In a similar vein to the 40k short story anthology Lords and Tyrants, which you can read my review of here, Myths & Revenants is a collection of 13 Age of Sigmar short stories which have all been available before in one form or another, either as standalone e-shorts or in other anthologies. Once again, much as I would love to go back and re-read all of these stories – every single one of which I enjoyed the first time around – I don’t really have time to do that while also reading everything else that I’ve got my eye on.
With that in mind, instead of a full review of the anthology as a single book, I’ve followed the structure of what I did with Lords and Tyrants and broken down the contents of the anthology, writing a little bit about each story and providing a link to my review so you can get a little more detail for anything you’re particularly interested in. This time around I’ve reviewed all but one of the stories before. They’re listed alphabetically by author, so read on and see what you think – click the links in the titles to see my reviews.
The Claw of Memory by David Annandale
This is the one story in the anthology which I haven’t reviewed. Originally published in the Black Library Events Anthology 2018/19, it’s one of several entertaining Neferata stories that David’s written demonstrating just how fiendishly clever Neferata really is.
Blacktalon: When Cornered by Andy Clark
This is Andy’s first Neave Blacktalon story, published before the novel First Mark was released, and is an action-packed and entertaining introduction to the character, her particular skills and her unusual mindset.
Acts of Sacrifice by Evan Dicken
A pre-Age of Sigmar story, this takes an interesting look at a small group of the Mortal Realms’ inhabitants in a time before the usual archetypes and factions had settled into their now-familiar shapes. Bleak but satisfying.
The Learning by David Guymer
An Idoneth Deepkin story, this sees Guymer exploring the character of an embailor, one of the rare aelves born with a pure soul and trained to break the beasts of the deep oceans. It really shows off just how dark and sinister these particular aelves can be.
One, Untended by David Guymer
This one is Guymer’s second Age of Sigmar-set Gotrek Gurnisson story, after the audio drama Realmslayer, and shows the dour Slayer delving into some catacombs in pursuit of a lost child, accompanied by a typically unwilling companion.
The Sea Taketh by David Guymer
Another Idoneth Deepkin story, this one is told from the perspective of a Kharadron sky-captain whose expedition to an ancient sunken city brings with it unwanted repercussions. The Deepkin make for excellent antagonists, full of mystery and sinister danger.
The Sands of Grief by Guy Haley
One of several stories available (in both prose and audio) featuring Prince Maesa and Shattercap, this one sees the aelf prince journey through Shyish in search of a way to return his lost love to some form of life.
The Lightning Golem by Nick Kyme
This one is a story of the Celestial Knights, dealing with the tragic cost that the Stormcast Eternals pay for reforging. It’s a dark and stylised story, not always the easiest to read but interesting nonetheless.
A Dirge of Dust and Steel by Josh Reynolds
Part of Josh’s excellent Hallowed Knights series, this features Lord-Aquilor Sathphren Swiftblade as he strikes a bargain with some unusual duardin in exchange for helping them gain revenge against a powerful daemon.
Ghosts of Demesnus by Josh Reynolds
Another Hallowed Knights story, and a pretty much direct sequel to Plague Garden, this one sees Lord-Celestant Gardus out of his armour, away from his Warrior Chamber and delving back into the vague memories of his past in search of answers and insight.
Blood Gold by Gav Thorpe
A Fyreslayer story-within-a-story, this is Gav drawing upon his experience writing Dwarfs in Warhammer to tell a story which explores the Fyreslayers’ mercenary nature and doesn’t quite fit in with the usual good/bad dichotomy.
The Deeper Shade by C L Werner
Packed full of monsters, magic and backstabbing, this is classic Werner – a tale of a Tzeentchian sorcerer searching for a powerful magical item deep beneath the waves. If it sounds like a Deepkin story it actually isn’t – treat it as a bit of pulpy fantasy fun and there’s lots to enjoy.
Shiprats by C L Werner
If you’ve read Overlords of the Iron Dragon then you’ll know roughly what to expect from this prequel story, but it should work well as an introduction to Captain Brokrin Ullissonn and the crew of the Iron Dragon, as they figure out how to deal with a worrying infestation in the hold.
***
As anthologies go, this is pretty impressive. It features quite a wide range of characters, factions, locations and styles, and there should absolutely be something here for every Age of Sigmar fan whether you’re keen to check out the setting for the first time or interested in delving deeper into certain aspects of the Mortal Realms and their inhabitants. As with Lords and Tyrants, if you’ve already bought some or all of these stories in digital format then there’s a decision to be made as to whether you want to pay for them again just to have a physical copy of them. There are no brand-new stories here to encourage completists to pick this up, but if you’re a physical copy sort of reader – or you just want everything in one place – then unless you’re only interested in one or two factions, this is absolutely worth checking out.
