Upcoming BL Stuff 2026

[darkhorse0607]

4 minutes ago, cheywood said:

 
That’s from last week’s Reader’s Choice article. I think we’ll see more books previewed next week for future release, but all the celebration releases got announced today.

Even though you have done the correct thing and provided me proof as a well-informed Frater, I will still reject it until it happens and be unnecessarily cynical about BL Celebration 

 

Thank you for your efforts

[63-19]

i think all of the versions are the original 2006 special edition hardback, 2012 hardback edition, ? rerelease hardback, all of the paperbacks, legends, 2019 celebration, masterworks, and then this new one

Edited Sunday at 11:24 PM by 63-19

[DarkChaplain]

I checked the Sunday Preview on my phone after waking up this morning and burst out laughing. If that's truly it, they needn't have bothered at all. Actually, they shouldn't have, because this afterthought-style "Celebration" of things already announced months ago or listed on Amazon, alongside the xth Horus Rising editions, feels more like an insult to the people who were hoping for, well, anything they've been waiting on for the past few years - from Horus' Primarchs novel over Black Legion 3, Spears of the Emperor 2, the Scouring, Bequin 3, and so forth.

 

Whoever is running their business at this point, they're doing a terrible job with Black Library.

 

Also cool fun fact that you'll be able to listen to the MP3 audiobook of Horus Rising in the new Black Library app only. Which isn't an MP3 audiobook anymore if it's only running through a proprietary app - which would be better served with an actual audiobook format in 2026, anyway - and can't be downloaded for standalone listening anymore. Nevermind that we've had this very same audiobook for the past decade or more already, I lost track.

But but but it's got a new cover artwork! Really selling the walled garden app nonsense, doesn't it? A new cover. Which I can apply to my MP3 version on the PC just fine, and in higher resolution than what they offer in the app.

 

Also don't forget the anniversary MMPBs of Horus Rising with slightly different fore- and afterwords by Abnett. Plus all the foil changes from gold to silver to bronze to blueish silver. Or the large trades. There've been numerous editions of Horus Rising.

Edited yesterday at 09:10 AM by DarkChaplain

[Ubiquitous1984]

Have I missed something about the Horus Rising audiobook?  Is it now being removed from Audible in favour of the new BL app?

[darkhorse0607]

No,  so they are adding the line of "this will be available in audio on the new Black Library app and other digital stores" 

 

Instead of just saying it's getting an audio release like normal. 

 

Honestly, worry about them not releasing on audible aside, I think its just an advertising line for the new app

 

 

*edit

 

In the Layak novel article they say it will be available in audio on the Black Library app, and does not have a mention of any other storefronts. Again, could just be marketing the new app, but I am starting to get uneasy about this 

Edited yesterday at 01:06 PM by darkhorse0607

[Lord Marshal]

Zardu Layak gets his own novel.

 

 

Quote

When a Space Marine receives visions of their Primarch in their dreams, who can doubt that they are destined for greatness? Zardu Layak is one such warrior, granted the knowledge that he will be instrumental in a grand ritual that will change the galaxy forever. But one problem bars his road to glory – he is not ready for the mantle he will wear.  

 

First, he must travel to a forgotten world and retrieve a weapon that will give him the strength he requires – the malign Anakatis Blades. But ghosts plague the surface of Helwain, and the spectres of Zardu’s past weakness cloak him in doubt. Do they reveal the truth? Or is the truth itself simply another lie?

 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:59 PM by Lord Marshal

[son of the forest]

How random and it doesn't look like its part of the heresy character series 

[darkhorse0607]

Great @cheywood you were right. There are new novels 

 

Now that I have said that, I can complain about the new novels, just as nature intended 

 

Of all the characters that could have used expanding, Layaks not one of them

Edited yesterday at 01:08 PM by darkhorse0607

[Nagashsnee]

22 minutes ago, son of the forest said:

How random and it doesn't look like its part of the heresy character series 

 

Cant have another character series till the primarch series ends, cant end the primarch series untill horus gets his book, cant give horus the book till Horus Rising receives d3+1 more editions. 

 

Edit tho this version of horus rising has the great crusade take 1000s of years. So who know what else has been changed buy yours now! 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/ngdxmygg/sunday-preview-black-library-celebration-and-blood-bowl-releases/

Marketing error but i still had a confused moment there. 

