Herald of Oblivion - A Warhammer 40,000 gamebook

Almost a year to the day since I started work on the proposal for what then went under the working title of TERMINATOR, my very first Warhammer 40,000 gamebook is published today!

You are a veteran Space Marine of the Imperial Fists Chapter. Equipped with powerful Terminator armour and armed with the deadliest weapons that the Adeptus Astartes wield, you are a symbol of the Emperor's might. Trapped aboard the space hulk Herald of Oblivion and the only survivor of your squad, you must fight your way through the aliens and heretics that infest the star vessel and find a way to escape the horror and return to your Chapter.

One year from initial outline to publication. That's right, on Thursday 7 July 2011 I started typing up my proposal for TERMINATOR and on 10 July I emailed it to Black Library's range development editor Christian Dunn.

And now, on Friday 6 July 2012, I'm very proud to announce that HERALD OF OBLIVION is available to buy direct from the Black Library.

If you're a fan of the Imperial Fists Space Marines, buy it! If you loathe and detest the Golden Avengers -  buy it! (Why? Just read the book and you'll soon find out.) If you're a fan of Space Marines - buy it! If you're a fan of Orks, Tyranids, Necrons or Dark Eldar - buy it! If you're a fan of the classic GW board game SPACE HULK - buy it! If you're a fan of the Adeptus Mechanicus - buy it! Even if you are a vehement supporter of the Traitor Legions - buy it! There really is something for everyone in this book!


And if that's not enough to sell it to you, it also features the awesome artwork of Mr Karl Richardson, the artist on Dan Abnett's legendary LONE WOLVES.

I don't know if the idea had been mooted at Games Workshop before (after all, the original founders of the company did also create the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks) but what I do know is that Marc Gascoigne and I first pitched the idea of a series of Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 gamebooks to Boxtree back in 1995-96. Obviously nothing came of the idea at the time, but in 2007 Black Library editor Nick Kyme got in touch about the possibility of doing something then. But as things turned out it wasn't until long time FF devotee Christian Dunn was on board (GW having sold the Solaris imprint to Rebellion) that what had been a dream for many (myself included) finally became reality.

HERALD OF OBLIVION may be my first gamebook for the Black Library, but as long-term readers of this blog will know, it's not my first adventure gamebook. It is in fact my fourteenth published adventure in twenty years*. My other gamebook titles include seven Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, two Sonic the Hedgehog adventures, one Doctor Who, one Star Wars The Clone Wars, one Gamebook Adventure app, and the first part in the Warlock's Bounty series.

If you're interested the full list of titles is as follows:

Spellbreaker (Fighting Fantasy)
Knights of Doom (Fighting Fantasy)
Curse of the Mummy (Fighting Fantasy)
Bloodbones (Fighting Fantasy)
Howl of the Werewolf (Fighting Fantasy)
Stormslayer (Fighting Fantasy)
Night of the Necromancer (Fighting Fantasy)
Theme Park Panic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Stormin' Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
The Horror of Howling Hill (Doctor Who)
Crisis on Coruscant (Star Wars The Clone Wars)
Temple of the Spider God (Gamebook Adventures)
Revenge of the Sorcerer (Warlock's Bounty)
HERALD OF OBLIVION (Path to Victory)


If you enjoy HERALD OF OBLIVION and you've not read any of my other gamebooks before, why not check them out? And of course if you enjoy HERALD OF OBLIVION, you'll enjoy my other Warhammer 40,000 book and short stories, including THE ARMAGEDDON OMNIBUS and the novel IRON HANDS.

And lastly, if you do enjoy HERALD OF OBLIVION please post a review on the Black Library website, and drop me a line too, if you like. It's always great to hear from gamebook fans.

* That's right, this summer marks 20 years since my first commission, which just so happens to have been my first gamebook Spellbreaker. And which book is it that's out in time for the 20 year anniversary? HERALD OF OBLIVION - another gamebook! Oh, and my current project is my first Warhammer Path to Victory book SHADOWS OVER SYLVANIA. (What are the chances?)

Friday the 13th... Unlucky for some

Yes, I know it's not Friday the 13th today, but last Friday (which was the 13th) the shortlists for The Kitschies 2011 were announced*.

Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein was put forward for consideration by my publishers but it wasn't to be this time, although fellow steampunk author** Lavie Tidhar did make the shortlist for Best Novel - the coveted Red Tentacle - for Osama: A Novel.

