Release Date: 27/06/14
Publisher: Orbit
SYNOPSIS:
The acclaimed author Kevin Hearne returns with a brand new novel in his epic urban fantasy series starring the unforgettable Atticus O'Sullivan. For nearly two thousand years, there was only one Druid left walking the Earth - Atticus O'Sullivan, the Iron Druid, whose sharp wit and sharp sword kept him alive while pursued by a pantheon of hostile deities. Now he's got company. Atticus's apprentice Granuaile is finally a full Druid herself. What's more, Atticus has defrosted an archdruid long ago frozen in time, a father figure (of sorts) who now goes by the modern name Owen Kennedy. And Owen has some catching up to do. Atticus takes pleasure in the role reversal, as the student is now the teacher. Between busting Atticus's chops and trying to fathom a cell phone, Owen must also learn English. For Atticus, the jury's still out on whether the wily old coot will be an asset in the epic battle with Norse god Loki - or merely a pain in the arse. As the trio of Druids deals with pestilence-spreading demons, bacon-loving yeti, fierce flying foxes, and frenzied Fae, they're hoping that this time ...three's a charm.
REVIEW:
I’m a huge fan of this series and every book to date has been a hit with me. I love the way that the author brings the world to life, has superb plotlines but for me, the key selling point is the characters that people his writing. They’re not only a blast to hang out with but they also feel individually crafted, with each having their own emotions, feelings and beliefs that not only help gel the plotline but gives everyone an unique voice.
Back this up with some magical prose and of course a pace that doesn’t let you go for one minute and all round I was a more than happy reader. Great Stuff.
Release Date: 07/06/12
SYNOPSIS:
The primarch Angron: gladiator-king and Horus's lunatic attack dog. Never having hidden his resentment for his brothers, he now carves a bloody swathe through the galaxy in the Warmaster's name, with the Heresy providing a convenient excuse to indulge his love of brutal warfare. When they are tasked with a secretive mission alongside the Word Bearers Legion, the World Eaters' violent tendencies soon attract the attention of xenos raiders, troubled by the portents surrounding the primarch's berserk fury and his ultimate destiny as 'the Blood God's son'...
REVIEW:
I love a tale of combat, of dark deeds and of course the line between heroes and villains is carefully blurred during the Horus Heresy. As with Aaron’s usual writing its dark, visceral and of course brings to the fore a morbidity that is hard to fight as no one is truly sure where they belong. Add to this a whole host of vocal talent to bring this story to light and it’s a tale that works extremely well for either journeys or of course something to listen to in order to relax or whilst you’re playing some tabletop.
All in a cracking story and one that I really enjoyed as I lay back and let the story take me on its merry way last thing at night. Can’t say I slept that well at the tales conclusion but that just goes to show how deeply drawn in I was.
Release Date: 24/05/12
SYNOPSIS:
The Grey Knights are all that stands between mankind and the ravages of Chaos. Since their secretive beginnings during the Horus Heresy, these legendary Space Marine daemon hunters have journeyed into the dark realms of the warp - and beyond - in pursuit of their supernatural enemies. Through an intensive regime of psychic training, new recruits are brought to the clandestine fortress of Titan to join the hallowed and vaunted ranks of the 666th Chapter. More than ever, these legendary battle-brothers must be vigilant and ever ready to defend the Imperium for the forces of Chaos are never truly defeated, and Armageddon beckons -
REVIEW:
As a huge reader of the Warhammer 40K universe, there are some authors whose names just demand that I pick up the latest title and devour it in as short a time as possible. One of these is Aaron and a such you know that he’s going to bring heavy bloody fighting, great conflict and of course a story that challenges the protagonist to the maximum.
What this story brings to the fore is the uneasy relationship between the Grey Knights and the Space Wolves who whilst fierce and independent mistrust those they see as traitors to the Emperor’s cause. Add to this dark tale differing ways of doing things, inter-character conflict and of course dialogue that brings it all to the fore and it’s a solid release.
But throw into the mix that the mistrust is with allies alongside a darker mystery that requires them all to work together and all in this tale is one that really works well for this apocalyptic future. All in this tale was crafted with cunning and cleverly figured to challenge all within which when added to Arron’s spartanesque no nonsense writing style makes this a book that cuts the fat keeping to a tightly woven epic worthy of both chapters. Great stuff.
