SFX Magazine Interview


I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for SFX magazine recently. SFX boasts an impressive readership(myself among the number) and is regarded as "the world's number one science fiction and fantasy magazine". The interview can be found on p96 and 97 of Issue 225. The issue went on sale yesterday. Click here to check out what else is in the issue. I'm particularly impressed that my name is included in the same sentence as Ray Bradbury's!

I was thrilled at the opportunity and a big thanks goes out to Guy Haley for making it possible. His site Haley's Comment can be found on the side bar and is well worth a perusal. If you have this month's SFX, then check out the interview. If you haven't - it's still waiting for you at the newsagents! In the meantime, you can check out other interviews I've done here.

Nexus 6 (20-7-12)

What have I been reading on the internet this week? Time to check out my Nexus 6…

1. Top 10 Most Terrifying Werewolves


I love horror monsters: vampires, ghosts, zombies. Vampires are suffering from over-exposure (ha ha) at the moment and I have a particular soft spot for zombies, but I’ve always been fascinated by werewolves. I used to enjoy reading about them as a kid and still have books about historical attacks that were blamed on werewolves and the birth of the original legend. This is why I soon zeroed in on this article from NerdBastards ranking the top ten most terrifying werewolves. See if you agree here.



2. Geek Zodiac


I’m not into zodiac signs or astrology but this did grab my attention. The Geek Zodiac have created their own signs, dates and characteristics based upon the year you were born – just like the Chinese Zodiac (Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Tiger etc.) I felt compelled to find my sign: perhaps you will be too… Check it out here.


3. This Is Humanity’s Greatest Achievement, But Mainstream News Will Never Report It


Giant Freakin Robot this time, reminding us of one of humanity’s most incredible achievements and a significant barrier about to be broken – but no-one’s talking about it. I think that it’s kind of romantic and sad at the same time. I can’t help but feel sorry for it out there all alone and running out of power. What am I talking about: click here to find out.


4. Games Day


It’s coming around to that time of year again: Games Day – Games Workshop’s annual tournament-fest. There’s much more than just thousands of people bringing it on the table top. Every Games Day artists and hobbyists compete for one of the prized Golden Demon painting trophies. Readers queue to buy the latest Black Library releases and take the opportunity to get their books signed by Black Library authors who are usually in plentiful supply. Check out the Games Day preview articles here and here.


5. The Day


I’m always on the lookout for cool, new science fiction cinema releases. I came across the trailer for The Day - a Canadian, post-apocalyptic horror movies. More The Road or The Walking Dead than Mad Max, it might be worth a look.



6. ‘Can I see some identification?’







Necessary Evil


I'm really happy to announce that my Inquisitor Czevak short story Necessary Evil is to be re-released in Hammer and Bolter, Black Library's monthly fiction magazine. Necessary Evil was originally released as a Limited Edition short, which was great but meant that many readers of Inquisitor's Czevak's adventures in Atlas Infernal could not read it until now. It can be found in next month's issue of the magazine: Hammer and Bolter #23.

Here's the blurb:

"Inquisitor Bronislaw Czevak - scholar, adventurer, fugitive. Since fleeing the fabled Black Library of the eldar with the Atlas Infernal, he has been hunted by xenos, heretic and sorcerer just as he once hunted them.

Guided and protected by this ancient tome bound in human skin, he has now found his way to the daemon world of Nereus in search of a powerful Chaos artefact. With Ahriman and the Thousand Sons racing to claim it for themselves, Czevak must scour the colony of Perdition's Landing if he is to outwit his old enemies... but might this bedraggled outpost hide an even darker secret of its own?"

The great thing about Necessary Evil is that is that it can serve the needs of different readers. If you have already read Atlas Infernal, then the story serves as a standalone adventure - following Bronislaw Czevak into some of the darkest and most dangerous corners of the universe. If you haven't read Atlas Infernal than it serves as a nice introduction to the character.


