Skaventide

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

by Gary Kloster

A Warhammer Age of Sigmar Novel

Beyond the mountain range of the Adamantine Chain, Aqshy lies destroyed. Noxious fires light up the horizon, death skitters in the smoke, and a wasteland of horror threatens the entire realm. Humanity has but a single hope: the Reclusians of the Ruination Chamber. These Stormcast Eternals, though few in number, are the only force capable of enduring the perils of this dark era, for their souls are already broken.

READ IT BECAUSE
Experience a desperate race against time as Stormcast Eternals of the Ruination Chamber find themselves fighting not only the scheming and skittering Skaven, but also the cruel realities of their own shattered souls, and inevitable destinies.

THE STORY
Deep in the heart of the Skaven apocalypse, where survival lies on a knife edge, ratmen and Reclusians alike race towards a prize that will turn the tide of war – a lost Stormcast brother. Should the enemy uncover his forbidden knowledge, Aqshy will surely fall, so, for the chosen of Sigmar, failure is not an option.

The journey is long and full of strife, and for the mortal acolytes who accompany the Reclusians – guardians of their memories and faith – it may be the last steps they take. Yet together, they are hope when hope is dying, a truth they all must seize upon. For without it, they are victims of nightmares and shadow, ushering in this new Hour of Ruin.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook

409 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2023

Reviews

[Dominic Trump · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book because I was interested in a snapshot of where the setting was at. It did a pretty good job of that, the assorted protagonists each offering a different view into Stormcast culture especially, but the main draw was the threat. The Skaven in this book were excellent, throwing off that comedy villain cast they've tended to stick to and delving into some properly horrible stuff. Top notch villains. When the heroes felt a little two dimensional, I could always count on the ratmen to keep me wanting more!

[Alvaro Ruiz · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author havent even read anything about skaven. In this book they have fight more like orcs than skaven. No schemes, no cunning plans. Just straight fighting. The main character is an idiot that have to behave like a spoiled teenager until the last minute. A lot of plot holes. It seems more like if this book is just some improvised bad tale that they had to release without checking.
You spend all the book reading about how they have to conquer the halt without knowing why, only the reason to be revealed in the last 5 pages and it doesn't make no sense.

Depends on the storm cast they can die to a single clan rat or if he/she has a name they can fight 100 of them. Really disappointed

I love Skaven and with this type of shitty books that have too many filler chapter and pages, people will just forget about them.

[Jayme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off VERY strong. Its strength is the world building and the way it slowly introduces its characters aligning with unit types in AoS 4th edition. A Lord Ordinator kidnapped, a Knight Questor on an individual quest to rescue him, and a Lord Veritant recruiting a memorialist for a Reclusian. I was prepared to say this was the definitive starting point for the series.

But it absolutely, completely whimpers out in the end, devolving entirely into a corny Disney channel movie. Genuinely take a shot at each “When all hope is lost” line and you WILL black out before they’re even halfway done.

Three stars for its first third which I was obsessed with

[Sander Stouthuysen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed boek spannend van begin tot eind met een paar toffe hoofdpersonages. Juist op het einde had ik het gevoel dat het wel snel ging, alsof het boek niet dikker mocht worden.

[ChrissyBby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally think it's a great novel to introduce the current Age of Sigmar lore as well as the new Ruination Chamber. I do hope some of the characters will make a return in future books and that the lore will become more fleshed out (I need more info on my lovely they/them Lord-Terminos).

Also there's a talking crow-dog hybrid :D

[Lukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It grew on me.

"Hope, when hope is dying"

[Pete Loveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty long and kind of dips in the middle. It's an OK read but not an AoS book I'd recommend to people who aren't into the Warhammer universe.

[J.D Wheeldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story with interesting characters. The Skaven are horrifying and written well with a lot of cool intrigue

[E.J. Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed this, and not just because Skaven in it (admittedly that certainly helped). There were some great action scenes, there was an emotional arc with Corus and Sevora, hell I enjoyed it enough I didn't hate the body horror elements (that doesn't often happen with me.

