The Eightfold Path and Chris Fairbank

Yesterday, a new short Horus Heresy audio drama I wrote was released - The Eightfold Path. It features everyone's favourite blood-drenched berserker, Khârn, before he became 'the Betrayer' (and before he became the utter, utter psychopath we all know and love.)

It was great to once again write about Khârn - I really enjoy writing about him. He's such an iconic character, and he's been so well written by ADB, that it's a real honour to step into his blood-drenched shoes. This one was a little different from Chosen of Khorne, set as it is during the Horus Heresy. It takes place just after the end of Betrayer, and shows a small glimpse into how the XII Legion, and specifically Khârn, are dealing with the ending of that (freakin' rad) novel.

Once again, Khârn is read by the brilliant Chris Fairbank. Chris also voiced Kharn in Chosen of Khorne, as well as in Butcher's Nails and Christian's Trials of Azreal. The Germanic accent that Chris gave him is really chilling - I can't read any of Khârn's dialogue now without hearing that voice.

For those of you don't instantly recognise the name Chris Fairbank (shame on you), I guarantee you already know him. He was in Tim Burton's first Batman film (the guy at the start: "What are you?"), was in Alien 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (which I haven't actually seen) and The 5th Element (" as well lots of TV (such as Auf Wiedersehen, Pet) and games (he's a voice actor in Fable 2 and the Killzone games), among many, many other credits. Check out his page on IMDB.

Seriously, he's like a proper, grown-up actor. And he's been reading words that I've written. And they've like, recorded them and everything. Yes, I'm geeking out a little about that.  

And we have a winner!

There were some great entries into the competition I put up last week. Matt's suggestion of "A Pig" made me laugh the most, though Chris's suggestion of Scout Sergeant Cyrus from Dawn of War II certainly made me chuckle (I played way too much of that game). I loved Boltorange's idea of wanting to see Kharn take on the Skulltaker - I think there is definitely a story in that.

But there can be only one, and while I've deliberated back and forth, and loved all the entries... The winner is Gil Fuhr, with this suggestion:

"Lucius the Eternal! Not only because they make up 40K’s dichotomy of violence, but because they both have such personal tales of betrayal; so much in common & so different. And there is such backstory with Fabius Bile and Angron’s Legion wide implants. Then again, Fabius Bile would be a fun fight. What would his Rod of Torment feel like to Kharn?"

Kharn vs Lucius, huh. I like it. You sir, are the winner! I'll be in contact with you shortly!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Wanna win a signed copy of Chosen of Khorne?

So, my beautiful girlfriend and I are off travelling the world in 3 weeks time (and I'm planning to do lots of writing along the way) - so I am currently doing lots of cleaning, boxing up, storing, chucking out and selling stuff. Fun. While doing this, I came across a spare copy of Chosen of Khorne that I'd not given to friends or family, and thought it'd give it away to someone.

So, here's the deal. To score yourself this copy, I want you to tell me who, in a Black Library story/novel/audio/whatever,  you would most like to see Khârn fight, why, and who you reckon would be the victor. 30k, 40k - whatever. Bring on the smack-down!

I'll leave this comp open for a week, so will pick my favourite response next Monday evening, Sydney time. Make sure to leave your details so I can get in touch and find out where to send the signed audio if I choose your entry as the coolest/funniest/most generally rad.

"KILL! MAIM! BURN! KILL! MAIM! BURN!"

Oz Games Day 2012

Oz Games Day was held a few months back (geez, where did that time go?), and once again, it was an absolute cracker of a day. This year on the BL stand I was joined by my good mate Gav Thorpe (aka the Gavinthrope, the Thorpinator, the Spleen, or Captain Nosebag – take your pick), as well as the mighty Matt Farrer and the fearsome Henry Zou (he’s not actually that fearsome – he’s rather nice, really).

On the Studio stand there was Jes Goodwin, Jeremy Vetock and artist Kevin Chin.

One of the reasons I love Games Day is catching up with old mates. It was fantastic to hang out with Gav again, as well as with Jes and Jerm, who are all friends that I worked with in the UK. It was also good to meet Kevin for the first time, and to catch up with Matt and Henry, and Mal and Michael from BL. Good times.

I love Oz Games Day. The venue is awesome (just check out that picture up above - how 40K is that?). The GW staff always take care of us – thanks  guys, especially to Matt Farrer (who provided me these pics) and the big man, the one and only Craig O’Neill. And most of all, the fans – who are the ones that make the day a success – are awesome.

Chosen of Khorne was released on the day. I’m really happy with how it turned out – love Kharn’s voice – and it seems to have been pretty well received. Would love to write some more about Kharn in the future...

Writing can be a pretty lonely pastime. It’s hard sometimes to have a sense that people are actually reading your books until you go somewhere like a Games Day and are blown away by having folks coming up to you to talk about how much they enjoyed your work.

Thanks everyone who came, it was great talking to you all!