If you haven’t already, check out my review of Andy Remic’s latest novel The Dragon Engine. Today, I’m excited to welcome Mr. Remic to Bookwraiths to talk more about his kickass grimdark world.

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WORLD BUILDING

by ANDY REMIC

In my latest novel The Dragon Engine published 1st September 2015 by Angry Robot Books, there is a considerable amount of world building, and the novel is set across two distinct worlds.

First, there is the land of Vagandrak – with vast mountain ranges, titanic, sprawling forests, ancient ruined fortresses, huge cities with rich quarters and sectors where the city guard dare not venture; there are volcanoes and swamps and tunnels, a valley of crushed bones, a haunted forest of suicide and undulating plains of salt. It is a vast and varied world, one which I created for The Iron Wolves and The White Towers, my two previous Angry Robot titles. It’s a world I was so in love with, I had to revisit with The Dragon Engine because I spent so long crafting each corner of the world (and ahem, yes I did draw a map, shhh) and trying to make it unique and interesting – filled with places of danger and wonder for my characters to inhabit and visit (and get attacked in).

Second, and this is what takes The Dragon Engine into new territory over The Iron Wolves and The White Towers, there is the world of the Harborym Dwarves. Beneath a vast mountain range named the Karamakkos there are five dwarven cities, with each city getting deeper and deeper under the mountain. The lowest city is the capital, the most important, and the most wealthy, whilst those who exist closer to the surface (and the world of men) are the poorest. The dwarf cities are ruled equally by the monarchy, King Irlax, and the Church of Hate, governed by First Cardinal Skalg, a twisted hunchback who was once crushed in a mine collapse. Here, we have cobbled streets, streets carved from the mountain, narrow alleys, huge soaring stone bridges, caverns, mine tunnels, underground pits and vast shafts leading down into the abyss of the mountain interior.

When world-building, I believe the most important aspects are the little things. So, in The Dragon Engine you have a house which has suffered a little subsidence and has cracks in the front wall. There are polished cobbles which gleam in the firelight of cast iron firebowls. There are lanterns containing a small brass stamp revealing the name of the maker. There are metal trees with metal leaves, houses with cracked windows, ornately carved pillars depicting ancient battles… that sort of thing. The little things. Details. The more small details you include in your writing, the more realistic your world. So yes, have massive mountain ranges, but give them a unique twist. I try and give every facet of my worlds something different. After all, I wouldn’t like my characters to get bored and have an easy time of it, would I?

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Author Bio:

Andy Remic lives in Lincoln, UK, although his heart and viking soul belong to the Scottish mountains. Married with two children, Andy has a variety of esoteric and sometimes contrasting loves, including sword fighting, climbing, mountain biking, kick-boxing, Ducati motorcycles and retro-gaming. He recently wrote the computer version of his novel Biohell for the 48K Spectrum, in which many people are still stuck. He writes in both SF and fantasy fields, and is sometimes accused of literature. Current novels include: Spiral, Quake, Warhead, War Machine, Biohell, Hardcore, Cloneworld, Theme Planet, TOX, the Kell’s Legend trilogy, Soul Stealers, Vampire Warlords , and the Iron Wolves duology.

For more on Andy’s life and works, visit him at his Website or on Twitter.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY REVIEWS OF THE IRON WOLVES SERIES
The Iron Wolves
The White Towers

Purchase the novels at Amazon.