After the 1987 release of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000wargame, a military and [1]science fantasy[2] universe set in the far future, the company began publishing background literature to expand on existing material, introduce new content, and provide detailed descriptions of the universe, its characters, and its events.
Since 1997, most of the background literature has been published by the affiliated imprint Black Library. An expanding roster of authors contributes to a growing collection of fiction across various formats and media, including audio, digital and print. These works, which range from full-length novels and novellas, to short stories, graphic novels, and audio dramas, are parts of named book series.
Book 035 - Eye of Terra by "various authors" (anthology) (March 2016)
Book 036 - The Path of Heaven by Chris Wraight (April 2016)
Book 037 - The Silent War by "various authors", edited by Laurie Goulding (anthology) (May 2016)
Book 038 - Angels of Caliban by Gav Thorpe (June 2016)
Book 039 - Praetorian of Dorn by John French (August 2016)
Book 040 - Corax by Gav Thorpe (anthology) (October 2016)
Book 041 - The Master of Mankind by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (December 2016)
Book 042 - Garro by James Swallow (anthology) (February 2017)
Book 043 - Shattered Legions by "various authors", edited by Laurie Goulding (anthology) (April 2017)
Book 044 - The Crimson King by Graham McNeill (June 2017)
Book 045 - Tallarn by John French (anthology) (August 2017)
Book 046 - Ruinstorm by David Annandale (October 2017)
Book 047 - Old Earth by Nick Kyme (December 2017)
Book 048 - The Burden of Loyalty edited by Laurie Goulding (anthology) (contains the novellas The Wolf King (Chris Wraight) and Cybernetica (Rob Sanders) as well as the short stories "Perpetual" (Dan Abnett), "The Binary Succession" (David Annandale), "Into Exile" (Aaron Dembski-Bowden), "Ordo Sinister" (John French), "The Heart of Pharos" (L J Goulding), and "The Thirteenth Wolf" (Gav Thorpe)) (February 2018)
Book 049 - Wolfsbane by Guy Haley (May 2018)
Book 050 - Born of Flame by Nick Kyme (anthology) (June 2018)
Book 051 - Slaves to Darkness by John French (August 2018)
Book 052 - Heralds of the Siege by "various authors", edited by Nick Kyme and Laurie Goulding (anthology) (October 2018)
Book 053 - Titandeath by Guy Haley (December 2018)
Book 054 - The Buried Dagger by James Swallow (February 2019)
The saga chronologically continued with the Siege of Terra novels.
The Dark King by Graham McNeill (June 2008) ... also included in the book no. 22
The Lightning Tower by Dan Abnett (June 2008) ... also included in the book no. 22
Raven's Flight by Gav Thorpe (February 2010) ... also included in the book no. 22
Garro: Oath of Moment by James Swallow (December 2010) ... also included in the book no. 42
Garro: Legion of One by James Swallow (April 2011) ... also included in the book no. 42
Butcher's Nails by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (August 2012) ... also included in the book no. 31
Grey Angel by John French (August 2012) ... also included in the book no. 37
Prince of Crows by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (September 2012) ... also included in the book no. 22
Garro: Burden of Duty by James Swallow (October 2012) ... also included in the book no. 42
Warmaster by John French (special edition) (December 2012) ... also included in the book no. 31
Strike and Fade by Guy Haley (special edition) (December 2012) ... also included in the book no. 31
Veritas Ferrum by David Annandale (special edition) (December 2012) ... also included in the book no. 31
Garro: Sword of Truth by James Swallow (December 2012) ... also included in the book no. 42
The Sigillite by Chris Wraight (March 2013) ... also included in the book no. 37
Wolf Hunt by Graham McNeill (May 2013) ... also included in the book no. 37
Honour to the Dead by Gav Thorpe (September 2013) ... also included in the book no. 31
Censure by Nick Kyme (October 2013) ... also included in the book no. 31
Thief of Revelations by Graham McNeill (November 2013) ... also included in the book no. 31
Khârn: The Eightfold Path by Anthony Reynolds (special edition) (December 2013) ... also included in the book no. 31
