Ask... C L WERNER

[Anakwanar]

Hi, so thats why it was delayed till June 2013. Anyway - Dead Winter was awesome - right now Blighted empire - is the only novel from Warhammer Fantasy Battle that i really waiting for. (Great Betrayal - 100000 dragons - really )

Will we see some imperium vs skaven action on a bigger scale this time?
Who will take the position of the main protagonist?
Any extract soon to sate our apetite?
What are you plans for the future - new Thulmann, Thanquol (best Grey Seer ever )?

[Lord of the Night]

What are you plans for the future - new Thulmann, Thanquol (best Grey Seer ever )?

I really hope so on both accounts. Brunner and Thulmann need to return, we need more of the badass bounty hunter and the nicest Witch Hunter out there. More Thanquol is just like more air, it's something we can't do without.


LotN

[Carandini]

Thanks for the kind words. I think Blighted Empire will exceed the expectations. There's alot of great stuff in there and it doesn't constitute a spoiler to say the skaven aren't keeping to the shadows any more.

In total agreement on Brunner, Thanquol and Thulmann. Just make sure you let the BL know. They are really good about listening to the readers, I think.

Now back to work on the short stories...

[Diatribe]

It's SOOOOO nice to see BL re-releasing your novels: Palace of the Plague Lord & Blood for the Blood God, Clint. Both were great novels in their own right, but fancy new (in PotPL's case at least I think) covers always help!

Part of me hates, loathes & despises that I've really slowed down to only a single day a week that I read, but when you get engaged & family life really starts to intrude on that free time, there's not much I can do other than whittle away at each book, page by page!

Anyways, keep up the great work, Clint, you keep writing them and I'll keep reading them!

[Carandini]

Glad to hear you're engaged, even at the expense of your reading time. I'm sure once things stablizie you'll be able to sneak in a bit more. My parents would always make it a point to read for an hour before retiring in the evening - that was time set aside not simple 'fitted in'. Whatever you do, there has to always be time for reading. I'm sure the BL would be very happy if you'd let their tomes enjoy pride of place

My own output has been suffering of late due to some health issues, so i apoligize if I'm not maintaining a writing pace satisfactory to even a reduced reading regime. Maybe do a re-read of Palace of the Plague Lord and Blood for the Blood God during the wait?

[shadowhawk2008]

It must be the Grandfather's influence on you. You must find a way to escape his clutches!

[Lord of the Night]

Hey C.L,

Just a quick question i've got after getting halfway through Blood for the Blood God and checking something in Palace of the Plague Lord. I notice that in the latter Einarr escapes from an Aesling shaman named Alfkaell who is devoted to Khorne, and in the former there is the keeper of Teiyogtei's crypt Alfkaell who is also devoted to Khorne.

Same guy? Or coincidence?


Edit: Finished BftBG and actually have three more questions.

Spoiler: 1. Did the Skulltaker finish off Sanya or would Krathin's escape have killed her? Also little side thing regarding Sanya, as a Hung would she have an oriental appearance or would she appear more like a westerner like us?

2. I understand that Vrkas became the Skulltaker through Krathin's power, but I assumed he was a separate warrior with that name rather than the same guy as U'Zuhl. Did Vrkas become U'Zuhl or did he merely give his flesh to U'Zuhl for the purpose of vengeance and reclaiming what Teiyogtei cheated Khorne out of?

3. Do you intend to continue the Chaos Wastes books with a Slaanesh novel and a Tzeentch novel?


LotN

[Carandini]

To answer the first question, yes, that is the same Alfkaell. Which says something about the timeline - or perhaps doesn't since time and death are simply deceits engineered by the Ruinous Powers to control mortals.

As for the third question, I' d like to someday. Have plots for both subjects that I think would be really cool.

Now, for the spoiler:

Spoiler: I think Sanya would be more Mongol or Han Chinese in her appearance. The Kurgan strike me as being of a more Tartar or Ukrainian cast so they'd have a more occidental appearance than the Hung and Tong.

So far as Vrkas is concerned, who's to say that the daemon didn't become human at some point, thereby making everything that happens simply a journey to restore what once was. Which is a sneaky way of saying that Game Development came up with their own Skulltaker while I was writing this book and it was decided to merge the two characters. To make things more confusing, in WAR there is a whole tribe called the Skulltakers!

[Anakwanar]

Hello Carandini - you wrote that 'The Kurgan strike me as being of a more Tartar or Ukrainian cast so they'd have a more occidental appearance than the Hung and Tong.' As a Ukrainian i could tell you that in my personal opinion thats not so - they are different then our cossacks. I think they are more old parthyans then tartar or Ukrainian. Anyway - cant wait to read The Blighted empire. Maybe - you or BL will give us some early ARC versions?

[shadowhawk2008]

Do you mean excerpts?

[Gaius Marius]

Will it be mentioned where the dwarves were during the black death? Seems slightly odd that they'd just stand there while one of their most hated foes overruns an ally or did goldgatherer alienate them to?

[Carandini]

I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the BL to release any excerpts for Blighted Empire. I have it on good authority that the early copies have hit the BL tower, so I'd imagine review copies won't be in the too distant future.

