant that sometimes it wasn't detected until it was too late. (Sarosh, for example, in Descent of Angels.). You could argue the same of Nurth in Legion.

 

Culture is often drowned, warped and perverted, or utterly subsumed by the whim of the Gods, but there are always gradients of rot and ruin.

[Nagashsnee]

7 hours ago, Bestkeptsecret said:

Can I ask fellow Fraters, that we know that Nurgle's actual goal is to turn human worlds into extensions of his Garden of Decay, Khorne's goal is to kill people, etc.....what this means is that Chaos is not like a political ideology or system of government at all. It is a fantasy supernatural daemon world destination for each of the Chaos gods, and apart from what individual villains like Abaddon or Perturabo want, Chaos is not a real alternative for humanity since it turns life abnormal.

 

While reading the Nurgle Dark Imperium novels, have you ever thought that if Nurgle takes over a world and turns it into his Decay Garden, then normal life completely stops. There is no employment, there is no going to university or school (education), there is no romance or human reproduction (because your body is fully diseased and necrotic), there are no babies and daycare, no politics or political parties, no building infrastructure....normal life completely collapses and gets transformed into a bizzaro daemon world. To me, it seems that if someone does not want to work at a job, they are tired with the drudgery of normal life, then they choose Nurgle. But Nurgle, means all self improvement stops, all ambition to become somebody, to get a career, to get married, to have children, all of it goes down the drain. So Nurgle is not a political ideology or alternative form of government like say Socialism or Capitalism, but stepping into the realm of complete fantasy. Neither the Lords of Silence novel by Chris Wraight or the Dark Imperium novels, adequately showed why for baseline humans following Nurgle has any appeal at all, besides escaping physical pain and becoming undying and forever rotting. There is no school, no job, no marriage, no children, no normal life under Nurgle. Only the most desperate individual will choose Nurgle.

 

Regarding Khorne, a normal person will land in jail if they choose to follow the Blood god.

 

Regarding Slaanesh, someone can engage in their base desires such as drinking, smoking, recreational drugs, prostitution, clubbing, but the more extreme it gets, the more chances of landing in jail or the psychiatric ward. It becomes an obsession. So, neither Slaanesh nor Khorne are alternative political ideologies or systems of human government. One only kills, the other ruins himself through engaging in extremely corrupt activities.

 

Only the Imperium of Mankind offers a system of human government, where it is possible to lead a normal human life (be educated, get married, have a career, reproduce, create something). So, to actually find alternative systems of government or political systems we have to turn to the Xenos factions namely the Aeldari and the Tau. What I am asking is to find a "way of running things which includes normal human activities, but has a political system and a governance philosophy different than the Imperium of Man"...do any Fraters think or can suggest which books offer such an alternative? or has this thought ever occurred to you that Black Library fiction needs to offer us alternative political/governmental systems which function and run differently than the Imperium and are better than the Imperium? I am thinking in the positive side, i.e. a more regulated, more comfortable, more predictable, and more desirable where it is possible to engage in all normal human activities.

 

 

You are looking at this wrong, from the perspectibe of someone who has backround books and treats it as a wargame. 

 

Chaos worship is not do x because of y.  Its not here is your pre set menu of 4 colour factions choose your destiny. Firstly you kinda skip over the gigantic number of minor chaos deities/deamons, secondly undivided (the worship of chaos in its entire) is a HUGE part of chaos followers.  

 

At its heart chaos worship is no different then any real world religion only prayer/sacrifice have proven immidiate effects.  Religions rarely start of at the crazy parts, and when you get there its usually in a organic or managed manner.

 

At its heart it preaches that worship and obedience to the gods will result in rewards in this life and after. 

It presents these gods/deities as aspects of certain beliefs/activities/emotions.  Some being positive some negative depending on ones beliefs and outlook. 

The gods are mercurial and wrathful/playful, so you better be a good worshiper/make your offerings on time/often.

The gods have in the past and will/might be opossed in the future by dark forces. You may be called upon to take part in this.

 

So far all we have is any of a large number of polytheistic real worlds religions. 

