Warhammer's First Author | Kim Newman in Conversation
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- Опубликовано: 20 апр 2024
- Kim Newman has had a long and successful career as an author famous for his Anno Dracula series, as a television personality, and as Empire's horror expert since the magazine's very first issue. But there is another aspect to the remarkable history of this remarkable writer - his time writing the very first Warhammer Fantasy novel, Drachenfels.
Under the banner of Games Workshop's first publishing imprint, GW Books, and the pseudonym Jack Yeovil, Kim Newman wrote a series of short stories and novels set in the fledgling Warhammer Fantasy world, as well as an intricately plotted dystopian tale set in the short-lived Mad Max fuelled world of Dark Future.
Kim talks to me about the beginnings of GW Books, his work for Games Workshop both published and unpublished, and returning to the characters years later to pen a new tale for the Black Library.
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References, Sources, and Links:
[Kim Newman's Website]
johnnyalucard.com/
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Thanks so much for interviewing my favourite writer!
I named my cats Detlef and Genevieve 😃
Brilliant cat names!
Writing a novel in a month, especially at that level of quality is just straigth up insane. And it's an interesting observation that there doesn't seem to be much entertainment within fantasy novel universes, I've never thought about it.
Wild work, and especially for it to have turned out so good as a result! The focus on the performative over the martial arts in Drachenfels is one of the amazing things about it for me, such a fresh approach.
Despite it practically being at the start, I think Kim Newman brought something fresh to Warhammer that literally has not ever been replicated since.
I completely agree!
I had no idea Kim Newman had written anything for Warhammer! I only knew him from various documentaries and interviews regarding Universal and Hammer Horror. I had to do a double-take when I saw the thumbnail, how cool!
Wow Kim Newman wrote for GW? That's crazy. I've always known him as a great DVD commenatary maker for classic horror and sci-fi. Mind blown! What a cool guest to get a hold of!
A great interview and Mister Newman was an engaging guest indeed. I really need to dig into his work.
It is absolutely worth it!
Great job getting an interview with Kim! I think I've read nearly all his work as Jack Yeovil, and I must also have read more than a dozen of his books in his own name - so in my case it certainly worked out for him in terms of winning an audience!
You're doing amazingly with all these interviews (is there anyone left for you to get on already?) as well as all the other great retro coverage. I am surprised your subscriber count is not much higher by now - keep plugging away and I'm sure the snowball is coming soon!
So glad I have my original GW Jack Yeovil books. Great interview.. sterling gentleman. Well done.. cheers :)
What a delightful chap, thoroughly enjoyable interview.
Fabulous timing. Just listened to the Beasts in Velvet audiobook.
Excellent!
Shame we never got the concluding book to his Dark Future series. I enjoyed them all and miss not getting it. Interesting interview though. I’ve not read his Anno Dracula books but might give them a try.
I am very keen to read Anno Dracula
I never knew how much I wanted this until I saw it. Drachenfels was a formative book in my youth and I still rate it 5/5. Nice to see Kim being able to reflect on slightly dodgy elements and still have awareness of Warhammer.
It's such an incredible book!
Last weekend I stumbled upon the issue of "Vampire Genevieve" that I bought as a wee lad in the mid 0 years from my local fantasy shop! I had never quite forgotten about it, and I reread Drachenfels, greatly enjoying every page of it! It really is a great piece of fantasy literature, with so much humor, horror, suspense and romance. Until I did some research afterwards I had no idea of its significance as the first Warhammer novel ever published. And now I chance upon this interview after watching some other videos of your channel!
Thank you very much Kim Newman for your imaginative and skillful writing, and to both of your for this great interview!
It's thanks to your bookclub Jordan (and the Oldhammer Fiction Podcast) that I got to discover so much really fantastic early Warhammer fiction that I missed first time around. And now thank you for this brilliant interview with the author of the standout Drachenfels. I think you have a real talent for these interviews btw, you can often see the subjects relaxing, enjoying themselves and opening up in real time. A pleasure to see.
Thanks mate, that's very nice of you to say! I'm having so much fun with the GW Books club, I'm very happy to hear it's been worthwhile for you too!
The Anno Dracula series is absolutely fantastic!!
Thanks for writing some of my favourite books!
These interviews are very enlightening.