Release Date: 07/05/12
SYNOPSIS:
The hunters have become the hunted. The Night Lords flee to the dark fringes of the Imperium to escape their relentless pursuers – the eldar of Craftworld Ulthwé. Their flight takes them to the carrion world of Tsagualsa, where their primarch died and their Legion was broken. There, history will repeat itself as a deadly assassin stalks the shadows, and the Night Lords are drawn into a battle they are destined to lose.
REVIEW:
Dark Deed and even darker characters as the Night Lords seek their goal through a mix of combat (both internal and against a common enemy) with an antihero who seeks to obtain his target to the best of his ability. It’s a quirky style of writing and when you get the flavour of the dark side alongside a modified version of honour which all in generates a tale that will give the reader a story that is different to the norm.
Add to this solid prose, great bloody gouts of gore alongside witty dialogue and double dealing which all in leaves the reader more than sated dealing with the darker gods. Aaron most assuredly must be conducting his own rituals to the gods to create tales that not only take the reader on an adventure but crushes you in its bloody fist until the final page is turned.
Release Date: 12/05/11
SYNOPSIS:
A UNION OF CHAOS Driven on by their hatred of the False Emperor, the Night Lords stalk the shadows of the galaxy, eternally seeking revenge for the death of their primarch. Their dark quest leads them to a fractious alliance with the Red Corsairs, united only by a common enemy. Together with this piratical band of renegades, they bring their ways of destruction to the fortress-monastery of the Marines Errant. Their mission: to steal the loyalist Chapter's gene-seed, dooming them to a slow demise. THEY SEEK ONLY TO BRING DEATH
REVIEW:
As a huge fan of the traitor marines I love a tale that brings them to the fore. Whilst others concentrate on the heroes, it’s the villains that, for me, can be the most fun as they can be as unpredictable as they like. What Aaron has done with perhaps this most well-known of Traitor Legions (The Night Lords) is interweave conspiracy, backstabbing and politics into a full no nonsense action packed title that will entertain and make many a reader think.
It’s well done, the combat as bloody as you like and to be honest he’s one of my favourite BL authors. Highly entertaining, a great read for a sunny day (although knowing Aaron don’t let too much light get on the pages as they might combust due the sheer volume of evil within) and all in a title that furthers not only the series but demonstrates why an author with a good understanding of pace, prose and what the reader wants will always triumph no matter which side he takes.
Release Date: 01/11/10
BOOK BLURB:
Amidst the galaxy-wide war of the Great Crusade, the Emperor castigates the Word Bearers for their worship. Distraught at this judgement, Lorgar and his Legion seek another path while devastating world after world, venting their fury and fervour on the battlefield. Their search for a new purpose leads them to the edge of the material universe, where they meet ancient forces far more powerful than they could have imagined. Having set out to illuminate the Imperium, the corruption of Chaos takes hold and their path to damnation begins. Unbeknownst to the Word Bearers, their quest for truth contains the very roots of heresy -
REVIEW:
The Horus Heresy series is one that the Black Library has had to get right, after all the series focuses upon the key moment in mankind’s history where thing go asunder, brother turns against brother and readers have been demanding a greater sense of the events for years. So, in order to bring this part of the civil war to the reader, they’ve split it into various stories from some of their best writers bringing only the cream of the crop to the table. Having turned out a descent level of writing in a short time with a number of titles, Aaron gets his shot to tell a tale that could cement his reputation amongst the fans. So what did the readers get for their money?
Within this offering you get solid military fare, seriously bloody combat, double dealing and politics backed up with an overall feel that should make this a serious contender against a number of other titles within this series. It has some great characterisation, the dialogue is acceptable and overall it’s a story where there are some seriously golden snippets of info to be filed away/exploited for a later that could return to bite a few on the backside. It is well written, it is a story that I enjoyed but my one bugbear is when you know the history of some of the players, it does take a large part of the tension out from the tale as things unfurl. That said, it’s still going to be something readers will enjoy and hopefully will be something to help give people a taster of exactly what Aaron can do when unchained from constraints.
