Rob Sanders's Blog, page 12

What's in a Name?

Moving onto a couple more questions that have been waiting for me in the Ask the Author section – both relating to choices of names in Legion of the Damned.

“Reading through Legion of the Damned currently. What is the origin of "Santiarch"? At first I thought it was the chaplain's name, but now it appears to be a title of sorts?”

and

“In other news, now that Legion of the Damned is in my (digital) possession, I'm happy to report it's being thoroughly enjoyed so far. (And from what others have said hereabouts the initial reactions seem to be impressively positive.) More'n that, I can't stress enough my appreciation for what you've mentioned in your previous response: the time taken to add in a detail. But in any case, it's thoroughly enjoyed in the reading, even though I'm only still just starting the book. Also, Ichabod's a cracking name for a space marine.”

Thanks guys. Both these questions relate to names and the naming of things. I take names very seriously. Nothing creates a sense of character more than a name. Nothing creates a sense of a location or (as in science fiction) a place removed, than the names of your characters. In answer to the first – the name or title Santiarch really came from mixing the titles Reclusiarch and Master of Sanctity. Although the codexes are a good guide, they cannot possibly cover the individual terms and cultural differences of thousands of Space Marine chapters. These chapters are going to call different things different names and titles. The trick here is verisimilitude. It must sound like something that already exists but actually be something new. This both interests the reader but confirms expectations. Authors want readers that are kept entertained by detail as well as plot, but at the same time don’t want to confuse them. In a science fiction setting, it is surprisingly easy to lose readers. Something that appears concrete and obvious in your mind sometimes simply isn’t conveyed as well as it could be in the words you have selected and the reader finds it difficult to make the split-second connection you need them to. Personally, I prefer Santiarch to both of the original terms – but I’m biased.

This relates nicely to the mention of detail in the second question. I feel that fictional worlds should be rich. If you are going to invite readers into another world (as with science fiction, fantasy or perhaps even historical fiction) the least you can do is furnish the damn place with interesting detail and descriptions. There are some readers – and authors – who don’t like doing this. This is fair enough. We live in a time heavily influenced by televisual formats. If you ever read books on how to write scripts and screenplays, you will see the same thing. The use of even single adjectives is frowned upon. Straightforward mentions of colour, size or emotion are denounced (by authors – who think everyone should write like them and even readers who aren’t writers) as what people like to term purple prose. This is a ridiculous term. There is prose. Good prose. Bad prose. Readers can enjoy both but there is not a cast iron rulebook about what writers can and cannot do. It seems the fashion today, however, to write bland and featureless prose. This fashion seems to have taken over fiction writing also – even though it is totally misplaced. Everything is cut down to its barest essentials. This is fine for screenplays – but I don’t write screenplays. One of the reasons that many writers don’t bother with detail is because it’s one of the most difficult things to manage in fiction. It requires one hell of an imagination to create worlds even down to the change in your character’s pockets and some writers simply aren’t up to it. Either that or they can’t be bothered to convincingly furnish their fictional worlds. So they use short cuts like not including any detail at all and denounce any that do as writers of purple prose. I personally think that this ‘short changes’ the reader. Most readers would rather read detailed and well-crafted descriptive prose than a failed script masquerading as a novel.

In respect to the name Ichabod and the names of the different Excoriators, I chose to give them a common origin. The Excoriators all share a similar culture and so it helps if their names sound like they share a quality of some kind. Authors can just make names up but I tend to resist that unless the name has a particular phonetic sound that I want. In the case of the Excoriators I went largely for biblical sounding names. This gives all of the characters a unity that is appreciated by the reader – even if it is only an unconscious appreciation. In the reader’s mind everything seems to fit – and this is a good thing because it contributes to wilful suspension of disbelief (which authors cannot do without!)

Question-able

Today we are heading over to the Bloghole – a blog attached to the Black Library Bolthole forum. Months ago, dauntless reviewer Shadowhawk popped some questions over to me for an interview and because I was buried in a mountain of non-author-type -stuff, I kept him waiting a long time. Many apologies and much appreciation to him for his saintly patience. I do try to give good interview - if I can - and answer questions with the detail the questions deserve. If you would like to check about the brilliant questions and my half-coherent attempt at some answers, then follow the link below to the interview on the Black Library Bloghole.

