Rob Sanders's Blog, page 13

I is for...

Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The 1978 version. There is nothing wrong with the 1950s version. It’s great but I remember seeing the 1978 version when I was younger and it stuck with me. I personally think that it is the best version – and there have been several since. It stars a plethora of science fiction stalwarts: Jeff Goldblum (The Fly; The Jurassic Park), Veronica Cartwright (Alien) and Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek). In the title role is Donald Sutherland, who has dabbled in the genre, and is excellent as health inspector Matthew Bennell. Sutherland finds himself investigating reports of an infestation in San Francisco while simultaneously discovering that his friends are making allegations that their loved ones are not themselves. Cue: pod people!

The film has a gritty 70s feel and is appropriately paranoid – no doubt reflective of the Watergate period. The health inspector angle is a good one and while Sutherland gets to play it straight and Cartwright gets to scream the place down, Goldblum and Nimoy have a great time with lighter approaches to the roles. There are some fantastic scenes. One stand out is a sequence in which Sutherland and friends discover that the key to moving through a city of pod people without drawing attention to themselves – that is until a horrible, mutant dog with a human face runs up to Veronica Cartwright and makes her scream out. The best scene is the final one of the film. I won’t ruin it. It’s classic.

A Chink In The Armour

It's interesting the things you find on the internet (ha, ha!) Sometimes you find nice little details and projects based upon your own work. It's always encouraging to find that others have put in creative work in response to your own. This is an image I discovered depicting the plate of an Excoriators Space Marine from my novel Legion of the Damned. I love it. I supply it here with a description from the novel that might have inspired it.



" ‘Approbator Quast?’ the Adeptus Astartes rumbled. When Quast didn’t answer, the Excoriator removed his helmet. He peered down at the acolyte over his chestplate, revealing his mangled features - a patchwork of ugly stitching cutting his ancient face into quarters.
Quast couldn’t quite find his words in the presence of the Angel. Neither could he hold the intensity of the Excoriator’s dark eyes and found his own drift down the detail of the scarred battle plate. Unconsciously leaning in, Quast saw that adorning each nick, each sword slash and bullet hole was an inscription, scratched in High Gothic lettering. The battleplate was covered in such markings, each gouge and lasburn bearing its own notation. Dates and locations: 221751.M41 Gethsemane; 435405.M41 Delleria Secundus; 997640.M41 MallastabergIII . From the dun sheen of the ivory armour worn by the Excoriators beyond, Quast assumed their plate bore the same mixture of script and scarring. "
Legion of the Damned A Space Marine Battles Novel

Where The Hell Have I Been 2?

A long time ago I wrote a post called 'Where The Hell Have I Been?' which was very popular. Consider this a follow up. Well, I’m back into the swing of things. I recently uploaded a post indicating how ‘Buried’ I had been in work other than writing. Readers who check out the ‘About the Author’ section at the back of my books know that I’m an English teacher - a Head of English, in fact – and although I enjoy teaching and have enjoyed a lot of success, I’ve always wanted to be an author. Teaching is my past and writing is my future. In my present the two compete for my attention. Recent months have been a good example of this. Exam season is crazy for teachers responsible for a single class of students but when you’re the Head of English then you’re responsible for all students in a school taking all qualifications in your subject – GCSE, A Level, English, Literature and Media. This had led me many months ago to make a further commitment to my writing future by stepping down as Head of Department and continuing on as a part time teacher. This would be a difficult transition for most professionals but I am so excited about my recent creative successes and my future as an author that I simply can’t wait.

I must apologise for my recent absence from the blog. I consider it an important medium and use it to showcase my work and achievement - and regularly connect with readers on a broad range of genre-related topics. So, I’m re-affirming that commitment here and am eager to get back into it – now that the crazy exam season is not only over but, due to rearranging my commitments, will never come to dominate my time in the same way again.

I have a bunch of brilliant stuff to share and to kick us off I give you a recent interview I did with Carl Tuttle of the wonderful ‘The Independent Characters’ - a Warhammer 40k podcast. I encourage you to check out ‘The Independent Characters’ and their entertaining reviews of Games Workshop products and Black Library fiction. A link to the most recent show is supplied below and my interview occurs at the 03:17:50 time stamp.

The Independent Characters – Warhammer 40k Podcast Episode 52 – Interview

Trailer Time!

