JAMES SWALLOW

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Battle Sisters & Blood Angels

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I’d planned to post a blog today talking about some new Warhammer 40,000 releases for the month of May, but I was a little too slow off the blocks with one of them, which sold out its entire run in less than five minutes of being released!

I’m talking of course about the Sisters of Battle Collection, a limited edition of 1,000 individually signed and numbered premium hardcovers of my fiction featuring the Adepta Sororitas, the 41st Millennium’s zealous warrior-nuns!

It’s an elegant-looking set if I do say so myself, comprising two volumes with full-colour artwork and new introductions. Volume I features the text of the novel Faith & Fire and a prose adaptation of the audio drama Red & Black, while Volume II features the text of the novel Hammer & Anvil, and the stories Heart & Soul and Iron & Bone. The latter is a brand new story written exclusively for this collection.

I want to thank everyone out there who got in early to buy the collection, and say sorry to those of you who couldn’t get the set (and also to say don’t buy from scalpers!) Remember, all of the fiction in the Sisters of Battle Collection – with the exception of the new short story Iron & Bone – is also available in Sisters of Battle: The Omnibus, which you can pick up right here.

Also up today for pre-order is the Sons of Sanguinius collection, an omnibus of stories featuring the Blood Angels Space Marines…

The Blood Angels and their successor Chapters are glorious defenders of mankind, noble in deed and visage. Yet a darkness lurks at their heart. In this omnibus, discover some of the sinister secrets of Sanguinius’ sons across three novels, two novellas, and a host of short stories.

This mammoth omnibus contains more than 20 tales of the Blood Angels and Flesh Tearers. Seven different authors give their perspectives on these flawed heroes, providing you with a rounded and nuanced portrait of Sanguinius’ sons.

My contribution to Sons of Sanguinius tops out with six complete stories, including Heart of Rage (my most-reprinted Blood Angels tale!), Crimson Night (which is really more of a Doom Eagles story, but it does feature the Flesh Tearers successor chapter), The Fury (from the Angels of Death collection), Honours (originally written as an exclusive for the Games Day 2012 event), and The Sanguinor: Exemplar of the Host and Dante: Lord of the Host (both from the Lords of Space Marines collection).

Sons of Sanguinus releases on the 15th of this month, and you can pre-order the paperback or eBook edition here.

Heretics & Scions

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Horus Heresy The Buried Dagger cover

I have some new releases from the Horus Heresy saga dropping this month; starting with the mass market paperback edition of The Buried Dagger in all good bookstores from today.

For long years, the Horus Heresy has ground on. Now, the Death Guard have been sent to begin the final battle. But Mortarion and his sons must face their gravest challenge first – for Nurgle has claimed them as his own, and he will not be denied…

The skies darken over Terra as the final battle for the Throne looms ever closer…

As the Traitor primarchs muster to the Warmaster’s banner, it is Mortarion who is sent ahead as the vanguard of the Traitor forces. But as he and his warriors make way, they become lost in the warp and stricken by a terrible plague. Once thought of as unbreakable, the legendary Death Guard are brought to their knees.

To save his Legion, Mortarion must strike a most terrible bargain that will damn his sons for eternity. Meanwhile, in the cloisters of Holy Terra, a plot is afoot to create sedition and carnage in advance of the Horus’s armies. Taking matters into his own hands, Malcador the Sigillite seeks to put a stop to any insurrection but discovers a plot that he will need all of his cunning and battle-craft to overcome…

Find The Buried Dagger here at Amazon or check out the mp3 and eBook editions at the Black Library website here. To learn more about this novel, click Here.

The Horus Heresy Scions of the Emperor

Also out this month on the 20th is the anthology Scions of the Emperor, which features my short story “The Chamber at the End of Memory”.

As the Siege of Terra nears, Rogal Dorn uncovers a series of bizarre deaths within the inner walls of the Palace.

To find the truth, and faced with no other choice, the primarch must defy the edict of Nikaea and return his Librarius to service, but what he discovers will shake him to his very core…

As well as my story, the anthology also features fiction by David Guymer, David Annandale, Guy Haley, Ian St. Martin, Gav Thorpe, Darius Hinks and Chris Wraight.

Find Scions of the Emperor here at Amazon or check out the eBook editions at the Black Library website here. To learn more about my story in this collection, click Here.