Black Library Bloghole Interview - Rob Sanders

First Commands

This is a blog about Speculative Fiction: chiefly mine – and so I don’t tend to wander off topic very often. I have a range of interests and science fiction and fantasy is but one of them. I also don’t tend to use the blog very often for random musings on day-to-day happening or the meaning of life. Today is a little bit different because today was my last day in my old job. While still remaining a part-time teacher, today was the last day of being Head of English in a secondary school. It was a nice, quiet day and I had lots of time to reflect on my achievements and those that have worked so wonderfully about me. I must make a special mention of Tracy. I am fortunate enough to work with my wife. We are very close and as well as being a married couple, we are also parents to our children, best friends and colleagues working in the same school. I have been Head of Department for five years and have enjoyed a lot of success but I can honestly say that none of it would have been possible without her. I owe her everything.

This is all relevant to the blog in so much as a while back I made a very important decision to step back my commitments to teaching and throw myself into writing. I’m a very good teacher – even if I say so myself – but I have always wanted to be a writer. It is my dream job and I owe it as much of my time and energy and I can reasonably give.

I began this post by saying that this is a blog about Speculative Fiction. So, in honour of my final day, here are my Top 5 Science-Fiction captains who, at one time or another, bid farewell to their commands.


5. Commander David Bowman - Discovery One





4. Captain Malcolm Reynolds - Serenity





3. The Doctor - The TARDIS





2. Captain Han Solo - The Millennium Falcon





1. Captain James T. Kirk - The USS Enterprise

Paint it Black

Painting. When I initially took up the Warhammer 40k hobby - in my younger days - I was struck by how involving it is. There’s the time and imaginative energy it takes to assemble and collect the miniatures and lend your army/armies character; to get together with friends who had done the same and devise battle scenarios and background; to read the wealth of background books and codexes that accompany the different factions; to create scenery and objectives; to paint your glorious miniatures and finally, to play the game. Entire summers of my childhood zoomed by in a haze of rulebooks, tape measures and multi-sided dice.

I was a passable painter but again it was the creative element that appealed to me rather than the technical aptitude. I really have respect for painters who can do both. Recently I discovered this miniature on the internet by a painter-gamer called QiaoZhong. It is Barabas Dantioch - a Loyalist Iron Warrior – from my Horus heresy short story called The Iron Within. The Iron Within can be found here or as part of the Horus Heresy anthology Age of Darkness here. I’m very fond of Dantioch’s character and he’s also proved popular with reader meaning that it is especially nice to see him represented in miniature form. An excellent paint job, I’m sure you’ll agree. Thanks QiaoZhong.

What New Devilry Is This?

I’m not an all out technophobe but I did come to social media party late. Facebook, Twitter and blogging were something that other people did. As an author, however, I soon came to appreciate the boon these forms of communication were and became more and more interested in the more technical aspects of their application. Now I would regard myself as more clued-up than most but there are still some quite common internet-based mediums that I have as yet to conquer. Up until very recently, I was a Skype virgin and while I watch a great deal of material on YouTube I’ve never actually uploaded anything for others to experience.

One area that has caught my imagination of late is podcasting. My first instincts regarding podcasting – when I first heard of it – were that it would struggle to generate wide appeal. Perhaps I was thinking of radio as a form, struggling to retain its audience in which most people would agree is a largely visual culture. After a little poking around the subject I came to realise that podcasting is a great deal more popular than I initially gave credit.

My first experience of the format related to a short story competition that I entered. Literary Agent Peter Cox (who famously secured a £2.8 million publishing deal for Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother) ran a competition advertised through his ‘Litopia’ writing community. Peter records a daily podcast for Litopia, which is an excellent source of inside information on publishing and insights regarding writing and the book industry. I was fortunate enough to win the competition and as part of the prize, Peter read my short story out on his podcast and then provided a thirty minute critique of the piece. The Litopia podcast has a wide following and is a popular source of information for aspiring writers. Through Litopia I started to appreciate the advantages of the format. If you’re an aspiring writer then perhaps the Litopia Writers’ Colony is for you. You can check out their site here.


