Peter Fehervari Talks Requiem Infernal and The Dark Coil

Even amongst the considerable variety of authors writing for Black Library, one voice stands out in particular – the unique storytelling talents of Peter Fehervari, author of (among other things) the novels Fire Caste, Cult of the Spiral Dawn and 2019’s Requiem Infernal. Back in May 2018 I spoke to Peter about his influences and style of writing, and his unique outlook on Warhammer 40,000, in what was intended to be the first of a two-part interview. Fast forward a year and a bit, and the second instalment of the interview is here, in which (in his own words) Peter “unveils the dark secrets of the Requiem Infernal and the deeper abyss of the Dark Coil.”

This second interview includes all of the content that was originally planned – a deeper dive into the Dark Coil and how Peter’s stories are all interlinked – with the added bonus of exploring the characters and themes of Requiem Infernal, which is available to order in paperback from tomorrow. Consider this an extended and more in-depth version of one of my quick Rapid Fire interviews, with the questions answered in Peter’s fascinating, detailed style. Whether you want to know what to expect from Requiem Infernal or you’ve already read it but are clamouring for a deeper insight into Peter’s thought processes, this interview should have lots for you to enjoy (including a recommended reading order – of sorts – for the Dark Coil)!

NOTE for Ukranian readers: you can find a Ukranian translation of this interview here, courtesy of @st_neOh and @malalmalice on Telegram

If you haven’t already, you can read the first part of my interview with Peter right here. You can also read my review of Requiem Infernal here, or find links to all of my reviews of Peter’s stories here.

Without further ado, then – let’s get straight on with the questions.

Track of Words: How would you describe Requiem Infernal to someone interested in knowing more about this book?

Peter Fehervari: Firstly, there’s the challenge. The novel’s opening ‘Exordium’ cautions that the journey ahead will be difficult and devoid of clear answers. Treacherous even. I’m aware that I have something of a reputation for writing arcane, puzzle-box stories, but Requiem Infernal takes that further than I’ve gone before. If you don’t keep your wits about you the tale will betray you.

This isn’t hyperbole! The warning is sincere and one I’d include on the back of the book in bold if I could. The story requires deductive and intuitive input from the reader to untangle the various threads running through it, especially if they want to make sense of the central mystery. Consequently, this book won’t be for every 40k fan, especially those whose passion is firmly rooted in the gaming side of things. [However those who do enjoy the darker, more cerebral side of 40k will love this!] This is unfamiliar territory. For example, it features the Adepta Sororitas, but the sect depicted, The Last Candle (which encompasses Militant, Hospitaller and Dialogus orders) is decidedly unorthodox. Likewise, the battered Astra Militarum unit drawn into the drama isn’t one you’ll find in the Codex.

Nothing is quite what it seems here. That said, for those willing to navigate the Requiem’s thorny labyrinth, I’m hopeful it will be a rewarding read. Though it was commissioned before the advent of Warhammer Horror, I wanted to reach readers beyond the traditional fan base, particularly horror enthusiasts.

Which brings me to me my second point. This is a full-blooded horror novel rather than military SF, with an emphasis on dread and dark secrets rather than action, let alone heroics. There are several intense action set-pieces, even a major battle in the final act, but the key conflicts are psychological and spiritual ones. Equally, while things sometimes become very gory, the overall tone is solemn and restrained. Beneath the violence and body horror, the true nightmare playing out is a metaphysical one.

Doubtless this answer risks alienating some prospective readers, but I’d rather doubtful souls turned back before buying the book rather than stumbling into it and being disappointed.

ToW: What are the major themes the book explores?

PF: First and foremost, this is my book about Chaos.

I’ve always approached Chaos as a spiritual malaise rooted in psychological disorders. In a universe where mind is the firmament of reality such ‘fractures’ can physically twist the flesh into monstrosity – and in extreme cases, warp the world itself. I’ve already talked about this concept at length in my previous interview for ToW so I won’t go into it again here, but Requiem Infernal is my most direct and ambitious exploration of its mechanisms.

By extension, one of the novel’s key themes is the power of faith – or more broadly, conviction – in a universe where strong beliefs can have physical force. The characters are the key to exploring this. The journey they undertake – both within and without – maps the many-faceted, often seductive, but almost always destructive nature of Chaos. To that end it was crucial to invest the protagonists with compelling back stories and dramatic arcs so their fates are earned and meaningful. I feel they are my most developed characters so far. More on this later…

The other main theme is the corrosive effect of secrets and lies, especially in matters of religious doctrine. Very loosely, the literary inspiration for the novel was The Name of the Rose, where a remote abbey hides a terrible secret.

ToW: You’re known for having a wider, non-linear arc running through all of your stories – the Dark Coil. How would you describe this to someone who’s new to your writing?

