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The Realmgate Wars #2
Ghal Maraz
The Realmgate Wars: Ghal Maraz tells a pair of stories of desperate heroism and unrelenting war as the Stormcast Eternals push into the Realm of Life and the Realm of Metal in search of allies and a mighty weapon. Read by Jonathan Keeble, it has a running time of 7 hours, 12 minutes and is available to download in MP3 format for use on a wide variety of devices.
Sigmar's hammer has been part of Warhammer since the very start (it's right there in the name) so the battle to get it back is a big deal – and it's a massive story, full of heroism and treachery and lots and lots of kick-ass action. Plus over in the Realm of Life, find out who the Sylvaneth are and – crucially – whose side they're on.
Narrated by Jonathan Keeble
Running time 7 hours 12 minutes
Produced by Black Library
Sigmar's hammer has been part of Warhammer since the very start (it's right there in the name) so the battle to get it back is a big deal – and it's a massive story, full of heroism and treachery and lots and lots of kick-ass action. Plus over in the Realm of Life, find out who the Sylvaneth are and – crucially – whose side they're on.
Narrated by Jonathan Keeble
Running time 7 hours 12 minutes
Produced by Black Library
Audiobook
First published August 29, 2015
7 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Reynolds
313 books339 followersJosh Reynolds’ work has previously appeared in such anthologies as Historical Lovecraft from Innsmouth Free Press and Horror for the Holidays from Miskatonic River Press, and his novel, Knight of the Blazing Sun, is currently available from Black Library. He can be found at: http://joshuamreynolds.wordpress.com
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 10, 2016
The two stories here, by Josh Reynolds and Guy Haley, both follow directly on from the two novellas by those authors in the previous Realmgate Wars collection, War Storm. This was worth a star on its own because Guy Haley's Storm of Blades was and is the best Age of Sigmar story I've read yet, and I'd said to Josh immediately after finishing the collection that I hoped to see more of Lord Celestant Gardus after his... fate... in The Gates of Dawn.
Highlights in this entry are a first appearance for Alarielle, and she doesn't mess around, as well as the continuing fine form of Guy's villainous duo Efrix and Kairos Fateweaver (apologies for potential misspellings, but I've been listening to the audio versions). Guy's Stormcast are particularly well rounded and this is probably the most complete depiction of Vandus Hammerhand we've yet had. There were a couple of unfulfilled plot promises that left me yearning for just one more chapter though: What happened to Celemnis, or the skaven?
And I may just had felt a touch of battle fatigue by the end.
A good book though, and though I'm not entirely certain that Efrix made it out of here alive, I for one would like to see more of him. If Guy doesn't want to give him his own novel then I know one author sitting not far from this chair that would happily oblige
Highlights in this entry are a first appearance for Alarielle, and she doesn't mess around, as well as the continuing fine form of Guy's villainous duo Efrix and Kairos Fateweaver (apologies for potential misspellings, but I've been listening to the audio versions). Guy's Stormcast are particularly well rounded and this is probably the most complete depiction of Vandus Hammerhand we've yet had. There were a couple of unfulfilled plot promises that left me yearning for just one more chapter though: What happened to Celemnis, or the skaven?
And I may just had felt a touch of battle fatigue by the end.
A good book though, and though I'm not entirely certain that Efrix made it out of here alive, I for one would like to see more of him. If Guy doesn't want to give him his own novel then I know one author sitting not far from this chair that would happily oblige
March 17, 2016
The second major
The Realmgate Wars
entry in the Age of Sigmar lineup is once again an anthology of novellas. Unlike its predecessor, the stories of which it directly continues, it only includes two rather than three stories, however. Thankfully, both novellas here have been written by the same authors as their prequels, resulting in characters consistent with their previous incarnations.
War in the Hidden Vale by Josh Reynolds
This novella is a direct sequel to The Gates of Dawn. Once again we meet Gardus, fleeing Great Unclean One Bolathrax, and his host of Stormcasts.
The overall plot sees the Hallowed Knights and their allies campaigning through the Realm of Ghyran, attempting to find Alarielle, former Everqueen of the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy, and now goddess of life.
On their quest, the Stormcast Eternals meet up with treemen and dryads, who have a few lines of dialogue at least.
On the flip side, a lot of focus is being put on the servants of Nurgle. A bunch of his champions from the previous setting appear, like Gutrot Spume, the Glottkin and Morbidex. Of course, all of these were created late in WHFB's lifespan - during the End Times, which explains why they are here when others aren't - but at least it offers a connection between the two settings.
In typical Josh Reynolds fashion, the Nurgle characters are very humorous either in their banter or their actions. Morbidex, who is the most apparent PoV character on this side, is almost sympathetic and nice, whereas I could never quite figure out if the Glottkin brothers didn't actually hate one another.
Sadly, I felt that these characters suffered in the final part of the story, and didn't get as much of a payoff as I'd hoped for.
Different from the previous story, Gardus takes a secondary, if not tertiary role in the story, instead passing the role of point of view character, and command of the Hallowed Knights, on to Lord-Castellant Lorrus Grymn.
Even when Gardus eventually returns to his warriors, it is Grymn who the reader follows most closely.