The winners of the Red Tentacle, the Golden Tentacle (for best newcomer) and Inky Tentacle (for best cover artist) will be announced on Friday 3 February at the SFX Weekender***.

However, all is not lost as far as Anno Frankenstein is concerned! Oh no!

You see the Tor.com 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards are now taking votes, until until 11:59 PM Friday, 20 January.

Notice the word 'Readers' in the title? That's right, it means that you the book buying (and presumably reading) public get to choose. Basically it's a popularity contest but one that Anno Frankenstein, with the right backing, might just have a shot at.

So whaddya say? Simply click this link and in the comments section after the blog post about the awards, type the title of the novel (Anno Frankenstein), the author's name (Jonathan Green), and if you want to the name of the publisher (Abaddon Books) as well.

And it's not just Anno Frankenstein that's eligible. In the Best Short Fiction category, I have a couple of stories published by Black Library that were both published last year, the 40K story But Dust in the Wind and the Warhammer tale Sir Dagobert's Last Battle.

So, what are you waiting for? If you vote for me I'll be eternally grateful. ;-)

* Provoking no end of Internet interest such as here, here and on the Guardian website here.

** He'll hate me for saying that.

*** Good luck, Lavie!

Black Library - Last Shipping Dates

Black Library have announced their last shipping dates before Christmas.

They're also offering free shipping on orders over £10. So if you're looking to buy a Loved One one of my Warhammer or Warhammer 40K novels or short stories for a bit of festive cheer, now is the perfect time to order. (You only need to order one of my Print on Demand titles to receive free shipping.) And of course there are eBooks too - which don't cost anything to post. Marvellous!

Here's the entirety of the JG catalogue currently available from Black Library.

Print on Demand titles

The Armageddon Omnibus

Iron Hands

Daemonifuge (my comic strip Ephrael von Stern - Sister of Sigmar is reprinted within)

Ebooks

The Dead and the Damned (my first Warhammer 'novel')

Hammer & Bolter #9 (featuring my short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle)

The Relic (Black Templars short story)

But Dust in the Wind (Imperial Fists short story)

Hive of the Dead is here!

Yes, it's here at last - the first ever Warhammer 40,000 gamebook!

Hive of the Dead is by C Z Dunn and casts you in the role of an amnesiac Imperial Guardsman at the height of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade.

Here's some more from the book's blurb:

The forces of Chaos are moving against the Imperium once more, and only YOU can stop them! Face all the horrors of Abaddon’s legions, including Death Guard Chaos Space Marines, the walking dead, and foul warp-spawned daemons. Will you make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of mankind, or will your name be forgotten with the rest?

To order your copy of Hive of the Dead, click here!

Iron Hands - update

I know that some of you had a bit of a shock the other day, after following up my post about Iron Hands being made available again, due to it being listed as costing £20.00.

Well the Black Library website has been updated with Iron Hands' new cover and the correct price - £13.99 - which I'm sure you'll agree is much more agreeable.

So, what are you waiting for? With original copies of Iron Hands retailing for up to £60.00 elsewhere order your copy from Black Library's Print on Demand range here.

Iron Hands - available again!

Iron Hands - my second Warhammer 40,000 novel, first published in 2004 - is available again as part of the Black Library's Print on Demand range.

The book's been given a face lift and you can order it direct from the publisher here. And in case Adrian Smith's fantastic artwork isn't enough to sell it to you, here's the blurb from the back cover:

With Abaddon the Despoiler’s Thirteenth Black Crusade engulfing the galaxy, Iron-Father Gdolkin and his company are pulled away from the defence of Medusa to honour an ancient oath to the Adeptus Mechanicus. A trail of clues leads Gdolkin to a long-lost world, home to an ancient weapon that might turn the tide of war in the Imperium’s favour. But for Gdolkin, the quest is personal, as this mysterious planet might also contain the answer to the oldest mystery of the Iron Hands Chapter... the resting place of the Primarch Ferrus Manus.

Black Library Live and Official Doctor Who book signing at the Doctor Who Experience

Two events to check out tomorrow (although probably not both because they're a couple of hundred miles apart).

The first in Black Library Live! which is taking place at Games Workshop's Nottingham HQ. It's an event that celebrates and showcases Black Library's books, audio productions and authors. Available to buy pre-release on the day will be Fall of Damnos, Victories of the Space Marines, Knights of Bretonnia, Age of Darkness, Caledor, Blood Reaver and Garro: Legion of One.

