Welcome to Common Room Conversations!
Hey! So this is a new feature that we’re looking to get started at the inn. While most author interviews tend to involve some degree of audio or video (check out our podcast!), we thought that there was a niche for more chatty, textual interviews. Which has led us to Common Room Conversations. The idea is that we invite a number of authors into a chatroom all at once, have a topic in mind, and then just… talk! See where the conversation takes us, rather than be beholden to any set questions.
For our first time around, we have something special for you guys! We’re going to be talking about weaponry and armour in fiction, and our first guests are John Gwynne and Christian Cameron!
John Gwynne (second from the left) and Christian Cameron (right)
John Gwynne is the author of the acclaimed The Faithful and the Fallen series, as well as the upcoming The Shadow of the Gods (you should see the cover!) in May. Christian Cameron is the author of the Tyrant historical fiction series, and also writes fantasy under the pseudonym Miles Cameron. His sci-fi debut, Artifact Space, releases this June.
I’ll have more info about those books and where you can buy them at the end of this post. For now though, here’s what both authors had to say!
The Interview
HiuGregg:
Right off the bat, how are you guys doing? Good days so far? 😄
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Great day. Nick Eames just wrote me a great review on Artifact Space and I finished the scabbard on a Viking era sword for a friend.
HiuGregg:
Oooh that’s awesome, Nick has a habit of really getting those amazing blurb-able lines, too!
John Gwynne:
Great day, thank you. Pretty busy, but productive. I am so looking forward to getting stuck into Artifact Space. Just finishing my current read and then it’s next on the list.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
No pressure, he said, rubbing sweat from his forehead.
John Gwynne:
I saw photos of your scabbard. lovely work.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
I have a lot to learn. My lines aren’t straight. But, it’s better than not having a scabbard. 🙂
John Gwynne:
Christian, I already know I’m going to love it. 😄
Christian/Miles Cameron:
And hey, John if you ever need a scabbard…. I only make them for friends…
John Gwynne:
I’ll let you know. 😄
HiuGregg:
Talking of scabbards and impending sci-fi novels, that’s a good segue. We’re obviously looking to talk a bit about weapons, armour, and how they are used in fiction, but how do you guys go about fitting your weapon knowledge into speculative worlds, where the usual rules might not apply?
John Gwynne:
That’s a great question. My latest series is set in a Norse inspired world and I try to keep to the rules with weapons, clothes, food for the period and so on, and then add monsters and rune-magic. The goal is a world that feels both historically authentic and fantastic at the same time. Never sure if I’ve pulled that off, but that’s the goal. So, I try to keep the weapons and kit grounded in the history of the Viking period – so, spears, round shields with a central iron boss, seaxes, bearded axes, long-axe, that kind of thing.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
If there’s one thing that martial arts have taught me, it’s that the usual rules always apply. Swordsmanship and grappling are pretty similar from Medieval China and Japan across Asia to Italy, Spain, Germany and England. Human biomechanics are real. So if we were going to dump the ‘usual rules’ we’d have to either have non-human fighters and/or magic weapons with remarkable properties, both of which I do from time to time, but always firmly based on what I think is ‘doable’. Like John, I want to be grounded in historical authenticity before I go leaping into magic spears… I do love magic spears…
John Gwynne:
And magic cauldrons…
Christian/Miles Cameron:
And John you really nailed it. Shadow of the Gods has that perfect spike of authenticity that makes everything else believable.
HiuGregg:
From reading both of your books, that word “grounded” there seems really apt for your respective writing styles when it comes to fight scenes. Is this something you find really helps when it comes to getting the right emotional reaction from a reader? Emphasising the impact of a blow, selling the consequences of a hit. Rather than a more “cinematic” but fanciful portrayal?
John Gwynne:
I’m a big fan of Christian’s writing, both his historical novels and fantasy fiction, (probably read around fifteen or sixteen of his novels so far) and I love the balance he reaches between historical detail, character and plot.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Hiu, I’m a very, very old-fashioned writer. I don’t think about readers. I write what I’d like to read. I’ve never really thought about a reader’s emotional reaction. Is that bad?
HiuGregg:
Ha! Well you’ve been very successful and have so many people who love your books, so I’d guess not!
Christian/Miles Cameron:
When I write a fight scene, it’s usually based on something that either happened to me or to someone I watched. Sometimes it’s sparring, sometimes something I saw in real life, translated into fantasy. I was once charged by a rhino in Africa, and every single monster encounter I’ve ever written was based on that event. It’s still very fresh in my mind. 🙂
HiuGregg:
That sounds like an experience I’d be very happy to read about but wouldn’t ever want to emulate, I have to say!
