Warcom: What were the challenges of writing about grief when Space Marines have very few opportunities to express such emotion?
John: I think that’s actually the most fun part of writing books like this, wondering how emotions are expressed in beings who have had the ability to express them. These emotions are there, but all the normal ways a person can express or deal with them are not part of their nature, but like water or lightning, they must find a way out. And the way these emotions are expressed is reinforced by their nature. Space Marines are creatures that do things on a large scale; It’s one of the things that makes them so terrifying. So a Blood Angel’s grief will not manifest itself in tears, but perhaps in a terrifying silence, and then in a rage that literally overwhelms their sense of who they are. If it seems like emotions are beyond their control, that’s because they are – they are vast and horrible and beyond normal human experience.
Warcom: There are a lot of great characters in this book, do you have a favorite interaction between any of them?
John: It’s a hard thing to do, so I might cheat and take three.
There’s a conversation between all the primarchs of Terra that begins by talking about the situation and the underlying conflict between Guilliman and Dorn, then moves on to remembering Sanguinius, and you go from these huge figures clashing over vast issues to a group of brothers united by the absence of a sibling. It’s definitely one of my favorites.
Prayto and Mouhausen, one of Malcador’s surviving Chosen, are on opposite sides of a bulletless conflict during the book, but they don’t actually meet until near the end. This takes place as part of a much larger setting on the fringes of the Lords of the Imperium meeting, but their conversation and how it fits into what’s happening on the big stage was one of my favorites to write.
Then there’s a moment between Apollyon and Salick, one of the Space Wolves he’s deployed to Mars with, after the Space Wolves lose one of their own and drink to his memory. It’s not a big, loud moment, and both characters aren’t primarchs or great lords, but of all the interactions in the book, I think one of them might be the one I’m most proud of.
Warcom: How difficult was it to write a novel set in a time where history hadn’t really been covered before?
John: I really enjoy it – part of the fun is understanding what’s known, what people expect and what they don’t. Additionally, a lot of work from all the writers involved and the rest of Games Workshop and Black Library has gone into defining the themes and mood of Scouring, so as there’s a lot to build on that we’re revealing for the first time. But the biggest question when writing a book like this is less about the events and more about how to paint a picture of what the characters experiencing them are going through. This is a different time than the Great Crusade, the Horus Heresy or the Siege. Everything is uncertain, everything is broken and everyone is trying to know what the present means and what the future could be. The real challenge is to make the reader experience this.
Warcom: What’s different about Space Marines after the Horus Heresy?
John: Everything is uncertain, everything is marked or broken, and the Legions in particular. They have been through the greatest war in human history, and they do not know what will come next, or what their place will be in this war. Before, they had clarity, purpose, and certainty, but now everything that defined their rebellion or loyalty has been destroyed or reduced to ashes and ruin. They don’t know what their future will really be, or even if they will have a future. This is true both for those who rebelled and for those who remained faithful. Will they survive to this age? We know they will as readers and fans, but they don’t: they lie in ruins, facing the possibility of extinction.
Warcom: And finally, is it difficult to pick up a story where another writer left off?
John: In a series like this, you have to match the mood and the tone, and know where everything and everyone was left, and also what arc and energy these characters and events were left, and then integrate that into the story you’re telling, and line it all up for the next person, and… yeah, it’s a lot. But I was picking up Chris, and we’ve known each other and worked together for a very long time now and articulating books like this was something we had a lot of practice with. I really wanted Wrath of Terra to harmonize with the atmosphere and events of Ashes of the Imperiumso that when you see Prayto watching the black ships emerge from Luna or meeting Salick and his wolf pack as they land on Mars, you feel like you’re seeing the same age that Chris introduced us to in Ashes of the Imperium.
Thank you, John! Wrath of Terra will soon be available as a standard hardback, as well as a nicely equipped Premium Edition. In the meantime, catch up Ashes of the Imperium in eBook or audio book about the Black Library app.
*Spoiler alert! See Siege of Terra: The End and Death Volume II to find out more.
Gn entert