PF: The Dark Coil is the unofficial name that covers all my stories. I think I first coined the name on the Bolthole a few years ago while answering a question. Since then it’s taken on a life of its own, which is a suitably spontaneous genesis for such an unpredictable, ever-evolving entity.

Essentially the Coil is a vast tangle of plot threads that extends across space and time, connecting characters, places and events, often in bizarre ways, with people ‘slipping’ from one story into another, occasionally via fissures in the skin of reality. Some worlds are riddled with these faults, hence they’ve become integral to my non-linear arc – or rather, arcs. This why Phaedra, Vytarn, Sarastus and Oblazt recur throughout my stories, though I’m hoping to add a few more places to the tapestry. I’m conscious this set is currently missing a desert planet, which I’d like to rectify.

The Dark Coil can also be considered an expression of Chaos – a fourth-wall bending manifestation that has infiltrated our universe via its constituent stories (tendrils!). After all, belief shapes the world and stories can shape beliefs…

ToW: Do you have most of the Dark Coil already worked out, or do you find that the connective tissue between your different stories arises during the writing process?

PF: The concept of the Coil goes back to the Dolorosa Coil in Fire Caste. That jungle-choked labyrinth of rivers leading into everywhere and nowhere was a microcosm of the greater tangle of the Dark Coil. Though the idea hadn’t crystalized back then, I glimpsed its outlines, which is why some of the cast disappeared in strange, deliberately unresolved ways. I wasn’t sure what their fate would be, but I sensed it lay elsewhere. Some of those mysteries have subsequently been been addressed, while others are still hidden in shadow – for me as much as readers.

This is essentially how I navigate the Coil even now. While I have a few threads mapped out (particularly with regard to the Angels Resplendent/Penitent), the majority resolve themselves as I go, and even those I think I have a handle on are likely to change when I tackle them. It’s more a process of discovery than planning, which is why I consider myself an explorer rather than an architect of the Coil.

This is also true of my approach to writing in general, which is probably why I find the Coil so compelling. We’re a good fit for each-other! I mostly write by instinct, finding my way as a story progresses rather than joining the dots of a predetermined path.

Inevitably this means I struggle with synopses.

Creatively, planning isn’t the way my mind works, hence I find synopses painful to write and almost impossible to stick to, which causes all kinds of problems when contributing to a shared universe. This is one reason why I prefer to ‘play’ in an obscure niche of the wider mythos, where I don’t disrupt the work of fellow authors or the overall framework. That consideration aside, it’s an extremely time-consuming method, rife with pitfalls, which is why my output is so small. There are always isolated scenes I visualize clearly and aim to hit, e.g. Iverson’s final confrontation with Reve in Fire Caste or the descent into the ruinous abbey in Cult of the Spiral Dawn, but most of the story evolves organically. I believe this is what energizes the Coil, giving it an unpredictable, even dangerous edge.

The Coil also expresses my preference for stories without absolute answers, where reader engagement and interpretation are as important as the framework the author creates. Like my views on Chaos, I’ve talked about this at length in my previous interview, but it’s worth stating again because it’s the soul of the Coil. If that’s not for you, then neither is the Coil.

ToW: What can you tell us about how Requiem Infernal fits in with the other stories in the Dark Coil?

PF: Requiem Infernal is the most central of my Coil stories – a philosophical nexus of sorts, where the protagonists become aware of the Bigger Picture and actively confront it. If you’ve read my other stories you’ll get more out of it, but it should work perfectly well as a stand-alone piece. As I mentioned before, I had a wider audience in mind when writing it, so prior knowledge is a bonus rather than a requirement. All things considered, I feel it’s the best introduction to the Dark Coil, particularly for those unfamiliar with Warhammer 40k [see this review from a non-40k fan for further evidence].

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

PF: In terms of subject matter, my previous answers should cover much of this. I wanted to address Chaos directly, as opposed to the indirect forays I’ve made before. It was time to go there! But beyond that I was keen to write an unequivocal 40k horror story. While my previous novels have horror undertones, this was an opportunity to embrace the genre wholeheartedly, as I’ve always wanted to.

Additionally, I’m fond of the Adepta Sororitas and felt their intensely religious nature would be a perfect fit for the existential nightmare I had in mind. Lastly, this was an opportunity to return to Vytarn and the mystery set up in Cult of the Spiral Dawn. I’m conscious some readers felt I left things hanging in that novel. Requiem goes some way to answering that, even if it’s only a tangential prequel.

ToW: A common theme in your writing involves outsider characters, such as Templeton in Cult of the Spiral Dawn and (in both this and other stories) various Commissars drawn from outside the regiments they serve with. What makes you gravitate to this sort of character? And can you tell us a little more about Requiem Infernal’s protagonists?