Thank you, I'm really glad you think so
Thanks so much for this interview, love listening to Kim Newman he is so engaging. The Genevieve novels are really fun reads, I got a few when they were originally released and it was great to see them republished under the Horror imprint.
Glad you enjoyed it, I felt very lucky to get to chat with Kim about his amazing work!
thanks so much for doing this interview. i loved his warhammer novels!
It was genuinely my pleasure!
Great interview! I'd love for Newman to be brought back by GW to write another couple of novels.
I’d love to see that!
Another fantastic interview.
Brilliant, so so interesting.
Thanks for another great interview. Kim's fantastic ideas and books, such gems! Squeak-squeak! 🤩🧛🐀🌠 🪄🧟 🐀 🧛
Great guy. Love Kim Newman. Have read his Genevive books and they're great.
Would love the BL to commission something from him now! Show the young whippersnappers how it's done!
I'd love to see that too!
oooh The Stars My Destination! I recognized that name!
I remember reading Beasts in Velvet back in the day. I'd bought the book, and quite by conincidence, the night before Dirty Harry had been on the telly, which kind of made sure that I didn't miss the reference.
I absolutely love Kim Newman's stories in Warhammer, I return to Drachenfels on occasion just to soak in the madness. I've used it as inspiration for several of my WFRP ideas. I've been meaning to read Anno Dracula for the longest time and just haven't found the time.
Anno Dracula is great fun, a version of Geneviève is in it too 😮
Great interview. I recently read the Dark Future books having missed them on release (I was more focused on Warhammer at the time). I *loved* them, they were a lot of fun. Quirky and often hilarious world building. Definitely worked better as alternative history than being pushed into the future.
I realy like the Beast in Velvet book, but the hole series is great, Kim's a amazing author
The phrase ‘living legend’ is hugely overused, but Kim Newman is close to that definition.
I agree on all counts!
Proper Legend
Agreed!
Ian Watson next?
Keep those fingers crossed
I had wondered whether it was Genevieve (the vampire created by Kim Newman) that inspired the whole "Lahmian Bloodline" concept (of beautiful vampires who existed among the living who adored them) to be created ten years later, when the bloodlines were being created. I assume that the Lahmian bloodline was rarely used/mentioned before the 6th edition of the Vampire Counts Army book. It is probably just a coincidence and empty speculation on my part.
30k, that’s the joy of Space Marines fighting other Space Marines… how incredibly boring 🥱 when fantasy is strangely still interesting, maybe because it’s lack of Space Marines of any kind.😊 thanks for the opportunity to listen to Kim giving us the the theory of being imaginative 😊
Drachenfels and the Genevieve novels are my favourites, grounded and dirty in a recognisable mediaeval way, never really cared for high fantasy so D&D was never on my radar. Also seems to have greatly influenced the latest edition of WFRP which could be described as Old World adjacent.
Hi Martha!
Kim’s lack of interest in writing stories without ‘character’ and strong character development due to setting restrictions is interesting. He knows that relatable characters are what drive a story forward. Age of Sigmar, for example, has suffered as a setting due to a dearth of relatable characters living their lives in the mortal realms. Stories of gods going to war are interesting as a backdrop, but without deep, intimate, character development I had a very difficult time getting invested in the fiction of the setting.
Genevieve is BACK. Gothghul Hollow brings her back in AOS.
I do enjoy seeing the similarly between Drakenfel and the new hit anime Frieren journey's end.
I always Detlef was based on William Shakespeare. Interesting to hear it was actually Orson Wells!
The Empire Magazine horror movie guy!?
Yes, Kim Newman is also a famous film critic. He published a number of great guides to movies, and did indeed contribute to Empire regularly.
He is a horror archaeologist and film critic first and foremost
Indeed, a man of many talents!
Fantasy now has 3 Saurons.
Drachenfels
Nagash
Malekith
Archaeon too maybe?
@glyngreen538 nah he Wasn't a Darklord in OG Fantasy.
And he definitely wasn't a Sauron expy.
He was a 'Destroyer of Worlds'.
His AoS version doesn't count.
17:42
The Old World needs a decent novel,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I would love to see Kim Newman come back to The Old World!
For some reason I always thought that Jack Yeovil is a woman.
Shame we never got the concluding book to his Dark Future series. I enjoyed them all and miss not getting it. Interesting interview though. I’ve not read his Anno Dracula books but might give them a try.