Peter Fehervari’s Dark Coil

[byrd9999]

 

Inferno! Vol.2's The Thirteenth Psalm is today's Monday short from Black Library, so it is now available individually, at least digitally.

 

https://www.blacklibrary.com/prod-home/new/the-thirteenth-psalm-2019.html

 

If you've been on the fence about getting Inferno! for one story, this is your time. It is freakin' brilliant.

Do you know where it fits, story wise?

 

 

The Thirteenth Psalm comes after Requiem Infernal, using Athanasius' chronology to date it.

[byrd9999]

I’ve just found this thread and I’d love to know if there’s a suggested reading list or order? It looks like the work is scattered across black library, so if there’s a starting point you can suggest I’d appreciate it.

 

Dark Chaplain's post #12 on page 1 of this thread gives a nice summation.

 

The Dark Coil is self-referential, so you can start anywhere, and the more you read the more links you'll find, but Requiem Infernal is in print, and in a beautiful hardback, so that might be a good place to start.

[JustinDHill]

I’m going to jump into this series. Heard so many good things about it.

[DarkChaplain]

Welcome to the Coil!

[caladancid]

Welcome to the Coil!

 

Or has he always been there?

[Never_born]

I hope the Fehervari fans out there will be interested in my latest interview with Peter, in which we talk about Requiem Infernal (which is coming out in paperback very soon) and the secrets of the Dark Coil.

 

https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/10/04/peter-fehervari-talks-requiem-infernal-and-the-dark-coil/

 

Cheers,

 

NB.

[Lord Marshal]

One thing about that interview is the multiple remarks where he seems upset there isn't more of an audience for his work. That really is such a huge pity, because he definitely has the closest to a 'hardcore cult following' of any Black Library author. I'm bias just because he's surpassed Abnett as my favourite BL author (not that my list is very big). Although I don't think his lack of existence on any form of social media really helps, not that I can blame him. He seems to have a big following in Russia though.

 

I'd say that I hope he doesn't burn out, but judging by the part about a short story blooming into something more, it seems not. 

Edited October 4, 2019 by Lord Marshal

[DukeLeto69]

One thing about that interview is the multiple remarks where he seems upset there isn't more of an audience for his work. That really is such a huge pity, because he definitely has the closest to a 'hardcore cult following' of any Black Library author. I'm bias just because he's surpassed Abnett as my favourite BL author (not that my list is very big). Although I don't think his lack of existence on any form of social media really helps, not that I can blame him. He seems to have a big following in Russia though.

 

I'd say that I hope he doesn't burn out, but judging by the part about a short story blooming into something more, it seems not.

More worrying is that if Peter’s books don’t sell eventually BL won’t commission / publish any more. Clearly there are a group if us who would be very sad about that.

 

One way we can all help drive some sales is by posting positive reviews of all his work, particularly RI as it is about to get PB treatment.

 

Amazon is SO dominant that if you only post one review do it there.

 

Seriously brothers if you want more Fehervari goodness then go post a positive review on Amazon, it really will help!

[Lord Marshal]

 

One thing about that interview is the multiple remarks where he seems upset there isn't more of an audience for his work. That really is such a huge pity, because he definitely has the closest to a 'hardcore cult following' of any Black Library author. I'm bias just because he's surpassed Abnett as my favourite BL author (not that my list is very big). Although I don't think his lack of existence on any form of social media really helps, not that I can blame him. He seems to have a big following in Russia though.

 

I'd say that I hope he doesn't burn out, but judging by the part about a short story blooming into something more, it seems not.

More worrying is that if Peter’s books don’t sell eventually BL won’t commission / publish any more. Clearly there are a group if us who would be very sad about that.

 

One way we can all help drive some sales is by posting positive reviews of all his work, particularly RI as it is about to get PB treatment.

 

Amazon is SO dominant that if you only post one review do it there.

 

Seriously brothers if you want more Fehervari goodness then go post a positive review on Amazon, it really will help!

 

 

If he's been allowed to turn what was a short story into a novella, then into a full novel, it's probably a good sign that he's shifting enough copies to keep getting commissioned.

 

Also let's face it, most of what people buy are Space Marine stories. Since his next book is supposedly a full-blown Marine novel, I think he really ought to see an upswing in popularity. That is if people aren't disappointed there's more to it than Bolter Porn. I still cringe a bit when I read Fire Caste reviews claiming it's "too complicated" which boggles my mind as to how that can be a criticism. 

