Ask the Author: Sebastien de Castell
Answered Questions (171)
Sebastien de Castell
As a matter of fact, there are two sequels to Malevolent Seven coming, and I’m writing the first of those as we speak!
Sebastien de Castell
If you want a fully chronological way to read them (but keeping the prequels for after) it would be like this:
1. Spellslinger
1a. the Dowager Magus (free short story on my site)
2. Shadowblack
2a. The Obsidian Worm (short story available on my site)
3. Charmcaster
3a. The Red Lily (short story available on my site)
4. Soulbinder
5. Queenslayer
6. Crownbreaker
Then the prequels
1. Way of the Argosi
2. Fall of the Argosi
3. Fate of the Argosi
4. Trial of the Argosi (coming soon)
1. Spellslinger
1a. the Dowager Magus (free short story on my site)
2. Shadowblack
2a. The Obsidian Worm (short story available on my site)
3. Charmcaster
3a. The Red Lily (short story available on my site)
4. Soulbinder
5. Queenslayer
6. Crownbreaker
Then the prequels
1. Way of the Argosi
2. Fall of the Argosi
3. Fate of the Argosi
4. Trial of the Argosi (coming soon)
Sebastien de Castell
Yes, in fact the first draft is already written!
Sebastien de Castell
There are a couple of big questions in there, but the quick answer is that what inspires me to write is usually observing something that strikes me as odd about the world, whether something that exists yet seems as if it shouldn’t or something that should exist but doesn’t. That’s also key to what motivates me to keep writing: wanting to answer a question that I wouldn’t be able to formulate in literal terms by exploring it through fiction.
Sebastien de Castell
Couldn't say! I never pre-judge Kellen's future until I'm writing the actual book. Although, with his romantic track record, it's entirely possible it'll just be him and his ill-tempered squirrel cat business partner trekking from one dangerous land to another in search of trouble.
Sebastien de Castell
Alas, Pastien proved himself somewhat too ethically malleable for someone like Valiana who has fought so hard to build up her own moral foundations. More importantly, Valiana’s still focused on protecting the country from both existing threats and one’s just emerging, which is why she’ll be making a big appearance in Our Lady of Blades next year!
Sebastien de Castell
I haven’t been keeping up on other writers’ fantasy novels lately, but books like Kings of the Wylde by Nicholas Eames or Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch might appeal to you?
Sebastien de Castell
I think both Crucible of Chaos and Play of Shadows are fine for young adults. Malevolent Seven, too, most likely, though it has a great deal of swearing in it! If your son hasn't read the Argosi books (beginning with Way of the Argosi), he might enjoy those as they tell the origins of Ferius Parfax, one of the main characters in the Spellslinger series.
Sebastien de Castell
Yes, I’ll be putting it up on my site under the “Author Exclusives” section in the coming weeks.
Sebastien de Castell
Thanks so much for the kind words, Lissa! The Greatcoats Quartet is still very close to my heart (as it was my debut series), so it’s wonderful to hear that people keep discovering those benighted travelling magistrates!
Sebastien de Castell
Yes, there is! Expect to seen an announcement in the coming months.
Sebastien de Castell
I've tried reading the first Locke Lamora book a few times, but for some reason it never quite grabs me after the first hundred pages or so. Not sure why, as I've heard from many people that it's a terrific series. I'll have to give it another go sometime soon!
Sebastien de Castell
Really delighted that you enjoyed the Greatcoats Quartet, Emma.
In the short term, both Falcio and Kest appear in some of the short stories in my Tales of the Greatcoats collection, which you can find here: https://decastell.com/book/tales-of-t...
In the upcoming Court of Shadows series, Falcio, Kest and Brasti will be making cameos now and then, but won't be in starring roles for some time yet; they deserve a break after all they went through in the first four books!
Best,
Sebastien
In the short term, both Falcio and Kest appear in some of the short stories in my Tales of the Greatcoats collection, which you can find here: https://decastell.com/book/tales-of-t...
In the upcoming Court of Shadows series, Falcio, Kest and Brasti will be making cameos now and then, but won't be in starring roles for some time yet; they deserve a break after all they went through in the first four books!
