Mmmh! A very nice review...

... right here!

Noteworthy Alignments Get On My Wick, Says Author

So, coincidences. It’s no biggie, really, it’s just that I’m being stalked by coincidences.

I usually take a coincidence as a good thing, a sign that the universe is working the way it’s supposed to be, but just in the last few weeks, man, has my life been Noteworthy-alignment-of-two-or-more-events-or-circumstances-without-obvious-causal-connection Central.

It’s not even anything in particular, just an accumulation. the details would bore you (if you really must know, the latest one that made me exclaim in my Facebook status was that the latest issue of Fortean Times arrived through the door, and inside was an article on PRECISELY matched what I was working on - the same thing had happened with the Guardian and the TLS already this week).

One of the first questions they ask when they examine you for epilepsy and related conditions is if you experience deja vu. Hell, yeah. Mister, I’ve had deja vu BOTH times. Well, apparently, paramnesia can be a diagnostic indicator of epilepsy. I mention it because, to me, deja vu and coincidence are very similar things. They feel related. I wonder if coincidence can also be an epilepsy indicator, except I’m not sure if it can be.

I mean, it’s external, isn’t it? It’s not in my head, it’s clearly things out there in the world.

I was going to look it up on the Interweb, but I decided to wait. There’ll be an article about it in the paper tomorrow.

And the winner is...

.. me! Or it could be. My fate is your hands. Here’s how it works. The fabulous comic website The Outhouse (www.theouthousers.com) is holding their first annual awards, and the winners are decided by a public vote. Andy and I have been nominated in two categories: Best Creative Team and Best Mainstream Ongoing (for Guardians of the Galaxy). So what you do is you go along to the website, register as an Outhouser (a free and painless process) and cast your vote. Then we finish on a big musical number, roll end titles.

What could possibly go wrong?

Oh, let's just do another blog!

Yes, let's! I've got a drum kit, your dad's got a barn... we can put the show on right here!

Graham and I are still ruling the roost over at Borders Babel Clash, which is strengthening my blogging muscles and giving me momentum. So I’m back.

My confession about the Imperial Fists got you all over-excited, and condemned the blog forever to a very off-colour running gag. Which, BigWill and Matthew, I will make no effort to encourage (“Up the Emperor!”).

Flekkzo - thanks for the permission to keep writing ;) You put me in mind of the tone of Grand Moff Tarkin (“You may fire when ready”).

HiWayRobry - the Hawk Lords always sound to me like they’ve got a silver machine.

The SGC - As far as I’m concerned, and as far as I’ve been concerned all along, Loken is alive. (*Ming voice* “Loken’s alive!”). Plus, Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s got a cat called Loken, so I can’t let him down. Thanks for the YouTube tip, Adelie and BigWill.

Anonymous - I was wondering just how many people you were. One? Two? Three? Funnily enough, I’m writing Prospero Burns because I don’t like Russ and the Wolves much either, and I want to find out how they tick. The delay in that and the Ghosts has much more to do with my recent problems with epilepsy that have slowed everything down a bit. Sorry for the wait. Oh, I and I think I kill PLENTY of major characters in the Gaunt books. I’m infamous for it. Don’t lose anybody important in 10 books indeed! Honestly!

frieslander - the arrogance level may vary, but they’re all still seven foot high super-humans. It’s not so much a matter of lacking respect, I suppose, it’s more like different habitats, like saying Leopards have no respect for sardines, or eagles have no respect for termites. Or have I lost the plot? I don’t consciously favour Khorn, though I know I have a problem with Nurgle. I’d use Nurgle more, because the concept is the most interesting, but the name makes me laugh.

Philip - “The Space Wolves have kept their links to humanity”. Frieslander not the only one in need of special pills, I think ;)

Babel Clash 2: Electric Boogaloo

Just thought I’d re-remind all of you that Im guest blogger over at the BORDERS sci-fi blog Babel Clash (link in the post below). It’s going well, and thanks to those of you who have already turned up to hurl vegetables at the stocks. In fact, I really shouldn’t draw attention to the fact that I’ve posted there two days in a row AND answered questions, because it will make painfully clear what a laggard I am here. I will do better. I will. It’s one of my New Year Resolutions.

