The Steel Remains and The Cold Commands, Subterranean Press Lettered Editions

Little disclaimer here: I'm not selling these two.
I was lucky enough to get them way back when and I'm not parting with either.

-----

To go along with my read of Richard Morgan's fantasy Trilogy, here's a little bonus.

The lettered editions for the first 2 books in the Land Fit for Heroes trilogy which I bought in a distant past out of sheer bloody stupidity and avarice.

As far as I know the third book has never been released in a matching edition.
Which is rather a damn shame. I'm still hoping though.

I'm absolutely not a fan of that green case, or even the green reflective lettering.
The appearance of the cases doesn't match at all.

The books themselves though, look absolutely gorgeous.

Also lovely.

I don't know about you, but if the book comes in the case, then I'm not taking it out of it just so the hardbacks can match.
What would I do with the cases then? they belong around the books or so my ocd's tell me.

I hush myself by telling myself that the cases keep the books safe anyway.

Why add blurb to what could have been a stunning backflap?
Obviously again, I have a bias for blue.

Superdark picture but you're not missing much.
Standard blurb, nothing too fancy.

Silver's a good reflective lettering, green is absolutely not...

Look at that shiny leather.
It bears noting that the quality leather finish on The Steel Remains is superior
than that of the Cold Commands

Egar at the front,
Archeth and Ringil in the shadows.

I used some saturization to make the colours pop a bit more.
In the paper it's quite impressive.

The camera on the phone is selective this way though to be honest it's probably just me.

These are indeed in the book.
Some rather memorable scenes.

Yes, indeed.

If the Dark Defiles would be released in a matching Lettered edition my set would be a XXX one.

Naughty.

Throughout the book, between pragraphs, you'll find this symbol.

No spoilers here for who these dudes are.
Memorable and yet... ordinary?

I love, love, LOVE the blue finish on this one's artwork.

The changeling, anyone?

Review: The Steel Remains, Richard Morgan

I wrote alot again. As this is the start of a trilogy there's alot of ground to cover, so I won't have to go too in depth for 2 and 3. Expect alot less of a write-up for its sequels.

Spoiler section at the back with due warning. 

Ringil, the hero of Gallow's Gap, the famous last stand against the invading Lizard-people, lives in self-inflicted exile in a backwater town away from the judging eyes of his fellow countrymen, away from those that deem him a degenerate and a pervert. But his days of idle drinking and storytelling are at an end as he is dragged back into the world that hates and reviles him., the world that wants him dead and gone, back to his home-city, to find his kidnapped cousin.

Archeth, whenever the court and the erratic demands of her emperor permit it, slaves away in the bowels of arcane machines endeavouring to unlock the secrets of the enigmatic Helmsmen, searching for information and secrets concerning her lost race.

But as the emperor calls, she must answer and she will have to go south to investigate a sorcerous calamity.There she will be confronted with an older and more dangerous entity than the one she was looking for.

Egar Dragonbane, fearsome warrior and tribal leader, among the grass and the herds of his people, misses civilization. Back from his time in the south since the war, the traditions and superstitions of his people stifle him and he muses constantly on memories long held close. But for a hero of war, in the tribes life is bountiful and good.
But resentment brews on every side and when the gods themselves intervene, not even a slayer of dragons can call himself safe.

This one is part of a set that's been on my shelves for quite a long time now while reasons, take your pick, have held me off from starting the trilogy time and time again.
But since I needed a break from thinking about my fiction for a while (yeah, that turned out great, huh?) and just let myself loose into some fairly straightforward escapism again I ventured to my TBR-shelves where I stood for about half a second before my eye landed on this beauty.

The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan is the first novel of the A Land Fit For Heroes Trilogy.
A Land fit for Heroes because it sucks, you know. As in; it really needs itself some heroes, jow.
Morgan is probably better known for his Takeshi Kovacs novels, which is quite a brutal, smart and sexy scifi trilogy that right now is already well on its way to being adapted for television (or at least book 1 is). It might even be completed for all I know.

