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 instalment I spoke to Ian St. Martin about his new Horus Heresy Primarchs novel – Angron: Slave of Nuceria. This is the 11th novel in the series, and is available to order right now! You can find a link to my review of this book at the bottom of the page.
Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Ian’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for your new novel?
Ian St. Martin: Angron: Slave of Nuceria is Angron’s entry into the Primarchs novel series, taking place at the pivotal moment in the history of the World Eaters when the Butcher’s Nails are implemented into the Legion.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
ISM: The main characters are Mago, a World Eaters centurion, as well as characters you all will know well already like Kharn and of course the big guy himself, Angron.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
ISM: The book is set during the Great Crusade, so pre-Heresy. Angron has been with the Legion for some time since the events of his ‘recovery’ by the Emperor. In terms of setting, telling you now might be a bit of a spoiler, but you’ve heard of the planet before.
ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend fans check out before reading this?
ISM: In order, I would recommend my short story Angron: Ghost of Nuceria, followed by the outstanding short story by Matthew Farrer, After Desh’ea, before digging into the novel.
ToW: What appeals to you about the World Eaters as characters to write about?
ISM: I think it’s the fact that, with a few notable exceptions, the World Eaters are quite typecast as frothing berserkers. Mind you they most certainly are frothing berserkers, no one can quite match them for froth, but there is much more to them than that. I wanted to show that here, and peel back the stereotype to reveal that the World Eaters have a lot more depth – and a lot more tragedy – than most people might think.
ToW: Of all the possible stories you could have written about these characters, what made you go for this one?
ISM: The Primarchs series is essentially about critical moments in the histories of the Primarchs and their respective Legions, and it’s hard to find one more critical to when the Legion adopted the Nails. But that’s not the only story going on in the book; luckily I was able to find a way to eat my cake and have it with this one and touch on most of the beats I wanted in there.
ToW: What were your main influences or sources of reference when writing this?
ISM: After Desh’ea. That story was an absolute revelation and was hugely influential on how I approached this book. Matt Farrer deserves your love! Other than that the usual stuff, the Forge World books and things in the wider Heresy series that involved the World Eaters.
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your initial concept?
ISM: This one did not end up changing dramatically from my original pitch. Certain wrinkles were ironed out, I figured out how to solve certain challenges to including story elements, but there weren’t any big adjustments to it and the edits were mercifully light.
ToW: What do you hope Horus Heresy fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
ISM: I set out wanting to write a different Primarchs novel here. All of the others – which are fantastic and I wouldn’t want anyone to think different – are for the most part very celebratory and triumphant books. They have titles like “King” of this and “Master” of that, they are vehicles to convey the awesome power and will of these characters. Angron isn’t like that. He doesn’t have a triumphant story, in fact his entire life is about being forced into horrible situations against his will.
That’s why I wanted to set a darker, bleaker tone for his book, from the subtitle Slave of Nuceria through to the last page. I want you to be repulsed by Angron in one moment and then sympathetic for him the next. I wanted to show the fractured dynamics of a family where a father doesn’t want his children, no matter what lengths they go to. I wanted to show the nobility and honor of a Legion that willingly devolves itself into monstrosity to appease a father that can never love them. And I wanted to show you why he can’t.
I wanted to write an emotional World Eaters book, and I hope I’ve hit the mark on that.
ToW: Have you got plans to write any more stories about Angron and the World Eaters?
ISM: I don’t have anything contracted for them at the moment, but I absolutely love writing these characters and this Legion so I would always be interested in exploring them more, no matter what timeline!
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Thanks so much to Ian for taking the time to answer these questions. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone at all interested in the Horus Heresy and keen to get beneath the skin of the Legions – check out my review for more details on why!
Click here to order Angron: Slave of Nuceria.
Click here if you fancy taking a look at some other Rapid Fire interviews. If you’ve got any questions, comments or other thoughts please do let me know in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.