JAMES SWALLOW

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40k

New Covers!

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Some news dropped at the recent Black Library Weekender event about a few of the Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 projects I have on the horizon; first (or maybe last!) was the official cover reveal for the final Heresy novel, The Buried Dagger…
 

Black Library also announced that print-on-demand hardbacks of the first four Horus Heresy novels, including The Flight of the Eisenstein by me, will be back in print from November 17th.


On the subject of reprints, new Warhammer 40,000 omnibus editions are on the way, compiling my Blood Angels fiction, and the Dark Angels and Iron Warriors by m’colleagues Gav Thorpe and Graham McNeill…


And not to be forgotten, the Warhammer Legends partwork series will be re-releasing a new hardcover edition of my Horus Heresy novel Fear to Tread this month.




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Legendary!

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October is a banner month for some neat re-releases from my back-catalog in the grimdark worlds of Warhammer!

Two titles are hitting in short order, one that features a story of the Adepta Sororitas – the zealous Sisters of Battle – and another from the Horus Heresy era, a tale of the traitorous Death Guard.

Back in 2011, I wrote my second Sororitas novel Hammer & Anvil, and now the Warhammer Legends partwork series is releasing it in a spiffy new hardcover edition, on sale in all good bookstores on the 17th of this month.  

The Sisters of Battle are the Emperor’s most devout worshippers, fierce warriors preaching the purity of the Imperium and scourging their enemies with bolter and flamer. 

On a distant world, the Ecclesiarchy outpost of Sanctuary 101, was wiped out by an implacable foe – the fearless, soulless necrons. Now, a mission of the Sisterhood has returned to reconsecrate the site – but the metallic nightmares still lurk in the darkness, guarding a secret that has lain dormant for millennia. 
A vicious battle will be fought – one that can only end in the total destruction of the unrelenting xenos, or the annihilation of the proud Sororitas.

To visit the Warhammer Legends site, click Here or go Here to order individual copies of the partwork hardcovers; if digital is more your speed, you can still pick up the eBook edition right Here.

Later this month – the 20th to be exact – you’ll be able to pick up a copy of Heralds of the Siege, a new Horus Heresy short fiction collections, featuring content by me, Gav Thorpe, Chris Wraight, John French, Guy Haley, Nick Kyme, Rob Sanders and Anthony Reynolds.

A galaxy burns and brother turns on brother as the conflict brought about by a beloved son’s betrayal reaches its fateful end. 
The Warmaster Horus has triumphed. His massive fleet at last nears Terra and the patriarchal Throne of his hated father. 
Many have fallen to bring this moment about, their tales are the ashes upon which the Heresy was born and prospered. 
Others have played their own small parts, drops in an ocean of war and blood. 
None of it matters. 
Terra looks to the skies as it raises its defences. Armies muster, heroes raise their swords, citizens cower. 
The war is coming. And nothing can stop it.

My contribution to this hefty tome is “Exocytosis“, a story featuring the Death Guard and the character of Calas Typhon, which set him up for his appearance in my upcoming Horus Heresy novel The Buried Dagger (due in Spring of 2019). “Exocytosis” originally appeared in the 2016 Black Library Advent Calendar series and this marks its first dead-tree edition.

Click Here for more details on The Horus Heresy: Heralds of the Siege.

And as a bonus cover reveal for this blog, check out this amazing art from Johan Grenier for the new collected edition of all my Warhammer 40,000 Blood Angels stories – The Complete Rafen Omnibus…

This collection features all the stories and novels in and around Rafen’s epic narrative – The Fury, Deus Encarmine, Blood Debt, Deus Sanguinius, Redeemed, Red Fury, Black Tide, Bloodline and Reflection in Blood. The book will be available in January 2019, but for more details click Here.


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Space Hulk Tactics strikes!

