A three-part Blackstone Fortress audio drama, Chris Dows’ Augur of Despair is an action-packed adventure featuring an odd-couple pairing of protagonists facing off against all manner of potentially deadly denizens of the Blackstone. Rogue Trader Neyam Shai Murad and crusader Gotfret de Montbard make their way back to Precipice in the possession of an artefact which might change the balance of power in the Fortress. To unlock its potential they must escape the attentions of an Ambull, enlist the help of a deeply untrustworthy genetor, battle mutants and cultists, and put their trust in a creation of the Fortress itself.
Pacy, exciting and full of action from start to finish, this is an unashamed adventure story which plays upon the vast array of potential pitfalls, dangers and antagonists that the Blackstone Fortress has to offer. Split as it is across three parts, each one has its own mini-narrative while fitting into the wider plot, but Dows keeps it stripped back and straightforward. It’s a sort of ‘there and back again’ arc, as Neyam and Gotfret escape the Fortress with their prize, work out what it is and how they can utilise it (which proves more troublesome than you might expect), then head back in to put its powers to good use…stirring up all manner of the Blackstone’s inhabitants in the process.
There’s very little clutter to get in the way of the plot’s forward motion, which means there’s loads of space for the characters to shine. Most of the story is Neyam and Gotfret gently bickering whilst hiding, being chased, fighting or deciding whether to keep delving further into the Fortress, and Dows explores a really enjoyable sense of push and pull between the two protagonists. Both are staunchly loyal characters, but with interestingly different approaches – Gotfret being very much the upright, chivalrous paladin, much more cautious than the action-first exuberance and more flexible moral approach of Neyam. These are named characters in the Blackstone Fortress game, but you don’t need to know anything about them beforehand; there’s not a lot of exploration of their backstories, but their interactions give you everything you need.
In a prose story, all the breathless action – and there’s lots of it – might have got a little repetitive, but in audio it remains engaging by virtue of Dows’ snappy dialogue, the typically atmospheric and evocative music and SFX, and consistently great performances from Tom Alexander, Lanna Joffrey (as Neyam), Richard Reed, Luis Soto and Andrew Wincott*. Each frantic scene pushes forward into the next, offering new soundscapes, fresh difficulties for Neyam and Gotfret to face and further opportunities for the pair to bounce off each other. It’s tremendous fun throughout, whether you take it in three 20 minute parts or as a single hour(ish)-long story, offering the opportunity to (literally) explore the Blackstone Fortress, hear all manner of crazy characters brought to vivid life, and enjoy the satisfying dynamic between two well-written comrades. There’s more than enough here to warrant further stories of these characters, so here’s hoping this isn’t the last we’ve seen of them.
*Black Library haven’t provided details of who plays which part, so sadly I can’t credit the right actor to each of the parts, apart from Lanna Joffrey as Neyam.
This was released as part of the 2019 Black Library Advent Calendar – click here to see the main page for the Advent Calendar, with links to all of the reviews.
Click these links to buy the individual parts of Augur of Despair (I’ll update when it’s available as a single release):