PF: I am drawn to stories about damaged but determined people – those tormented by doubt, guilt, rage or excessive ambition, for these traits are all gateways into hell, no matter how noble the motivations behind them might be. This downward spiral of the soul is so compelling because it’s both relatable and tragic. That’s why I usually try to capture it in my own writing.

Requiem Infernal’s protagonists are certainly no exception to this.

Asenath Hyades is a Sister Hospitaller of the Eternal Candle, an Adepta Sororitas order of rare nobility, which founded the esoteric Last Candle. A compassionate and selfless woman, she exemplifies her order’s idealistic creed, but her faith is imperfect. Through her long life she has served the sisterhood in many roles, some far from peaceful. The worst have left deep wounds in her psyche. Haunted by a vivid and recurring nightmare, she returns to the secluded world of her birth, ostensibly to investigate rumours that its custodians have fallen to heresy, but privately in the hope of laying her own ghosts to rest. What she finds among the ocean-locked bastion of the Last Candle will challenge her faith to the limit.

Jonah Tythe has come seeking his own ghosts. He wears the garb of an itinerant preacher, but like Asenath, he has lived many lives and his pilgrimage is far from holy. To him this is the culmination of a long and bitter hunt for the heretic who cursed him.

Both are tortured souls chasing febrile, ever-shifting truths that draw them deeper into damnation in the hope of salvation. They are caught in a web of lies and corruption that grows more tangled with their struggles, which play out alongside the reader’s own struggles to make sense of things, for when you gaze into the Requiem Infernal, it gazes back, and what is once seen can never be unseen…

Hmmm, it seems I can’t write about this book without falling under its sway again. But then I gazed into it very deeply.

ToW: Your stories often feature Imperial Guard regiments that tend to be unique creations of your own rather than familiar names, but feel wonderfully developed and fleshed out. In Requiem Infernal we see the Exordio Void Breachers – what can you tell us about this particular regiment?

PF: Thank you. For me the creation of idiosyncratic Astra Militarum regiments that become vaguely ‘official’ is one of the great joys of writing for Black Library, even if they’re unlikely to be included in an actual Codex.

The Void Breachers first appeared in The Greater Evil, where they were devised to serve a specific plot purpose, i.e. a regiment that specialised in void-based operations. They were equipped with sealed carapace armour and oxygen tanks, along with hard-hitting weaponry. Their role in that story was minor, but they lingered in my mind so I jumped at the opportunity to revisit them in Requiem Infernal, which required their particular expertise.

The novel gave me the opportunity to develop their background further. They are elite troops, on a par with Tempestus Scions in terms of lethality, but less single-minded and disciplined. Rather than hailing from a specific homeworld or culture, they are drawn from the veterans of other regiments, bringing great diversity to their ranks. However, while veterans are always exceptional fighters, they tend to be highly individualistic, so Breacher companies can be volatile and difficult to lead. Additionally their recruits are bulked out with synthetic muscle augmentations and genhancements, making them significantly stronger and tougher than common humans, as well as improving their resistance to cold, pressure and physical trauma. The most arrogant of them believe they’re halfway to being Space Marines, though they’re sorely mistaken about that!

ToW: Another Dark Coil theme seems to be books within books – this certainly appears in both Fire Caste (with Iverson’s journal) and Requiem Infernal. How much of yourself goes into these sorts of meta-plots?

PF: I love writing in the first-person-present. Nothing gets an author deeper into a character’s head than speaking directly from their perspective. However, I also love flipping between different characters, which I find messy in the first-person unless a writer is very organised, e.g. writing each chapter from a single perspective (something I find too restrictive).

Journals, letters, recordings and the like were my solution, validating occasional jumps into the first person while letting me tell the bulk of the story in the third-person-past, from multiple POVs. (Somewhere along the way I ended up adopting the third-person-present for flashbacks.)

However, the answer to your actual question is somewhat paradoxical. While writing in the first-person definitely brings me closer to a character’s voice, it also amplifies my own voice, even if I have little in common with that character. Perhaps it’s about channelling intensity… In the case of Iverson, I felt very connected with the character and his journey into darkness (which sounds a little insane!) so the writing was very visceral and heartfelt. With Asenath, it was more of a cerebral process, as befits her intellectual nature, but her ‘sister’ was pure joy to write. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a character’s voice.

The cursed tome in Requiem Infernal had another purpose entirely, serving as a metaphor for my own struggle to finish the [damned!] book, but also as a reality-breaching device.

ToW: Requiem Infernal has some great examples of the way you incorporate art and literary references into your writing – for example the name of a ship, or the imagery on a Space Marine shoulder pad. Do you find that these references arise organically, or are they deliberate hints at further themes or ideas?

