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.
In this instalment I spoke to Robbie MacNiven about his first ever Age of Sigmar novel, Scourge of Fate, which was released in ebook over Christmas but is now available in hardback as well. Bonus points go to Robbie for not just a vintage BL reference in his inspirations but also my favourite Warhammer-related pun for a long time!
Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Robbie’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Scourge of Fate?
Robbie MacNiven: What if King Arthur was Spiky and Evil™? Or, the slightly longer version, what are the Varanguard and other mortal followers of Chaos like, and just how cool is the Varanspire? (Answer, very.)
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
RM: The main anti-hero is Vanik, a Black Pilgrim – a Chaos Lord aspiring to join the Knights of Ruin and become a member of the Varanguard. Though a powerful Chaos Warrior in his own right, Vanik is just a young ‘un compared to those he’s trying to join. Throughout his adventures he’s mentored by his overseer, Karex Daemonflayer, an existing member of the Varanguard, and encounters all sorts of other characters, from his sister, a Darkoath Warqueen, to a Slaaneshi aelf lord and a Gaunt Summoner.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
RM: Much of it takes place in the Realms of Chaos, including a large section in the Varanspire, Archaon’s madness-infused headquarters in the semi-material plane. I think it’s the most we’ve ever seen of it, either in Black Library fiction or broader Games Workshop background material, so getting to flesh it out was a real privilege. I hope I’ve done it justice!
ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend fans check out before reading this?
RM: Fiction-wise, the Call of Archaon series and Darius Hinks’ Warqueen are great purely Chaos-centric Age of Sigmar stories. Vanik actually already has a prequel short story, Pilgrim’s Trial, currently available in the Gods & Mortals anthology. Also, while it’s a throwback to the World That Was and I believe it’s currently out of print, if you can get your claws on a copy of Dan Abnett’s Riders of the Death then you’ll see that what a big inspiration that was. [Actually, it’s currently available as an ebook – but sadly not in physical format)
ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?
RM: I’ve always been a huge fan of Fantasy Chaos. While my first tabletop army was Vampire Counts (I got into Warhammer just a month before their 5th Edition Army Book came out), my mainstay was always Chaos in its various guises. I was inspired by the 2002 release of Hordes of Chaos, and then read back in time to the days of the Realm of Chaos duology. There are so many awesome, evocative treatises on the Chaos powers out there. Works like the complete Liber Chaotica, for example, were totally captivating when I first read them as a young teen. I always wanted to add to that great litany of gods and champions, and with the advent of Age of Sigmar now’s my chance!
ToW: This is your first Age of Sigmar novel – how did you find writing this one compared to your previous 40k novels?
RM: It was certainly a refreshing change. No bolters, no vox, no power plate or chitin or hololithics or battle barges. I found myself harking back a lot of medieval historical fiction, like Bernard Cornwell’s Grail Quest series. There was something sort of primal and delightful about describing brutal melees between tight-packed formations of armoured warriors wielding swords, axes and maces. Besides that, the fantasy setting also made a neat change of pace, especially as I got to explore such a cross-section of the Realms, from the insanity of the Varanspire to the pleasant green fields of Chamon (despite being the Realm of Metal, yes, Chamon does have some green fields. Fans of agriculture in the Mortal Reams rejoice!).
Bonus points for the vintage BL influence!
ToW: What were your main influences when writing this?
RM: As previously stated, a lot of great Games Workshop and Black Library literature went into writing Scourge, but there were also quasi-historical, mythological aspects behind its inspiration. As a child I really enjoyed Arthurian legends, the Knights of the Round Table and all that. I was especially intrigued by the powerful, baleful presence of the ‘Black Knight’ trope in those stories, the dark-armoured warrior who arrived unannounced and with sinister intent. I really wanted to not only emulate that in the Warhammer setting, but to get behind the great helm, if you will – find out who this brooding warrior was, where he came from, why he did what he did.
That fed into a wider need to produce something that showed the mortal followers of Chaos in a ‘normalising’ light. Dan Abnett, among others, has discussed this sort of thing in the past. The forces of Chaos (in both their sci-fi and fantasy iterations) are more – have to be more – than spikey mass-murderers. Chaos encompasses entire societies and cultures, and its peoples are as multifarious as the ones opposing it. Getting a flavour of that variety was important for me.
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your first ideas?
RM: It’s fairly close. One plot twist was removed from the ending, but I won’t talk about it just now in case it ever comes into play in the future! For a very short while I also considered writing the whole thing in the 1st person, from Vanik’s point of view (I even did the first chapter that way) but we agreed the story would be better served by a more standard split 3rd person.
ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Is it a familiar style, or a departure?
RM: I suppose by the very nature of it as a Fantasy novel, it’s a bit of a departure. I’m also writing out-and-out bad guys as the main protagonists (rather than, say, shades of shark-grey), so that in itself is quite unusual. I guess in a sense though unremarked acts of brutality aren’t so far from my standard fare!
Red Tithe – now to be forever known as 50 Shades of Shark Grey!
ToW: What do you hope Age of Sigmar (and Chaos in particular) fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
RM: Authors like Josh Reynolds have done amazing work in the past few years exploring the places and peoples of the Mortal Realms, so one of my objectives is to extend that scope to the Realms of Chaos and the Varanspire. While doing that, I’m also hoping to bring the mortal followers of Chaos to life, explain how and why they do things, and look at some of their tribal groupings, as well as the motivations, hopes and fears of a Knight of Ruin. If any of that sounds like your thing then I think, tentatively, that you’ll enjoy Scourge of Fate.
ToW: Do you have plans to continue any aspects of this story, or is it a standalone piece?
RM: It’s a standalone piece… for now!
I should also add that I’ve written a more detailed post on the thoughts, history and inspiration behind Scourge of Fate on my blog, Does the Varanspire Have a Bakery?, with another post coming!
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As always, huge thanks to Robbie for taking the time to answer these questions! I’ll hopefully get hold of a copy of Scourge of Fate soon and will endeavour to get a review ready as soon as I can.
Click here to order Scourge of Fate.
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.
I finished this one about a week ago and have to say it was fantastic. Such a brilliant blend of what made Chaos unique and interesting in the old Warhammer world and the scope offered by Age of Sigmar. The comments from Robbie above and in his blog ( which I read after the novel ) are really borne out in the novel. So much respect paid to the lore while trying to tell a fresh tale. I really hope we see more Age of Sigmar fiction like this and more from Robbie. I would love to see what ADB or Wraight would do in the setting as well.
Oh wow, that’s so great to hear, really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for that David, sounds fab 🙂