Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.
For this interview I spoke to Chris Wraight about his latest novel in the Primarchs series, Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris, which is available to order in all of the usual formats (including audiobook) right now!
Let’s get straight to the questions…
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris?
Chris Wraight: It’s a prequel to the novella Brotherhood of the Storm, giving some insight into the Legion’s activities during the Great Crusade. It’s a chance to explore some of the themes alluded to in that story and Scars, notably the role the Khan played in working on the Librarius system in the decades prior to Nikaea.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
CW: Aside from the Khan himself, we see the return of some of the key characters from the books: Targutai Yesugei and Hasik Khan in particular. As you’d expect, there are also some appearances from other primarchs, including Sanguinius and Magnus, his partners in the endeavour.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
CW: It’s set across a range of discrete episodes within the duration of the Crusade, from soon after the discovery of the Khan right up to the conquest of Ullanor. There are a number of different worlds explored, including the home planet of the xenos Nephilim, as encountered in James Swallow’s Fear to Tread, as well as Chogoris itself.
ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend readers check out before reading this?
CW: It would make sense to have read most of the White Scars arc in the Heresy series before taking this on, Scars and Brotherhood of the Storm in particular. There’s no knowledge actually required from those books in order to understand the story, but the significance of the events will be more resonant if you’ve got some understanding of where the White Scars end up. As with most prequels, although it’s set chronologically before the main-series books, it’s probably best read last.
ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?
CW: I’ve always wanted to go back to flesh out some of the elements only alluded to in Scars, and to get a glimpse of what the primarch and Legion were up to before we encountered them for the first time on Chondax. There’s nothing in this book that’s intended to change our view of the Legion, but hopefully plenty to make us understand them a bit more. We get to see how the primarch took control of the tools he was given, moulded them, and made them one of the most distinctive forces of the Crusade-era Imperium. Some of their most enduring characteristics – their distrust of many of the other Legions, their mysticism and attitude to the warp – are all given some exposure.
ToW: How did you go about making sure this said something different or showed a different aspect of the White Scars, compared to your Heresy-era stories?
CW: I don’t think this really does show a very different side to them, save perhaps for the early sections where we get a glimpse of the Legion before it’s been exposed to its new master. I hope that the feel of the book is pretty similar to the Heresy books, at least in tone. The Primarchs books, as I see them, are really all about shining a light on some extra elements of character and place, rather than attempting to do something wildly different, plot-wise. That said, it was fun showing the White Scars encountering Terran Space Marines for the first time, as well as going back to Chogoris (which doesn’t actually feature very much in the main novels).
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your first ideas?
CW: Quite a lot changed during the writing, mostly to do with the continuity of the Crusade. Some ideas I had didn’t really work due to timescale issues, or had to be abandoned because key characters were doing something else at the time. That’s one of the major challenges of any Heresy project – keeping on top of where, when and why everything’s happening. In the end, the story ended up reflecting what I take to be the Khan’s character – a mix of impressions, none of them definitive, generating more questions than answers.
ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Is it a familiar style, or a departure?
CW: Pretty familiar, I think. I didn’t aim to stray too far from the ideas and treatment in the other White Scars books.
ToW: Do you have plans to continue any aspects of this story, or is it a standalone piece?
CW: No, I think we’re almost done with the Legion’s story now. Their final appearance will be in the Siege of Terra novels, which will bring the Heresy series, and their part in it, to a close. Obviously there may be other stories set after the Siege that feature the Khan or elements of his Legion/Chapters, but their part in the grand narrative has a beginning, a middle and (soon) an end, and that feels right to me. After all, the Scars have never been ones for hanging around and outstaying their welcome.
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As always, huge thanks to Chris for taking the time to answer these questions. Keep an eye out for a review of Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris as soon as the standard hardback comes out. If you fancy taking a look at some other Rapid Fire interviews, just click here.
If you’ve got any questions, comments or other thoughts please do let me know in the comments below, on Facebook or Twitter, or by emailing me at michael@trackofwords.com.