Hammer and Bolter is out next month and can be pre-ordered here. I share the covers with Black Library veterans Graham McNeill and Dan Abnett, kick-ass ladies Nik Vincent and Sarah Cawkwell and new blood(and newlywed) Graeme Lyon.

Can't wait? Easy. Buy Atlas Infernal today. Click here for print version and here for eBook.




What Would Rob Do? - The Kobayashi Maru


It’s been a while since I’ve done a ‘What Would Rob Do?’ entry. Previous entries have included What Would Rob Do? aboard the starship Nostromo in Ridley Scott’s Alien and What Would Rob Do? at Outpost 31 in John Carpenter’s The Thing. If you want to check these out you can find my solutions below:

What Would Rob Do? Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’
What Would Rob Do? John Carpenter’s 'The Thing'.

This time I thought I would match my wits to the infamous no-win scenario The Kobayashi Maru, depicted in Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Beware: Spoilers.


The Kobayashi Maru scenario was an infamous no-win scenario that was part of the curriculum for command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy in the 23rd century. It was primarily used to assess a cadet's discipline, character and command capabilities when facing a seemingly impossible situation.re is no one answer to the problem.

In 2285, on the simulated bridge, the cadet was placed in command of the USS Enterprise on patrol near the Klingon Neutral Zone. A Neutral Zone is either the equivalent of a modern day Demilitarized Zone (e.g. between North and South Korea) or similar to existing Neutral Zones in the Middle East (the Saudi-Iraqi Neutral Zone and the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone, both established in the 1920s and disbanded by the 1990s). Either example results in the same: bordering nations / civilisations and their militaries are forbidden from entering or maintaining a presence in the identified area (like establishing a base or vessel patrols).

In the simulation the Enterprise would receive a distress signal from the Kobayashi Maru, a civilian freighter (a neutronic fuel carrier) that had been disabled in the zone after having struck a gravitic mine. If the cadet chose to enter the neutral zone in violation of treaties, the starship would be confronted by Klingon battle cruisers. The test was considered a no-win scenario because it was impossible for the cadet to simultaneously save the Kobayashi Maru, fight the Klingons and escape from the neutral zone with the starship intact. A cadet's choice of how to handle the rescue operation gave insight into his or her command decision-making. Check out a cadet’s failure to beat the no-win scenario below in a clip from Nicholas Meyer’s ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’.



As you can imagine, this is a difficult one. The simulation is programmed to result in defeat regardless of the strategies employed, so beating the simulation is not really possible without cheating. If the situation was actual rather than simulated - and employed strategies had at least a chance of success – then I’d be tempted to employ a less direct approach than the one depicted in the clip. What would Rob Do?


For a start, I’d take my lead from the Klingon Battle Cruiser commanders rather than the Star Fleet officers. For the Klingons to attack so swiftly and detect the Enterprise’s approach (without the Enterprise detecting them) the Klingons were probably already within the Neutral Zone, closing in on the Kobayashi Maru. It was clever of the Klingons to have breached the zone without detection, to have negotiated the area while avoiding gravitic mines themselves and pillage a helpless freighter without even having to discharge their weapons. All they have to do is wait until the life support systems on the Kobayashi Maru fail and then salvage the vessel and/or its cargo.


I think that the key to this is to remain fair to the scenario (i.e. rely only on notions that would have occurred to those involved in the situation and setting). The scenario‘s no-win nature largely comes from the ridiculous inflexibility of Star Fleet regulations and directives, rather than actual futility. More able commanders would be able to subvert these regulations without directly breaking them. Horatio Nelson’s strategies – while not contravening the traditions of the British Royal Navy – were considered new and unusual at the time. Their employment by his contemporaries in both British and foreign navies was largely a result of Nelson’s very public success. In the clip above, the cadet’s actions are textbook and predictable: as is the contrary advice given by other Star Fleet officers on the bridge. I can almost imagine the Klingon flotilla commander sat in his / her chair with a Star Fleet manual open on their lap. Star Fleet might as well have unquestioning robots crew their vessels. This is what I would do.