The Lord-Castellant is a very different breed from the Lord Celestant. Where Gardus is of high spirits, Grymn is rather more.. grim. It is pointed out that he rarely ever even smiles, and he takes his duties very seriously.
Gardus, meanwhile, is noticeably changed from his experiences in Nurgle's Garden, to the point of making me feel disconnected from him. This, of course, was on purpose, and both Grymn and Prosecutor-Prime Tegrus, whose eyes we share on other occassions, remark on it in their own ways.
Sadly, Zephacleas and co of the other warrior chambers barely play a role in this story. Where in The Gates of Dawn, Zephacleas was one of my favorite characters, he is almost entirely inconsequential here. The focus is clearly on Grymn and his leadership, which contrasts with Gardus' own. Where Gardus is the sword of their host, Grymn sees himself as the shield, and is willing to make sacrifices to keep Gardus and the rest safe.
When the Stormcasts finally come upon the Hidden Vale and find Alarielle, things quickly deteriorate into a messy, filthy battle where the goddess proves to be insanely powerful to the point where I had to wonder why she ever went into exile, hiding, when she could quite literally wipe the floor with any of Nurgle's greatest.
While the power level made sense, and was certainly impressive, for a goddess like her, it made me question if there had ever even been a need for her to retreat and abandon almost her entire realm in the first place.
She was also very angry with Gardus and co, misplacing her frustration over being found by the enemy. I felt this was rather uncharacteristic for Alarielle, who at least in WHFB had a much more gentle personality than here.
But then, this is Age of Sigmar, and the rules have changed - pun intended.
The Stormcasts' casualties during the final battle felt very satisfying and actually weighty. Some even ended up permanently dead.
It was very much an Age of Sigmar story, though; pyrrhic victory included. I am not sure what will come off this plotline in the future.
Overall this wasn't a bad story, but it didn't have me on the edge of my seat either. If it hadn't been for the humorous dialogue throughout, as well as some interesting locals, I might have found it to be tedious, more of the same.
The biggest draw for me was the shift from Gardus to Grymn, and the way certain characters went out with a bang in the very end.
If you've read the previous story and want a conclusion (for now), this should be a no-brainer.
The Eldritch Fortress by Guy Haley
Review to follow
Full Verdict:
Review to follow
War in the Hidden Vale by Josh Reynolds
This novella is a direct sequel to The Gates of Dawn. Once again we meet Gardus, fleeing Great Unclean One Bolathrax, and his host of Stormcasts.
The overall plot sees the Hallowed Knights and their allies campaigning through the Realm of Ghyran, attempting to find Alarielle, former Everqueen of the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy, and now goddess of life.
On their quest, the Stormcast Eternals meet up with treemen and dryads, who have a few lines of dialogue at least.
On the flip side, a lot of focus is being put on the servants of Nurgle. A bunch of his champions from the previous setting appear, like Gutrot Spume, the Glottkin and Morbidex. Of course, all of these were created late in WHFB's lifespan - during the End Times, which explains why they are here when others aren't - but at least it offers a connection between the two settings.
In typical Josh Reynolds fashion, the Nurgle characters are very humorous either in their banter or their actions. Morbidex, who is the most apparent PoV character on this side, is almost sympathetic and nice, whereas I could never quite figure out if the Glottkin brothers didn't actually hate one another.
Sadly, I felt that these characters suffered in the final part of the story, and didn't get as much of a payoff as I'd hoped for.
Different from the previous story, Gardus takes a secondary, if not tertiary role in the story, instead passing the role of point of view character, and command of the Hallowed Knights, on to Lord-Castellant Lorrus Grymn.
Even when Gardus eventually returns to his warriors, it is Grymn who the reader follows most closely.
The Lord-Castellant is a very different breed from the Lord Celestant. Where Gardus is of high spirits, Grymn is rather more.. grim. It is pointed out that he rarely ever even smiles, and he takes his duties very seriously.
Gardus, meanwhile, is noticeably changed from his experiences in Nurgle's Garden, to the point of making me feel disconnected from him. This, of course, was on purpose, and both Grymn and Prosecutor-Prime Tegrus, whose eyes we share on other occassions, remark on it in their own ways.
Sadly, Zephacleas and co of the other warrior chambers barely play a role in this story. Where in The Gates of Dawn, Zephacleas was one of my favorite characters, he is almost entirely inconsequential here. The focus is clearly on Grymn and his leadership, which contrasts with Gardus' own. Where Gardus is the sword of their host, Grymn sees himself as the shield, and is willing to make sacrifices to keep Gardus and the rest safe.
When the Stormcasts finally come upon the Hidden Vale and find Alarielle, things quickly deteriorate into a messy, filthy battle where the goddess proves to be insanely powerful to the point where I had to wonder why she ever went into exile, hiding, when she could quite literally wipe the floor with any of Nurgle's greatest.
While the power level made sense, and was certainly impressive, for a goddess like her, it made me question if there had ever even been a need for her to retreat and abandon almost her entire realm in the first place.
She was also very angry with Gardus and co, misplacing her frustration over being found by the enemy. I felt this was rather uncharacteristic for Alarielle, who at least in WHFB had a much more gentle personality than here.
But then, this is Age of Sigmar, and the rules have changed - pun intended.
The Stormcasts' casualties during the final battle felt very satisfying and actually weighty. Some even ended up permanently dead.