John Gwynne:
Trying to keep combat grounded in the basic rules and giving it some heart and emotion through the characters involved is the goal. A lot of those authentic details can be fun, as well, and not always about the ‘perfect bad-ass warrior.’ In my experience of re-enactment I have got stuck in my coat of mail (so stuck that all I could hear was a growing wall of laughter all around me, and that was just my wife and children), I’ve fumbled buckles because I put my gloves on first instead of last, I’ve turned the wrong way when marching in a shield wall, and fallen over laughing when charged by a berserker. 😄
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Mostly I stood there thinking ‘Holy $#%^@^@’ and doing nothing. I didn’t have a magic ghiavarina handy and to tell the truth, I’m not sure I’d hurt a rhino if I could.
John Gwynne:
Charged by a rhino, Christian! Bringing that terror to the page is a winner.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
What John said is exactly right. I, too, have been stuck in my maille. Or been unable to raise my visor and had all my squires find this ‘hilarious’. And it’s the sweat down the back of your arming coat, the broken fingers from a missed parry, the slip on ice… that create the scenes. Or so I believe.
HiuGregg:
That’s a really interesting point too, actually. So John, you obviously have a lot of re-enactment experience, and Christian you have your navy experience among others. Have you ever had the urge to go and “try out” a scene you have in mind with some of the skills (and weapons!) that you have before writing?
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Absolutely.
John Gwynne:
These are the camp-fire stories I like. I had a new seax, scabbard and belt that I loved, put it on, and the ring on the suspension system somehow managed to intertwine with a single ring on my mail coat. Took me about fifteen minutes to get the belt off. 🤣
HiuGregg:
I don’t know if I’d have been able to help you for laughing, John, but I can’t imagine the finger dexterity it takes to un-hook something from mail! 😂
Christian/Miles Cameron:
I have tried out scenes using both RPGs and re-enactment friends, or just sparring at the salle. But it’s really, usually, the other way around, and in the midst of a re-enactment, I’ll say to myself ‘that’s a scene.’ A couple years ago, at a Medieval re-enactment, I was fighting pole axe against a good friend in a tournament setting, and we had a moment, and I said to him after… that’s going in the book. My experience commanding large bodies of men (and women) from horseback (like, thousands) have been key to a great deal of my writing; I lie writing a big battle scene, and I feel comfortable with the experiences of the mounted commander.
John Gwynne:
I know, Hiu, especially when you’ve just tried your kit on and for a brief moment feel like a god of war. That feeling didn’t last very long… 🤣
John Gwynne:
Christian is like the re-enactment king…
Christian/Miles Cameron:
And that’s another thing… again I echo John, but when you put it all on, and you feel like a God of War… that’s a feeling to be examined and re-used, however laughable it may seem to your spouse (my spouse, anyway)
HiuGregg:
You know, this may sound naive, I had no idea that there were still regiments (is that the word?) of horses that numbered in the thousands!
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Re-enactment regiments, at least in my case.
John Gwynne:
I think you must have covered most of the periods we love to write about in fantasy, and your range of experience really comes across on the page.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
I did American Revolution for 35 years… then Greek and Medieval, and now Early Medieval.
John Gwynne:
I’ve never been involved in anything at the scale Christian is talking about. Even the Battle of Hastings annual re-enactment usually only has about 10-20 horses involved, and a few hundred people in the shield wall.
HiuGregg:
Wow. I had no idea re-enactments could get so big! I’m from a small town in west Scotland, so this is not something I’ve seen a lot of in my area.
John Gwynne:
West Scotland – I don’t know if you’ve read any Robert Low, but he’s a Viking reenactor, writes historical fiction including an excellent series on the Viking period and he’s based in Scotland.
HiuGregg:
Oh that sounds awesome, I’ll maybe check that out. Thanks!
John Gwynne:
You might see him in the shield wall if you find any local re-enactment events. 😄
HiuGregg:
Another thing I was wondering… when it comes to writing one of your characters, is there every a point where you consider what weapon feels right for them to wield? Maybe based on their personality?
John Gwynne:
Absolutely. Characters in my new book, the Shadow of the Gods, are very much set up like that.
HiuGregg:
Orka in The Shadow of the Gods for instance. I can’t imagine her without her axe. Or Aranthur’s sword in Cold Iron. They feel like extensions of the characters.
