Ask... GAV THORPE

[shadowhawk2008]

I can't stop drooling here.

[Reinen]

Spoiler: In AoD Boreas' sympathies for Astelan evolve out of a shared sense of isolation and disenchantment, leading to the suspicion that the Dark Angels are no longer what the Emperor or the Lion envisaged. 'You were right,' was not a blanket acceptance of Astelan's behaviour, but a statement of understanding in the context of the rest of the message.

Astelan say the true ideas. However,

Spoiler: when he acted that it turned out either mutiny, dictatorship or ecological catastrophe.

He is a Dark Angel!

Asmodai (or possibly Sapphon, I haven't decide yet) in the second, and Azrael himself in the third, as well as a recurring cast of other characters.

Sapphon was interestingly presented in AoD. I would like to read again about this character.

Thanx!

[Phoebus]

Consider me excited.

[Lord of the Night]

Ravenwing is the first book in the Legacy of Caliban trilogy, which is followed by Master of Sanctity and The Unforgiven. Angels of Darkness becomes a prologue to the trilogy, as Purging of Kadillus is a prequel to AoD. Across the trilogy we see the effect of the events of Piscina rippling through the Chapter, first with the Ravenwing, escalating up through the Deathwing to the Inner Circle itself. Sammael is a central character in the first book, Asmodai (or possibly Sapphon, I haven't decide yet) in the second, and Azrael himself in the third, as well as a recurring cast of other characters.

Cheers,

Gav

This sounds absolutely awesome!!

Please please please use Asmodai!! Sapphon is cool but Asmodai is a far better interrogator. Asmodai might be the best interrogator in the Imperium if what it says about him is true, also it'd be interesting to find out why he is acknowledged as better than Sapphon yet has only made two of the Fallen repent.

I now await this trilogy even more. This has just shot up to become one of my most anticipated releases for the coming years.


LotN

[Reinen]

Please please please use Asmodai!! Sapphon is cool but Asmodai is a far better interrogator.

Will we organize vote? Joke.
About Asmodai a short story was written. I don't remember, whose.

Asmodai might be the best interrogator in the Imperium if what it says about him is true, also it'd be interesting to find out why he is acknowledged as better than Sapphon yet has only made two of the Fallen repent.

IMHO -- Because it inspired strong fear. It had a gloomy reputation.

[Phoebus]

Mr. Thorpe, you probably have as much insight as anyone else in the BL/GW circles in terms of the workings of the Dark Angels. Hopefully, that means you can help out with a question on the organizational structure of this Chapter.

Gaming-wise, Codex Chapters have Reserve Companies that are able to field their troops with bikes and Land Speeders. The same with the Assault squads of the Battle Companies. The Dark Angels, though, put the focus - again, gaming-wise - on the Ravenwing. Makes sense. Thing is, though, that seems to have translated (unnecessarily, I think) to the Codex's fluff... which seems to imply that the Dark Angels' Reserve Companies are limited to Rhinos and/or jump packs.

Does that make sense? As an author writing about the Dark Angels, is that something that you would hold as a valid constraint on your material? When you picture the novelized Dark Angels, do you assume that they limit such assets to the Ravenwing alone?

Thanks in advance!

[Xisor]

Hi Gav,

Just finished Path of the Outcast today - thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent end to the trilogy. Like LotN, a few questions too.

Spoiler: 1- Okay, it's not a question. Harlequins, adored them. The Kami - wonderful. The Irdiris - magnificent. The escalation of Aradryan's bizarre-adventures, glorious. The whole kit and kaboodle wove together wonderfully. To turn it into a question: did you enjoy the writing of it? Or better: what piece did you enjoy writing the most?

Spoiler: 2- More specifically, you're take on Lechthennian[sp?] as a Solitaire - it was a glorious reveal, but your take on the Solitaire... how were you influenced? There's been talk in a few places of how it's done, what the nature of the Solitaire is, whether they're allowed/able to talk to others etc - I was pleasantly enjoyed by him being both the most enigmatic of characters (well, excepting our Kami chums) and yet also one of the most gregarious and garrulous. Will we ever see more of him and Findelsith's troupe?[/quote]

[spoiler]3- Our lovely Exodite friends - any room for an exploration further into the vagaries of their societies? Or perhaps the legitimacy of their technique and where it fits with respect to the Eldar pantheon? It's a vague and broad question of course, but as you'd mentioned back on your blog with respect to the nature of Khaine and his implication on the reality of their pantheon... well, the Exodites effectively exile themselves from everything about the Eldar society. Is this, arguably, a harking back to the Eldar's initial origins? In the epilogue and final excerpt, you suggest that the ultimate fate of the Eldar is with the species, not with the individual. That certainly ties neatly into the Dance Without End, the reincarnation of the Eldar, the 'loss' of the Widowmaker, the Rhana Dandra, the creation of everything and the phoenix motif.

