Bequin "trilogy"/Sequel to Pariah?

[Wolf Lord Beowulf]

         Long in the tooth and haven't been on in a while, but I figured if anyone had information on this, it would be the mighty B&C. 

 

Has there been any news on when Dan is planning to get back to the Bequin trilogy? The second books release date keeps getting pushed back, and there's no other news, even on his twitter feed. 
 

[Dosjetka]

The question is raised and answered here. It's been a while though so I can't remember where it is and what the exact answer actually is. :blush:

[Wolf Lord Beowulf]

The question is raised and answered here. It's been a while though so I can't remember where it is and what the exact answer actually is.

Thanks much!

[Roomsky]

When asked about how Penitent was coming along:

 

"Penitent is third on the list (After Warmaster and a fantasy novel)... if that sounds like it's an enormously long way, keep in my mind that I tend to write 3, possibly 4 novels a year, so we're not talking an immense distance off. I think there was also a slight retrenchment in the last few years in the Black Library itself were they were very interested in producing material that was connected to the core values of the game, space marines and Imperial Guards... the Bequin books which were about Inquisitors were left of centre and a bit peripheral. They were written in the heyday of 'what's fun and interesting and diverse?' and that diversity faded a little. (So) Penitent got pushed back because it didn't fit in with the game-plan of what GW really wanted to be publishing. I think the pendulum is swinging back the other way and people would be more receptive to it."

 

He says the Eisenhorn OS game might rekindle the interest in the novel series, making now a good time to release Penitent. He also says GW is broader in what it wants to put out now.

 

There's a lot more he talks about in relation to Gaunt's Ghosts and the Horus Heresy, so the whole cast is worth a listen to if you have the time.

[Petitioner's City]

When asked about how Penitent was coming along:

 

"Penitent is third on the list (After Warmaster and a fantasy novel)... if that sounds like it's an enormously long way, keep in my mind that I tend to write 3, possibly 4 novels a year, so we're not talking an immense distance off. I think there was also a slight retrenchment in the last few years in the Black Library itself were they were very interested in producing material that was connected to the core values of the game, space marines and Imperial Guards... the Bequin books which were about Inquisitors were left of centre and a bit peripheral. They were written in the heyday of 'what's fun and interesting and diverse?' and that diversity faded a little. (So) Penitent got pushed back because it didn't fit in with the game-plan of what GW really wanted to be publishing. I think the pendulum is swinging back the other way and people would be more receptive to it."

 

He says the Eisenhorn OS game might rekindle the interest in the novel series, making now a good time to release Penitent. He also says GW is broader in what it wants to put out now.

 

There's a lot more he talks about in relation to Gaunt's Ghosts and the Horus Heresy, so the whole cast is worth a listen to if you have the time.

 

You didn't link to it. Can you provide it?

[Silent Observant]

It's in the Podcast linked above

[Petitioner's City]

An thanks, I didn't see the link before - this is great!! I remember asking this before and my Twitter is too professional to ask Nik & Dan there

[HeritorA]

An thanks, I didn't see the link before - this is great!! I remember asking this before and my Twitter is too professional to ask Nik & Dan there

Asked him almost every month.

Warmaster is still not finished - so late 2017 is the most nearest release window for Penitent. But let's look the truth in the eyes - I think until 2018 don't even dream about it.

[Petitioner's City]

It's really sad to hear BL/GW turned away non-core stories; really it's such a shame for a few years there was no imagination to expand the licence. It's terribly uncreative, although in that time at least Ahriman, which barely has a connection to 40K, and even Talon were published ... but one can understand or contextualise the terrible lack of lateral thinking novels from a publisher that from the late 90s to the late 00s was exploring a much more interesting array of avenues (novels about ambassadors, rogue traders, inquisitors, adventurers, arbiters, hive gangers, comic book stories of all sorts, etc). 

[Apothecary Vaddon]

Yeah, but to be fair, it also watered the quality down a lot. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of gems, but a lot of duds in mainline series like HH, I think they just wanted to focus down on main series and branch off from there, to provide some base of better parity across their literature.

I mean, we did complain a lot back in the day about the bog standard bolter porn novel, of which there were many, and now we hardly do, so there's that.

[Petitioner's City]

I don't think he was excluding hh from his analysis - that has continued, as one of the core BL ranges, although it descended into short story land for what felt like years - but the non-HH BL focus has been on crossover events with releases in 40k, fantasy and aos. Little else for a long time (beyond odd releases like Ahriman, originally begun at the time of the Codex Chaos Space Marines release, and ADB's pet projects like Talon and Ragnar). In the last decade and late 90s there was a much more creative range it seems to me (although I admit I might be biased - but consider what kinds of fiction were published before 2012 in general, and further back, in 40K and fantasy), even if some or many texts were bad. But the ability for authors to write distinct novels resulting in things like the Night Lords trilogy, Riders of the Dead, novels about hivers, inquisitors, random regiments, arbites, Empire ambassadors in Kislev, pirates, random vampires, etc. This vast range filled out the settings more, rather than the much more taut focus of novels about miniatures. Maybe we are back to this if what Dan says is right And the Beast is a lovely sign of a distinct development too. 

[DarkChaplain]

You shouldn't count The Beast Arises as a recent development. It's been worked on for 3+ years at the very least, and been on ice for a while.

 

To me, the creative shift of BL really became apparent after Peter Fehervari's Fire Caste, which really did knock it out of the park. After that, those kinds of stories were barely commissioned/agreed to anymore, and those that were already written were put on indefinite hold. Fehervari's Fire & Ice novella, for example, was written ages before they put it into the Legends of the Dark Millenium: Tau Empire anthology, without much fanfare.