1. Upon receiving the transmission, establish a course to breach the Neutral Zone and intercept the Kobayashi Maru.

2. Go to Battle Stations. This would include raising shields as a precaution and already having torpedoes and phasers primed. I would also scramble armed parties to the transporters in readiness for a boarding action. If not a real disaster, The Kobayashi Maru could prove to be an excellent trap set by pirates or wreckers to isolate larger vessels in the Neutral Zone. As part of such an early decision to go to Battle Stations, I would order long range scans before I even entered the Neutral Zone. I would be actively looking for enemy vessels and would likely detect them long before the Enterprise does in the simulation. I must assume that there is a good chance that I am going to be attacked: the Neutral Zone borders the Klingon Empire – an aggressive species (e.g. ‘they don’t take prisoners’); the gravitic mines are a clear sign to keep out; my vessel is taking what might, not unreasonably, be interpreted as a hostile and invasive action.

3. Take out some insurance. I would send fake and repeated communications to Star Fleet battle cruisers nearby, instructing them to close and support the Enterprise’s rescue of the Kobayashi Maru in the Neutral Zone. I would assume that the Klingon navy would have fairly detailed knowledge of Star Fleet vessels, so I would use powerful vessels as examples. This would likely make any Klingon vessels in the area think twice before interfering with the rescue mission (they would be outgunned) and it would likely dissuade any of the potential pirates / wreckers identified above, if the Kobayashi Maru actually turned out to be a trap. I could, of course, explain such a strategy away to my crew and superiors by citing Star Fleet regulations that even feature later in the film: "If transmissions are being monitored during battle, no uncoded messages are to be transmitted on an open channel." I could claim it was a coded message and that entering the Neutral Zone was likely to result in battle. This strategy alone could mean a successful evacuation of the Kobayashi Maru’s crew. Three out of three!

4. Let’s assume the Klingons aren’t fooled. My long range scans would detect the three Klingon cruisers on their approach. They are arming their weapons, so I assume they are going to destroy the Enterprise for breaching the Neutral Zone and breaking the Treaty. Why should I - a Star Fleet officer, in command of a battle cruiser – be any less outraged at the Klingons’ similar transgression. You can be sure that I am going to fire on the approaching flotilla first. Let’s assume that I am at least as battle ready as the Klingons. I destroy / incapacitate one Klingon cruiser, while sustaining some damage from the other two. My raised and ready shields save me from outright destruction / incapacitation.

5. The crew of the Kobayashi Maru were always going to die. They were the victims of a horrific, deep space accident (from wandering into the Neutral Zone, to hitting a mine, to being discovered by not one but three merciless Klingon vessels). A rescue is to be attempted by any reasonable Star Fleet officer but success is not to be expected. This is similar to the way a doctor will still try their best to save a critical patient, even when they objectively know that there is little chance of survival. After so long – even the doctor gives up and calls time on the patient. With the Klingon cruisers engaging the Enterprise and the vessel outgunned, I would stage a mock withdrawal. This is what the Klingon commander would hope for and expect. Both vessels would pursue. I would simply ensure that the enemy cruisers’ most direct route to the Enterprise would run close to the Kobayashi Maru (i.e. put the freighter between me and the enemy). I would then beam a photon torpedo - or ten - aboard the Kobayashi Maru, on a countdown to detonation. While the Enterprise makes good its escape, the torpedoes would detonate, blowing up the Kobayashi Maru. The freighter is detailed as a neutronic fuel carrier. The resulting explosion of ship and fuel cargo would likely destroy the Klingon cruisers passing close by or at very least incapacitate them / delay their pursuit.