To prove my point:

BigWill - I’m not sure how they compare, but a comparison would necessarily involve tests in sneaking about and hiding behind trees, which the Tanith would obviously win. My favorite chapter (apart from the iron Snakes, because that’s mine) is the Imperial Fists (this is not a lie or a joke, so don’t wait for a punchline). Incidentally, my least favorite was always the Wolves, but Prospero Burns is rapidly changing that.

Willard - thank you, me too, and see my previous answer.

frieslander - David, I can’t imagine what you mean ;)
Yes, I suppose some fair-minded, generous, liberal-thinking Astartes might be quite impressed by the Tanith. a) do you know any? and b) even then, they’d be quite condescending.

Lars - I don’t think so. Then again, Monsters Inc (a fine film) isn’t the first story to use the idea of a magic door either. By the way, it’s a pen AND a keyboard.

Big - yes, yes! Away with the cartoony garnish! Big, these Wolves are so ****ing mean and tough, they are going to ****ing come round Horus’s crib and **** him up so ****ing nasty, he won’t be able to ******* without a **** and two sturdy ***** ****. Actually, they are so ****ing ***** and ******* ***** *****, they don’t even like being called Space Wolves. THAT’S how hard they are!

Matthew - I know, but this is big and bright American Borders, where dreams still dream to be dreamed. Plus, you never know, you might get yourself a lovely taupe portcullis thing.

Babel Clash

So, as part of a serious New Years Resolution-y effort to get my blog-a-rhythms pulsing along at a more regular lick, you are hereby given notice that as of the 19th of January, which is this coming Tuesday, I will be the latest guest blogger on Babel Clash, the BORDERS sci-fi blog. This can be found at http://bordersblog.com/scifi/

I’ll be in the driving seat there for the next two weeks, posting at least something every day, so pop along and take a peek. And comment. You know how to comment, don’t you? You just put your cursor on the link and click...

“Will there be a theme to your ramblings?” I hear you ask. Is there ever? Honestly? How long have you known me? Do I ever stick to a point? Nominally, I will be talking about (and taking questions about) writing in someone else’s Universe (which is, of course, what I do at Marvel and Black Library). But I may digress. You all know I am very easily distrac... oh look! That dog’s got a puffy tail!

Where was I? Oh yeah... I was on Babel Clash, the BORDERS sci-fi blog. Let’s go!

To hear air-brakes in the snow

It’s Christmas Eve already, and Nik’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Nik!) and the snow is beginning to retreat, though that didn’t stop a large truck breaking down on the main road outside in the middle of last night and keeping me awake by farting its air brakes every couple of minutes. Also on a downside today is the news that Dan O’Bannon is no longer with us. Amongst his contributions to the genre, not the least being his creative influence on Alien, one of the absolute highlights for me remains Dark Star, the student film he made with John Carpenter that went on to become a successful indie feature. It was a real team effort: O’Bannon worked as a scripter, editor and actor on the movie. If the name Dark Star means nothing to you, give yourself a Christmas Present and find a copy to watch. I remember seeing it for the first time around Christmas when I was, well, a kid. It had a lasting effect. My god, I just this second realised where I got the ‘to camera’ diary room pieces in Guardians of the Galaxy from.
Anyway, it is, nevertheless, Christmas, and we should think happy thoughts. As I lay in bed listening to the music of the air brakes, I thought about all the cool ideas I didn’t get around to using this year: the magical catering supply company called Witchkraft Services; the title “Horrorscope” (Andy and I ended up calling it something else, as readers will discover next year); a character called Drew Morgue (actually, that’s a lie, as he ended up sneaking back in somewhere else); the fact that an on-line identity of nonspecific gender may be referred to as s/h/it; and the phrase “like the galaxy, he had a western spiral arm”, which I just can’t seem to sneak in anywhere.
There were many others, and some are too juicy not to be reserved for later use. Thanks for reading this year, and thanks for all your generous support and encouragement. Please accept my apologies for anything that’s run late - normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
For some festive fun, frolics and chuckles, may I recommend you head over to Comic Geek Speak and listen to the podcast interview Andy Lanning and I did about our Marvel work (amongst other things); It’s over here: http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/episodes/comic_geek_speak-971.php We were in an especially silly mood. I believe Cor has already expressed an interest in catching up with the comic stuff, so I’ll just say that Marvel has issued both Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy in numbered trade paperback collections.
I can also very much recommend a trip over to http://www.paulcornell.com/ where Mr C has been running his splendid 12 blogs of Christmas. Yes, I do turn up in the mix at once point, but that’s not why I’m recommending it. There are all sorts of diversions and entertainments, plus people such as Russell T. Davies and Stephan Moffat talking about Christmases and New Years, past and present. 
Right, half seven, time for the day to begin. There’s a cup of tea to make and birthday presents to be removed from hiding.
If I don’t see you before, Happy Christmas, everyone.
 

