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 Gav Thorpe about his new multi-part 40k audio drama Our Martyred Lady, which is available to order right now. If you’re an audio fan, this is going to be the release to get excited about!
Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Gav’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Our Martyred Lady?
Gav Thorpe: The attempted assassination of the head of the Imperial Church is just the start of a terrible plan that could tear apart not only the Ecclesiarchy but the Imperium itself.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
GT: Saint Celestine: a Living Saint apparently blessed with miraculous powers by the Emperor. Inquisitor Greyfax: a daemon-hunting Inquisitor with psychic abilities.
Kyrillos: Greyfax’s advisor on the Ecclesiarchy, a living repository of the Ecclesiarchal records of Terra.
Ecclesiarch Deacis XXIII: the head of the Imperial Church.
Black Templars Marshal Armond Montfort: the commander of the Ophelia Crusade.
Centurion Longinus: a warrior of the Adeptus Custodes, a Companion of the Hetaeron Guard.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
GT: After the Cicatrix Maledictum engulfs the galaxy and the return of Guilliman. A lot of the story takes place around Terra and Ophelia VII but our characters get around to other places too.
ToW: Is there anything that ties into this story, which you’d recommend fans check out before listening to it?
GT: Nothing directly, though I spoke with Andy Clark while he was writing Celestine: The Living Saint, so that would provide some more context for her. The events of my audio Eye of Night, featuring Greyfax, take place before the start of this tale.
ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?
GT: I really loved the performance of Greyfax in Eye of Night and was looking for a chance to return to the character, and I’ve had a hankering to write some classic and crazy Ecclesiarchy-fueled fiction for a while now. When Black Library approached me to create this four-hours long series I saw a chance to combine both those things.
ToW: What influences or references did you draw from when writing this?
GT: All the stuff that went into the original Sisters of Battle codex I wrote more than twenty years ago! The history of the church in medieval Europe, the life of Joan of Arc, and various saintly martyrs all went into the pot. The factions and characters within the church and overall atmosphere is heavily influenced by The Name of the Rose [by Umberto Eco]. There’s also the books full of background material from the Gathering Storm narrative that had to be considered.
ToW: Were there any particular challenges provided by writing this longer, four-part story compared to a normal-length audio?
GT: There were added structural issues, because I wanted there to be an arc within each episode as well as the overall plot, much like episodes of a TV series. Audios are moving towards the ‘radio play’ style without narration, which is a challenge on something this long. Having to approach every scene and keep the story flowing without a narrative voice to provide summation or context can get very difficult. Just getting right the opening atmospheric effects and first lines of dialogue in each and every scene is vital. But just using voice and sound effects is also a lot of fun when you get into the swing of it, pushing the soundscape around like putty to shape what you see in your head.
ToW: What do you think these longer audio dramas allow you as an author to do differently to other formats or mediums?
GT: It’s equivalent to a short novel in terms of the amount of story you can cover, so there can be sub-plots and a good deal of character development. The attendant cast budget also meant I could branch out a bit in regards to supporting characters, giving them some more lines and depth than possible in just a one hour audio. The focus on a ‘regular’ audio drama has to be so sharp, but with a little bit more leeway you can build up more layers to the story,
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your first ideas?
GT: During discussions about the story and possible casting choices, the presentation of the story flipped from being very focused on Celestine to one that is driven much more by Greyfax. The beats and plot arc didn’t alter massively but how characters and the story were introduced evolved from that new consideration, with more of a balance between the two female leads.
ToW: At what point did you find out about the casting of Catherine Tate, and how do you feel about having such a big-name actor involved in the story and performing the lines you wrote?
GT: There were some names thrown around at the early stage that got me very excited, so it was always the intent that a well known actor would play the lead role. Catherine Tate is a versatile actor and now that I’ve listened to the finished audio I can say that she brings some nuance to the role of Greyfax.
ToW: Are you planning on writing any further stories about some or all of the characters in this audio drama?
GT: Greyfax is becoming an ‘audio character’, in that we’ll probably continue to explore her adventures in that format rather than prose. There are no definite plans, and the involvement of Catherine and other cast members would be something to sort out, but I’m brewing a couple of ideas that would work well in audio.
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As always, thanks so much to Gav for taking the time to answer these questions. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get hold of a copy of this and enjoy all four-plus hours of it! I’ll aim to get a review ready as soon as I can, so keep an eye out for that.
Click here to order Our Martyred Lady.
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.
what this book a social commentary on our current political climate?