Day twenty-two of Black Library’s 2015 Advent Calendar brings Graeme Lyon’s third contribution, the Age of Sigmar short story The Sacrifice. This time round events take place in the Shyish, the realm of Death, where the Tzeentchian sorcerer Arioso sacrifices a defeated vampire in order to summon a daemon and learn about his glorious future. Acting upon the information he acquires, he sets out to fulfil his destiny and reach the prophesied moment of his ascension, never considering the accuracy of the prophecy.
It’s a nice setup for a story, and takes things in a slightly different direction to most of the Age of Sigmar stories so far, pitting a follower of the Changer of Ways against one of the unchanging undead. The problem is that it’s very safe and careful, and feels rather like Warhammer by numbers – all the required boxes have been ticked, the ingredients are all in place, but it all feels a bit bland and calculated, even the big battle scenes. There’s nothing here that’s unpredictable or unexpected, and while there’s nothing especially wrong with the story it just feels rather uninspiring, which is a shame given that it’s quite a fun idea.
Click here to go to the main Black Library Advent Calendar post and see the other reviews.
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