The doctor will see you now.

“Oh, really?” said the specialist. “An author, eh?” and so began an enthusiastic ten minute chat about the merits of Dan Brown, which was all very nice and cordial, except I was sitting there, waiting anxiously to get the results of my MRI and find out if I had terminal Brain Death Lurgy or Sudden Cerebral Splat Out The Ears Syndrome, or whatever.

So I was a little tense and braced, and a ten minute chat about the relative merits of D. Brown Esq was not high on my list marked ‘to do’. Maybe, I suddenly thought, this is his way of relaxing me so he can Break It To Me Gently. Oh god...

Turns out, I have epilepsy. I ‘just’ have epilepsy. No family history, no explanation of why I have suddenly developed it, but I know what’s going on now, and, without making light of the condition in any way, it seems like a pretty good result, considering where the Dan Brown chat could have been leading.

Can I just thank you all for your messages of support and encouragement here and on Twitter and Facebook etc. You guys...

As many of you have mentioned, it’s now been revealed that I wrote the screenplay for the 40K animated movie 'Ultramarines' (http://ultramarinesthemovie.com/). I’ve been itching to let the cat out of the bag about this, and I’m properly excited it’s now been officially announced. Lots of you already have questions, and I’ll be answering them here and on the official site as we go along. But be patient! I’ll bring you the first update on the production as soon as they un-cuff me and let me out of this cupboard marked ‘secret movie stuff’.

Seeing as we’re getting all link-happy, I would like to point you to Nathan Long’s spiffy new website (www.sabrepunk.com), and also to an interesting dialogue I had with Mark Charan Newton, which Mark ran as a guest on Jeff Vandermeer’s blog (http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2009/11/11/genre-fiction-and-tie-in-fiction-–-a-conversation-between-mark-charan-newton-and-dan-abnett/). As the link suggests, it’s a chat about tie-in fiction, which some of you might find thought-provoking.

One of the questions I got asked by the specialist was “do you ever experience deja vu?” Do I? Not again! I get deja vu a lot (along with its close kinfolk Astonishing Coincidence, Synchronicity, Morphic Resonance and Jamais Vu). What that means for my head, I don’t know, but it segues me neatly to the last thing I wanted to mention. About twenty five years ago, as an undergraduate, I went with several of my friends to a Lloyd Cole and the Commotions gig. We liked them very much, and we liked the show very much too, especially the endearing fact that they played some of their best numbers more than once (“because we don’t know that many songs yet” Mr Cole offered by way of an explanation).

One of my best friends - we’ll call him Duffy, because that’s his name - decided, for reasons he later came to regret, not to come to the gig. He was kicking himself for missing it within days, if not hours, of the concert.

Last week, he emailed me (he lives in a distant part of the world now). He wanted to tell me that he had finally got the chance to go to a Lloyd Cole concert (no more Commotions these days), and had enjoyed it hugely. After the interval, Mr Cole had played one of his most famous songs, but because some of the audience had been late back from the bar, and had missed it, he played it again. Then he said, “I haven’t played a song twice in one concert since 1984. Back then it was because I didn’t know many songs”). He was referring, you see, to the actual concert that I had been to, and which Duffy had missed, and now Duffy and been there when he said-

I’m sure you get it. Nice and synchronous though, right?

"Caution: Unexpected honking"

So I’m sitting here, writing this, watching the finals of the Over 35 Bronze Man-Lady. I assume that’s hyphenated. It could be, at a pinch, a slash. And before you go all taste and decency on me, it’s a ballroom dancing competition, and Man-Lady is a category that simply denotes a man dancing with a lady. Unnecessary clarity, I feel, unless there are categories I don’t know about like Man-Rotary Washing Line or Gnu-Lady.