Last week I was lucky enough to be asked back to The Independent Characters – Warhammer 40K podcast. Carl Tuttle and Geoff Hummel run a tight ship over there and offer in-depth interviews, reviews and play-testing round-ups of new releases from Games Workshop. One of the most fascinating sections of their shows is their Forbidden Lore feature, in which the pair offer insights and discuss responses to new Black Library releases. Last week Carl and Geoff discussed my novel Legion of the Damned and asked me to join them to share some of my experiences in writing the book. It was great fun and both Carl and Geoff were gracious and knowledgeable hosts. I encourage you to check out the podcast, which can be found at the link below. Check out the full show to see what The Independent Characters are really about and where they are coming from in terms of Games Workshop products. If you wish to specifically check out The Legion of the Damned section of the show, then it comes in at the 02:41:15 timestamp.

The Independent Characters Warhammer 40k Podcast – Episode 53

Asking For It

Today I continue in my quest to work through my backlog of 'Ask the Author' questions and provide half-decent answers. Wish me luck...

"Hello Rob,

I just finished Legion of the Damned, and enjoyed your take on... well, pretty much all of the Chapters (and Legions) involved. As masochistic as the Excoriators are, I couldn't help feeling for the Scourge and his brothers. The Damned were suitably creepy and the Cholercaust were a real treat to read about, especially for an old World Eaters player.

I took a particular interest in the Fire Lords appearance early in the book - I'd been spit-balling my own ideas about the Chapter for awhile now, but I think you topped all of them. I suspected they were prometheum-swillers, but I never thought about what they'd use as a flint. Very cool.

Which leads to my question: there's been some uncertainty about the Fire Lords's parentage - should we take it as established that they're sons of Dorn?
David Earle"

Hi David,

Thanks for your generous comments on Legion of the Damned. It’s really gratifying when a writer’s take on elements in a shared universe (shared by both authors and invested fans) chimes successfully with readers. It is an easy hurdle to fall foul of. All writers and all readers imagine elements of the background and setting in different ways. It’s great to be on the same page as a good number of readers and certainly it seems that my take on the Legion of the Damned, the Excoriators and the World Eaters has been well received. Some readers see certain chapters a very specific way. This might be their own vision for the chapter – perhaps from their own gaming background or fanfiction. It might be because they were exposed to another writer’s vision of that chapter much earlier on. This can mean it’s very difficult for anyone else to impress upon that reader their own representation of the chapter. Ultimately I think that most readers desire variety and admire publishing companies who try to bring them different stories from different voices set in a universe we can all share.

I’m really glad that you liked the Fire Lord’s chaplain. I enjoyed writing him. I try to give each chapter I use a distinctive culture – even if they only get a few pages of exposure. The promethium and flint were cool elements to include but I also wanted his fighting style to reflect the fast and fluid movement of flames.

I contacted Mat Ward quite early on in respect to what little there had been written about the Feast of Blades in the codexes. He had some further information for me in respect to who might attend in respect to being Imperial Fists successor chapters. I was delighted to see the Fire Lords on the list – although it didn’t specify a Founding. I guess we can both take it as confirmed that the Fire Lord’s have Dorn as their parent-Primarch. It would be great to return to the Fire Lords some day in further fiction.

Thanks for your question, David and thanks for reading Legion of the Damned.

Electric Shoeboxing #6

The scissors have returned. Today I am back to my obsession with organising the internet and gathering snippets of project-related stuff and putting them in the equivalent of a 'shoebox'. Needless to say, these clippings aren't just placed in a shoebox and slipped under a bed or into the back of a cupboard. They belong here on the blog where they will be organised and preserved for as long as the internet lasts (probably quite a while). Today I gather a few snippets from a range of locations on my Horus Heresy short story The Iron Within, which can be found in the collection Age of Darkness. A big thanks to those who take the time to register their appreciation.


