Lets Talk...False Gods with Graham McNeill

The most excellent Graham McNeill joins me for a heretical hour where we discuss all things The Horus Heresy: False Gods!
00:00:00 Awesome theme song "Let's Talk.. False Gods with Graham McNeill Theme Song?
00:03:00 The High Lords collaborate
00:08:35 Inside Space Marine armour
00:10:00 Inside GW Design Studios
00:12:00 More than just war
00:15:40 Are Ultramarines the Captain America of Warhammer?
00:18:15 Let’s get Biblical!
00:23:40 Mr White
00:26:10 False Gods soundtrack
00:30:05 Nurgle’s Zombie Swamp Planet
00:37:10 Baby Primarchs they make our dreams come true
00:41:10 Did Horus have any other choice?
00:48:00 Buffy’s Cheese Man00:50:00 Which army?
00:54:00 The Glade of Many Paths
Find Graham's official website full of grimdark goodness here: graham-mcneill.com/
PLEASE LIKE & SUBSCRIBE and if you'd like to support or join the Mira Manga Book Club you can hit me up on Patreon! / miramanga
Check out my interview with Dan Abnett all about Horus Rising here: • Lets Talk...Horus Risi...
Thanks to the UBER talented @LuisHumanoide for the epic music that features in this theme song. His musicianship is mind blowing, so many great compositions for you to explore so please sub and support him, and check out his Spotify too!

[@deathabillypete570]

I found my way over here from Ian's channel, and i have to say this is the best, most keyed in author interview i've ever watched. Seeing the love of the detail pulling stories from Graham was so cool. Authors do so many by the numbers interviews where they get asked the same bland questions, it was inspiring to see what looked like genuine enjoyment of discussing story from both sides. Well done.

[@miramanga]

🥰

[@obiwanshin0bi]

I couldn't agree more!

[@santiagodelgado875]

❤

[@iiiiiiiiiicecream]

Yes! I sent this to a friend of mine and said "these are the questions I'd want to ask the Heresy authors if I had the chance" 😂

[@theshouldycast8428]

I'm a uni student at the minute and the things that you and Ian have been putting out have really helped to keep my interest in the hobby engaged. My biggest question was how easy was it to get both Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill to interview? I'm going to be in charge of student radio next year at my uni and would love some insight into how to approach these absolute behemoths of sci-fi writing and warhammer royalty

[@miramanga]

I think just approach people who inspire you that you would love to talk with. I think it helps if you can let them know exactly what you would like to talk about and they can tell you're prepared and a fan. Once they say yes, do as much research as you can so they don't have to explain everything interminably - but as you can see in the video above DON'T RELY ON WIKIPEDIA!

[@theshouldycast8428]

@@miramanga thank you!

[@BlizzardofKnives]

Mentioning the terrifying efficiency of Astartes reminded me of John Wick.

[@bladestormviking]

i remember reading horus' vision of the future in False Gods and thinking "this zealot screaming about I WILL NOT WEAR THESE!!! is really odd and specific, i wonder if it means something?".... now i know it's a Buffy reference.

[@slackeratlarge575]

The theme songs keep getting better and better ❤

[@miramanga]

It’s one of my favourite / most stressful bits! I’m running out of free quality music to sing over!

[@baynemacgregor8441]

Graham is such a delight to talk to. I am very glad to have met him in person and got a couple of his books signed. I'm particularly looking forward to when this series gets to A Thousand Sons, that will be a very interesting conversation indeed.

[@miramanga]

Coming up soon I hope!

[@obiwanshin0bi]

You mentioned The Retreat, where all of the Rememberancers hang out, and its description is one of my favourite passages from this book: The Retreat was, as usual, thick with remembrancers: poets, dramatists, artists and composers, which had made for a bohemian atmosphere, while off-duty Army officers, naval ratings and crew were there for the civilians to impress with tales of books published, opening night ovations and scurrilous backstage hedonistic excess. Thank you for doing all of these video interviews and Book club reviews with Arbitor Ian, they have really reinvigorated my love for these books :)

[@miramanga]

Great excerpt 🙏😊❤️ thank you for sharing

[@mickfeltham2887]

Thanks for reaching out to Graham and getting such an amazing interview Mira, (loved the Dan Abnett one as well). Like you I have become completely hooked on this series! Apart from the references to Milton, Lovecraft, Gibbon, Blake (to name a few) it's the historiography that I find so addictive. The writing of the same events by different authors and different perspectives and narrative focus (through the eyes of both main actors: Primarchs and Astartes and more marginal observers: Remberancers) give it an almost gospel - like way of recounting the story. Consequently the gaps, the reveals and the confluences provide a highly interpretative experience for the reader, reinforcing the sense of mythology and a lost history. (I’ve just finished reading “Legion” by the way). Looking forward to the next one!