Release Date: 01/10/10
BOOK BLURB:
Across the Sabbat Worlds, a bitter conflict is fought, a conflict that can only end in victory or annihilation. The innumerable forces of the Archenemy attack without mercy, and planet after planet burns with the flames of war. Yet even amidst this nightmare, the Imperial Guard stand stoic against their foes. The Phantine Air Corps battle the enemies of mankind across burning skies, while the Gereon resistance tries to break the foothold of Chaos on their beleaguered world and the legendary Gaunt's Ghosts fight in the most violent and bloody of warzones. This anthology opens the gateway to the Sabbat Worlds like never before, featuring new stories from some of the Black Library's best-known authors including Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Aaron Dembski-Bowden and many more.
REVIEW:
A compendium of the Black Library’s finest authors who each write a tale based in Abnett’s 40K Sabbat Worlds. Featured within is the 2008 Games Day Gaunt’s Ghost story, a new battle of the Skies tale featuring the Apostle’s from Double Eagle alongside my personal favourite, Cell by Nik Vincent. It’s beautifully constructed and whilst fans are eagerly awaiting Salvations Reach in the Gaunt’s Ghost series it’s an ideal filler to help you get your fix and with the talent within serious value for money.
BOOK BLURB:
The Night Lords are among the most feared Chaos Space Marines in the universe.They prey on their victims from the shadows, stalking the faithful of the FalseImperium in their ultimate quest to destroy the Emperor. The warband of the Exalted, travelling aboard The Covenant of Blood, are recovering from the events at Crythe Primus. But their dark crusade against the loyal Imperial forces continues, and they will leave a trail of blood and terror behind them.
REVIEW:
With the pace of life seemingly to pick up its always a good thing when you get the chance to enjoy an audio book as you can multitask. What you get with Black Library’s is a Radio Play with some top notch writing and its these latest additions to their stable that really make them worth the readers time. In this offering you get a cracking tale by Aaron Dembski-Bowden with some great voice talent which really brings this Night Lords tale to life. A real joy and definitely one that will keep many a listener happy on long journeys.
BOOK BLURB:
When the world of Armageddon is attacked by orks, the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter are amongst those sent to liberate it. Chaplain Grimaldus and a band of Black Templars are charged with the defence of Hive Helsreach from the xenos invaders in one of the many battlezones. But as the orks numbers grow and the Space Marines dwindle, Grimaldus faces a desperate last stand in an Imperial temple. Determined to sell their lives dearly, will the Black Templars hold on long enough to be reinforced, or will their sacrifice ultimately be in vain.
REVIEW:
Having been impressed with Aaron’s writing previously I was looking forward to this novel as he has a pretty nifty style of writing. Here in Helsreach you can tell that he’s improving all the time, so much so in fact, that this novel is written in the style of an old soldier. It keeps the descriptive to a minimum as most readers don’t need it embellished upon, only to get the facts and figures along with the glorious combat sequences that he’s becoming well known for.
Add to the mix a damn high body count (including God Machines) and you know that its not only going to be a bloody as well as brutal fight for the world but also that he won’t hold back leaving chapters weak in its wake. Great stuff from a rising star of the Black Library and one that will definitely win him some more 40k fans.
BOOK BLURB:
The Night Lords are one of the most feared legions of Chaos Space Marines. Remorseless hunters and killers, they relentlessly battle the Imperium of Man to avenge the death of their Primarch Konrad Curze. Their dark crusade takes them to the valuable world of Crythe Primus, where they will fight Imperial forces to claim the planet. But will the allegiance with their cohorts in the Black Legion last long enough for them to be victorious?
REVIEW:
I always wondered what Aaron would bring to the fore if given the chance to write about the Marine’s over the Imperial Guard. Yet when this offering landed, I didn’t quite expect what was unveiled within. Rather than just taking an Emperor Blessed Legion, he wrote about one of the traitor legions and the one that is less warped by the Chaos powers than any other as they joined for vengeance.
Murderous mayhem ensues as they’re drawn into a plan to attack one of the Mechanicum worlds and you know with Dembski-Bowden that the carnage is going to be high, the blood counted in oceans rather than drops and tied up with a strong story arc muscled between the covers. A real joy to read and with political machinations behind the scenes to play out in addition and it’s a wonder that it managed to appear in this one volume.
