# Unconventional 40K stories



## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

I remember ADB mentioned on another site that he'd like to write a 40K novel about a love affair between two scions of feuding Navis Nobilite (or was it Navigator?) houses. 

This got me thinking...40K is such a massively diverse setting. What other unconventional stories could take place in the 40K universe. Here are some that come to mind (feel free to add to this list): 

1) Frontier world adventure (on the edge of the Imperium's reach, could have a _Mad Max_ or _Chronicles of Riddick_ vibe) 
2) Zombie/Walking Dead-type story (I believe this has already been done with Nurgle plague)
3) Hardboiled/noir/crime fiction (_Nemesis_, _Kal Jerico_ and the _Calpurnia_ series kinda went this route)
4) Fantasy meets Sci-Fi (maybe even Steampunk): A novel set on a feudal world could incorporate a lot of fantasy elements. Descent of Angels, Legion, and Borthers of the Snake feature certain fantasy-ish elements. "Air magick" for example. 
I can definitely see Steam Punk fitting into 40K (Queen Mab in Pariah has a bit of a Steam Punk-ish vibe) 
5) Man vs. Nature surival story: a death world would be a perfect setting for such a tale 
6) Epic "rise and fall of a great house" series: I could definitely see an ambitious authour tackling something like this within the 40K setting. Powerful Terran noble houses, High Lords involved, factional backstabbing...it would be sweet

Any more?


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

MontytheMighty said:


> I remember ADB mentioned on another site that he'd like to write a 40K novel about a love affair between two scions of feuding Navis Nobilite (or was it Navigator?) houses.


Navigator Houses, and I would read that.



MontytheMighty said:


> 5) Man vs. Nature surival story: a death world would be a perfect setting for such a tale


I recall Steve Parker mentioning he would like to do a novel based around this kind of thing, using the old Living Death World concept from the older editions. Something involving Catachan Jungle Fighters I think, but that was ages ago so i'm not sure he's still interested.

And I would like to see more unconventional ideas from BL. 40k is such a wide setting after all. Peter Fehevari has mentioned that he would like to do a follow-up to _Fire Caste_ but that it might not be 40k enough, I think from what he said about it that it sounds 40k enough and would be a cool departure from the constant warfare stories and into a more detective style setting, like Eisenhorn but the protagonist being a simple detective on a backwater world under suspicion of heresy hunting a Daemon with Inquisition and Chaos agents trailing him.


LotN


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

I'd love some more "non warfare" type stories to come out of BL, as I stated in this thread: some of my favourite parts of BL fiction happen away from the war zones.

Reading about the process of a world being re-claimed by the Imperium, with them as the some what grey antagonists would be very interesting I think.


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

It might be interesting to kind of combine Cain with Eisenhorn/Ravenor in an Inspector Gadget/Arnold Rimmer/Gordon Brittas sort of way. A bumbling Inquisitor who solves heretic plots not because of any particular skill, but rather through dumb luck. 

And as I think about it, a Gordan Brittas type Administratum Adept story or two might be amusing. Someone who thinks that they are the lubricant that keeps an engine running smoothly when really they're gumming things up, even by the standards generally set for the Administratum in 40K books. Could be a series of short stories or maybe novellas. 

One of the Cain books also featured a Sister of Battle who would play poker and drink wine while not boffing the Scholam's headmaster. One of the footnotes for the story explains that there's no particular requirement for Adeptus Sororitas to be celibate or anything like that, it's just most of them are too much the Emperor bothering type. So having a wise-cracking, gambling, high functioning alcoholic Sister of Battle that sleeps with an entire Guard regiment could also have some real potential. A Hank Moody type from the show Californication if you get that over on your side of the pond, only in the form of a Sister of Battle.

I think it would also be funny to take the basic idea of the web series Red vs. Blue and apply it to the 40K universe. Just a group of incompetent soldiers for whom being cannon fodder would be a promotion, that are stationed on some truly backwater outpost that no one really wants. Maybe it's even one where through some administrative mistake, the Imperium essentially forgets that the outpost even exists.


