Enter the Black Library
A 9-Worlds convention follow up
At a recent 9-Worlds panel on ‘Diversity in Warhammer 40,000’ a recurring theme in the question and answer session was a desire for inclusive literature and Black Library fiction by women. To expand on the brief answer we were able to supply at the panel I committed to signposting some authors worth checking out…
Rachel Harrison
Rachel gained my utmost respect as a 40k writer with the short story ‘Execution’ which follows Commissar Severina Raine as she drives the 11th Antari rifles to achieve the seemingly impossible. If you can spare a few pounds then I highly recommend supporting her solo work with Black Library.
https://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/quick-reads/execution-eshort.html
https://www.blacklibrary.com/series/necromunda/dirty-dealings-eshort.html
You may also find her work in the War for Armageddon Omnibus and Necromunda bundle; as well a few shorts under the name Ray Harrison. This is an author I sincerely hope to see more from in future Black Library publications.
James Swallow
Best known for writing about some of my favourite things in 40k; Sisters of Battle, Blood Angels and Nathaniel Garro. ‘Faith and Fire’ the defining Sisters of Battle novel has a lot of problematic content in the choice of language, jarring switches to the male gaze and the attitude of many male characters to the Sisters… however it deserves a mention for the excellent characters and the foundations it provides for future Sisters of Battle literature.
If you have a moment check out the audio drama ‘+++Corsair+++ Face of the Void’ so you can join me in eagerly awaiting further installments.
https://www.blacklibrary.com/authors/james-swallow/corsair-the-face-of-the-void-mp3.html
Gav Thorpe
Games Workshop legend and well known for his efforts to engage with the community and develop the characters he is writing to better represent them. I would like to draw attention to ‘Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah’ which features not only a prominent character of non-binary gender but also one of the most awesome women in 40k right now.
https://www.blacklibrary.com/authors/gav-thorpe/imperator-wrath-of-the-omnissiah-ebook.html
Sarah Kaiser
Whilst not part of official GW publications http://www.eagleordinary.com/ is a much loved webcomic in the 40k universe. You may recognise the art style from recent Warhammer Community promotional material and can expect to see more from Sarah in future Games Workshop work. This lady is one of my personal hobby heroes.
With a recent Black Library drive to find more authors and open up the 40k fiction to a more diverse range of creators I hope this list will need some serious updating before too long...
Games Workshop Retro-review
Episode 1 - Oi Dat’s My Leg
As we are often reminded by certain types of fan; Games Workshop is super serious and GrimDark with a strict adherence to established lore. With this in mind I dug out the ancient Pandora's box of super serious Grimdarkery that is 'Oi Dat's My Leg’ and arranged a time to share it with one of the more mature and reasonable Games Workshop fans… my five year old daughter.
Upon first opening the colourful box depicting a dismembered troll and the escapades of organ harvesting goblins; my daughter was delighted to find a riot of colour and no less than three trolls to choose from. Goblin selection was even more generous and after choosing the pink goblin for herself I was assigned the blue goblin.
To generate a suitably GrimDark atmosphere and truly immerse the player in the Battle Angel Alita style world of organ harvesting, harsh incarceration policies and a downtrodden underclass subsisting on a junk pile; Games Workshop provided a tape of thematic songs and music. Unfortunately my partner has forbidden me from playing this on pain of pain following the first sing along rendition of 'Ere We Go’ so I am unable to offer further insight into this magnetically encoded brilliance.
The objective of the game is (as your morally bankrupt goblin) to locate, steal and unearth parts of luckless trolls in an effort to build some sort of chimera and establish oneself as a demi-god on a par with Dr Frankenstein. At this point I confided in my fellow reviewer about my misgivings and the unbearable futility of existence in this dystopian world. She blew a raspberry and demanded I explain the rules.
We placed our goblins in their junk pile homestead and the selected troll in the centre of the board. Throughout the game this guardian of order would pursue us in the hope of throwing our colourful avatars in a claustrophobic and unsanitary cage. Naturally troll infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired and we enjoyed a ⅓ chance of escaping this incarceration and continuing our macabre scavenging.
Play consists of traversing the board whilst hoping one does not get trapped in the cleverly placed loop of infinite futility at the very start. Between falling back into the junk pile, returning to where we had begun our move and missing turns Games Workshop made me contemplate the cyclical nature of our endeavours and the ease with which we find ourselves back to square one regardless of our ambition. My daughter found the experience hilarious.
As our journey through the unique goblin culture progressed we began to amass an array of body parts and construct our unholy troll automata. In a thought provoking exploration of capitalism without conscience we were able to impede each others progress through the use of junk that undermined construction of a troll or theft of others hard won limbs to the cry of 'Oi Dat’s My Leg’.
Eventually my daughter emerged victorious. Having completed the two trolls required for victory she had fallen into Games Workshop's cunning trap. What benefits a goblin to create more of their oppressors? Could anyone in good conscience demand the unquestioning subservience of their perverse creation and deny them a place among trollkind? Maybe I am reading to much into it? Perhaps my daughter's elation at accomplishment is merely an illustration of the futility of our endeavours?
Daughter rates this game one hundred millionty seven. I refuse to place a quantitative value on such abstract genius in fear of cheapening the GrimDark experience.
Overall Rating:
One Hundred Millionty Seven