So, from sci-fi to fantasy. Morgan's style is dark and volatile, with deeply humane characters (read: tortured introspection) and incredibly well depicted cringeworthy violence in a storyline that is occasionally spiced up with pulse-raising sex scenes. He of course manages to bring that skill to his fantasy outing but with a little twist. Or maybe a few, I'm not sure yet what that ending implies...
Alright anyway, the big twist with this one then, or rather the hook; the big thing I knew about it before I went into it, is that its main protagonist, Ringil, is gay. That coupled with Morgan's penchant for pretty damn enticing, graphically suggestive sex scenes made me slightly wary and yet very curious to see how it would pan out.

And I pretty much got what I expected: Brutal and inventively original violence that was both graphic and disturbing. Tortured and complex characters and yes indeed: sexy sex between same-sex partners. That last part occasionally went a little more graphic (like, really) than I was expecting. It's not bad, like I said: Morgan's good at this, but if you're not open to this kind of thing, and especially if you don't like sex in your novels, you should really steer clear of this one.

Characters

The characters are flat-out the best thing about this book. We have three main characters and every single one of them has so much layers on them that their bouts on introspective musings carried the whole thing, for me at least. They're all veterans of wars, with a lifetime of sorrow and loss behind them and there's alot of backstory drip fed to us during the story.

The main one is Ringil.
Ringil's past, much like that of the others, is doled out in bits and pieces in flashbacks that are incorporated quite well into the main narrative. But since Ringil has more focus than the others, his flashbacks are more frequent and a lot more revealing. Morgan doesn't break up the flow of the text by starting a new paragraph or chapter or what have you. He just italicizes and slots the flashback neatly among the rest of the character's musings. It helps alot with the strength-of-the-moment-feeling in the scenes in which this happens. It drags up all the, frequently horrifying, baggage out of the past to give it a place under the sun alongside our main characters. It imbues scenes that previously were brightly lit, star-studded diamonds glittering in the sunlight, with some very dark shadows. It's quite a neat writer's trick.

We start off with Ringil as quite a straight-forward protagonist, albeit one with his own sexual preferences and quirks that make him stand out to many others that I've read. He obviously has some baggage but he seems well adjusted. But it's as soon as he is jolted back into the places of his youth that the horror of his upbringing comes howling forward, in memories that let the pain flood back in, and then all of a sudden Ringil is endowed with a backstory of rather horrifying levels of darkness.

He is the archetype of a tried and tested character, someone with so much pain in his past that he could be the poster boy for steel tempered by fire. Described as having a core of ice, Ringil's traumatic past has gone so far above and beyond to make him what he is that he's like a dozen tortured protagonists into one.

It's a land fit for heroes but there are none to be found.

There are only people who get beat down, who stumble and fall. It's the toughest who despite all this pain manage to pick themselves up again. Does that make one a hero though?
And yet. Ringil fights for others. Maybe. Or maybe he just likes the violence.

Archeth is an alien, or something. Lesbian and all round bad-ass, she's the last survivor of a very advanced humanoid race that, a decade ago, left the earth and humanity to its own destructive devices. Highly intelligent and like all her race mechanically geared, she's a senior advisor to a megalomaniacal but shrewd emperor. 

Even though she's a good character she is a little wasted in the court storyline.

The manipulative, all-powerful, drop-of-a-hair-pin-goes-violent emperor is something that's done to death. As such it's the only viewpoint that was a little boring.

I do expect alot more from her in the sequels though. Her backstory and past are fascinating and I would have loved more information. The Cold Commands is sure to give it.

Egar I have alot less to say about even though he's interesting enough.

He's the typical barbarian with a twist. Reared in nomadic warrior communities, as adolescent he left his tribe to become a mercenary and see the world. Various wars later he has formed a friendship with Ringil and Archeth that'll last him a lifetime. He has since returned to his tribe and has taken up the mantle of leadership. But having once gazed on civilization and the wonders that it offers there's a deep grain of discontent at the simple tribal life simmering beneath his surface. He's wiser because of his experiences than literally everyone around him but he's still pretty primal. It's the usual dichotomy of experience vs isolated nurture.

On top of that he has some of the most tantalizingly interesting world- and mythology building scenes of the novel.

World

The world is grimdark as-it-gets fantasy by way of the Dying Earth. 

An earth that is our earth, but so far in the future that science has become indistinguishable from magic. As such there are various elements and story devices that make it be fun to figure out what they mean so I'm really not going to talk about this because I don't want to spoil it. Suffice it to say I'm looking forward to The Cold Commands for more of this.