Aaron was 19 when he realised that he wanted to be a writer after discovering that he "was too much of a slacker to be a paramedic." Not that it wasn't a calling at the time but something that he'd always done since an early age, so after working a number of jobs (some in the computer games and roleplay sector) and with some capital behind him, he quit it all to write to his hearts desire and currently hasn't looked back. Tracking him down to his lair in York we decided to have a chat about how he works, his sith abilities and above all his love of writing...Falcata Times: Writing is said to be something that people are afflicted with rather than gifted and that it's something you have to do rather than want. What is your opinion of this statement and how true is it to you?
Aaron Dembski-Bowden: Jesus, this is a bit deep for an opening question.
There’s a truth to that statement, I guess, and I’ve heard it a lot myself. There’s also an underlying pretension to it, though.
I mean, yeah, whether I was working to be published or not, I’d still be writing. I’ve always written – for myself as a kid, with crazy little stories – and it’s fair to say that most writers are always writing for themselves first and foremost. George Lucas once said he makes the kind of films that he wants to watch. There’s definitely an element of that in writing. Sometimes you can’t sleep for all the ideas in your head, and you need to spill them onto a screen or let them flow onto a notepad, almost as if it was a physical pressure behind your eyes.
It’s a passion, and people are often driven by passions, for better or worse.
But there’s still a ring of pretension in there. Writing is no more intense, passionate or demanding in its need to get out of someone’s head than the pressures also felt by painters, or video performance artists, or video game designers, or musicians… or whoever else loves what they do.
Passions drive us all, and when they’re creative passions, it usually just means you’re lucky enough to put your heart and soul into your career. Most people don’t get the chance to do that, and it can get a little romanticised as a result.
No, it’s not an affliction. It’s an urge. It’s one of life’s very difficult and demanding passions.
FT: When did you realise that you wanted to be a writer?
ADB: When I realised I was too much of a slacker to become a paramedic. I was 19.
It wasn’t a conscious decision, at least in the sense of going professional… More of a realisation that I was never going to be anything else. I’d been writing for years by that point, but always with the belief I’d be a writer “one day” and “at some point”. Only when I was 19 did it hit me that I had no other choices open to me anymore.
As a kid, I was always taught and told that writing was something that began late in life; it was something earned through decades of hard work, saving money, and no one but the most massively successful authors could sustain themselves purely by writing.
Part of that was, uh, responsible adult influences trying to tell me to get a real job and not risk everything on writing. Most of it was also nonsense.
When I was old enough to start thinking about the fact I needed to carve out a career path in order to be able to afford food, clothes and an FX replica Mace Windu lightsaber, I knew deep down I was only good at one thing.
I wanted to be a paramedic, though I was self-ware enough to realise that was never going to happen due to a long and varied list of exciting character flaws. The only constant talent I’ve had in life, consistently reinforced by others, was writing.
Queue a series of part-time jobs until I could quit to write full-time at age 24.
FT: It is often said that if you can write a short story you can write anything. How true do you think this is and what have you written that either proves or disproves this POV?
ADB: I think, in all fairness, that’s insane.
Some musicians are guitarists, some are singers, and some are bassists. You’ll usually find a decent guitarist has spent enough time immersed in music that he can give a good stab at the drums, maybe generate something sweet by hitting the keys of a piano, and that he can play bass as well. Hell, some people are great on all of them.
But they’re not the same instruments.
Short stories are as different from novels as they are from poems, screenplays and song lyrics. If you can write a short story, that probably means you have a solid writing style, a decent grasp of grammar, and understand the standard truths to short story writing.
It’s no guarantee you’re in full possession of how novels are structured and flow, or how poems hit the high notes of emotions, or how song lyrics fit into their own niche.
There’s often a trend where people consider short stories as the basic first step of being a writer. I don’t buy that at all – it’s a discipline as difficult as any other – but it’s only tenuously linked to other forms of writing. Most novelists and poets I know actually struggle with short stories, for various reasons.
FT: If someone were to enter a bookshop, how would you persuade them to try your novel over someone else's and how would you define it?
ADB: Man, I’ve worked in a bookshop. People don’t want to be annoyed like that. If you have a good cover and a decent back blurb that sums it all up like a killer movie trailer, that’s your best bet.
If it came to persuading someone to try my writing over someone else’s, I’m fairly sure I’d rely on word of mouth and reviews for that. I’m not crass enough to plot out how I’d arm-wrestle someone into giving me a shot. I trust people. I’m naturally positive, and overwhelmingly arrogant enough to think they’d like my writing without me pitching it to them. Show, don’t tell… right?
