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 Black Library author David Annandale about his new Warhammer 40,000 novel The House of Night and Chain, which is the first full novel released under the new Warhammer Horror label. It’s available to order in paperback and ebook right now, so if you’re in the mood for your next 40k novel to be of the darker, spookier variety, read on to find out more about what you can expect from this book.
Let’s get straight to the questions and David’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for The House of Night and Chain?
David Annandale: The widowed Colonel Maeson Strock is discharged from the Astra Militarum and returns to his homeworld of Solus to take up the governorship. He hopes to purge corruption in the Council and revive his relationship with his grown children. But Malveil, the house of the Strocks, is waiting for him. It is an evil house, with dark plans for Maeson Strock and everyone he loves.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
DA: Maeson Strock is the protagonist and narrator. Traumatized by a disastrous campaign against the tyranids, he is seeking personal redemption on a number of fronts on Solus. His opponent on the governing council is Veth Montfor. She and her family have a long history of corruption, and she won’t let go of her effective control of Solus easily. Strock’s children are Katrin, a driven history instructor at the Schola Progenium, and Zander, a cheerful wastrel.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
DA: It is set on the planet Solus, and specifically the city of Valgaast. Though the time is the ‘present’ of the 40K universe, the focus is on the internal affairs of an agri-world quite peripheral to the big events taking place elsewhere in the Imperium.
ToW: While you were involved in The Wicked and the Damned, this is your first full novel for the Warhammer Horror imprint – how do you see this range differing from ‘standard’ Black Library stories?
DA: One of the big differences is that this range can focus on the ordinary people of the Imperium (or the Mortal Realms), the ones whose lives are the mundane, everyday (until the Terrible Thing occurs), rather than the movers and shakers. Furthermore, since the range is not tied directly into the ongoing continuities, it is, I think and hope, inviting to readers who might not otherwise pick up a 40K or AoS book.
ToW: Does this book tie into anything else you’ve written for Black Library, or is it a standalone story?
DA: It’s a standalone, though there may be other stories that spring out of it.
ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?
DA: I love haunted houses. There’s one of my favourite types of horror story. I’ve written one other haunted house novel (Gethsemane Hall), and I relished the chance to set on in the 40K universe.
ToW: Horror has always seemed to be an important part of your writing. Do you think the Warhammer Horror label allow you to dig deeper into the psychology of your characters this time around?
DA: So much horror, especially the ghost and haunted house tale, takes a dark dive into the troubled psyche of its characters, and that is certainly what I tried to do here. This is not a tale of epic battles, but rather a family tragedy.
ToW: Were there any particular reference points which you used as inspiration for this story?
DA: The stories and novels that are for me, the towering achievements in the haunted house form were inevitably in the back of my mind to one degree or another. These would include Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Stephen King’s The Shining and Edith Wharton’s Afterward. William Hope Hodgson’s story The Whistling Room has been a major influence since I first read it as a child, and it informs this book too. Lovecraft lurks in the background as well (to no one’s great surprise, I’m sure). And with regards to Veth Montfor, I looked back to Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom.
ToW: What do you hope 40k fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
DA: Some sleepless nights! That would make me smile in sinister triumph.
ToW: Is this a self-contained story or do you think you might return to these characters/locations in future?
DA: I would definitely like to do more with Malveil itself.
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Thanks once again to David for taking the time to answer these questions and talk about his latest novel. I’ve read this and really enjoyed it, so keep an eye out for a review coming very soon!
Click here to order The House of Night and Chain.
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.