Andi Ewington, writer of comics such as Forty-Five45 and Vikings, self published a full length, funny fantasy novel, The Hero Interviews, late last year, a tale that has had numerous positive reviews since its release – and is now available in paperback, complete with carefully formatted footnotes.
“The Hero Interviews is a departure from the usual swords and sorcery yarn,” Andi pitches. “It’s a sometimes gritty, sometimes amusing, but completely bonkers look at the realm of heroes.”
The world of self publishing is never easy, but the novel has now sold over one thousand copies, largely as a digital edition so far, no mean feat in a crowded market. Andi also seems to have pushed past perhaps inevitable comparisons with Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams in terms of the book’s humorous style, and is on the way to gaining his own dedicated fan base, as you’d expect from such an accomplished comics author.
Not that this hasn’t stopped people comparing him with both acclaimed authors by way of way markers, but when Rhianna Pratchett delivers fulsome praise in a review, you just know The Hero Interviews is almost certainly something special.
Heroes… you can’t swing a cat without hitting one. You can’t even hatch a nefarious plan without some adventuring party invading your dungeon to thwart you. So, it stands to reason they’re a force for good –right?
Well – yes and no…
In The Hero Interviews, now available in paperback as well as a digital edition, Elburn Barr is a Loremaster who has turned his back on his family’s tradition of adventuring and stepped out into the realm of heroes to interview a whole smörgåsbord board of fantastical characters from stoic, swear-shy Paladins through to invisible sword-carrying Mime Warriors.
Through his transcribed journal, he’ll take a cheeky peek at the truth lurking behind the hero myth – and everything associated with them. Across his many encounters, he hopes to uncover his brother’s fate – a brother who has been missing for ten summers after brazenly setting out to forge a heroic name for himself.
Will Elburn discover what really happened to his brother, or will he fail in his quest and become another casualty of the adventuring trade?
“Does for fantasy heroes what Interview with the Vampire did for vampires,” says Rhianna Pratchett, “but with a lot more bloodshed and battle axes. Insightful, delightful and above all hilarious.”
“The Hero Interviews by Andi Ewington is not going to be to everyone’s taste with its long page count, tongue-in-cheek references to tabletop RPGs (particularly Dungeons & Dragons), and its copious amount of footnotes (it averages roughly 1.8 footnotes per page), but if that sounds right up your alley, you’re likely to have a great time reading this book,” say the team at the Fiction Fans Podcast.
“… Ewington masterfully weaves humour, D&D references, and social commentary into The Hero Interviews, and I can’t wait to see what is next for Elburn Barr.”
Andi Ewington is a writer who has written numerous comic titles including Forty-Five45, Campaigns & Companions, S6X, Sunflower, Red Dog, Dark Souls II, Just Cause 3, Freeway Fighter, and Vikings.
A declaration that I’ve had the pleasure of working with him, albeit briefly, in the past, but don’t let my bias put you off checking this book out!
• The Hero Interviews by Andi Ewington is available from AmazonUK as a physical edition here and a digital download here (Affiliate Links)
• Follow Andi on Twitter @AndiEwington
• Listen to the Fiction Fans podcast interview with Andi here
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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