When fantasy writers talk about the things that influenced their work, they often mention other fantasy stories: The Lord Of The Rings, Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter, and so on.
But in the following email interview about The Legacy Of Arniston House (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook), the fourth book in his urban fantasy series Edinburgh Nights, author T.L. Huchu says this novel also takes influence from a video game-inspired TV show of the bloody battle persuasion.
For people who didn’t read the first three books — The Library Of The Dead, Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments, and The Mystery At Dunvegan Castle — who is Ropa Moyo, what is the Edinburgh Nights series about, and what kind of a world is this series set in?
The series is set in a near-future, third-world version of Edinburgh, and our hero, Ropa Moyo’s a wannabe magician from the slums who’s struggling to look after her little sister and grandmother. We follow her journey as she tries to gain a foothold in Scottish magic where the traditional establishment doesn’t quite fancy her. You can expect mystery, mayhem, murder, and magic most foul.
And then for people who have read those books, and thus can ignore me writing SPOILER ALERT, what happens in The Legacy Of Arniston House, and when and where does it take place in relation to the previous novel, The Mystery At Dunvegan Castle?
Ropa Moyo is back in Edinburgh, and she has finally quit Scottish magic. To make matters worse, she’s defected, taking a position with the English Sorcerer Royal. A dangerous cult is bringing back to life a dark figure from Scotland’s history. When Ropa’s grandmother is murdered and the crime pinned on her, she has to evade the police and find out who’s behind it all. Scottish magic won’t let go of her that easily.
It sounds like The Legacy Of Arniston House — and the other books in the Edinburgh Nights series — are urban fantasy stories. But it also sounds like Arniston House might be a bit of a mystery as well.
Most of the fiction I love mixes up tropes from different genres, hopefully creating something that’s a wee bit novel. There are elements of mystery driving the narrative, a dash of dark academia, very mild horror, some thriller elements, and so forth. What we term genre are certain recognizable narratological conventions that guide your storytelling, so certain chapters or sections of the work may lean more heavily into some tropes than others.
So, are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on The Legacy Of Arniston House but not on anything else you’ve written, and especially not the previous books in the Edinburgh Nights series?
No, the world is already well-established this late in the game. The heavy influences of Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange and Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers Of London should still be recognizable in this instalment, but the Edinburgh Nights series has its own aesthetic.
What about non-literary influences; was The Legacy Of Arniston House influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
I’m obsessed with Mortal Kombat: Conquest, the TV series from the ’90s with the brilliant Jeff Meek, who played both Raiden and Shao Khan. What an actor!
The finale of that particular series was devastating, and I pay homage to it in The Legacy Of Arniston House. I don’t want to give accidental spoilers, but let’s just say the creative team behind Mortal Kombat: Conquest gave us a shocking last series. It was seriously fucked up. I planned the ending of book four before I discovered whether I would get a deal to do the last book. I hope readers get the what the feeling I had when episode 22 of Mortal Kombat: Conquest ended.
And this might be a stupid question, but along with writing, you run marathons. Which is a unique discipline. Is there anything about running a marathon that has directly influenced your writing, and if so, how did it influence The Legacy Of Arniston House?
The mind is matter, bits of grey protein firing electrical impulses and chemicals. You look after the body, you look after the mind. If the body is stronger, the mind is sharper. I get some really dope ideas when I run, solutions to issues I might be facing with reference to crafting the text. I was running the Baltimore Marathon when I realized exactly how the Sorcerer Royal tied into the final chapters of the novel. I had to type out a note on my phone to remind myself while I was running along the boulevard near Lake Montebello. Good thing I didn’t fall into the water.
As we’ve been discussing, The Legacy Of Arniston House is the fourth book in the Edinburgh Nights series. But is Arniston House the final book of a four-book series, the fourth book in a series of five or six or more, or just the fourth installment in an ongoing series…?
The series was designed to be five books, and I’m really glad that the readers have loved it enough for us to be able to make it all the way. I’m also grateful to my publisher Tor for sticking with it. I fully intend for the various thread to be tied up and for the readers to get closure at the end of it all.
So, is there anything else a prospective reader might need to know about The Legacy Of Arniston House and the Edinburgh Nights series?
It’s really important for me that the reader gets a sense of closure. So whether you’ve been with Ropa from the start or are only joining us now, please do know we are nearly there.
Finally, if someone enjoys The Legacy Of Arniston House, and they’ve already read the other books in the Edinburgh Nights series, which of your other novels, which you’ve published under your full name, Tendai Huchu, would you suggest they read next?
Alas, my earlier works are out of print. There are secondhand copies of The Hairdresser Of Harare floating about online.
I would however love for the readers of the Edinburgh Nights series to try reading Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao, which is the first in a sizzling new series set in 1920s Shanghai with fox spirits, vampires, and an incredible depiction of the underworld.
I also highly recommend Shigidi by Wole Talabi, which is an incredible genre-bending heist novel with an incredible cast of West African gods, British wizards, South Asian deities. Talabi is an incredible craftsman and he tells a rollicking story.