It was very much an Age of Sigmar story, though; pyrrhic victory included. I am not sure what will come off this plotline in the future.
Overall this wasn't a bad story, but it didn't have me on the edge of my seat either. If it hadn't been for the humorous dialogue throughout, as well as some interesting locals, I might have found it to be tedious, more of the same.
The biggest draw for me was the shift from Gardus to Grymn, and the way certain characters went out with a bang in the very end.
If you've read the previous story and want a conclusion (for now), this should be a no-brainer.
The Eldritch Fortress by Guy Haley
Review to follow
Full Verdict:
Review to follow
April 29, 2020
War in the Hidden Vale – Josh Reynolds (4 stars)
I see Josh Reynolds’ name attached to more AoS fiction than any other BL alum I can think of, and I’m beginning to see why some internet wags have nicknamed the fiction “Age of Reynolds”. No gripes here, as he gave us Gardus the Steel Soul, quickly stepping forth as the foremost true hero in the Stormhosts (though I have not given up on Thostos Bladestorm).
Vale is the immediate aftermath of The Gates of Dawn, and begins with a bang, with Gardus running for his life (both the fleshly and the spiritual) through the hellscape of Nurgle’s Garden, with the ever-blathering Bolathrax hot on his heels. It’s unusual to see someone of Astartes-level stature in BL fiction decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and it lends a lot of truth to his Relictor Morbus’ assessment that Gardus’ great strength is a leader is that he will bend rather than break, and do what must be done rather than merely follow orders.
Gardus makes it out, and after a dual narrative watching the able Lord-Castellant Lorrus Grymn assume command of the Steel Souls chamber and carry on making war to liberate the Realm of Ghyran and Gardus’ escape, we reunite with the knowledge that the descendants of the old Wood Elves and their allies from the Old World are now the Sylvaneth, and that the Everqueen Alarielle, who I last saw in Bill King’s writing, is now a goddess. (And when she shows up, she doesn’t disappoint.)
This one has many of the same characters as Gates, and the Nurglish war-host assailing the Realm of Life has far and away the most personality of any of the Chaotic characters that have shown up so far in AoS. Their informality and sense of humor remain a great foil to the stoic and straight-laced Stormcasts (though these are starting to show a proper sense of humor as well), and I think there is better balance here between the power levels of the two foes. The Hallowed Knights and their fellows are shown as far more formidable than the Hammerhands were in their initial showing, but the children of Nurgle are no slouches, and their alliance with the Skaven (especially what I assume to be Clan Pestilens under new management and marketing). The rat-daemon Vermalanx is a creative new character, and the Nurglish host’s admittedly difficult yet persistent efforts to pull together in service to their loathsome deity are a good tonic to the sometimes heavy-handed “Chaos will always turn on itself” stuff that is thrown about a little too freely in BL fiction.
The fights are good. Particularly enjoyable are Morbidex Twiceborn’s duel with the Prosecutor Tegrus of the Sainted Eye (“Oh, buboes…Ow. Fine. Fine. Best…best two out of three.”) and the final clash with the Nurglish host, where Lorrus Grymn shows that he too has the courage to do what must be done when he sends Gardus home to Sigmaron rather than let him be taken by Bolathrax, or when Allarielle the Radiant Queen decides that she’s had enough of these walking tumors in her garden, thank you very much. She and the Lady of Vines send some gender balance into the early mix of AoS, though I know there’s more on the way.
A little more sober and downbeat, what with the end being Gardus is gone and Allarielle is forced from her place of safety. She’s not particularly happy with the outcome of Sigmar’s overtures to join the fight, and it’s likely that her sylvaneth will be scrapping with other Order forces from time to time (it’s a wargame-based setting, gotta justify internecine fighting).
Again, looking forward to seeing Gardus and the Hallowed Knights in their upcoming novels, but I wouldn’t be opposed to more short fiction as the Realmgate Wars grind on.
The Eldritch Fortress – Guy Haley (4 stars)
All right, back to the hunt for Ghal Maraz. Haley gets to return to the tale of Thostos Bladestorm and his clash with Ephyrx the Ninth Disciple. Nothing will keep him from his vengeance, now that he is reforged anew…except the entrance of GW’s Chosen One, Vandus Hammerhand. Sigh.
This one builds a bit of life into the otherwise empty wastes of the Hanging Valleys of Anvrok and the Realm of Metal, what with the story of the fall of the city of Elixia and its last protector, Celemnis the Sword-maiden. We still have yet to see really any of the peoples of the Mortal Realms that the Stormcasts were forged to protect and liberate. Except that nameless tribe on the run from Korghos Khul’s Goretide way back at the beginning of AoS fiction as a whole. Where in the devil is everybody? Oh well, seems like at one time, over half a millennium ago, there may have been nice people worth saving. Sure hope there’s still some around somewhere…
There’s some fun things here, what with Dracothion’s battle with Argentine, providing the Stormcasts’ frantic climbing and battling with a literal battle between dragon-gods as backdrop. Only AoS would do this. We bring this story to its inevitable conclusion, as Kairos Fateweaver triumphs over his treacherous disciple, and…ye gods, is that Korghos Khul? Seriously? Are he and Vandus actually some kind of BL-fiction tag team? Ugh. Korghos has now showed up three-for-three in every story where Vandus Hammerhand is a viewpoint character. At least here he’s little more than a catalyst for the downfall of the Chaotic forces here, with his usual lunatic belligerence taking but a few moments to work its divisive magic and setting the Tzeentchians and the Khornates at each others’ throats. I’m glad he didn’t take over – if Vandus is going to be the Chosen One he’s so heavily marketed as, he needs to take on all sorts of threats, not just a Khornate champion with the regenerative powers of Wile E. Coyote.
