Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of author interviews, where today I’m chatting to the excellent chap that is Darius Hinks about his new Black Library novel Gitslayer. Darius already has form writing about the irascible Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson in the Age of Sigmar, and this is his second Gotrek novel after 2019’s entertaining Ghoulslayer. It also bears what is surely one of the finest titles in all of the Black Library range! Gitslayer goes up for pre-order in hardback (via the Games Workshop website), ebook and MP3 audiobook (via the Black Library website and, presumably by then, Amazon) on Saturday 15th May, so if you’re keen to get your hands on Gotrek’s next adventure read on to find out more about it!
Without further ado, let’s get straight on with the interview!
Track of Words: How would you describe your new novel Gitslayer?
Darius Hinks: Gotrek’s in the grip of a new obsession. He’s decided that the only way he’ll find his purpose in the Mortal Realms is to remove the Fyreslayer rune from his chest. He’s decided it’s warping his mind and possibly even turning him into some kind of avatar of Grimnir (who’s high on the list of people he’d like to sink an axe into). With that in mind, he goes to the Kharadron aether-khemists of Barak-Urbaz, in the Realm of Metal. They’re famed for their metallurgical/alchemical science and he’s confident they can relieve him of the rune.
However, once he gets there, he finds that Barak-Urbaz is in turmoil and on the brink of being overwhelmed. The Bad Moon is rising and it has roused the goblinoid Moonclan tribes from their lurklairs. The Gloomspite hordes are massing in unprecedented numbers. Gotrek’s not happy with how the Kharadron are handling the situation so he takes matters into his own hands. Carnage ensues.
ToW: Whereabouts in the Mortal Realms is this set?
DH: It’s set in Chamon, the Realm of Metal, in a region called Ayadah. As the Bad Moon rises, we jump all over Ayadah, but most of the action takes place in the Kharadron sky-port of Barak-Urbaz, and in a strange, fungal sub-realm called the Asylum.
ToW: How does this relate to your previous Gotrek novel, Ghoulslayer? Is it a direct sequel (in the vein of the old Nounslayer novels) or a separate adventure?
DH: I’ve written the novel to work as a standalone. Gotrek’s reluctant companion, Maleneth Witchblade, writes reports to her superiors in Azyr, which gives me a chance to fill in the story so far for anyone who’s new to Gotrek. That said, anyone who read Ghoulslayer or listened to the Realmslayer audio dramas, will enjoy this as a continuation of the bigger Gotrek story arc. It refers to events in Ghoulslayer and Realmslayer and the core trio of characters (Gotrek, Maleneth and Trachos) is the same as in Ghoulslayer.
ToW: Have you introduced any new characters this time around? Or is it the same cast from Ghoulslayer?
DH: As well as the three recurring characters I’ve just mentioned, there’s a host of new characters, mostly a mixture of Gloomspite Gitz and Kharadron Overlords. I particularly enjoyed making up my own Gobbapalooza (a kind of witches coven of deranged grot seers, prophets and visionaries who’ve eaten a few too many poisonous mushrooms). There’s a dark, creepy, ancient folklore vibe to the Gloomspite Gitz that really appeals to me. They’re hilarious and terrifying at the same time.
ToW: How about the other Gotrek short stories that have been released in the Age of Sigmar range since Ghoulslayer came out – how do they fit in with the novels, in terms of timelines?
DH: It’s Realmslayer, Realmslayer: Blood of the Old World, Ghoulslayer and then Gitslayer, in terms of the big beats. Other than that, I imagined The Neverspike coming after Realmslayer and before Ghoulslayer, and Death on the Road to Svardheim would probably take place before Gitslayer. That said, the idea is that you can pick up any Gotrek story and enjoy it without having read the entire Slayer canon.
ToW: How did you find writing about the Gloomspite Gitz as your antagonists for this book? What challenges and/or benefits did they bring?
DH: I was nervous about writing them. I knew they needed to be funny and horrific at the same time and have that nightmarish, surreal folklore aesthetic I mentioned earlier and I thought that might be hard to get right. But once I got going I absolutely loved writing about them. My favourite parts of Warhammer are the odd, surreal, twisted, strangely British aspects and the Gloomspite Gitz fit neatly into that slot. To be honest, I had so much fun with them they ended up taking over more of the book than I intended. Once I let them out of their lairs I couldn’t hold them back.
ToW: With one Gotrek novel already under your belt, how did you find working on Gitslayer? Was it easier this time, with the confidence of already having written Ghoulslayer? Harder, with more to live up to?
DH: I find it easier to write Gotrek each time I come back to him. Ghoulslayer was the hardest. I’d never written about a character with so many great novels to his name and I was worried about dropping the ball after all the great work done by Bill King, David Guymer and everyone in between. But I’ve relaxed into it now. To be honest, writing Gotrek comes so naturally, I feel more like I’m reading these stories than writing them. Put Gotrek in any situation and you pretty much know how he’ll react.
ToW: Did you do anything different this time around, in terms of maybe structuring the story, or how you portrayed the characters?
DH: I gave myself more room to enjoy Gotrek and Maleneth’s ‘Odd Couple’ relationship. I love how they spark off each other so I let them have space to wind each other up and row. Their dynamic is what makes these stories work, I think. I know people pine for Felix but I think David had created, in Maleneth, the perfect foil for Gotrek. They’re a lot of fun to write.
ToW: What do you hope Age of Sigmar fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
DH: A more detailed, ‘ground-level’ view of life in the Mortal Realms and a burning desire to dig out all the other Gotrek fiction.
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Darius Hinks is the author of the Warhammer 40,000 novel Blackstone Fortress and three novels in the Mephiston series. For Warhammer, he wrote Warrior Priest, which won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for best newcomer, as well as the Orion Trilogy, Sigvald and several novellas. His work for Age of Sigmar includes Stormcast, Warqueen and the Gotrek Gurnisson novel Ghoulslayer.
Check out Darius’ website for more information.
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As always, many thanks to Darius for taking the time to answer these questions, and for giving us the lowdown on Gitslayer!
See also: my review of Ghoulslayer, and my interview with Darius about Ghoulslayer.
See also: Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages with William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks.
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