6. I would then take the Enterprise out of the Neutral Zone and grab a bottle of Romulan Ale. I need this for two reasons. The first is that I’m celebrating: I confronted and destroyed three Klingon battle cruisers with my single vessel and I’m about to be promoted by Star Fleet command. The second reason is because I’m about to take up a drinking habit and become an alcoholic. It is the only way I can live with the death of the four hundred or so crew and passengers aboard the ill-fated Kobayashi Maru. I also need to drink to cope with the looks of reproach and disgust I’ll receive from my own crew aboard the Enterprise. That’s okay, though, because my promotion includes a transfer to one of the more powerful vessels I alluded to in my ruse earlier.


Verdict: The Kobayashi Maru is a no-win scenario for three reasons. It is unreasonable to expect a commander to save the crew of the Kobayashi Maru, defeat the Klingon battle cruisers and escape with their own vessel intact. I’ll go for two out of three then – which is a better result than the zero out of three achieved by cadets taking the test without cheating and the three out of three achieved by a cheating James T. Kirk That said, I’m ready to have my ass handed to me by an observant fan of the franchise!

Want To Play?: Imperial Navy Idenitification Solution


As promised, I'm providing the answers to yesterday's puzzle. The Imperial Navy Identification proved to be very popular: it seems people really do 'Want To Play'! Thanks to all who took part. If you haven't played and would like to before being supplied the answers - stop reading now and click here. Otherwise, here is the puzzle and the answers. Click for close-ups.





Answers:

A: 4

B: 6

C: 2

D: 3

E: 7

F: 1

G: 5

Want To Play?: Imperial Navy Identification


It's time to return to a recent, popular feature on the blog: Want To Play? Today I'm asking you to put your skills of vessel identification to the test. Each of the ships displayed below are taken from my Inquisitor Czevak novel Atlas Infernal. Czevak's adventures in Atlas Infernal take place across a colossal expanse of Imperial space and the damned region that is the Eye of Terror. As well as blistering action and intrigue on a myriad of twisted worlds, Atlas Infernal also contains a wealth of ship-to-ship naval action. Each of the vessels identified below feature in the novel. See if you can match the names to the pictorial representations given. Click for a closer look. Good luck. Answers up tomorrow!



ANSWERS

‘You Don’t Want To Walk Around Down There, Snake!’


I was sad to hear that veteran character actor Ernest Borgnine died. He was 95 and was an actor with an impressive and wide-ranging filmography. He was one of those actors who had a face and a voice most people would recognise. He had worked across many different genres – serious drama, wartime adventures, science fiction and even children’s animation - and had starred in some truly genre-defining movies. This skill and range was recognised in 1955 when he won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1955.

I loved watching him in war movies, westerns and disaster flicks from the 1970s that were on the television when I was kid. He often played harsh characters with a hidden,
tender side but his most memorable feature was that almost ear-to-ear grin he put to good work in his roles. I remember him most for his science fiction roles (unsurprisingly). I enjoyed him as journalist Harry Booth on board the USS Palomino, in Disney’s The Black Hole and I spent many a Saturday afternoon watching him as Dominic Santini - flight engineer on the high-tech military helicopter Airwolf.


My favourite Ernest Borgnine role, without a doubt, is Cabbie from Escape from New York. In the film - by science fiction and horror director John Carpenter – Manhatten Island has been turned into a maximum security prison servicing the United States, with security operating from Liberty Island. When Air Force One crash lands on the island with the President on board, war hero and bank robber Snake Plissken (a brilliant Kurt Russell) is offered a deal upon entry to the prison island: get the President out and he will be awarded a presidential pardon. Snake meets a plethora of colourful characters in the city hellhole, including Brain (science fiction stalwart, Harry Dean Stanton) and the President himself (Donald Pleasance – no introduction needed). Ernest Borgnine plays Cabbie, who spends his days ferrying criminals about the dilapidated metropolis in a rusty, yellow New York cab. He saves Snake on several occasions, rolling up in his beat-up taxi just as things get hairy. For me, his most memorable line is: ‘You Don’t Want To Walk Around Down There, Snake!’

