War-Claw is now available from The Black Library and will become available tomorrow (17th November) via audible; though I have to say, the CD cover and artwork, which I'm grateful to be in possession of, is well worth having; it's quite beautiful in my opinion and there's also a bonus CD of interviews, which I'm listening to as I write - Steve Conlin is making me chuckle...

I'm aware that I often say how much fun various projects were to work on and you might think "oh well, I wouldn't expect him to say anything else" and you would have a point. However, I'm going to say it again now - this was a really fun project to work on with a lovely and talented cast and a great production team in Matt Renshaw and Kylia Whitehead and we had a ball recording it. So, I certainly enjoyed it, enjoyed listening to it and hope, should you choose to give it a listen, that you will enjoy it too!

Here are some details:

Eight Lamentations: War Claw

A Warhammer Age of Sigmar audio drama

Gunmaster Owain Volkner and his companion Zana Mathos seek an ancient weapon – but so do their enemies, and in an isolated mountaintop outpost, battle is joined…

In the wilds of Aqshy, Owain Volker, Gunmaster of the Ironweld, and Zana Mathos, sellsword and adventurer, seek one of the fabled Eight Lamentations on behalf of the duardin smith-god, Grungni.

But they are not the only ones searching for the legendary artefact, and the duo soon find themselves trapped in an isolated mountain outpost, caught between a herd of savage beastmen and a pack of monstrous foes.

 Tom Alexander Emma Gregory John Banks Cliff Chapman Joe Shire Deeivya Meir Steve Conlin & Matthew Hunt

Written by Josh Reynolds & Produced by Matt Renshaw

 ...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!

Sacrosanct and Other Stories

I have always been a great fan of 'the short story'; it's quite a skill to relate a fully developed narrative, complete with engaging characters and a credible 'through line' and to achieve this within the strictures of the short story format. I've thoroughly enjoyed the various Black Library short story anthologies I've so far recorded and was delighted to be asked to record this latest collection. It's an enjoyable challenge to create so many varied character voices for such stories; producer Kylia Whitehead and I had great fun with this collection and should you choose to give it a listen, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

This anthology is quite useful as an introduction to the Age of Sigmar; here are some details:


Within this book you will find Sacrosanct, a fantastic new novella from C L Werner…

A restless menace threatens the town of Wyrmditt. Stirred from his grave by fell magic, Sabrodt, the Shrouded King, seeks dominion over the kingdom he failed to claim in life. So great is the terror inflicted upon the lands by Sabrodt and his nighthaunts that Sigmar, God-King, sends a retinue of his warriors most skilled in the art of Azyrite magic to liberate the town.

The Stormcast Eternals of the Sacrosanct Chamber are warrior-wizards, imbued with arcane knowledge and the power to wield the energies of the storm in battle. Leading the retinue is Knight-Incantor Arnhault, a formidable mage who has studied the histories of Sabrodt's kingdom. But the fight against the Shrouded King will challenge Arnhault's mettle like none other – especially when he discovers that the Undead knows more about his past than he does.

Also within this book are a host of short stories, giving you a flavour of the many warring armies that exist in the worlds of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

The Dance of the Skulls by David Annandale
Great Red by David Guymer
The Sands of Grief & The Volturung Road by Guy Haley
Callis & Toll: The Old Ways by Nick Horth
A Dirge of Dust and Steel, Auction of Blood & The Prisoner of the Black Sun by Josh Reynolds
Wrathspring by Andy Clark
Sacrosanct, Shiprats & The Witch Takers by C L Werner

 Produced by Kylia Whitehead & Performed by John Banks

12 stories - overall running time: 15 hours 17 minutes

©2018 Games Workshop Limited (P)2018 Games Workshop Limited

...all for now, more just as soon as it happens! 

Realmslayer

Good morning and thanks for stopping by! The impending release of the box set audio drama, Realmslayer, now available, has been an open secret for some time and if anything, the 'progressive' nature of the release has possibly generated more interest than had it been issued in the regular way; ie, as a bit of a surprise.