So Vandus does take over, as you’d expect him to. Thostos has apparently lost a lot of his inner philosopher since being reforged into living sigmarite or something, and spends most of his time ignoring all of his military training and running headlong into battle, endangering his allies…rather like a Khornate berserker, actually. Hope Khul isn’t hiring. It’s fun to watch Thostos no-sell some of the baddies’ powers due to his cool new metal skin, but I miss the original version who bothered to think. We get a cool moment with Ionus Cryptborn, who has apparently kicked the Nagash-visions to the curb and has gone back to being mysterious, menacing, and powerful, as he should properly be. You’re gonna have to work harder than a splitting headache to put down the Lord-Relictor, kids. He and the Big S splat my least favorite AoS character, the idiotically titled “Bloodsecrator” Threx Skullbrand in fine style, right in the middle of a frothing speech about how Threx is stronger than Sigmar himself. Cue the divine lightning, cue a savage put-down from Ionus, cue a long fall punctuated by (hopefully) burning to death in a river of molten silver. So passes Threx Skullbrand. May he rot forever in the Dustbin of Forgetfulness, and may his title never pass the lips of mortal-kind ever again.
So we get round to Vandus and Thostos, who pulls himself together long enough to remember what they came to do, and they face down none other than nine Lords of Change led by Kairos Fateweaver himself. Okay. Now that has potential. And sure enough, with a little help from an angry-at-being-ill-used Ephryx, Vandus finally does something worthy of his assigned Golden Boy (aha) status and wallops the ever-living bird-mess out of Kairos Fateweaver the Great Shatterer (I dig the new nickname), while Thostos, Calanax, Ionus, and a fistful of SE hammer-carriers bat clean-up on the rest of the lesser Lords of Change, with Calanax and Ionus each bagging one single-handedly. Well struck.
And so Vandus finally, after three appearances, has a deed truly worthy of remembrance. He has slain a Lord of Change, the Hammer of Sigmar blazing in his grasp, and he screams his defiance at Tzeentch himself, warning the Changer of Ways who stole the hammer would one day meet his end beneath its power. Defying a god. Now that is some bold movement. And further, he has scored the most unequivocal and significant victory yet of the Realmgate Wars, having reclaimed none other than the legendary Ghal Maraz and brought it back to its master.
This is a major moment, and boosts my score a little higher than I would have given otherwise. Vandus did well, but I wondered why he had to take over when we had a perfectly interesting and capable hero (at least previously) in Thostos, and it was a groaner to see Korghos Khul show up again. The only technical issue I had with this story is that Anvrok’s geography and placement is so strange and unearthly (which is cool, and original), that it’s sometimes difficult to tell what’s going on, especially when we’re moving at the usual double-quick BL short-fiction pace.
Worth reading, especially because of the significance of the happenings.
I see Josh Reynolds’ name attached to more AoS fiction than any other BL alum I can think of, and I’m beginning to see why some internet wags have nicknamed the fiction “Age of Reynolds”. No gripes here, as he gave us Gardus the Steel Soul, quickly stepping forth as the foremost true hero in the Stormhosts (though I have not given up on Thostos Bladestorm).
Vale is the immediate aftermath of The Gates of Dawn, and begins with a bang, with Gardus running for his life (both the fleshly and the spiritual) through the hellscape of Nurgle’s Garden, with the ever-blathering Bolathrax hot on his heels. It’s unusual to see someone of Astartes-level stature in BL fiction decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and it lends a lot of truth to his Relictor Morbus’ assessment that Gardus’ great strength is a leader is that he will bend rather than break, and do what must be done rather than merely follow orders.
Gardus makes it out, and after a dual narrative watching the able Lord-Castellant Lorrus Grymn assume command of the Steel Souls chamber and carry on making war to liberate the Realm of Ghyran and Gardus’ escape, we reunite with the knowledge that the descendants of the old Wood Elves and their allies from the Old World are now the Sylvaneth, and that the Everqueen Alarielle, who I last saw in Bill King’s writing, is now a goddess. (And when she shows up, she doesn’t disappoint.)
This one has many of the same characters as Gates, and the Nurglish war-host assailing the Realm of Life has far and away the most personality of any of the Chaotic characters that have shown up so far in AoS. Their informality and sense of humor remain a great foil to the stoic and straight-laced Stormcasts (though these are starting to show a proper sense of humor as well), and I think there is better balance here between the power levels of the two foes. The Hallowed Knights and their fellows are shown as far more formidable than the Hammerhands were in their initial showing, but the children of Nurgle are no slouches, and their alliance with the Skaven (especially what I assume to be Clan Pestilens under new management and marketing). The rat-daemon Vermalanx is a creative new character, and the Nurglish host’s admittedly difficult yet persistent efforts to pull together in service to their loathsome deity are a good tonic to the sometimes heavy-handed “Chaos will always turn on itself” stuff that is thrown about a little too freely in BL fiction.