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A few months back, I mentioned that I’d been doing some scriptwriting work on a new Warhammer 40,000 videogame – and this week Space Hulk Tactics deep-strikes its way on to Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC platforms for all players…

Space Hulk Tactics is a turn-based strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, pitting squads of Space Marine Terminators against swarms of alien Genestealers aboard a massive amalgamation of abandoned starships – the gargantuan Space Hulk known as The Forsaken Doom…


Based on the classic Games Workshop boardgame, Space Hulk Tactics lets you pick between these two factions in full campaigns, solo vs. AI, or via competitive online play. 

The game has two narrative campaigns (scripted by me), one from the point of view of the venerable Blood Angels chapter and one casting players in the role of the rapacious alien Genestealers. 

Here’s a link to a developer blog I wrote about the storylines. 

A “card” system enhances the turn-based strategy gameplay, ensuring no two games are ever the same and giving you many more tactical options on every turn. There’s also a versatile map editing tool, so games can create and upload their own scenarios. 

Check out the official Space Hulk Tactics website right Here, for more details, along with ordering details. The game is released on 9th October, but pre-orders will get bonus custom content.

 

Warhammer Fest Europe

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It’s been a while since my last Games Workshop/Black Library event, so I’m looking forward to appearing at Warhammer Fest Europe 2018 in Düsseldorf this weekend. It’ll be great to visit Germany again; last time was to take part in Games Day in Cologne, and the welcome I got from the fans over there was fantastic.
 


WFE 2018 is taking place on Saturday August 18th and Sunday August 19th at the Maritim Hotel in Düsseldorf, and it’s going to be a big one, with a ton of stuff going one for fans of the worlds of Warhammer and the Horus Heresy.

I’m appearing on the Saturday to represent the Black Library – First off, I’ll be signing books from Midday to 1:00pm, and then straight after from 1:00pm-2:00pm I’ll be talking about my forthcoming Horus Heresy novel The Buried Dagger, the fate of the Knights Errant and the Doom of the Death Guard. 

Then from 3:00pm-4:00pm I’ll join BL Germany’s head of translation Tobias Roesner to talk more about our books, before a final signing session from 4:00pm. The signing will be a short one, as I have to dash off to catch my flight home…

M’colleague David Guymer will be there to fly the flag on the Sunday, so be sure to check out his talks and signings as well.

Along with me and David, there will be folks from the Forge World, Citadel, White Dwarf, Army Painter and ‘Eavy Metal Teams, plus the usual Golden Demon painting competition, displays, workshops, demo games and a whole load of tournaments

Full details of the other seminars taking place can be found Here.

The main event is 10.00am to 6.00pm on Saturday and 10.00am to 4.00pm on Sunday – for more details, tickets and the like, click Here.

And for or those of you who can’t make it along, there will be a live blog covering the event at the Warhammer Community site Here.

Bis bald!

Space Hulk Tactics

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Having been working on videogame projects since 1999 and written for the grim dark future of Warhammer 40,000 since 2003, it was clearly fated that one day I was going to get to combine the two…

…and so I am pleased to announce that I have teamed up with Cyanide Studios and Focus Interactive, to work with them on the narrative for their forthcoming turn-based tactical game Space Hulk: Tactics!

Bringing a unique twist to the classic gameplay of the cult board game, engage in bloody battles through an immense Space Hulk – a twisted mass of asteroids, wrecked ships and debris – as either a squad of Terminator Space Marines or the deadly alien Genestealers. Which side will you choose?

Battle through two distinct, narrative-driven campaigns, from the points of view of two different factions: one campaign puts you in control of a Blood Angels squad, which you will customise and upgrade as you progress, while the other puts you in control of the Genestealers for the first time in a Space Hulk game!

Test your skills against other players in the expansive online competitive multiplayer, letting you command a swarm of Genestealers or a custom squad of different unit types from one of four Space Marine Chapters – the Blood Angels, the Space Wolves, the Ultramarines, and the Dark Angels. Multiplayer modes and tools offer a rich and deep online experience, and include an intuitive map creation tool, which gives players everything they need to create original maps with custom objective, and share them with other players to play either online or against the AI, all from within the game!

Space Hulk: Tactics will be released later in 2018 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms, and you can find more details about the game at the official website Here.