Edited October 6, 2019 by Lord Marshal

[DukeLeto69]

@lordmarshal I am pretty sure Fehervari is sadly not a big seller. The RI hardback is still on sale even though paperback is coming. Compare that to HB of Honourbound which sold out.

 

Peter writes unusual books (in BL terms) but I think/hope as a publisher BL see some kudos of having him writing for them. In the same way film studios happily finance Scorsese films despite loads if them losing money.

 

Nonetheless I would still recommend any brothers who love the coil to post some good Amazon reviews. Every little helps!

 

Oh and the other point is this...

 

Publishers play the long game. They can wait for years to recoup. An author however is only paid an advance against future royalties (there is a standard amount and then for more successful authors like Abnett they will negotiate a bigger advance). The author ONLY earns additional income from the book sales AFTER the advance has been paid back.

 

Peter Fehervari does not earn enough from his book sales to make a living hence continuing to work as a TV editor. There is always the danger that in the end the bank manager/rent/mortgage is impossible to ignore and he may have to pull back from writing! None of us coil fans want that. So that is why I personally want to help raise his profile and hopefully sales because, selfishly I want more novels from him!

Edited October 6, 2019 by DukeLeto69

[theSpirea]

The difference between Honourbound and RI is also the fact Honourbound was launched with a new miniature; main reason why it sold out, and because it focuses on more popular faction. Also, RI didn't really get much attention and deserved promotion, unlike Honourbound. On top of that, if I remember correctly, RI was put on pre-order on the same day as The Solar War Hardback.

 

Not just RI, his previous work wasn't not marketed properly. Like Fire Caste was advertised as Tau novel which already means the sales are going to be rather low.

 

I wish Peter all luck and all attention and recognition he deserves. He brings something new to WH world, I don't want to say a fresh breath as there are other upcoming authors doing as well, he just brings something different to the table. More mature I would say. His work is something I can recommend to my friends who are not into WH and don't know anything about it simply because his writing is so good.

[Lord Marshal]

@lordmarshal I am pretty sure Fehervari is sadly not a big seller. The RI hardback is still on sale even though paperback is coming. Compare that to HB of Honourbound which sold out.

 

You can still get copies of The Anarch in hardback and it only just went to paperback. We know it was a success - being Gaunt's Ghosts - so I wouldn't read too much into that.

 

To be honest I'm sceptical about Honourbound. They made a huge sing-song about it, making it the poster child of the Black Library celebration and releasing a new model alongside of it, so naturally it was going to do well. Yet despite it presumably selling well, I see more discussion about Requiem Infernal. That's not to say HB hasn't shifted copies mind you. Maybe I'm bias because I didn't see what all the hype surrounding HB was after I finished it.

 

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I have to agree with theSpirea that Fehervari's works are about the only 40k books - outside of Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn as introductions to the franchise - that I feel I could recommend to people who aren't into the setting. Despite being more than bathed in the trappings of the setting, they still work that well and I think there's something to be said for that.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Lord Marshal

[DukeLeto69]

We clearly both love Mr Fehervari’s work so all good. I don’t think Anarch in hardback is a good comparison though. That would have had an initial print run far far larger than RI.

 

I would still encourage you (if not done already) to post a review on Amazon. I know for a fact that “smaller” authors really appreciate it and it helps drive sales.

Edited October 6, 2019 by DukeLeto69

[Knockagh]

As much as I enjoy PF I wouldn’t recommend him to a new reader, unless they were heavily versed in the game of 40k. I think you would miss out on way to much detail if you hadn’t a fairly good knowledge of the 40k galaxy.

I imagine PFs captive audience is folks like us who are spend a fair chunk of our free time reading BL books and reading generally.

He certainly has been a huge asset to the BL author group and it would be very disappointing to see him loose interest in writing. There are a number of new authors I’m very keen on Nick Horth (in Age of Sigmar), Rachael Harrison and Justin Hill are all worthy writers. Most haven’t received great favours from BL in terms of their personal promotion. Which I think is a real pitty but unfortunately seems to be the BL way of doing thing’s. The only books that get really promoted are multi author series. Authors attempting to carve out their own corner of the universe often seem to get lost in the mess. Which is quite the reverse of what used to be. Traditionally a BL author sought out an area to grow and cultivate through a trilogy or perhaps a larger series. Now we have much more focus on the multi author series. Thankfully though BL are still giving us plenty of authors and books of all descriptions so even if the main promo focus is on multi author there is obviously plenty of demand for authors doing their own thing. I’m sure I will buy them all hahaha

[Sandlemad]

As much as I enjoy PF I wouldn’t recommend him to a new reader, unless they were heavily versed in the game of 40k. I think you would miss out on way to much detail if you hadn’t a fairly good knowledge of the 40k galaxy.