John Gwynne:
Yes, Orka and her long axe. Varg and his cleaver, Elvar and her sword. All of those were definite choices based on their characters and skill-sets.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Absolutely. Weapons are part of character. I believe that most fighters…most that I’ve met, anyway, not only want to win, they want to win ‘their’ way, a way that makes them feel empowered. That feeling is why people tend to use culturally defined weapons, but even within that, people will choose a weapon that they ‘like’ and it can be very characterful.
John Gwynne:
In the Viking re-enactment group I belong to, the long axe (or Dane axe) is considered an elite weapon, and you rise through a series of weapons training and trials before you graduate to the long axe. It was the weapon of choice for Harold’s huscarls at Hastings, for example, so not just a crude tool.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
But in the Red Knight series… aside from Hector and his family, most characters are ‘stuck’ with the toolkit of chivalry, because that was immutable. And I liked it that way. So Bad Tom mostly just uses what everyone else uses… even my First Nations inspired Outwallers mostly use the weapons of late 14th c. Europe… But in the Masters and Mages series, with all of the Ottoman and European world to draw on for inspiration, I was able to make weapons choice more characterful. Even if I did apparently confuse readers with Persian loan words. Oops.
HiuGregg:
I guess that’s another point. Where and when you stick to the “rules” of what was possible of the time period you’re writing. Swords and plate armour requiring some measure of wealth in earlier times, for example, and yet in most novels those things are everywhere. How do you know when to break away from that, and go with the “rule of cool”, so to speak?
John Gwynne:
I like films where you see the weapon linked to the character, as well, like in Rob Roy with Liam Neeson and Tim Roth and their duel at the end.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Well, now we’re on world building… Because I usually build my economics before I start assigning weapons… And I think I resist the rule of cool in most cases.
John Gwynne:
‘Rule of cool’, I like that. 😎 I guess the perfect example of that is swords worn across backs… It looks so cool, but for the most part is so historically inaccurate, unless the sword was exceptionally short.
HiuGregg:
Haha! I love that. “Hold on a minute while I get out the thing I’m going to disembowel you with. Please don’t behead me in the meantime.”
John Gwynne:
Exactly, Hiu. 🤣
Christian/Miles Cameron:
And one of the points I like to use is that probably there’s armour and weapons everywhere… like 100 Years War France. But armour that fits? And GOOD weapons? always rare
John Gwynne:
I love how you make that clear and turn it into such a progression, Christian, for example with William Gold.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
My experience in Somalia is sometimes a guide… I think my picture of ‘Ill-Armed rabble’ was created by Somali militias. I remember riding a truck once with a guy who had an Israeli Galil (a kind of assault rifle) with NO BLUEING LEFT and he had three bullets, which he proudly showed me. I can translate this into fantasy… But if a character starts off as that guy… the progression, as John is so kind as to point out, is fun, and I think fulfils the ‘rule of cool’
HiuGregg:
OH! Oh. Actually, speaking of weapon quality, I’ve just realised you guys can answer something that’s been bugging me for ages. Y’know how in some books and movies there’s a big deal made about how a sword was “folded” a whole bunch of times to strengthen it. Was that actually a thing, or just one of those things that people take to be true because everyone does it?
Christian/Miles Cameron:
I will no doubt annoy John here… and all the Ninja fans… But, folded steel is a real thing, and it makes uncertain iron ore better, or raises the quality of a weapon where the smith has uncertain bloomed ingots. But it’s not actually ‘better’ than a good steel sword made of one ingot forged out. So, for example, the best Japanese Katanas aren’t actually any better than the everyday mass-produced south German and Milanese blades of the fifteenth century. The iron available in Sweden and in Northern Italy was fabulous. The iron ore available to the Japanese is full of impurities There’s a book called ‘The Knight and the Blast Furnace’ that’s my bible on all of this.
John Gwynne:
I’m not an expert on sword construction, but from what I’ve read about ‘my’ period (Norse, Vikings), then swords were made from a number of rods, of varying strengths, and interwoven to give flexibility and work out the brittleness that could see a blade shatter. This could be a tricky procedure to get right, though, and I’ve read accounts of swords bending almost in half on a battle field, and the warrior having to stand on it to straighten it out (in between avoiding death).
HiuGregg:
I guess these are things you don’t tend to think of much as a reader! Quality iron, quality of forging. I love that you guys know enough to add those little gems of knowledge to enhance your stories.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
So my new Seax is ‘folded’ steel.