Attendees will also be able to pick up a copy of the limited Black Library Live! 2011 chapbook at the sales stand (as long as stocks last). The event runs from 10.00am until 7.00pm(!), with seminars, signings, and probably some gaming somewhere along the line too. You can find out more about it here.

Secondly is the Official Doctor Who book signing taking place at the Doctor Who Experience at Olympia Two in London tomorrow, between 11.00am and 1.00pm. Justin Richards, Oli Smith and other Doctor Who experts will be there, ready to be grilled on all things intergalactic. My Doctor Who book Terrible Lizards won't be out for a while (more on that later) but I may drop by just the same, so don't forget to bring along your copies of The Horror of Howling Hill and The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 just in case.

The signings will be held in the café area at the Doctor Who Experience. The signing is a separate event so to enter the Doctor Who Experience you will need to buy tickets, which you can do here.

February Releases - Curse of the Mummy and The Armageddon Omnibus

The latest large-format edition of Curse of the Mummy (my third Fighting Fantasy gamebook) is now out from Wizard Books. You can pick up your copy here.

Also out this month, is The Armageddon Omnibus, published by the Black Library as part of their Print on Demand range. I've known about this for a while, of course, but now the rest of the world does too - and apparently that news it going down a storm in certain quarters.

Crusade for Armageddon, the story of the Black Templars of the Solemnus Crusade and their search for the murderer of their Chapter World Morkrull Grimskar, was my first Warhammer 40K novel and was published back in 2003. It was followed two years later by a sequel, Conquest of Armageddon, which threw Chaos and another Space Marine chapter into the mix, along with Imperial Stormtroopers and Armageddon Ork Hunters.

And having been out of print for five or six years, both books are now available again, together for the first time, as The Armageddon Omnibus.

But even better than that is the fact that collected along with the two Black Templar Armageddon novels are the short stories Sanctuary (which only ever appeared in Inferno! magazine #38) and The Relic (which first saw print in Legends of the Space Marines).

But even better than that, is the fact that the omnibus contains some brand new, original content. Yes, you heard me right - brand new, original content. A History of the Most Honourable and Holy Solemnus Crusade charts the Black Templars' journey from their Chapter World to the war-torn shores of Armageddon, and everything in between.

So, what are you waiting for? In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war - and it's available as Print on Demand!

Christmas shopping ideas

If you're still finalising Christmas presents, remember it's not too late to buy your loved ones (or yourself!) something from my book store.

If it's steampunk action and adventure that they're into, try my Pax Britannia books.

If they love gamebooks and fantasy adventures, try my Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.

If it's Doctor Who or Star Wars, try these, and remember that you can have a Clone Wars story, written by me, personalised.

If it's non-fiction they enjoy, try Match Wits with the Kids, or one of my Miscellanies.

And if its the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war, or the grim darkness of a quasi-Medieval world that gets them buzzing, then try one of my Black Library novels.

24 hours in Nottingham - or - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Metal

So, last Friday lunchtime (with still some way to go on my latest Pax Britannia novella Proteus Unbound*) I packed in work for the day and headed up to Nottingham for FantasyCon 2010. Due to other commitments I would have to hit the motorway again at 2pm Saturday so arriving in Robin Hood's hood at 2pm on the Friday, I had 24 hours in which to experience all that FantasyCon had to offer.

Friday 17 September 2010

2pm - Arrived in Nottingham in need of a comfort break and so stopped at GW HQ and popped into Bugman's Bar... Where who should I run into but Christian Dunn and Alex Davis from Black Library editorial. Chris is holding a handful of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and was about to sit down with Alex to discuss... I wish I could tell you more, but I can't. Not yet, anyway. Suffice to say it was a very exciting moment!

Relaxed and ready to take on the world again, I had a good nose around the Warhammer World miniatures hall which gave me a few ideas for... But again, alas my lips are sealed for the time being.

3pm - Checked in to my hotel where I discovered that complimentary Wi-Fi in all rooms didn't actually mean free. Settled down to do some more work on Proteus Unbound.

8pm - Headed into the city, to The Salutation Inn, semi-ready for a night of Abaddon Books-sponsored metal karaoke. The first fifty to the bar received a complimentary** copy of Al Ewing's I, Zombie while David Moore judged the metal karaoke-ists, the winner receiving a complete set of his chosen Abaddon series!

