“The Library of Unrequited Love” by Sophie Divry & Siân Reynolds (trans.) (MacLehose Press)

A peculiar, endearing little book

One morning a librarian finds a reader who has been locked in overnight.

She starts to talk to him, a one-way conversation that soon gathers pace as an outpouring of frustrations, observations and anguishes. Two things shine through: her shy, unrequited passion for a quiet researcher named Martin, and an ardent and absolute love of books.

A delightful flight of fancy for the lonely bookworm in all of us…

What a peculiar little book. The Library of Unrequited Love is a 98-page, stream-of-consciousness, single-paragraph monologue. Ordinarily, such a description would be an automatic turn-off for me. This, however, was a very endearing read.

“Stormseer” by David Annandale (Black Library)

White Scars vs. Orks, with a dash of Eldar…

The green-skinned hordes of the Overfiend of the Octavius system have long been a thorn in the Imperium’s side – and now, with human worlds caught in the crossfire between the orks and eldar, that thorn will be removed. Temur Khan and his brotherhood descend upon Lepidus Prime to cleanse it of the green taint. The swift and brutal hammer to the Imperial Guard’s anvil, the White Scars strike hard and fast – but when the orks reveal a super-weapon, it may take more than just power to win the day?

I’m a big fan of Annandale’s Black Library fiction, and Stormseer is a great example of just why I think he’s so good. This is the first of three novellas in the Space Marine Battles series, all of which are connected to the same campaign. Fast and furious, excellently written and well-paced, this is an excellent novella. A must-read for fans of the White Scars and Warhammer 40,000 in general.

“Brotherhood of the Storm” by Chris Wraight (Black Library)

A White Scars Horus Heresy Novella

As word of Horus’s treachery spreads to fully half of the Legiones Astartes, Terra looks to the remaining loyalist Space Marines to defend the Imperium. One group, however, remains curiously silent in spite of apparent efforts from both sides to contact them – the noble Vth Legion, Jaghatai Khan’s fearsome White Scars. In the ork-held territory of Chondax, a bitter war has been raging since the Triumph at Ullanor, and only now do the sons of Chogoris return their gaze to the heavens...

Originally published as a limited edition, Black Library has finally released Brotherhood of the Storm for a wider audience, in both hardcover and eBook. It’s well timed, as the characters within feature prominently in the latest full-length Horus Heresy novel, Scars. And, happily, this does not disappoint – Wraight has really upped his game with his Heresy fiction. While this novella was not quite as good as Scars, it was still a cracking story, filled with a good balance of furious action and away-from-the-battlefront context and character development.

Short Story Reviews: “Forsworn” and “The Face in the Window” by Brian McClellan

A pair of short stories set in the world of McClellan’s Powder Mage fantasy series. McClellan continues to impress and these two stories (which follow previous short stories The Girl of Hrusch Avenue and Hope’s End) do a wonderful job of adding more to the world he’s creating. And heightening my anticipation for The Crimson Campaign…

FORSWORN

Erika ja Leora is a powder mage in northern Kez, a place where that particular sorcery is punishable by death. She is only protected by her family name and her position as heir to a duchy.

When she decides to help a young commoner — a powder mage marked for death, fugitive from the law — she puts her life and family reputation at risk and sets off to deliver her new ward to the safety of Adro while playing cat and mouse with the king’s own mage hunters and their captain, Duke Nikslaus.

Occurs 35 years before the events in Promise of Blood.

This is a great novella. This time, we’re in Kez, and we learn about their strict censure of powder mages – lowborn mages are executed, but highborn mages can forswear their gifts and live (branded). It is set a long while before the novel, as is mentioned above, and it’s only at the end that McClellan connects it with Tamas and his revolution. I really liked the way he wrote all of the characters. The story is very well-paced, and the fight scenes are expertly done. The author continues to impress, the more of his work I read.

Very highly recommended.

*

THE FACE IN THE WINDOW

Taking place two years before the events in Promise of Blood, “The Face in the Window” relates the story of Taniel’s trip to Fatrasta and his first meeting with a mysterious girl named Ka-poel.

Published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue #140.