Nexus 6 (6-7-12)

It’s that time again. These are my Nexus 6 choices for this week: genre related stuff I’ve been reading on the old interweb. Last week it was the trailer for Dredd that seemed to be causing the most controversy. This time we have:



1. Top 75 Spaceships From Movies and Television

I love lists. The longer the better. Here ‘Den of Geek’ supplies 75 spaceships from famous TV programmes and films and rank orders them for us. Take some time to peruse the glorious designs and see if you agree with their order. The list can be found here.




2. George Lucas Isn’t The Only One Who Struggles With Dialogue

I came across this the other day. It is an interview with Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford on ‘The Today Show’ from 1980, dealing with the imminent release of The Empire Strikes Back. I love The Empire Strikes Back and for many fans it is the best of all the Star Wars films. It comes as a little bit a surprise, therefore, that two actors so intimately involved with the project and spent months shooting the film should be so ineloquent when describing it. At first the pair can hardly get the words together to talk about it at all. Then – like reluctant students in a class room – the two of them proceed to describe the project very badly and with a lack of cultural nuance that is likely to annoy many Star Wars fans. You also have to remember that Star Wars was already a colossal cultural phenomenon by then, so there’s really no excusing the casual approach taken by the pair to the project that made them so famous. Press Play and see for yourself.




3. Warhammer Leading The Way

One of the many great things about Warhammer and Warhammer 40k is the immersive nature of their settings. It has something to do with verisimilitude: the games designers, artists and authors have a good understanding, not only of the genre but also their history. They produce material that has a keen sense of the possible about it – which is especially useful when dealing with the largely impossible. It’s therefore nice to see the acknowledged influence of Warhammer on other publishing enterprises, like this one from Gollancz. Check it out here.



4. Aliens Are Stupid

Let’s face it: aliens are stupid. They think they’re all that when they have helpless humans strapped to tables, but when they try their hand at any other kind of invading they come seriously unstuck. Cracked introduces us to ‘6 Giant Blind Spots In Every Movie Alien’s Invasion Strategy’. Tru dat. Check it out here.



5. ‘Mermaids Don’t Exist’: US Government

An interesting news item from the BBC here, putting our minds at rest that the seas are not stalked by aquatic mythological creatures. Perhaps the US Government would like to also give us some reassurance on Bigfoot, dragons and unicorns. File under The X-Files: Federal Bureau of Investigation – Basement Division.



6. ‘I Have The Power… point’


'Scintillating, Original and Captivating'


Review time! My Inquisitor Czevak novel Atlas Infernal has been out a little while now, so it's always nice to read reviews about it from people who have come to it recently. EJ Davies casts his unswerving, critical eye on it today with a review first appearing on that nexus of literary judgement and appreciation - The Founding Fields. For daily updates, opinion and reviews, you can check out The Founding Fields here. EJ Davies' blog contains a plethora of science fiction cinema and literature reviews and can be found here - but just in case you forget, it's on the list of noteworthy internet locations and hang-outs called 'The Scene' on the side bar. Lots of worthy sites to investigate there but first check out EJ Davies' review of Atlas Infernal below.

"Rob Sanders introduces a new character to the more contemporary Black Library releases – Bronislaw Czevak – and tackles a fairly weighty topic – the thievery of the fated Atlas Infernal, a map of the Eldar webway from the Black Library of Chaos. EJ Davies casts his eye over the tome. Rob Sanders book, not THE Atlas Infernal.

“From a slow start to a scintillating, original and captivating read.” ~ The Founding Fields.