The fights are good. Particularly enjoyable are Morbidex Twiceborn’s duel with the Prosecutor Tegrus of the Sainted Eye (“Oh, buboes…Ow. Fine. Fine. Best…best two out of three.”) and the final clash with the Nurglish host, where Lorrus Grymn shows that he too has the courage to do what must be done when he sends Gardus home to Sigmaron rather than let him be taken by Bolathrax, or when Allarielle the Radiant Queen decides that she’s had enough of these walking tumors in her garden, thank you very much. She and the Lady of Vines send some gender balance into the early mix of AoS, though I know there’s more on the way.
A little more sober and downbeat, what with the end being Gardus is gone and Allarielle is forced from her place of safety. She’s not particularly happy with the outcome of Sigmar’s overtures to join the fight, and it’s likely that her sylvaneth will be scrapping with other Order forces from time to time (it’s a wargame-based setting, gotta justify internecine fighting).
Again, looking forward to seeing Gardus and the Hallowed Knights in their upcoming novels, but I wouldn’t be opposed to more short fiction as the Realmgate Wars grind on.
The Eldritch Fortress – Guy Haley (4 stars)
All right, back to the hunt for Ghal Maraz. Haley gets to return to the tale of Thostos Bladestorm and his clash with Ephyrx the Ninth Disciple. Nothing will keep him from his vengeance, now that he is reforged anew…except the entrance of GW’s Chosen One, Vandus Hammerhand. Sigh.
This one builds a bit of life into the otherwise empty wastes of the Hanging Valleys of Anvrok and the Realm of Metal, what with the story of the fall of the city of Elixia and its last protector, Celemnis the Sword-maiden. We still have yet to see really any of the peoples of the Mortal Realms that the Stormcasts were forged to protect and liberate. Except that nameless tribe on the run from Korghos Khul’s Goretide way back at the beginning of AoS fiction as a whole. Where in the devil is everybody? Oh well, seems like at one time, over half a millennium ago, there may have been nice people worth saving. Sure hope there’s still some around somewhere…
There’s some fun things here, what with Dracothion’s battle with Argentine, providing the Stormcasts’ frantic climbing and battling with a literal battle between dragon-gods as backdrop. Only AoS would do this. We bring this story to its inevitable conclusion, as Kairos Fateweaver triumphs over his treacherous disciple, and…ye gods, is that Korghos Khul? Seriously? Are he and Vandus actually some kind of BL-fiction tag team? Ugh. Korghos has now showed up three-for-three in every story where Vandus Hammerhand is a viewpoint character. At least here he’s little more than a catalyst for the downfall of the Chaotic forces here, with his usual lunatic belligerence taking but a few moments to work its divisive magic and setting the Tzeentchians and the Khornates at each others’ throats. I’m glad he didn’t take over – if Vandus is going to be the Chosen One he’s so heavily marketed as, he needs to take on all sorts of threats, not just a Khornate champion with the regenerative powers of Wile E. Coyote.
So Vandus does take over, as you’d expect him to. Thostos has apparently lost a lot of his inner philosopher since being reforged into living sigmarite or something, and spends most of his time ignoring all of his military training and running headlong into battle, endangering his allies…rather like a Khornate berserker, actually. Hope Khul isn’t hiring. It’s fun to watch Thostos no-sell some of the baddies’ powers due to his cool new metal skin, but I miss the original version who bothered to think. We get a cool moment with Ionus Cryptborn, who has apparently kicked the Nagash-visions to the curb and has gone back to being mysterious, menacing, and powerful, as he should properly be. You’re gonna have to work harder than a splitting headache to put down the Lord-Relictor, kids. He and the Big S splat my least favorite AoS character, the idiotically titled “Bloodsecrator” Threx Skullbrand in fine style, right in the middle of a frothing speech about how Threx is stronger than Sigmar himself. Cue the divine lightning, cue a savage put-down from Ionus, cue a long fall punctuated by (hopefully) burning to death in a river of molten silver. So passes Threx Skullbrand. May he rot forever in the Dustbin of Forgetfulness, and may his title never pass the lips of mortal-kind ever again.
So we get round to Vandus and Thostos, who pulls himself together long enough to remember what they came to do, and they face down none other than nine Lords of Change led by Kairos Fateweaver himself. Okay. Now that has potential. And sure enough, with a little help from an angry-at-being-ill-used Ephryx, Vandus finally does something worthy of his assigned Golden Boy (aha) status and wallops the ever-living bird-mess out of Kairos Fateweaver the Great Shatterer (I dig the new nickname), while Thostos, Calanax, Ionus, and a fistful of SE hammer-carriers bat clean-up on the rest of the lesser Lords of Change, with Calanax and Ionus each bagging one single-handedly. Well struck.
And so Vandus finally, after three appearances, has a deed truly worthy of remembrance. He has slain a Lord of Change, the Hammer of Sigmar blazing in his grasp, and he screams his defiance at Tzeentch himself, warning the Changer of Ways who stole the hammer would one day meet his end beneath its power. Defying a god. Now that is some bold movement. And further, he has scored the most unequivocal and significant victory yet of the Realmgate Wars, having reclaimed none other than the legendary Ghal Maraz and brought it back to its master.