Daughter B is taking part - she just won her third trophy. I’m sitting on the folding chairs with one eye on the dancefloor and my lap top in my lap. Outside in the park, thanks to the weekend storms, it looks like someone went bug-funt with an industrial leaf-blower.

I mention all of this simply for colour. It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon. Thanks for all the messages of encouragement and support, I’ve really appreciated them. I did indeed break the MRI machine - this was just after they had scanned me to establish I have no cats in me. It’s probably their fault for not including the question “Are you an omega-level telekine scheduled for termination by the Ordo Hereticus?” on the pre-MRI checklist (between, presumably, “Have you got any metal plates, pins or stents?” and “Are you wearing tattooed eye-liner?”).

Anyway, it broke, and I had to come back later. In fact, when I say broke, it actually had the MRI equivalent of a paper jam, which, if you’ve ever had an MRI, you’ll be able to picture. Curious thing: they warn you about the odd loud noises, the banging, the necessity to stay still, and the potential claustrophobia (you’re inside a metal tube - now I know what an individually-vended King Edward cigar feels like), but they don’t warn that about halfway through, the MRI machine will stop banging like a pneumatic drill and starting making a noise like... Well, you know those horns that kids have on their bikes? A squeezy rubber bulb attached to a chrome horn? The sort of thing a seal would use in a circus? A honking thing? A sound most commonly experienced in Looney Tunes cartoons and Benny Hill sketches?

A noise like that. Behind my head. Over and over and over again.

Odd. Anyway, I didn’t break it this time, and the doctors and technicians were all smiley, and in a week or so, I’ll get the final results - “I’m sorry, Mr Abnett, but we’ve scanned your head and we can’t find any trace of a brain at all.” Equally odd is the fact that I choose this week to watch the final few episodes of the fourth season of Bones. I don’t want to spoil things for anyone who hasn't seen it, but odd, that’s what I’m saying. Odd.

Still, I’m getting a lot of reading done. More news as it happens. We’re off home, where there’s a dumpling with my name on it (note to self: stop labeling things).

I Hate Dan Abnett

Wonders will never cease. The marvelous Mark Charan Newton, author of "Villjamur", read "Triumff", and liked it so much that he has written a few words to inspire others to read it too. What a very fine chap he is. Take it away Mr Newton.


Enough has been said about the plot already, so what I most of all want to add is this:

I hate Dan Abnett.

Why? Because having proved himself the king of noir-infused miltary SF, it takes quite a talent to move easily to something completely different - and this really is a triumffant leap in style. Such transitions really are difficult to pull off, and you would have thought that he's been writing books like this for the past decade.

Our foppish lead, Sir Rupert, heads on a rip-snorter of a ride across a steampunk alternate London that blends historical truth with the wonderfully bizarre. Half the time pissed, the rest getting down and dirty in duels (though the two are not mutually exclusive), this unlikely hero heads on the trail of Occult Goings On of the highest order. Whilst it's chock-full of nods-of-the-head to the finest of Culture and Art and History, it doesn't come over as pretentious – because most of all, "Triumff" is a great slice of British fun.

Anyway, back to the prose, which is the most entertaining aspect: Dan's style here is the bastard-son of, say, Scott Lynch and Tim Powers and all that's best of Blackadder. The depiction of the cityscape is a brew of heady descriptions, and written with a vast and esoteric vocabulary. And the humour is delivered with a wry smile that will have you guffawing boisterously from your armchair.

What's especially annoying, though, is that this pesky Abnett chap makes such a change of gear in writing and storytelling look so damn easy.

Just a little reminder of dates for the Scottish tour!

Something for the weekend.

Forbidden Planet beckons, and Nik tells me that I've worked too much again, this week, what with more books in the mind-mill for AR and BL!

So, this is just to say that we both admire Matthew Farrer beyond anything that we can adequately express in a couple of sentences. We are beyond delighted that he has read and reviewed "Triumff", and here are his thoughts.

TRIUMFF - Her Majesty’s Hero, by Dan Abnett

It’s raining. It’s pouring. London is very much the worse for water, and as the little tour that opens Triumff shows you how bad things are there it also shows you what sort of London you’ve stepped into: a city of wooden buildings, wagon-rutted streets, cock-fighting pits, overflowing sewers and oddly underdressed nuns. Foul weather or no, it’s a jaunty, amused little expedition: you can feel Dan getting into the rhythm of his prose, feeling the saunter and spring in its step, seeing the gleam in its eye. It’s an intro that gets you into just the right frame of mind to meet our hero. Who is, of course, in the process of duelling for his life.

