Edward
asked
David Guymer:
Hello David, I imagine that this is not really a functioning channel of communication for you these days, but hope and folly both spring eternal, so here goes. Having recently finished your two-book Iron Hands trilogy, and knowing as well that the storyline was more or less resolved in codices, is it safe to assume that the likelihood of a third book to conclude the series is slim at best?
David Guymer
Hello, Edward!
This is a perfectly valid channel, but my engagement peaks and troughs depending on how busy I am at any given time. Be patient, and I'll get back to you eventually.
Unfortunately, however, yes. Though clearly planned from the outset to be a trilogy, the odds of a third book in that series are now decidedly slim.
Back at the start, I think I'd just finished Slayer for the Gotrek & Felix series and was essentially asked: if you could write anything now, what would it be. And I chose Iron Hands because A) I've always had a fascination with the least explored bits of any universe, and B) There wasn't a huge body of pre-existing work on them so I could make them my own without having to stay loyal to dozens of previous authors.
The flip side, unfortunately, is that maybe fewer people are interested in reading books about the Iron Hands than they are about Blood Angles or Space Wolves, and so it proved in this case.
I loved writing them however, and think they were some of the most creative works I've written for Black Library. They are certainly the most talked about! I've always harboured the hope of one day writing a "soft threequel", such as a post-Rift Kardan Stronos story to give a proper ending to some of those characters
This is a perfectly valid channel, but my engagement peaks and troughs depending on how busy I am at any given time. Be patient, and I'll get back to you eventually.
Unfortunately, however, yes. Though clearly planned from the outset to be a trilogy, the odds of a third book in that series are now decidedly slim.
Back at the start, I think I'd just finished Slayer for the Gotrek & Felix series and was essentially asked: if you could write anything now, what would it be. And I chose Iron Hands because A) I've always had a fascination with the least explored bits of any universe, and B) There wasn't a huge body of pre-existing work on them so I could make them my own without having to stay loyal to dozens of previous authors.
The flip side, unfortunately, is that maybe fewer people are interested in reading books about the Iron Hands than they are about Blood Angles or Space Wolves, and so it proved in this case.
I loved writing them however, and think they were some of the most creative works I've written for Black Library. They are certainly the most talked about! I've always harboured the hope of one day writing a "soft threequel", such as a post-Rift Kardan Stronos story to give a proper ending to some of those characters
More Answered Questions
Vansh
asked
David Guymer:
What's your favourite thing about the Iron Hands? From the people I've talked to it's their 'simplicity' as in they have no gimmick to them like many of the other legions (trickery, psykers, etc) but literally an iron will (pun intended). How do you think they differentiate from the iron warriors?
Jack Creagh-Flynn
asked
David Guymer:
I find it interesting that you have a background in molecular biology and that you still find it handy as an author. My question is, what Black Library publications of yours demanded the most revision in that science? I've a similar background, but not to the level of PhD. I'd be interested in reading your description of alien creatures or mutated monstrosities.
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