Story and trappings

The plotting was a little all over the place and if I'm being a little honest not all that great. The novel seems to stand on its own very well, existing to, beside the main plot of finding Ringil's cousin, to serving up mostly alot of backstory via those flashbacks I mentioned. There's a few loose ends that I'm assuming will be picked up in the future novels but the story itself is rather neatly contained and almost elegantly (predictably?) wrapped up.

A slight problem I had with Steel Remains is that obviously from the second you've been introduced to all three viewpoints you inevitably begin waiting for them to come together. I found that when that (finally) happened it felt rather inorganic and weirdly rushed. But though it was hurried and sloppy, it was still servicable.
I also noticed that where this happened it felt like I was reading a Sword and Sorcery novel; how characters neatly and swifly line up with eachother almost out of the blue when they meet. And the acknowledgments section at the back bears that out where Morgan acknowledges his debt to Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner and Poul Anderson. The drugs several characters take to fight better do clearly call Elric's reliance on drugs/Stormbringer to mind.
It's still an odd novel, as it has the slow build-up of Epic Fantasy but then at times it suddenly it's clearly something else, something less meticulous and more fast-paced, unconstrained and unworried about conventional storytelling or maybe it's rather a throwback to earlier storytelling.

So plotting not great but for now I'm keeping that criticism contained to this novel, because it does seem like the whole trilogy is going to fit together rather more neatly than I was foreseeing, given this one's particular ending.

As I've mentioned before. I'm looking forward to reading The Cold Commands.

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Finally, some notes on sex.
If you can't abide sex in your novels I emphasize that you need to steer clear of Morgan's work. If you want the opposite, you'll likely love this because it really is quite fantastically well done.

To go in depth about this, sensitive soul; steer clear and for the rest; be mindful of the SPOILERS ahead.

Fountain Pen Review: Sailor ProGear Earth Slim (Clear Brown)

Sailor Pro Gear Slim: 

A Name Forthcoming ft. Ink-Stained Beard Creation

You know how this goes; Italicized and bolded for the Guest of honour, regular for the host.

Foreword by the Ink-Stained Beard:

Before we get started with the actual collaborative review of the Sailor Professional Gear Slim it’s time for a bit of history.

I started this blog roughly two years ago, planning on stunning the world with my witty remarks and hugely informative posts.

But it wasn’t a decision purely made by me.

Hell, up until a week before I embarked on this adventure I hadn’t even thought about throwing my opinions into the world via the medium of a blog.

The gentleman that is responsible for 50% ( or more ) of this post did, and he wanted to do it together with me.

He only wanted a bit more time to think about the subjects that would be covered on this soon to be launched blog, and in what way they would be covered.

But I, being the impatient bearded bastard that I am, couldn’t wait on those kind of frivolities, and started this blog.

So instead of one blog run by two people the world got two blogs, each covering a completely different kind of stuff, in a completely different kind of way.

This post isn’t about converting someone to the magic of fountain pens, it’s about setting things right (even if it’s in a silly way and two years late).

So, to everyone who enjoys the stuff I post here: you’ve got Levi to thank for it.

Thanks, mate, your continuous support, blogwise and the rest, means a lot to me.

Short history lesson over, time to hand the mic to Levi.

My contributions will be bold in font and content (or in whatever way takes my fancy when I’m working on this post), just like my beard :

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Well, didn't think I'd be doing this anytime soon again, but here we are, not even a measly month later. I wasn't expecting it, and certainly not looking for it.

And yet here I am. (And I'm happy for it)

There is of course a tale in how it came about... (Which may or may not be a complete fabrication, I'll leave that up to you.)

The story goes thus:

I was sitting in front of my working desk, when a loud knock rang on my door. 'twas the early hours of a friday evening so I was minding my own business, as usual. I was not expecting company, so with wary foot and trepiditious ear I listened at the entrance to my room.

I heard nothing.

After a while I had almost managed to convince myself that evil was not afoot and, only slightly at ease, I opened the door.

It was a mistake.

Blackness enveloped me as a shadow whirled into the room. My mind, unable to cope, reeled with astonishment and I passed out. When I came to I was pinned to the ground by a terrible weight. I was astonished, I was stunned. I lay silent in fright.
A form almost indistinguishable from the shadows around it, sat squatting on my chest.

