He’s a feral huntsman who leads his subjects through ritual carnage, so I liked the idea of seeing what would happen if his enemies pushed him to even greater extremes. ToW: Of all the possible stories you could have written about these characters, what made you go for these?ĭH: Orion is a dangerous loose cannon and I thought that would be fun to explore. I saw it as a chance to write about elves who are strange and terrifying, but not because they are cruel or sadistic – because they are gloriously wild and untrammelled by the ideas of civilisation that bind human societies.
They’re rooted in an ancient and very dark form of European folklore that pre-dates the more palatable Tolkien-esque elves. ToW: What appealed to you about Wood Elves and their gods as characters to write about?ĭH: I love how they embody that ‘nature red in tooth and claw’ idea. ToW: Can you recommend any other Warhammer novels to read after this series?ĭH: Legends of the Age of Sigmar: Sylvaneth describes the current adventures of Wood Elves in the Warhammer setting. ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend readers check out before reading the Orion books?ĭH: It’s not necessary to read anything before tackling this book, but I can recommend Graham McNeil’s Guardians of the Forest as a great novel set in the same location and society. My inspirations, in terms of mood a least, were things like The Faerie Queene, Pan’s Labyrinth and the Oberon and Titania scenes in Midsummer Night’s Dream – sinister, inhuman, sylvan societies grounded in dark magic and the inherent savagery of nature. I thought Orion was a cool way to write an Old World Warhammer story that fitted the more fantastical direction the setting was heading in. They wanted to create something that was more unique and fantastical and less grounded in recognisable history. ToW: Are there particular themes running across all of the books that readers can expect to see when reading this series?ĭH: When I pitched the trilogy, the Games Workshop design studio were already thinking of exploding their Old World setting. I knew the End Times were coming so I tried to give these novels a sense of impending, momentous change, as though the asrai are teetering on the brink of a doom they can’t fully glimpse. ToW: Where and when do these stories take place?ĭH: In the Warhammer Old World, shortly before the catastrophic events of the End Times.
His queen, Ariel, is slightly closer to a normal regent, but she’s equally bound by centuries of obscure, violent ritual. He’s the avatar of a brutal hunting deity, Kurnous, as well as being inextricably linked to nature and the rebirth of the seasons. Orion is the linking thread, but he’s not your typical king or your typical hero.
#Gw orion warhammer books series#
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters across the series and what do we need to know about them?ĭH: The (huge) cast list consists of elves, dryads, daemons, forest spirits and sentient beasts with only one human character popping up in the whole trilogy (and, from memory, she doesn’t stay human for very long). This is how I always wanted it to be read. The trilogy was originally conceived is a one long story so I’m delighted that it’s now being published as a single volume. The story takes place entirely within their savage and barbaric realm and focuses on their dark king, Orion, a violent force of nature reborn every year through magic and bloody ritual. Track of Words: What would be your elevator pitch summary for The Orion Trilogy if you were introducing it to a new reader?ĭarius Hinks: It’s a truly vast, epic fantasy, concerning a wild, near-feral elven race known as the asrai. Read on to delve back into the history of the Wood Elves in the Warhammer Old World, then check the book out – it’s available to order right now. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.įor this instalment I spoke to Darius Hinks about the latest Warhammer Chronicles release, The Orion Trilogy, which collects together his novels The Vaults of Winter, Tears of Isha and The Council of Beasts.
Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases.
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