Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview, where today I’m delighted to welcome back Matthew Ward, whose novel The Fire Within Them – book two in the Soulfire Saga – is out now! I’ve spoken to Matthew about his books multiple times (you can find them all here) and it’s always an intriguing experience, but this time I thought I’d take a slightly different approach. We covered the usual questions about The Fire Within Them, but the main focus of the interview involves the magical elements at the heart of the Soulfire Saga. Having read book one, The Darkness Before Them, I was fascinated by this setting and the magic at its core, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity to ask Matthew to tell us more!
First, here’s the synopsis for The Fire Within Them:
For the first time in a millennia, the kingdom of Khalad is divided. The Battle of Athenoch has fanned the spark of Bashar Vallant’s rebellion to a raging flame. Tyzanta, jewel of the east, has declared for his cause, and other cities have followed. Vallant, the people’s hero, may soon be powerful enough to challenge Caradan Diar, Khalad’s immortal king.
But such power demands great personal sacrifice.
Afflicted with omen rot after channelling the Deadwinds to save Athenoch from the koilos army, Kat searches for a means to stop the disease killing her as it did her mother. Her journey will uncover secrets long since buried – secrets concerning her past, her family and the kingdom itself.
Eventually she’ll learn that the past never stays buried in Khalad – and that the truth can cut deeper than any blade.
That covered, let’s get straight into the interview.
Track of Words: To start things off, for anyone who might not have read The Darkness Before Them, could you give an overview of what to expect from The Soulfire Saga?
Matthew Ward: The Soulfire Saga follows Katija Arvish (Kat) as she struggles to find her place after her father’s debts make her a fugitive. A few suspect choices later, and she’s teetering on society’s ragged edge, thrown into the company of revolutionaries and schemers, trying to work out who she is and how she fits into a world she barely recognises any longer. The problem is, she can’t be certain she’s making her own choices or walking a path laid out for her long ago. You find your place in Khalad, or one is chosen for you.
ToW: With that in mind, could you tell us a bit about The Fire Within Them and what readers can expect from it?
MW: Having parted ways with Bashar Vallant and his notorious rebels, Kat’s pursuing a more personal journey. She’s hoping that her family’s long-buried secrets might save her cursed sister, but she’s going to learn that so much of what she previously believed – or at least that she’s told herself – isn’t quite what it seems … and leads straight to the foot of the Eternity King’s throne. Fortunately, she’s not alone. For the first time in her life she has friends around her. She’s going to need them.
ToW: Are you introducing any important new characters and/or locations this time around? What can you tell us about them?
MW: Always. We’re spending a lot of time in Zariqaz (the capital of Khalad) as well as delving into the mythical Stars Below and the buried streets of Tadamûr, home of the ageless swordstress Rîma. As Rîma herself would tell you, Khalad is a lot older than Kat and her fellow cinderbloods believe, and it contains wonders and horrors that they’re not ready to face.
ToW: Reading The Darkness Before Them, I was particularly struck by the central concept in this setting of the soul as commodity – something that’s both fascinating and creepy. Could you talk a bit about where that idea came from, and what it allowed you to do?
MW: On one level it’s all filthy practicality. I wanted to have a degree of modern-adjacent technology, but with a fantasy twist. Magical locks, deathless sentries, firearms and the like lend a certain flavour to a story.
There is another layer as well, but I can’t really talk about that. Not yet. It goes to the heart of what Khalad is, and where this journey ends.
ToW: Once you had that concept, how did you go about building out the different kinds of spirits used to power things in this setting? Was it about figuring things out as the story required them, or did you go in knowing you wanted to use certain ideas?
MW: As I said, some things came out of what I wanted from the setting. Others popped up as I went along. Shriekers (the ifrîti that power the handguns) were baked in from the start – I adore shootouts, which work better with a level of magic that’s indistinguishable from technology (or vice versa). Others – heraldics (for sending messages), pyrasti (for lighting fires) – arose out of figuring out what would exist in a setting where such a thing was possible.