PF: The specific imagery or names usually arise when I develop a theme. In the case of the Angels Resplendent I’ve known about the personal artwork on their shoulder pads since The Crown of Thorns, but the actual pictures were chosen when I wrote the relevant scenes. The Mona Lisa reference was an exception to that. I’ve wanted to use it since I first painted a Space Marine and knew such a feat was beyond my own abilities. Actually that’s probably where the first glimmerings of the chapter itself appeared.

Sometimes these references have a deeper significance that hints at other connections or meanings, but often they’re simply thematic Easter Eggs for readers to hunt if they’re so inclined. For example, Requiem Infernal has nods to several classic horror tropes, along with many vampiric names that range from the obvious (Sisters Camille – i.e. Carmilla –, Marcilla and Genevieve) to the seriously obscure (Breacher Grout). So the intent is sometimes serious, sometimes playful, but either way, I feel it adds texture to the story.

ToW: What do you hope 40k fans will get out of Requiem Infernal by the time they’ve finished it?

PF: Hopefully it will leave them with an enduring sense of an alternative – stranger, darker, deeper – incarnation of 40k that sits alongside the more epic visions. This is my best shot at a mature, complex and genuinely grim novel. It took a long time to complete, during which it pretty much took over my life, so I hope readers will meet its challenge head-on and at least respect the work that went into it. Naturally, I also hope many – or enough – will enjoy it, even if it’s the uneasy kind of pleasure that good horror stories should leave in their wake. And if it pulls a few more courageous souls into the wider web of the Dark Coil that would be wonderful! There’s only so long a writer can keep going on the outermost fringes…

ToW: While your stories can presumably be read in any order, do you have a recommended reading order for someone just starting out with them?

PF: All were commissioned as stand-alone stories so they can be read in any order. Each path will offer a different perspective on the greater geography of the Coil. That randomness is part of the conceit.

Having said that, some are better entry points than others. In terms of the novels, I believe Requiem Infernal is the most accomplished, along with being a good introduction to the concept, so that would be my preferred starting point, particularly for newcomers to 40k.

For 40k fans, I suspect Fire Caste will continue to have a greater impact, though it’s a denser, busier book. The Cult of the Spiral Dawn is the most accessible and action-oriented of them, but also my least favourite due to its brevity and lack of a direct sequel.

I’d suggest trying one of the short stories first to see whether my style clicks with you at all. The Thirteenth Psalm, The Greater Evil or A Sanctuary of Wyrms are my recommendations.

For reference, I’ll list the chronological order of the stories. This is a logical way to read them, but not the only one. For example, it’s possible to follow threads based on worlds or factions instead. Also, time doesn’t run entirely linearly in the Coil so characters might slip backwards, however stories 6, 7, 8 and 9 (the Phaedra strand) are definitely best read in chronological order. The numbers in brackets are the order they were written in, which I don’t particularly recommend. [Click the links for my review of each title]

1. Requiem Infernal (12th)
2. Nightfall (1st)
3. The Walker in Fire (8th)
4. The Crown of Thorns (7th)
5. The Greater Evil (11th)
6. Out Caste (4th)
7. A Sanctuary of Wyrms (3rd)
8. Fire Caste (2nd)
9. Vanguard (6th)
10. Fire & Ice (novella) (5th)
11. The Thirteenth Psalm (13th)
12. Cast A Hungry Shadow (10th) – read with Spiral Dawn, before or after.
13. Cult of the Spiral Dawn (9th)

ToW: Can you talk at all about what you’re writing next?

PF: When I started writing Requiem Infernal I actually vowed it would be the last novel I undertook for the foreseeable future. I’m not a professional writer and despite my best efforts I’ve failed to get any faster or more efficient with the process, or connect with a wider readership. This makes the commitment hugely stressful, especially since it impacts negatively on my regular work. However, when I finished the manuscript and got past the relief stage, I felt the urge to start on something new. That led to a short story which mutated into a novella and then – almost with a will of its own (as well as the patience of my editor) – a full novel. The first draft of that novel is currently awaiting feedback.

I can’t go into the details yet, but rest assured it’s deep, dark and esoteric. As to the faction involved… It’s a key player in the Dark Coil mythology – one I’ve wanted to focus on for a long time. I’ll leave you with this line: Bright they were, but shadow-bound.

***

Once again I’d like to say a huge thank you to Peter for taking the time to answer these questions – I really appreciate the thought that’s gone into the answers, and I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy it as much as I have done! I don’t know about you but I simply can’t wait to read more stories set in the Dark Coil!

You can read my review of Requiem Infernal here – or check out reviews of all of Peter’s stories here.

Click this link to buy Requiem Infernal.

If you’ve got any thoughts, feedback or questions off the back of this interview, please do feel free to let me know – you can get in touch via the comments on here or via either Facebook or Twitter.