From the Black Library:


“Inquisitor Bronislaw Czevak is a hunted man. Escaping from the Black Library of the eldar, Czevak steals the Atlas Infernal – a living map of the Webway. With this fabled artefact and his supreme intellect, Czevak foils the predations of the Harlequins sent to apprehend him and thwarts his enemies within the Inquisition who want to kill him. Czevak’s deadliest foe, however, is Ahriman – arch-sorcerer of the Thousand Sons. He desires the knowledge within the Black Library, knowledge that can exalt him to godhood, and is willing to destroy the inquisitor to obtain it. A desperate chase that will bend the fabric of reality ensues, where Czevak’s only hope of survival is to outwit the chosen of Tzeentch, Lord of Chaos and Architect of Fate. Failure is unconscionable, the very cost to the Imperium unimaginable.”

Rob Sanders has had a rise akin to the meteoric within the Black Library. Although having published in Inferno! magazine, he first came to my attention with short story The Long Games at Carcharias (available as part of the Victories of the Space Marines anthology), then punched me in the face with the wonderfully refreshing The Iron Within (available in the Age of Darkness anthology.) Redemption Corps I remember being published prior to my first Black Library Live! visit in 2010, though I haven’t yet got to reading it, but my highly favourable reviews for The Serpent Beneath (in The Primarchs) and Legion of the Damned make it a certainty. Moreover, having gone from writing Guard, to Inquisition, to Space Marines, to pre-heresy in just a few short novels is worthy of note – hence my use of the ‘meteoric’ moniker.

The story is, as you would expect from the author of Alpha Legion, complex and filled with more twists than a bowl of spaghetti. Czevak, an ancient Inquisitor, in the midst of a conclave where he antagonises practically every other Ordos is turned on by a Deathwatch squad seeking to prevent him from learning the secrets necessary to transfer the God-Emperor’s essence into another vessel. During the attack Harlequins intervene and pull Czevak into the webway, and imprison him in the Black Library. Years later his former acolyte, Klute – now an inquisitor himself – has been hunting his former mentor across the Eye of Terror, accompanied by his retinue: a drug addicted warp seer, Epiphani; a bound daemon, Hessian; a Relictors Techmarine, Torqhuil – themselves famous for using daemon-technology against the daemons; and the indentured rogue trader Captain, Torres. They discover and secure an Eldar warp gate through which emerges, you guess it, Bronislaw Czevak brandishing the famous Atlas Infernal.

The book itself is not set up as a stereotypical book. Each chapter is another ‘scene’ in an overarching ‘act’ and at the opening of each is the word Enter, followed by a cast of characters. In this respect there are similarities with plays, or epic poems, but what I think Rob has tried to do is to tie this feature in to the Harlequins lore, the fact that as servants of the Laughing God they – through the medium of performance – recount tales of the past, present, and events yet to come. Between each act is a flashback to Czevak’s past which further develop the story as a whole, and our understanding of Czevak, and the unfolding story. Also, as you read the book, although the acts are chronological, some of the flashbacks feel less so – as if we are travelling through warpspace and experiencing time as we would there – in pockets of random happenstances.

Rob’s technique and style is clearly evident. Dialogue is not high on the priority list, but when it does appear it is colourful, playful, and complimentary to its characters. Particularly Czevak has a delightfully honest and open manner, often disarmingly so; and often displays humour you wouldn’t think credible coming from an Ordo Xenos High Inquisitor – but it works. There is a long (and I mean long) prologue that seeks to set the piece, and it’s only really in the context of its structure does that work. If this were a traditional novel, for example, I’m not sure a lengthy prologue would be welcomed.

The characters are delightful. The doped up warp seer is a treat, as much as a clothes horse as anything else, and for the fact she has a floating cyber-skull for a familiar (it’s that of her father, which is called Father) which reminds me of Janeane Garofalo’s Baby Bowler in Mystery Men. Hessian, the daemonhost, spends much of his time asleep, or as a bipedal torch, which tickled me no end. Klute, resolute and sturdy, though operating far outside the realms of his remit and, much like Torqhuil, makes him a target of less than tolerant beings throughout the Imperium.

