Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with 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 Justin D. Hill about his latest Black Library novel, Terminal Overkill – a Necromunda novel which is available to order now in paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.
Let’s get straight to the questions and Justin’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for your new novel Terminal Overkill?
Justin D. Hill: It’s Gangs of New York meets The Omen – with a ticking bomb thrown into the mix.
OK, there’s no bomb, but it has that kind of relentless pace to it. After the last draft my editor called it “a spectacular novel” and I make it a point never to disagree with my editor at Black Library.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
JH: The main character is the daughter of a low-hive Escher ganger Brielle, who has the odd distinction of having a functional brother, and this makes her feel special.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
JH: It’s the low-hive of Hive Primus, on the planet of Necromunda. I don’t think the characters really care about the when of the story. “Time is irrelevant”, to misquote Douglas Adams. These guys are just busy trying to stay alive.
ToW: Would this be a good introduction to Necromunda for new fans, or is there anything else you would recommend checking out first?
JH: Necromunda is just opening up as a novelistic setting. Terminal Overkill is the first full-length Necromunda novel to come out straight to paperback and audiobook – which means it’s a great way for people to jump straight in and experience one of the worlds of the Grimdark future in detail.
There’s lots of great stuff from before, and Josh Reynolds has just had his Kal Jerico novel [Sinner’s Bounty] come out, but the earlier novels don’t feel as slick as the stuff coming out of Black Library now. Mike Brooks has written some great novellas and short stories set in Necromunda, and in terms of audio-dramas there is a collection of bounty hunter stories, released together, called Venators, featuring Matt Keefe and Josh again [plus one of Justin’s own stories]. But I don’t think the reader needs to worry. Necromunda is the Wild West set in a hive city. Or it’s Goodfellas in the Grimdark future. You’ll figure it out.
ToW: What appeals to you about Necromunda as a setting to write about?
JH: While the Adeptus Astartes are the poster-boys of the 40K universe, I’ve always found the human experience of the Grimdark future to be the more compelling. So Necromunda is a gold mine character-wise. It’s stuffed full of desperate humans, all trying to claw their way above the slime and filth.
The other thing that is a relief, story-wise, is that the books don’t fall into the classic chaos-Imperium divide – something I’ve been pushing against with my Cadia novels, where their enemies are not chaos, but Templar Tendency societies, who look back to an earlier, better Imperium.
In Necromunda this means there are no goodies-baddies – it’s like the Sopranos. There are gangsters and there are prey.
ToW: Why this story? Of all the possible stories you could have written about these characters, what made you go for this one?
JH: The Escher-Goliath tension is a classic, a bit like David and Goliath, and it’s fun writing kick-ass power women. Good examples for my daughters… in some ways.
More seriously, I really wanted to draw the links between Necromunda and the wider Imperium. The Necromundan Spiders – the Imperial Guard regiments classically drawn from Hive Primus – had something of a role in the early drafts of the novel, which had to go, unfortunately, which was a shame – and which resulted in significant rewrites. Significant meaning like the second half of the book!
But I think the book took a much more interesting turn because of this. One of those times when hindrances, rewrites and deadlines produce something even more satisfying. It’s definitely a better book because of it.
ToW: Do you find yourself drawing upon different influences when writing Necromunda stories compared to your other 40k stories?
JH: Cadian Honour was the last book Lindsey Priestley edited before retiring, and as a parting gift she left me with a few nuggets about Rick Priestley’s early concept of Necromunda, which was largely about how it was the Wild West set in the underhive. So, I started there, research wise. The Wild West is largely about strong characters fighting for their lives, or the lives of others.
Otherwise it’s open ground. I think you can go anywhere: horror, thriller, revenge. But the essential fact is how it puts character first and foremost.
ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Did you find that the setting or the characters brought out anything different to usual?
JH: Yes, largely for the reasons above. Necromunda is about strong characters fighting other strong characters for their very lives. Sparks – and blood – are going to fly.
ToW: What do you hope Necromunda fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
JH: Necromunda is one of those games that has struggled on for years, begging in the street like an unloved bastard child. Games Workshop have taken it back in and that’s great news for all the gamers and fans. It’s another one of those golden ages that people are talking about. Better figures, better support, and the internet which means that we can all come together and celebrate our hobby.
On top of that Black Library are also producing some of the best fiction they’ve ever produced and much of it is in the fringe areas that have never been explored before.
In terms of this novel, while some of the earlier Necromunda material had a bit of a nudge-nudge/wink-wink humour to it, Terminal Overkill is entirely straight. There’s no slapstick, just a lot of grit. It’s serious, realistic and character driven. I hope the fans love it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
ToW: Can you tell us anything about what you’ve got in the pipeline, whether that’s more Necromunda stories or anything else?
JH: I’m writing full-time for the first time in twenty years and most of that extra time has gone to BL projects. I have a number of short stories and long short stories coming out later in the year, which are all either 40K or Necromunda. But the biggest change is that I’ve started writing regularly for Warhammer Horror – largely on the back of my editor’s response to Terminal Overkill – which featured the words “Grimdark”, “spectacular”, “horrifying”, and “a little queasy”.
Queasy in a good way, of course. 😉
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Big thanks as usual to Justin for taking the time to answer these questions and talk about this new novel. You can read my review of Terminal Overkill right here.
Click here to buy Terminal Overkill (or here for the audiobook version).
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.