I'll defer to Anakwanar on the subject of Kurgan and Ukrainians. Obviously GW had the Kurgan from 'Highlander' in mind when devising the culture and taking pains to paint them as more savage and barbaric than the Norscans. The historical Kurgan people would pre-date the Cossacks by a good degree, but I think most of the evidence supports a Caucasian rather than Mongoloid ethnicity.

On the subject of dwarfs, I have to wonder if Gaius has been peaking You will indeed have an answer as well as a bit of explanation for some fo your questions.

[Carandini]

Here's one I didn't know was being reptinted: 'Wind of Change', a tale of dark elves in the horrific northern wastes.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Warhammer/w ... ebook.html

This story hasn't been seen since the long-ago days of Inferno!

[sam vimes]

Hi Clint I was wondering if you had any info on Darkblade new novel wise and has your short on him seen general release? I'm a bit behind on fantasy HH seems to dominate sadly at the mo oh and I call BS on The Siege Of Castellex being your first 40k novel was fething fantastic from start to finish ending was a bit of a surprise hope they get the company back up to previous numbers man the Iron Warriors are so cold and brutal and so disciplined if more traitor marines were like them be afraid Imperuim be very afraid.

[Carandini]

Castellax was indeed my first dance with a full 40k novel - but thanks for the compliment. Prior to that I'd only written three short stories - one of them tied into Castellax's plot.

No word on Darkblade just now. I'm working on the third Black Plague novel, so it'll be a bit before I can turn my thoughts to the druchii.

[Anakwanar]

Dear Carandini its already May - when i would be able to get my hands on preordered ebook of your awesome Blighted empire?
Right now its the only book of Warhammer Fantasy Battles that i want to read. Everything else is not interesting , or boring, and the Slayer serie was killed - after Long left.
W40K and HH have a dozen of good authors - but in Fantasy Battles is only you. And Warhammer FB is now in (sorry for words) the deepest shithole, and only your books - this skaven awesomness and hope for future Thanquol and Thulmann will probably save it.

[Carandini]

I think it's wrong to write off Gotrek and Felix just yet. The BL is trying something very different with the series and allowing a variety of authors to tackle the heroes. As such, every book has the potential to be quite unique in its own right and while it might be disheartening if an author you like only gets one book and then somebody else takes the next one, it likewise means if you get a writer whose style doesn't jell - well, next book it'll be somebody new. I think this tactic is what made Tor's 'Conan' series work. They had some amazing authrors like John Maddox Roberts, Leonard Carpenter and John C. Hocking, but they also had some less capable ones too. Knowing that the next book down the line was from a writer you liked helped get over the 'speed bumps'.

Thanks for the kind words regarding Blighted Empire. I think it is an extremely solid narrative and has some great scenes in it. Mandred and Vanhal certainly come across as two of my favorite characters, while Boris Goldgather gets the distinction of being the most vile rat I've ever written (and I've written a fair number). I'm not certain when the BL will be unleashing the beast, as it were, but keep an eye peeled as there are some 'extras' I wrote that expand upon the setting and give a more 'common man's view' of the Empire during this calamitous time.

For my part, I've been trying to clean up my own reading docket to get into a few BL fantasy novels that really have me excited. Probably showing my penchant for the bad guys, but I'm quite keen to start reading Headtaker, Van Horstmann and Skarsnik.

[Lord of the Night]

Thanks for the kind words regarding Blighted Empire. I think it is an extremely solid narrative and has some great scenes in it. Mandred and Vanhal certainly come across as two of my favorite characters, while Boris Goldgather gets the distinction of being the most vile rat I've ever written (and I've written a fair number). I'm not certain when the BL will be unleashing the beast, as it were, but keep an eye peeled as there are some 'extras' I wrote that expand upon the setting and give a more 'common man's view' of the Empire during this calamitous time.

Vanhal and Puskab Foulfur are my favourites of the trilogy thus far, and the Nachtsheer. Blighted Empire will be the first BL book of the June releases that I read. And Boris Goldgather already comes across as a rat in Dead Winter, if BE make him worse than I really can't wait to see those scenes. At least the Kaiserjaeger leader is dead.

For my part, I've been trying to clean up my own reading docket to get into a few BL fantasy novels that really have me excited. Probably showing my penchant for the bad guys, but I'm quite keen to start reading Headtaker, Van Horstmann and Skarsnik.

I think you'll really like Headtaker. Guymer's Skaven keep the dark and humourous tone that yours do, and his protagonists Queek Headtaker and Sharpwit are definitely memorable characters. And he expands nicely on the theme that you did in Thanquol's Doom, the comparisons of Dwarf and Skaven society, but he offers a differing view to yours. Definitely one of my favourite Warhammer novels.


LotN

[WarlordGuymer]

Vanhal was my standout favourite character from Dead Winter. Despite his actions I still feel sorry for him and imagine I'd do the same things he did in his place. I can't wait to see what he gets up to in Blighted Empire and beyond!

[Carandini]

I think you'll enjoy where Vanhal goes in the next books. In many ways he's a tragic figure and presents a great counterpoint to his apprentice, Baron Lothar von Diehl, in the second book.