Book two of the Digital Horror Week 2019 collection, Lora Gray’s Age of Sigmar short story He Feasts Forever is an unnerving, Gormenghast-esque tale of sinister domesticity and dark glamour. Dedric works as a cook in the king’s kitchens, content to be surrounded by friends and comfortable with his place in the world. While helping prepare a feast for the king’s return, the familiar routine of his work is broken, triggering a chain of events which cause Dedric to feel his certainties begin to fade. As long-buried memories surface, the truth of his past and present slowly comes into horrifying focus.
Low-key and subtly disturbing, this swaps the battlefield for the kitchen and quietly, creepily explores the darkness within apparently everyday life. Gray uses vivid, evocative imagery to take something which should be familiar and comfortable and turn it into a genuinely unsettling space, with sights and activities taking on greater resonance as the story continues. Meanwhile the plot uses the strained dynamic between Dedric and his intemperate older brother to drive conflict and examine an intriguing element of the Mortal Realms in an unexpected and powerful way. Anyone looking for an Age of Sigmar story which captures the setting’s darkness without relying on homogenised archetypes should have this at the top of their list.
Check out the main Age of Sigmar reviews page on Track of Words.