The author announced this rather suddenly on his website and via Twitter, just as I was finishing Forsworn. Naturally, I went straight to Amazon and bought it… It’s a great story, too, one that has a slow build to a sudden, appropriate ending. It was great to read of Taniel’s first meeting with Ka-poel (my favourite character from Promise of Blood, probably). It’s set in the muggy, oppressive, dragon-infested swamps, and Taniel attaches himself to a regiment who end up devastated by their enemies. With Ka-poel’s help, he seeks revenge on the Privileged who murdered his company.

Much shorter than Forsworn, McClellan nevertheless offers a satisfying story. You don’t have to have read Promise of Blood, but you will probably get a bit more out of “The Face in the Window” if you have.

*

Brian McClellan’s Promise of Blood is published in the UK and US by Orbit Books. The next novel in the series, The Crimson Campaign is due to be published in May 2014. I can’t wait!

Upcoming: “Innocence” & “Wilderness” by Dean Koontz (Harper Collins/Bantam)

Dean Koontz is an author who I have been familiar with for years (it’s hard to miss his novels in the SFF and Crime sections of any bookstore in – at least – the English-speaking world). And yet, I have never read anything by him. I think this novel, though, could change that. It sounds great. And, I’ll admit, the UK cover caught my eye – well played, Harper Collins Design Team. Well played. Then I saw the US cover (on the right), and I was even more smitten. Here’s the synopsis:

Addison Goodheart is not like other people…

Addison Goodheart lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from a society which will destroy him if he is ever seen.

Books are his refuge and his escape: he embraces the riches they have to offer. By night he leaves his hidden chambers and, through a network of storm drains and service tunnels, makes his way into the central library.

And that is where he meets Gwyneth, who, like Addison, also hides her true appearance and struggles to trust anyone.

But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance − and nothing less than destiny − has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching.

Innocence is due to be published in the UK December 10th 2013 (eBook), and on January 2nd 2014 (Hardcover) – according to Amazon UK. The novel is due to be published in the US by Bantam, also on December 10th 2013.

In the meantime – and, if like me, you’ve never read anything by Koontz – the author has written a prequel novella! It’s called The Wilderness, and is published on October 29th 2013 in both the UK and US. Here’s the synopsis for the novella:

Addison Goodheart is a mystery even to himself. He was born in an isolated home surrounded by a deep forest, never known to his father, kept secret from everyone but his mother, who barely accepts him. She is haunted by private demons and keeps many secrets—none of which she dreads more than the young son who adores her.

Only in the woods, among the wildlife, is Addison truly welcome. Only there can he be at peace. Until the day he first knows terror, the day when his life changes radically and forever...

“Armageddon” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

Two Space Marine Battles stories from one of Black Library’s best young talents.

++ Grimaldus…

They lied to us about the Mannheim Gap. They sent us there to die. You know of whom I speak. We cannot outrun the echoes of Khattar. We pay the price now for our virtue in the past. The Celestial Lions will never leave this world. A handful of us remain, but we know the truth. We died at the Mannheim Gap. We died the day the sun rose over the scrap-iron bodies of alien gods. ++

++ Message for Black Templars Reclusiarch Merek Grimaldus, From Celestial Lions Deathspeaker Julkhara ++

Armageddon collects Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s early Space Marine Battles novel, Helsreach, and a new novella set shortly after the events of that novel, Blood And Fire. Both are quite different, and as a long-time fan of the author’s it is interesting to compare them – in terms of style, confidence, and story construction. (Though, fear not, this review is not a piece of academic literary criticism.) Overall, I think this collection is very strong, and while the novella is much better than the novel, both are highly recommended for fans of the author, the series, and science-fiction in general.

“Promethean Sun” by Nick Kyme (Black Library)

Former Limited Edition Novella gets a wider release

As the Great Crusade sweeps across the galaxy, the forces of the Imperium encounter a world held in thrall by the alien eldar. While the Iron Hands of Ferrus Manus and Mortarion’s Death Guard battle against the hated xenos, it is the Salamanders who brave the deepest and most deadly jungles, encountering monstrous reptilian beasts and foul witchery along the way. Ultimately, it falls to their primarch Vulkan himself to thwart the sinister designs of the eldar, if the Legions are to liberate this world and bring illumination to its inhabitants.