Lucius: The Eternal Blade by Graham McNeill (special edition) (December 2013) ... also included in the book no. 31
Cypher: Guardian of Order by Gav Thorpe (special edition) (December 2013) ... also included in the book no. 31
Hunter's Moon by Guy Haley (January 2014) ... also included in the book no. 31
Wolf's Claw by Chris Wraight (March 2014) ... also included in the book no. 31
Master of the First by Gav Thorpe (October 2014) ... also included in the book no. 35
Templar by John French (November 2014) ... also included in the book no. 37
Garro: Shield of Lies by James Swallow (December 2014) ... also included in the book no. 42
The Long Night by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (January 2015) ... also included in the book no. 35
The Eagle's Talon by John French (January 2015) ... also included in the book no. 35
Iron Corpses by David Annandale (February 2015) ... also included in the book no. 35
Garro: Ashes of Fealty by James Swallow (February 2015) ... also included in the book no. 42
Raptor by Gav Thorpe (June 2015) ... also included in the book no. 40
Red-Marked by Nick Kyme (January 2016) ... also included in the book no. 35
The Heart of the Pharos by L.J. Goulding (March 2016) ... also included in the book no. 48
Echoes of Imperium by Andy Smillie, Nick Kyme, C.Z. Dunn & Gav Thorpe (the anthology includes "The Herald of Sanguinius" (also included in the book no. 35), "Stratagem" (also included in the book no. 35), "The Watcher" (also included in the book no. 37) & "The Shadowmasters" (also included in the book no. 40) (September 2016)
Children of Sicarus by Anthony Reynolds (October 2016) ... also included in the book no. 52
The Thirteenth Wolf by Gav Thorpe (November 2016) ... also included in the book no. 48
Virtues of the Sons / Sins of the Father by Andy Smillie (January 2017) ... also included in the book no. 33 / also included in the book no. 35
The Binary Succession by David Annandale (March 2017) ... also included in the book no. 48
Echoes of Revelation by Dan Abnett, Chris Wraight & Gav Thorpe (the anthology includes "Perpetual" (also included in the book no. 48), "The soul, severed" (also included in the book no. 52) & "Valerius" (also included in the book no. 52) (May 2017)
Dark Compliance by John French (July 2017) ... also included in the book no. 52
Blackshields: The False War by Josh Reynolds (September 2017)
Blackshields: The Red Fief by Josh Reynolds (May 2018)
Hubris of Monarchia by Andy Smillie (December 2018)
Nightfane by Nick Kyme (January 2019)
Blackshields: The Broken Chain by Josh Reynolds (July 2019)
This omnibus edition contains the books Horus Rising, False Gods and Galaxy in Flames, and also the stories "The Wolf of Ash and Fire", "Lord of the Red Sands" and "Death of a Silversmith" included in book #35, #33, and #22 respectively
The Last Phoenix (May 2016)
This omnibus edition contains the books Fulgrim and Angel Exterminatus, the novellas The Crimson Fist and The Reflection Crack'd, and also the stories "The Phoenician", "Iron Within", "Imperfect", "Chirurgeon" and "Lucius the Eternal Blade" included in book #22, #20, #33, #16, #33, #33, and #31 respectively
The Razing of Prospero (July 2016)
This omnibus edition contains the books A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns, and also the stories "Howl of the Hearthworld", "Rebirth", "Hunter's Moon" and "Thief of Revelations".
Faith and Fire by James Swallow (novel) (March 2006)
Red and Black by James Swallow (audio drama) (October 2011)
Hammer and Anvil by James Swallow (novel) (December 2011)
Celestine by Andy Clark (novel, limited) (January 2019)
Our Martyred Lady by Gav Thorpe (audio drama, boxed set) (February 2019)
Requiem Infernal by Peter Fehervari (novel) (April 2019)
Mark of Faith by Rachel Harrison (novel) (November 2019)
Broken Saints by Alec Worley (audio drama) (March 2020)
Pilgrims of Fire by Justin D. Hill (novel) (March 2023)
The Rose in the Darkness by Rachel Harrison (novel) (June 2024)
Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith by Jude Reid (August 2024)
Sisters of Battle: The Omnibus by James Swallow (This omnibus contains the novels Faith and Fire and Hammer and Anvil as well as the prose version of the audio drama Red and Black and the short story "Heart & Soul".)
