Category Archives: Reviews

Short and Sweet – Aconyte Edition

Hello and welcome to this instalment of my Short and Sweet review roundup series, where I take a quick look at some recent reads that I haven’t been able to write full reviews for. Normally I do one of these per month, but for various reasons (you can read about how mad a lot of the last month was for me in this monthly roundup post) I didn’t manage one in June 2023. To make up for that, this instalment is a special Aconyte Books edition, in which I’m talking about a trio of Aconyte titles that I’ve recently read – two Arkham Horror novels and one Marvel: Legends of Asgard book. I’ve been trying to catch up on books I’ve been meaning to read for ages, and I’ve had these on the shelf since 2020/21, so it’s been great to finally find the time for them.

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Profit’s Ruin – CL Werner

CL Werner’s 2018 novel Overlords of the Iron Dragon was a pacy, entertaining Age of Sigmar story and its sequel, Profit’s Ruin, hits many of the same notes and delivers a similarly fun, action-packed adventure. Having returned to Barak-Zilfin with empty holds to face the wrath of his investors, Captain Brokrin Ullisson is confronted with the very real possibility of losing both his charter and his ship, the Iron Dragon. His only hope is to accept a perilous mission to find the infamous Profit’s Ruin, a vast floating mass of weeds and vines which is said to have snared countless sky-ships, and return with enough salvage to settle his debts.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Perfect Organism – CL Werner

CL Werner’s contribution to Aconyte Books’ Tales From the Crucible anthology is The Perfect Organism, which explores the warlike and scientific mindset of KeyForge’s martians. Convinced that they have created the ideal war machine, Elder Briilip unleashes the huge, artificially-engineered creature Number 647 into the desert of Nova Hellas, and pits it against the monster known as Tyrant. Briilip has a lot riding on Number 647’s success, especially with Elder Ghireen accompanying them as an official observer on behalf of the Prime Director, but watching the titanic clash from a safe distance, the martian scientist is utterly confident in their creation’s prowess.

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Anthemas – Warhammer Horror Anthology

Black Library’s third Warhammer Horror short story anthology, Anthemas follows in the footsteps of Maledictions and Invocations not just in terms of the naming convention and visual design, but by offering up a compelling collection of low-key tales highlighting the strange, sinister fringes of the 40k and Age of Sigmar universes. Across fourteen stories from thirteen authors, all but two of which are published here for the first time, it’s an exploration of characters driven by fear and desperation, ordinary people just trying to survive in the midst of terrible, horrifying worlds. These are stories to unsettle, that keep you wondering where they’re going and leave you feeling uncomfortable afterwards.

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QUICK REVIEW: Reflections in Steel – CL Werner

Billed as “a Kravoth’s Reavers short story” (suggesting there will be more), CL Werner’s Age of Sigmar story Reflections in Steel is a typically vicious, bleak tale of the dangers inherent to walking the Path to Glory. When Kenji’s town is sacked by a bloodthirsty Chaos warband, the young man expects to die alongside his family but finds himself taken as a slave and forced into servitude to his brutal overlords. As the months pass in misery, Kenji’s anger keeps him alive and determined to find the opportunity to strike back. When it arrives, however, he’s already taken his first steps down a new path.

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Castle of Blood – CL Werner

CL Werner’s Castle of Blood, his first full Warhammer Horror novel, is a dark and often disturbing Age of Sigmar murder mystery packed full of despicable characters, ingeniously lethal traps and a hideous daemonic threat. In the town of Ravensbach, eight families receive invitations to join the Count von Koeterberg for dinner at the ominous iron castle of Mhurghast, each wondering why they have been invited. Once gathered together, the bitter old Count reveals his motivation, setting loose an ancient daemon whose terrifying presence turns the families against each other and even themselves in the name of long-desired revenge.

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QUICK REVIEW: No Honour Among Vermin – CL Werner

This short story is available within Inferno! Volume 2 or as a standalone e-short.

CL Werner has history writing about skaven and it shows in his short story No Honour Among Vermin, a devious tale of brutality and back-stabbing. Fylch Tattertail might not be the biggest or strongest of skaven but what he lacks in physical prowess he makes up in sneakiness. As part of a ramshackle crew of untrustworthy skaven undertaking a daring mission to steal a worryingly dangerous artefact from under the noses of a Chaos cult, he needs all of his cunning in order to play his role in the heist, and live to reap the rewards…such as they are.

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Gods & Mortals – an Age of Sigmar anthology

In three and a half years the Age of Sigmar setting has grown from fairly humble beginnings into something wild and imaginative, with vast scope for storytelling and almost unlimited potential. In that time, alongside a couple of dozen novels we’ve seen a whole host of short stories published, some tying in with ongoing narratives and others standing alone. Over a whopping 400+ pages Gods & Mortals collects together eighteen short stories into an impressive anthology, eight of which are brand new while the other ten are drawn from those previously-published tales. Eighteen stories, nine authors, and lots to enjoy.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Deeper Shade – CL Werner

There’s room in the Mortal Realms for all kinds of stories in all sorts of locations, and with his short story The Deeper Shade CL Werner gives us a classic villainous tale of deceit and treachery, set on a desolate stretch of haunted coastline. The Tzeentchian sorcerer Thalinosh of Charr has led his warband to the shores of Gharn in search of a lost artefact of great power, which he intends to reclaim and exploit. Putting his magics to good use, Thalinosh ventures deep beneath the water despite the threat of a horror that even the wild creatures fear.

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QUICK REVIEW: Iron Devil – CL Werner

CL Werner’s Iron Devil is an Astra Militarum story which was first released as an audio drama before then being revised and expanded into a prose story. The Cadian 267th are embattled against orks on the ravaged planet Sanzu, but find themselves exchanging one danger for another when they’re forced to seek shelter from the planet’s toxic weather. Trekking their way through dangerous territory to a vast, crumbling Adeptus Mechanicus facility, the few remaining Cadians hope to find shelter and supplies, but there’s something large and angry waiting for them in the shadowed halls of the manufactorum.

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