THE SISTERS OF BATTLE RETURN!

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Warhammer 40,000 Sisters of Battle Faith & Fire

One of the most popular factions in the grim dark future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the a cadre of fanatic warrior-nuns powered by unshakable faith and an unswerving devotion! Servants of the Ecclesiarchy, the great church of the Imperium founded upon the worship of the God-Emperor of Mankind, they guard the sanctity of the Imperial Creed and protect the celestial truth of the Emperor’s divinity. These ideals are enforced by the bolters and flamers of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas – the Sisters of Battle.

After a long time out in the wilderness, Warhammer publishers Games Workshop have returned the Sisters of the never-ending war in the 41st Millennium, on the tabletop for gamers and in the lore and fiction of the franchise…

I had the privilege of writing the very first Sisters of Battle novel – Faith & Fire – back in 2006, and as part of the revival of the Sororitas, that novel is being serialized in GW’s monthly magazine White Dwarf, beginning this month and running through the year until October.

You can read part one of Faith & Fire in White Dwarf #451, which will be on sale on February 21st; the magazine also features “The First Act of Faith“, a new exclusive interview with me discussing the process of writing the Battle Sisters and more.

To order a copy of the magazine, click Here.

And right now, you can pick up a new eBook edition of Red & Black, the short story prequel to Faith & Fire, at Black Library’s website Here.

Red & Black is also available as an original audio drama; and if you can’t wait to read Faith & Fire in serial form, you can find it in Sisters of Battle: The Omnibus along with the prequel, my second Sisters novel Hammer & Anvil and a new short story Heart & Soul.

There’s also audiobook versions of the novels and all these titles are available individually as eBooks if that’s your preferred medium – click on the links above for more details!

Daggers & Blood

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Some new grimdark fiction is on its way this month from the Black Library…

First up is the new trade paperback release of my latest Horus Heresy novel The Buried Dagger (already out in hardcover, eBook and audiobook editions); this is the “final” Horus Heresy volume (even if it’s not the end of the story). After an incredible 54 books, the bestselling series is finally drawing to a close with a long-awaited story – the fall of the Death Guard into Nurgle’s embrace as they make their way to start the Siege of Terra.

Horus Heresy The Buried Dagger cover

Visit Black Library’s website Here to order the paperback of The Buried Dagger, due out later this week…

Also on sale this month is On Wings of Blood, a Warhammer 40,000 anthology of stories with an “air war” theme. The collection is coming out alongside a new edition of the Aeronautica Imperialis tabletop miniatures game, and it features a dozen great stories – including my short fiction “Wings of Bone“.

“Wings of Bone” was my second piece of writing for Black Library and it hasn’t been back in print since its initial publication in Inferno! magazine fifteen years ago! I’m really pleased to see this one back out in the world for readers to enjoy – it’s my one and only pass at writing an Imperial Army story for the Warhammer universe.

As well as my story, the collection also includes “Medusan Wings” (Matt Westbrook), “Raptor Down” (Gav Thorpe), “Sturmhex” (E J Davies), “Wraithbound” (J C Stearns), “In Service Eternal” (Matt Smith), “Stormseeker” (Alec Worley), “The Emperor’s Grace” (Nicolas Alexander), “Wraithflight” (Guy Haley), “Doom Flight” (Cavan Scott), “Ancient History” (Andy Chambers) and “Acceptable Losses” (also by Gav Thorpe).

Visit Black Library Here to order the paperback of On Wings of Blood, due out later this month…

The Mail I Get (July 2019)

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Since the launch of my new website in April, I’ve been getting a steady stream of emails from readers and fans, all of which have been greatly appreciated! It’s always nice to hear from people who enjoyed something I’ve worked on, but I don’t often have the opportunity to reply directly each time.

So here’s a quick compilation of answers to some questions from my virtual mailbox…

Glenn Misztal says…
“I’ve been reading your Star Trek books for a couple of years. Do you sell any signed bookplates that I can stick in the front of mine?”

Thanks for your interest in my Trek fiction, Glenn! I don’t have bookplates at the moment, but I am looking into getting some printed in the near future, so stay tuned.

Aaron Spuler asked about my Warhammer 40,000 audio drama Corsair: The Face of the Void…
“I am curious if a follow-up to the adventures of Captain Santiago and her crew is planned.”

