Blood of the Everchosen – Richard Strachan

The debut Black Library novel from Richard Strachan, Blood of the Everchosen is labelled as a Warcry Catacombs story but in truth is simply a fantastic Age of Sigmar novel which offers the best depiction yet of life for the mortal followers of Chaos. In the benighted lands of the Eightpoints, a child is born beneath a savage storm, his destiny entwined with that of Archaon himself. As the boy’s father races for safety, powerful forces converge from across the Bloodwind Spoil. Some, like Burak the Bloodseer and his Untamed Beasts, or Lord Rakaros’ Scions of the Flame, seek to kill the child while others, like the Splintered Fang of Ashrath Silenthis, hope to protect him. All hope to gain Archaon’s favour through their actions, except for the hunters in gold who search out the child for their own mysterious purpose.

What ensues is a race across the Eightpoints from multiple angles, each quest testing the particular skills and aptitudes of the relevant characters and/or warband, winding ever closer to an inevitable confrontation. It remains to be seen exactly what the child’s destiny is – to serve Archaon, or perhaps to be the Three-Eyed King’s downfall – but each group is fiercely driven, whether that’s by a father’s love, fear of failure or the perceived will of the gods. As they converge, they tackle the dangers of the Bloodwind Spoil in their own unique fashion, facing deadly creatures, internecine challenges, and the hostility of the environment around them. At every turn the Eightpoints takes its toll upon all of them, in a bleakly powerful grind of attrition that whittles each group down even as they draw closer to success (even the mighty Stormcast Eternals).

Strachan instils all of his key characters with interesting relationships and backstories, giving Ankhad an intriguing sense of mystery and bringing the various warbands to life as much more than just their in-game stereotypes – in particular the savage, spiritual Untamed Beasts. The ruthless, success-at-all-costs nature of Chaos comes across in the dynamics within each warband, and likewise their unique identities and perspectives on life, combat, and the gods. It’s fascinating to see several perspectives on essentially the same concept in a single book – they’re all fighting for survival, and looking for a way to catch Archaon’s eye, but they all go about things completely differently. Given their circumstances and the world in which they live it’s perhaps not surprising that these aren’t necessarily likeable characters – they all do some genuinely awful things over the course of the book – but they’re relatable, and certainly memorable.

Despite the character depth and development, however, it quickly becomes clear that nobody is safe. In the desolation of the Bloodwind Spoil, omens and prophecies are no guarantee of success or even survival, and for all a warrior’s dedication the gods remain distant and uncaring. This sense of bleak futility proves the book’s greatest strength, brilliantly showcasing the sheer lethality of the Eightpoints and the vanishingly small likelihood of these characters ever truly achieving their goals. Combine that with Strachan’s beautiful prose – full of evocative descriptions and language that’s genuinely enjoyable to read for its own sake – and you have the recipe for a powerful, compelling story and a fascinating depiction of everyday Chaos. It perhaps takes a slightly more measured pace than many Black Library stories, with relatively long chapters and a lot of viewpoints to manage, but what it lacks in breakneck pace it gains in depth and world building.

It’s a shame this has been lumbered with the Warcry Catacombs label, because while yes, it does feature warbands from the Warcry game, it’s so much more than just a straight up tie-in, and there’s a risk that Black Library’s marketing approach might give prospective readers the wrong idea. This absolutely isn’t an all-out action fest, or a dungeon crawl exploring endless catacombs. Instead, while it’s recognisably a Warcry story (and some of it is set underground), it proves to be a thoughtful, character-driven exploration of what life is like across the sweep of one of the most interesting settings within the Mortal Realms. For any Age of Sigmar fan interested in the small-scale realities of Chaos, away from the grand battlefields and the obvious archetypes, this should be essential reading.

Review copy provided by the author – many thanks to Richard Strachan for sending me a copy of Blood of the Everchosen, in exchange for my honest review.

See also: my Rapid Fire interview with Richard Strachan talking about this novel

See also: the main Age of Sigmar reviews page on Track of Words

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