Christian’s long seax, from owenbush.co.uk
John Gwynne:
Folded rods give that beautiful pattern-welding finish that Bernard Cornwell uses to name Serpent-Breath – Uhtred of Bebbanburgh’s sword.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
See the pretty pattern in the blade?
John Gwynne:
Christian, now you’re just showing off. Excuse me while I weep at the beauty of that Seax…
Christian/Miles Cameron:
And returning to your questions on character… while I know in my head that a good straight steel blade is every bit as good, there’s something absolutely MAGICAL about the pattern welding.
HiuGregg:
Oh that is gorgeous!I might show my ignorance here, but am I right in guessing that is, or is related to, Damascus steel?
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Yes. Damascus Steel is a form of pattern welding. Unless it’s just painted or case-hardened on, as was all-too-frequently done at the turn of the last century on shotgun barrels.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
John, when you get the Royalties for ‘Shadow of the Gods’ you can buy five. And John, while I try to be a good man, I am a TERRIBLE show off.
HiuGregg:
I’ve a “damascus” sgian dubh on my bookcase downstairs, and now I’m very self conscious that it might be painted haha!
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Unlikely. Although I did buy a ‘Damascus’ blade in the Middle East and …it was fake! Broke my heart.
John Gwynne:
Ha, that sounds like one of your characters, Christian. 😄🤣
HiuGregg:
Oh wow I would never forgive that seller.
John Gwynne:
Hunt that seller down, Christian. ⚔️
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Yeah, in a souk in Dubai… in 1992.
John Gwynne:
May take a while…
HiuGregg:
Okay so we’ve only a couple minutes left, so I have… let’s call it a case study for a final serious question.
Imagine, completely hypothetically I should say, that you’re in a fantasy world and you have to kill a very large dragon. Also imagine that you are on a greatship in space, and you need to fight your way along the narrow corridors and kill a bunch of people without damaging the ship that is keeping you alive. What weapons are you choosing in each case, and why? Hypothetically, of course.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
So you want John to take the spaceship while I kill the Dragon? 🙂
HiuGregg:
Whatever you prefer! It’s all hypothetical, wink wink.
John Gwynne:
Ha, I may find some of my characters in exactly that position with an angry dragon. Haven’t quite figured out how they could win, yet. With the spaceship, that scenario reminds me of Aliens, when the marines are heading into the reactor and have to hand their ammunition in. So, the answer has become clear. Obviously, flame-throwers…
HiuGregg:
Ah, the most careful of weapons!
John Gwynne:
Going back to the dragon, having another dragon on your side might be a way forward, or something else equally large and ferocious…
Christian/Miles Cameron:
So, for killing a very large dragon, I’m going with a big, heavy spear. I want a spearhead as long as a sword blade with an armour piercing point, a thick cross section, and a big crossbar so that if I get it in the dragon he can’t come and get me. And I want a team behind me, with long spears and axes. But, as I’m always interested in the historical answer, I’ll note that Beowulf finished the dragon by opening its soft belly with his seax… and I happen to have a nice one… so that’s in my belt.
John Gwynne:
Christian, you’ve actually written something like that in the last book of the Red Knight – involving a Ghazaryan and a dragon the size of a very large space-craft.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
As to the space ships… For fighting in corridors where firearms exist but so does excellent anti-kinetic weapon armour, I’d stay with the long sword. I mean, I’d like to have an automatic weapon, or better, a 30mm grenade launcher or auto-shotgun, but if it’s getting personal, and people have armour, the long sword is a crow bar for opening armour. And I LOVE to imagine martial arts in zero-g. Ever since that scene in a James Bond movie with astronauts fighting, I’ve been imagining zero-g boarding actions.
HiuGregg:
Gotta say, I really hope these answers bode well for future books!
John Gwynne:
Please tell me this is in Artifact Space, Christian. 😄
Christian/Miles Cameron:
This is all Artifact Space, John.
HiuGregg:
YES.
John Gwynne:
This makes me happy.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Although, true fact, the big, scary long boarding action is in Deep Black, the sequel. But there’s a nice couple of tasters… and plenty of swords and action. Wink, wink. Thanks for the lead in, Hiu!
John Gwynne:
So looking forward to reading it.
HiuGregg:
I should ask, actually, because I couldn’t find it in the acquisition announcement. How long is the new series, Christian?
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Well, it’s supposed to be two, but frankly, I’m a third of the way through book two and I see three. Don’t tell Gill Redfearn yet… she may make a face.
