Earlier this month saw the release of the latest instalment in the Dawn of Fire series: The Sea of Souls, my first contribution to the series. As it happened, this was a pretty hard book to write – I was down with Covid for much of it, so the going was very slow. It was also something of a departure for me – a Navy-centric novel, with a whole heap of lore to get on top of before I felt able to put it all together.
As ideas for the book developed, I became keen to really try to show the life of a big Imperial warship in detail – a world in miniature, with its own conventions and idiosyncrasies, all set during the period of the Indomitus Crusade with its many dangers. Writing it all under a pall of fever-induced fatigue had the effect of making me more than usually attached the small cast of characters (who, in typical 40K style, were put through some fairly grim ordeals too), as well as the whole milieu of void-combat in the Dark Millennium. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a chance to write more in the same vein? I’d certainly be up for more Navy action if the chance ever comes, and the Indomitus Era is such a great setting.
This month also saw the release of the lovely Limited Edition copies of the Vaults of Terra trilogy which brought together the three novels and their associated short stories for the first time, together with a new short, Okira. I hope all those who wanted to managed to get hold of a copy. It’s lovely to have all the books together at last in their final form. Although perhaps the story hasn’t quite finished yet? I couldn’t possibly say…
Chris Wraight 