Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I dive back into the dark future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe with the awesome upcoming entry, Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer

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I have made no secret of my love for the Warhammer extended universe in recent years, particularly the current Warhammer 40,000 universe set in a dark far-future.  I have had an incredible time getting into the impressive and extensive extended universe that has sprung up around these iconic tabletop games, especially as the vast team of authors that contribute to it have produced some outstanding and complex novels that expertly explore the elaborate lore that has been developed since its inception.  2022 alone has been a particularly epic year for Warhammer 40,000 fiction, with exceptional books like Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley, Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath, The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill and Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky, all proving to be outstanding reads that perfectly explore different aspects and corners of the Warhammer universe.

While I have been enjoying the cool variety of Warhammer novels coming out, I have always maintained that some of the best books in this franchise follow the common human solider as they attempt to fight against the vast armies of monsters and demons arrayed against them.  Indeed, there have been several particularly good examples of these in recent years, from the Gaunt’s Ghosts books by Dan Abnett (such as First and Only and The Vincular Insurgency), to more recent books like Steel Tread by Andy Clark, Krieg by Steven Lyons, Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley and Outgunned by Denny Flowers.  All these impressive books did a fantastic job diving into the complex and often short-lived soldiers of the Imperium of Man, and I loved the way they all highlighted some of the more iconic regiments and soldiers fighting in the universe various wars, often through some clever and deeply compelling narratives.

Due to how awesome some of these recent soldier-focused Warhammer books have been, I have been keeping a close out for any more upcoming entries in this franchise and I was very excited to see that a very cool one is coming out in December 2022.  This book, Witchbringer by new author Steven B. Fischer, will explore a whole new aspect of the Astra Militarum in another bold and fun adventure.

Plot Synopsis:

Delve in to the Scholastica Psykana in this great novel from Black Library

Suffer not the witch to live, unless by their service they might earn redemption.

This is the creed of the scholastica psykana, a brutal foundry in which those with psychic power might be taught to serve. On the eve of her sanctioning as a primaris psyker within these very halls, Glavia Aerand, former captain of the Cadian 900th Regiment, receives a startling premonition – one concerning her old unit and a dangerous psychic artefact hidden on the planet where they are deployed.

After a reunion she never expected – or wanted – Aerand finds herself mired in a vicious campaign on the psychically active world of Visage, where the shallow seas and endless fogs are rumoured to swallow the souls of the dead. Haunted by growing suspicions of her new commander and the manifestations of the sinister relic, Aerand must trust in her new-found abilities to keep her former comrades alive, and confront an ancient threat that could consume Visage entirely.

Ok, now this is a very awesome sounding Warhammer 40,000 book.  The idea of a sanctioned psyker, a being who is barely tolerated by every other human in the Imperium, being forced to return to help a regiment they used to command, has so much damn potential.  With this plot alone, Fischer has already guaranteed that Witchbringer is going to be one of the more emotionally charged Warhammer novels of the year, especially as the return of protagonist Glavia Aerand, is going to raise so much tension and fear within an already stressed regiment.  I am also extremely excited for the deep dive in the lethal but maligned sanctioned primaris psykers, especially as it sounds like we are going to get a look at the scholastica psykana, the deadly and cruel schools that turns people with psychic powers into loyal and controllable weapons.  Throw in a mysterious artefact, an untrustworthy replacement commander, a deadly planet and a likely ton of cool Warhammer action, and this book has so much going for it.

Look, due to how much I have been loving all the recent additions to the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, there is no way I am going to miss Witchbringer when it comes out later this year.  However, after reading the above awesome synopsis, I am now pretty damn excited for this book and I think it has the potential to be one of the more intriguing and compelling Warhammer entries of the year.  I can’t wait to see how Steven B. Fischer’s first Warhammer 40,000 novel turns out and I have a feeling Witchbringer is going to be something extremely memorable.