Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I’m talking to Matthew Ward about his new novel Legacy of Steel, the sequel to 2019’s Legacy of Ash (which I spoke to Matthew about in a previous interview). It’s due out from Orbit in both hardback and ebook in early November, so whether you’ve read and enjoyed Legacy of Ash and have been looking forward to book two, or are coming to the Legacy Trilogy for the first time, it’s a great opportunity now to find out more about this brilliant epic fantasy series.
With that in mind, over to Matthew.
Track of Words: Legacy of Steel is the second book in your Legacy Trilogy – for anyone unfamiliar with this series, could you give a quick overview of what to expect?
Matthew Ward: The Legacy Trilogy concerns a new generation wrestling with the consequences of decisions made by their forebears. It’s about the weight of tradition, and the burden of taking responsibility for the mistakes of old – whether your own, those of your kin, or those of your nation.
How far will you go to claim what you believe to be yours? How much will you risk to correct the injustices of the past?
ToW: Bearing that in mind, how would you describe Legacy of Steel?
MW: At the close of Legacy of Ash, choices were made, bargains struck and destinies fulfilled. Each levied a price – even if it wasn’t always obvious at the time.
The saying “no good deed goes unpunished”? Well, that’s about the case here. War is coming, on a scale far grander than we saw before … and it’s one that transcends the mortal world. Gods are waking. Old injustices are coming home to roost. It’s going to get bloody.
ToW: Does this feature the same cast of characters as Legacy of Ash, or are there new names and faces for readers to meet?
MW: Both. As before, the story revolves around the tumultuous triangle of Josiri, Viktor and Melanna, but pretty much every character who survived the aftermath of Legacy of Ash puts in an appearance, and most have a lot more to do than before.
But we’ve also got new faces among the crowd. We see a little more of the Hadari Empire and its factions, and spend time with the upcoming generation of Tressians – who have their own roles to play.
Oh, and we get to see more of Aradane’s gods. Quite a lot more, in one or two cases.
As for Calenne? Well, we’ll see.
ToW: I gather this picks up some time after the events of the first book – what was behind your decision to have that time gap in the overall story, rather than carrying on immediately?
MW: The gap isn’t that large, in fact. The main narrative picks up about fifteen months on from Legacy of Ash – just enough time for the new status quo to have settled, but before it begins to matter.
Each of the books in the Legacy Trilogy picks up just as a crisis is beginning to take shape and then stays with it through to its conclusion, and crises take a little time to build up steam.
ToW: How does this compare to the first book in the series, in terms of tone and stylistic approach? Would you say that it’s a similar sort of book, or have you taken a different angle this time?
MW: Stylistically, the two are fairly similar – there shouldn’t be a noticeable difference in tone and presentation. That said, Legacy of Steel is much more of a war story – the main conflict is underway a lot faster and it’s a lot more focused.
That shouldn’t be taken to mean that the story’s just wall-to-wall battles, of course. One of Legacy of Ash’s strengths lies in its political and spiritual conflicts, and that continues here. More than one character has to re-examine fundamental truths that have shaped their life, and they won’t necessarily like what they find.
When the gods are involved, desire and ambition can be very, very dangerous.
ToW: Last time we spoke you said you hoped fans would read Legacy of Ash and leave “with the sense of a world that goes on and on long after the final page.” How have you developed the depiction of Aradane this time around?
MW: I’m really throwing open the doors this time. As I mentioned earlier, we get a much closer peek at Tressian society, as well as the Hadari Empire and its client kingdoms. We’re also going to spend a little bit of time in Thrakkia and places more distant still.
Aradane is truly larger and grander than we’ve had a chance to see so far, but it’s still only one world. Legacy of Steel is the first real look at what that actually means.
ToW: How did you find the writing process for this, compared to book one? Was it easier, knowing you already had Legacy of Ash in the bag? Harder, because you wanted to match or exceed what you’d achieved last time around?
MW: I think starting a new book is always going to be a challenge, but it was a bit less … existential this time around. With Legacy of Ash, I wasn’t certain if I was ‘doing it right’, but its positive reception mostly removed that fear from the board for Legacy of Steel.
But, of course, there are always challenges. Which concepts to include, particularly. Which character arcs (and character details) enhance the story, rather than detract from it. How much foreshadowing for Book Three do I include? etc.
As for matching what came before? Sure, it’s always a worry, but you have to put it out of your mind and just get on with telling the best story you can. I know my editor at Orbit thinks the books just get better and better as you go on, but that’s a hard thing to judge for yourself when you’re still down among the weeds of writing the blessed things.
ToW: Last time you mentioned influences such as Tolkien, Bernard Cornwell and Timothy Zahn; I was wondering if you drew any influences for this series from outside SFF? Could you talk a little about something unusual that inspired you?
MW: That’s a tricky one to answer, as I’m not sure I have a good grip on what is or isn’t ‘unusual’. I think that’s likely a bane of all SFF writers – we spend so many of our waking hours in odd places that the unusual is often just ‘normal’.
There are definitely places in the books where you can hear the unhappy, dark-throated growl of my politics – which are certainly mundane, if anything is. But then SFF has always been political, to some degree or another, so my brief chunterings likely don’t even move the needle.
Other than that? Legacy is shaped by landscape – by places I loved from around Britain. The Scottish Highlands, the Dorset coast, ruined castles looming from hillsides and mist collecting in the valleys of North Wales and the streets of York. Is that unusual? I don’t know, but there is it.
ToW: On the assumption that anyone who’s read books one and two is definitely a fan of this series, its world and characters, what are you hoping readers will take away from this novel?
MW: Mostly, I just want them to have a good time. I think it’s beholden on an author not to make too many jarring shifts in the middle of a series. As a reader, you want the confidence of picking up a book and knowing that this is more of the thing you already love … while being different and surprising enough to keep you engaged.
But if we want to get more specific, I’m hoping both new and established readers will find characters to root for and villains to loathe … And as ever, I’m always chasing that elusive moment where the music swells, the heroes assemble and you start grinning even before you know what’s happening because you know something amazing’s just around the corner.
I guess we’ll see if it works.
ToW: How are you getting on with book three? Can you tell us anything about what to expect, or when it’s likely to be out?
MW: The elusive Book Three – as I still have to call it at the moment, even though it’s had the same name for three years now – is pretty much done and dusted as far as I’m concerned. Structural edits are done, and it’s now in the ‘polish away all the accidental stupid’ phase (more commonly known as copy-editing).
In terms of what to expect? Well, Legacy of Steel resolves some conflicts and spawns a whole bunch more, because events never fade into history as swiftly as we might like…but I think we’ll have to wait a bit to go into any sort of detail.
However, it won’t be as long a wait this time. I’m not sure the final date’s been made public yet, but it should be a month or two earlier in the year than previous volumes…world crises and unforeseen complications notwithstanding. Keep an eye out on my Twitter. I’m sure I’ll talk about it there as soon as I’m able.
***
Thanks so much to Matthew for taking the time to give us the lowdown on Legacy of Steel, and the Legacy Trilogy in general! If you haven’t already checked it out, you can find my interview with Matthew about the first book – Legacy of Ash – right here. Keep an eye out for review of Legacy of Ash coming soon as well!
Click here if you fancy taking a look at some other AUthor Interviews. If you have any questions, comments or other thoughts please do let me know in the comments below, or find me on Twitter.
If you enjoyed this interview, and can manage it, please consider leaving a tip on my Ko-fi page.