Starting to get used to this now. Trailers for my novels and novellas. Cool. This trailer is for the Horus Heresy anthology The Primarchs. My novella 'The Serpent Beneath' is contained within its hallowed covers. It deals with the Alpha Legion Primarchs Alpharius and Omegon. Appropriately, they don't feature on the front cover - a masterstroke by Horus Heresy artist Neil Roberts. The only time you should see an Alpha Legion Primarch is when you're on the floor, in a pool of your own blood, watching the back of their pack as they walk away. Enjoy the trailer, the art and the stirring music - then damn it why don't you enjoy yourself some more and preorder the anthology by clicking the cover on the side bar. As well as 'The Serpent Beneath' the anthology also contains novellas from my esteemed Black Library colleagues Graham McNeill, Nick Kyme and Gav Thorpe.

Rewind

The ZX Spectrum was 30 years old this week. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have had a ZX Spectrum myself as a child but enjoyed spending time on them with friends. As I remember, the ZX Spectrum was a reliable little computer and physically robust. I recall them being dropped a fair few times. What I remember best was the quaint (but annoying at the time) loading of games via a cassette recorder and tape cassette. The games themselves were simple but a wonder to behold in the early to mid-eighties. Here are a few I remember playing.

The Hobbit



Jet Pac



Jet Set Willy



Many hours pixelated fun! 

Buried!

Wow, has it been that long? Not good Rob, not good. I’ve been pretty good with the blog over the last six months or so, ensuring that posts grace the internet with a satisfying regularity. Going to get back to that. Just been sooooo busy of late. Totally buried. Guess that serves me right for trying to hold down two of the most time-consuming jobs in the universe at the same time as being a husband and father (two more time-consuming callings!) Anyway, apologies to a bunch of people that I haven’t got back to about various things. One thing that I have been meaning to do is post a fantastic review for Legion of the Damned by the equally fantastic Phillip Sobel of BookSpot Central. BookSpot Central reviews a wide range of fiction and graphic novels but has a soft spot for well-written fantasy and science fiction. I was thrilled to see that Phillip had been kind enough to read and review Legion of the Damned. Thanks Phillip! I enjoyed your review immensely. BookSpot Central can be found here and down on the sidebar under the title ‘The Scene’. I encourage you to check it out. I have reproduced Phillip’s review of Legion of the Damned below for your reading pleasure.


"Legion of the Damned is the latest addition to the ever popular and ever growing Space Marine Battles series. Author Rob Sanders has proven himself to be a descriptive writer without equal whose words stretch the boundaries of prose and occasionally tap-dance into the realm of poetry. That he has also demonstrated a sure-fire talent for action-packed 40K yarns completes the circle of awesomeness I demand from my Warhammer/40K writers.

The cover is a teensy bit misleading: a story told entirely or even partly from the point of view of the Legion of the Damned, a legendary chapter of ghostly Astartes who appear from the shadows to turn the tide in desperate battles, would be somewhat lacking in the dialogue department. Instead the story focuses on a Chapter of Space Marines who come into ‘contact’ with them. The Chapter in question is the Excoriators, an Imperial Fist successor Chapter, who pride themselves on their ability to remain standing in the face of overwhelming punishment. Anyone who has read any of Rob Sanders’ previous works will know that the limits of endurance is a favourite theme that features prominently regardless of whether his characters are human or otherwise. At last, in the shape of the Excoriators, he has found the ideal fodder to explore this theme to his heart’s content without straining the boundaries of suspension of disbelief; a chapter that values endurance in the face of overwhelming odds, lovingly marking the date and location of any battle damage to their War Plate.

The Excoriators suffer from a genetic flaw known as the Darkness, where the afflicted is paralysed by visions of the battle of the Imperial Palace during the Horus Heresy from the perspective of their Primarch and his grief at the fall of the Emperor. Suffering from this very affliction is Sanders’ protagonist, Corpus Captain Zachariah Kersh. Formerly the Scourge, the Chapter Master’s champion and bodyguard, he is now in disgrace for falling to the Darkness and in the process losing the sacred Stigmartyr, the Chapter standard, and leaving the Chapter Master open to an assassin’s blade.

