Mephiston – Black Library’s Uber-Premium

Ho there! Just yesterday I posted by review of ‘The Flight of the Eisenstein’ in what I (foolishly) assumed was Black Library’s premium format. Boy, was I wrong.

Today I get their latest newsletter. Following up on their recent, more obscure trailer, Black Library is releasing, or launching, a new line of books that will put the recent hardbacks to shame: in their price, for certain. In production quality, one hopes so!

Really, it is ridiculously expensive!

#1 – So what is this book all about?

Ok, let’s start with the story. The guys at Black Library put together a nice new trailer (without price or page-count, however)

Here is the official synopsis.

Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels, Master of the Black Rage, Lord of Death… By these titles is Mephiston known to his brother Space Marines. But deep within Mephiston’s tortured heart lurks another, the spectre of who he used to be before his death and rebirth on the war-torn world of Armageddon. As Mephiston leads the Blood Angels into battle in the Pallavon system against the might of mankind’s archenemy, he must grapple with his inner daemons as well as those around him, as the ghost of Brother Calistarius, the man he once was, returns to haunt him.

Call me vaguely interested at this point. Not least, because it is not written by James Swallow, whose work I didn’t enjoy that much in Flight of the Eisenstein and who appears to be Black Library’s go-to writer for Blood Angels.

Then again, David Annandale doesn’t tell me anything either.

#2 – What’s the new format?

The books is advertised as the first novella (!) in a new series called ‘Lords of the Space Marines’ (guess we won’t see a book on Eldrad here).

The first novella in the Lords of the Space Marines series.
This premium collector’s edition features
- ‘Mephiston: Lord of Death’ a brand new Blood Angels story by David Annandale
- Red leather-effect slip case
- Exclusive short story chapbook ‘Eclipse of Hope’
- Artwork postcard

On Sale for seven days only
From January 25th to February 1st

Funny enough, they seem to once again copy the “on-sale-for-a-limited-time-only” concept they used for their White Scars Horus Heresy Novel a while back. I stayed away from that one too, mainly because I am only up to Book 4 in the Horus Heresy series so far.