2022 is drawing to a close, and with it comes time to reflect on our favourite parts of the last year. As you might expect, Black Library’s wondrous wordsmiths provided many fantastic stories, captivating Warhammer fans with tales of action, suspense, and adventure throughout the year, and narrowing down our top picks has been a mighty task.
While every excellent tome has something unique to offer, if you only have time to read 14 books from 2022, read these.
Echoes of Eternity
By Aaron Dembski-Bowden
The Siege of Terra series is one of the most exciting narrative events in Warhammer history, telling the story of the climax of the Horus Heresy in incredible detail. Echoes of Eternity is the last novel before the massive multi-part finale, and finds Sanguinius leading a final defence of the Imperial Palace. With his brothers scattered, wounded, or isolated, the primarch must rally the last defenders for a fateful showdown with the traitors’ own Red Angel, Angron.
Read it for: An epic duel between two of the greatest fighters to ever walk the battlefield.
Renegades: Harrowmaster
By Mike Brooks
The devious Alpha Legion continue their Long War against the Imperium in the 41st Millennium, and operative Solomon Akurra has friends and foes to contend with if he wants to unite his disparate Legion under the banner of the Harrowmaster.
Read it for: Subterfuge on a Space Marine scale, from the dark side of Warhammer 40,000.
The Arkanaut’s Oath
By Guy Haley
Not all of the Kharadron Overlords are stuffy merchants and intransible admirals – enter Drekki Flynt, adventurer extraordinaire, and a duardin very much in trouble after a lucrative contract lands him in hot water. Derring-do spirals into dark conspiracy in his first full-length novel, which Black Library managing editor Nick Kyme has picked out as one of his top three tales from this year.
Nick: “Who doesn't love swashbuckling adventure from the deck of a Kharadron sky-ship? Full to the gunwales with derring do and death defying heroics, I had a great time with Drekki Flynt and his motley crew of Kharadron, Dispossessed duardin, and ogors. Drekki has a lot of swagger and a lot of bluster, but also a dark side that gives him a little edge.”
Read it for: Swashbuckling adventure in the Mortal Realms.
The Hollow King
By John French
Undeath isn’t easy for those afflicted by the Soulblight curse, doubly so if you still have a noble streak running through your pallid veins. For Cado Ezechiar – former king of a fallen realm – eternal life is just more time to mourn those he failed, but soon he’ll have a chance to put his honour into action when the city of Avernis forces him to choose between revenge and salvation.
Nick: “Cado Ezechiar is such a rich and compelling character. He’s complex on account of his moral code and the fact he is a Soulblight vampire, and tragic because of his backstory. This was such a satisfying read, replete with interesting characters and with a narrative that really deepens the cultures and places of the Mortal Realms, as well as offering twists and revelations in abundance.”
Read it for: A tragic tale of loss and redemption in the Realm of Death.
The Wraithbone Phoenix
By Alec Worley
Baggit and Clodde are an unlikely pair – one a quick-talking, quick-thinking ratling with an eye for the prize, the other a well-meaning ogryn with brute strength and bright dreams in abundance. Since their desertion from the Astra Militarum, they’ve fallen into the crime-ridden city of Varangantua, and now one unbelievable score might be the only way to pay off the bounty on their heads.
Read it for: A desperate heist in the heart of Warhammer Crime.
Sigismund: The Eternal Crusader
By John French
Sigismund is one of the greatest warriors of the Horus Heresy – First Captain of the Imperial Fists, and among the most feared duelists in the galaxy. Discover his earliest battles and the wars that shaped him into the Emperor’s Champion in this rare glimpse of the mortal life behind one of the most iconic characters in Warhammer.
Read it for: The unfiltered truth behind the first and greatest Templar.
Gothghul Hollow
By Anna Stephens
Life isn’t all vampires and skeletons in the Realm of Death – for the remains of the Gothgul family, it’s diligent routine and quiet isolation. This once-illustrious dynasty watches over the town of the Hollow, and its remaining members must mend their fractious ways when a new threat to their sanctity rises from Shyish after 25 years.
Read it for: An excellent introduction to the world of Warhammer Horror.
Sanguinius: The Great Angel
By Chris Wraight
Sanguinius is the Great Angel, most beloved of primarchs, a shining champion of the Great Crusade, and shrouded in mystery. A discredited remembrancer may be the only one capable of uncovering the dark origins of the IX Legion, and as he joins the Blood Angels on their path of war, he begins to uncover much more than he bargained for.
