Outgunned (Warhammer 40,000)

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Though Simlex is the semi-reliable narrator of the novel, the hero and star of Outgunned is Flight Commander Lucille von Shard. A fighter ace of consummate ability, Shard’s skills are matched only by her disdain for her foes, peers, superiors, acquaintances, and virtually everyone and everything else she encounters. In fact, were she a less capable warrior, she would have long since been consigned to a penal colony. Or more likely an executioner. DF: Most of my stories are set on the planet of Necromunda, a Hive World that long since squandered its natural resources and subsists by harvesting its own toxic heritage. I have played the game ever since the original plastic box set was released when I was a kid and I’ve always loved the setting with its 80’s punk/horror/sci-fi vibe. The lore has undergone revision and expansion in the new edition and there is an awful lot to play with. I’ve particularly enjoyed exploring the world beyond the violence in the Underhive (though naturally that comes up quite a lot anyway!). ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them? But these skills may prove the only hope of survival, for something vast and terrible lurks within the clouds. The Green Storm approaches. Thematically it is a story about stories; the tall tales that are told throughout the Underhive, and what happens when myth meets reality. It is also a story about keeping your word, where most of the main characters are in some way bound by a promise or oath which may not be in their best interests. But honour is at stake, and even in the Underhive giving your word is taken very seriously.

Denny Flowers: I was born in Kent and never moved. I’m still in walking distance from the house I grew up in. I did go to University in Brighton and then spent a few years commuting to London where I worked in a children’s hospital. My job was collecting and analysing the morbidity and mortality data for children in intensive care, something an acquaintance once cheerfully referred to as ‘The Most Metal Job Ever’. Bleak as it sounds, it was really rewarding (and sometimes heartbreaking) work, but the commute was four hours a day and it slowly killed me. ToW: What else can you tell us about what you’re working on, what else you’ve recently had released or what you’ve got coming out over the coming months? I enjoy working out. In theory anyway; I haven’t really done it properly for years. But I’m hopeful that if I bring it up here it will shame me into getting off my butt. So if you happen to run into me feel free to ask how the gym is going so I can shuffle my feet awkwardly before throwing a smoke bomb and fleeing.Yes, we had a Sabbat Worlds Crusade story "In Remembrance" about a sculptor, but "Outgunned" is the first 40k novel (at least of those I read) which protagonist is a man very, very far from military. Kile Simlex is a typical imperial upper middle class member - he doesn't know how to use any weapons, he has never been in a battle, always filming battlefields after end of hostilities, he never experienced travelling through a warp storm. He doesn't know Gellar Field can malfunction, all his knowledge about orks in the start of the book stems from a single recruitment video (and very, very derpy one). He is not a hero, and his appearance is unremarkable. But he also can be called a privilleged person - he is very far relative of a subsector governor, has made himself quite positive reputation in imperial cinema circles by filming a succesful biopic about an imperial saint who bludgeoned 300 traitors with his own severed leg and important enough to own three servo-skulls made from heads of famous imperial propagandists who died on work. In the far future, the soldiers of the Imperium of Man fight monsters and aliens on many battlefields and there is always a need for fresh bodies to fill the gaps in the ranks. That is where Kile Simlex comes in. A talented propagandist, Simlex excels at creating moving cinematic picts to inspire the people and increase recruitment to the Astra Militarum. However, Simlex desires greater realism and seeks to travel to a battlefield to gain real footage for his greatest pict yet. DF: Propagandists sit somewhere between journalists and filmmakers, though their outputs must of course align with the interests of the Imperium. The picts they produce act as sanctioned entertainment for the masses, allowing them to witness the glory of the God-Emperor’s forces with their own eyes. Picts also serve as recruitment tools, with viewers aspiring to enlist and become dashing fighter aces. In truth, the closest the majority of them will get to flying is scrubbing promethium stains off the planes’ hull, but by the time they learn the truth it is too late. DF: I love the cover! Though I think the tone is a little more WW1. I say that because, by WW2, I think most people considered the war a necessary sacrifice to oppose the Axis powers. But in WW1 there remained a romanticised view of war, an expectation that glorious victory would come any day and life would return to normal by Christmas. Only those who had seen frontline combat knew what was really happening.

A mission from the Adepta Sororitas joins the ‘cursed’ Indomitus Fleet Quintus in Pilgrims of Fire by Justin D Hill, author of the Cadian Honour series. Sister Helewise may be a Battle Sister, but she’s not inclined to rush right into martyrdom – not until she’s found a higher purpose that her death may serve, anyway. Her time with the Crusade Fleet may just be what she needs to discover what the Emperor plans for her, but it will be a journey that tests her faith to its core. ToW: What can you tell us about the role of an Imperial propagandist, and the inspirations for the character of Simlex?ToW: Why this story? Of all the possible stories you could have written about these characters, what made you go for this one?

