Thanks to everyone who's contacted me via the website email, and apologies for the delay in responding. Due to a technical hitch, I can't seem to get replies out to you. So thanks to Gumersindo Pradas, David Stringfield, Carlton Jones, Nick Staiano, Stefan Furuskog, Sheldon Davidson, Christian Geeraerts, Kaiserjez, Joshua Carter and Piers Hawkins for their kind comments and suggestions. Christian - I don't have author photos, but I'll find something to sign. To Dennis, who is a Darkblade fan, can I point you in the direction of the complete comic book series, which is where the story ran originally. Mike and I plan to do five novels in total. To Richard Collison, I'm sorry my website sucked for you so much. To Matthew Churchill - see you in Birmingham. To Darren Johnson-Smith - I'll check out your site and get back to you. Thanks. If I've missed anybody off this, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.
In answer to the general questions I've been getting:
1. The next Ravenor is called Ravenor Rogue.
2. The Horus heresy isn't a trilogy. The first three book interlock to set the series up. There will be more. I will do more.
3. I'm tempted at some point to do some 'young Gaunt' novels set during his cadetship with the Hyrkans. If anybody thinks that's a good idea.
4. The Black Library probably wouldn't be too keen on getting unsolicted Gaunt's Ghosts novel proposals from anyone else at this time.
5. Yes, I do my own research. Thanks for noticing that I do research.
6. I don't know when my books are scheduled to come out in Spain, but the Spanish publisher's website would be a good place to start.
7.I have no plans to write more Eisenhorn exactly, but I do have a slight desire to. So maybe he'll show up again, in a new book of his own, or stomping through someone else's series in a guest-star type way. Certainly, all Eisenhorn fans should check out Ravenor Rogue when it appears, as there are particularly strong Eisenhornian (is that a word? It is now) connections.
8. 'Eisenhornian' is probably better than 'Eisenhorny'.
David Stringfield asked me how I write novels. Ah, the easy questions first. I plan them in my head, run a brief pitch past BL to check they like it, then plough straight in, constantly feeding off and adding to a legal pad full of notes and ideas. Every novels gets its own notebook, an ongoing workbook to keep my head straight and stop me from forgetting sudden flashes of inspiration when I'm mid flow. The whole process is organic. I read, rewrite, constantly redraft 'on the hoof', and get my wife, the deadly accurate and persnickety proof reader and editor that she is, to check the manuscript for sense, punctation, spelling and general not being crap. She deserves a great deal more credit than she recieves, especially in that final capacity.
Does that answer the question?
22 comments:
ahhh damn, i'd hoped from the reference to Ravenor's writings in the Gaunt books that you'd already worked out the grisly details of Eisenhorn's "downfall." didn't Ben Counter also mention "Eisenhorn Heresies" in one of his recent novels too?
more Horus Heresy sounds pretty nifty though. speaking of which - and i'm sure people have been bugging you along these lines already - are there any plans for sequels or similar books to Fell Cargo? that book has an awesome vibe, like a mixture of the old high-adventure novelists and Lovecraft. disturbed minds want to know!
Great news that there will be more Heresy novels! Too long still to wait for the next Gaunt novel; October? I could have left the basement by then!
G'day Dan,
Glad to see there is another Ravenor book on the way.
As for more Guant based books, Im all for them.
To be honest anything to do with the Sabbat crusade.
Just a few suggestions (how about a collection of short stories on different aspects):
- Iron Snakes Novel
- Latarii Gundogs and their last stand
- Something on the Bloodkin (mentioned in liber chaotica khorne)
- ordo xenos artical on loxatol
- ordo mallus articals on particular champions/forces of chaos in the cluster
- Another more indepth book on along the lines of "The Sabbat Worlds Crusade" - but maybe on the forces fighting there, and images of them. eg along the lines of Index Asartes/mallus/xenos articals, inquisitorial records etc.