When ancient pacts of protection are called in by the Ecclesiarchy, the recovered Kersh is sent, as the new Captain of the battle-scarred 5th Company, to the cemetery world of Certus Minor to protect the planet from the approaching Keeler Comet and the Khornate ‘Cholerchaust’ that follows in its wake. Facing overwhelming odds, Kersh and his Astartes prepare themselves for a battle they cannot possibly survive. But what of the black armoured, ghostly revenant that haunts Kersh’s waking life, a sign of his damnation or a last desperate hope?

I’ve mentioned Sanders’ prose before, so I won’t keep banging on about it. Suffice to say that it is amongst the richest I have ever read, and his ability to paint a visceral, heart-pounding picture with words is second to none. His battles scenes, the obvious target of the series as a whole, are fast-flowing and convey the flow of events brilliantly, as well as ably communicating the sheer brutality of the fighting. The dialogue is, without exception, emotive and powerful, particularly in the context of Kersh’s leadership of a company that hates him and feels he has damned them to die pointlessly in the defence of a minor world.

Certus Minor is a world that, for me, really embodied the whole 40K ethos. An entire planet set aside for the burial of the dead. It really conveyed the overpopulated nature of so many Imperial worlds. There isn’t room for the laying out of the dead, and some of the noble born or other worthies of the Imperium are above the pragmatic cremation that is the path of the masses. And so their mortal remains are transported to Certus Minor for burial. Sanders builds up a great picture of the unique culture of such a world and populates it with a raft of fascinating little character studies that adds to the rich atmosphere that is the hallmark of his writing.

Sanders also switches between a third person perspective, an outside observer describing the scenes, and the first person perspective of Kersh (italicised). I loved this as a literary device–it really allowed me to see the inner struggle of Kersh, and more than anything else brought me down into his armour to experience the battles as he saw them.

I don’t think I’m giving too much away when I say that the intervention of the Legion is as last minute as it’s possible to get. I will confess to finding this a little frustrating though, admittedly, entirely in keeping with their legend. But, when they finally made their presence felt, it was all I had hoped for.

As I’ve been writing this review a metric ton of all the author’s plot twists and amazing characters and scenes are clamouring for mention, but I will not try to regurgitate the book in its entirety. I will say that the story, the characters and the context of their struggle was compelling, and Sanders’ writing was almost indulgent in his obvious delight in the use of language. I was drawn into his story from the very beginning all the way to the heart-stopping finale.

Very highly recommended."

For Every Question an Answer

Last month I was fortunate enough to have been contacted by the excellent Nick Sharps who runs Goatfairy Review Blog. Nick reviews novels, films and games over at Goatfairy and kindly reviewed my latest novel Legion of the Damned - more of that later. Nick asked me if I'd like to answer a few questions on the blog and it was a pleasure. Here's the interview.

"Interview with Rob Sanders

Rob Sanders, author of Legion of the Damned and Atlas Infernal, was kind enough to take some time to answer questions I had after reading his most recent book. Here is what he had to say.

1. In one sentence, how would you explain Warhammer 40,000 to someone who has never played the game or read the books?

Warhammer 40,000 is a game and fiction setting - epic in scale - that depicts a far, grim and war-torn future in which humanity struggles to maintain a galactic empire that faces deadly alien threats from without and crippling corruption from within. (I know I cheated using such a long sentence!)

2. It seems to me that you have a noticeably different style than many of the other BL authors. If you agree, what do you think it is that separates you from the rest?

It is true that I have ambitions of being a signature author. I'd like to think that readers could pick my text out of a line-upon the basis of its style and preoccupations. This is complicated by the idea of contributing to a milieu in which you share a setting and sometimes even characters with other authors. Fortunately, there is a great deal of room for individual voices to come through at Black Library. In terms of 'noticeable difference', readers and reviewers often comment on structural experimentation in my narratives, an attention to detail and description that attempts to bring the fictional world to life and the unusual and imaginative directions in which I take my stories. I think that ultimately readers reward variety and appreciate versatility in the authors they read. Most will indulge a little experimentation in exchange for the possibility of discovering something that they then come to really appreciate. You see this also in television, film, music and video games. The big winners are often the big risk takers. Who dares wins, after all!

3. What would you consider to be your greatest writing influences and why?
It's fair to say that I have a decent grounding in the classics, having taught a fair number of them. There are certain contemporary science fiction/literary authors that I particularly appreciate – for example, David Mitchell, author of Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas and Margret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake. I shouldn't underestimate the influence of television and film on my writing either. I have broad tastes and they undoubtedly have an impact on my writing. I suppose I'm influenced by a little of a lot, rather than one overriding source like a single author.