Something I’ve noticed is that some writers don’t seem to have much of their own style. They’re the ones that you can read and read, yet their voice and tone isn’t markedly different from X, Y and Z other guys and girls.
Like it or loathe it, I don’t have that issue, and I think that helps people get into (or out of) my work.
FT: How would you "sell" your book in 20 words or less?
ADB: I’d ask Marketing very nicely to do it for me, and pray they’ve got a decent cover artist.
Failing that, if we’re talking about Cadian Blood, it has a target audience of Warhammer 40,000 fans already. I’d say what I always say:
“It’s the Cadians on a shrineworld, without reinforcements, against zombies, Typhus, and the Death Guard.”
Kinda sounds shallow, but it’s worked a treat so far.
FT: Who is a must have on your bookshelf and whose latest release will find you on the bookshops doorstep waiting for it to open?
ADB: I’m not a gleaming, glowing beacon of affection for most of the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genre, all said. I’m ruthless in the amount of writing I really enjoy, and a chunk of that is outside the genre.
Robin Hobb is a favourite of mine, and although I can always understand the occasional criticism levelled at her (amongst her infinite numbers of hugely positive reviews) she is the only writer that I always, always, always have on pre-order. She writes characters with this stomach-lurching, intense realism, and character-driven writing always appeals to me above any other.
Edgar Allen Poe is pretty much the polar opposite to her, with everything being about the events and the description of scenes. He’s so skilled at weaving images into the grey, juicy junk behind the eyes, but he’s been dead for a while, so I can’t say I sit up late at night scanning Amazon for his next bestseller.
I also like David Gemmell (may he rest in peace, that bloody genius) and Stephen King. Their writing is very elegant, very simplistic, pure storytelling. I’ve always found that sort of awesome, though I’m not very good at that stripped-down elegance myself. When I say simplistic, I don’t exactly mean simple like “basic”. I mean their sentences are carefully constructed to read smoothly, with this honest and earnest simplicity. Very skilful. It rocks.
FT: When you sit down and write do you know how the story will end or do you just let the pen take you? i.e. Do you develop character profiles and outlines for your novels before writing them or do you let your idea's develop as you write?
ADB: I have nothing but awe and a slightly dizzy, confused admiration for writers capable of meticulous planning beforehand. I’m in the camp of writers with 800 ideas and a vague idea of what is possible in the course of a story set in the particular world I’m imagining. So I go from there.
When my editor asks for a pitch before a novel, I wish a lifetime of unpleasant sexual misadventures upon him, and feel my skin crawl as if my blood was trying to sweat its way out of my body. It’s a special kind of agony.
Unfortunately, I’ve come to realise that despite my burning core of hatred for the planning process, it’s pretty useful. As long as it’s not too formal, the dedicated unleashing of ideas onto the page is pretty much just writing, anyway.
Word of advice: if you hate planning, then make sure you have a good editor. Get someone who spots the holes you don’t always see. He or she won’t patch the holes for you, but they’ll show you where they are so you can fix them.
FT: What do you do to relax and what have you read recently?
ADB: My main way of relaxing is actually to write – just not to write anything with the pressure of looming deadlines or with the need to be paid for it. But failing that, we’re looking at a series of pretty low-key hobbies that allow me to seal myself off from the world and maintain the image of a sarcastic, irritable, pedantic hermit.
I spend my time sucking at playing Halo on Legendary; dying to artillery opponents in Dawn of War; wasting too much time in World of WarCraft; playing D&D with a group of very close friends; reading a lot of books and liking perhaps 10% of them; subscribing to sci-fi magazines I don’t really need; arguing with people on internet forums about trivialities; and forcing my stone cold fox of a girlfriend to wonder just why she puts up with me.
The last three books I read were: Deus Encarmine by James Swallow (which I recommend), The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers (which I recommend even more), and The Hand of Oberon, by Roger Zelazny (which is one of the best books in the Amber saga, and I will fight anyone who disagrees).
FT: What is your guiltiest pleasure that few know about?
ADB: Ugh.
I… um… kind of like… Babylon 5.
A lot.
FT: Lots of writers tend to have pets. What do you have and what are their key traits (and do they appear in your novel in certain character attributes?)
ADB: I have a cat called Merlin, though he lives with one of my exes now. His defining character attribute is that he’s the prettiest cat in the world, and anyone who says their cat is as cute as him is a filthy liar.