Promethean Sun was Black Library’s first limited edition Horus Heresy novella. As someone who couldn’t afford it back then, naturally I grumbled quietly to myself about missing out on this part of the series – which has, actually, been a superb example of sustained, multi-volume and multi-author storytelling. There have been wobbles, of course, but for the most part this series has been amazingly strong. So, back to this book. After reading it, I realise I shouldn’t have grumbled. Sad to say (and very surprisingly), this was a disappointment, with greater weaknesses than strengths. The story meanders, the writing’s not as strong as I know Kyme can produce, and Vulkan’s characterisation feels off. For completists only, I would say.

Quick Review: “Poison” by Sarah Pinborough (Gollancz)

An intriguing tweaking of the classic Snow White Fairy Tale

A beautiful, sexy, contemporary retelling of the classic Snow White fairy tale, illustrated by Les Edwards.

POISON is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the Snow White story which takes all the elements of the classic fairytale that we love (the handsome prince, the jealous queen, the beautiful girl and, of course, the poisoning) and puts a modern spin on the characters, their motives and their desires. It's fun, contemporary, sexy, and perfect for fans of ONCE UPON A TIME, GRIMM, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and more

This book isn’t very long, so it’s a little tricky to review at any great length without ruining the whole story. Pinborough has taken this classic story and approached it with a modern sensibility, tweaking the tale here and there to make it a little more edgy and fresh. I must admit that I’m not the greatest fan of fairy tales to begin with, which probably makes you wonder why you should care about my opinion on this book. My lack of familiarity with the source material will also have had an impact on how much I got from this novella. I can see why people will enjoy this, though. I liked it a fair bit, too.

Poison is basically a story about two young women: one an evil step-mother (Lilith) and the other a princess (Snow). They are the same age, more or less, with the King having decided on a younger model after the death of Snow’s mother. They are also, of course, very different. Snow is carefree, confident, and quite fun (she can often be found drinking and hanging out with the dwarfs, pulling practical jokes), and she’s a bit of a tomboy. Lilith, on the other hand, is cold, calculating, self-conscious, surprisingly insecure, and highly resentful of the male-dominated world in which she lives (understandably – she seems to be better suited to ruling than her warmonger, imperialist husband). She yearns for power and the ability to wield it, and takes her husband’s latest campaign abroad as an opportunity to wield it in his name.

Pinborough’s characters are interesting – they are clearly identifiable as those in the original, but updated and a little more modern. At times, the dialogue and writing felt a little archaic, which was at odds with the contemporary feel I think the author was going for. Nevertheless, they’re all pretty interesting. Lilith controls a psycho-Aladdin, for example! That was a very cool development, I thought. That’s also all I’m going to say about it, lest I ruin that darkly delightful character for you. Lilith’s grandmother, the old crone of the story, is as wicked and devious as the Queen. She’s also a bit dotty, which added some extra levity (she mothers Lilith a bit, and her first scene made me chuckle). The Huntsman seems to be the typical manly-man of fairy tales (who seems to have some magical stud-powers…).

Despite not being the biggest fan of fairy tales, I thought this was a pretty interesting, quick read. I didn’t love it, unfortunately, and there were a couple of fleeting lulls in the narrative, but it was still a good read. If you’re looking for a new, fresh and modern take on this classic fairy tale, and enjoy the swathe of fairy-tale-related reinterpretations (Grimm and Once Upon a Time in particular, I think), then Sarah Pinborough’s Poison will be right for you.

A quick, fun, diversion; an intriguing contemporary take on one of the all-time classic stories. I’m looking forward to seeing what the author’s done with Beauty and Charm, the other two novellas in the ‘series’ (also published this year by Gollancz).

The Complete Covers for Sarah’s three Fairy Tale reinterpretations

Upcoming: “Grimoire of the Lamb” by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey/Orbit)

Just caught this via the Twitters, and decided to share it on here. I’m a big fan of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles – despite having only read the first two, and being really slow about getting to the rest. Hearne announced today that there will be a new eNovella, GRIMOIRE OF THE LAMB, released on May 7th, 2013, in the U.S. Here’s what the author wrote on his website:

“This is an eBook novella on sale at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iBooks, etc., for $2.99. It’ll be available in the UK, Australia, and affiliated territories too, albeit with a different cover, and I believe (but haven’t confirmed) that it will be on audio too in the US & Canada...”

So it will be arriving in other territories, hopefully around the same time. With regards to the story, Hearne wrote,

“It’s set in 2005, four years before HOUNDED. Aenghus Óg hasn’t found him yet, Granuaile isn’t bartending at Rúla Búla, but we do get a cameo from the widow MacDonagh.”

