Whispers of War is the first book of Sean Rodden's epic high fantasy duology titled The War of the North. Overall, Rodden has ten books planned for the series The Tales of Second Earth, and this includes The War For The North dulogy, two trilogies, and two stand-alone novels. Rodden blurs the line between historical fantasy and fantastic history in this novel, which features characters and settings derived from a myriad of real-world places such as ancient Ireland, republican Rome, the aboriginal Americas, feudal Japan and tribal Africa.
Synopsis:
In WHISPERS OF WAR, war is descending upon Second Earth, an Iron Age world dominated by Mankind but where magic, monsters and mystical beings exist on the periphery. The Blood King has returned. Red winds howl; monstrous armies march; foul powers from the past rise.
In Druintir, ancient city of the Fiannar, a dashing young Ambassador from the Erelian Republic finds himself embroiled in both the preparations for war and the fiery heart of a beautiful Fiannian Shield Maiden; his brother, the intransigent Iron Captain, must adapt to the sudden shattering of his simplistic view of the world; a Diceman of magic and mystery weaves an intricate web of deception and obscure intentions; and the Lord of the Fiannar struggles with doubts and fears that no man should suffer, but finds vast reserves of resolve, strength and courage in his beloved wife and Lady.
From Druintir three legendary heroes are sent on a final desperate quest of destruction: An Athain Sun Lord, dark Prince of the Neverborn, sorely beset by secret sorrows; a hulking Darad bearing a brutal burden of shame; the Eldest of the Fiannar, racked by his refusal to forgive himself his own flaws and failings. Meanwhile, an outcast Rhelman, a spirit warrior banished by his own people, is dispatched on a wild ride to enlist the unlikely aid of a fabled fighting force, the disbanded Ghost Brigade.
Upon Druintir marches the Blood King’s army; at its head the horrid demonic creatures called Waif and Urchin, the titanic Halflord and his indomitable Bloodspawn. Beneath banners bright and beautiful, and aided by allies old and new, the doughty yet dwindled Fiannar ready for a war they know may very well be their last…
Interview with Sean Rodden
What kind of monsters and mythical beings do we expect to find in your novel?
There are all sorts of peoples, races and beasts in ‘Whispers of War’. Aside from Men, you will find fairly familiar fantastic folk: There are the Athair, who are like a cross between angels and Elves; there are the Daradur, a fan favourite, who are like great big Dwarves on ’roids and meth; and then there’s the Fiannar, who are the descendants of Athair that became mortal. The bad guys’ side is just as diverse: You have the Unmen, basically advanced Neanderthals gone psycho; Urkroks, gigantic rock orgres with an attitude; Graniants, an ancient race of intelligent stone giants; various demons, including the ultra-powerful Kuarokur; and perhaps the most interesting of all, the Bloodspawn, a newer race, great grey giants of mysterious origin, refreshingly intellectual, almost philosophical, yet still extremely warlike…with cool tatts and rocking hair.
What inspired you to write 'Whispers of War'?
As far back as I can remember I was an avid reader, so it was only a matter of time before I started writing. I suppose my first real attempt at writing was in the second half of grade eight. My best buddy and I were miles ahead of the rest of the English class, so the teacher told us each to basically toss the curriculum in the trash and write a long story. I settled on a mythological fantasy set in post-Iliad ancient Greece. It was called ‘The Aster’, and was quite the tale, if I remember correctly. The story is lost now – the teacher never returned it. The next year, that same buddy and I merged our stories and for the next twenty years or so we expanded the tale together, often over many beers, sometimes too many – adding details, broadening the scope, developing and honing the hundred plots, the world, the peoples, the characters. Sometime in 2001 I decided it was about time we stopped talking about the story and start doing something about it. I wanted to share it, wanted to be able to read it myself, so I started writing it down. And it only took me 13 years to finish it. No one said I was fast.
Why is your novel called 'Whispers of War'?
The book is called ‘Whispers of War’ because it details the days, say a month or so, leading to the pivotal Battle of Eryn Ruil, right up to the moment before the first sword is swung. The next book is called ‘Roars of War’ and will take on all the actual battles and the immediate aftermath. In both books the titular phrases make cameo appearances in the dialogue.