"The Iron Within by Rob Sanders. An Iron Warriors captain, still loyal to the Emperor, lures his erstwhile legion into besieging his fiendishly designed stronghold in an effort to delay the advance of the rebel forces. A tense and bleak story of a siege where the seemigly inevitable death of the small garrison of loyalist space marines is well built up. I really enjoyed the character of the garrison's grizzled leader." BilltheBloody - Goodreads

"The Iron Within by Rob Sanders 10/10 a masterpiece! one of the best battles so far in the series." Jon - Black Library Product Review

"Give Rob Sanders a HH novel. The Iron Within is an amazing short story. Best of story in the book by far." Nickolas - Black Library Product Review

"Rob Sanders did a fantastic job with Iron Within - by far my favourite." Matt -Black Library Product Review

"I have to say, from all that I have read on the Iron Warriors, the characters in this novel have to be the best. It tells you alot about the legion's obsession with siege-craft." Mohammed- Black Library Product Review

"I was very pleasantly surprised by the new story by Rob Sanders, a really gripping tale and gave a slightly new spin on the HH. Great stuff." Richard- Black Library Product Review

"The Iron Within (Rob Sanders) 5/5 Love it! Iron Warriors Loyal vs Iron Warriors (Traitor) damm, this was a great book." Army of the Week

Okay, this is sounding a little like an ego trip so let's muddy the waters with a response from someone who didn't like The Iron Within as much. This is Andrej - Black Library Product Review.

"I don't understand how anyone can enjoy Iron Within. It paints every non-loyalist Iron Warrior as an unskilled idiot. While the loyal Warsmith is prepared for every contingency, the traitors are apparently unprepared for everything. They waste a ton of precious resources on a planet with no strategic importance. I'm also tired of 30th millennium sieges being treated as 17th century affairs."

Sorry Andrej. I guess you can't please all of the people all of the time. : )

This Week I have Been Mostly Playing... 2

That’s actually a downright lie. I’ve been playing very little this week. I actually move through video games quite slowly and methodically. As cultural forms go, video games are pretty good value for money in my estimation. Some are better than others. Some are over very rapidly and for their price the excitement seems short lived. Others can seem to go on forever and we are happy to immerse ourselves in either the expansive natures of their fictional universes (Red Dead Redemption, Oblivion, GTA, Fallout 3) or a repetitive but rewarding experience (Left for Dead).

In terms of video games I have a particular fondness for zombie games. Zombie films can sometimes be disappointing and examples of good zombie literature are few and far between. Zombie video games tend to boil down the best elements of the genre into one interactive experience. Usually the player is cast as a survivor of some kind of zombie apocalypse and zombies are abound in glorious, gory detail. I think that there is also something interesting going on with how the zombie genre reflects the real world. I think that the genre says something about the modern world and does this better than perhaps vampire or werewolf sub-genre. Perhaps the original Dawn of the Dead communicated it best. The modern world could be viewed as already full of zombies, wandering around soulless cities and mindlessly consuming whatever is available – political lies, consumer brainwashing and reality television role models. The apocalypse has already happened! Is there any wonder that the survivors cast in these games, films and books want to take a chainsaw, shotgun or Molotov cocktail to it all?

My latest foray into the genre was Dead Island. I've been playing it for a while and have just recently completed it. I’d seen the trailer for the game and was very impressed by it. It generated a suitable mood and genuine sense of expectation for the game with its cinematic tricks. Check it out. Then check it out reversed.




I found the game itself to be enjoyable but it didn’t fulfil the promise of the trailer. You are essentially cast as the survivor of an epidemic breaking out on a South Seas tropical island. The disease kills islanders in their droves before reanimating them as manic, gut-thirsty zombies. It was a game that started off very well – but deteriorated in quality and inventiveness as it went along.