Here’s the official synopsis, from Del Rey:

When he’s not vanquishing villainous gods or dodging demons, two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan can be found behind the counter of Third Eye Books and Herbs in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, literally minding his own business. But when an evil sorcerer – and amateur shoplifter – snatches an ancient Egyptian tome of black magic, The Grimoire of the Lamb, Atticus is not sheepish about pursuing him to the ends of the earth… or at least to the Land of the Pharaohs.

Unfortunately, Atticus already has enemies in Egypt – including cat goddess Bast, who wants her own book of mischief back from the Druid. In the streets of Cairo, she sends a feline phalanx after Atticus and his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. With fur still flying, Atticus must locate the sorcerer’s secret lair – where he will face killer crocodiles, spooky sarcophagi, and an ancient evil Egyptian who’s determined to order the sacrificial lamb special tonight.

Atticus in Egypt? Count me in. If you haven’t read any of the series before (shame on you!), then this could be a great point to give it a try.

Also on CR: Reviews of Hounded and Hexed, and an Interview with Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles: Hounded, Hexed, Hammered, Tricked, Trapped, Hunted (Novels) | Two Ravens & One Crow, Grimoire of the Lamb (Novellas)

Gotrek & Felix: “The Reckoning” by Jordan Ellinger (Black Library)

A Novella from the Upcoming Gotrek & Felix: Lost Tales

Gotrek and Felix: unsung heroes of the Empire, or nothing more than common thieves and murderers? The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between, and depends entirely upon whom you ask... Summoned back to Barak Varr by the outraged King Grundadrakk, the pair discover that a terrible crime has been committed – the dwarfen hold’s Book of Grudges has been stolen, right out of its sealed vault. Given that his own name appears upon its fading pages, Gotrek is honour-bound to join an expedition to recover the ancient tome. How far will the trail lead, and just what manner of individual would seek to rob the dwarfs of their vengeful legacy

I’m not a fan of buying novellas individually if they will be released later in a collected anthology, but when The Reckoning was released, I really fancied a short dip back into the Warhammer setting with my two favourite characters. And luckily, this story is really rather good.

“Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha” by David Annandale (Black Library)

An excellent Commissar Yarrick Novella

From the ashes of the Second War of Armageddon a hero of the Imperium emerged. War-torn and bloody, Commissar Yarrick swore vengeance on the beast that escaped his righteous wrath, the despoiler of Armageddon – Ghazghkull Thraka.

Tracking down the ork warlord to the desolate world of Golgotha, Yarrick leads an armoured company to destroy the beast but does not reckon on Thraka’s cunning. Ambushed, his army all-but destroyed, Yarrick is captured and awakes to find himself aboard the beast’s space hulk facing a fate worse than death...

This is a very fine science fiction novella. Annandale has been writing for Black Library a while, now, and with each new release I am even more impressed. Taking on one of the most beloved Imperial characters from the Warhammer 40,000 canon, though, could be a daunting task. Annandale has risen to the task admirably, however, and has managed to capture the essence of Yarrick and his struggle against Ghazghkull excellently. Chains of Golgotha absolutely does his subjects justice.

“Clementine” by Cherie Priest (Tor/Subterranean)

A Steampunk Novella, Clockwork Century #2

Maria Isabella Boyd’s success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty…she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.

Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport dirigible is being violently pursued across the Rockies and Uncle Sam isn’t pleased. The Clementine is carrying a top secret load of military essentials — essentials which must be delivered to Louisville, Kentucky, without delay.

Intelligence suggests that the unrelenting pursuer is a runaway slave who’s been wanted by authorities on both sides of the Mason-Dixon for fifteen years. In that time, Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey has felonied his way back and forth across the continent, leaving a trail of broken banks, stolen war machines, and illegally distributed weaponry from sea to shining sea.

And now it’s Maria’s job to go get him.

He’s dangerous quarry and she’s a dangerous woman, but when forces conspire against them both, they take a chance and form an alliance. She joins his crew, and he uses her connections. She follows his orders. He takes her advice.

And somebody, somewhere, is going to rue the day he crossed either one of them.