Simlex at least has the presence of mind to reevaluate the situation when presented with new evidence. Not all the characters in the novel share this trait. Ironically, this misplaced confidence is one of the reasons the situation is deteriorating, because taking proper steps to solve it would involve admitting that the current approach has failed. High-flying dogfights unfold in the skies above Bacchus, as the Imperium clash with orks, and an arrogant hotshot uncovers a secret that could doom the entire planet. Iktomi, Caleb’s stoic partner, is of ratskin heritage and has little time for the inhabitants of the Hive. Cold, insular and amoral, Iktomi is nevertheless bound to Caleb by their shared history. A nihilist a heart, she has made her choice to stand with Caleb and therefore will do so to her dying breath, despite the annoyance of his company. Without him, she would probably be far richer, but her life would then be without purpose. And this is probably one of the few prospects that actually scares her. I play various games depending on my time constraints. Currently I’m in my third Blood Bowl league; it’s such a well-designed game and it fits neatly into my gaming time constraints. I’m also painting up some Death Guard that have only been sitting on my painting table for a couple of years, an impressive turnaround for me. Travelling to the fetid swamp planet of Bacchus, Propagandist Simlex plans to chronicle the adventures of the Aeronautica Imperialis, the brave flying aces who traverse the skies, fighting in deadly aerial combat against the rampaging ork hordes. In particular, he hopes to make a pict about legendary fighter ace, Lucille von Shard, considered to be the greatest pilot in the Imperium, to turn her into a renowned hero. However, not everything is as it seems on Bacchus, and Simlex’s attempts to get footage may cost him everything.

There is a third significant character in the story, but it’s difficult to talk about her without straying into the realms of spoilers. DF: I suspect I would be assigned to the Imperium’s equivalent of Lord Flashheart’s Twenty Minuters… Propagandist Simlex has been sent to the (notional) agriworld of Bacchus to make a recruitment film for the Imperium as volunteers are better fodder for the meatgrinder than conscripts. His choice of subject is the Aeronautica Imperialis Ace Lucille Von Shard as who is better than a dashing and faithful hero of the Imperium who daily duels the foul Ork menace in the sky as his focus? At least that what he thinks until he actually meets her...

Can Trooper Torvin earn the respect of Colonel ‘Hell Fist’ Alvaron and his Catachan Devils? Because if not, they may turn out to be even more dangerous to his health than the Orks… ToW: The (brilliant) cover has a real WWII war movie vibe – was that the sort of tone you were going for with the book? Can you talk a bit about some of the influences you drew upon while writing this? ToW: To start things off, how would you describe Outgunned, and what readers can expect from it? What sort of story is it?I deeply enjoyed the way that Flowers set out Outgunned’s narrative as there are so many great elements to it. Told in a chronicle format from Propagandist Simlex’s perspective as he recalls the events in a more realistic and negative light. This works to tell quite an intriguing tale, especially as you get some hints of the events of the future, and the negative tint that Simlex gives to the book’s narrative was a fantastic overall tone. Despite this interesting narration choice, this novel has a brilliant, fast pace to it and the reader is never left in a dull spot, as there is always some cool action, fascinating intrigue or powerful dive into a character occurring throughout. I loved the balance of story elements, and I must highlight the fantastic moments where Simlex works on his propaganda picts and dives through his recordings of the events around him. I also had a lot of fun with the outstanding ariel combat scenes that are featured through the plot. While they aren’t as heavily featured as you would expect from a book about the Aeronautica Imperialis, there are still some great sequences that were very fun to see. Flowers really captures the magic and brutality of combat in in the air, and I loved some of the crazy scenes that resulted, especially against the ork stronghold. There is also a particularly good fight sequence in the middle of a swamp that was pretty awesome, especially as it showed one character’s particular ingenuity and fighting spirit. DF: I just hope they enjoy it; I’m so grateful for this opportunity and the chance to write for a company that has been a big part of my life for at least twenty years (man I’m old…). I think it will appeal to fans who like their sci-fi a little more low-key and character driven. Its tone is a little closer to Firefly than Star Wars. Simlex’s cynicism develops interestingly; but his creeping horror as it dawns on him that the simple caricature of orks he has been raised to expect is a dangerous lie is excellently portrayed. Likewise the slow peeling away of Shard’s protective(?) personality and the uncovering of the cause of Bacchus’ decay and blight. His trio of servo skulls help progress the plot unobtrusively and I *really* appreciate the way that their use as translation devices is gradually introduced- the Xenos in this book, unlike several recent titles, aren’t conveniently fluent in Gothic. ToW: Lastly, if you found yourself drafted into the Aeronautica Imperialis what position do you think you would end up taking, and why? DF: Caleb Cursebound is the Underhive’s ninth most dangerous man, and a skilled thief, fighter, lover and liar. Probably. There are certainly plenty of stories that paint this picture, though the origin of most of these stories appears to be Caleb himself. He is prone to arrogance, greed, drunkenness, and not considering the consequences of his actions. However, Caleb has one redeeming quality, something rather unusual for the Underhive; in his heart he is a hero. Not because of a desire for glory and fame (though that certainly is a driving force too), but because somewhere under his neuroses and insecurities is a spark of goodness, and an unwillingness to look the other way.