Joshua Reynolds's Blog, page 41

Light the Flux-Fires

War. The drumbeat of war sounded throughout the Mortal Realms. In Ghur, armies mustered in the wild places, as the great powers sought to claim dominion over uncertain ground.  And amongst the most uncertain was the Great Fenland of Chiropteros – better known to its inhabitants as the Ghost Bat Bog.  

These fenlands are an ever-shifting sump of thick grasses and bald patches of rough, muddy ground, dotted with the broken remnants of a hundred forgotten marsh-kingdoms. Trees rise wild among the peatlands, growing strong on a charnel feast served over centuries. The dead still walk within sunken mansions in the Ghost Bat Bog, and strange, cyclopean shapes prowl the misty marshes, preying on the degenerate descendants of the old kingdoms. 

It is among these savage marsh-folk that the Unseen first came, as the skies grew black with the war storm. He – or she, for none knew who or what they were, beneath their golden helm and dark robes – spoke cryptic truths, and drew the marsh-folk out of hiding, helping them to recall the ancient arts they had long forgotten – or perhaps never known in the first place…

Picking up from where we left off last time, I’ve begun to assemble my Disciples of Tzeentch army for Age of Sigmar. As mentioned previously, I started with a Magister and two boxes of Kairic Acolytes. I decided to go for two units of fifteen acolytes as a base for the army. The remaining ten acolyte models will most likely be used as the nucleus for the Arcanite AoS28 warband I’m noodling with.

#AoS28 Arcanite warband taking shape… pic.twitter.com/LEFNRpFbRG

— JMReynolds (@JMReynolds) February 12, 2017

My first game, played a few weeks ago, and using some Silver Tower models, borrowed from my friend Rich (who you might recognise as the voice of the Royal Occultist, if you’re interested in that sort of thing), taught me that the acolytes have the potential to be quite nasty, if they’ve got the numbers and they’re kept away from anything stronger than a skeleton warrior. Also, don’t…don’t charge a Wight King. It doesn’t end well.

Anyway, the rough and ready strategy is to keep the acolytes near the Magister, thus ensuring that I can get the most out of their sorcerous bolts. Too, they’ll act as a mobile speed bump, keeping the Magister from having to get his hands dirty, outside of the Hero and Missile phases. Granted, it’s probably not the most original plan, but -eh, I’m still new to all of this. Simple is best.

Next up, I need some punch. To that end, I’ve begun assembling some Tzaangors, as well as a few Tzaangor Enlightened and Skyfires. I’ve also decided on a Tzaangor Shaman as a second (third?) hero for my army.

And speaking of heroes, I got bored and made a Curseling out of bits and green stuff. Originally, I didn’t want to do any major conversion work for this army – mostly because I’m not great at it. It’s been awhile since I did anything more complicated than a head swap, but I got a bit bored assembling Kairic Acolytes, and decided to give something more complicated a whirl. As you can tell from the pictures below, I’m better at concept than execution, when it comes to this sort of thing.

The Magister -known as the Unseen – was an easy head swap conversion. I like the feathered helmets on the acolyte sprues, and decided to use them to designate the inner circle of the Cockatrice Conclave, i.e. the Magister and the Kairic Adepts. I made three adepts – two for the army, and one for the AoS28 warband.

And can’t forget the Magister and his Kairic adepts for my #ageofsigmar Tzeentch army… pic.twitter.com/MXvLWZ9KqD

— JMReynolds (@JMReynolds) February 12, 2017

The Curseling – known as Calaspa Bo, the Relevator – was a more involved project, involving extra bits from the Skyfires/Enlightened and Kairic Acolytes sprues, as well as a whole wedge of green stuff. He’s bigger than his fellow cultists, as is proper, and bursting out of his once former robes, thanks to the hissing, serpentine growth that now guides his actions.

Finally, some badly framed close-ups of my attempt at a Curseling. Made out of bits and too much green stuff. pic.twitter.com/zCGtiCpsSN

— JMReynolds (@JMReynolds) February 12, 2017

Calaspa Bo was once the cult’s high priest, and second in authority only to the Unseen, before he delved too deeply in forbidden things. Now, the formerly gregarious Bo has become a taciturn monstrosity, and one of the Cockatrice Conclave’s most potent weapons. The serpentine tumour sprouting from his back murmurs constantly to the now-silent Bo in unintelligible hisses, alerting him to any wavering in the faith of his former congregants.

