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 legendary Black Library author Gav Thorpe about his latest 40k novel, Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah. It’s an interview that’s notable for not just my favourite elevator pitch yet (you’ll see what I mean) but also for being the first time (I think) an author has used genderless pronouns in their answers. If that sounds weird, keep reading and it will all make sense.
Without further ado, let’s get straight to Gav’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah?
Gav Thorpe: Hunt for Red October with an Imperator Titan.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
GT: Exasus, Magos Dominatus of the Skitarii stationed to protect the Imperator Titan Casus Belli. Ve is a high-ranking techpriest hoping one day to have vis theorem incorporated into the Cult Metalica combat equations. As a member of the skitarii rather than the Collegia Titanicus ve is somewhat sidelined by the other command-level techpriests. At the other end of the social scale is Ghelsa, a tributai working on the downdecks. Coming from a tribute world of Metalica, she is basically a wrench-jockey, hitting things until they work when the techpriests tell her.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
GT: Post-Cicatrix Maledictum, so in the Dark Imperium. The action takes place on the world of Nicomedua – a planet that has turned against the Imperium, with a heavy Adeptus Mechanicus presence.
ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend readers check out before reading this?
GT: It is an entirely standalone title with brand new characters. The Casus Belli was featured in the Titan Legions game but its history is only referenced in passing.
ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?
GT: I’ve loved Titans since being introduced to Adeptus Titanicus back in my earliest gaming days. The pitch (see above) came up in discussion with editor Nick Kyme and it quickly developed from there. Setting an entire book aboard the Titan seemed a great way to explore it as an environment.
ToW: What were your main influences when writing it? Did you draw upon any real-life experience to help you plan or write it?
GT: I wanted the Cult Metalica to feel quite different to the Imperial Church of the Ecclesiarchy. While the Adeptus Ministorum draws heavily on the medieval Catholic church, my inspiration for the Cult Metalica was a more classical Greek-style religion. In place of pesudo-Latin ‘high gothic’ I use Ancient Greek-inspired terminology from the temples, and references drawn from the army of Alexander.
ToW: When writing about Titans, does the size and scale of things allow you to do anything with the story that you maybe wouldn’t do if you were writing about mostly infantry?
GT: Well, as I mentioned earlier, all of the action takes place aboard the Titan! There is a much wider campaign taking place, but our main characters never leave the Casus Belli. That creates a very atmospheric and sometimes claustrophobic environment to play with, without having to artificially limit the freedom and movement of the characters.
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your first ideas?
GT: The more I delved into the Adeptus Mechanicus the more I enjoyed getting elements of their culture into the story. The main idea of whether or not the Titan is going to be turned over the traitors is still the core of the story though a lot of the detail evolved as I developed the characters.
ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Is it a familiar style, or a departure?
GT: There are some very deliberate stylistic choices (some might say conceits…). For a start, Magos Exasus uses genderless pronouns throughout, something I have only used in non-Black Library short stories before. I have also pushed the idea of noospheric communication between the techpriests, formatting it almost like a script for audio. I am curious to see how it has actually been dealt with in the audio version since it’s a very visual conceit! On the flipside, there’s a lot of my usual themes such as the examination of the nature of Exasus’s constructed identities, and where the levers of power really can be found.
ToW: Do you have plans to continue any aspects of this story, or is it a standalone piece?
GT: No, this is the complete story.
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Thanks, as always, to Gav for taking the time to answer these questions. Keep an eye out for a review of Wrath of the Omnissiah just as soon as I get 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.