4. What was the hardest part about writing from the perspective of Zachariah Kersh, the Scourge?

I suppose the hardest part is striking a balance. The Scourge's perspective has to deliver simultaneously in a range of ways. He has to be recognisably an Adeptus Astartes – in thought, behaviour and action. He also has to reflect the distinct culture and beliefs of his particular chapter, the Excoriators. As the main character, he needs to be exemplars for both of these, while being different enough to justify following in a narrative. His recent shame and the indomitable desire to right in himself a perceived wrong is the character arc that helps to bind these myriad concerns. It also created some interesting dynamics between the Scourge and those under his command: conflict between the Adeptus Astartes that you don't traditionally see in Space Marine fiction. That said - I don't want to give the impression that he was actually hard to write. He came together pretty easily: he was the right character for the story I wanted to tell, and as such his rather extreme perspective was a natural extension of the extreme circumstances in which I immersed him.

5. Death Match: Zachariah Kersh vs Sarpedon of the Soul Drinkers. Who wins and why?

Sarpedon has undoubtedly got some game. Zachariah Kersh doesn't need Sarpedon's mind tricks and dark patronage. He is the raw, undiluted desire for victory at all costs. He is indomitable in flesh and mind. He would not allow himself to be beaten. Failure is beyond his comprehension. In terms of evidence – the Feast of Blades goes some way to advocate his martial superiority when faced with the best his brothers have to offer. His conduct during the events on Certus-Minor only supports this further. My money's on Kersh, every time.

6. Are you currently reading anything for work or pleasure?

It's interesting that you mention reading for work. I find research for creative projects very enjoyable. I always enjoyed reading non-fiction, even as a kid – so lots of that. As for what I've been thumbing through recently – I'm into The Walking Dead graphic novels, on the classics front I've just started Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and before that I was reading the uncompromisingly bleak The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Like a lot of people, I also read for pleasure on the internet and you can do a lot worse than Cracked.com to learn something at the same time as laughing your ass off.

7. Can you tell us what your next novel might be about or at least give us a hint? And what are the chances of seeing Kersh and the Excoriators again?

Legion of the Damned, appropriately focuses on the phenomenon of the Legion of the Damned. I've been really heartened by the way readers have responded to the Excoriators and Zachariah Kersh. There was next to no background on the chapter when I started, so they have been built from the ground up and it's really rewarding to see people want to see more of them. I would love to return to the chapter and Kersh. I think they deserve it! In terms of what I'm working on at the moment – my novella The Serpent Beneath, which is in The Primarchs (Horus Heresy), is released later this year. I'm working on more Heresy stuff at the moment and then I'm looking to jump genres and write a novel for the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Trying to keep it fresh and versatile!

8. If Legion of the Damned were an icecream flavor what would it be?

It might surprise you to learn that I've agonised over this question. Damn you, metaphor questions *shakes fist*! I've settled on Neapolitan, with its different colours, but Neapolitan the like of which you have never seen – alive with the shifting and incomprehensible colours of the warp. I'll have mine between two wafers, thanks.

9. You've written about Space Marines, Imperial Guardsmen, and Inquisitors. What has been your favorite to write about and why?

I have no favourites amongst my children – and I apply a similar rule to my projects. At the time I'm writing about a particular faction, I'm totally jazzed and enthusiastic for their background and the narrative possibilities they offer. I could tell you exactly what I'm working on right now and why it is my current favourite but then I'd have to kill you - assuming my editors don't kill me first!. Suffice to say, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

10. Were there to be a film adaption of Legion of the Damned, name three "must have" songs for the sound track.

I extensively use soundtracks when writing and regularly make recommendations on my blog. On the jukebox under the heading Legion of the Damned, however, are a couple of tracks that are actually songs used on film trailers. Divorced from the films for which they are being used in this way, they have the right tone and atmosphere for both the characters and events detailed in Legion of the Damned. I encourage you to listen and enjoy them yourself.

Nine Inch Nails - the Day the World Went Away

E.S. Postumus – Unstoppable

And you might as well throw in the main title track from the Beowulf soundtrack.

Any final words for readers?

I'd like to say a great big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my books. I really appreciate it and will keep trying hard to impress. I am also a regular blogger and post on a whole range of topics connected to the science fiction genre and my work. It can be found at http://rob-sanders.blogspot.co.uk/ Finally, I'd like to say a big thank you to Nick for this opportunity and his killer questions.

