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 CL Werner about his latest Age of Sigmar novel for Black Library, Beastgrave, which is available to order in hardback, ebook and audiobook right now. Fancy exploring the ongoing narrative of Warhammer Underworlds? This is the book for you…
Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Clint’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Beastgrave?
CL Werner: I think at its core, Beastgrave is your classic ‘quest’ storyline where a fantastical treasure is being sought by the heroes to save their kingdom. In this instance, however, things take an immediate left-turn since our heroes are sylvaneth and their kingdom is an enchanted forest. Things get further complicated since the villains are also on the same quest, so there’s a ‘race’ aspect to the narrative where the sylvaneth have to beat the beastmen to the treasure if they’re going to prevail.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
CW: On the heroic side we have Kyra, a branchwraith who is seeking to protect the Thornwyld, an enchanted forest inhabited by the sylvaneth. Kyra is something of a transplant, a refugee from another enclave that was destroyed by Chaos long ago. So she’s fiercely protective of the Thornwyld because she knows what it is to lose your home and wander the wilds as a refugee.
The key villain of the piece is Ghroth, a fearsome and brutal beastlord. He’s viciously cunning, aware of his own limitations and how to exploit others to overcome them. He despises pretty much anything he can’t dominate and control, attacking human settlements and sylvaneth glades with equal savagery. When he has a vision that promises him even greater power, he gathers a small band from his warherd and sets out to wrest this power from the depths of Beastgrave and become the mightiest of beastlords in Ghur.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
CW: The fearsome mountain of Beastgrave is situated in the realm of Ghur. The story itself takes place well after the Realmgate Wars and in the aftermath of the necroquake unleashed by Nagash.
ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend fans check out before reading this, or is it a standalone story?
CW: Beastgrave is a standalone story, however I think any fans who are also gamers would really benefit from looking into the Warhammer Underworlds: Beastgrave game, as they’ll find a lot more information about the sinister mountain and things like the Silent People.
ToW: Of all the possible stories you could have written about these characters, what made you go for this one?
CW: I think this story nicely plays to the qualities of both factions. You have the selfless sylvaneth striving to accomplish something to benefit their forest rather than themselves. Then you have the beastmen, who are all driven by their own personal ambitions and internal power struggles. That contrast between this almost altruistic unity and the fractious hunger of the beastmen really made for, I think, a very engaging narrative. That contrast is felt in pretty much every scene, especially when the two groups are beset by similar obstacles and how they go about overcoming them.
ToW: What influences did you draw upon when writing this story, whether for the plot, characters or anything else?
CW: The big influence, of course, was the rich background that Games Workshop came up with for Beastgrave. There’s some really cool stuff there that really helped build the narrative. Since I wanted to go with a kind of ‘quest’ format with this epic journey to find a lost treasure, I’d be remiss not to credit the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies for playing a role. Those really are great films. H. Rider Haggard’s She would also be an influence, and you might even go so far as to say there’s a bit of The Hobbit wound in there as well.
A lot of these are recurring influences on my work. I know Wulfrik was very firmly built in the shadow of Sinbad and was my tribute to both the stories and the films.
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your first ideas?
CW: On Beastgrave this is very close to the original concept. My editor and I hammer out a lot of the details while the story is still in outline form, so once the actual writing begins there’s very little of substance that needs to be changed or altered. I think early on I did consider using Kurnoth Hunters for the sylvaneth heroes, but decided on dryads because I felt they’d give a more ‘pure’ representation of the sylvaneth, since the Kurnoth Hunters are a bit of outcasts within the enclaves due to their nature.
ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Is it a familiar style, or a departure?
CW: The novels I think come closest to the feel of Beastgrave would be Runefang and the aforementioned Wulfrik. However there’s also a good bit of Temple of the Serpent as well, now that I think on it, with two rival factions after the same goal (though in that novel neither the skaven nor the humans knew they were in any kind of race).
ToW: What do you hope Age of Sigmar fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
CW: You mean aside from an entertaining read? Really, I hope that they’re engaged by the different perspectives of the beastmen and sylvaneth and that each comes across as unique in their own rights. That might lead them to explore other books that delve into similar characters and help expand their appreciation for Age of Sigmar beyond the classic triumvirate of humans, aelves, and duardin.
ToW: Do you have plans to continue any aspects of this story, or is it a standalone piece?
CW: I think Beastgrave will be a standalone story, but that most certainly doesn’t mean I won’t be using either the beastmen or the sylvaneth again. They’re both factions that I think have a wide range to explore and expand upon.
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Thanks so much to Clint for taking the time to answer these questions – Beastgrave sounds great, and I love the comparisons with classic Werner novels!
Click here to order Beastgrave (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.