Week in Review (Apr.29-May 4)

This week, we have a piece by Nik Vincent writes about why she likes writing for Black Library; Bookworm Blues hosts a “Special Needs in Strange Worlds” series of guest posts (featuring Robert Jackson Bennett, Kendra Merritt, Paul Weimer); an older post from Daniel Abraham about reviews, readers and the neocortex; and Jon Courtenay Grimwood discusses Venice and Vampires; and Jeff Salyards writes about the green-eyed gremlin of writer-envy.

“Thunder & Steel” by Dan Abnett, et al (Black Library)

A Collection of Warhammer fiction from one of Black Library’s most successful authors

Across the Old World, the powers of Chaos seek to bring corruption and death, poisoning the minds of men and filling them with hatred and fury. Only the bravest dare stand against them – two Empire soldiers, marching into the cold wastes of Kislev to face the barbaric Northern hordes, where one will lose his soul to the Ruinous Powers. The high elf Gilead Lothain, who seeks to strike at the servants of the Dark Gods in a quest for vengeance that can never end. The ranks of the noble White Wolves, who stand to defend the majestic city of Middenheim until the last man, never backing down in the face of their enemies.

Thunder and Steel is an epic collection of Dan Abnett’s Warhammer fantasy, including the novels Riders of the Dead, Gilead’s Blood and Hammers of Ulric, plus short stories “Swords of the Empire” and “Shyi-zar”, and the full graphic novel of The Warhammer.

In Thunder & Steel, Dan Abnett’s Warhammer work is collected into one volume. Some of this work was written in conjunction with others – Gilead’s Blood and Hammers of Ulric were written with Nik Vincent, and the latter was also written with James Wallis. Collected into this new omnibus, these long-hard-to-find novels are great additions to any Warhammer library.

An Interview with Dan Abnett & Nik Vincent

Long-time readers of this blog will know that I am quite fond of Dan Abnett’s writing – indeed, I have reviewed seven of his novels (not including short-stories featured in anthologies), making him the most-featured author on this blog, I believe.

From his highly successful and long-running Gaunt’s Ghosts Warhammer 40,000 war series, his three contributions to Black Library’s New York Times Bestselling Horus Heresy series, and his stand-alone humorous alternate-history novel Triumff, there seems to be no end to the man’s talent for writing engaging, thoughtful speculative fiction. I do not know his comic work as well as I think I should, but I do know that I’ve read a good deal of his work for 2000AD, which I read when I was younger.

This past week, I was lucky that both Dan and his partner-in-all-things, Nik Vincent, were able to take some time from their busy schedules to answer some questions about their work. So without further ado, here’s what they had to say…