Black Library audio producer Richard Stephenson says: “Tragedy is rife throughout the 40k universe, none so much as Sanguinius and his beloved Blood Angels - and I relished the chance to bring this to life as an audiobook. But it was the ‘rough and ready’ first person narrator character, Avajis Kautenya, that really highlights the tragedy in this book.
“In the audiobook version, actor Jonathan Keeble went to great lengths to bring Avajis to life: a remembrancer, a chancer, a raconteur, a drinker, by making Kautenya’s voice ‘earthy’ in a world of exacting Primarchs, Keeble brings an honesty to the book that only makes the tragedy all the more dramatic.”
Read it for: Secrets revealed about Sanguinius, the Blood Angels, and the Imperium at large.
Da Gobbo’s Demise
By Denny Flowers
It’s rare for a grot to feel the call of leadership, and Redsnot won’t let his chance be stolen by the arrival of the Red Gobbo. His fellow grots might think their hero immortal, but all sorts of accidents can happen on the front lines, and Redsnot will be there to catch his comrades when they fall.
Read it for: A unique perspective on war from the lowest rung of Ork society.
The Dark City
By Chris Wraight
Inquisitor Cowl is missing, and it falls to his loyal Interrogator, Luce Spinoza, to protect what’s left of their organisation even as the Imperium buckles under the Great Rift’s emergence. This is the third novel in the Vaults of Terra series, following on from The Carrion Throne and The Hollow Mountain. It’s another of Nick Kyme’s 2022 favourites:
Nick: “The culmination of the Vaults of Terra arc really delivers. With Spinoza at the helm and her Inquisitor master Cowl mysteriously absent, we are once again treated to a fascinating exploration into the dark underbelly of Terra and the monolithic organisations that allow it to function. Deadly politics, edge-of-the-seat action, mind-bending horror, this book has it all.”
Read it for: The final chapter in a tale of Terra’s hidden struggles.
The Triumph of Saint Katherine
By Danie Ware
The legendary funerary procession of St Katherine has touched the battlefields of many worlds, inspiring the Adepta Sororitas to deeds of incredible faith and bravery. Sister Avra is one such warrior, and battling alongside the relic may provide the conviction she needs to break a dark shame festering within her heart.
Read it for: The story behind the stunning Adepta Sororitas miniature.
Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!
By Nate Crowley
Despite the infamy of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka – the most feared Ork warlord in millennia – few records exist of the beast’s inexorable rise to prominence. Luckily for Lord Inquisitor Falx, she has the one thing that could shed light on the story: Makari, Ghazghkull’s favourite banner-grot.
Now if only his wild claims could be believed…
Read it for: A grot’s-eye view of the history behind one of Warhammer 40,000’s greatest characters.
Xenos – Illustrated Edition
By Dan Abnett
The illustrious first book in the legendary Eisenhorn series returns in a luxurious new illustrated edition, celebrating 20 years of Dan Abnett’s monumental Warhammer series. Inquisitor Eisenhorn is racing to acquire an arcane text of terrible power, and a vast cabal of scum and villainy will be the least of his problems when xenos and daemons pitch in for the prize.
Black Library’s Liam Nicholson says: “As is true for many Black Library fans, Xenos has always been my favourite Warhammer novel. It's the book I always recommend to anyone who's never read any Black Library fiction. It eases you into the grim darkness of the 41st millennium but also has incredible depth and intrigue. So it's been fantastic to finally see some behind the scenes notes (over 11,000 words!) from Dan on how this story came to be, accompanied by beautiful stylistic illustrations that just make the whole book pop! This edition is a real treasure.”
Read it for: The beginning of Eisenhorn’s career as you’ve never seen it before.
Krieg
By Steve Lyons
The enigmatic Death Korps of Krieg pride themselves in faceless determination, tackling the most horrific war zones in the galaxy with grim resolve and fixed bayonets. But even they may baulk at the cost of their latest siege, and as the Octarius Sector spirals further into an apocalyptic war between orks and tyranids, they’ll need to go further than ever to secure victory for the beleaguered Imperium.
Read it for: A rare look behind the gas masks of the Death Korps.
How many of these books have you read? Which of your favourites would you add to the list? Head to the Black Library Facebook page and let us know!
