The Literary Khan: fiction, wisdom, and writings of The Khan

  That Time Again     Well for those that have followed me for a while now will know that I have a few traditions. One of which being hurling my annual pitch at the Great Library open window. I will be clear. This is about the only thing I will submit to each year. It is less about getting published, and more about giving myself a challenge. I wont pretend it is not a bucket list level item for me.      This year the limitation placed on submissions was that it had to be about the new edition of Age of Sigmar. Specifically the Dawnbringer Crusades. With a hint about focusing on the rank and file. Ok well I sketched out a joke image for my twitter followers, and then more seriously sat down and fleshed out my story idea. I had the idea that I wanted to write about a mercenary company who were hired to escourt a crusade scouting force. They would find themselves arrayed against both Krule Boys and Beastclaw Raiders. I wanted that classic order versus destruct...

         Welcome back members of the Khanate. Today we have a special guest for our readers. If you have been reading this blog for some time now you will be well aware of the my love for fiction. One of my favourite authors being Graham McNeill you can understand my excitement to host him here. As he shares some of his wisdom on writing, 40K, and the nature of writing. Before we begin I want to thank Graham for taking the time to answer some questions from your humble Khan.       KHAN: It is fair to say that you are a pillar, if not some of the base and roof, of the monolith that is Games workshop. With almost one hundred written works of fiction under Black Library, and a number of game design credits spanning a career that reaches back almost two decades. What was it like in those early days?        GM:  That’s kind of you to say so, though I continue to stand upon the mighty shoulders of those who came before ...

       Community. It is a universal concept. Fundamental to the human desire to belong. In all areas of life we see the almost natural formation of communities, often grouping around shared appreciations or beliefs. As a nerd I have seen communities spring up around every single fandom, or hobby that I engage with. In 2019 I attended PAX AUS. An event that arguably was created to celebrate all the different aspects and communities of gaming. Whilst I was there you could see each of the different communities. A short walk took you through the bright lights of the videogaming section, and even within that there was the various indie game producers.The next hall over saw the various stalls peddling their tabletop offerings. All of these different tribes all forming one PAX AUS community. The conversations I had with other attendees revealing the differences in opinion, attitude, and tastes. All from different communities. Recently in my interaction with various online s...

  Female space marines There is no way that anyone that has both an Internet connection, and an interest in Warhammer 40,000 can say they have not seen the discourse surrounding female Space Marines. Before I begin I want to make a few things clear. I am writing on many of these points from often a cold business stand point, and there is a risk I may be misunderstood therefore I need to state a few things before we begin. Firstly, some of the people I will mention in this article are people I both follow and interact with on Twitter. Secondly, I in fact have no issue with female marines from a lore perspective in a universe of Cawl's double dipped space marines aka Primaris. Finally I cannot ignore the practicalities required of Games workshop making female Space Marines. Please trust me as we read ahead I might surprise you. REPRESENTATION ON TAXATION There was once in the misty days of 1988 in humble White Dwarf issue 99 there was a collection of 'adventurers'. From...