Bo will also act as the leader of my AoS28 warband, taking his handpicked coterie of acolytes and Tzaangor into the wilds of the Ghost Bat Bog, seeking lost artefacts and new converts for the Cockatrice Conclave.

Next time…colours! More pictures! Hopefully, I’ll have something painted (but probably not)! And maybe even a battle report…

The Relevator, silent and implacable, stepped forward, lifting the burning witch-brand high. The eerie radiance cast feral shadows across the dull waters and arthritic trees of the marshlands. The gathered acolytes knelt in silent prayer as the thing that had once been their leader thrust the brand into the bonfire, setting it alight. 

The flux-fire roared high, its flames blazing up in impossible colours. The Unseen watched from a safe distance, leaning on his staff. The weirdling light would stretch through the fenlands, signalling to those who shared their faith that the time had come. Already, he could feel them stirring in their dark bowers, far from the sight of man. They would follow the light, and bind their fates to that of the Cockatrice Conclave. And with every victory, more would come. 

The thought brought with it a faint sense of unease, beneath the satisfaction. For victory was not certain – could never be certain. The Plumed Serpent had his own designs, all but imperceptible to those who laboured in the shadow of his mighty wings. The Unseen had spent decades growing his conclave from its humble beginnings, and a part of him feared seeing those whom he had nurtured so carefully left broken on the field of battle, in order to serve some twist in the Great Plan. 

The Relevator turned from the light of the flux-fire, empty eyes meeting those of the Unseen. The serpentine growth that had blossomed on his back coiled about his arm, studying the Magister. There was an unfathomable wisdom in that inhuman gaze – and a malign will. The serpent-thing hissed loudly and the Magister latter nodded, pushing his uncertainties aside. The Relevator was the will of the Plumed Serpent made manifest. ‘Go forth, Calaspa Bo. Lead our brothers and sisters. Cast your gaze across the lands of our enemies and strike dead any who set themselves in our path…’

Coming Attractions

During the Horus Heresy Weekender this past weekend, someone let slip the titles of two of my forthcoming projects from Black Library. So, since they’re out in the open, I thought I’d share the images, in lieu of anything substantive.

Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix is an entry in the ongoing Primarchs series, following along from Leman Russ: The Great Wolf and Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero. I can’t say too much more about it yet, save that it was a great honour to get to write about one of the pivotal characters of the Horus Heresy, and I hope I’ve done him justice.

By the way, if you’re keeping track, this was Book #5 of last year, written between Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden and Eight Lamentations: Spear of Shadows, making it one of the three books I wrote between August and December.

Blackshields: The False War is the audio drama I mentioned that I was working on, last month. The script has been finalised, so it’ll be heading into production soon. This was an interesting one to work on – it’s my first proper contribution to the Horus Heresy, with hopefully more to follow, if it’s well received. Like Fulgrim, I can’t say too much about it, save to say that it features this charming fellow…

Speaking of coming attractions, have you backed Sharkpunk 2 yet?  Why not check that out, and maybe back what’s sure to be an awesome anthology, full of some top notch talent. Also, me.

Oh, and while you’re in the mood, why not check out my Patreon page? The second short story, “Barnard’s Law”, just went up, and like “The Black Pullet”, it’s only a buck to read! It’s just like a Kindle download, only it doesn’t take up any room on your electronic reading device. And if you’ve read and enjoyed either story, why not give it a ‘like’ or leave a comment? I’d appreciate it.

Barnard’s Law

There’s a new story for Patrons up over at my Patreon page, for those interested in some weekend reading. A dollar buys you “Barnard’s Law”, which takes place in an alternate Elizabethan era, where the Spanish Armada succeeded, and the Court of St. James were forced to flee to England’s overseas holdings.

Now, Christopher Marlowe, playwright, gadfly and secret agent, is forced to play a deadly game in the primeval forests of the New World, in order to win allies for the nascent kingdom of Virginia, before the Spanish beat him to it…

“Barnard’s Law” is the first of several stories I planned out and started working on intermittently a few years ago, after reading Giles Milton’s book, Big Chief Elizabeth. It finds Christopher Marlowe as a sort of Elizabethan James Bond, defending Queen and country against the agents of the Spanish empire, on the orders of Sir Francis Walsingham. With occasional help from Dr. John Dee, because if Walsingham is ‘M’, then Dee is ‘Q’.