He liked to go under blankets and sit there, looking out from them as if he were wearing some kind of Sith hood, or trying to be a Ringwraith. I used to talk to him while he did it sometimes, and quote the Emperor. “Oh, I’m afraid the deflector shield will be QUITE OPERATIONAL when your friends arrive… Right, Merly?”
The boredom in his eyes broke my heart every time.
FT: Which character within your latest book was the most fun to write and why?
ADB: Define “latest”, here. I’m the slow kid in the class.
In Cadian Blood, it was the sanctioned psyker Seth, because psykers in Warhammer 40,000 are always so freaking cool to write about, with all the mess going on in their twisted heads.
In Soul Hunter, it was Uzas. There’s not enough detail in the 40K lore about what Chaos Astartes do in their downtime. I love the thought of him terrorising his slaves and staring off into the warp, too corrupted most of the time to attend to the repairs of his armour, but with a fading idea of everything he’s losing.
Tragic, but sort of funny.
FT: How similar to your principle protagonist are you?
ADB: Captain Thade in Cadian Blood and Talos in Soul Hunter are both very unlike me. They’re as rational and thoughtful as I’d like to be, but they’re both far too together and in control of their own thoughts to be much like their oh-so benevolent creator.
Seriously, I’m not a big fan of putting real people into fiction. It works when it’s funny, but I’m not Chaucer and I’m not Douglas Adams. I’d be too worried it would feel false, and if it feels false, it becomes false – your gears grind to a halt when you don’t believe in what you’re writing.
Occasionally, characters will say what I like to imagine I’d have said in their position, but nope, that’s about it.
FT: What hobbies do you have and how do they influence your work?
ADB: See question 8. They only influence my work in the sense that I’m immersed in the kinds of things I like to think and write about most of the time.
FT: Where do you get your ideas from?
ADB: The backs of cereal boxes, and teams of the finest child labour that money can buy.
I can’t believe you asked that question.
FT: Do you ever encounter writers block and if so how do you overcome it?
ADB: I haven’t, at least, not yet.
What I do suffer from is being a slacker. The more free time you have, the easier it is to convince yourself you’ve ‘still got time’ to get things done. That equates to starting projects late, and while I’m usually pretty killer at nailing deadlines, I won’t pretend there aren’t some days when I just think “I can’t write today. I might have another bath and then call people names on forums for a while.”
FT: Certain authors are renowned for writing at what many would call uncivilised times. When do you write and how do the others in your household feel about it?
ADB: Christ, certain (beloved) family members are always on at me about this. To say certain friends and family call me antisocial is to miss the mark by a wide degree.
I just don’t get much done in the daytime. I don’t know why. Stuff just doesn’t click the way it does at night. For me, there’s a definite distinction in my mind: the daytime is for pretending to be a real human being, talking to people, hanging out, worrying about bills, and so on. Once the sun is down, I can retreat into myself and work.
I’m prepared to admit it’s a lack of self-discipline, but I’m not prepared to care enough to change it. I worked hard to dive into a job where I can choose my hours, after all.
FT: Sometimes pieces of music seem to influence certain scenes within novels, do you have a soundtrack for your tale or is it a case of writing in silence with perhaps the odd musical break in-between scenes?
ADB: Music is the best way of “closing the door”, which is a phrase Stephen King uses to explain the state of getting into the writing and ignoring the outside world.
I write to very loud music on heart-achingly expensive headphones. In a house full of overpriced nerd junk, even if every other possession I had was garbage, I’d spend a lot on headphones.
I absolutely love music, yet have no desire to make it. It’s kinda weird. To write most of the time, I listen to metal, rock, industrial and darkwave with very repetitive choruses and verses that therefore don’t penetrate my head with a lot of shifts and changes. Dance music is also pretty good for it, but I’m not so keen on a lot of that. I never realised why I was doing it for a long time, but it was an unconscious way of absolutely nullifying one of the only senses not involved in the writing. Helps gives me tunnel vision and focus.
I like a lot of softer stuff in the early hours of the morning, almost like a ritual. Electronica, 80s stuff, rock ballads, or whatever. Yeah, yeah, I suck. I know.
Several battle scenes in Soul Hunter were written almost entirely to “All Nightmare Long” by Metallica. It felt like a bit of a theme tune for my characters, to be played when they were doing something big.
