Last month I was fortunate enough to read and review Play of Shadows by Sebastien De Castell. It is a contender for my book of the year so far, filled with swashbuckling drama, dry wit, and a host of memorable characters. GeekDad has been fortunate enough to ask him a few questions about the book, its characters, and where things might go next.
Do make sure you read to the end; there’s exciting news for Greatcoat fans and lovers of The Malevolent Seven.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE PLAY OF SHADOWS A GREATCOATS NOVEL? DID YOU EVER CONSIDER
SETTING IT ELSEWHERE? SOMEWHERE NEW?
When I first came up with the central idea of veristors—actors who could mystically channel the spirits of the historical figures they play on stage—I hadn’t even considered in which world I should set the story. What mattered to me were the bigger thematic questions. What secrets from the past might such a magical ability reveal? What effect would it have on a society to learn that some of their most beloved or despised historical figures weren’t who they were believed to be? What would those who see themselves as patriots do to keep that mythic past untainted by the truth?
Once I had a strong sense of the thematic implications of this kind of magic, it became clear to me that the tale belonged in the world of the Greatcoats. Tristia is a nation in which everyone is vying to write the story that will define the next generation. When Falcio and King Paelis recruited a new order of traveling magistrates, they were trying to bring back the sort of swashbuckling idealism of a long-forgotten era. When the Dukes deposed the King and disbanded the Greatcoats, they were trying to crush that same story before it could spread.
So, it only made sense to me that this strange form of dramaturgical magic at the center of Play of Shadows should make its way into the world of the Greatcoats where it truly belongs!
ARE THERE CHALLENGES TO SETTING A NEW NOVEL IN A PREEXISTING UNIVERSE?
Every new novel is a challenge for me, since writing fiction is, by far, the most daunting career I’ve ever pursued. As to this particular novel and this particular narrative universe, the one factor I always had to consider was that, for many readers, the world of the Greatcoats is inseparable from Falcio val Mond. The first quartet of novels is told entirely from Falcio’s perspective and tells the story of his own struggle to find meaning in a set of ideals that seem, by any practical measure, to have been proven
meaningless in a country that seems to embrace its own corruption and venality. That was one of the reasons I wanted Damelas to be the grandson of two Greatcoats, and to have lived his life in the shadow of their daring and courage while never having found his own. As with all my novels, once I had the essence of my main character’s personal struggle, I had my path into the story.
HOW EASY IS IT TO BALANCE THE EXPECTATIONS OF FANS OF THE SETTING WITH THE NEEDS OF READERS ENTIRELY NEW TO YOUR BOOKS?
I doubt I’ll ever be the sort of novelist who can write to the expectations of a readership or the wider market. Don’t get me wrong; I admire writers who can, it’s just that I don’t have that particular talent. All I can do is write the best version of the story I most want to read myself. When I do that, I usually end up with a book that lots of other people find something to love about. When I try to second-guess the marketplace or fulfill reader or reviewer expectations… well, I usually give up pretty fast. By contrast, I wrote Malevolent Seven entirely for myself and never even planned for it to be published. Luckily for me, my agent insisted, and that’s been one of my most successful novels.
WHY DID YOU USE THE STAGE AS A BACKDROP TO THE NOVEL?
Play of Shadows is something of a love letter to the stage and those who work their magic upon it. Years ago, I had the privilege of choreographing sword fights for a number of theatrical productions and found myself equally enthralled by the goings-on backstage between cast and crew, as it was the final performances before an audience. There’s a strange kind of camaraderie that infuses theatre companies, full of drama and backbiting, yet also love, admiration, and a shared belief that something mystical, something unknowable, takes hold when the curtain rises and the actors take their places. Not everyone gets to visit the world behind the curtain, and so I wanted readers of Play of Shadows to enter the magnificent Operato Belleza and become members, for however brief a time, of the legendary Knights of the Curtain.
IS THERE AN ELEMENT OF MAGIC TO STAGING A PLAY?
Certainly—and if I ever figure out what it is, I’m going to bottle it and make a fortune!
WHERE NEXT FOR DAMELAS? CAN YOU GIVE US ANY HINTS?
Alas, to do so would spoil the surprises for those who haven’t yet read Play of Shadows. I can say this, however, the machinations of the Iron Orchids and the Court of Flowers that have plagued Damelas and his beloved artistic city of Jereste are but one part of a much broader conspiracy invading the nation of Tristia, with other Courts that are even more deadly preparing to bring their long-awaited plans to fruition. Each of the first books in the Court of Shadows series will introduce a new protagonist and a
new threat against their people, which means one day soon all our heroes—Damelas included—will have to face them together.
IS HIS STORY ARC FULLY MAPPED OUT IN YOUR MIND?
I have lots of ideas and schemes for ways to torment poor Damelas in the future, but I make an effort to set aside those plans when I sit down to write. My process relies heavily on discovery: allowing not only other events taking place in the broader world of the story to affect the future of the characters but those of our own world as well. The themes that spark ideas for me are, ultimately, driven by what I see going on around me. Play of Shadows asks questions about what happens when a society’s core myths are challenged, and when we uncover how those legends have been manipulated by one side or another. Looking around at the past few years here in the West, it’s not hard to see what sparked those questions for me.
WHAT NEXT FOR SEBASTIAN DE CASTELL? MORE GREATCOAT NOVELS, OR PLANS TO MOVE ON TO PASTURES NEW?
The Greatcoats will always be my first literary passion. Swashbuckling as a sub-genre of fantasy is always fertile terrain for my imagination and Tristia, with all its corruptions and and cultural eccentricities, feels very much like home for me when I sit down to write. I’ve been working on Our Lady of Blades, the next novel in the Court of Shadows series, for some time now and hope to be finished by the end of this year.
Of course, I have other series that I enjoy writing as well. I just signed the contract to deliver two more Malevolent Seven novels, so fans of volatile, foul-mouthed mercenary mages can look forward to the sequel coming out in the spring of 2025.
One of my favorite characters out of all my books is Ferius Parfax. I’ve written the fourth book in her adventures, so I’ll get that out once I’ve sorted out who the publisher will be.
Lastly, both the Spellslinger and Greatcoats series have been optioned for film and television. Hollywood is always a crapshoot, but there are some wonderful people involved working very hard to bring the books to the screen, so keep your fingers crossed!
Many thanks to Sebastien and the team for offering this opportunity to see the behind the magic!