[@miramanga]

Thank you! :)

[@CygnusMaximusXIII]

I'm an American and my son's name is Graham. It's... interesting to see how people handle it. I say it with two syllables, but his own mother just says "Gram"!

[@miramanga]

I feel like if you're a two syllable Graham and you go to live in the US, you're likely to become a Gram!

[@Fortunes.Fool.]

Graham's novels are some of the best scifi I've read. This damn guy has gotten me to build huge Iron Warriors and Thousand Sons armies I didn't need.

[@ReverendMeat51]

Nobody else should be allowed to write Iron Warriors/Perturabo

[@neiladams3042]

Such a great interview! Fantastic questions and answers. My estimation of Mr McNeill has also increased after he namechecked DCD 🤩

[@veo16]

Huge content drop. I just started working through Horus Heresy these past few weeks. McNeil has stood out as a favorite, so I went ahead and got the Uriel Ventris Chronicles as well.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

The Spoiler-free reading order map was super useful for me to know how all the short stories fit into the continuity

[@glandhound]

@@HistoritorJimaldus Not sure if you can really count it as a spoiler to read books in the order they were written.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

@@glandhound unfortunately the publishing order was flawed in some instances where stories earlier in the chronology came out after other stories set later :P

[@MrConna6]

The ultramarines omnibuses were my first foray into the novels, never looked back! Great books!

[@alastaircollins1145]

One of my favourite examples of the differing names for things through alternate cultural lenses is how "Ceaser", a family name in Republic-era Rome became an honorific title denoting the Emperor in Imperial Rome and bled out to mean 'Emperor' in German (Kaiser) and Russian (Czar) and probably more that I've not heard of. Modern Doctor Who leans into this sometimes, too. A lot of discussion around the idea that 'Doctor' means different things to different cultures because of their exposure to the timelord, etc.

[@miramanga]

Ooo I like that

[@axelNodvon2047]

Kaiser is emperor, König is king

[@alastaircollins1145]

@@axelNodvon2047 Contextually, I think the point was understandable even with the error, but I have corrected my post

[@luske2]

Really impressed that you get these authors to talk about their great writing.

[@clip4er164]

I have met him in real life chill and nice guy

[@Elbuarto]

Excellent interview. Soon you will be collecting Black Library writers like Trazyn :)

[@miramanga]

Might get a wee bit crowded in my flat!

[@Yandarval]

@@miramanga A bit of Bill and Ted and their phonebox full of historical figures.

[@6Stevo]

That opening song deserves a good smash on the like button. Lookin' forward to this interview.

[@IainDoc15]

I'm quite liking these interviews, hopefully we see more as the series progresses. Watching this has also reminded me that most of the books I've either enjoyed most or am most excited for in my own readthrough of the Horus Heresy are Graham McNeill ones (I've enjoyed most of the rest of the books I've read, not a slight against the other authors) Honestly the Nurgle stuff is the Chaos stuff I find most difficult to deal with, I don't know if it's just because I was listening to the audiobook during the past few years or something. I remember struggling a lot to get through the Nurgle swamp in this book and then bits of the Death Guard book (Flight of the Eisenstein I think? )

[@nitemunky76]

Love these author interviews! Props to Graham for Druss' axe!

[@VyRe40]

Love that you're reading through these, but fair warning about Fulgrim (Graham's next novel in the series): it's brutal, might be one of the darkest 40k novels you ever read.

[@miramanga]

Oh no

[@keepcalmandre-roll5480]

Awesome interview and theme tune. False Gods is my favourite of the first Horus Hersey Trilogy books.

[@matttully1388]

Hope yourself and Ian are covering the whole of the heresy series!?!

[@miramanga]

The dream! (I'm currently reading Galaxy in Flames!)