Best,
Sebastien
Sebastien de Castell
You can comfortably start either with the Spellslinger series or the Argosi series. Neither one spoils events from the other. I'd read the first page from Spellslinger and the first page from Way of the Argosi and see which one speaks to you right now, then go with that!
Sebastien de Castell
Originally, I intended to make it a standalone, however I keep playing out the opening chapters of the sequel in my head, which is always a sign I'll have to write it.
Sebastien de Castell
It's not just you – it *has* been an eternity. I seem to recall the original release date was in 2020. The pandemic and various publishing stuff has caused it to be pushed back multiple times (most recently to avoid conflicting with the release of The Malevolent Seven). However, the official-must-never-be-changed-save-due-to-events-of-cosmic-proportions publication of Play of Shadows is March, 2024.
Sebastien de Castell
I'm not much of an expert on fantasy sub-genres, but I suppose I'd say that my impression of Grimdark fiction is that it presents worlds that are inherently dark in nature (as opposed to worlds that are fundamentally good yet infected by some unnatural evil) and suggests that human qualities of kindness, decency, daring and self-sacrifice are inherently flawed approaches. With the Greatcoats, I wanted to propose that those qualities (in their aggregate form of "swashbuckling") still have fundamental value even when they seem to fail at a tactical level.
Put differently, most Grimdark fiction I've read presents a narrative in which trying to be decent is futile and, in a sense, an act of vanity because it's doomed to fail and thus bring no good to the world. The Greatcoats argues that decency and self-sacrifice are virtues not because they tend to be successful but because they tend to awaken those virtues in broader groups of people who've been beaten down into believing that their own senses of decency and self-sacrifice are irrelevant. Falcio's not successful because he's daring or valorous, but because his insistence on trying over and over again to live up to those qualities has the effect of making other people find them in themselves. Basically, he turns other people into swashbucklers.
That all sounds kind of pretentious, but then, swashbuckling has its roots in some wonderful pretensions.
Put differently, most Grimdark fiction I've read presents a narrative in which trying to be decent is futile and, in a sense, an act of vanity because it's doomed to fail and thus bring no good to the world. The Greatcoats argues that decency and self-sacrifice are virtues not because they tend to be successful but because they tend to awaken those virtues in broader groups of people who've been beaten down into believing that their own senses of decency and self-sacrifice are irrelevant. Falcio's not successful because he's daring or valorous, but because his insistence on trying over and over again to live up to those qualities has the effect of making other people find them in themselves. Basically, he turns other people into swashbucklers.
That all sounds kind of pretentious, but then, swashbuckling has its roots in some wonderful pretensions.
Sebastien de Castell
Thanks for the kind words! The Greatcoats series is indeed continuing (though with different main characters as I could only torture poor Falcio so long before giving him a well-deserved rest). The new series is called The Greatcoats: Court of Shadows and launches in 2023 with PLAY OF SHADOWS. In the meantime, there's a Greatcoats short story collection titled Tales of the Greatcoats, Book 1 which is out now. And, of course, the entire six-book Spellslinger series followed by the Argosi trilogy of which the first two are out now.
Sebastien de Castell
Thanks for the kind words about the Spellslinger and Greatcoats series. To answer your question about video games, movies, and TV, what typically happens with books is that they get optioned by studios or production companies who then go out and try to get something made. Both Spellslinger and the Greatcoats have been optioned, so from an author standpoint, it's a matter of waiting to see if they're able to get something into production. I'll definitely be shouting it out from my website when/if there's some concrete and publishable news on those fronts!
Sebastien de Castell
Hi Sean,
I'm delighted to hear you've read the short stories (twice, no less!) I have written a bunch more, but most are either not fantasy or at least not the fantasy I usually write. I'll be putting together a second volume of Tales of the Greatcoats in the fall, but right now I'm doing revisions on three upcoming novels, so I'm easing up on new short stories for a month or two. I do have a couple that are ready to go, however, so I'll probably put those out in June.
I'm delighted to hear you've read the short stories (twice, no less!) I have written a bunch more, but most are either not fantasy or at least not the fantasy I usually write. I'll be putting together a second volume of Tales of the Greatcoats in the fall, but right now I'm doing revisions on three upcoming novels, so I'm easing up on new short stories for a month or two. I do have a couple that are ready to go, however, so I'll probably put those out in June.
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