 I wasn't willing to give this creature any excuse to take more liberties with my person so I held back a flustered anger at this unworthy man-handling it had bestowed on me. Besides, I might not be equal to its fiendish malevolence.

A red beard scraped over my face and dripped ink over my cheek. Intense eyes held me, dreading me the conveyance of a terrible hidden knowledge. 

The creature backed off and reaching down, pulled me up with it. It gripped my hand in a madman's grip.

We stood there, silent, inches from one another.

With frantic energy it whirled again into motion and then slapped a box into the hand that it had convulsively cramped around. 

 I looked down and saw that the thing had given me a Fountain Pen box.

My eyes widened as then, on fine whiskey-laced breath the words "You know what to do..." were wafted towards me. The apparition left me to my own devices and so here I am. Nonplussed and slightly frightened. And slightly honoured somehow too.

I sat here, back at my desk, for a while now, unsure what it wanted, unsure what it expected me to do. But slowly... I find that, yes indeed, I do know what to do.

so.

Let us begin.

You've seen the case above already. It's made out of beautiful leather which is;

... my word! It's blue isn't it?

Upon opening the container however, I find that my dreams have crashed and the Hindenburg yet burns.

The Beard, the crusher of dreams, moisturizer of panties! (Or that's what he tells himself)

The pen itself is yet again... not a blue fountain pen.

I do not own any blue fountain pens, that's something I'll have to take care of! My bank account does not like that prospect, but I do.

The Pen's casing is a semi-transparant brown, which I'm finding an odd choice.

Go with one or the other, don't just hover in the middle there, folks. 

The transparency of the pen’s body is a result of the material Sailor uses for almost all of its pens: PMMA. Go and take a look at the big aquarium in your living room. Chances are they didn’t use glass, but PMMA to save weight.

Maybe that’s why Sailor went with that material : aquariums = water, sailor = water! Mind = blown.

There are three distinctive gold bands on the pen, one at the pen's lower end, the other two on the cap, both which deserve some special mention.

The clip on th cap has some levely little detail added to it.

There's another extremely nice touch on the cap where if you take a close look at the gold band you can find:

So now you know: Sailor was founded in Japan in the year 1911. These days their pens are produced in Hiroshima, Japan.

Unlike some other companies (I’m looking at you ,Parker…) they don’t outsource their production to China in order to cut down on production costs (and possibly quality). 

So that's how it looks and we can all agree that there's a nice quality of finish to it. But how does it write?

This time we have a slimmer pen, and that's not just in the title folks, the Edison Beaumont was a little chubby for my tastes and this one feels alot better while writing. My dainty little hamsterhands don't have to claw around the Edison's massive girth, though to be honest, this one's not much of a step down either.

To me this pen is about as small as I’d be willing to go. I can use it comfortably for short notes without having to post it, although the cap will be put on the back during some longer writing sessions. This has the perfect combination of weight and length to be a very dependable pocket pen.

  The music nib also isn't much better, writing-wise for me, but that's what you get when you don't select them yourself.

And even if you select them yourself things can go “wrong”.

You see: when I ordered the pen with the Music nib I thought it would give me broad horizontal strokes, and thin vertical strokes i.e. the reverse effect of a stub nib.

Why would I want to achieve that?

Because of my writing style as a lefty I thought it would give me the same effect as right-handed people get with a stub.

So, it arrived, I inked it up, and was left somewhat disappointed. Turns out I had my nib grinds mixed up: what I needed was an architect grind. But that’s not to say I’m unhappy with it, the feedback it gives when writing is auditory porn.

It’s something I initially didn’t like when I tested one of these about 6 months ago, along with its size, which is why I didn’t buy one back then and went with the Pilot Justus 95 instead. But now, when I pick up a pen and writing isn’t accompanied by some auditory feedback it feels like something is missing. 

Besides that though; look at the detail on that gorgeous thing!

Picture taken with cellphone makes The Beard jealous.
 He now wonders why he even bothers using a proper camera.

Speaking of the engraving on the nib: people tend to complain about the lack of creativity the Japanese manufacturers display when it comes to pen and nib design, stating they’re constantly ripping of Montblanc. So let’s take a look at a nib from Montblanc:

Eerily similar in design, no?

But as they say: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

In the wars of Light and Shadow,
there's an occasional glimpse of true beauty.