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## maelstrom48 (Sep 5, 2012)

How about a story of the Sisters Hospitaller? A deeper look into the various workings of the Ecclesiarchy would be fascinating.

Actually, _any _fluff regarding the Sisters would be "unconventional" at this point, seeing how little love they get in the current background. I'm confident this will one day change but still. I want to know more.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

maelstrom48 said:


> How about a story of the Sisters Hospitaller?


I have read a few of them, granted they were short stories but they did give a taste of what could be a great full size novel.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

MontytheMighty said:


> I remember ADB mentioned on another site that he'd like to write a 40K novel about a love affair between two scions of feuding Navis Nobilite (or was it Navigator?) houses.


He mentioned that he wanted to do a High Elf love story at the BL Dublin event as well. He said he's pitched it to them several times, and the usual response is "Yeah, that's great, but first what about..."


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Khorne's Fist said:


> He mentioned that he wanted to do a High Elf love story at the BL Dublin event as well. He said he's pitched it to them several times, and the usual response is "Yeah, that's great, but first what about..."


At first, when he mentioned the Navigator romance idea, I thought "yeah...I'm probably not going to read that". Since then, I've read quite a large number of BL books and many of them have been rather disappointing. 

I would prefer to read high-quality "non-romance" 40K stories...but if ADB is capable of writing a high-quality tale of forbidden love set in 40K. Heck, I'd give it a shot. Ultimately, I'll be happy to read any high-quality 40K fiction.

However, I think Black Library is most concerned with opportunity cost and maximising profit, as a business should be. If bolter porn sells more than more unconventional fare (i.e. the navigator lovestory), BL wll opt to churn out more bolter porn. We, the readers, have to show BL that we're more than eager to buy "unconventional" 40K novels. I know quite a few forum members are ready...but are we truly representative of BL's consumers or are we just a vocal minority?


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## BeShaw (Oct 17, 2013)

Could probably go deeper and darker than that. Three quick ideas:

1. After his regiment is nearly annihilated, A veteran of the Imperial Guard returns to his home world to train new reinforcements. Though he once lived on the world his experiences have changed him; and what was once normal now seems petty and inconsequential in a galaxy of constant war. He struggles to make his fresh recruits understand that service in the Guard is not a glorious honor; rather it is a short life filled with horrors beyond imagine. 

2. (play on the idea of a 40k 'love' story) A Inquisitor returns to his wife after many years of witch hunting to find his arch nemesis has used his wife as a daemon host. Now he travels around the galaxy, hunting his foe, and delving ever deeper into forbidden magic, desperate to save his wife's soul.

3. A Tau fire caste member acting as a bodyguard to a water caste envoy find himself isolated on a backwater Imperial world when the rest of his cadre is murdered by the ruling criminal gang. Millions of miles from Tau space, without a mission or a ship to head home, the Fire Warrior tries valiantly to return home...and fails. Months later he finds himself addicted to the vices of human life and working with a gang of criminals that are protecting his existence. A story, about how broken dreams are not just a human condition.


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

Has anyone read theKal Jerico graphic novels? I have two at home and theyre great! A real good read with very anime influences on the art - and the story is as gritty as youd expect for a underhive scum-hunter!!


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## VixusKragov (Feb 21, 2012)

Anything going into some of the less-explored areas of BL fiction would be great to me. Ecclesiarchy and Tau being my top-ranked. Tau's got a few short stories, and I think one or two novels, but I wish there was more (Correct me if I'm wrong here).


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## The Scion of Chemos (May 24, 2013)

I really want to see some more xenos stuff, and some assassin stuff. I really liked the assassin bit in the 4th Space Wolf novel(IIRC), and I would kill to see more of that.

I also would like to see some traitor guard stuff. Maybe an assassin falls to Slaanesh(Oh man I want to write/read that)


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