-more on the dark eldar mercenaries fighting there
- even just a rough break down of force lists like GW put in the eye of terror codex or armageddon codex (just for some inspiration).
Anyway, keep up the good work Mr Abnett. Can't wait for more.
Cheers
Baneful
He's Alive!!!!!
I think I speak for a large number of Black Library readers when I say that more of everything would be awesome. ;) More Eisenhorn, more Ravenor, and I would personally love to learn of Gaunt's early years with the Hyrkans.
I’m also very glad to hear that you will be writing more books in the Horus Heresy series; I must say that I absolutely loved 'Horus Rising', and it is definitely one of the best Black Library books I've ever read (and I've read them all ;), not least because it so clearly is not a 40k book. It's a 30k book, and you convey that fact in such a subtle yet convincing fashion throughout the novel that the reader is immediately and consistently made aware of the fact that this is not a tale of the grim dark future of the 41st millennium that we know so well, but something else and entirely new in spite of the similarities.
When reading 'Horus Rising' I felt the style of narration and use of terms and ideologies were familiar to me somehow in spite of being so vastly different from other Black Library books, and then I realised that they reminded me not of another 40k book but rather of the knight tales I read as a child. Am I wrong in thinking that this ingenuity must be a deliberate stroke of genius, these parallels drawn between the mythic Golden Age of our own past history before the fall of Camelot and King Arthur, and the mythic Golden Age of the Imperium before the Heresy and end of the Great Crusade?
Finally, I have a question from the regulars in my local Games Workshop: why wasn't 'Horus Rising' published in a hardback version? A collector's edition would have been great. Also, have you ever considered visiting Denmark? ;)
~Cecilie Larsen.
All I can say on the matter of more Horus Heresy novels is PLEASE write about Leman Russ!
You made such excellent references to him in Horus Rising (despite the fact I'm most unhappy at the fact that everyone seem to use Russ and his Space Wolves as the butt of all jokes that are about savagery) and overall, I think you'd do a mightly fine job of my favourite Primarch.
And for my sanity....please please PLEASE don't kill Ban Daur.
I'm working my way through The Saint and have developed a liking for him (despite the fact he'll be returning to something of a bit part player).
Oh no...I really shouldn't have said that, you might do that now just to spite me.
Damn!
*shakes her fist*
3. I'm tempted at some point to do some 'young Gaunt' novels set during his cadetship with the Hyrkans. If anybody thinks that's a good idea.
YES PLEASE.
I second what anonymous said. Funny name must be French.
1. I am really looking forward to Ravenor Rogue.
2. Please do more of those books. Horus Rising has already been read twice and I am going nuts waiting for the next one. Although, I would like tos ee more information before Horus Rising. A nice book on Russ and his wolves would be great.
3. Please do. I have noticed they are doing some of the 'young Cain' novels. The last one was a hoot and I look forward to more of those as well. I would definetly like to see more books on Gaunt and Slaydo.
7. Actually, I wouldl ike to find out what happened to Eisenhorn. They keep mentioning his fall, but I don't see that anywhere.
8. Your right. It does sound better.
Mr. Abnett, you are a genius and one of my new favorite authors! Thanks!
Mr. Abnett, you are a genius and one of my new favorite authors! Thanks!
I can't be the only one for whom the title reminded them of Sgt R Lee Emrey's show on The History Channel...
...Long as there's more inquisitorial tales and more Ghosts, I'm happy. Especially to be getting some old Eisenhornians in Ravenor Rogue.
Will we ever get an account of the tragic events on Majeskus? They were mentioned in passing as recent news in "Playing Patience" and get more mention in "Ravenor".
Might even be good in a short to find out what happened. Either way Molotch is a great villain, and the whole Enuncia plot element is very well done.
Hey Dan just finished Nova #2, another great issue!! I know you had previously mentioned if sales were good and there was demand that it may have a chance of being picked up as a series, has there been any word about this happening recently?
Nice end to Majestic as well!