The title refers to an obscure bit of Elizabethan slang. A ‘barnard’ is a member of a group of swindlers, who pretends to be the helpless victim of the gang’s chosen dupe. A ‘barnard’s law’ is when the dupe is made to believe they’re taking advantage of the barnard, when, in reality, it’s they themselves who are being swindled.

The first few hundred words of a follow up story, “The Moor of Virginia”, which finds Marlowe fighting alongside Moorish ambassador Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud in order to preserve the life of the Queen’s heir, has been sitting uncompleted on my desktop for a while now. Hopefully, I’ll manage to get that one finished as well, at some point.

Heck, time permitting, I might even start working on the alternate Elizabethan era novel I had planned…

Anyway, new story. Go read it, and drop a dollar in the jar. And be sure to check out “The Black Pullet”, as well, if you haven’t already.

New Stuff

I’ve been remiss in pointing out some new stuff that’s come out recently. And by new stuff, I mean books, which you can buy, if you’re of a mind.

First up, Black Library has released two new omnibuses, both of which contain novels by me. The first, Legends of the Age of Sigmar, includes my 2016 novel, Skaven Pestilens, as well as the anthologies, Fyreslayers and Sylvaneth – the latter of which also contains my 2016 short stories, “The Resolute” and “The Outcast”. The second omnibus, Shield of Baal, includes my 2014 Blood Angels novel, Deathstorm. 

Speaking of Black Library, there are less than 300 copies of the limited edition of Fabius Bile: Primogenitor left. So if you want a copy of that groovy Necronomicon-esque LE, best get it while the getting is good.

Alternative Realities’ anthology Summer’s End came out at the tail end of last year. It includes my story, “The Last Song of Iranon”, which ties together not one, not two, not three, but four H.P. Lovecraft stories. It’s a follow-up to my 2014 story, “Mordiggian’s Due”, which appeared in Pulp Mill Press’ Libram Mysterium. It continues the adventures of Amina Algol and her ghoulish siblings in Earth’s Dreamlands. This time, they’re on the hunt for a murderous ‘ghost-eater’ in the lizard-haunted ruins of Sarnath, as he attempts to employ the talents of a mournful ghost to uncover a hidden treasure.

Cry of the Cockatrice

By the light of the flux-fires, the acolytes waited and murmured uneasily among themselves. In the hellish glow of the great bonfires, daemon-shapes murmured softly, eagerly, in a tongue that none save the adepts, in their feathered war-masks , could understand. 

Abruptly, the flux-fires blazed up, clawing at the stars above, as if to wrench them from the firmament. For a moment, the flames wavered and split, as if parted by monstrous hands, and beyond them, a howling void of endless colour and light spun in a lunatic pattern. 

A moment later, a tall, masked figure stepped forth from within the shimmering flux-flames, staff in hand. The acolytes stiffened attentively, as the newcomer began to speak. Perhaps i t was time, at last, for the Cockatrice Conclave to go to war… 

Welcome to the initial instalment of my first expedition to the Mortal Realms.

Let’s start things off with a confession.

I haven’t played Warhammer of any flavour or variety in almost a decade. This was due to a combination of factors – lack of money, lack of space, and lack of interest being the main three. But recently, with the release of Age of Sigmar, I’ve found myself getting the itch to do something hobby-wise. I wanted an army, and I wanted to start playing again.

Luckily, I knew a few other people who did as well. So, to that end, I started socking money away in a hobby fund, waiting for the day an army would catch my interest. And recently, one did – the Disciples of Tzeentch. I was initially attracted to the faction’s aesthetics, more than the rules, but having played a few practice games with a friend’s models (mostly culled from Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower) I decided to take the plunge and order a few boxes.

First up were some Kairic Acolytes and a Magister. I figured that was as good a starting point as any. From my practice games, I learned that while the Acolytes have a ridiculous amount of potential firepower at their disposal, they’re fairly fragile when it comes to melee combat. Thus, I need something to stiffen their lines, and keep them from being ground under by more melee-orientated armies. While the Magister can offset this to some extent, adding a pack or two of Tzaangors, a few Skyfires,  or even some Enlightened, wouldn’t hurt.