Warlord: Fury of the God-Machine by David Annandale (novel) (April 2017)
Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah by Gav Thorpe (novel) (April 2018)
God-Machines - A Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus (this omnibus contains the novels Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah(Gav Thorpe), Kingsblade (Andy Clark), Knightsblade (Andy Clark), and Warlord: Fury of the God-Machine (David Annandale). It also contains the novella Knights of the Imperium (Graham McNeill) and the short stories "Vengeance of the Immortal" (Gav Thorpe), "Gates of the Devourer" (David Annandale), "Becoming" (Andy Clark), "Defiant" (Andy Clark) , and "Hunting Ground" (Ian St. Martin).)
Bloodquest : Prisoners of the Eye of Terror (audio drama) (December 2012)
Bloodspire (audio drama) (January 2013)
Dante by Guy Haley (novel) (March 2017)
Blood Angels: The Complete Rafen Omnibus by James Swallow (This omnibus contains The Fury, Dues Encarmine, Blood Debt, Deus Sanguinius, Redeemed, Red Fury, Black Tide, Bloodline, and Reflection in Blood.)
Iron Warriors The Omnibus (This omnibus contains the novel Storm of Iron, the novella Iron Warrior along with the short stories "The Enemy of My Enemy", "The Heraclitus Effect", "The Skull Harvest", "The Iron Without", and "The Beast of Calth") (2012)
Enforcer The Shira Calpurnia Omnibus (This omnibus includes Crossfire, Legacy, Blind, and bonus dossiers on each book plus a new introduction by the author) (2010)
Armageddon by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (this omnibus includes the novel Helsreach and the novella Blood and Fire) (July 2013)
Damnos by Nick Kyme (this omnibus includes the novel Fall of Damnos and the novella Spear of Macragge) (September 2013)
The War for Rynn's World by Steve Parker and Mike Lee (this omnibus includes the novel Rynn's World, the novella Traitor's Gorge, and short stories) (August 2014)
War of the Fang by Chris Wraight (this omnibus includes the novel Battle of the Fang and the novella Hunt for Magnus) (January 2015)
Defenders of Mankind by David Annandale and Guy Haley (this omnibus includes the novels The Death of Antagonis and Death of Integrity along with the short stories "The Tribute of Flesh", "The Rite of Holos", "Blood Calm", and "Final Journey". It features the space marine chapters of the Black Dragons, Blood Drinkers, and Novamarines) (2015)
This section needs expansion with: missing dates. You can help by adding to it. (September 2012)
Hammer and Bolter was a download-only Black Library monthly e-magazine published between October 2010 and November 2012. It included short stories, novel extracts, and serialized novellas in text and audio formats.
"Hunted" by John French (Issue 4)
"Action & Consequence" by Sarah Cawkwell (Issue 5)
"Tower of Blood" by Tony Ballantyne (Issue 6)
"Flesh" by Chris Wraight (Issue 7)
"Cause and Effect" by Sarah Cawkwell (Issue 8)
"A Commander Shadow" by Braden Campbell (Issue 8)
"The Arkunasha War" by Andy Chambers (Issue 9)
"We Are One" by John French (Issue 10)
"Bitter End" by Sarah Cawkwell (Issue 12 - October 2011)[3]
"Aenarion" by Gav Thorpe (Issue 12 - October 2011)[4]
"The Inquisition" by Ben Counter (Issue 12 - October 2011)[5]
"Reparation" by Andy Smillie (Issue 13)
"Lesser Evils" by Tom Foster (Issue 13)
"Hunted" by Braden Campbell (Issue 13)
"In the Shadow of the Emperor" by Chris Dows (Issue 14)
"The Pact" by Sarah Cawkwell (Issue 15)
"The Shadow in the Glass" by Steve Lyons (Issue 16)
"Vermilion" by Ben Counter (Issue 17)
"Irixa" by Ben Counter (Issue 19)
"In Hrondir's Tomb" by Mark Clapham (Issue 20)
"The Shadow of the Beast " by Laurie Goulding (Issue 21)