Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Teaser Interview with the excellent Matthew Ward, who’s here to talk a little about what to expect from his upcoming novel The Darkness Before Them. Book one in a brand new fantasy trilogy, if this is anything like his previous books it’s definitely going to be one to look out for! The release date – November 2023 – is still a little way off though, so rather than a full, regular interview, we’ve gone for something a little different. It’s not as in depth as usual – it is a teaser interview after all – but hopefully this will be enough to whet your appetite for the novel!
If you enjoy this, then keep an eye out for something else a little closer to the release date too! First though, let’s take a look at the beautiful cover (click to expand):
Credit: Joe Wilson
And here’s the synopsis for The Darkness Before Them:
All paths lead to vengeance.
These are dark times for the Kingdom of Khalad. As the magical mists of the Veil devour the land, the populace struggles beneath the rule of ruthless noble houses and their uncaring immortal king.
Kat doesn’t care about any of that. A talented thief, she’s pursuing one big score that will settle the debt that destroyed her family. No easy feat in a realm where indentured spirits hold vigil over every vault and treasure room. However, Kat has a unique gift: she can speak to those spirits, and even command them. She’ll need every advantage she can get.
Kat’s not a hero. She just wants to be free. To have her old life back. But as rebellion rekindles and the war for Khalad’s future begins, everyone – Kat included – will have to pick a side.
The Darkness Before Them is the start of a gripping epic fantasy series packed full of intrigue, action and powerful magic.
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That done, let’s get on with the interview.
Track of Words: To start off, tell us a little bit about The Darkness Before Them.
Matthew Ward: Let’s see now … The Darkness Before Them is a story about justice, and the lengths people will go to to get their due. It also has a few things to say about power, control and freedom along the way. But you can honestly just sit back and enjoy the explosions and derring-do if that’s what you want (there’s plenty of both). There’s quite a lot of revenge in it too.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters in the book and what do we need to know about them?
MW: You’ll be spending (most of) your time with Katija (or Kat, depending on who you ask) Arvish, a young woman who’s trying to find her place in a less than forgiving world following a personal tragedy. She doesn’t have money, influence or even many friends, but she does have one advantage: under the right circumstances she can speak to the spirits of the dead … which in the Kingdom of Khalad makes for a powerful tool indeed.
ToW: What can you tell us about where this book takes place?
MW: Khalad is an arid realm steeped in spirits, where the souls of debtors are fragmented and distilled to serve the living as sentries, soldiers, wisps of borrowed talent and even fuel. Year by year the kingdom’s boundaries shrink, devoured by the hungry mists that surge across its borders to swallow farms, villages and even the great spired cities should the leaping fires of their torch houses turn dark. When the mists come down everyone scurries for the shelter of the flames.
ToW: You wrote this after completing The Legacy Trilogy – what lesson(s) did you learn writing that first trilogy that you’ve put into practice for this one?
MW: I’m sure I learnt something, but I don’t really experience (or at least remember) moments of clarity in that way – they just flow into whatever comes next. It’s definitely a smaller, more focused story than The Legacy Trilogy, but that’s not really the result of a learning, as such – you try to do things a bit different each time. Variety as spice, and all that.
ToW: Once again without spoilers, let’s look at a few little details of the book. What can you tell us about:
– One character’s fears and hopes
MW: An atrocious degree of vertigo paired with the hope that injustices can be righted.
– One unusual location in the Kingdom of Khalad
MW: The cursed city of Athenoch, swallowed by the mists long ago.
– One dangerous creature that the characters have to face
MW: Embittered and malevolent souls – although these can take many forms (not all of them dead).
– Something that magic can’t do in this setting
MW: It can’t raise the dead (though it can definitely make them linger).
– An element of this setting you wish existed in the real world
MW: Skyships. That’d be neat.
ToW: If you had just one or two sentences to pitch The Soulfire Saga to a prospective reader and persuade them to read it, what would you say?
MW: My cats want you to.
Obey them.
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Matthew Ward is the author of The Legacy Trilogy, Queen of Eventide and the forthcoming Soulfire Saga. When not hammering away at novels he works as a creative consultant and voice director on such games as Vermintide, Darktide and Aliens: Dark Descent. Though frequently accused of living in worlds of his own imagination, really he lives near Nottingham with his extremely patient wife and several attention-seeking cats.
Check out Matthew’s website for more information about his books
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Many thanks to Matthew for chatting to me for this interview. I hope these answers have left you keen to know more about The Darkness Before Them (and, obviously, to obey the dictates of Matthew’s cats)! Keep checking back for more from Matthew a little closer to the book’s release.
See also: all the Matthew Ward reviews and interviews on Track of Words
The Darkness Before Them is due out in November 2023 – check out the links below to pre-order* your copy:
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*If you buy anything using one of these links, I will receive a small affiliate commission – see here for more details.