David Annandale writes fiction in a number of genres. He is the author of Crown Fire, Kornukopia and The Valedictorians (Turnstone Press), thrillers featuring rogue warrior Jen Blaylock. 2012 saw the publication of Gethsemane Hall, a horror novel, by Dundurn Press and by Snowbooks in the UK. Since then, David has written extensively for The Black Library and Aconyte Books, producing novels, novellas, short stories and scripts for such universes as Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, Arkham Horror, and Marvel.

David also writes non-fiction, contributing academic articles on movies, video games and other aspects of popular culture to such collections as Roman Catholicism in Fantastic Film: Essays on Belief, Spectacle, Ritual and Imagery;  Horror at the Drive-In; The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto; and Performance and Identity: The Music of Lady Gaga. He writes film reviews for The Phantom of the Movies' VideoScope.

David holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Alberta, where he specialized in horror literature and film. He teaches film, creative writing, and literature at the University of Manitoba. 

For more information about David, visit www.davidannandale.com

"I write horror, science fiction and fantasy because I have loved these genres all my life. The very first time I tried to write a story, when I was six, it was about a monster, and so I am incredibly fortunate that monsters remain at the centre of my writing and academic careers. 

 

I always wish I could be more productive than I am – there are so many stories I want to tell! My process varies according to the time of year and the time available. Short sprints with distractions turned off, dictating to myself, and lots of loud music blasting in my ears all contribute. Plus, just like executions, deadlines concentrate the mind wonderfully."
 

— David Annandale
 

Series: Arkham Horror | Marvel Untold | Warhammer 40,000 | Warhammer: Age of Sigmar | Warhammer: Space Marines | Warhammer: The Horus Heresy | Warhammer: Yarrick | Warhammer: The Beast Arises | Legend of the Five Rings | Jen Blaylock | Standalone Novels

Arkham Horror

(Aconyte)

It is the height of the Roaring Twenties – a fresh enthusiasm for the arts, science, and exploration of the past have opened doors to a wider world, and beyond… And yet, a dark shadow grows in the city of Arkham. Alien entities known as Ancient Ones lurk in the emptiness beyond space and time, writhing at the thresholds between worlds. Eldritch rituals must be stopped and alien creatures destroyed; before the Ancient Ones make our world their ruined dominion. Only a handful of investigators stand against the horrors threatening to tear this world apart. Will they prevail?

Marvel Untold 

(Aconyte)

A thrilling new line bringing new tales of Marvel’s Super Heroes and villains begins with the infamous Doctor Doom risking all to steal his heart’s desire from the very depths of Hell Notorious villain Doctor Victor von Doom has finally found a solution for his oldest obsession: rescuing his mother’s soul from the clutches of Hell.

An alliance with the reclusive sage, Maria von Helm, has provided the key to Doom’s latest invention. Fusing their super-science and sorcery, Doom has created the Harrower, a device that will open a rift and wrench his mother’s soul from the netherworld. Back in the human world, however, rebel forces threaten to overrun Latveria and topple its dark leader – and revolution couldn’t come at a more dangerous time than when the gates of Hell itself have been unlocked

Warhammer 40,000

(The Black Library)

It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries The Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar

(The Black Library)
 

Warhammer: Space Marines

(The Black Library)
 

Warhammer: The Horus Heresy

(The Black Library)
 

Warhammer: Yarrick 

(The Black Library)
 

Warhammer: The Beast Arises

(The Black Library)

Legend of the Five Rings

(Aconyte)

The reckless pursuit of honor exposes an empire to demonic invasion, in this epic fantasy novel of duty and warfare, set in the extraordinary world of Legend of the Five Rings.

Striking Dawn Castle defends the mountains between the Rokugan empire and the demon-haunted Shadowlands. When a mythical city is discovered in the forbidding peaks, Hida Haru, heir and sore disappointment to his family, seizes the opportunity to prove himself. His rash expedition ends in disaster – just one samurai returns alive, and Haru is lost. Before a power struggle can break out, Striking Dawn’s battle-hardened commander, Ochiba, is dispatched to rescue Haru. She succeeds against supernatural horrors, but Haru is… changed. Now, mysterious deaths and ill fortune plague his family. Something evil is loose and must be stopped, at any cost.

Jen Blaylock

(Turnstone Press)

When Canadian Forces soldier Jen Blaylock's father - an investigative journalist - and the rest of her family are murdered in an attempt to cover up illegal arms sales, Blaylock abandons military life to plan her revenge against Integrated Security, the multi-national conglomerate she deems responsible.

"A top-notch read—complex and as intelligent as it is entertaining." Christopher Hyde, author of The Second Assassin and A Gathering of Saints

". . . whiz-bang, high-body-count combat and a forest fire so scary it's liable to discourage tourism in the Canadian Shield." Winnipeg Free Press

"David Annandale's savvy and savage first novel announces a top new talent in thriller fiction . . . it will keep aficionados reading late into the summer night." Edmonton Journal

Standalone Novels 

The Skeleton Key
The Black Library, 2017

There's a lot riding on the Dungeonbowl: it's being touted as a clash between good and evil. But disaffected greenskins and a grumpy mummy might throw a spanner in the works…

Gethsemane Hall
Dundurn Press, 2012

Gethsemane Hall is a house of great darkness, and of even more terrible illumination. It is a place where the dead walk and suffer, and where illusions die. To this house comes a group of people with conflicting agendas. A disgraced CIA Station Chief is trying to shut down a scandal. A spiritualist plans to prove that the Hall is the site of a haunting as real as it is holy. A physicist thinks he's going to debunk the legends of the house. They are all about to discover that their beliefs and dreams count for nothing at Gethsemane Hall. Only a grieving husband, desperate to know the truth of the afterlife, might see his prayers answered, but in a way that goes beyond his worst nightmares.

"Spikes of tension. Strong characters. Methodical pacing. . . . Horror writing is not for everyone, but a truly great horror novel needs these well-balanced aspects in order to make the plot really unsettling. Unsettling is often worse than frightening because unsettling sticks with you after you're done reading. Gethsemane Hall achieves that." The Winnipeg Review

Interview in Civilian Reader

Media

"David Annandale's Unabashed Guilty Pleasures," The Winnipeg Review, July 15, 2011.

"David Annandale—Night Table Recommendations," McNallyRobinson.com, March 11, 2011.