Edited yesterday at 01:29 PM by Nagashsnee

[theSpirea]

Why would they announce another 30K Char series installment when the BL Celebration is just around the corner. Maybe they plan to reveal Special Edition there? I'm so confused and lost at this point with BL

[Lord Marshal]

5 minutes ago, theSpirea said:

Why would they announce another 30K Char series installment when the BL Celebration is just around the corner. Maybe they plan to reveal Special Edition there? I'm so confused and lost at this point with BL

 

I think today as a whole is meant to be the Celebration I guess?  They normally reveal books on a Wednesday iirc, so I'd have to guess moving it to today is on purpose.

[cheywood]

29 minutes ago, Lord Marshal said:

 

I think today as a whole is meant to be the Celebration I guess?  They normally reveal books on a Wednesday iirc, so I'd have to guess moving it to today is on purpose.

They’re likely dropping reveals all week, not just one day. So we’ll probably end up with 5-7 new books announced. Not exactly a celebration, but as long as the titles are interesting I don’t really care at this point.

[DarkChaplain]

Wow, a new announcement? Guess that meteorite we had crash in Germany yesterday was Sigmar all along, or something.

 

But damn, they broke with the HH Characters format for realsies now. And then it's Zardu Layak, the one Word Bearer character I couldn't give a toss about because he was introduced at book 50 as one of the major players we'd never heard about in the series (I suppose he was in the Black Books before?) and then got offed in the early Siege a couple of books later anyway... all while Lorgar noped out of the Siege.

 

Yeah, this seems eminently skippable to me, purely based on how boring the character has been so far, and that the characters series really had to dig deep to even get to him, ignoring myriad more interesting characters that had more of a point.

[wecanhaveallthree]

Sorry, who?

 

If you had to do a Word Bearer, why not Argel Tal? It's not like Layak is coming back... OR IS HE???

[System Sound]

2 minutes ago, wecanhaveallthree said:

Sorry, who?

 

If you had to do a Word Bearer, why not Argel Tal? It's not like Layak is coming back... OR IS HE???

Argel Tal had his story told more or less. Layak has more blanks to fill. I guess... but I personally would've loved a Barthussa Narek novel.

[skylerboodie]

The preview article does (now at least) say re: Horus Rising - "MP3 format on the new Black Library app*, and in other digital stores." (my emphasis) so sounds like Audible is still going to get BL books.

 

[Just FYI - the asterisk in the above quote is a WarCom mistake (naturally), relating to the free paperback anthology later in the article; i guess they forgot to add the footnote (not for the first time). I wish I could get away with doing my job as poorly as WarCom / Black Library staff do.]

[darkhorse0607]

2 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

But damn, they broke with the HH Characters format for realsies now. And then it's Zardu Layak, the one Word Bearer character I couldn't give a toss about because he was introduced at book 50 as one of the major players we'd never heard about in the series (I suppose he was in the Black Books before?) and then got offed in the early Siege a couple of books later anyway... all while Lorgar noped out of the Siege.

 

Just in general it's a weird choice. This guy was introduced into the series because Argel Tal got killed essentially and French played a huge role in the Black Books. There wasn't a huge emphasis placed on his blade slaves in the books that he featured (some but not a ton), but this book is going to revolve around him getting the swords for them? Why not just focus on his mask or something?

 

I dunno, it would've been at least more interesting to focus on his Ashen Circle days, I'm not a huge Word Bearers person, but Apostle has really set the bar high for me now in terms of new WB content, or Chaos stuff in general so not super hopeful, nothing against the author intended

 

2 hours ago, skylerboodie said:

The preview article does (now at least) say re: Horus Rising - "MP3 format on the new Black Library app*, and in other digital stores." (my emphasis) so sounds like Audible is still going to get BL books.

 

 

They mention it there, but they exclude the "other digital stores" line in the Layak article, so 50/50

 

*edit. I nominate Sharrowkyn for the next one

 

Sharrowkyn: Search for the Black Blade 

 

Edited 19 hours ago by darkhorse0607

[LemartesTheLost]

10 hours ago, Lord Marshal said:

Zardu Layak gets his own novel.

 

 

 

 

 

Not that it effects the quality of the writing in anyway, but did BL graphic design really give our man Layak a Primaris power pack on the cover? WHAT ARE WE DOING GUYS 

[Lord Marshal]

I think that's just how MkIV appears these days. If you look at some of the newer MkIV models like Aximand, the cabling is similarly lower down, much like it is on MkX. The vents are also identical to MkIV, without being in two halves like MkX and it doesn't have the little nubs on top of the pack.

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Lord Marshal