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?)

More Space Marine action

Space Marine

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.

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.

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...

Legends of the Space Marines

Watch this space...

Space Marine

WARNING! Engage Warhammer 40K geek mode...

How. Cool. Is. This?

Have a howling good Christmas

I thought that discerning readers of this blog might like to see the Christmas card sent out by Games Workshop's BL Publishing imprint this year.

The illustration is by top 40K artist Adrian Smith (cover artist for Magestorm and Iron Hands, amongst other things) and is taken from The Space Wolf Omnibus by William King. The piece also sees a subtle evolution in his style. To see more evidence of how his style has changed over time, check out Adrian's own online gallery.

Dawn of War II

The original Dawn of War (released in 2005) was a real-time strategy computer game set within Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. And now, three years later, the sequel is about to be released.

Yesterday (17 July 2008) a cinematic trailer was released, depicting a squad of Space Marines battling against the enigmatic alien Eldar. You can watch it here, or (in better definition) at THQ's site, but do watch it.



How cool is that?!

Space Marines prepare for battle

A beleaguered Space Marine

A Space Marine Dreadnought