This is a major moment, and boosts my score a little higher than I would have given otherwise. Vandus did well, but I wondered why he had to take over when we had a perfectly interesting and capable hero (at least previously) in Thostos, and it was a groaner to see Korghos Khul show up again. The only technical issue I had with this story is that Anvrok’s geography and placement is so strange and unearthly (which is cool, and original), that it’s sometimes difficult to tell what’s going on, especially when we’re moving at the usual double-quick BL short-fiction pace.
Worth reading, especially because of the significance of the happenings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2019
Warhammer books live in a strange world. They require the same thing any great book does which is a compelling narrative. However, they are also based off of a wargame that only tenuously has a progressing narrative. After all, if things change too quickly or too violently, it isn't just a book that needs to be written but an entire production line that needs to be altered. Due to this, the idea of the fiction is frequently so much more interesting than any of the novels that try to describe it.
Attempts are made at creating really great characters, Vandus' journey as he returns from death as less man and more zealot stands out. However, in the end, it is hard to get invested in these characters.
They constantly remind you that this is a wargame, there should be war all over the place. It gets tiring. They try to shoehorn mechanics from the game into the books, and while neat to notice, really just pull you out of the suspension of disbelief.
If you're a huge Warhammer fan, you'll probably enjoy these books. Otherwise, there's better material out there.
Attempts are made at creating really great characters, Vandus' journey as he returns from death as less man and more zealot stands out. However, in the end, it is hard to get invested in these characters.
They constantly remind you that this is a wargame, there should be war all over the place. It gets tiring. They try to shoehorn mechanics from the game into the books, and while neat to notice, really just pull you out of the suspension of disbelief.
If you're a huge Warhammer fan, you'll probably enjoy these books. Otherwise, there's better material out there.
June 29, 2018
It was a solid read, enjoyed it a lot. Characters felt fleshed out and build up was excellent.
November 28, 2024
2 Warhammer battles
Features the first female in 1000 pages or whatever I’ve read.
Features the first female in 1000 pages or whatever I’ve read.
January 7, 2022
Favourite book in the series so far, nice explanations on the downsides of the reforging process can have and the sad truth of becoming reborn.
September 30, 2015
Two excellent novellas from the savage grim world of Warhammer. I'd like to read something about my favorite Aelfs and not just about the Stormcasts, but even so, the stories are exciting and the battles incredible.
July 12, 2020
CAUTION MAY BE SPOILERS!!!
Gotta say I am really starting to dig this new series of Warhammer, after a couple of tries to get into the new Age Of Sigmar books I finally decided to start giving these Realmgate Wars series a start. Only after extensively researching them and found out that these are kind of necessary to understanding the universe and what happened after the events of the End Times.
Full disclosure this is the third and hopefully final time I try to get through these novels. I think I found out the I struggled so much with the first two was that I had them all in two 800 pages + omnibus. Have you ever tried to read two 800+ novel where 90% of what happens is battles after battles?
Honestly, by page 200-250 I was suffering from so much battle fatigue I felt like I'd participated in the battles themselves.
But it's always been on my mind that don't really know the back story of these realms so I decided to give them all one final crack.
Only this time is to buy the books separately and read them individually and space them out with other books.
IT WORKED!!!
I Am officially a huge fan of this series. Each one is amazing and you should all read them.
Black Library has some serious writing talent and it seems they've got them all to come together and write a book each and the results pretty much speak for themselves.
We get a backstory, character development, stories that literally lead on from the one's before them, great villains, name drops from past/older Warhammer novels, wolds building etc...
This book is more of a two in one and each one is a real treat to read. So much so that instead of spacing out the novels and reading them one every now and again so I don't lose interest I know have to restrain myself from buying them all, locking myself away in my bedroom away from my wife and daughter, sitting in my new Ikea rocking armchair with matching footrest and spending the rest of Covid-19 reading this great series!!!
Gotta say I am really starting to dig this new series of Warhammer, after a couple of tries to get into the new Age Of Sigmar books I finally decided to start giving these Realmgate Wars series a start. Only after extensively researching them and found out that these are kind of necessary to understanding the universe and what happened after the events of the End Times.
Full disclosure this is the third and hopefully final time I try to get through these novels. I think I found out the I struggled so much with the first two was that I had them all in two 800 pages + omnibus. Have you ever tried to read two 800+ novel where 90% of what happens is battles after battles?
Honestly, by page 200-250 I was suffering from so much battle fatigue I felt like I'd participated in the battles themselves.
But it's always been on my mind that don't really know the back story of these realms so I decided to give them all one final crack.
Only this time is to buy the books separately and read them individually and space them out with other books.
IT WORKED!!!
I Am officially a huge fan of this series. Each one is amazing and you should all read them.
Black Library has some serious writing talent and it seems they've got them all to come together and write a book each and the results pretty much speak for themselves.
We get a backstory, character development, stories that literally lead on from the one's before them, great villains, name drops from past/older Warhammer novels, wolds building etc...
This book is more of a two in one and each one is a real treat to read. So much so that instead of spacing out the novels and reading them one every now and again so I don't lose interest I know have to restrain myself from buying them all, locking myself away in my bedroom away from my wife and daughter, sitting in my new Ikea rocking armchair with matching footrest and spending the rest of Covid-19 reading this great series!!!
