Guy Haley’s short story The Sands of Grief returns to the characters of Prince Maesa and Shattercap from the excellent Shadespire audio drama The Autumn Prince. This time they set out from the city of Glymmsforge in the Realm of Shyish and travel deep into the eponymous Sands of Grief as Maesa continues his quest to find a way of returning his beloved Ellamar to life. Beyond the borders of Glymmsforge and the protection of Sigmar they encounter nothing living, but as they head further from the core of Shyish they increasingly see the dark hand of Nagash at work.
Tag Archives: Age of Sigmar
QUICK REVIEW: A Dirge of Dust and Steel – Josh Reynolds
Showcasing the Vanguard Chamber of the Hallowed Knights, Josh Reynolds’ Age of Sigmar short story A Dirge of Dust and Steel takes place in Shyish amidst the ruins of an ancient duardin civilisation. Lord-Aquilor Sathphren Swiftblade seeks a lost Realmgate, and in return for his aid against a daemon known as the Soulflayer the remnants of the Gazul-Zagaz – worshippers of the duardin god of the dead – have promised to help him reach his goal. The Soulflayer has tormented the duardin for centuries, but with Sathphren’s help they finally have the chance for revenge.
The Realmgate Wars: Lord of Undeath – CL Werner
CL Werner’s Lord of Undeath is the tenth and final Realmgate Wars book, concluding the series with another of the Stormcast’s missions to negotiate a new alliance with Nagash. This time the focus is on the Anvils of the Heldenhammer, led by Lord Celestant Makvar, who seek out Neferata as the first step on their mission in Shyish. The Mortarch of Blood has spent the Age of Chaos spinning veils of illusion to protect her city, Nulahmia, but the Slaaneshi warlord Lascilion threatens to undo all her efforts. If Makvar can ally with Neferata, it’s a step closer to success.
RAPID FIRE: Josh Reynolds Talks Nagash: The Undying King
Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.
In this instalment I spoke to Josh Reynolds about his latest Age of Sigmar novel, Nagash: The Undying King, which is available to order in hardback tomorrow after its ebook-only release at the end of 2017.
QUICK REVIEW: Shattered Crucible – David Annandale
One of two David Annandale short stories first published in the Legends of the Age of Sigmar: Fyreslayers anthology, Shattered Crucible follows the Krelstrag Lodge as, guided by a vision of victory and an ancient oath, its armies set out on a perilous journey to bring their wrath to whatever enemies await. Leaving their isolated lodge and crossing molten ocean and Chaos-warped land in search of long-forgotten kin, the Fyreslayers are horrified at the decay and corruption they find all around as they’re tested in both body and spirit.
QUICK REVIEW: Shiprats – CL Werner
A prequel to Overlords of the Iron Dragon, CL Werner’s Kharadron Overlords short story Shiprats sees Captain Brokrin Ullissonn and the crew of the Iron Dragon battling an infestation of rats that threatens their cargo and even – to their horror – their beer. Desperate for a solution for their rodent problem they seek the assistance of the Kheitar lamasery, where they hope the lamas (monks, not cute animals) will be persuaded to offer both their help and, because these are duardin we’re talking about, their goods to trade. When the lamas prove willing, something in their eagerness seems a little strange…
QUICK REVIEW: The Path to Glory – Evan Dicken
For his Black Library debut, Evan Dicken takes us to the end of the Lantic Empire in The Path of Glory, a pre-Age of Sigmar short story that’s set just prior to the Age of Chaos beginning. In the realm of Chamon, a great human empire is crumbling under the weight of Chaos invasion, and it falls to three champions to try and wrest some kind of victory from the jaws of defeat. Between Captain Sulla of the Lantic Legions, the mage Kaslon of the Gilded Order, and de-facto Emperor Livius, a little hope still remains for victory or vengeance.
QUICK REVIEW: Four Thousand Days – David Guymer
In David Guymer’s Age of Sigmar short story Four Thousand Days, a Fyreslayer lodge sets off on an epic quest in search of war, and a return to their ancestral lands, in a journey that will take – as the title suggests – a really long time. Among their number is Dunnegar who, having survived the Trial of Wrath to become a Grimwrath Berserker, hurls himself into the thickest fighting in their numerous battles. As the years pass and their numbers dwindle, the lodge’s identity and purpose is slowly worn away.
Nagash: The Undying King – Josh Reynolds
Harking back to some of Josh Reynolds’ earlier Undead-focused Warhammer stories, Nagash: The Undying King is an Age of Sigmar novel set in the Mortal Realms long before the actual Age of Sigmar. Available as a Warhammer World-exclusive hardback before its Christmas Day 2017 e-premiere release, it looks at the Rictus clans of Shyish, Nagash-worshipping human tribes being driven out of their lands by the inexorable forces of Nurgle. Tamra ven Drak leads what remains of her clan north in search of survival, following two of Nagash’s Mortarchs whose plans she finds herself increasingly bound up in.
The Realmgate Wars: Mortarch of Night – Josh Reynolds and David Guymer
Book nine of the Realmgate Wars series, Mortarch of Night was originally released as eight audio dramas (four by Josh Reynolds and four by David Guymer) before being rolled up into this novel. Although really two stories, the overall narrative is Sigmar’s attempt to negotiate a new alliance with Nagash, focusing mostly on one stormhost – the Hallowed Knights, specifically the Bull-hearts led by Lord-Celestant Tarsus and Lord-Relictor Ramus. Venturing into Shyish in search of the Great Necromancer, the Hallowed Knights forge an uneasy alliance that will have profound consequences, while Nagash himself appears…unhappy with the intruders into his realm.