10pm - David took the mike himself and I wondered why I don't do this sort of thing more often. David's hat gets passed round, photos are taken, and reputations are ruined, all at the click of a shutter lens.

Just for the record, I am not in any way metal - as this photograph proves most effectively.

11pm - Tinnitus kicks in and I realise why I don't do this sort of thing anymore.

12am - Head back to my hotel while the hardcore (a.k.a. Jon and David) rock into the wee small hours of the morning.

Saturday 18 September 2010

8am - Stumble out of bed, ears still ringing. Swear never to go to another metal karaoke as long as live (or until the same time next year, whichever is sooner).

9am - Back to the laptop. Proteus Unbound is starting to come together quite nicely now.

10am - Head off to the Britannia Hotel to experience FantasyCon for myself for the first time. Conclusion: It's basically a load of mates (who happen to be writers, artists and editors) all getting together for a pint*** and a chat.

Barely through the door when I'm met by Mark and Liz of My Favourite Books (go check it out!) and Mark Charan Newton of Nights of Villjamur fame. Then run into Jonathan Oliver, who's looking a lot worse than I am (see above).

Head off into the dealers' room and meet Lee Harris of Angry Robot Books and pick up Guy Adams' The World House along with Lavie Tidhar's The Bookman while I'm about it.

Check out the Art Show upstairs and display incredible self-control and great restraint in managing not to purchase a print of Les Edwards' cover for Creature of Havoc or a piece of original Bryan Talbot comic artwork.

Go back downstairs to the bar where I run into Marc Gascoigne (Angry Robot overlord, former BL publisher, my first FF editor and former flatmate) followed by Bryan Talbot. I even get to shake the great man's hand****.

1pm - The End of the Line book launch. Twelve authors arrayed to sign Solaris Books' latest horror anthology. Take pity on Jon Oliver and David Moore (who are both looking worse than me) and buy them a re-hydrating Coke each. Manage to pick up the last copy and get it signed by all present, in the process meeting such luminaries as Simon Bestwick and Stephen Volk in the flesh for the first time.

2pm - Leave FantasyCon with a bag full of books, Doctor Who toys for the kids and safe in the knowledge that I'll earn a few Brownie points for leaving on time!

Here are the books I picked up at FantasyCon. Some were freebies, some I parted with my hard-earned cash for.

Nice one, FantasyCon. See you next year down in Brighton.

* I can say that now that it's finished and in with my editor. ;-)

** Complimentary here does mean free.

*** The definition of 'a pint' that I'm using here is 'Anywhere between 2 and 10 pints, but most definitely not just the one'.

**** Bryan Talbot's, that is.

BL at Games Day UK, okay?

This Sunday (26 September) Games Day UK is taking place at the Birmingham NEC. I'll be there (as a fan as well as to chat to the BL editors and authors) and if you're planning on coming along yourself, check out this visitors' map (taking careful notes of the Black Library Digitial bit - cool!).


Maybe see you there?

Howl of the Werewolf and Victories of the Space Marines

I'm very pleased to reveal the cover for the new edition of Howl of the Werewolf, coming next month from Wizard Books.

As with the other titles in the new FF format, Howl of the Werewolf includes three pre-generated characters. So prepare to meet Johann Ironarm, Wolfrik of Pritzbad and Sabine

Greypelt this September.

And while we're at it, here's the cover for the Black Library's Victories of the Space Marines...

'Featuring a brand new Grey Knights story by Ben Counter, plus James Swallow, Gav Thorpe, C. L. Werner and more...'

... and the 'more' includes a contribution from me, about a squad of Imperial Fists answering a distress call from an isolated ice-locked world. Victories of the Space Marines will be published April 2011.

C L Werner on the BL blog

Me old mucker Clint Werner's guest blogging on the Black Library website at the moment, talking about being the go-to guy for the villains and about his burgeoning Grey Seer Thanquol series.

You can check it out for yourself here (and you really should).

Legends of the Space Marines - The Relic

Legends of the Space Marines, the latest 40K short story anthology, is going down a storm, and one of the stories published within is my story The Relic.

It focuses on a pair of Space Marine Dreadnoughts, one of them - the Black Templar Brother Jarold - being one of my most popular creations, it would seem.

Anyway, talking of Dreadnoughts, I came across this the other day on Graham McNeill's Weblog and thought I'd share it with you.

