John is an award winning Script Writer, Novelist, and Games Designer

John French is an award winning script writer, novelist, and games designer. He has written over twenty books over a decade-long career, notably the Ahriman series set in the dystopian far future of Warhammer 40,000, and six novels in the New York Times Bestselling The Horus Heresy series, most recently The Solar War and Mortis. His other work includes cosmic horror in the Lord of Nightmares Trilogy from Fantasy Flight Publishing, and detective fiction in The Last Visitor in Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes from Titan Books (writing as Stephen Henry). He has been a series writer for three animated TV shows and written the scripts for over thirty produced episodes. In the realm of video games, he has worked as a story designer and writer on multiple titles, including Darktide. In 2018 he won a Scribe Award for Best Audio with his script for the drama Agent of the Throne: Blood and Lies.

Latest Articles Works

Articles

Fiction, writing advice, thoughts, and the occasional piece of news. Enjoy!

What are Letters From An Unknown Land?

What are Letters From An Unknown Land?

31/01/2023

As you look around this site you might have noticed a series of stories all labelled s ‘Letters From An Unknown Land’ and thought what are they and what is going on? Well here are some answers.

Read more
Track of Words Interview

Track of Words Interview

30/09/2024

After eight years, and a lot of words written, I return to Track of Words to talk about how that time has gone, and mark the the site’s 2,000th post. The interview went long, and we get into writing the big moments in big stories, collaboration, the wonder of audio, and a lot more.

Read more
Build Worlds - Part III

Build Worlds – Part III

06/09/2024

Sometimes you need to build a fictional world from a set of broad ideas. To do this you need to find and set the edges of the world.

Read more
The Big Breaks are Small

The Big Breaks are Small

05/07/2024

Why you should stop waiting for success.

Read more
The Palace of Crows

The Palace of Crows

22/05/2024

Astronio ventures into a deserted palace that was at the centre of the Cataclysm.

Read more
The Dead Kingdom Released

The Dead Kingdom Released

15/05/2024

The Dead Kingdom is out now in hardback, audio, and e-book.

Read more
Build Worlds - Part II

Build Worlds – Part II

16/04/2024

World Building is ultimately about creating the illusion of reality and depth. To create that illusion, we need to use details, to evoke mood and tone with details, and to put points on the notional map of the world we are creating.

Read more

Work

I create characters, evoke worlds, and tell stories. Bellow you can find some of my work, along with links for purchasing them online.

Age of Darkness

Age of Darkness

New York Times Bestselling anthology in the Horus Heresy series

Ahriman: Eternal

Ahriman: Eternal

Book Four in the Ahriman Series

Ahriman: Exile

Ahriman: Exile

Book One in the Ahriman Series

Ahriman: The Omnibus

Ahriman: The Omnibus

The Ahriman Trilogy

Ahriman: Sorcerer

Ahriman: Sorcerer

Book Two in the Ahriman Series

Ahriman: Unchanged

Ahriman: Unchanged

Book Three in the Ahriman Series

Architect of Fate

Architect of Fate

A Space Marine Battle Novel

Ashes and Oaths

Ashes and Oaths

Part Three in the Award Winning Agent of the Throne audio drama series

Blood and Lies

Blood and Lies

Part One in the Award Winning Agent of the Throne audio drama series

Cthulhu Britannica

Cthulhu Britannica

Adventure anthology for the Call of Cthulhu RPG

Cypher: Lord of the Fallen

Cypher: Lord of the Fallen

Warhammer 40,000 Novel

Disciples of the Dark Gods

Disciples of the Dark Gods

Supplement to Dark heresy Roleplay Game

Divination

Divination

Anthology in The Horusian Wars series

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes

A Sherlock Holmes anthology edited by George Mann

Grey Angel

Grey Angel

Audio Drama set in the The Horus Heresy

Incarnation

Incarnation

Second Book in The Horusian Wars Series

Mortis

Mortis

Book 5 in the global bestselling series “The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra”

Praetorian of Dorn

Praetorian of Dorn

The Horus Heresy

Resurrection

Resurrection

Book One in the The Horusian Wars Series

Sigismund

Sigismund

Character novel in The Horus Heresy series

Slaves to Darkness

Slaves to Darkness

The Horus Heresy

Tallarn

Tallarn

The Horus Heresy

Templar

Templar

Audio Drama set in The Horus Heresy

The Dead Kingdom

The Dead Kingdom

A Cado Ezechiar Novel

The Hollow King

The Hollow King

A Cado Ezechiar Novel

The Hungering God

The Hungering God

Book Three of the Lord of Nightmares Trilogy

The Inquisitor's Handbook

The Inquisitor’s Handbook

Dark heresy RPG

The Lies of Solace

The Lies of Solace

Second Book in The Lord of Nightmares Trilogy

The Radical’s Handbook
The Horus Heresy: The Scripts

The Horus Heresy: The Scripts

Anthology of audio drama scripts for The Horus Heresy

The Solar War

The Solar War

The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra

Truth and Dreams

Truth and Dreams

Part Two in the Award Winning Agent of the Throne audio drama series

For Exclusive Content and Updates

Sign up to my mailing list

Sign Up