Right, that got away from me. The point being: how fundamental do you think the symbolism of the 'death' of the pantheon, the survival of only Khaine and Cegorach, is to the more disparate and unexplored elements of the Eldar? Perhaps a 'lesson' that the Exodites effectively have failed or removed themselves from the species - willingly isolating themselves from the fate of their species?

More sensibly, any inclination to involve Exodites in further stories? Though as protagonists it seems, by their nature, that they're not inclined to be 'interesting protagonists', they seem to lend themselves wonderfully to forming an exotic supporting cast.

Spoiler: 4- The chapter openers from all three books: adorable. The exploration of the mythology (both from the Elf side and the Eldar side) is extremely intriguing - any chance of a Grudgelore-style project filling out the details?

Well, that should be enough to get going with. Though...you mentioned in a few of your answers to LotN that there been the odd scene or sub-plot that didn't quite make it into the book, I'd heartily express my interest in seeing any shorts or whatnot that would come from tying off loose ends herein.

Cheers in any case,
Xisor

[Liliedhe]

You made me cry again.

I just finished "Die Toten zu ehren" (Honour the dead, I suppose). The end made me cry. Again. You enjoy this, don't you?

Spoiler: Aquila's speech was awesome, and so very sad. Poor Gaius... Poor little baby. I think this is the first time I read about Space Marines interacting with such a tiny child. What did inspire you to put this element into the story?

One can't help but wonder what will become of tiny Pexilius. Or of Aquila and Septival...

[shadowhawk2008]

Gav, is it becoming a trend in your work that by the end you are going to have the reader/listener (almost) in tears?

Just finished your Mission: Purge audio. The new voice-actors didn't work for me at all but I loved the last 10 minutes of it, especially the Black Shield's last stand. Great work there in the end.

Is it possible to get a character list for the audio? The voice-acting wasn't that clear enough for me to catch the names other that Artemis and Harek.

[Dennis the Hamster]

Does that make sense? As an author writing about the Dark Angels, is that something that you would hold as a valid constraint on your material? When you picture the novelized Dark Angels, do you assume that they limit such assets to the Ravenwing alone?

Thanks in advance!

It certainly appears to be the case - I have not seen (for a long time) a bike or speeder painted in non-Ravenwing colours in an official publication.

Gav

[Dennis the Hamster]

Hi Gav,

Just finished Path of the Outcast today - thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent end to the trilogy. Like LotN, a few questions too.

Spoiler: 1- Okay, it's not a question. Harlequins, adored them. The Kami - wonderful. The Irdiris - magnificent. The escalation of Aradryan's bizarre-adventures, glorious. The whole kit and kaboodle wove together wonderfully. To turn it into a question: did you enjoy the writing of it? Or better: what piece did you enjoy writing the most?

Spoiler: 2- More specifically, you're take on Lechthennian[sp?] as a Solitaire - it was a glorious reveal, but your take on the Solitaire... how were you influenced? There's been talk in a few places of how it's done, what the nature of the Solitaire is, whether they're allowed/able to talk to others etc - I was pleasantly enjoyed by him being both the most enigmatic of characters (well, excepting our Kami chums) and yet also one of the most gregarious and garrulous. Will we ever see more of him and Findelsith's troupe?

Spoiler: 3- Our lovely Exodite friends - any room for an exploration further into the vagaries of their societies? Or perhaps the legitimacy of their technique and where it fits with respect to the Eldar pantheon? It's a vague and broad question of course, but as you'd mentioned back on your blog with respect to the nature of Khaine and his implication on the reality of their pantheon... well, the Exodites effectively exile themselves from everything about the Eldar society. Is this, arguably, a harking back to the Eldar's initial origins? In the epilogue and final excerpt, you suggest that the ultimate fate of the Eldar is with the species, not with the individual. That certainly ties neatly into the Dance Without End, the reincarnation of the Eldar, the 'loss' of the Widowmaker, the Rhana Dandra, the creation of everything and the phoenix motif.

Right, that got away from me. The point being: how fundamental do you think the symbolism of the 'death' of the pantheon, the survival of only Khaine and Cegorach, is to the more disparate and unexplored elements of the Eldar? Perhaps a 'lesson' that the Exodites effectively have failed or removed themselves from the species - willingly isolating themselves from the fate of their species?

