RJ Barker is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author of fantasy fiction. He won the 2020 British Fantasy Society’s Robert Holdstock award for Best Novel for his fourth novel, The Bone Ships. His debut trilogy The Wounded Kingdom (Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins) was nominated for the David Gemmel Award, the Kitschie Golden Tentacle and the BFS Best Debut and Best Novel awards. It was called ‘Thoroughly entertaining and constantly impressive’ by the Fantasy Hive, ‘One of the best fantasy series you will ever read’ by the BFS, and ‘A singular sensational new voice in epic fantasy’ by Kings of the Wyld author Nicholas Eames.

Welcome back to the Hive, RJ! This time you’re here to discuss your latest novel Mortedant’s Peril. To start things off, what can you tell us about it?

HI!  I suppose I have gone a kind of full circle back to my debut novel, Age of Assassins, which was a fantasy murder mystery with Mortedant’s Peril, again a fantasy murder mystery. I think it does all the things people like my work for; strange worlds, interesting characters and social commentary, but it is a bit, lighter, maybe? Is that the right word? I think my other books are pretty full on and require a bit of commitment where Mortedan’s Peril is easier to get into. And it’s funny, as least I think it’s funny.    

You’re right RJ, it is funny.

We (Nils and Beth) had the pleasure of buddy reading your book together (our review) and we both immediately loved Irody Hasp! He’s a character who has phenomenal character growth that is subtly developed throughout the novel. What inspired his character and how did he evolve through subsequent drafts?

He didn’t really evolve much in various versions. This world has been kicking about in my head for a LONG time and Irody sort of arrived fully formed and he made it make sense. Abrasive people who actually just need a friend is also kind of a go to for me, but Irody might be the platonic version of that. I kind of don’t really think of him as growing as a person as much as he is someone who is slowly allowing himself to be who he really is. He wears a thick armour of unpleasantness that the people he meets slowly allow him to remove. A little, anyway. I don’t think he’s ever going to be offering hugs. 

Whisper, an Oster guard, and Mirial, a street urchin, are both great supporting characters. Tell us a little about how you crafted both these characters too? 

Well, Elbay has existed in my head for over a decade, I’ve just never got it right. And Whisper was always in the early versions, as was another character who I shall get to in a bit. There’s that tired old idea of the Noble savage isn’t there? And in many ways Whisper is playing with that. It’s definitely how the people of the city would see her, but as the reader you can probably see past that. And Mirial just appeared! I wanted someone young who can question things in, not an innocent way, but in a way that Irody may think of as foolish, when really she’s just not been moulded by the city in the way he has. Hope often comes clothed in youth and older people are quick to deny it. 

Did you have any other particular favourite side characters? 

The other character that came from early version was Niofa, the Roundhorn of Elbay. But I think the less you know going in the more fun it is when you meet them. But I like a lot of the characters in it, they all have some quirk or flaw I find interesting and I’m pretty sure I could write a book about any of them.

Well that’s certainly something to come back to at a later point!

Now let’s discuss your exceptional worldbuilding! The tiered city of Elbay held so many wonders and had a Dickensian feel to it. What inspired your worldbuilding this time round?

Trickle down economics! The city is a very literal metaphor for class. Live at the top, you get nice clean water, live at the bottom it’s filthy. But it is also very Dickensian, you’re right, I love a lot of 19thC fiction and I think that comes through in the way I write. There is definitely an archaism to it. I’m also very interested in the psychogeography of landscapes. I’ve done moors with the Wounded Kingdom Books, sea with The Tide Child books and forests with the Forsaken books so it felt like time for a city. I wanted Elbay to have the feel of the industrial revolution while not being that. And also to have the air of a place that may have had other purposes, and these are forgotten. So there’s a lot they don’t know about their city that I do, and that’s fun. Well, fun for me, if you live there it may well get you killed.

We found a lot of your characters’ names so imaginative; how do you come up with them? Do you have a process at all? 

No process. I just mess about until something sounds right for that person and world. I do think Irody Hasp is a blinder though, you can kind of tell who he is before you meet him. Again, Dickens.

Do you think you’d make a good Mortedant, RJ? Or would you sooner join the Spurriers Priory, making elaborate spirit forms?

Spurrying is quite dangerous, so probably not for me. And if you’re a Mortedant you get to wear black so there’s no real doubt what I am going for there…

You explore themes of prejudice, class injustice and power hungry factions throughout. Had you planned these themes all along? How did you go about weaving them into the story? 

I think these ideas are just baked in to me and I can’t not approach them in what I do. I sometimes feel like I am really unsubtly screaming at every reader, The world is vastly unfair for too many of us and it doesn’t have to be. Anyone can, hopefully, read and enjoy my work but if it makes one person question the way we are being pushed to victimise the worst off people, or just those who are different, then that is also a very good thing. 

One of our favourite descriptive quotes from the novel was: ‘I tried to give him my best withering stare, but street crows like Malkin are, in my experience, very hard to wither’. 

Did you have a favourite quote of yours? 

It’s really hard for me to quote from the book cos most of my favourite bits are very character based and they only work when you know the characters. It’s probably something Whisper says, or a look she gives —  one that flies right over Irody’s head but absolutely won’t work in absentia of the book. I do quite like the opening lines though, as you get a real feel for Irody from it: “As a Mortedant, the dead speak to me. It is a pity they rarely say anything useful and there is little coin in it.”

Can we expect to return to Irody Hasp, Whisper and Mirial? Are there plans for a sequel and if so, can you share any hints as to where you plan to take the series? 

Yes, you absolutely can expect more as it’s written and with my editors at Tor. It has the working title ‘Mortedant’s Enigma’ though whether it will keep that who knows. It features a character you’ve already met and one of my absolute favourite things, a locked room mystery. If there’ll be more after that I think it depends on how this one is received and whether it finds its audience — which I hope it does. Irody is so much fun to write and I’d like to explore the lands beyond Elbay a bit.

Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?

Oh, I think I’ve kind of covered this a bit earlier. I think with this book, more than anything. I just hope it’s an enjoyable distraction while the world is being deeply unpleasant. Sometimes you need to close everything off and escape.

Thank you so much for joining us today!

Mortedant’s Peril is due for release on 21st May – you can pre-order your copy on Bookshop.org