To help kick off my hunt for kind words in advance of the publication of Amortals, the publishing director at Angry Robot – Marc Gascoigne – sent me a starter blurb from Dan Abnett. It reads:
“Matt Forbeck does near-future so well, I think he’s been there. Actually, I think he designed it. Then he kicked its ass.”
For those sheltered and sorry few who don’t know him, Dan’s a storytelling force. He and his writing partner Andy Lanning have commandeered (among other things) the cosmic corner of Marvel Comics and have spun many fantastic, galaxy-spanning epics for them as well as for DC Comics and 2000 AD. On his own, Dan has also written many of the top-selling novels for the Black Library, which also published my Blood Bowl novels. On top of that, he’s writing the screenplay for the upcoming Ultramarines film too. Most recently, Angry Robot published Dan’s first original novel, the excellent Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero, and promises at least two more such books to come.
Way back in 2000, Marco was the manager of the Black Library, and he hired me to edit one of Dan’s Gaunt’s Ghost (Warhammer 40k) novels: Necropolis. The text was so clean and easy that I felt like I was stealing money and got paid to read a great book to boot. A few years later, Marco introduced Dan and me at Comic-Con, and we had the chance to share a beer. Despite his many accomplishments, you couldn’t find a humbler, more talented guy so dedicated to his work.
So, thanks to Dan for all the kind words. For the rest of you, while you’re waiting for Amortals to come out, go give Triumff a read too.