The whole book is framed against that of constant peril, and relentless confrontation – right from the off. The Inquisition, the Eldar, the attentions of the Thousand Sons; and the distrust and animosity within the group. It’s a part Indiana Jones style adventure, mixed with a film noir murder mystery, with some monster movie tropes thrown in and it makes for a thoroughly entertaining read, which I’ve really enjoyed, albeit with a single reservation – that of it being a little tough to get in to. Rob is a very descriptive author with colours, smells, weather, personality, history, charm, charmlessness, and scale in every location and every encounter; and sometimes that can get a little wordy. That said, I’d rather have too much, than too little.

Some things of note, then: First, there is a scene in a bazaar where Czevak and his crew go to find an acquaintance and track down some necessary materials: brilliantly written to the point you feel you’re in Marrakech. Second, in another chapter they go to a planet in search of a coin – the whole culture of the gypsies – wonderful idea, and nicely executed. Thirdly, the interstitial scenes are brutally visceral and it’s a real talent to use these to further colour characters already in play. Finally, the final confrontation is one that I didn’t see coming; and the layers of complexity to enable us to get to this stage really pay off.

Atlas Infernal is an excellent read, with some great features. I’m very glad I got around to this, and it’s sheer entertainment value is worth the price of purchase. Atlas Infernal is available as an eBook download from Black Library, or in print from retailers.

Share and Enjoy!"


Electronic Shoeboxing #6


As I traverse the expanse of the internet like a digital hawk, I often spot snippets of discussions regarding Warhammer 40,000 literature. They are often part of larger conversations on social media, forums or in the comments sections of blogs. Sometimes they are even about little, old me. When I find such material, I use my digital claws to rend extracts from their locations and carry them back to my nest here. Today I have some insights from fellow teacher JD Dunsany on Legion of the Damned. JD also loves to write about the 40k setting and can be found shooting the breeze on The Black Library Bolthole.

“Legion of the Damned is just... epic.

Now, on to dour fatalism. Legion of the Damned is, the works of Dembski-Bowden notwithstanding, perhaps the closest I've come to my 'ideal' 40K SM literature - it's brutally inventive, steeped in the baroque culture of Space Marine Chapters (which consequently means that the central characters - Kersh, Ezrachi and Skase, in particular - feel both comprehensible and suitably removed from 'normal' human experience) and, perhaps most importantly of all, intelligently and imaginatively written. Sanders is the king of the compound neologism. I've just read, for example, of Kersh's bolters turning cultists into "a celebratory display of gore-spritz and screams"; earlier on, a downed Thunderhawk is a "crash-mangled mess". Slain daemons return to the warp in "corkscrew[s] of hate-spitting flame". Arguably, Sanders at times overdoes it (the sentence containing "torso-punching, head-blasting, limb-shearing broadside of bolts, bullets, light and devastation" made me smile wryly) but this is 40K, for crying out loud - the setting demands a literature of gothic excess and this is what Sanders delivers in spades. It is, indisputably, profoundly impressive.

And like all good 40K writers, his pacing is almost preternaturally precise - the character beats interspersed between swathes of brutal violence are exceptionally well done, Kersh's first person present tense inserts being particularly impressive and immediate. Arguably, there's nothing too new here - we've seen Space Marines having to cope with the burden of failure before, and we've certainly seen the Rourke's Drift scenario played out on numerous 40K battlefields, but it's Sanders' attention to detail, his willingness to explore the politics between the Imperium's disparate factions in a logical and entertainingly imaginative way (Chapter Five is perhaps my favourite of the book's first half) and his control of both the pacing and description of hardcore huge-scale slaughter that make this novel so damned... ahem... delightful.

Throw in echoes of a conventional ghost story and you've got something really quite special. I'm enjoying it immensely. Legion of the Damned has been finished. And it's been a profoundly satisfying read. *raises a metaphorical glass to a man who manages not only to run an English Department but also produce fiction of outstanding creativity and excitement while he does it* Here's to you, Mr Sanders.”

Thanks JD. Here’s to you, too!