>George Mann, Head of Black Library, had the following points to make:
>1. The Black Library imprint of BL Publishing (no mention was made of Solaris) is principally there to “recruit” and “retain” customers of the hobby. For those already involved in the models and games, it allowed them to continue to immerse themselves in the background and imagery when not actually at the gaming table or painting station, sustaining their interest (and, by inference, desire to buy more stuff). For those not yet involved in the hobby, the books offer a new access route to the hobby by engaging people’s imagination up front.
>2. In further conversation, George emphasized that Black Library’s main objective was to “tell good stories”. He agreed that some points in certain novels could, perhaps, have benefited from the editor’s red pen (a certain multilaser was mentioned) but was at pains to explain that, just as each hobbyist tends to interpret the background and facts of the Warhammer and 40k worlds differently, so does each author. In essence, each author represents an “alternative” version of the respective worlds. After pressing him further, he explained that only the Studio material (rulebooks, codexes, army books and suchlike) was canonical in that is HAD to be adhered-to in the plots and background of the novels. There was no obligation on authors to adhere to facts and events as spelled out in Black Library work.