David Guymer

David Guymer is a scientist-turned science fiction and fantasy author from the north of England. His work includes many novels in the WarhammerWarhammer 40,000, and Marvel universes, notably Dark Avengers: The Patriot List, the bestselling audio production Realmslayer, and Hamilcar: Champion of the Gods, which has since been adapted into an animated TV series. He has also contributed to fantastical worlds in video games, tabletop RPGs, and board games.

Interviews and Articles

“The Patriot List, essentially, is a book about villains being their absolute worst selves whilst pretending to be good guys.”

– David Guymer

“Coming in fresh was really liberating. It felt like I had a bit of license to create new lore and explore how the world operates beyond the dungeon-crawling remit of the board game.”
Paul Semel,

“Sometimes the most creative thoughts come when you’ve been given a few constraints to narrow your wilder flights of fantasy down a little bit. Within the headline pitch of “Heroes battle to save Kell,” or whatever, there is still plenty of invention to be done and stories to tell.”
Track of Words, Interview with David Guymer, author of The Shield of Daqan

Interviews with the authors and editor of Tales from the Crucible
– The Epic Quest

Author News
Anything is Possible on an Impossible World: KeyForge – Tales of the Crucible edited by Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells December 17, 2019 An impossible world filled with myriad peoples battling for mystical Æmber (and everyone else who’s just trying to get along) – it can only be KeyForge! Introducing Tales From the Crucible: A KeyForge Anthology, edited by Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells, which flies screaming onto your bookshelf in June 2020. KeyForge is chock-full… Read more.
Reviews

“Tower of Nerek has originality, memorable characters, and a deftly crafted plot replete with many an unexpected twist, turn and trauma.”
Midwest Book Review

“A definite must read for fantasy fans and Decent fans alike. The perfect blend of magic, mayhem and action as well as a memorable characters.”
What You Tolkien About

“Simply put, The Dark Avengers In: The Patriot List by David Guymer is an adult book about bad people doing a lot of bad things. I very much enjoyed this adult tale. I highly recommend it for Marvel fans who are okay with a look from the bad guy’s perspective.”
Kevin Tipple’s Corner

“Simply put, The Dark Avengers In: The Patriot List by David Guymer is an adult book about bad people doing a lot of bad things. I very much enjoyed this adult tale. I highly recommend it for Marvel fans who are okay with a look from the bad guy’s perspective.”
Kevin Tipple’s Corner

“Everyone loves a bad guy now and again. Dark Avengers The Patriot List was something I didn’t know I needed. Well I did know I wanted more ‘villain’ content but I don’t know how and frankly David Guymer delivered.”
Track of Words

“The real draw here is the action. The Patriot List is a fast paced, action packed novel filled with bad people I wanted to see succeed and fail at the same time.”
Grimdark Magazine

“Dark Avengers, The Patriot List is an action packed, dark, and wonderfully fun book that takes readers back to a unique time in the Marvel universe. It has reignited my desire to read more of this period, and to delve into some of these characters again.”
Trans-Scribe

“This is a very good story, its high octane and filled with amazing dialogue that sassy and at the same time a little horrifying. The action scenes are frankly some of the best I have ever read, just well written and balanced.”

– Big Geordie Geek

“I found myself actually cheering for the bad guys. Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D has always been questionable, but Guymer makes the villains so likeable that you really do want to see them succeed. Really reinforcing the fun, you can have being the bad guy.”

– What You Tolkien About

“The story is fast-paced, full of action and mayhem as well as characters struggling with their own inner demons. Some handle it better than others!”

– Martin’s View

“Dark Avengers, The Patriot List is an action packed, dark, and wonderfully fun book that takes readers back to a unique time in the Marvel universe.”

– Trans-Scribe

“I gave The Patriot List five stars. I would definitely read more volumes from this author featuring these characters. Even without any of the better-known heroes of the Marvel Universe involved, it was still a very enjoyable read.”

– Chris L. Owens

“This is absolutely one of the greatest uses of a license ever. This book reads like what all tie-ins should: a lost arc… This is in every word a Dark Avengers story. This is the absolute dream this column exists for. That it’s fleshing out a series I thought needed more is the best part.”
The Omniplex

“It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s literally dripping with personality, and what’s more, you need absolutely zero knowledge of the setting. This is a perfect franchise genre novel in my opinion.”
Big Geordie Geek

The Shield of Daqan is yet another great example of a Guymer story, which means that it’s fun, that’s it’s exciting, that it has characters with personality, that it moves rapidly – taking you to interesting places to see interesting things… Maybe this says something more about me than it does anything else, but I can’t remember the last time I read a book with such legitimately heroic heroes. It’s something I didn’t know I was missing, but I was thrilled.”
The Mortal Realms

“★★★★★ The Shield of Daqan is quite honestly, one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure to read this year… It’s an epic tale of sword and sorcery set in a captivating new world to explore.”
Eternal Bookcase

“Making full use of the wild scope permitted by the KeyForge setting, Guymer throws in all manner of madcap creatures and concepts, from elves, goblins and robots to rayguns, jetpacks and trading cards, but marries that with more than enough humanity to balance things out and produce a warm and character-led story beneath the craziness.”
Track of Words on Vaultheads by David Guymer

“A frankly brilliant and subversive take on both the KeyForge game specifically, and the scifi and fantasy in general.”
SciFi and Fantasy Reviewer on Vaultheads by David Guymer

Books by David Guymer

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