From all of us here at Goatfairy Review Blog, thank you so much for your time and I look forward to your next work (and if it is Warhammer Fantasy I'll have to finally give that a try)."

I heartily recommend that you check out the Goatfairy Review Blog and Nick's reviews of a range of cultural fare.

New Heresy Fiction!

'Good news, everyone!' as Professor Farnsworth would say. Today sees the release of some new fiction of mine. Black Library has been releasing short stories - each a thousand words - every day of the week for two weeks now. There are fifteen in total, one to celebrate each of the fifteen years Black Library has been publishing fiction. There are some great stories in the selection from both new authors and million-selling Black Library veterans. You can find the entire selection here.

My short story is called Army of One. It is the only one of the selection to contribute to the New York Times Bestselling Horus Heresy series and therefore a must for Heresy fans. Here's the blurb:

"THE STORY

As civil war blazes across the galaxy, the hive world of Proxima Apocryphis turns traitor and Malcador the Sigillite despatches punishment in the form of a living weapon…

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Horus Heresy short story from Rob Sanders.

'Rob Sanders proves that the most important battles are those fought behind the scenes by the men and women who remain unknown and unremembered…' – Laurie Goulding"


And here's what I had to say about the story on the BL blog. So get on over to the Black Library site – found here – and pick up a piece of the Heresy for the very reasonable price of 0.79p Oh, and a big thank you to Rachel Docherty for the cool cover.

H is For...

The Handmaid's Tale.

Continuing my A-Z of author influences - both big and small - I've chosen The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood for the letter H. The Handmaid's Tale is a excellent piece of dystopian science fiction from a Booker Prize winning author. I have had the pleasure of by studying this novel as an A-Level student and then teaching it at A-Level to students. It is an excellent book - clever, relevant and shocking. Science Fiction usually proccupies itself with the concerns of the present rather than the future and The Handmaid's Tale seems terrifyingly possible. As well as being immensely popular and highlighting Margaret Atwood as both one of the most important authors - let alone science fiction authors - of our time, The Handmaid's Tale won The Arthur C. Clarke Award and was nominated for the Nebula Award, the Prometheus Award and the Booker Prize.

The Handmaid's Tale is a great science fiction story with something to say. It showed me what science fiction was capable of achieving: that although the popular tropes of the genre, like spaceships and interplanetary war, were important and immensely fun to write and read, they were not necessarily required to craft a skillful and engaging piece of science fiction. Highly recommended.


Other recommended science fiction by Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake


Similar science fiction by other authors:
The Children of Men - PD James
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
1984 - George Orwell

Dealings of the Damned

My novel Legion of the Damned was fortunate enough to receive an early ebook release over Christmas. Thank you for all the warm comments and fantastic reviews I've received over the past few months. Many readers still love their fiction inked into crisp paper, however. Some like to enjoy early release digitals and then buy softbacks for their bookcases. Both formats have their virtues. Ebooks are portable and convenient, while print novels are artefacts in their own right, that say something about themselves and their owners, while sat on living room, study or bedroom shelves. When compared to other cultural forms, the idea of purchasing the same product in different formats seems entirely natural. I go to the cinema to see films that I'm fairly sure I'm going to end up owning on DVD or BluRay.

Legion of the Damned has now been released in print format and can be ordered directly from Black Library, Amazon (uk,.com etc) or snapped up off the shelf in Waterstones, Games Workshop stores and other reputable bookshops. Feel free to drop a quick review of your thoughts and reactions on any of these sites. If you would like to check out extracts for the novel, to whet your literary appetite, then these can be found here and here. A trailer for the novel can be found here. Emergency exits can be found at the rear of the aircraft here and here. Oh, and to celebrate the early ebook release of the novel I did a countdown called 'Seven Days of Damnation'. Links to each of the days can be found below.

Seven Days of Damnation: Day 1

Seven Days of Damnation: Day 2 - Game On!

Seven Days of Damnation: Day 3 - New Skin

Seven Days of Damnation: Day 4 - Damnation's Calling

Seven Days of Damnation: Day 5 - Visions of Damnation

Seven Days of Damnation: Day 6 - Legion of the Damned Extract Seven Days of Damnation: Day 7 - Great News!