ToW: Kat’s tattoo makes for a brilliantly visual way of representing her ability to communicate with spirits – was that visual element the main reason why you went with a tattoo specifically, or were there other reasons behind that?
MW: It’s mostly visual. I worry that if you can’t see a thing happening it’s not truly real – especially in Fantasy, when you’re expecting the reader to take a lot on faith. Coupled to that is wanting to make the protagonist physically noteworthy in some way. Differences drive dynamics. Of course, that means you spend a lot of time figuring out how she keeps the flaming tattoo hidden when it would otherwise derail the plot, but that’s how it goes …
ToW: The Koilos are super creepy, not just for their physical presence but also the nature of what they are, and what they represent as a threat of punishment. What inspired this particular use of spirit magic?
MW: What’s the ultimate punishment? Taking away the one hope that things will get better. For a society rooted in the promise of absolution and reincarnation, there’s no better threat to keep people in line than “death is no escape”. Khalad’s folk lie to themselves that using ifrîti isn’t immoral because they’re not really alive … but if the koilos are aware enough to know they’re being punished, that can’t be true, can it? For-profit prisons reaching into the spirit world. When someone’s more useful as a convict, society finds reasons to lock people up.
ToW: Alongside the ‘soul as commodity’, the other magical aspect of this setting that’s particularly evocative is the ever-present danger of the mists. Creepy mist seems like a bit of a recurring theme for you – what is it about this idea that appeals to you in fiction?
MW: Part of it’s the liminal nature of mist – its ability to transform the ordinary into something entirely other. The world unseen isn’t really the same world at all, even though we know it’s just a trick of light and water vapour.
Beyond that, mist definitely has a narrative purpose whenever it appears in my books. There are rules to these things, you know? And The Fire Within Them definitely shines a light on the what and why of all that … there are a couple of pretty big clues.
ToW: When you’re putting together a world like this, at what point do the gods start to factor into your planning and world building, and what do they give you as a writer?
MW: As with the Legacy Trilogy the gods are very much the basis of the world, and interact with it in ways that might not be immediately obvious. As for the godly pantheon of Khalad … it has a few surprises yet to offer.
ToW: You mentioned in a previous interview that you drew inspiration for Aradane (the setting of your Legacy Trilogy) from places you love around Britain. The mists are still present and correct in Khalad, but otherwise it has quite a different sense of place. Was that a deliberate decision to go for a different feel this time around?
I wanted to do something a little different this time. Legacy is very much rooted in a traditional fantasy world (though I don’t think it’s entirely traditional as a setting) and that comes with a particular green and grey colour palette. Khalad’s black pines and rust red plains are very different. Sadly, I haven’t travelled enough to see anything like that in the real world, but there’s always tomorrow.
ToW: To finish off, this is a book of seconds – the second novel in your second series. How did you find the writing process for this one, and did it throw up any particularly notable challenges or opportunities?
Honestly, this one was somewhat easier than the first, partly because I’d decided early on that I wanted to see some of the world through a different set of eyes … and that character’s definitely a different kettle of fish to Kat or Damant (the other lead of The Darkness Before Them). I also remembered to seed in a character and a plot point that required a bit of setting up, but added a lot of depth (and more importantly was fun to write).
One to keep an eye out for, and see if you work out who I’m talking about.
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Cat-servant and owner of more musical instruments than he can actually play (and considerably more than he can play well), Matthew Ward is also the author of the Legacy Trilogy and the Soulfire Saga, architect of Coldharbour, and a roaming Creative Consultant and Voice Director in video game land, including Warhammer: Vermintide 2, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and Aliens: Dark Descent.
He’s afflicted with an obsession for old places – castles, historic cities and the London Underground chief amongst them – and should probably cultivate more interests to help expand out his author biography.
Find out more at Matthew’s website, or follow Matthew on Twitter.
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As always, thanks so much to Matthew for chatting to me for this interview, and for giving us the lowdown on The Fire Within Them, and the magical backdrop to this series! I hope you enjoyed reading these answers as much as I did. If you haven’t already, you can check out all of the previous interviews and guest posts that Matthew has done on Track of Words.
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