The ink (for whatever bizarre reasoning by the dread apparition) is the Nappa Burgundy Ink from Monteverde Usa, here shown in its 30 ml capacity bottle.

Of course I do get the reasoning. The Napa Burgundy Ink is very similar to the pen's clear brown exterior.

Except that your reasoning is entirely wrong, old sport! I did not purchase this ink, it was a gift from the store I bought the pen from.
Everyone who bought something in August got a free gift (I magically received two, a pink ballpoint pen, which was later donated to the 6 year-old daughter of a co-worker , and the bottle of ink).
And it does match the pen quite well, up to the reddish undertone.
Not sure if I’ll be using it a lot though, I prefer my browns to be less pronounced, if that makes sense, like the browns in old photographs (let’s hear it for sepia!).
If you’re planning on using your favourite ink with this pen, be sure to stock up on it though. The amount of ink this pen puts down on paper, coupled with the small ( included ) converter means you’ll be refilling this pen a lot. But that can be seen as a positive, or a negative.

*

I'm personally of the opinion that a contrasting ink colour would have served better, say the memorable blue that the Sailor Yama-dori ink brought to the page, which I was graciously given to use for the purposes of the last Fountain Pen post. Its varying shades of blue ink would stand in lovely contrast with the Earth Slim's unassuming reddish exterior.

I’ve got to admit that the nib in this pen is ideal for making the Yama-Dori ink shine. How do I know this? Because when it arrived I immediately filled it up with said ink, as it’s produced by the same manufacturer as the pen. And boy, is it gorgeous. I know, I’m a bastard. I give Levi pens to review in colours he doesn’t like, with nibs he doesn’t really like.

No distinct smell this time, no vague intimations of a dangerous toxicity. Which is an odd thing that I find myself bemoaning of all things.

**

Let's take a look...: Jep. It's still not blue.

It does show some odd similarity with the Sailor Yama-dori Ink in that it like with that esteemed and widely loved ink the red nappa burgundy ink shows a marked colour differentiation where the blood... excuse me, ink pools.

So then.
A marginally more pleasant pen to write with than the previously reviewed Edison Beaumont. The pmma construction feels more comfortable to someone who is used to writing with ball-point pens, so as a newcomer, this is definitely a point in its favour. Beautifully detailed in select spots to offset the bland brown finish of the overall product. The nib is gorgeous, though again my personal preference lies with finer nibs to accomodate my haphazard and messy handwriting.
The pen feels nice and right in my hand and feels naturally comfortable during the writing process.

Overall, a very enjoyable experience.

Got to agree with the esteemed gentleman, in that it is a more enjoyable pen than the Edison Beaumont. It just feels better in every sense. And it’s not that much more expensive ( especially when you go with a regular colour, then there’s only a price difference of roughly €15 ). It’s well-balanced, looks great ( I do like the colour, with its subtle variations depending on the light ) , and it writes wonderfully even if it’s a bit thirsty.

This collaboration was just like the pen we reviewed : a very enjoyable experience. I will have to stop shoving pens in his hand though, or he’ll start nagging to me about writing a book review.

-----

For the ones who have trouble with my handwriting; that's ok, I do too:

* My handwriting is bad and I should feel bad.

**Red is not my colour. Especially not red that has been dragged through the mud.

Pleased with the Chronicles and yet... angry too

Haha, here's a spur-of-the-moment post because I'm retroactively very pleased with the earlier upcoming warhammer chronicles post as I now have confirmation that pretty much everything I said in there was spot on.
The jury is still out on the Champions of Chaos and the Von Carstein omnibi but I guess I can wait a while longer.

It's the old omnibus format, in case you're wondering.

Bonus picture: side by side comparison with previous editions.

Never did like Bearded Sigmar, his hair just looks so lanky.

Jon Sullivan's depiction is spot on however. Anatomically excessive musculature but hey. This is Warhammer ain't it? And at least there he looks like his reincarnation; Valten, except more robust... or something.

Exactly what I knew was coming.

I must confess: In a way I'm sad.

I was hoping for a surprise Gotrek and Felix Ultimate super deluxe edition Saga including Resin Axe! 

What? I can dream can't I?

