AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Mike Shackle Talks A Fool’s Hope

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview – today I’m talking to author Mike Shackle as part of the blog tour for his new novel A Fool’s Hope, which is published tomorrow by Gollancz! As the sequel to We Are The Dead – one of my favourite books of 2019 – I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time, so I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour, and to have been able to chat to Mike about this awesome new book. Read on to find out more about A Fool’s Hope, The Last War trilogy as a whole, and even get a hint of what’s still to come – and then make sure you go out and grab a copy!

Without further ado, on with the interview…

Track of Words: A Fool’s Hope is the second book in your trilogy The Last War – for anyone unfamiliar with the series, could you give a quick overview of what to expect?

Mike Shackle: Book one, WE ARE THE DEAD, is an epic fantasy full of crunching revolutionary action, twisted magic, and hard choices in dark times. It’s about what happens when the bad guys win and there are no heroes left to save you. Set over 8 days of blood, it’s a non-stop thrill ride into the heart of darkness.

A coward, a teenage terrorist, a single mother and a one-armed general must come together in a desperate attempt to save a young girl’s life before all is lost.

ToW: Could you talk a little about the world in which this story is set?

MS: Most of the book takes place in a country called Jia. Once, it was the home to magic but, when that faded from the world, a warrior caste known as the Shulka rose to protect Jia and maintain its prominent position in the world. However, the Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that the Shulka were wiped out and Jia was conquered. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day.

ToW: Bearing that in mind, how would you describe A Fool’s Hope?

MS: A FOOL’S HOPE continues exactly 1 minute after the end of WE ARE THE DEAD and takes our reluctant heroes into further danger, as they realise there is no escape from the evils that have befallen their world. Sometimes, you have to take a stand and fight for what’s right.

ToW: What can you tell us about the specific characters in this book? Are there any new faces this time around?

MS: All the old favourites are back. Tinnstra, Zorique, Dren, Yas and Jax. Plus, we meet Mateon, an Egril soldier who might not be the bad guy you think he is, and Francin, another of the evil Chosen. And finally, there is Ralasis, a sea captain who is the closest you’ll find to a swash-buckling hero.

ToW: We Are The Dead was a super-dark story of brutal oppression and the search for hope in the darkness; have you taken the same tone and approach to A Fool’s Hope, or would you say it’s a different style of book this time?

MS: A FOOL’S HOPE continues those themes. It’s about not giving up when all seems lost and fighting with the belief that things will get better. It’s also about the bonds of family and what we’ll do for love.

Having said that, there’s plenty of action, tense nervous moments and some full-on magic that will hopefully have everyone cheering by the end.

ToW: How have you expanded the setting in A Fool’s Hope? Will we get to see more of the world outside of Jia, this time around?

MS: Yes! We’re off to Meigore, the last country still free of the Egril, and we also visit Kagestan, the capital of the Egril Empire, where we meet the Emperor himself, the mighty Raaku.

ToW: Where did the story for The Last War as a series come from? What made you want to write this in particular?

MS: I started writing this series in late 2016, just after the country I loved decided to turn its back on the world and a certain orange-skinned man became president. It really felt like the bad guys had won across the world. What was worse was that I couldn’t see who was going to come and save us. In fiction, we’re used to Aragon or Logan Nine Fingers turning up in the nick of time and winning the day, but life isn’t like that. It’s always ordinary people who must collectively come together and put things right.

As a result, the books are dark but, at their hearts, they are about the strength of hope and the power of love.

ToW: How did you find the writing process for this, compared to book one? Was it easier, knowing you had already written We Are the Dead? Harder, because you wanted to match or exceed what you’d achieved last time around?

MS: As much as I always hope writing the next book will get easier, the truth is very much the opposite. A FOOL’S HOPE was tough — to the extent I scrapped two versions at 65,000 words and started over. Juggling eight POV characters in three locations was headache-inducing at times. But I believe the self-doubt and the questioning of everything are unfortunately part of the process that pushes me to write the best story I can.

ToW: What do you hope fantasy fans will get out of A Fool’s Hope by the time they’ve finished it?

MS: I hope that anyone who reads A FOOL’S HOPE will have had an exciting and emotional rollercoaster of a journey, full of magic, mayhem and monsters — and then they’ll go tell their friends to buy a copy.

ToW: How are you getting on with the next book? Can you tell us anything about what to expect, or when it’s likely to be out?

MS: At the moment, the final book in The Last War trilogy will be out at the end of 2021, but that could change. I’ve nearly finished writing the book, but it’s not been easy. To say the current state of the world hasn’t helped my creative process would be an understatement. However, I’ve also been very lucky. The government of British Columbia (and Canada as a whole) has been terrific in how they’ve handled the pandemic and life has gone on relatively normally. My heart goes out to everyone who’s really suffered through the problems of this year.

As to what to expect? This is the big one. The end of it all. This is when we find out if our plucky surviving heroes will defeat the evil Empire and make Jia free once more. No matter what happens, they will fight UNTIL THE LAST.

***

Thanks so much to Mike for getting involved with this interview, and for the excellent answers. If you haven’t already read We Are The Dead then you can check out my review right here, and keep an eye out for a review of A Fool’s Hope coming soon! Make sure you take a look at the rest of the stops on the blog tour, too!

If you’re in the UK and would like to support local independent bookshops, you can buy A Fool’s Hope from my store on Bookshop.org*

Alternatively, buy A Fool’s Hope from Amazon* – also available as an audiobook*

*If you buy anything using this link, I will receive a small affiliate commission – see here for more details.

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