[A D-B]

It's been interesting, to say the least. Partly it's what Dan alluded to, though there was a wealth of stuff going on beneath the surface as well, for better or worse. Like any publisher, I guess, especially when you have freelancers attached to an IP. But times they are a-changin', as evidenced most clearly in GW's recent social media shift and its overall new focuses in the last 3+ months.

 

And yeah, DC is right about Beast. If you want an example of the time frame, I dropped off the project to write The Emperor's Gift instead, which was far from recent. My TBA emails from the series planning meetings are in amidst drafts of Void Stalker, sent to myself before I bothered with Dropbox. There's some perspective.

[veterannoob]

Yeah, the author interviews on our TBA series coverage surprised me with there being such a long gap between the first three and book four moving forward again. It's in no way a problem, just interesting to hear about and so much content, ideas, plans, etc. floating about behind the scenes. Clearly they made it work. We always want more;) I'm quite optimistic about BL and really hoping to see the next era series of fixed amount of novels. The Scouring would be great but I long for the Unification Wars to get this same treatment.

[Petitioner's City]

Oh i know TBA is a long-gestating project; sorry my poor framing suggested I thought of it as recent. In any case, I am very excited to hear that Warmaster and Penitent might finally appear (does this also mean Matt Farrer's novel too?). And I'm looking forward - one day, when procrastinating - to do some 'characters in' pages on the TBA and Eisenhorn on one of the 40k wikis. I did one for Star Trek: Vanguard on Memory Beta and it worked rather well. 

[Half Goat]

any updates on another Bequin novel?

[Angel_of_Blood]

I went to a book signing Dan Abnett was doing back in May. At the time he told me that 'Warmaster' was currently in the works and would be the next release. He then thinks he will probably/maybe do another Heresy novel. He's then going to write Archon, the final novel in the 'Victory' arc of the Ghosts. Finally, Penitent will come after that. 

 

So if he sticks by that, it's a loooooong way off.

[DarkChaplain]

Bloody hell. At this rate we'll be lucky to get it before 2020 for real.

[Apothecary Vaddon]

I feel like he's just taking a looooong vacation from BL, whether that's due to 40k/30k fatigue or just wanting to do more comics. 

[Angel_of_Blood]

Pretty sure he actually said in one of his interviews that he was taking a bit of a break from BL to concentrate on his other work, as you said, comics such as Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Ranwulf]

He is also writing a few books with his wife, so that could actually hinder some of his time.

[Petitioner's City]

I'd love Nik to write some more Ghosts stuff - her short stories are very interesting, very intriguing. Plus BL needs female authors, full stop - my personal love would be for them to poach Una McCormack (who writes excellent tie in lit, and is a cambridge sociology phd, now creative writing lecturer) or seek out just female authors out in the big world of sci fi and fantasy - really some of the best lit in our genre is being produced by under-read female authors as important as Ursula K. LeGuin or Shelly. But to return to Nik, I'd love her to finish off her husband's work, if that would help complete it. But urgh ... wish Warmaster, Archon and Penitent would come. I want to know about Alpharius, what Gregor is up to, Cherubael, the Emperor's Children and the pact between the Ecclesiarchy and the Word Bearers. The imagery - that basilica so large it had clouds and micro-climates, its byzantine crypt levels, the decayed city out with it, the Maison Dieu, the last house of House Glaw, the continued connections between Dan's works like Prospero Burns and this.  

 

Also has there been any word on Matt Farrer's Urdesh/Iron Snakes novel?

[DukeLeto69]

I'd love Nik to write some more Ghosts stuff - her short stories are very interesting, very intriguing. Plus BL needs female authors, full stop - my personal love would be for them to poach Una McCormack (who writes excellent tie in lit, and is a cambridge sociology phd, now creative writing lecturer) or seek out just female authors out in the big world of sci fi and fantasy - really some of the best lit in our genre is being produced by under-read female authors as important as Ursula K. LeGuin or Shelly. But to return to Nik, I'd love her to finish off her husband's work, if that would help complete it. But urgh ... wish Warmaster, Archon and Penitent would come. I want to know about Alpharius, what Gregor is up to, Cherubael, the Emperor's Children and the pact between the Ecclesiarchy and the Word Bearers. The imagery - that basilica so large it had clouds and micro-climates, its byzantine crypt levels, the decayed city out with it, the Maison Dieu, the last house of House Glaw, the continued connections between Dan's works like Prospero Burns and this.

 

Also has there been any word on Matt Farrer's Urdesh/Iron Snakes novel?

About two months ago Matt Farrer posted a picture on Twitter showing his laptop screen. This clearly had the Urdesh novel manuscript underway. Which is great news for two reasons:

 

1. It means Matt Farrer is writing a BL novel which is a very rare and wonderful thing.

2. As it is direct tie in to the events in Warmaster it would be odd to be writing it if Warmaster is not underway or finished.

 

As a W40k and HH fan I am gutted Abnett has been absent from BL for so long (apparently he wrote I Am Slaughter over 4 years ago but it went on the BL shelf while they put the series on hold). Waiting for Penitient, Warmaster and Archon has been really frustrating but...

 

As a human being I can totally understand that:

 

1. Dan Abnett needs variety in his work to feel inspired and has always mixed up who he works for.

2. He has been drawn to the bigger pay check working for Marvel probably brings

 

However, it would be nice to get a bit of definitive news from the man himself!

[Taliesin]

It doesn't seem like Abnett is doing anything for BL in the near future.

 

He's got a Fantasy story called "The Wield" that was supposed to come out for UK SFF publisher Gollanvz first in 2016, then listed for 2017 and by now for 2018, so even that is not coming out.

 

He's also not present in anyway for the BL Live event next month and all of that makes me think that he probably continues to be absent from the Warhammer world.

[Angel_of_Blood]

As I said above, he did say he was currently writing The Warmaster.