Also, considering that I read Lazarus by the same author I love the comparison of that book's (relatively) hopeful final page and this ending, which is more of an "...oh crap" moment

[Dmytro Khomiak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Персонажі написані доволі примітивно і стереотипно

[Museum Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frtc. I am sad to say I was disappointed in this book. I came to Skaventide after reading the first three Gotrek and Felix novels. While I waited to receive the next omnibus, I decided to read this book (set in the AoS setting) to get a fix for the Skaven race, who are presented so well in the Gotrek and Felix books. I was sad to see an incredible lack of depth to the Skaven in the book - sure, they're not the protagonists, but the book contains many scenes focusing on them and I found them to be incredibly two-dimensional, with the depth of a puddle. The author tries to ascribe reasoning behind the way the Skaven behave, but when contrasted to how they are written in Gotrek and Felix, the Skaven in this book feel like they're villains for the sake of it. Introduced just for the sake of a story existing, enemies to fight.

The book is not all bad. I very much enjoyed the Reclusians of the book, they are an area the author did a great job with. In the setting, immortal warriors whose souls have been reforged by the god Sigmar act as a bulwark against the forces of Chaos and Destruction. When they die, their souls are reclaimed by Sigmar in a bolt of lightning and reforged to fight again. The Reclusians paint another side to the glory of this story: What are the effects of this immortality on the soul?

It was fun to see the other side of the Stormcast like this. It gave them an incredible depth - you see that the Stormcast do in some ways fear their immortality, of losing themselves over time as they are reforged, yet remain bound to carry out their duty. It is an interesting look at how duty and a higher calling carried out with piety can still impact an immortal over centuries.

[Samuel Osito · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skaventide suffers from a critical failing of many Black Library novels. It spends so much time in admittedly well-written combat, but fails to bring this same attention to its characters.

Conflict in any story is effective when the characters involved in it have established a connection with the reader. Corus and Sevora show flashes of interesting characterization, but ultimately their relationship never goes anywhere despite the interesting premise. Sevora herself is a mostly simple character whose motivations and character arc could be summarized in a sentence. She’s angry and traumatized, but she learns that she can grow past her dark past.

Overall, Skaventide might have worked best as a shorter work. In the beginning, it seems to build towards a grand, grim adventure. I just wish it delivered on that promise.

[J A Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first dabble into the Warhammer lore, and so had a very steep learning curve in coming to an understanding of how the world works, what everything is etc.

A lot of the challenges I had with this book come down to my lack of knowledge about the world the character inhabit, and while attempts are made to explain the key parts of the plot and characters there is so much left unsaid that it’s probably not the best first read.

The character perspectives were balanced, and dispute moving between characters every chapter I felt the plot moving solidly in one direction and cohesively, with reasonable pacing.

The character motivations were very weakly developed. Understand that storm cast sect is very pious, but felt the dissonance some of the characters had with their tasks were tacked on, and more an attempt to make them seam less immortal and relatable to the reader.

The main mortal character was petulant for no reason and the attitude didn’t break early enough in her story for me to feel her character arc was successful.

Great graphical details that at times made me feel physically sick, and I could picture the world quite clearly.

Might have to reread to get a deeper understanding of all the details, though.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, by any stretch. It has arc words that get repeated, a lot.

Sadly, for a book titled 'Skaventide', it takes a long time for the Skaventide to actually happen, and by that time there's not enough book left for it to be really the focus of the book.

If anything, the book's strength is it's slow build of tension. Obviously the reader knows that Skaven are behind the horrific happenings, but seeing the characters (slowly, too slowly), piece it together is where the text is strongest.

The battles are a bit too chaotic and samey. The characters are adequte, though none of them are particularly likable or engaging (only Sevora even has what might be called an 'arc').

I was a bit amused that the back of the book has an ad for Warhammer with 'enjoyed the story? recreate it in miniature', even though none of the battles presented would work well on the tabletop, bar one.