Mr. Abnett,
I am a 37 year old long time fan who has read nearly everything you have written. With great satisfaction.
I will skip the gushing and tell you a little story instead. (I hope you see this)
I went to visit my mother a few months back. My mother is 64 and is an avid book reader. You could almost call it an addiction. She enjoys reading books from any catagory. Except romance novels, she hates those.
If there is an author that I tell her to check out, she usually does and enjoys thier stuff as much as I do. I have turned her on to authors such as Orson Scott Card (before he started squeezing everything he could out of the ender universe) and Steven Brust (before he dissapeared). So, during this visit, she asks me if I have any suggestions for what she should read next.
I cogitated about you and the Gaunt series.
I would be a risk, I knew. You see, she doesn't like stories with war themes or violence in general. She will even stop watching a movie, if it gets too violent.
What to do, what to do... I went ahead and brought her "First and Only". About 2 days later she asks me to bring her the next 3 books. She was hooked. From then on, her conversations were full of questions and discussions about the Emperor, las weapons, Chaos, daemons, and whatnot. My father arched an eyebrow once or twice as he listened to this from the sidelines. She has read all existing books in the Gaunt series, Ravenor series and Eisenhorn series. Horus Rising is sitting in her queue.
Anyway, I think it is a big feather in your cap, as an author, that you could make a 64 year old woman (who doesn't like war or violence) become a major fan of your work.
Congrats!
- CRasterImage
Random one I just remembered. In Malleus when the team splits up to pursue all kinds of leads, there's a reference to Nathun Inshabel's (at the time an interrogator) numerous adventures. Which are recounted in "his own" volume.
Might we see Inshabel's tale at some point, either as a short or full novel?
Mr. Abnett has hinted on something like that for Nathun's adventure on Elvara Cardinale....well at least he did when I asked him.
But a time frame wasn't mentioned...lamentably.
A few comments - I'll try not to go all fanboy on you here. . .
One reason I enjoy your work so much is your effortless use of odd/archaic/oblique words throughout your narrative. Your sentences have a unique texture unto themseleves.
I enjoyed the first Horus Heresy book very much - knowing the outcome makes the nobility of the principle players that much more tragic. To see the Emperor's Children, Abaddon and even Horus himself as breathing, flawed figures is a stark contrast to the cartoonish, moustache-twirling evil they're known for in M42.
And to get glimpses into an even more distant past when the Emperor first took to the field, well, that's just plain cool.
These books are the first genuine "histories" of the WH40K canon, and I'm very pleased to read that you'll be writing more. If you were to focus on Horus and the next Ravenor novel at the expense of an early Gaunt series, I'd be happy.
Best,
bob
Hi Dan
My emails keep getting bounced back when I email you. The editor has given the interview a thumbs up. He wants it by the end of August so we've got loads of time. Have a great time in Oz. I'll keep trying your email.
Regards
Matthew Badham
3. I'm tempted at some point to do some 'young Gaunt' novels set during his cadetship with the Hyrkans. If anybody thinks that's a good idea.
thats a very good idea.
and...i love you
no, im serious
greetings from germany
Young Gaunt, now thats a brilliant idea. That was always one of my favorite parts of First and Only, the flashbacks.
Can't wait for the Armour of Contempt to come out! I am in the midst of Horus Rising and let me tell you its fabulous. Dan you really give light to space marines, making them actual people with personalities not the mindless killing and drilling machines that GW makes them seem. They way you have portrayed Horus is just fabulous, you can imagine him, 10 feet tall in majestic pearly white armour speaking in a hushed, caring voice.
Well enough of the raving, great work and I can't for Armour of Contempt and the 2nd Horus novel.
By the way, I enjoyed Fell Cargo immensely.
~Nick Staiano
Mr. Abnett i love ur work. Eisenhorn is my most favorite series i have read. i love how it is some what a mystery but yet part action series. please do some more on Eisenhornian novels that would rock.
P.S. Don't forget Cherubael
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