[@xid1980x]

Fantastic interview, I really enjoyed it. Thanks 👍🏼

[@bhollow711]

Mira these interviews are terrific, I just finished Galaxy in Flames a couple days ago and can't wait until you talk to Ben Counter. Keep up the great work!

[@hopelessedgelord]

Magnus, is a great example of a hero with flaws. As he's a good man, but his flaws are what stack against him and tear himself down. 18:44 That Parallel exists between Magnus the Red, The Emperor and Ahzek Ahriman

[@lazyc0mmander277]

2:30 You did it, Graham McNeill. You really are the Warhammer 40 000.

[@toi_techno]

That's an insane work rate. Love his books

[@belverkungol]

"The serpent doesn't even know it's the serpent" 🤯

[@stevepirie8130]

You’re racking up some great interviews of WH authors Mira! 🥳 They’ve certainly come across as approachable and friendly. When I read heresy novels the first three really gripped me as I’d always been interested in how it all came about instead of hiding behind censorship in 40k onwards. I didn’t play the games but read White Dwarf more for the way battle reports and short stories expanded things. Having them do the heresy novels is what I was always hoping would happen and they didn’t disappoint. A few I found hard going but there are always little glimpses that make you realise how it tied in with lore.

[@kaseydreamweaver]

YES! keep this up please! I'd love to see you continue these interviews! absolutely lovely

[@Filippo5]

Another awesome interview, thanks Mira ❤

[@nikolailucyk]

Another great interview. You give their egos the massage they thouroughly deserve and we all would give them too.

[@TheOnlyRealIRONicMAN]

Hearing the man Graham McNeill himself talking about the infamous Dead Sky, Black Sun and what he listened to while writing it I cannot help but think ... Yeah, that tracks.

[@RSBurgener]

Thank you very much for getting this man in for an interview. Angel Exterminatus reignited my love for 40k and inspired me to embark on my massive Iron Warriors project. I needed something to work on after I needed to move on from my art career. Graham's Perturabo gave me a character I could relate to and a new center for my creativity. That book means a lot to me.

[@miramanga]

I’m so delighted you’re happy 😊 I hope he reads this comment

[@shuvian4]

Another great interview!

[@wowow322]

This is great I'm just reading through the heresy for the first time, just finished the Galaxy in Flames so definitely subbing 😁

[@joepaineok]

Another fantastic interview! What a really bloody interesting and lovely man. Can't wait for the next one :)

[@davedogge2280]

I'm on Book 9 Mechanicum next week, it's been a great ride ploughing through these books. I'd like to ask Graham if he was nervous when he shipped his miniatures from Scotland to the U.S. ? (if he ever did).

[@miramanga]

Great question! 😂

[@helios7170]

Fantastic interview! I’m reading the books for the first time after putting them off since they were first released, in many ways thanks to you and Ian’s passion for the material you’re putting on KZbin. You both inspired me to dive into this material. Thank you so much

[@miramanga]

@arbitorian is 💫!

[@bhomm]

Wonderful Interview!! Your unique perspective on the series is really refreshing to go back and see, your summaries of the books are so authentic and the interviews are so genuine! Thank you for doing these for our entertainment and I hope to see more in the future!

[@miramanga]

We do the best we can!

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Some great revelations here, the Paradise Lost inspiration was a new one for me!

[@miramanga]

Truly mind blowing stuff. Love love love this kind of clever storytelling and so grateful Graham shared some secrets with us. I’m always terrified to say when I think I’ve picked up on something in case I’m wrong but I think this proves it’s worth taking the risk!!

[@joncook7850]

I'm looking forward to seeing Mira's thoughts on Fulgrim 😂

[@sampoole-fg1sl]

One of my favourite Heresy books. A real roller coaster of emotions.

[@carlstanford7607]

Awesome author, great book and fantastic chat

[@davetaylor9966]

Once again another fantastic interview!

[@batjutsu]

A fabulous conversation, thanks to you both 🤩😍🧀

[@filteredjc4653]

These author interviews are great! You have the important skill of just letting them talk

[@miramanga]

I could listen for days 😊

[@filteredjc4653]

I love hearing authors explain their influences and the ideas behind their work, so please do more of these!

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Great interview and guest!!!

[@studentjohn]

Thank you very much for that, that was a really interesting interview, and you asked the exact kinds of questions I would like to!