More sensibly, any inclination to involve Exodites in further stories? Though as protagonists it seems, by their nature, that they're not inclined to be 'interesting protagonists', they seem to lend themselves wonderfully to forming an exotic supporting cast.

Spoiler: 4- The chapter openers from all three books: adorable. The exploration of the mythology (both from the Elf side and the Eldar side) is extremely intriguing - any chance of a Grudgelore-style project filling out the details?

Well, that should be enough to get going with. Though...you mentioned in a few of your answers to LotN that there been the odd scene or sub-plot that didn't quite make it into the book, I'd heartily express my interest in seeing any shorts or whatnot that would come from tying off loose ends herein.

Cheers in any case,
Xisor

There's some pretty involved questions there, so please be patient and I will turn this into a post/ interview for the blog, if you don't mind.

Cheers,

Gav

[Dennis the Hamster]

You made me cry again.

I just finished "Die Toten zu ehren" (Honour the dead, I suppose). The end made me cry. Again. You enjoy this, don't you?

Spoiler: Aquila's speech was awesome, and so very sad. Poor Gaius... Poor little baby. I think this is the first time I read about Space Marines interacting with such a tiny child. What did inspire you to put this element into the story?

One can't help but wonder what will become of tiny Pexilius. Or of Aquila and Septival...

Spoiler: I wanted the story to be about contrasts - the Titans duking it out unaware of the carnage they cause, and the space marines in comparison to the mother and child - three levels of conflict utterly alien to each other. Plus I wanted to write a BL story with a baby in it.

The continuity gurus on the forum may be able to give you a hint as to what happens to Aquila. We'll see if anyone else spots the link; if not I will spill the beans at some point.

Gav

[Dennis the Hamster]

Gav, is it becoming a trend in your work that by the end you are going to have the reader/listener (almost) in tears?

I would like to get an emotional reaction form readers, even with characters as potentially unemotional as space marines. Certainly the mother and baby in Honour to the Dead (referencing Liliedhe's post) was a means to add more emotional consequence to the story. So yes, I suppose I do try to make the reader cry now and then...

Just finished your Mission: Purge audio. The new voice-actors didn't work for me at all but I loved the last 10 minutes of it, especially the Black Shield's last stand. Great work there in the end.

Is it possible to get a character list for the audio? The voice-acting wasn't that clear enough for me to catch the names other that Artemis and Harek.

Brother-captain Artemis, Mortifactors.

Haryk Thunderfang, Space Wolf.

Urbino, the Blackshield.

Brother Lavestus, White Consul.

Brother Sekor, pilot.

Vanor Kempt Issery, captain of the Volans Batavus.

[shadowhawk2008]

Thanks

By the way, in reference to your FB post, HH or 40k Raven Guard?

[Liliedhe]

The continuity gurus on the forum may be able to give you a hint as to what happens to Aquila. We'll see if anyone else spots the link; if not I will spill the beans at some point.

Gav

Ah, he's that Aquila. Somehow, it didn't occur to me that he might be someone I know from 40K references.

Spoiler: He becomes first Chapter Master of the Doom Eagles, right? *hvt* After that speech, I should have guessed. ^^

[Major Rawne]

Gav, is it becoming a trend in your work that by the end you are going to have the reader/listener (almost) in tears?

I would like to get an emotional reaction form readers, even with characters as potentially unemotional as space marines. Certainly the mother and baby in Honour to the Dead (referencing Liliedhe's post) was a means to add more emotional consequence to the story. So yes, I suppose I do try to make the reader cry now and then...

Well of the five of your books I have so far happened to read this year I can honestly say that they all elicited an emotional response of one sort or the other, or a whole spectrum of them. So um... well done .

It's one of the main things I particularly enjoyed about the Path of the Eldar series, and am really looking forward to more of not only from yourself, but BL as a whole.

[BL Graeme]

Gav,

Is it possible that Marcus Valerius might return any time soon? When and where?

:p

[shadowhawk2008]

Gav,

Is it possible that Marcus Valerius might return any time soon? When and where?

:p

Now that's just plain teasing. Not fun! Inquiring minds want to know what you are cooking!!

[Liliedhe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Valerius_Corvus

Hm... *scratches head* *has a sense of deja vu*

[shadowhawk2008]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Valerius_Corvus

Hm... *scratches head* *has a sense of deja vu*

Oh wow..... now that's something.