That's right, it's a space marine ready for insertion into a Dreadnought sarcophagus. How cool is that?

The Black Templars duology

With a new Black Templars story out now in the 40K anthology Legends of the Space Marines and with talk of Crusade for Armageddon and Conquest of Armageddon appearing as part of the Black Library's Print on Demand range next year, I thought you might like to see this...

Legends of the Space Marines - The Relic

Legends of the Space Marines (the latest 40K anthology from Black Library) is barely out and yet the reviews are already starting to come in. Selfishly, I'm most interested in what people have to say about my newest Solemnus Crusade story The Relic.

Long-time Black Library fan Xhalax has not always been my keenest supporter, to the point where when I met her at Games Day once I didn't dare introduce myself. (Sad, I know.) But since then I've got to know her a little and the other day she sent me this missive via Facebook:

Well Mr. Green, I've just finished The Relic in Legends of the Space Marines and I really enjoyed it. I've always had a soft spot for Dreadnoughts, so the outcome of the story definitely made me smile....as did the general Dreadnoughty goodness of the whole thing.

That meant a lot to me. And then I came across this on Amazon:

THE RELIC (Black Templars) by Jonathan Green

Brother Jarold of the Black Templars well remembers the moment he witnessed a mech-enhanced greenskin warboss, Morkrull Grimskar, teleport away with the unconscious form of Emperor's Champion Ansgar as his prisoner. Within his Dreadnought body-shell, Brother Jarold has vowed to locate Brother Ansgar and either bring him back in triumph or that they may lay his body to rest. Then while battling the orks in the desolate ice fields on Armageddon, a long lost brother is found underneath the ice.

**** Four Stars! Author Jonathan Green writes his story from the grand view point of a Dreadnought. I found it to be enlightening to say the least. ****

In passing, yesterday Legends of the Space Marines was ranked #413 in Books and #9 in Science Fiction. Result.

Legends of the Space Marines

This arrived in the post today...

The reason I mention this here is because third in the list of contents of Legends of the Space Marines is a story called The Relic - a brand new Black Templars story by yours truly.

This is the first piece of work I have had published by the Black Library since 2005 and concerns characters that first featured in the novels Crusade for Armageddon and Conquest of Armageddon (the last book of mine BL put out).

I'm personally looking forward to reading Nick Kyme's and Aaron Dembski-Bowden's contributions.

If you like what you see in The Relic you may be interested to know that I have just finished another space marine story, this time featuring the Imperial Fists, for a future anthology. The story is tentatively titled But Dust in the Wind. But more about that another time...

Black Library to print on demand

SF Signal have got an exclusive interview with Christian Dunn, Black Library's Range Development Editor, where he talks about their new Print on Demand book line. You can read it for yourself here.

I've heard it rumoured that my Black Templars Armageddon books may well be joining the PoD range in the future, collecting together the various short stories that have been told about the crusaders of the Solemnus Crusade since Crusade for Armageddon was first published back in 2003.

And on that subject, don't forget that Legends of the Space Marines is out in April featuring a brand new Black Templar story called The Relic.

The SFX Weekender and Black Library Live

Just wanted to give you all the heads up on a couple of sci-fi events that are taking place over the next week or so.


The SFX Weekender is already well under way and I'm going to be popping down to Camber Sands myself tomorrow and swinging by the Abaddon/Solaris Books stand. If you're going to be there too, why not pop by too and get your Pax Britannia books signed by the author?

Here's the schedule for Saturday.


And then a week on Saturday it's Black Library Live 2010. I'm not going to be at this one, but loads of ace BL writers are, including Dan Abnett, James Swallow and Graham McNeill. Here's the schedule for the day.

Currently reading...

It has not escaped my notice that other authors frequently post an update as to whatever it is that's currently distracting them from the job in hand, in terms of reading material, music and gaming.

Well, currently I am reading Blood Pact* by Dan Abnett. It's the twelfth book in the astonishing successful - and damn fine! - Gaunt's Ghost series and, let me tell you, it doesn't disappoint. About a third of the way through but progress has been slow today due to me writing my own stuff - namely White Rabbit. (But more on that another time.)

You can find out more about Gaunt's Ghosts and Blood Pact here, and listen to Dan himself talking about the experience of writing the book here...



* I had a tot up the other day and I think that Blood Pact is the 61st Black Library novel I've read - out of the hundreds they've published...