Sir Rupert Triumff, seafarer, Constable of the Gravesend Basin and celebrated discoverer of Australia, was commanding over a yard of sharpened metal of his own. His black locks hung in ringlets around his brow, his shirt had acquired two extra slits since he had put it on that morning, and he was humming a song about the Guinea Coast for no real reason at all. Triumff had once read the title page of Vegetius, owned a risible translation of Livy, and often quoted Caesar, even though he had never been within ten feet of a copy. He was not, at that stage, entirely sure what day it was.

It’s no great spoiler to say that Sir Rupert manages to survive the end of the duel, albeit neither undefeated nor unscathed, but even as the clouds clear over London you can tell they’re gathering over Triumff. We get a short course in the world the story has led us into: Queen Elizabeth XXX sits on the throne not only of England but of the Anglo-Hispanic Unity, a superpower that has dominated both Europe and the New World for centuries, aided by the rediscovery of Magick during the Renaissance and the incorporation of “the Cantrips and the Jinx” into the natural philosophies of the Church. And eavesdropping on a meeting of wicked conspirators gives a handy introduction to what certain parties want to do to this status quo (something rather bad), and hints at the magickal means they plan to employ to do it (something considerably worse).

Triumff thought he had problems before. The fallout from his expedition to Australia in search of new forms of Magick has put him in a deeply uncomfortable position at Court - the “attempts on one’s life” sort of level - and he’s wondering if and for how long he can conceal the real nature of what he found there, let alone the true nature of the native Australian who returned to England with him. These problems are about to get a sharp push down his list of priorities, though, when a terrible act of sabotage devastates the cantripworks that keep mighty London running.

The City was utterly, utterly dark. ... Usually, the City at night lies like a black velvet cape encrusted with winking sequins, spread across the muddy earth by some titanic Raleigh for some celestial Elizabeth. Tonight, even the poetry had been turned off. Everything down there, under the beating rain, was dark, and blind, and cold and frightened.

Before he knows it Triumff has been roped into a secret mission in the frantic defence of the kingdom, and as he and his little band of allies swashbuckle their way to the heart of the conspiracy we careen through swordfights, disguised identities, lute-playing, vile magick, a sedan-chair chase, the finer points of cat-nailing, and helping hands from an Italian genius, a fierce old hedge-witch and... something rather stranger. The whole adventure’s cheerful, crazy momentum carries it into a royal showdown with a hideous apparition and a literally explosive climax.

Triumff is the sort of story that tends to get described as “rollicking”, and in fact I’m pretty sure Dan used that exact word in one of his YouTube interviews recently. It’s a good word. Rollicking, roistering, roller-coasting. You can tell that Dan had fun with this. I’ve enjoyed and admired his Black Library work, but there’s a high-spirited gusto in Triumff that I don’t think I’ve really seen from him before. The sense of fun is infectious - if you read this book in company I predict you’ll be regularly tugging your companions’s sleeves wanting to share the bit that just got you chuckling. The writing has the occasional shade of Kim Newman, a touch of Blackadder and a few passages that put me in mind of Pratchett, but while you can catch Dan’s nods to some of his tastes and influences this remains indisputably an Abnett novel. It has Dan’s trademark crisp, pacy prose, his skill at evoking scenery and image, and his deft switches of direction. He has an easy confidence in shifting between his cast as their subplots and trajectories converge, bringing in minor characters for scenes that help broaden the picture and give backdrop to the main story, and changing gears from high slapstick to mournful or macabre. Dan’s prose is like a master fencer’s technique: however frantic the pace may seem, if you look carefully you can see how poised and controlled each movement actually is. Triumff also re-uses a technique from the Ravenor novels, switching between first and third person, with one Mr Beaver of Fleet Street providing commentary on the events as they unroll and occasionally stopping to address the reader directly. It’s a conceit that generally worked for Ravenor but actually works better here: it’s better built into the way the story is framed, and more suited to the amiably unruly feel.