How would you describe the battle scenes in your novel?
The prologue of ‘Whispers of War’ contains a brief description of a major battle from antiquity, written in the style of classic high fantasy. The first chapter opens with a furious fight-and-flight scene. There is a one-man-against-the-world battle midway through, kinda like Horatius at the bridge, only Horatius is not Horatius and there is no bridge. Other than that, all the detailed battle sequences are actually historical tales told by characters. There is another particular battle near the end that is told in a very abstract manner, more alluded to that actually described. Generally, there is more aftermath than math in ‘Whispers’ – which I do intentionally in order to save the major blood and guts narratives for ‘Roars’.
It sounds like you're weaving multiple plots in 'Whispers of War'. How do they all connect together? What is the main conflict of 'Whispers of War'?
Yeah, there is a lot going on here. ‘Whispers’ has several main-ish characters, not POV characters (as the tale is told by an omni-everything narrator), just ones who are more central than others. Their stories are layered and often overlap, which I think is important to achieve believable complexity of both character and storyline. I use personal relationships and ancient bloodlines, basically friends and family, to connect and move the myriad pieces on the board. There is a definite convergence as war descends on Eryn Ruil, and this stands to be the major conflict – if Eryn Ruil falls then the world will basically go to shit in no time.
So a lot of cultures in Second Earth are similar to the cultures of our real world. Are there any differences?
I borrow liberally from real history and then add some shine or shoe polish of my own. The human peoples are definitely recognizable, but this is a fantasy novel so I get to play around a bit and have some real fun with the races. I suppose the main difference is that the cultures I draw from did not necessarily exist at the same time in the real world, or if they did, they weren’t aware of one another.
How does magic affect the societies in Second Earth?
There are many modes of magic in Second Earth, everything from athamancy (angelic magic) to some really weird alchemy to your standard elemental stuff. But these and several others will be introduced slowly over the duration of the series, as they become necessary and apply logically to the narrative. I don’t want to dump multiple detailed magic systems on the readers, so I offer a more gradual, almost unconscious osmosis. Nevertheless, magic is there, it’s real, and it isn’t always a good thing.
What are the most prevalent themes of your book series?
‘Whispers of War’ is really an extended treatise on duty and honour. Different forms, different views, different expectations thereof, but the central tenet in the book is honour, pure and simple. This is why there is, for the most part, a distinct delineation between good and evil, an almost Manichean perspective toward things. I don’t find morally ambiguous characters believable or likeable, or even interesting. Anti-heroes irk me. In real life, no one even remotely decent is going to admire a dude who rapes his sister or murders a kid, no matter how the dude may change or what good he may do with the rest of his life. Somewhere in ‘Roars’ someone says something like, “Judge others not by the good deeds they have done nor by the bad deeds they have not done – these things are expected – rather, judge them solely on the foul things they have done, for these expose the true shade of their souls.” So, yeah. Honour. That pretty much sums it up.
Tell us about an interesting character or group of characters in your novel
Well, I try to make all my characters interesting. They range from nearly omnipotent entities to the everyday enlisted man, and I put a lot of love and effort into each and every character so choosing between them all is very difficult for me. But I have had enough feedback to know that some characters seem to register more than others with my readers. The Daradur are wildly popular – tough little motherfucking hulks, kinda like big Dwarves on meth and roids, who take absolutely no shit and have no qualms about killing anything and anyone who pisses them off – and they get pissed off a lot. People seem to adore the pseudo-love-hate relationship between the two Teagh brothers – the younger one precocious and sly, the elder stalwart and blunt – and their unceasing verbal war of attrition. They also like Teji Nashi, the affable yet mysterious Diceman, who is obviously much more than a simple healer. The four squad soldiers are quite popular as well. And many of my female readers seem to harbour special affections for the big bad guy, Kor ben Dor. Each character definitely has a story, and each story is a work in progress, striped with obscurities and spotted with secrets that will be revealed eventually – some more eventually than others, of course.
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