[@tomtricity]

Holy hell. I never made the Buffy connection.

[@DocStocks8427]

…did he just agree to do another interview after you get done reading Fulgrim?! I think Mira just rolled a natural 20 on her charisma check.

[@santiagodelgado875]

Another lovely interview! And I am happy that both Dan and Graham are so nice and likeable! Hopefully you can interview more #HorusHeresy authors in the future, cheers! ❤

[@Aviatorproduction]

I adore your channel. I’m so glad I stumbled across it and getting to see you pick the brains of some of my favourite writers is truly a dream come true. And your interview questions and style is so humbling and fun! I cannot wait to hear more in the future! Also, I’m an emperors children fanboy solely because of his work on Fulgrim and Angel Exterminatus!

[@miramanga]

Awww shucks! 🥰😊 thank you

[@miramanga]

You’ve watched this one right?! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4aao56VpcxnY80

[@Aviatorproduction]

@@miramanga oh yes.

[@richhasnip5374]

Mr Blonde, Graham! Mr White was Harvey Keitel. That aside, brilliant interview with a brilliant writer - thank you.

[@pruntyportraits]

Really enjoyed that! I love that you're going through each book and it's author! False Gods is fantastic. I'm so glad he confirmed the Paradise Lost inspiration

[@miramanga]

That bit stopped my world spinning and gravity ceased to exist!!! 🤩💥

[@glandhound]

Calling Fulgrim the Lizard King is very apt.

[@Empiriarch1945]

Rammstein, Heavy metal Fan? Damn Graham Mc Neill is cool

[@oleww50]

Awesome thanks 😊

[@miramanga]

You’re so welcome!

[@squidopedia_]

“I am the Warhammer 40,000” -Graham McNeil

[@studentjohn]

There was something about Horus' fears that the Emperor would discard the Primarchs and the Astartes which rang a weird bell for me, and I think I have tracked it down. Apologies to Whovians... At one point, where the Doctor's companion, Martha Jones, has learned about what became of the Doctor's other companions, and heard first hand from Jack Harkness about how he was abandoned by the Doctor, she demands of the Doctor: "So that's how it works? You get bored of us one day and disappear?" So here's my bonkers bit of heresy for the day. We have an immortal figure who seems to have worn many different guises throughout history. He's got incredible knowledge of science and technology, and beyond-genius intellect. He has knowledge of strange bits of space, time, and even other dimensions many millennia ahead of mainstream humanity (e.g meeting the chaos gods just before the Age of Strife). He behaves as a caring leader in one moment, and in the next people are jaw dropped by a clearly and horribly inhuman attitude or behaviour. He has psychic powers, and is able to perceive, if not the future, then the likely ways or paths history mat take from the current point. he has mesmeric abilities. He sees humans as useful, even worthy as a species, gets attached individuals, but will leave them behind or eliminate them. He's ferociously rationalist. And he calls himself - itself - 'The Emperor' or 'The Master of Mankind'. Sooo, and you know roughly where I'm going with this but anyway: Could The Emperor be a Time Lord? Could we even suspect he's some regeneration of The Master? Please don't have me assassinated : D . Dr Who has had Lovecraft crossovers, and weirder in it's time - and I'd put nothing beyond 30k/40k in terms of bizarreness. :D EDIT: There are some pretty damn strong parallels between the big E and Davros, and the Astartes and Daleks too.....

[@miramanga]

Love this. My Dr was Peter Davison if anyone’s interested 💕

[@studentjohn]

For me it was Eccleston or Smith, closely followed by Tennant (my wife's pick).

[@miramanga]

@@studentjohn ahh loved 10 🥰

[@stevepirie8130]

I vaguely recall Pertwee then Tom Baker as a lad but I didn’t get much chance to see Dr Who back then as parents weren’t fans. It was when my sons were younger and I’d watch Sarah Jane adventures I couldn’t put my finger on why I really liked it and thought I knew her. Of course she was the first companion I remembered. Absolutely lovely lady and sad loss to the Dr Who community.

[@stevepirie8130]

In reply to OP, I think the chaos gods when trying to convince Horus to defect they implied his father was a mortal trying to become a God and they obviously felt threatened as he was trying to unite all humans and stamp out all their worshippers. To have lived so long he must be a perpetual or immortal but I can’t recall any of the books talking much about him.

