RAPID FIRE: Mike Brooks Talks Road to Redemption

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.

For this interview I spoke to Black Library author Mike Brooks about his new novel Road to Redemption, his second book in the Necromunda setting after his excellent novella Wanted: Dead. It’s available to order in ebook and paperback right now, so if you’re looking forward to your next visit to the underhive, this might be the book for you.

Without further ado, over to Mike and his answers to the questions…

Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Road to Redemption?

Mike Brooks: In the Necromundan Underhive, a lapsed Cawdor reluctantly takes up his guns again to track down and rescue the children of the people who saved his life.

ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?

MB: The main character is Zeke, a former Cawdor ganger with a dark past who’s been losing himself in drink and menial work for years. He has faith in the Emperor, but not in himself. He strikes up an alliance of convenience – at first – with a Delaque named Alin Choll, who is not without their own secrets.

ToW: Are there any key themes or ideas that you’ve focused on in this book, and which you can talk about without giving any spoilers?

MB: Primarily, it’s (as the title suggests) about redemption. Zeke considers himself to be a failure, and in the aftermath of tragedy he sees a way to perhaps do something decent with his life, even though he knows the cost of that might very well be his life. However, it’s also about how far he’s willing to go to achieve that goal, and whether the ends justify the means. I also took aim at religious extremism.

ToW: Does this connect to any of your previous Necromunda stories, or is a total standalone?

MB: It’s a complete standalone.

ToW: I know you’re a big fan of the Necromunda game, but what appeals to you about it as a setting to tell stories within?

MB: The fact it’s so varied! This isn’t a war zone, where soldiers have been sent because they’re under orders. This is where people live, which means you have the whole gamut of society in which to tell a story. You can tell pretty much any sort of story you want in Necromunda, not just gang warfare.

ToW: Why this story? What made you want to write about House Cawdor, and tell this story in particular?

MB: I think one thing to clarify is that this story isn’t really about House Cawdor as such: it’s about a member – or former member – of House Cawdor. It’s more of a story about faith, and what that can lead people to do.

ToW: In your previous Necromunda stories you’ve focused on Eschers and Goliaths – how did you find writing about House Cawdor?

MB: It’s a different mindset, although again the main difference is that this isn’t about a currently active ganger, fighting on behalf of his House. Still, I had to be very mindful about the fact that Zeke’s faith in the Emperor is complete, far more so than your average Imperial citizen. He veers between “everything is the Emperor’s plan” and “I will fail the Emperor if I don’t choose correctly”, which seems to me to be the central dichotomy that underscores a lot of the world’s main religions.

Jarene from Wanted: Dead will throw up a quick prayer to the God-Empress before she starts the shooting she was going to do anyway, more in a reflexive “can’t hurt” way: Zeke will go down onto his knees and actually pray for guidance, then wait for some sort of sign about what to do next.

ToW: Do you have a favourite moment or element of the novel, something that stands out to you or that you’re particularly proud of or happy with?

MB: This is actually a difficult question to answer, because I’ve realised I’m quite pleased with a lot of it! Far fewer people die than in Rites Of Passage (I don’t kill an entire planet in the first chapter, for one thing) but I think it’s a far darker, grittier story, which is what I was aiming for. It’s not the tone I want to write in all the time, even for Black Library, but it fitted this story. This is a story about desperation, and trying to make the least-worst choice from a bunch of bad options, and I think I’ve conveyed that well.

ToW: What do you hope Necromunda fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?

MB: If they consider the time spent reading it worthwhile, that’s good enough for me!

ToW: Did you write this as a single, standalone story, or do you think you might come back to the characters for more in future?

MB: This one will probably remain a standalone. It’s possible a minor character might crop up somewhere else, but I think I’ve put the main characters through enough…

***

Thanks once again to Mike for taking the time to answer these questions. Keep an eye out for a review of Road to Redemption as soon as I can arrange one, and in the meantime if you’d like to check out my reviews of some of Mike’s other Black Library stories (and a few interviews like this) you can find them all here.

Click this link to order Road to Redemption.

Click here if you fancy taking a look at some other Rapid Fire interviews. If you have any questions, comments or other thoughts please do let me know in the comments below, or find me on Twitter.