In a garret on Fleet Street, your humble servant, the author, Master Wllm Beaver, sat, scribbling away by the light of the single overhead lamp. It was a piece on “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Hose”, as I recall. It was destined never to be finished. My HB pencil had just broken, and a rummaging search was underway in the drawers of the desk for a clasp knife with which to resharpen it before item four (“You can wear it on your head if you seek to obtain money with menaces from a Banking House, Real Estate Society or Postal Depot”) slipped from my mind.

Triumff grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck early on and drags you along at such a pace that you can take the rough patches in stride, but in fairness, the rough patches are there. The main characters are sharply-drawn and endearing, but the supporting cast feels a little overstocked, and I found myself sometimes having to backtrack to earlier scenes so I could keep some of the characters straight in my head. The various subplots are handled well during the body of the book but there were rather a lot of them jostling for resolution at the end, and that meant that not all of them had satisfying payoffs and robbed the ending of some of its energy. There’s also a connection between an early scene of New World shamans and a subsequent character with a role right at the climax (be spoiler-aware when discussing this in the comments, please) which may have been intended as a deliberate bait-and-switch surprise but which ends up feeling disjointed.

None of this means that Triumff is less than a pleasure to read. I was busted more than once sneakily reading it while I was supposed to have my laptop open for something else entirely, I’ve read bits out from it to family and friends, and am very much looking forward to it hitting the shelves so I can start comparing favourite moments with other readers. It’s been great to see what Dan can do when he stretches his stride to the fullest.

So far no Angry Robot book seems to be anything like any of the others. I’ve now sampled the shuddering psychological wringer of Slights, the hypodermic-sharp post-cyberpunk of Moxyland and now had my swashbuckle dialled up to eleven for Triumff. Dan’s next book for them promises to be something different again, and I look forward to enjoying it as much as I’ve enjoyed this.

He saluted me, and strode away down the gravel path. As he disappeared from view behind the stable arch, I could hear that he was humming a song about the Guinea Coast.

That was the last time I saw him.

Until the next.

Forbidden Planet signing.

Day of Days!

It has arrived! My day of days, and my comp copies of "Triumff"! I'm going to take this opportunity, if I may, to introduce a new guest blogger. I know, I know, you've read a review of "Triumff" already, you might even have read two, but, frankly, I can't get enough of people saying nice things about this book. It's my baby, and it has been for a very long time, and I can't think of anything nicer to do, today, than revel in praise for it!

I was seriously considering have a competition for best review of "Triumff", but they've all been so darned marvelous that it'd be impossible to choose just one!

Jonathan Green has been a fellow Black Library writer, and a very fine fellow for more years than I care to remember. He's a jolly good writer and a jolly good egg, and I can't say enough nice things about him. I sent him "Triumff", and the dear man read it. This is what he had to say. Thank you, Jonathan, and take it away:

Triumffant
A review of Dan Abnett’s Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Jonathan Green

Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero is Dan Abnett’s long-awaited and much-anticipated original fiction debut. He’s been writing for years, of course (which is patently apparent in Triumff), and is already a multi-million-selling author, but outside of 2000AD, Games Workshop and various other comic-writing and tie-in novelisation gigs, he is still, unbelievably a relative unknown. But all that is about to change with the publication of this truly original work of fiction.
The setting is the present day, only it’s a world very different to our own, the sun never having set on the glories of the first Elizabethan Age. In this alternate reality the Renaissance saw a re-emergence of the Magick Arts and hence the arresting of significant technological development. Against this backdrop of Shakespearean thesps, wily cardinals and duelling noblemen, Sir Rupert Triumff – dandy, drinker and dueller – is catapulted into a revenger’s tragedy’s worth of intrigue as he tries to uncover and put paid to a nefarious and damnably traitorous scheme.
Abnett’s world-building is assured and satisfyingly detailed, although none of this detail ever swamps the plot which moves at a rollicking rate. In fact, it reads like a Blackadder-inspired cinematic blockbuster. As a result, the alternate Elizabethan setting is instantly recognisable, populated with pastiches of historical figures as well as characters that have walked right out of your television set. There’s even a nod to hardcore Warhammer fans. Humour, action and intrigue abound in equal measure, and combine with Abnett’s idiosyncratic clockpunk stylings to create a wholly satisfying read.
To dismiss Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero as a Pratchett clone is to do it a disservice; this is classic Abnett. From the economy of description – which nonetheless conjures a vivid and fascinating backdrop – to the grand set-piece action scenes and frequent, pun-tastic humour – that extends to a scene right out of Bond – it could hardly be anything else.
If you want your buckles well and truly swashed and derring done, you know where to come. Triumff is, in a word, a triumph.