August 21, 2020
I haven't read as much Warhammer Fantasy as I have in the 40K universe. This is the second book of a longer series introducing the Age of Sigmar and separating the storyline from the previous one fleshed out more in the Wahammer Fantasy series. Coming into it from that perspective is a bit daunting.
However, the 2 novellas included in this book mesh well and do a good job of introducing the Sylvaneth, Nurgle's minions and continues to explain the Stormcasts Eternals and how they fit into the world. While a bit short, they do accomplish the task of setting the stage for further stories and complement the game lore for those wishing for just a bit more than they get from the various rulebooks Games Workshop puts out.
I especially liked the humanity aspects of the Stormcasts in coming to terms with who they have become, what death means, and how to relate to each other.
However, the 2 novellas included in this book mesh well and do a good job of introducing the Sylvaneth, Nurgle's minions and continues to explain the Stormcasts Eternals and how they fit into the world. While a bit short, they do accomplish the task of setting the stage for further stories and complement the game lore for those wishing for just a bit more than they get from the various rulebooks Games Workshop puts out.
I especially liked the humanity aspects of the Stormcasts in coming to terms with who they have become, what death means, and how to relate to each other.
June 9, 2021
So this book is actually 2 novellas, which I'll note my thoughts on separately. The second, the Eldritch Fortress by Guy Haley, was a pretty interesting story that ties up several story threads from the earlier books in a competent way. But the first, War in the Hidden Vale is what I really loved about this book. I've had mixed feelings about the Age of Sigmar setting thus far, but here it just really clicked for me. I recommend this for that story alone.
January 7, 2024
– War in the Hidden Vale by Josh Reynolds
Not terrible. Made so much better by listening to it as an audiobook. The narrator's voices for all the baddies were highly amusing and appropriate.
– The Eldritch Fortress by Guy Haley
I barely remember this now. I know it kept reminding me of the climax of a Star Wars book I read recently (Dark Rendezvous) because it was like ... a battle at a castle by the sea. Did anybody win decisively? Who knows.
Not terrible. Made so much better by listening to it as an audiobook. The narrator's voices for all the baddies were highly amusing and appropriate.
– The Eldritch Fortress by Guy Haley
I barely remember this now. I know it kept reminding me of the climax of a Star Wars book I read recently (Dark Rendezvous) because it was like ... a battle at a castle by the sea. Did anybody win decisively? Who knows.
April 11, 2018
Pretty fun story. The tale on Ghyran was my favourite, although there were some great moments on Chammon.
June 8, 2018
This is trashy fantasy lore-porn and I feel guilty about how much I enjoyed it.
February 12, 2019
Worth it for the set-pieces in Chamon alone, nevermind the two good novellas that make it up. My favorite of the Mortal Realms so far.
May 17, 2020
Very poor, even by the GW "marketing as fiction standards". This feels like the creative process involved a list of of new releases, characters, events and word count.
June 17, 2020
Озвучка ужасная. Да и повестушки тоже. Хейли не смог, а Рейнолдс не может в принципе.
December 24, 2017
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
A little over two years ago, Games Workshop finalized its plans to end the Warhammer Fantasy Battles game-system and its associated lore publications by Black Library. It was a rather saddening time indeed as the WHFB setting has been one of the most interesting high fantasy environments I’ve read to date. The replacement in Age of Sigmar, a spiritual successor has been a little off-kilter, but as I read more of its lore, I’m starting to come around to the idea and execution. Beginning with The Gates of Azyr by Chris Wraight in July 2015 Age of Sigmar has come a long way.
Ghal Maraz is the second novel in the Realmgate Wars series, which details many of the campaigns fought by the God-King Sigmar’s warriors and their allies against the forces of Chaos. It is an anthology of two novellas, written by Josh Reynolds and Guy Haley respectively, both of them old hands at writing for Black Library and specifically WHFB. The two novellas continue the tales of characters introduced in the first novel, War-Storm, and progress their wars against Chaos as they recover lost artifacts and liberate a secretive ally.
Much like its science-fiction counterpart Warhammer 40,000 the Age of Sigmar setting plays hosts to an army of engineered super-warriors known as the Stormcast Eternals. Many ages ago the God-King Sigmar Heldenhammer took uncounted thousands of warriors from across the Eight Realms and took centuries to forge them into an army to retake the lost realms. They are mortal enemies of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos and Ghal Maraz is all about two different campaigns on two different realms.
Reynolds’ War In The Hidden Vale is the first novella in the anthology. It takes place on the Realm of Ghyran that is home to Lady Alarielle of the secretive Sylvaneth race. In ages past, she and her people were allies of Sigmar and with the return of the God-King to the Eight Realms, allies are needed once again. Three warrior chambers of the Stormcast Eternals have been sent to Ghyran to search for Alarielle and her people and they have been fighting against the noxious forces of the Plague-God Nurgle in the process.
As always, Josh tells an action-filled tale with some great characters. The story is a continuation of The Gates of Dawn from War-Storm and we learn more about the fate of Lord-Celestant Gardus of the Steel Souls chamber. While Gardus was assumed lost in a climactic battle against the Greater Daemon Boluthrax, his warriors continued their mission on Ghyran with the aid of the Astral Templars and Guardians of the Firmament chambers.