Before you mention it, yes, I am aware of how lame it is to give your characters theme tunes. It wasn’t intentional, I swear.
FT: What misconceptions, if any, did you have about the writing and publishing field when you were first getting started?
ADB: Mainly that it was only old people that broke into it. See question 2.
It’s not easy to get into it, and I’m beginning to realise how fortunate I was to bounce into full-time writing in my mid-20s, but it’s not impossible.
FT: What can you tell us about the next novel?
ADB: Not much, sorry to say.
As much as I’d like to gush and tell all, it’s for the Horus Heresy series. That means it’s locked in secrecy like some precious, fragile secret weapon until my editors give me the go-ahead.
Suffice to say it’s about a major faction within the Horus Heresy, and deals with their reactions to the emerging corruption spreading through the Imperium.
Wow, that’s vague as hell. I’m getting good at this.
FT: What are the last five internet sites that you've visited?
ADB: I am so tempted to lie here in order to sound interesting, but no.
1. My realm forum, for World of WarCraft. I was arguing with someone.
2. YouTube, to watch Rammstein videos.
3. Facebook. Shut up, you do it, too.
4. My email inbox, because I check it compulsively every few minutes.
5. Faith No More’s website. Tour dates, man.
FT: Did you ever take any writing classes or specific instructions to learn the craft? If so please let us know which ones.
ADB: I did a writing degree at university in Liverpool, which was a combination of short stories, poetry, genre discussions and screenwriting. I’ve also flirted with my fair share of similar courses over the years. It was a pretty generic deal.
With the greatest respect to writing degrees (which isn’t all that much, as it happens), I believe formal courses are mostly only good for getting you writing frequently, and giving you an understanding of grammar if you’re not on solid ground already.
You can learn more from Elements of Style and On Writing than any degree. I’m willing to bet my treasured copy of The Maxx on VHS on that, which is the closest thing to a family heirloom I’m every likely to pass on to any future kids.
FT: How did you get past the initial barriers of criticism and rejection?
ADB: I’ve, uh, not been rejected very much. It’s not been a problem, really. Call it luck, call it charm, call it raw talent of unholy magnitude.
Joking aside, not that I mean to sound like an ass, but… Yeah. Not been much of a hurdle for me.
FT: In your opinion, what are the best and worst aspects of writing for a living?
ADB: It’s the best job in the world. Anything where you’re given time and space to live out your passion has got to be the best job in the world. Even when it’s a grind or you’ve got deadlines slicing past you like a blind man’s gunfire, you have to realise how fortunate you are.
The worst aspect isn’t the money. If you’re good enough, you scrape the coins together in order cover your back one way or the other, even if you have to dip into other jobs to make ends meet once in a while.
Nope, the worst aspect for me is the fact I sometimes look at the rising sun through the window of my study and wonder who the hell I’d be if I’d managed to live a more normal existence. I’m difficult to be friends with, and I’m a hard person to like, let alone love. I’ve come to accept these things over recent years, and I value my friends and family a great deal for the
ir tenacity in sticking with me.
But I often wonder what kind of person to be if I didn’t always obey the selfish urge to lock myself away for half of my life, only surfacing at mental hours.
On a more coldly logical note, self-employment tax forms are the bane of sanity. You want the worst part of being a writer? Filling out those bastards once a year. They really suck.
BOOK BLURB:
When the Imperial shrine world of Kathur is blighted by Chaos, the brave Guardsmen of Cadia are sent to reclaim it. The plague of Nurgle has set in deeply on the planet, forcing the Cadians into battle with an innumerable legion of the infected. In the midst of battle, Captain Parmenion Thade is thrust into an unlikely commanding role. Yet, he cannot imagine what lies ahead on Kathur, and just how important it will be to ensure victory there.
REVIEW:
Reading this book was a bit of fun from this authors first offering for the Black Library, one thing I did notice however was that Aaron is a huge David Gemmell fan as there are a number of tips of the hat to the sadly missed King of Heroic Fantasy. Well written, gripping combat with an Imperial Guard unit that will give even the Astartes a run for their money. A high octane, wild knuckle duster ride and one that I look forward to embarking on with the Cadian’s next adventure. Aaron is certain to remain a firm favourite of mine and an author who’s future books I’ll look forward to.