 

Maybe but I don't think there's a huge amount you need to know for his work? The detail adds to it a little but what I admire about Fehervari's books is that unlike a lot of the better books by other authors - the top tier heresy novels, the better CSM books - you don't have to understand what a primarch is or the nuanced relations between these particular chapters or the details of this famous campaign, etc. to get a lot out of his work.

 

Fire Caste, Genestealer Cults and Requiem Infernal throw you in the deep end but their plots don't hinge on stuff that would only be apparent to veteran 40k fans. They basically reconstruct the metaphysics of the warp from scratch for the first time reader and put it almost entirely at the use of atmosphere. Beyond knowing 'here are some gothic sci-fi 'Nam soldiers/nuns/xenomorphs', I don't think they ask that much of the reader in terms of deep background knowledge, while still getting across the nightmarishness of the setting extremely well.

 

I'd also second the point that the Fehervari's more obviously literary sensibilities - the quality of his prose, the focus on character and atmosphere over plot, the interest in ambiguities, the whole weird metafictional aspects of the Dark Coil - really do elevate him and make him more approachable for readers coming from outside the 40k licensed fiction sphere.

[byrd9999]

In the ToW interview, Peter updated the chronology of his works to include the two recent ones. It's interesting to note that Requiem Infernal occurs first (okay, it's all relative, but still...), and that The Thirteenth Psalm is towards the end because Athanasius appears in both.

 

1. Requiem Infernal (12th)
2. Nightfall (1st)
3. The Walker in Fire (8th)
4. The Crown of Thorns (7th)
5. The Greater Evil (11th)
6. Out Caste (4th)
7. A Sanctuary of Wyrms (3rd)
8. Fire Caste (2nd)
9. Vanguard (6th)
10. Fire & Ice (novella) (5th)
11. The Thirteenth Psalm (13th)
12. Cast A Hungry Shadow (10th) – read with Spiral Dawn, before or after.
13. Cult of the Spiral Dawn (9th)

[KhorneFlakes]

Of that list, i've just read Requiem Infernal so obviously really need to start buying more. Requiem was a quality book. i need to read it again to make sense of the ending. Its definitely one of my favourite outside of the 'standard' author's work..

 

I am surprised it's not being bigged up more and more with the introduction of the Warhammer Horror

[Preliminary Bombardment]

I'd read more of his shorts if they were collected in an anthology. I just looked on Amazon and the prices seem a bit off.

[Knockagh]

I haven’t bothered with the shorts as they are all on electronic format. I agree an anthology would be great.

[Felix Antipodes]

I have all the eshorts and would still buy an anthology if one was released.

[Roomsky]

Requiem Infernal was brilliant, I think. Definitely in need of a re-read before I can make any concrete statements, Fehervari sucks me in so effectively that I find it hard to focus on the details at times. All the same, it's evocative, unnerving, and wonderfully free of superfluous fightan. Highly recommended.

[Fire Golem]

Finally got round to Requiem Infernal. As always with Fehervari - absolutely loved it, and am still completely baffled by pretty much everything in it. God the atmosphere and the strangeness of everything is so damn good. 
 

I feel my relatively skim-reading style isn’t so great for these books though. I think I need to reread them all pretty close together. It really says something for his writing that I feel pretty lost in the whole corner of the universe he’s carved out and yet really love everything he writes. 

[VTRC]

I really love these novels. Started with Requiem Infernal, then Cult and Fire Caste and they're some of my favorite sci-fi. All of the characters just have so much depth and tragedy to them that they don't read like regular 40k novels, much closer to Iain Banks than anything else I may have read. 

 

I don't know that I've ever had so many "Oh :cuss" moments in other 40k fiction, and for all the best reasons. At one point in RI I actually said 

Thank god she's possessed!

 

They may not be the best 40k books, but I'm happy to buy every one I can.

[b1soul]

Sounds to me like they could be the best 40k novels

[Malkydel]

Sounds to me like they could be the best 40k novels

For me, at the moment, the absolute best of BL's sleeper hit authors are Fehervari and Harrison. I have just yet to find anything of Peter's that I haven't adored, and RI really comes across as the zenith of it all.

 

I cannot wait for his next novel, especially since it looks to be about the Resplendent/Penitent.