Apparently they're actively trying to tie the the events of the Time of Legends series straight into the Age of Sigmar setting. The latter comes way after the first of course and one can't go without the other, and I can see the marketing strategy at work here... But, you do know this fiction is good enough to stand on its own, right? 

-----

Also,

We never get those steps to godhood that we were led to believe we'd get.

Just another wasted dream, I guess.

It might seem like I'm always supernegative about this.

And that's because I am.

-----

Also also : MAYBE NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING TO EVERY SINGLE COLLECTED NOVEL IN THE BACK BLURB, okay?

I mean, fuck, guys:

"Ooh, this novel seems interesting, what's it about? Ah I see. Guess I don't need to read it then."

*puts the novel back on the shelf*

This problem shines a light on exactly what I was talking about. This novel has been purely designed for those people coming into Old World fiction from their brush with the Age of Sigmar.

Games Workshop.

I know you don't care about the dead horse anymore except if you can flog it to make some quick cash off of. But I'd really like it if you would give it some more respect.

Because, you see, I really did like that horse.

And seeing you slapdashedly build a new horror-horse-homonculus off the back of the other's corpse has made me more than slightly annoyed.

And for those people still baying that the old world fiction is still there for me to read it if I wish and that I shouldn't give the new setting so much stick for doing away with the old one or some such nonsense:

They killed my world, sir or madam. More specifically they killed my fiction.

I was always only here for the fiction. (so fuck me I guess huh?)

My currently Read Warhammer Fantasy collection.
There's a good chunk of Heresy and other 40k novels still below this.
And my unread novels are cowering in the dark on another shelf entirely.

Every warhammer novel I've ever read, every happy ending,

(and believe me, there were quite a few because despite its grimdark label

the enormous majority of these novels took place on the brink of the hypothetical 'end times',

but Warhammer Fantasy was never as fucked as 40k was, never as devoid of hope and the enemy was never completely unsurmountable or invincible.

Ironically the tables seem to have turned there. as Games Workshop have learned from the AoS debacle and seem to be positively implementing their good ideas into the overal plot progression of that setting. And all it took was the death of fantasy...)

every satisfactory conclusion, every final page

because of the End Times now has its happy ending revoked.

It used to be: The book closes but the story goes on because the surviving characters get to waltz on into a hypothetical better or worse future, whichever takes your fancy.

But again, because of the End Times and the ensuing Age of Sigmar setting that goes right out of the window.

Every character you liked and survived dies with the Old World.

And please don't give me that bollocks about being able to be revived by Sigmar as those fantasy sigmarine-things either.

Whatever you say and whatever your argument: You're all slaves to the corporate machine that is Games Workshop.

 They only create this stuff, with abandon and disregard, so they can take your money.

Enjoy it while you can. While this stuff is still right up your alley. Because in the end the hand that now feeds you this tasy candied apple that you love so much will take that away from you to replace it with a banana dipped in honey. And then your taste buds are not going to like it.

As someone who only cared about the fiction. I'm still really bloody sore is what I'm saying.

I do apologise if I upset the people who like where AoS is going.

 I'm just venting.

Given enough time, I'll come around.

-----

Also, also also. I bought this off the bookdepository site for 13 euros.

Because the Black Library site sells it for 20.

Yeah.

There's a slight disconnect with the customer base here.

They're also going to hawk the Gaunts Ghosts Warmaster limited set for 120 euros while the people living in the UK will get to buy it for 85 pounds.

That math just doesn't add up and I'm surprised that there's no outcry against it.

Sure the customer base is primarily in the UK but still:

There should be some justice in the grim darkness of 2017. We're all fans after all.

At least bleed us dry equally.

Woodkid Live

I'm not one for going out and going to any kind of social gathering (Cue Shaun of the Dead joke) but it seems rather awesome to witness this stuff live.

From hereon out: Earphones advised.

One from Paris, instrumentals only.

Also, if you suffer from epilepsy, do not bloody watch this one.

And the other three, at Montreux, of a very much softer bend; Yoann's (Woodkid) warm deep voice mixed with some beautiful guest vocals.

Not sure which one's my favourite but the one with Elle Fanning sure seems stuck in my head right now.

And then this one, which is on a whole 'nother level of entertaining.