I think from an internal Black Library viewpoint, Realmslayer represents a ramping up of their committment to the audio element of the business, which seems to be increasingly of interest to an ever growing audience. Good news indeed!

Over the decade or so of my audio adventures as an actor, I've been privileged to work with some remarkable people and it's always an interesting experience to find oneself working alongside someone who, perhaps, has been known and often admired throughout one's life. That's certainly the case for me with Realmslayer and it's lead actor, Brian Blessed.

Brian comes from the same part of the country as I do, between Doncaster and Sheffield and hearing his voice in Z Cars, in which he famously played policeman 'Fancy' Smith, was the first time I remember hearing my native accent on television; I was probably around five or six when the series featuring Fancy was being broadcast and such a seemingly trivial thing, actually had a huge impact on me. Fifty odd years later and there we were, having lunch together and talking about exactly that. Brian is a tremendous raconteur and all it took to launch our conversation was for me to say, quite gently, perhaps tentatively: "Z -Victor One to BD" - the character's police call sign - and he was off!

I was of course, delighted to be asked, (having submitted my audition samples!) by Matt Renshaw to join the cast of Realmslayer and play the part of Snorri Nosebiter, and old pal of Gotrek Gurnisson, Brian's character. It was fun; it was great fun - and despite having recieved an advance copy of the magnificently produced box set, my deferred gratification approach to these things means that I can now, finally, actually listen to it all!

Here are some details and an interesting, (I hope!) 'making of' and interview video:

Realmslayer: A Gotrek Gurnisson Series

A Gotrek Gurnisson audio drama boxed set

The Slayer returns. Spat out of the Realm of Chaos after an eternity of battle, Gotrek Gurnisson finds himself in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Mortal Realms. With no axe, no oaths and no Felix, he sets out to find his place in this new universe…

Gotrek Gurnisson was the greatest monster slayer of the age, who met his doom at the End Times. The heroic duardin stepped forth into the Realm of Chaos to fight the daemons gnawing at the world's ending and satisfy his death oath, leaving behind his companion Felix Jaeger.

Now Gotrek has returned, having outlived the old gods and the Old World. Spat from the ruinous depths with his redemption unfulfilled, he emerges into the Mortal Realms, a strange new world where gods walk the earth and dark forces are ascendant. Nothing is as he remembers. His oaths are dust, and the lands are torn asunder by Chaos.

Yet when Gotrek learns of human champions being elevated to immortality for Sigmar’s fight against this darkness, the so-called 'Stormcast Eternals', he knows why fate has brought him into this new age.

To find Felix. For only then can he find the peace in death he seeks. But is there more to Gotrek's apotheosis than even he can fathom? Has he truly been chosen by Grimnir and for what purpose?

Running time 4 hours and 15 minutes

5 hours and 28 minutes in total

Performed by:

Brian Blessed as Gotrek Gurnisson, John Banks, Steve Conlin, Vanessa Donovan, Matthew Hunt, Jonathan Keeble,      Toby Longworth, Connie M'Gadzah, Penelope Rawlins, David Seddon, Joe Shire & Andrew Wincott

Written By David Guymer and Produced by Matt Renshaw

©2018 Games Workshop Limited (P)2018 Games Workshop Limited

Before wrapping up this post, a quick online search has come up with a couple of images and some biographical details of my character, Snorri Nosebiter; this is my 'favourite' rendering of him:

...yes, those are nails he's driven into his head; tough guy huh?

* * * * *

The very busy phase of my very busy summer and autumn recording shedule, does at least now have a welcome pause coming up. By the end of this coming week, I need to finish recording my current audio book, start recording another and complete it by Friday. So another Sunday of homework to prepare for another intensive week in the studio and then almost a whole week of prep before the next book, scheduled to record mid November - phew! Which means of course... 

...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!