[Dan D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story the Ruination Chamber of the Stormcast are an interesting concept but the Skaven are massively underutilised, Skien is a shadow of the Skaven and of their Grey Seers of the Old World both in Personality and Presence Ikrit from another AoS Novel is far more memorable than ang Skaven in this story.

Skaven aren't just Giant Rats to be thrown at Heroes some are cunning many are dumb but never should they be boring and unfortunately Skien and his cohorts are largely that.

Still worth a read but Skaven are better than this and by that I mean they're Backstabbing Vermin you can help but love.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was my first non-Gotrek foray into Age of Sigmar books and it was a mixed bag but overall an enjoyable read.

Love the Skaven as villains, enjoyed learning more about the Mortal Realms and the lore thought it’s still
a bit confusing.

Gary Kloster is a good writer but think my biggest meh with the book was the Stormcast Eternals who for the first half of the book seemed like less cool and less interesting Space Marines. Towards the last 3rd of the book they started to get a bit more interesting to me but it took awhile to get there.

All in all a solid book and a decent introduction to Age of Sigmar.

3.75 stars

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated the main protagonist. The story was okay, pretty gruesome details in spots, and I was pleasantly surprised by the cunning of the skaven. This book is about the Stormcast Eternals and their Memorians, including the main protagonist that I kept hoping would get eaten so I could skip her endless whining. She's the type of person that would be an undecided US voter in the current US presidential election, complaining about everything around her while ignoring the stark facts before her.

Other than that, it was enjoyable and a nice story.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

grim dark AoS And that’s as it should be but I find I struggle with the melancholic writing of this author, having just read Lazarus the style and tone are very similar, It would be nice to have the occasional brief introduction of humour to alleviate the gloom
Richard Reeds narration is as alway clear, precise with perfect pronunciation

[Isaac Blackwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book with a strong story and compelling characters. However it feels a bit over long and takes it's time to get going. sadly this holds it back from being one of the truly great ones. Still as the launch novel for 4th Age of Sigmar edition it did a good job and was(thankfully) far better then Dominion.

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Kloster did a good job giving us some insight into the Reculsian Chamber and their sacrifice. To continue the fight when all hope is lost, but also showing that continuing isn't as easy for some as it is others. The scale the events in the book affect concerning the realm by the end of the book left me ready for more. Overall some good character and good story. I enjoyed this book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow

Likely on of the best books ever put out for the Age of Sigmar setting. The Skaven are an absolute terror and the characters in this book are deep and complex. If you somehow finish this book without thinking stormcast are some of the most tragic beings in the setting I will be surprised

[Brie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to like this one. The writing was juvenile and repetitive, and none of the characters were particularly interesting or likeable. There was an overabundance of body horror that seemed out of place. There is some okay worldbuilding, but that's it. Skip unless you *really* wanna learn about Ruination Chambers.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the grittiest Age of Sigmar novel I have read. No shining bright heroes here; (deeply) broken characters trying to hold on and do their duty even when that duty breaks their hearts. Good stuff.

[Alberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sospecho que será un libro clave en la narrativa de Age of Sigmar. Y aunque no disfruto particularmente de los skaven como villanos (no puedo dejar de imaginármelos al mismo nivel de los grot), aquí parece que muestran una cara mucho más amenazante.

[Manu · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is not the most fascinating story of the warhammer lore.I liked the action scenes and battles and fright given by the skaven tides but the rumination chambers and the main characters are defo forgettable. 😴

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I did not think I would enjoy this book. I only read it because my husband wanted to read it together, but the story was very interesting and the writing descriptive. There were a few things things I found annoying or repetitive but otherwise it was pretty good!

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was FINE I just found myself bored a lot which is why it took me so long to finish.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - 25% done, but not capturing my attention.

[Robert Kuethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising read. Elements of horror and fantasy mixed really well.

[Luci O’Hara · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you would like a slow, gory introduction to the lore of Stormcast Eternals and what happens when they are reborn too many times….this book is for you.