With 2021 drawing to a close, it’s time to look back on some of our favourite reads from Black Library this year. With so many fantastic stories from the worlds of Warhammer, it’s been hard to narrow the list down, but these picks are simply unmissable.
We’ve even persuaded the authors to tell us a little bit about their process, and what they think makes these ones special.
Penitent
By Dan Abnett
After the standout success of the Eisenhorn and Ravenor series, Dan Abnett continues his epic through the eyes of Alizebeth “Beta” Bequin in Penitent, as she starts to put her skill and power to good use.
Dan Abnett: I’ve appreciated the great reception this year for Pariah and Penitent. It’s fantastic to see Pariah and its sequel in such gorgeous editions. The wait for Penitent was too long – my apologies – but it seems its revelations were worth the delay. It’s inspiring to know that people think the Bequin books are an unmissable new chapter of Eisenhorn’s saga.
Dominion
By Darius Hinks
This explosive novel brings us fully into the Era of the Beast, where Kragnos has rallied the forces of destruction in Ghur, and a new type of Stormcast Eternal is unleashed upon the Mortal Realms.
Darius Hinks: I’ve always loved writing Warhammer Age of Sigmar stories, but Dominion was a high point. The Mortal Realms have grown stranger, more detailed, and more dangerous with every incarnation and, in this novel, I had a chance to describe characters who are not only trying to survive, but launching an epic crusade right into the heart of the madness.
Grim Repast
By Marc Collins
Warhammer Crime focuses on just one world in the Imperium, exposing the seedy underbelly and the disturbing things that happen there. In his first novel, Marc takes us into the heart of the massive city, Varangantua, to find out what the investigator Quillon Drask has uncovered. Here’s a hint: you might lose your appetite.
Marc Collins: It was a spectacular honour to have Grim Repast come out as part of the second wave of Warhammer Crime stories. Seeing it out in the wild and people’s reactions to it is a dream come true. I’m looking forward to what comes next, and hope to return to Varangantua soon!
The Deacon of Wounds
A supernatural plague overtakes an entire planet, and a charismatic Arch-Deacon has to decide if the price of the cure is worth paying. This is Warhammer Horror at its finest – eerie, bizarre, and taking a different view of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
David Annandale: I can’t overstate how much writing for Warhammer Horror is a dream come true for me. The Deacon of Wounds gave me the chance to explore aspects of the Warhammer 40,000 universe that fascinate me, and writing a book about belief and plague at this time was one of most unforgettable creative experiences I’ve ever had.
Warhawk
The epic sixth book in the Siege of Terra series pits two very different Primarchs against each other, as Jaghatai Khan leads the White Scars to reclaim the Lion’s Gate space port from Mortarion and his Death Guard. Chris Wraight: Writing Warhawk was a real challenge, as I was trying to combine all the lore (both old and new) from the Siege of Terra series with a proper conclusion to the White Scars story arc in the Heresy. It was the most complex project I think I’ve ever taken on, but also, thanks to the amazing people I was working with, one of the most satisfying and exciting.
Godblight
By Guy Haley
Talking of Mortarion, the third novel in Guy’s Dark Imperium trilogy brings us back to the Death Guard progenitor 10,000 years after the Horus Heresy, to grapple another of his loyalist brothers – Roboute Guilliman, the reborn Primarch of the Ultramarines.
Guy Haley: This year has been a busy one. I’ve been deeply involved with Warhammer 40,000’s ongoing narrative, with Dawn of Fire powering on, but the big noise for 2021 has to be Godblight, the concluding part of the Dark Imperium trilogy. I know loads of you were waiting for the finale, and I was glad to provide it. Rewriting the first two novels a bit to tie them deeper into the current story was also really rewarding. The Plague Wars might be over, but Guillman’s work is far from done…
The Swords of Calth
The captain of the Ultramarines’ fourth company is back in Graham’s latest novel, Swords of Calth. Having crossed the Rubicon Primaris, Uriel Ventris is ready to wrest a beleaguered planet back from the necrons.
Graham McNeill: I’d missed Uriel Ventris, and it seemed readers had too, so it was a real thrill to begin a new arc of adventures for him and the 4th Company in The Swords of Calth. And to see Uriel come to life as a miniature was just icing on the cake!
It’s been an excellent year for Warhammer fiction, and we cannot wait to read all the books that are on the slate for next year. You did watch the Black Library Warhammer Preview Online, right? Check it out right now.
Have you read all the books on this list? Did we miss your favourite? Why not head to the Black Library Facebook page and let us know which one you think should be on here?