Gav Thorpe’s The Red Feast is an unusual Age of Sigmar novel in that it isn’t actually set in the Age of Sigmar. Instead it’s set long before that, still in the Mortal Realms – Aqshy, in fact – but in a time before the Age of Chaos. It takes place across the Flamescar Plateau, where once-warlike tribes have found an uneasy kind of peace having largely abandoned their old gods in favour of the teachings of Sigmar. Athol Khul is the spear-carrier, the bridge between his tribe – the Khul – and the Aridians. To Athol, the bond between the tribes is to both peoples’ benefit, but as tensions arise and their alliance is tested he begins to see that things aren’t quite so simple.
It’s an interesting choice for a series (this is billed as Book One of the Khul) to be set so far in the past of the setting, given the scope of Age of Sigmar and the Mortal Realms, but on the merit of this book it absolutely pays off. For the majority of the novel this feels as much like historical fiction as it does fantasy, partly because the Khul bear a few notable similarities to the Spartans (along with other historical references, but that’s probably the most obvious one) but also because there are very few of the usual Warhammer archetypes in place. Alongside a focus on inter-tribal politics and the effects of religious change, rather than grand battles and high fantasy, this gives it a tone and feel all of its own, and makes for a character-led story driven by conflict which carries a different kind of weight to what’s usually seen in Warhammer fiction.
That’s not to say that it’s light on action; we’re talking warlike tribes who settle disputes through ritual combat and who are still adjusting – with varying degrees of success – to new (in relative terms) practices and rituals after generations of tradition. There’s violence aplenty, but it’s shown in context of characters coming to terms with or questioning their places in the changing world around them. For Athol and the Khul, fighting is part of their culture and his particular role within his society, but it’s not glorified or actively sought out and Athol is motivated by family, honour and a decent amount of common sense. Other characters take a slightly different approach, like Threx Skulltaker who rails against what he sees as the weakness of his father – the ruler of their tribe – and longs to reclaim his tribe’s dominance only to be held back by political maneuvering and what he considers to be the negative influence of a moderate new creed.
It’s all fascinating stuff, with lots of satisfying character work wrapped around a narrative which starts of focused mostly on the internal dynamics within the Khul (and their co-dependent Aridians) and the Skulltakers before gradually broadening out to encompass the wider changes taking place across the tribes of the Flamescar Plateau. More of the familiar Age of Sigmar-isms crop up as things progress, and by the end the tone has shifted back to something closer to what you might expect, but even then it retains that sense of history alongside the increasing inevitability of what we know is going to happen. As Age of Sigmar stories go (thus far) this offers something genuinely unique, with a feel all of its own. What it perhaps loses in appeal to readers who want to know more about familiar characters and factions it gains in the pull of history and the chance to experience something unexpectedly fresh, characterful and insightful.
Check out the main Age of Sigmar reviews page on Track of Words.
Definitely want to pick this one up.
It’s well worth reading – *really* interesting 🙂