Eve of "Triumff"!

Tomorrow, "Triumff" will officially be on the bookshelves. Waterstones will have it, WHS will have it, heck, everyone will have it, and if they don't, jolly well ask for it!

To mark the occasion, it is my very great pleasure to introduce my latest guest blogger. (See, still not actually doing a whole lot of work over here, except for the several thousand words of "Prospero Burns" that I uploaded into my computer, today. So, thank you to everyone who is guesting and keeping you lot busy, here, so that I can get busy over yonder with more writing. That week off was very welcome, but now it's time to catch up.)

I digress. Let's have the guest blog. He is known far and wide for his wit and wisdom, and his all-around lovely-blokeness. Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Big... no really. Take it away, Big.



Cockspankingly brilliant!

Vivat Regina

Thanks to Matthew Churchill, I am able to indulge myself, once again, and hand over this column to another. Take it away, and thanks very much, Matthew.

Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero is Dan Abnett’s long-awaited original fiction novel. Abnett has an extensive history of writing successfully for various science fiction and fantasy imprints, but Triumff is our first chance to see him playing with toys entirely of his own creation. Those familiar with Abnett’s writing will appreciate that such toys are likely to be full of whirly death, and will contain sharp objects not suitable for small children.

Its eponymous hero, Sir Rupert Triumff, drinks, cavorts and swashbuckles through an alternate version of present-day Earth where the sun never set on the Golden Age of Elizabethan England. Her Glorious Majesty Elizabeth XXX sits on the throne, along with a considerable weight of petticoats, bodice and pearls. A conspiracy is afoot to threaten the life of the Queen and taint the Magick that protects and prolongs her realm. And it’s down to Rupert Triumff to save the day.

The book is a rollicking good read. It has the easy grace and unpretentious style of Abnett’s Games Workshop novels, and shares his familiar blending of accessible prose, realistic characterisation, and resonant description. Triumff will expand your vocabulary with neat antique and obscure words if you care to look them up, but the writing never gets bogged down in flowery prose. Primarily, it is a comic novel, and its lightness of touch and playful language may surprise some who come to Abnett purely from the grim darkness of Games Workshop, although a deft comic sensibility has often been at the heart of Abnett’s work for 2000AD comics.

As an original novel, Triumff requires no familiarity with any of Abnett’s extensive back-catalogue. Comparisons to other writers are inevitable in the fantasy genre. Some are describing Triumff as a kind of Steampunk Pratchett, and it’s understandable. However, Abnett writes action considerably better than Pratchett, with several meaty fights and an explosive conclusion.

With its alternate Earth setting, much of the enjoyment comes from viewing our own world through a skewed mirror, and spotting the parallels. Triumff isn’t preoccupied, however, with playing this game to the detriment of the plot, but does allow for some nice cameos, including a Q’ute James Bond scene that had me laughing out loud.

Ultimately, that’s the important bit. Triumff is laugh-out-loud funny. The characters are strong and well-defined, and the neo-Elizabethan setting is handled carefully and without alienating those unfamiliar with all things cuffed and ruffed. It’s pacey, punchy, and highly enjoyable. Vivat Regina!


(This review was based on an advance proof copy. Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero will be published in October by Angry Robot books and is available from Amazon.co.uk and Play.com)

GamesDay update and the Scottish tour

With only a few days to go before GamesDay, I'm really looking forward to it! I know I won't get to see you all, but I plan to have fun with the people that I do get to see, so buy a book and get in line.

For those of you with one of my hundred tickets, I'll see you there. I believe signing times are 11 - 12.30, 1.30 - 2.30 and 3 - 4.

For those of you who don't get a ticket, I'm really very sorry, and I will do my best to make it up to you, somehow.

