Warhammer Horror set during the Horus Heresy era?

[b1soul]

I was just re-reading the Fall of Signus blurb (describing the events before the BA show up) in Malevolence and thought it would make an excellent Warhammer Horror novel. 

 

When the EC terrorize the civilians on Terra, perhaps an intimate slice of that could be dealt with outside the Siege series. That might fit the Horror series more? Also, Veil's efforts to survive the EC before his rescue in Path of Heaven...I'm thinking demonic, Warp or cult related shenanigans instigated by the Traitors during the HH.  

[DarkChaplain]

The advantage of the Horror imprint is that you can pick up the books (even Genevieve) without getting entangled too much, with no real required reading prior. It'd be a very awkward fit for the Heresy, especially since Horror isn't branded for the setting itself, beyond telling you the synopsis. So a novel set during the Heresy wouldn't outwardly recognizable as such, thus not benefitting from the exposure of that series, nor would it really fit into the Horror label as it stands, and on top of that Heresy readers would undoubtedly complain about it not being in the same format/style as the rest of their collection.

 

It's obviously possible (and maybe desirable) to write Horror set during the HH (and I'd argue some novels, shorts and novellas would've benefitted from being allowed to go fully in that direction instead), but it's not exactly a sensible choice until the series is fully over at the very least. After that, authors may return to flesh out particular story beats the series skipped or missed, but that's still years in the future.

 

BL would basically lose out with it one way or another - can't actively market it as an entry of their top-selling series, nor fully as Horror due to tying into their top-selling series, which is drastically different from contemporary 40k, which the rest of Horror uses as its backdrop. Muddle the waters with not one but two different 40k settings in a series that is actively trying to recruit readers outside their usual niche, and you're almost actively working against your own plans.

 

It's also worth noting that - to my knowledge - there hasn't been a single Heresy short story in Infero! so far, and there is none in Maledictions or Invocations either. There is one about Malcador at the onset of the Siege in WD, but that was also tying into the Siege launch for the magazine.

[b1soul]

"but it's not exactly a sensible choice until the series is fully over at the very least"

 

 

Agree...but the Siege series will be ending in the not-distant future, so I'm hoping for a Fall of Signus novel or something similar maybe a year or so after the wrap-up of the Siege series? It could just be a Warhammer Horror entry without any special sub-label.

[Noserenda]

I figure it would work like the Primarch series tbh, 30k is just one of their settings after all these days. 

That said id expect the Editors to ask why it couldnt be set in 40k, i imagine soon theyll want some Emperors Children tie in fiction.

[mactire]

It's all a horror story in the Grimdark future. 

[b1soul]

As a bit of an aside, would be cool to read a horror novella about a Gellar field breach aboard an Imperial merchant ship

[Kelborn]

*reads b1souls post*

"...would be cool to read a horror novella about a Gellar field breach aboard..."

 

Me: But we already have plenty of such..

 

"...an Imperial merchant ship"

 

Me: ... Well yeah, sure. That'd be cool.

 

In space, no one can hear you scream. . .

Edited December 8, 2019 by Kelborn
typo