This is the second installment in Priest’s highly popular Clockwork Century steampunk series. Originally a limited edition novella published by Subterranean Press, Clementine has since been made available as an eBook first in the US and now in the UK. I have to admit that I while I enjoyed much of Boneshaker, the first in the series, I was never wholly won over by it. I nevertheless decided to give the rest of the series a try – especially since Tor UK picked up the rights to publish it in Blighty. Clementine does a good job of expanding Priest’s version of a steampunk Civil War-era United States. While still flawed, it is nevertheless an enjoyable book, one that kindled my interest in reading the rest of the series.

“Dark Vengeance” by C.Z. Dunn (Black Library)

An introduction to the new game

The Dark Angels are among the foremost Space Marines, the First Legion of old. Devastated millennia ago by a dreadful schism, the Dark Angels are constantly on the hunt for the mysterious Fallen, former brothers who have turned from the light of the immortal God-Emperor and embraced the dread powers of Chaos.

Newly ordained Company Master Balthasar of the Dark Angels leads his forces to the world of Bane’s Landing, the resting place of the ancient and powerful Hellfire Stone, in pursuit of the Chaos Space Marines of the Crimson Slaughter. Kranon the Relentless, the evil lord of the Crimson Slaughter, seeks to use the stone to summon forth his daemonic masters and usher in an age of darkness. As the Dark Angels race to stop him, the scene is set for a mighty conflict between the loyal Balthasar and the traitor Kranon.

After finishing this novella, which is intended as an introduction to the new boxed game recently released by Games Workshop, there was a real risk that the review would end up shorter than the synopsis. It’s enjoyable, but also flawed as a work of general science fiction, which may bother some readers.

“Judge Dredd: Year One - City Fathers” by Matthew Smith (Abaddon)

An eNovella Introduction to Mega City’s finest

The Making of the Lawman...

Mega-City One, 2080. It is Joe Dredd’s first year as a full-eagle Judge – he may have been created from the genes of Eustace Fargo, the ‘Father of Justice’, and thus part of an illustrious lineage, but right now Dredd is not long graduated from the Academy, and yet to establish himself as the metropolis’s toughest, greatest cop. His reputation will be moulded in the years ahead, but at the moment he’s a young lawman, fresh on the streets.

The brutal murder of a Justice Department-sanctioned spy sparks an investigation that will see Dredd trawl the criminal underworld in the hunt for the killer – and he will discover that all is not what it seems in the sector's murky black market. Something new has entered the system, and unless Dredd can stop it, chaos will be unleashed...

This novella, which was released just before the new Dredd movie hit cinemas, is a great story of Mega City’s most bad-ass of cops. Set in his first year, it serves as both introduction and refresher course, for new readers and lapsed enthusiasts (the latter including yours truly). I really enjoyed this story, and I hope there are more on the way. City Fathers is a great dystopian sci-fi crime thriller.

“Beneath the Flesh” by Andy Smillie (Black Library)

A brutal Flesh Tearers novella

The Flesh Tearers descend upon an Imperial world to retrieve gene-seed from fallen brothers. Death haunts the shadows, as does the spectre of the Chapter’s curse, the Black Rage.

This novella was originally collected across two issues of Black Library’s monthly Hammer & Bolter eBooks. As someone who much prefers getting the whole story whenever possible, I decided to wait for the complete version, and I’m rather glad that I did. This is a brisk, brutal slice of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, sure to please fans of the franchise and also conflict-heavy military sci-fi. This is a very good, well-constructed and well-written novella, and I really enjoyed reading it.

“Edie Investigates” by Nick Harkaway

An introduction to the protagonist of Angelmaker

There has been a strange death in the quiet village of Shrewton: old Donny Caspian has lost his head. In the Copper Kettle tea rooms, Tom Rice, a junior nobody from the Treasury, puzzles over the details of the case. He has been sent by his superiors to oversee the investigation, but is he supposed to help or hinder? At the next table, octogenarian superspy Edie Banister nibbles a slice of cake and struggles not to become Miss Marple. But what is the connection between the two? Who killed Donny Caspian, and why? Taking in Rice’s present and Edie’s daring past, from duels on shipboard to death in back alleys, we are introduced to a character from Harkaway’s upcoming novel, Angelmaker.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this short story. As an introduction to Angelmaker, I can’t imagine it’s very necessary. As an introduction to Harkaway’s writing style, it is a story that you will probably find the words “endearing” and “delightful” used to describe it, and its content full of “whimsy”. While they are accurate, I think it would also be necessary to add “frustrating” and even “irritating” to the description. I have extremely mixed feelings about this. Part of this may be because of my mood when I read it – I was having quite the bout of book-indecision – and yet, even with hindsight, I still find myself less-than-satisfied with this short story.