What a crowd :)

Review Part 2: The Wall (and other short stories), Jean-Paul Sartre

Continuation.
Same deal as in part 1 of this short story collection.
I'm going to explore only Erostratus as it took me quite a long while to do, mostly due to an inability to grasp motivations and several reading errors compounding my missapprehension and the subsequent write-up(s).

Update before the Erostratus.

I have spent most of my free time this week almost compulsively checking and searching various Black Library titles online and almost flightily reading up on Age of Sigmar, getting absolutely nothing done in the process.
I read a short story and written about it and'll post it together with the rest of that particular anthology but for now I'm comfortably leaving that be; it's a fun little thing and there's no pressure.

Outside of that I have been reading, and with alot of effort been grasping (at straws), the various erratic thought patterns the protagonist of Sartre's Erostratus is going through.
For various reasons, this story and more specifically the accompanying post has been annoying me for more than a week and two complete read throughs now.

I think I have managed to excise most of the extraneous drivel from my post on it and am in the process of tightening its focus but I'm pretty sure I'm not saying anything new or even original on it.

I'm super annoyed with it in fact and completely outside of my regular planning have just picked up and finally began reading The Steel Remains. I wanted to get stuck into something epic again and this is doing the trick. Sorry Paradise Lost but it'll take me a while longer to get to you...

*grumbles slightly*

Upcoming Warhammer Chronicles editions

In my obsessive browsing the dark corners of the internet in search of upcoming books in various fields and franchises from various publishers I came upon something interesting.

You'll all have seen this one, which is already out now.
(And finally making its slow way towards me)

A very good trilogy but do not expect to learn of Sigmar the god in here.

This is Sigmar the man's road to Empire and his three great wars; Orcs, Chaos and Nagash.

I was expecting divinity stuff so on first read I was rather annoyed and disappointed. On second read it blew me away.

So you've seen that one,

but have you also seen the other ones that are coming?

I'm uncertain whether these covers will still change but we'll see.
In fact all the information is still liable to change so should be taken with a cautious grain of salt.

-----

Another Time of Legends reprint.

Out in November this year.

Still one of the best things Black Library every put out and sadly very widely maligned.

Both for its structure, which is indeed challenging (but very rewarding in my opinion) and its rewriting of the lore, which apparently doesn't stroke well with earlier written Nagash fluff.

Regardless, It's one of my absolute favourites and as I'm not a gamer and here purely for the fiction: Criticism be damned.

A beautiful supernatural spin on Egyptian culture with distinctive settings, warriors and cities. Some of the best large scale warfare in the Warhammer-verse. Heroism and tragedy in equal measure and such a perfect ending.

Well worth your time.

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And another reprint, though originally not a Time of Legends trilogy, the (not final) cover seems to indicate it to be a part of that now.

Will be released in January 2018.

This is also one of the few trilogies set in the Warhammer universe that I've read several times; it's that good. 

Jerek Kruger is an unforgettable character and the full tale is a painful but inspiring tragedy.

Makes sense to add this to the Warhammer Chronicles Time of Legends division.

They plainly would have fitted neatly into that series.

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And another ToL reprint.

February 2018.

All very good novels in this one; Gav thorpe is one of the Library's best writers. Though, don't expect the narratives to allign neatly. Every book has a seperate protagonist, though the stories somewhat overlap.

Also one of the few trilogies where every book ends with the promise of yet huge things to come, which had a very annoying and unsatisfactory result for me.
After all, when you get to the end of the trilogy the last thing you want to hear is empty threats and promises that don't come to pass.

 (yes I suppose the End Times did indeed deliver on every single one of these promises I speak of.
But such a sprawling story isn't very neat and quite hard to read)

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And Lastly, there's also this one. 

Which is, for once, not a re-release of a previous omnibus but a completely new one (collecting previously released individual novels).

April 2018.

Collecting the novels Valkia the Bloody, Sigvald (the Magnificent?) and Van Horstmann.

Never got around to reading these though so I'm very interested in this one.

Though I did read Cawkwell's 'Reaper' in the Black Library Live chapbook and thought it was really quite bad-ass.

So the last one's not a trilogy but rather a collection of individual novels and

it's also the cover that doesn't allign at all with the rest of the other covers, and Sigvald looks more like a chubby lobster in this one so I'm guessing that yes, this cover is indeed not Final.

I'll have to keep my eyes peeled to see what'll happen with this one.