HiuGregg:
Ha! Am I allowed to “print” that? 😂
John Gwynne:
Ha, that’s brilliant.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Of course you can print it. 🙂 This is a story that the universe is telling me. It’s a very very different feeling from the way I usually write. I’m a planner… But, for the record, John loves Killer of Men and that’s what happened there, too… the universe told me the story. I just wrote it down.
John Gwynne:
From architect to gardener.
HiuGregg:
I’ve a couple of very silly but fun personalised questions to sign us off with.
John — I have to say that I adore that author photo with you on the chair with your axe and your dogs. Best author pic in the biz. But I have to ask… have your dogs ever tried to run away with one of your weapons?
Christian — As a fan of your #writingfighting series on twitter, but also as a person who pretends to be a cabbage on the internet… I must ask… how many vegetables have you murdered so far?
Christian/Miles Cameron:
(I agree that John’s author picture is the best in the biz) John, before I answer Hiu’s question, I have one… What’s your favourite weapon? And why? Imagine I was going to write you as a character…
John Gwynne:
Ha, that photo was a lot of fun. A day out with the whole family with all of us in various kit. The dogs were both remarkably well behaved that day, though there have been occasions where my dogs have invaded rugby pitches and ran off with the rugby ball, but that’s another story. 😄 My favourite weapon, probably your new long seax, seriously. I do love the seax.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
I noted that my favourite character in Shadow uses one (relentlessly) and I loved it. And it’s your fault I have it. Literally (literally) your fault. So, Hiu, we’ve murdered about 20 squash. Absolutely no cabbage has been maimed or injured in any way. Many of the squash were then turned into cat food (long story) and anyway, does anyone really like squash?
John Gwynne:
My work here is done. 😄⚔️ In all seriousness, though, I’m flattered and honoured to hear you say that, Christian.
HiuGregg:
I know you probably got the squash off a farm, but honestly, there’s a part of me that really loves the idea of someone walking into a supermarket in full re-enactment gear and buying 20 squash.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
I’m just pleased that I got to use ‘literally’ correctly for the first time in my life. Hiu, you will be delighted to know that I walked into a very modern, covid-proofed market in my re-enactment gear. Three different times. They all know me now.
HiuGregg:
You have no idea how much I love that.
John Gwynne:
That’s brilliant. And you didn’t get arrested? Like Viggo Mortensen in New Zealand when he took his sword home and was practising his lines and moves on the way.
Christian/Miles Cameron:
So far, John, I’ve travelled the world in and with re-enactment gear and not gotten arrested. I almost went to jail in Istanbul… over a Greek kopis; and in Venice, because a guard decided he’d keep my (dull) tournament sword. But so far…
John Gwynne:
There’s still time, Christian. 🤣
HiuGregg:
Okay I’m very aware I’ve kept you guys 20 minutes over (or 50!), so I’m gonna say my thank yous and wrap up any official “innterview” chat there. Thanks so much for taking part in this guys, and for your time, this has been great!
Christian/Miles Cameron:
Anytime I get to spend with John is good time. And it was completely a pleasure, Hiu.
John Gwynne:
Always, always fun chatting with Christian, and you’ve been a pleasure, Hiu. Very happy to have been involved, and thank you so much for thinking of me and sending out the invite.
And that’s that! Speaking personally for a second, of all the things I’ve done on this website over the last three years, this was one of my favourites. It was so fun to talk to John and Christian, and I think this is an interview format we’ll be looking to use more in the future. Thanks to both for participating, and to Angela Man at Orbit for helping us to pull this together!
We have some more Common Room Conversations lined up, so keep an eye out! For now, though, let’s talk books!
The Books
Set in a brand-new, Norse-inspired world, and packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance, The Shadow of the Gods begins an epic new fantasy saga from bestselling author John Gwynne — So sayeth the blurb! I’ve read this one recently (review to drop next week) and it’s a lot of fun. Imagine a sort-of viking, gender-flipped spin on Taken, in a world where the gods are dead but their blood can still run strong.
Add The Shadow of the Gods on Goodreads, and pre-order from Bookshop.org or Amazon UK / US!
The Shadow of the Gods releases on May 4th from Orbit Books!
A fresh and zingy space opera for fans of Revenger by Alastair Reynolds, The Expanse by James S. A. Corey and The Lost Fleet novels by Jack Campbell — This isn’t one I’ve had the pleasure of reading yet, but from what Miles had to say about it, I’m interested! What we have here is a character scratching and clawing her way into space to escape her upbringing, but her old life is not so easily left behind.
Add Artifact Space on Goodreads, and pre-order from Bookshop.org or Amazon!
Artifact Space releases on 24th June from Gollancz!
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