 

But here is the thing, if people in real life were willing to do human sacrifice and blood rituals in the HOPE of a reward to deities that cannot be proven to exist. IMAGINE what people would do when the priest rips out a still beating heart AND THINGS ACTUALLY HAPPEN.  The rains come, your sick kids walks again, your armies gain the might to defeat your foe because actual angels/weapons appear out of thin air etc etc. 

 

And then one day someone logically proposes that if 100 blood sacrifies produces 10 magic swords, 1000 blood sacrifices in a bigger temple will give us 100 swords. Will make the weather always fair, etc etc.

 

Chaos worship IS A RELIGION. Sometimes you can have Theocracies sometimes you can have chaos worshiping King. Chaos doesnt dicate your govermental structure or social organasation. 

 

Sure most chaos worshipers follow a theme, but thats not everyone. Organised armies, logistical supply excellence, clean safe cities can be as chaos as anything else. Its just not as prelevant in the fiction, because remember this is a game, a WARGAME and its targeting its audience. 

 

At its heart Chaos is incredibly logic based,  because you dont have to take much on blind faith, instead its a type of verifiable faith. You can see what you can get, and what it can cost. The trick is realising that the gods are not caring, loving beings, and the transactional relationship is so insanly stacked against you the chances of it being worth it are near non existant....but some do get what they always wanted, it does happen, its not a myth or a legend and THATS how it gets you. 

 

Just like the Imperium has many boring normal planets that no one wants to explore/read about. Cause it would be really boring. 

 

 

 

[Nagashsnee]

Accidental double post

Edited yesterday at 12:17 PM by Nagashsnee

[Lord Marshal]

Ghost Legion finally gets it's official reveal, along with an Aestred Thurga novel.

 

Quote

This new novel finds Aestred Thurga in a pretty testy position, having lost a sacred blade to the forces of Nurgle and facing the treacherous prospect of getting it back. She was ambushed, but for someone as pious as she, absolution can only come when the Sword of Saarim is back in the reliquary where it belongs.   

 

Problem is, there might not be a way back. The dead are rising and the Imperium’s people are under threat, and Aestred will soon have to choose between mortal lives and immortal history. Which is truly of greater value to the Imperium and her own beliefs?

 

 

Quote

Elsewhere, trouble is brewing for the vicious Harrowmaster Solomon Akurra in Ghost Legion by Mike Brooks. Despite uniting scores of Alpha Legion warbands and conquering a vast domain, Akurra has bigger dreams and seeks to take on the Imperium as a whole with the weapon of his Primarch, the Pale Spear, in hand – or at least, what he claims to be the Pale Spear. 

 

Predictably, such success attracts attention, and the Imperium isn’t planning on taking Solomon’s challenge lying down. A vast assault force and scores of Imperial assassins are coming for his head, and the Harrowmaster’s skills are about to be tested to the limit if he’s to hold onto the tenuous success that keeps him at the top of the pile. He’s prepared to play the long game – but are his warriors?

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Lord Marshal

[DarkChaplain]

Who in the Warp is Aestred Thurga and why is she getting a character novel? We have so many characters still waiting for one of those, and they've almost dropped the release rate to zero. Heck, last was Leontus, wasn't it?

 

And Ghost Legion being without the Renegades tag is so funnily pathetic, yet typical for BL. Imagine putting a series label on two individual novels and then dropping it by the time the sequel to one comes around, without ever having a third book with it.

[skylerboodie]

she is the miniature shown in the article, released in 2021.

 

I preferred the translated subtitle from Amazon.de's listing for Ghost Legion (: Pillar of Dreams). Agree with DC re: Renegades label, though it was a crap one to start with to be fair.

 

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

Black Library determined to keep saving me time and money by going with a sparse release schedule featuring books and characters (and in some cases authors) I'm not interested in.

 

Good lookin' out. The non-Black portion of my otherwise-growing Library is enjoying the attention.

[LemartesTheLost]

The cover for Ghost Legion is so soulless it hurts. The person in charge of graphic design at BL needs to change direction or go elsewhere, I'm really getting tired of Saturday morning cartoon covers.