All that said, I gave myself a small budget to work with, to ensure that I didn’t wind up with more stuff than I needed. The budget will also help me make sure that I don’t waste time buying things I won’t actually assemble and paint later, if and when I expand the army according to the theme I’m currently noodling with.

The goal of this little project is to take the army from assembly to tabletop ready, and play at least nine games with it. Why nine, you may ask? Well, given that nine is the sacred number of Tzeentch, it seemed only fitting.

Next time…pictures! Also, I’ll delve into the background I’ve been working on, to explain the who’s, the how’s and the why’s of what I’m calling the Cockatrice Conclave…

‘We live in a world of weavers, my friends…the enslaved and enslaver alike weave their plots and schemes, seeking to bend Fate to their will. But we know better, don’t we?’  The Unseen spoke with a man’s voice, this time. It was different, every meeting. Whether this was due to some quirk of sorcery, or because it was a different person beneath the golden, avian war-mask, none among the gathered acolytes could say, though suspicions as to the explanation were rife among the laity. 

This voice was not the barrel-chested rumble of two conclaves ago, or the feminine whisper of the last meeting, but instead an even, aristocratic tone. The voice of one used to command. A warrior’s voice. Excitement thrummed through the gathered acolytes. 

‘Yes, we know better, brothers and sisters. Fate is not a horse, to be broken to the bridle. It is a wild thing, vicious and unpredictable. One can but hold on, and hope for the best…’

The acolytes nodded, murmuring their assent. Wise words, whoever their speaker. 

‘Fate, my friends, is a cockatrice – a baleful beast, with a deadly, darting eye. Put yourself in its path, and your doom is assured. But if you can avoid its gaze…if you can but pluck a feather from its plumage, ah…then, anything is possible…’

More Stories With Bite

The Kickstarter campaign for Sharkpunk 2 has gone live, bringing back a whole new shiver of shark stories with bite!

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A follow-up to the 2015 anthology, Sharkpunk, Sharkpunk 2 is similarly inspired by classic selachian films such as Jaws (1975), Jaws 2 (1978) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987).

We do not speak of Jaws: 3-D. 

And like Sharkpunk, Sharkpunk 2 includes a Royal Occultist story, “The Thunder, His Passing”. This time, Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass are trading the white cliffs of Dover for the shores of Fiji, as they attempt to stave off the wrath of the shark-god, Dakuwaqa.

Also like Sharkpunk, there are a host of other great authors involved – James Lovegrove, Gav Thorpe, and Guy Haley. And a number of fantastic backer rewards. Head over to the Kickstarter page to learn more.

WIPW: Here We Go

I’ve been a bit quiet on the work-in-progress front, mostly due to the work in question. I’m knee-deep in the new book, and it’s taking up the majority of my brain space of late. Still, I’ve owed an update for a two weeks now, so…here we go.

As I said, I’ve started work on the first novel of 2017. Novel 1 is trundling along all ahead full at the moment. I’m about 36,000 words into a 90,000 word draft. Writing a sequel is more complicated, in some ways, than a first book. All of the characters have to be recognisable, but somewhat different – time has passed, old slights have been forgiven and new grudges earned.

My original plan for this one called on it to occur right on the heels of the first in the series. The publisher wanted a more stand alone novel, so I’ve had to salvage what I could of the old plan, and graft it on to something different. It’ll be a better book for the change, I think. There’s some interesting things I’m getting to explore – characters and concepts that I might otherwise not – that makes it worth the hassle of having to come up with a new direction on the fly.

I’ve already marked several characters for death – good deaths, I think. Meaningful deaths. But painful ones, both for me as the writer and, hopefully, the reader. That said, I’ve got another 30,000 words or so until the first of those, so there’s still time to change my mind.

On the subject of novels, I got back the edits for the final one of 2016 today, which’ll occupy my afternoons for the next few days. There’s not much to be done, which is nice, but what there is will require some thought, which is less nice. I’m not a big fan of thinking. On the whole, I don’t expect them to take too long, though.

I also need to edit the Royal Occultist story I mentioned last time, which topped out at a respectable 6,000 words. I don’t have too much more to say about this one, other than it was fun to write, if a bit difficult. For once, it doesn’t end in violence. I don’t know how I feel about that.