The Scottish signing tour, which was to include Leeds and Gateshead has been trimmed down, so that I can only do the Scottish dates in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Falkirk. Again, my apologies, but I am unable to drive, and so I'm now flying straight to Scotland. I will add Leeds and Gateshead to my schedule as soon as I possibly can, hopefully in the spring.

Roll on GamesDay!

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

I'm not saying I've wasted mine, but I'm certainly going to be rewrapping it more carefully every time I put it back in the fridge from now on. At the end of last week, I had an unpleasant little episode that landed me in hospital for the day. It was, in all likelihood, related to a mild pre-existing condition called Nocturnal Epilepsy, but it wasn't very nice. Well, it wasn't very nice for Nik, I didn't know much about it. In fact, that was probably the most distressing part of it from my point of view: short term memory loss and a general befuddlement as to what was actually going on.

Anyway, I'm fine now. I feel fine. My brain works... as much as it ever did. I fully intend to be getting on with all the things I should be getting on with (and yes, that includes making sure these novels and comics come out on time). However, I've been told to take it easy for a little while, and not to do anything that might exacerbate the condition. I can foresee having all sorts of tests and examinations in the near future as nice doctors make sure I'm flight-worthy.

The principal upshot of all of this is that it will effect some of the public appearances planned over the next three months. I'm not really supposed to travel at all, but I'm not going to sit on my arse. I will have to limit the events I do, somewhat. That will mean flying to Scotland for the Edinburgh/Glasgow/Falkirk signings, rather than driving up country, which means, I'm very sorry to say, Gateshead and Leeds will have to wait until I can make it up to them for a properly dedicated visit. It also means that my face-time at GamesDay has been rationed. I'm especially disappointed about this, because I love the annual opportunity to meet and chat with as many BL readers as possible. There's always next year, and Black Library day in the spring! I'll also see if I can devise some cunning and inventive ways of making it up to anyone who missed out.

For the time being, please check the BL website and Facebook page for revised details of GamesDay and the signing tour of the north as they relate to me. I'll try to post these new details here, too, as soon as I have them.

To sum up, I'm fine. I may simply have worked a little bit too hard. Prospero Burns, and everything else that's lined up, is still very much on-course. I simply need to take a little constitutional rest or risk the tuts of Doctors and the wrath of Nik. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. The Emperor Protects.

That About Covers It!

The cover for "Triumff" has been finalised and I'm thrilled to be able to talk about it. Larry Rostant has done a fantastic job rendering our hero in all his muck and glory, and a very handsome man he is too - Triumff that is. (I'm sure Larry Rostant might also be considered a good looking man in some quarters, but, in this instance, I'm referring to the dashing adventurer at the heart of my tale.) I'm awfully fond of a good chimney, too, so all my requirements have been more than met. Thanks, Larry!

Form an Orderly Queue...

...The countdown to "Triumff" begins here. It's less than a month (October the 1st to be precise) before Angry Robot releases my first novel for them: "Triumff"! I've spoken about this a little before, and I must say, I'm beginning to get very excited about its launch. But you don't just want to hear me banging on about it: I've sent a few PDF copies out to some friends and relations of this blog to solicit their opinions and previews. As the responses come back, I'm going to run them as guest blogs, and today we have the very first. Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a very warm welcome for the indomitable and rather lovely Xhalax!

Take it away, Xhalax:


"I’ve never been much of a fan of history, even though a lot of sci-fi seems to be based on the past in a ‘history repeats itself’ sort of way. But I’m not one to prejudge, so I read “Triumff” with an open mind.

"The concept is pretty straight forward, but I have to admit that I kept forgetting that this was actually ‘modern times’ rather than the 16th century. The idea is that the UK hasn’t ‘progressed’ in a manner we’d recognise since the 1500’s. It is Elizabethan London in all it’s grotty, grimy glory.

"The setting is done to the usual Dan Abnett standard, with broad brush strokes setting up Triumff’s London to the right degree, and, as per usual, I was dropped right into the very middle of the world, and felt like this was a place where the characters could really live.

"The characters all fit the story nicely with elements of Flashman and shades of Blackadder. Not to mention the more contemporary references thrown in for good measure, and a laugh too.

"All in all, I really enjoyed this jolly good romp through London, and found myself laughing out loud on quite a few occasions, especially at the modern media references, which could necessitate another read through to try and spot more. Plus, I liked the little twist at the end, didn’t expect that one!"