I have some more stories in mind for the crew of the Rogue Trader Corsair, and I’m in discussion with Black Library about continuing the series, but so far we’ve made no hard and fast plans.

Damian Bouch had an interesting theory about characters from the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution…
“My pet fan theory is that Megan Reed was an agent of some party, perhaps unwittingly, who was romantically involved with Adam Jensen for the sake of getting greater access to his genetic material. Am I on the mark, more or less? Someone aware of Jensen’s unique genetic therapy could have fed the information downstream to Dr Reed, prompting her to act.”

I can tell you that Megan’s backstory had her interest in Adam growing from her own attraction to him, but who is to say that a shadowy force might not have manipulated her to follow that path? This is Deus Ex, after all, where everything is a conspiracy…!

Ross Sidor has a question about the future of my Marc Dane series…
“In the author’s note at the end of Shadow, you ominously mention the end game beginning. Are you planning to bring the series to an end, or (hopefully) just wrapping up the ongoing Combine story line?

As Lucy would say, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

Seriously, though – my plans for the next couple of Marc Dane novels will bring our heroes and the forces of the Combine into direct, open conflict…and it’s not going to end well for anyone involved! Where we go from there will be up to my readers – I have many more stories I’d like to tell with Marc and Lucy!

Ryan Pearlman, who has been putting together a great model army for his Horus Heresy tabletop war games based off characters in my novel Fear to Tread has a query about armour that sent me on a deep dive into all my lore notes…
“Did pre-Decree of Nikaea librarians use the blue colour pattern as in Warhammer 40,000 or the standard red battle plate of the Blood Angels?”

Good question! I don’t think we ever explained that in the Horus Heresy novels, but it feels to me like the blue livery was a tradition that came later, after the Heresy was over – the most likely explanation is that it was established as part of the Codex Astartes, years afterward. (Thanks to Loreman Laurie for checking the logic on this one!)

Annie Whittenham got in touch to say she had some problems downloading the deleted scene from my Marc Dane novel Nomad, which is available to everyone who signs up to my Reader’s Club. If anyone else has had the same problem, please drop a line to the mailing list – and don’t forget you can also download my full Marc Dane novelette Rough Air for free right here.

Lastly, a big thank you to reader John Dwarka from the Netherlands, who offered some great pointers about some of the Dutch references in my most recent Marc Dane novel Shadow. Much appreciated, John!

If you’d like to get in touch (and maybe appear in a future blog), I’ve got an “Ask the Author” page set up here for Goodreads members that I try to get to on a regular basis, and you can usually find me on my Twitter feed for quick 240-character conversations. There’s also the CONTACT page on this website and my Reader’s Club, which you can find at the bottom right of this page. I look forward to hearing from you!

(Picture by Siarhei Plashchynski, sourced via Unsplash).

The Horus Heresy Weekender 2019

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The annual conclave of all things Horus Heresy-related is happening this weekend, and the official program has just been announced – so I can now confirm I’ll be along talking about The Buried Dagger, my next novel in the series…and the last before the Siege of Terra!

The official blurb sez: For fans of the Horus Heresy and Adeptus Titanicus, the Horus Heresy Weekender is the ultimate event not to be missed. Prepare to immerse yourself fully as you explore every detail of these worlds. Chat with the masterminds who created them, see the latest miniatures, and uncover what the future holds for the hobby you love. If you want a dedicated weekend that leaves no stone unturned, then the Horus Heresy Weekender is for you!

This year the Weekender is taking place at the Radisson Blu Hotel at East Midlands Airport near Derby, and tickets are still available right Here.  

I’m appearing on a few panels over the two days:

On Saturday I’ll be discussing The Fate of the Death Guard in the Throne Room from 11:45am to 12:45pm, and then in the Remembrancer’s Hall from 4:15pm to 5:15pm I’ll be discussing the first part of the Scions of the Emperor. 

On Sunday, I’m back in the Remembrancer’s Hall from 10:30am to 11:30am for the second part of the Scions of the Emperor discussion, followed by a conversation about The Journey of Nathaniel Garro from Midday to 1:00pm.

I’ll also be signing books at the Scribe Station on Saturday from 10:30am to 11:30am and again between 5:30pm and 6:30pm; and on the Sunday from 2:30pm to 3:30pm.

To see the full event programme, click Here. I hope to see you there!