Besides all of that, I also managed to finish a script for Black Library, about a thing I can’t talk about. So that’s all I’ll say about that, for the moment.

Oh, and by the way – I have a Patreon now. There’s a short story up to read, and everything. So why not drop me a buck, and get to reading?

Dollar Bin Monday

I’ve been kicking around the idea of setting up a Patreon page for a year or two, now. Weighing the pros and cons. It never quite seemed feasible. It still doesn’t, frankly. But this year, for a variety of reasons, I decided to give it a shot.

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So, what’s it all about, then? Simply put – short stories. I write a story of however many words, patrons get to read it. No fancy reward schemes, no convoluted downloads, nothing like that. Patrons will pay a dollar, on a per story basis. Why a dollar? It sounded fair. If I self-published these stories to Kindle or Smashwords, I’d likely charge the same. A good deal, if you like my writing. And, if you’re reading this, I’m betting you do.

For the time being, updates will be irregular. Needless to say, all of this is subject to change, as time goes on. Like this site, my Patreon account will very much be a work in progress. I’ll tweak it as time goes on, until it achieves a nice equilibrium. For instance, I may decide to include downloadable versions of each story at some point, for ease of reading. I may also add more rewards, such as tuckerizations. But for the moment, it’s a buck a story.

What sort of stories, you might ask. Well, all sorts. Stories involving monsters, secret societies, Charles Fort, ghosts, Pinkertons, monsters, the Royal Occultist, career-criminals, alternate earths, Sherlock Holmes, time-travel, eldritch horrors, time-travelling eldritch horrors, occult investigators, super-detectives, monsters, movies, Dracula, true romance, and monsters.

Did I mention monsters?

Speaking of which, “The Black Pullet”, is now available for backers to peruse at their leisure. A tale of historical horror, “The Black Pullet” finds Alexandre Dumas in Cairo in 1798, investigating strange tales of buried treasure. If that sounds interesting, why not head over and check out my Patreon page?

Night Birds

The audio version of Airship 27’s 2014 anthology, Occult Detectives, is now available as as audio book, courtesy of Radio Archives. Besides my contribution, it includes stories by Joel Jenkins, Jim Beard and Ron Fortier.

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From the blurb:

From the days of the Wild West, Joel Jenkins offers up his Indian shaman hero, Lone Crow. Then we have Josh Reynolds’ colourful Charles St. Cyprian, the queen’s own royal occultist, followed by Jim Beard’s Sgt. Janus, the spirit breaker. And we culminate with a little known pulp classic figure: Ravenwood, the Stepson of Mystery, as chronicled by Ron Fortier. Get ready to take on possessed gunfighters, eerie mesmerising spirits, a bewitching temptress, and a legion of the undead as these four brand new tales usher you into thrilling adventures beyond the realm of the ordinary. Your guides…the Occult Detectives.

My story, “The Strix Society”, finds the Royal Occultist and his assistant investigating the eponymous nocturnal society and their enigmatic founder, Helen Strix. Guest-starring a young Oswald Mosley, who gets beaten up and tossed into a closet.

You can download the audio book via Amazon or Audible. You can also buy a hard copy or download the book for the Kindle, if you prefer to read it, rather than listen to it.

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Art by Rob Davis

 

Big 96

Barnes & Noble just released a list of ’96 SFF Books to Read in 2017′, and I got a nice mention, alongside Guy Haley and Chris Wraight. I’ve popped up the important bit below, but go check out the full list for yourself.

Plague Garden, by Josh Reynolds (Fall)

Josh is an author of great verve and imaginative flair, able to move between the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres with ease and aplomb. Plague Garden is fast-moving adventure story set in Games Workshop’s gothic Age of Sigmar setting. It is fantasy writ large – with a huge cast of heroes, villains and monsters, all fighting to survive in a dangerous, unpredictable landscape, the eponymous plague garden itself. For this is a realm within a realm, a universe of pure magic, where the normal rules of reality do not apply, and the power of a man’s soul can be stronger than the steel of his sword. – Lindsey D le Doux Priestley, senior editor

Isn’t that nice? I hope they use that ‘power of a man’s soul can be stronger than the steel of his sword’ bit for the blurb on the back cover.