“Strata” by Brad Beaulieu & Stephen Gaskell

Sci-Fi Novella

It’s the middle of the twenty-second century. Earth’s oil and gas reserves have been spent, but humankind’s thirst for energy remains unquenched. Vast solar mining platforms circle the upper atmosphere of the sun, drawing power lines up from the stellar interior and tight-beaming the energy back to Earth. For most of the platforms’ teeming masses, life is hard, cramped — and hot. Most dream of a return Earthside, but a two-way ticket wasn’t part of the benefits package, and a Sun-Earth trip doesn’t come cheap.

Kawe Ndechi is luckier than most. He’s a gifted rider — a skimmer pilot who races the surface of the sun’s convection zone — and he needs only two more wins before he lands a ticket home. The only trouble is, Kawe’s spent most of his life on the platforms. He’s seen the misery, and he’s not sure he’s the only one who deserves a chance at returning home.

That makes Smith Pouslon nervous. Smith once raced the tunnels of fire himself, but now he’s a handler, and his rider, Kawe, is proving anything but easy to handle. Kawe’s slipping deeper and deeper into the Movement, but Smith knows that’s a fool’s game. His own foray into the Movement cost him his racing career — and nearly his life — and he doesn’t want Kawe to throw everything away for a revolt that will never succeed.

One sun. Two men. The fate of a million souls.

In this novella, Beaulieu and Gaskell introduce us to a dystopian, corporate-dominated far future, in which workers struggle for their rights while slaving away on the energy harvesting platforms that orbit the Sun. With echoes of many of today’s political issues, Strata is an intelligent, well-written, and character-driven story of personal and political struggle.

“Viscount & the Witch” by Michael Sullivan

A great prequel to the Riyria Revelations

Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, before even assuming the title of Riyria, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief and idealist swordsman, were just learning how to work together as a team. In this standalone first instalment of The Riyria Chronicles, Royce is determined to teach his naive partner a lesson about good deeds.

Michael Sullivan offers new readers and long-time fans a short story set in the same world as his Riyria Revelations series (coming soon from Orbit). Showcasing Sullivan’s talents as an author, this is a fantastic introduction to his characters and writing.

“Hour of Shadows” by CL Werner (Black Library)

The Storm of Magic comes to Athel Loren

For thousands of years, the Golden Pool has been a source of malignant energy within the forest of Athel Loren. The wood elf spellweaver Ywain, secretly entrusted with the stewardship of this magical fulcrum, prophesises the coming of a terrible enemy to the ancient realm – even now, the undead hordes of the Black Seer Huskk Gnawbone approach. As the elves marshal their forces against him, the power of the pool grows and an eternal evil rises to corrupt even the very forest itself.

It is always a pleasure to read Werner’s work. He manages to evoke the dark and gothic nature of the Warhammer world brilliantly (perhaps peerlessly). In this novella, he brings the twisted, horrific Skaven to life on the page, their machinations and cowardice perfectly rendered in such a short space.

“Dragonmage” by Chris Wraight (Black Library)

Skies Filled with Dragons

Magic is stirring across the world. A storm is coming. On Ulthuan, the Phoenix King of the high elves nears death and competition for his position has erupted into open war. Lord Rathien of Caledor seeks to awaken the dragons from their long sleep and use their strength to ensure his ascent to the Phoenix Throne. Meanwhile, Prince Valaris of Ellyrion, aided by a powerful but naïve mage, wants to harness the power of the storm of magic to defeat his rival and achieve his goal. As their forces clash, greater powers manipulate events to their own purposes, leading the two elf nobles into a conflict that threatens to destroy them both… and the world with them.

Dragonmage is the second of three novellas from Black Library’s Storm of Magic series, about expansive and chaotic magic. This novella is the story of two elven heroes vying for supremacy in the race to become the next Phoenix King, going to great lengths to swing the contest in their favour, using any and all means to gain the upper hand. Which means some moments of extremely poor judgement. And a lot of dragons.