[@amosb1452]

Nice1.

[@frankandluna99]

These are amazing but I wish the sound was louder

[@miramanga]

I'll work on it :)

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Gotta love Spinal Tap! 😊 Noise Marines: ‘these go to 11,000...’

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Plague marines: it’s hard to dust for vomit

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Tzeentch worshippers: ‘Hundreds of years before the dawn of history Lived a strange race of people... No one knows who they were or what they were doing….’

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Khorne beserker: **smashes up the place with a cricket bat**

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Nurgle cultist: ‘this is my anatomy on a shirt…. It is green!’ Also Nurgle cultist: ‘Shit sandwich’

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Chaos Undivided: ‘How more black could the legion be? And the answer is none… none more black.’

[@DrLeroy76]

Holy shit, the cheese!

[@miramanga]

IKR!

[@BuddhistJihad]

The Horace Heresy

[@BuddhistJihad]

Also, I love that you've joined the "Fuck Erebus" club. It's a big club.

[@6dragondaddy913]

Mr. Blonde, White is Harvey Keitel.

[@yeoboshong]

The theme song lol

[@miramanga]

I’ve written about four Warhammer theme songs now. They make me laugh 😊

[@yeoboshong]

@@miramanga they're amazing. And your interviews are so insightful and entertaining!

[@agjm-agjm]

@Mira is “timey wimey” a mission to Zyxx reference!? 👀

[@miramanga]

No it was about the vision of the future that didn’t include Horus! (But say more about the zyxx reference please!)

[@agjm-agjm]

@@miramanga, you are in for a treat! Mission to Zyxx is an improvised-comedy space opera (very much a Star Wars spoof). It's superb and available on all the usual podcast-y outlets. Here's a little sampler: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4q5oXyFpblmpMU. Very interested to know what you think after a few episodes.

[@agjm-agjm]

@@miramanga Oh, and the timey-wimey reference is (without spoiling) a thing the characters say about time travel shenanigans that cause them to, given that the show is improvised, completely lose track of what's happening in some episodes - often denoted by characters getting spontaneous nosebleeds from trying to keep up.

[@miramanga]

@@agjm-agjm I used it in the context of how Dr Who says it

[@peteturabo9278]

It’s good. I would prefer having someone who is a long time lore fan to enhance the interview.

[@miramanga]

There are a bunch of great interviews out there that do exactly that! Just search “Graham McNeill interview“ in the KZbin search bar.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Trust Perturabo to be unhappy 😛

[@peteturabo9278]

@@miramanga excellent suggestion except there is none in the last 6 months and talking about the same subject matter.

[@miramanga]

@@peteturabo9278 that’s a shame. If you’d like me to ask specific questions in my interviews you can always join my Patreon and send me a list 👍

[@MrConna6]

You don’t naturally fit in the universe? What does that mean, there are loads of women, especially in the first four books, but even after there are mortals and there are people like keeler, ing mae sing, lotara sarin, and zhou Ilyia, oh and the sisters of silence.

[@miramanga]

You’ve mistakenly assumed I was saying that I don’t fit into the Warhammer universe because I am a woman. This is incorrect. I was not saying that.I don’t fit into the Warhammer universe because I hate horror, conflict, violence, war games, and the hopelessness of the grim dark. I love unicorns, happy endings, deep and meaningful discussions about the Bravo reality TV shows and long walks in nature. This is why I don’t naturally fit into the universe.

[@MrConna6]

@@miramanga Ah I see! In my defence I have heard the ‘no place for women’ line because of the astartes so many times over the years

[@miramanga]

@@MrConna6 I thought that may be why you jumped to that conclusion. If I may, I gently suggest that in future asking questions before jumping in with an assumption would be my preference for our interactions. (See how carefully, respectfully and kindly I ask so you don’t become offended - this is because sometimes I’m fearful and trying to prevent conflict!) Also I applaud any efforts to welcome women and those who identify as such into this fandom. I’ve received great kindness, encouragement and enjoyed interacting for the most part. Just say no to gatekeeping!

[@MrConna6]

@@miramanga of course, I shouldn’t have made an assumption in the first place. I do want to see more of all kinds of people in the hobby and I hope that they can look past the importance of astartes to the company and lore if they do not find something to identify with there!

[@miramanga]

@@MrConna6 🙌🙌🙌😊