RAPID FIRE: Dan Abnett Talks The Magos

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 Dan Abnett about his latest 40k novel, The Magos, which is available to order right now. I suspect this is going to be a very popular book…

Over to Dan.

Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for The Magos?

Dan Abnett: It’s the unexpected fourth volume of the Eisenhorn trilogy! Late in his violent career, Gregor Eisenhorn tracks his old rivals – the Cognitae (they’re sort of an anti-Inquisitional heretical sect) – to a remote world, and encounters a threat that exposes the disarming truth about what he is and why he does what he does.

ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?

DA: Eisenhorn himself, and a band of followers that include some beloved and loyal characters like the bounty hunter Harlon Nayl and the pilot Medea Betancore. In fact, if you’re a keen reader of my stories and a fan of the Inquisitor books in particular, this novel has a LOT of old faces in in it – some unexpected!

ToW: Where and when is it set?

DA: It’s set late in his career, so it falls AFTER the Ravenor trilogy and just before Pariah, the first of the Bequin trilogy. It’s almost a prologue to Pariah.

ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend readers check out before reading this?

DA: To get the full impact, it would probably help to have read the original Eisenhorn trilogy. The Ravenor trilogy would help too, and for that extra spice, Pariah, so you know where we’re going. But it also stands up on its own for new readers. Plus, there are a great number of introductory stories included in this volume before you get to the new novel.

ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?

DA: Not for the first time in the last 10 years, Black Library suggested I put together all the Eisenhorn and Inquisitor short stories that I’ve written over the years in one anthology, to act as a companion to the original novel trilogy. There’s almost a book’s worth of them, so they asked if I’d write a new Eisenhorn story to cap the collection off. It was supposed to be about 10K words. I had a great idea for it, which included a way to link it to all the older stories in the collection.

Then, as I wrote, it got longer and longer… first a novella…. finally, I had to admit that what I was actually writing was a full length new novel. That took even me by surprise! This collection still includes all those old short stories (because that was the point in the first place) but ends up with the new, full length novel to tie them all together. If nothing else, it’s massively good value! Two books in one!

ToW: Do you see Eisenhorn in a different light these days, having subsequently written about Ravenor and Bequin? Do you approach his character in a different way to when you were first writing him?

DA: Probably, because he and I have both aged. And knowing where the story had to leave him (ready for Pariah) was very informative. But otherwise, it was like bumping into an old friend. I think that’s why the original short story I was intending to write became a novel. There was so much to say, so much to explore again. Quite simply, it was amazing fun and I got carried away.

ToW: What were your main influences when writing it? Did you draw upon any real-life experience to help you plan or write it?

DA: Oddly, I suppose it does. It’s about looking back and getting older. I was both aware of the passage of time, and of the distance between now and me writing the original books. I think that gives it a distinct quality. But then, the real world has an impact on everything I write, even if I’m not aware of it when I’m writing. Both Prospero Burns and Embedded were influenced by my diagnosis of epilepsy a few years ago….but I didn’t realise that until people pointed it out afterwards!

ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Is it a familiar style, or a departure?

DA: It’s very much written in ‘Inquisitor mode’, though unlike the first Eisenhorn books, it’s not first person (for reasons that will become obvious when you read it). So, more like the Ravenor books in style.

ToW: Do you have plans to continue any aspects of this story, or is it a standalone piece?

DA: It definitely continues in Pariah, and writing it has helped me flesh out what I’m doing with the other two Bequin novels – Penitent and Pandaemonium . Also, writing it reminded me how much fun I have writing Inquisitor books, so those two Bequin volumes, long overdue, have moved up my ‘to do list’ with some urgency. I can’t wait to get them finished and published!

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Thanks as always to Dan for taking the time to answer these questions. Keep an eye out for a review of The Magos very shortly, just as soon as I’ve got my hands on a copy! 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.