GW: Black Library Celebration 2021 Preview

Die diesjährige Black Library Celebration 2021 steht ganz im Zeichen der Ultramarines und es kommt neben einem neuen Roman auch eine exklusive Miniatur von Captain Uriel Ventris als Primaris Space Marine.

Sunday Preview – The Black Library Celebration is here

In a way, every week is a celebration of Warhammer. Whether you’re checking out the latest models, reading a novel, or watching Warhammer TV, there’s always enough going on that it feels like a party. But this week really is a celebration – the Black Library Celebration 2021 to be precise.

Every year, there’s a week where we share our love of Warhammer fiction, through the medium of new books, merchandise, and a themed Citadel miniature – alongside loads of amazing content right here on Warhammer Community.

This year, the Celebration is Ultramarines-themed, centred around Graham McNeill’s new novel, The Swords of Calth. This is the latest in the chronicles of Uriel Ventris and sees the captain of the 4th Company newly ascended to the ranks of the Primaris Space Marines. Reborn in body and mind, Ventris is more powerful than ever – but a shadow of his past remains as he battles the alien necrons and memories of his long-ago encounter with a creature known as the Nightbringer re-emerge.

You can get this new novel in hardback, ebook, and MP3 audiobook formats, as well as a special edition that’s signed by the author, limited to just 2,000 copies, and includes a bonus short story that’s currently unavailable anywhere else.

Alongside the novel, you can pick up a plastic model of Captain Uriel Ventris, in his new guise as a Primaris Space Marine. This majestic model comes with rules for using Ventris and his unorthodox strategies in your games of Warhammer 40,000. Watch out for an article later in the week exploring what he’ll add to your Ultramarines army.

You can also keep your place in The Swords of Calth with a stylish plastic and metal bookmark adorned with Ultramarines imagery and a quote from the novel.

As well as Ultramarines, this year’s Celebration has a bit of Inquisition flavour, courtesy of Dan Abnett and his new novel Penitent. This long-awaited entry in the Eisenhorn and Ravenor saga follows on from 2012’s Pariah. In it, Alizebeth Bequin, whose world has been turned upside down by the arrival of the battling inquisitors, chooses her side and sets out to discover more about the mysterious King in Yellow who it seems has controlled her very existence.

Like The Swords of Calth, you can get Penitent in hardback, ebook, MP3 audiobook, and special edition versions. The special edition contains a bonus short story delving into the life of fan-favourite character Medea Betancore and is limited to just 2,000 copies.

If you’ve not read Pariah, or it’s been a while, you can also grab the new hardback edition of the novel, with stunning cover art to match Penitent. For those who prefer listening to their Warhammer, Pariah is also available as an MP3 audiobook for the first time. If you really can’t wait and want to get a head start, you can download the ebook and enjoy the story straight away.

For those who’d like something less Imperial, Liber Xenologis is a must-read. Written by Darius Hinks through the eyes of Blackstone Fortress’ heroic rogue trader Janus Draik, this art and reference book is an in-depth guide to the alien races that plague the Imperium. If you ever wanted to know how humans view the xenos they share the galaxy with, this is your chance.*

Alien fans can also pick up a set of five pin badges themed around Drukhari, Orks, the T’au Empire, Tyranids, and Necrons. Of course, these can also be used as trophies by Imperial loyalists to mark your victories against xenos-loving opponents.

Fans of Black Library classics are in for a treat as part of the Celebration, with three beloved books getting new editions.

Hammers of Ulric is a collection of tales from the long-lost city of Middenheim, featuring a band of Knights of the White Wolf battling the forces of Chaos. Written by Dan Abnett, Nik Vincent, and James Wallis, it’s packed with all-action adventure stories from the world-that-was. This 20th-anniversary hardback is the perfect way to experience these tales in style.

There’s more from the world before time in Dan Abnett and Mike Lee’s The Daemon’s Curse. This tale tells the origins of Malus Darkblade, dark elf rogue whose entire world changes when his fate becomes intertwined with that of a malevolent daemon.

This novel was chosen by you, the readers, to return to paperback this year, alongside Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons, a Warhammer 40,000 novel that delves into the dark and dismal world of the Death Korps of Krieg, vat-born soldiers bred only to fight and die for the Emperor.

Graphic novel fans get a treat too, with the second volume of Gordon Rennie’s Blood Angels saga Bloodquestavailable to Print on Demand for two weeks only. In hardback, and in full colour for the first time ever, this volume concludes the tale of Captain Leonatos and his exiles, as they battle to retrieve an artefact from a daemon world – and to redeem themselves of their sins even as the Chapter’s twin curses threaten to overwhelm them.

As an added bonus, every order from the Games Workshop webstore will get a free Black Library Celebration anthology. The five stories in the book are a perfect introduction to Warhammer fiction, and include links to existing and forthcoming novels, giving even the most experienced reader something new to look forward to. The anthology is only available while stocks last, so be sure to get your orders in quickly when all these titles go on pre-order next Saturday.

* Upon release, Liber Xenologis will only be available from games-workshop.com, but may be coming to a store near you in the future.