Pluses:
-The setting is completely at odds with a typical zombie film / game being a beach resort in the roasting Summer sun. It shouldn’t work but it does.
-Weapons and scavenging. The game gives you opportunity to pick up many seemingly useless items on your travels through the resort that you can then use upon finding a work bench to make more interesting / devastating weapons. Found baseball bat plus found nails equals a spiked bat that does greater and gorier damage.
-Calibration and close combat. Different weapons inflict different amounts and types of damage. Hammers, bats and oars etc. Crush skulls while axes and machetes cleave off grasping, infected limbs. Also the guns suck in terms of stopping zombies (bullets mostly passing straight through them) and ammo is appropriately rare.
-Missions. Missions are largely restricted to moving between groups of survivors and doing things for them. Your character seems to be immune (obviously!) and so can do this. Many missions are mercy missions to save lives but some of the more interesting one involve moron survivors trying to save their valuables rather than their lives and you have to choose whether or not to risk your life (zombies can still kill and eat you) in pursuing these for rewards.
-Detail. The game is appropriately gory.
-Vehicles. Cars are deadly weapons on the island and if you can get to one them mowing down zombies in the road can be sickeningly satisfying (until your windscreen smashes and your engine begins to belch smoke).

Minuses:
-You may select one of four characters who are introduced in the cinematic intro. You go around alone as one of these characters. The intro is good but when you get to an inevitable cut scene suddenly the three other characters pop up. It jolts you out of the gaming experience.
-Missions can get repetitive in nature.
-The story. There is very little of it and the game generally boils down to trying to get off the island.
-Guns. I’ve mentions these as a plus. While it is realistic that the guns do little damage it is not very satisfying. It also means you have to get up close and personal with hordes of zombies in close combat which is the last thing a survivor would want to do.
-Multiplayer. The game tries to do something interesting with this by allowing other players to join you if they are at roughly the same stage in the narrative as you. Sounds great but creates a contradictory desire to stay away from other survivors in case they largely do missions for you or grab interesting items that you think you might need.
-Character chemistry. Zero. No chemistry to speak of between the four characters even when they are foisted upon you in the cut scenes.
-The end. The beginning, which you are skulking around the resort with only improvised weaponry and zombies everywhere is genuinely unnerving and the best bit of the game. The end just turned into a kill the grotesque boss-fest and even he was pretty easy to defeat.

Verdict:
All in all, if you like zombie games (like me) then Dead Island is for you. Prepare yourself, however, for a game that does suffer from diminishing returns and isn’t a touch on games like Left for Dead and Left for Dead 2. In fact, upon completing Dead Island my immediate instinct was to pick up Left for Dead 2 again.

Any recommendations for other zombie games welcome!

Not a Rhetorical Question

I suck at answering questions: it’s true. The answers I give are passable but it’s the timing that is all out. Take for instance the ‘Ask the Authors’ section on The Black Library Bolthole. As forums go The Black Library Bolthole is a hell of a nice place to hang out – and it’s in good company with places like Heresy Online and Warseer. The Bolthole holds a particular draw for me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is the only one of the major Warhammer forums whose focus is solely on Black Library fiction so I’m a little biased. The second reason is because the head honcho over at the Black Library Bolthole is my friend and BL author Sarah Cawkwell – and she’s always nice to hang out with. Sarah and I share pages in the recently released The Best of Hammer and Bolter Volume 1 in which stories by both of us can be found. We have also both worked on the same novel series. My Space Marine Battles novel Legion of the Damned follows Sarah’s wonderful The Gildar Rift. You can check it out here – and I recommend you do so.


I digress. The Black Library Bolthole has a section in which readers can ask Black Library authors questions about their work and I have been terrible at keeping up to date with this. In a reaffirmation of my commitment, I’ve decided to place answers to questions both in the ‘Ask the Author’ section where the questions are posted and also here on the blog. That way I feel I will regularly return to the questions as a feature and not be such a schmuck and leave them for months and months. Anyway – I’m up to a question from a Boltholer called Richter: which is a great name, by the way.

“Dear Rob Sanders,

I too recently finished Legion of the Damned, and am impressed. You have a very economical narrative going, and I really like how you leave - purposely - gaps so the reader's mind can fill the blanks and make up their own minds. It's a strong technique, employed by such writers as George R.R. Martin of Song of Ice and Fire fame, and something I always enjoyed about his writing elsewhere, too.

I also enjoyed the way you portrayed the Excoriators. A chapter haunted by their own blood curse, a chapter who do things that are at least questionable for Astartes (they allow their serfs way too much power over themselves, for one), and their attitude, especially towards Kersh, make them a little hard to like at first, but they do grow on you a lot. I flinched every time one of them died in the end. And that's a lot of flinching.

