robinlvalentine Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I'm reading through the Sacrosanct short story collection from Black Library at the moment, and something I've found a bit disappointing is it seems like every story is some sort of tie-in to an existing novel series. Combined with the book recommendations after each one, it ends up feeling a bit like I've bought a book of adverts. I was thinking the format would allow for all sorts of weird and interesting standalone snippets of life in the Realms, rather than just filling in background details of books I haven't read. Don't get me wrong, I've still enjoyed a lot of them, and it's been a good way to get a handle on which authors I want to read more from, but as I say it's a bit disappointing. Is this typical of Black Library's short story collections, or do they do any that are more like what I'm after? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overread Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Some are snippets that support bigger novels, some are stand alone, some fill in little story bits - they vary lots. You might look at the Inferno collected editions which are a selection of short stand alone stories set in all the Warhammmer realms so some AoS, some 40K, some Necromunda etc.. Then there's the Novella series which are not full books but too long for a short story - they are fully stand alone tales which don't have the bulk of a book, but have more room than a short story for longer tales and more character development. Otherwise I'd get short stories in collected edition books like omnibuss things and the like - many end up in them anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingmma Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 The short stories in sacrosanct were all pretty decently self contained imo, even if they were ads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingmma Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I haven't read them yet but legends of age of sigmar silvaneth and pestilens were full of short stories and call of archaon was too even if they were all interwoven (i have read that one) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahriman Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 That's more a product of the particular book you're reading than indicative of Black Library as a whole. Sacrosanct and Other Stories is designed for a person who doesn't know where to begin with Black Library literature, so this book gives snippets of tales, all of which lead to other books so you know where to go next. There are plenty of other short stories out there, some tie in with larger narratives, but more often they'll be stand alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlvalentine Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 59 minutes ago, Ahriman said: That's more a product of the particular book you're reading than indicative of Black Library as a whole. Sacrosanct and Other Stories is designed for a person who doesn't know where to begin with Black Library literature, so this book gives snippets of tales, all of which lead to other books so you know where to go next. There are plenty of other short stories out there, some tie in with larger narratives, but more often they'll be stand alone. Are there any collections you'd recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahriman Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 7 minutes ago, robinlvalentine said: Are there any collections you'd recommend? I've not picked up any of the collections unfortunately, outside of Hammerhal and Other Stories (the precursor to Sacrosanct). Individual stories I really liked Heart of Winter and The Red Hours which were part of the Novella Series 1 they released at Christmas, and looking forward to reading Warqueen and The Bone Desert from the same set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overread Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 The Legends Omnibus 1 is good - you get Pestilens which is a great full novel (and legends is sold at the same price as pestilens so might as well get legends). The Sylvanath stuff is pretty solid and follows on after their realmwar events; whilst the Fyreslayers I've not really gotten into. They start great and do set the scene well for the race, but then the early book drops into a long series of battles as they wander around not really doing too much that interesting as it only accounts for the fights and they spend "years and years and years" wandering in such a short span of time it loses the gravity of the travel. Inferno 1 and 2 and likely 3 are great reads of short stories, whilst you get other stuff that isn't AoS its still more than worth it for the AoS stories. Gods and Mortals is shaping up really nice though I've not gotten all the way through it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlvalentine Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 55 minutes ago, Ahriman said: I've not picked up any of the collections unfortunately, outside of Hammerhal and Other Stories (the precursor to Sacrosanct). Individual stories I really liked Heart of Winter and The Red Hours which were part of the Novella Series 1 they released at Christmas, and looking forward to reading Warqueen and The Bone Desert from the same set. I'm specifically asking about short story collections rather than novellas though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMMachine Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Ahriman said: Individual stories I really liked Heart of Winter and The Red Hours which were part of the Novella Series 1 they released at Christmas, and looking forward to reading Warqueen and The Bone Desert from the same set. In case of "Heart of Winter" the Callis & Toll stories "City of Secrets" and "The Silvershard" are interesting too, because Arika Zenthe was a supporting Character there and "Heart of Winter" takes place after the end of "The Silvershard". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahriman Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 38 minutes ago, robinlvalentine said: I'm specifically asking about short story collections rather than novellas though. What's a few thousand words between friends? In that case no, I don't have any recommendations. Maybe give Gods and Mortals a go, that's the latest and largest collection - but a quick look at the contents and it seems you'll run into the same problem as many are stories linked to larger novels to flesh things out. Or wait a few weeks for Warhammer Horror: Maledictions to come out. Its a mix of 40k and AoS, but it appears the tales will be standalone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlanceOnASix Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 The new book Gods and Mortals was really nice, had something like 14 stories, and I really enjoyed the vast majority of them. Stuff ranging from a Tourney of the Order of the Fly (Nurgle Knights), a Vampire Wedding, Chaos Weapon Smiths, Hamilcar Bear-eater doing all sorts of stuff (like fighting Khorne Pirates). I really liked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJohansson Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 The Gotrek audiobook is by far the best audiobook that BL has ever produced (IMHO). Made me go and by all other Gotrek and Felix novels to reread and get updated on the whole story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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