And Kersh. Boy, Kersh. That poor guy takes in every bit as bad as Garviel Loken, if not even worse. And manages his own breed of badassery. The "request". I laughed.

I also have a question, of course. You already answered something I indeed had been wondering, if I somehow missed a short story - but no. I actually prefer it that way. As I said, I like books that allow for select blank spaces.

My question:
So much left unanswered. Who built the throne? Why did nobody notice? What WERE the ecclesiarchs talking about in their conspiracy meeting? Will we ever learn?
I also have a [spoiler=Conspiracy theory:]The monument that called the Cholercaust and the Red Comet was built with the censure and sanction of the ecclesiarchs. they wanted the cholercaust there, and wanted to lute Astartes there so they'd stop it, to then claim that Umberto II's bones did the miracle.[/spoiler]. Pretty far fetched, but there you go.

Well, that's it. Keep it up. I really hope to see more of the Excoriators. I'll probably try and build me one for Deathwatch, on the off chance I'll get to play him.

Yours,

Richter”


Hi Richter,

Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading Legion of the Damned. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. In respect to your observation about ‘filling in the blanks’, I do agree that it is important not to do everything for the reader. I think that the reader feels smothered and patronised if they are told how to feel or what things mean at every opportunity. It shows a lack of trust and is kind of insulting to the reader. So I agree with you – best to involve them by making their responses a planned and integral part of the storytelling. I must admit that I haven’t read any George R.R. Martin but I’ll check him out. On your recommendation I think I’ll like his narrative style. And thanks for the comparison.

In respect to Kersh’s likability, I think that there are some characters that the writer makes it very easy to like. I wanted people to work at it with Kersh. He was going to go through so much that I didn’t think that straightforward likability (because he’s kind or a nice guy) would sustain the reader. Regardless of how they found him, I wanted readers to want him to succeed. Sometimes it is more interesting if a main character is not instantly likeable.

As for the Spoiler, I can answer that without ruining it for anyone else. I wanted to set up conflict between different Imperial factions. In the book there is a clear dichotomy between the Ecclesiarchy and their belief that the Emperor is a God and the Excoriators Space Marines who regard him as far more than human but not a god to be worshipped. The Ecclesiarchy are trying their best to manipulate the Excoriators and the circumstances to their best advantage and, as a result, wield increasing power for themselves. The ‘throne’ as you term it was secretly constructed in a location where no-one would see it. Again – I won’t ruin it for others but if you check out its examination by the Excoriators again, you’ll see why that was. I won’t comment on your ‘conspiracy’ theory. As you’ve correctly observed, I like to leave certain elements open to interpretation to involve the reader. If I’ve involved you by inviting an interpretation and coming up with a theory then I certainly don’t want to spoil your fun by filling in those gaps.

Hey, and good luck with the Deathwatch. If you do get around to painting an Excoriator I’d love to see a picture of it. Feel free to pop one up in the ‘Ask the Authors’ section. Thanks once again for reading Legion of the Damned.

Cheers

Rob

My 'Ask the Author' page on the Black Library Bolthole can be found either here or down on the side bar. Feel free to ask me a question.

"A Tale of Dissension..."

Review time! Reviews have been flying in for my novel ‘Legion of the Damned’ and over the next few weeks it is my intention to share them here. Magpie-like I suppose I like to organise the mess that is the internet and put my reviews in one place. This piece is by Black Library-reviewing stalwarts 'Falcata Times', who had some nice things to say about my writing.

“Falcata Times Reviews : ‘Legion of the Damned’

I love a tale of dissension, hostility and of course combat, yet when the first two are present within a Space Marine unit then it’s going to make for some interesting storytelling as the Excoriators take the lead in this, the new Space Marine Battle title. In addition to inner turmoil, add solid combat, some wonderful twists and of course heavy hand to hand fighting and it’s a title that will keep many a reader happy, however with the loss of focus part way the pace does tend to slack off until the final sequence.

Finally add to this an author who has a good understanding of prose alongside dialogue and all in, it’s a solid release and whilst not my favourite story in the series, the inner conflict really wins it some brownie points.”

Falcata Times reviews a wide range of fiction and their website can be found here. Check it out.