The pace of the story is brutal as Reynolds leads through first Gardus’ return from the Nurgle’s realm to Ghyran and then his reunion with his warriors of the Steel Souls. Rather fittingly, the campaign against Nurgle’s daemons has ground on the Stormcasts, with no end to their mission in sight. When Gardus returns, his warriors and allies are fighting against disillusionment and futility, and Reynolds captures it very well. He has a certain way with his words that just creates a very visceral experience for the reader, getting you right down in the middle of the action.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
A little over two years ago, Games Workshop finalized its plans to end the Warhammer Fantasy Battles game-system and its associated lore publications by Black Library. It was a rather saddening time indeed as the WHFB setting has been one of the most interesting high fantasy environments I’ve read to date. The replacement in Age of Sigmar, a spiritual successor has been a little off-kilter, but as I read more of its lore, I’m starting to come around to the idea and execution. Beginning with The Gates of Azyr by Chris Wraight in July 2015 Age of Sigmar has come a long way.
Ghal Maraz is the second novel in the Realmgate Wars series, which details many of the campaigns fought by the God-King Sigmar’s warriors and their allies against the forces of Chaos. It is an anthology of two novellas, written by Josh Reynolds and Guy Haley respectively, both of them old hands at writing for Black Library and specifically WHFB. The two novellas continue the tales of characters introduced in the first novel, War-Storm, and progress their wars against Chaos as they recover lost artifacts and liberate a secretive ally.
Much like its science-fiction counterpart Warhammer 40,000 the Age of Sigmar setting plays hosts to an army of engineered super-warriors known as the Stormcast Eternals. Many ages ago the God-King Sigmar Heldenhammer took uncounted thousands of warriors from across the Eight Realms and took centuries to forge them into an army to retake the lost realms. They are mortal enemies of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos and Ghal Maraz is all about two different campaigns on two different realms.
Reynolds’ War In The Hidden Vale is the first novella in the anthology. It takes place on the Realm of Ghyran that is home to Lady Alarielle of the secretive Sylvaneth race. In ages past, she and her people were allies of Sigmar and with the return of the God-King to the Eight Realms, allies are needed once again. Three warrior chambers of the Stormcast Eternals have been sent to Ghyran to search for Alarielle and her people and they have been fighting against the noxious forces of the Plague-God Nurgle in the process.
As always, Josh tells an action-filled tale with some great characters. The story is a continuation of The Gates of Dawn from War-Storm and we learn more about the fate of Lord-Celestant Gardus of the Steel Souls chamber. While Gardus was assumed lost in a climactic battle against the Greater Daemon Boluthrax, his warriors continued their mission on Ghyran with the aid of the Astral Templars and Guardians of the Firmament chambers.
The pace of the story is brutal as Reynolds leads through first Gardus’ return from the Nurgle’s realm to Ghyran and then his reunion with his warriors of the Steel Souls. Rather fittingly, the campaign against Nurgle’s daemons has ground on the Stormcasts, with no end to their mission in sight. When Gardus returns, his warriors and allies are fighting against disillusionment and futility, and Reynolds captures it very well. He has a certain way with his words that just creates a very visceral experience for the reader, getting you right down in the middle of the action.
September 21, 2016
Overall this novel was very well done, and followed on from the previous book brilliantly. It really helps the reader get to know the Stormcast Eternals in a lot more depth. They were once mere humans like us, and even in their current state they're not perfect. Despite the similarities they share with Space Marines, you get the feeling that the Stormcasts are much closer to the old legends of Norse Warriors who live eternal in Valhalla.
The forces of Chaos get plenty of focus as well, with the forces of both Nurgle & Tzeentch staring in the two stories in this book. It was very interesting to be able to read from their point-of-view as well.
In the end, if you are enjoying Age of Sigmar or just want to learn more about it, give this novel a try.
The forces of Chaos get plenty of focus as well, with the forces of both Nurgle & Tzeentch staring in the two stories in this book. It was very interesting to be able to read from their point-of-view as well.
In the end, if you are enjoying Age of Sigmar or just want to learn more about it, give this novel a try.
August 29, 2018
This was a very good book that is split into two different parts each written by different authors. The first part of the book traces the Stormcast's efforts to find Allariel the Everqueen in the hopes that she will silly her forces with Sigmar. This is no easy task since her real Ghyran has been overrun by the forces of Nurgle who are also looking for her. The Storm Cast must break Chaos's grip on the land as well as find the Everqueen before their enemies. I realize these books are based on a warmer with combat at its focus but this story could have done with a little more dialogue because it seemed to jump from one battle to another abruptly with no sense of time passed of distance traveled. This may have been the authors intent but I felt it took away from the overall story.
In the second half picks up where the first left off with the reforging of Vandus Hamemrhand. He has been tasked with recovering Sigmar's hammer which had been lost centuries ago. This quest takes them to Chamon which is firmly under the control of Tzeench who is trying to extract the power of Ghal Maraz for their own purposes.
Overall this is a very good book and makes me want to immediately start reading the next book in the series. If you are a fan of Warhammer this is a must read. If you are a general fantasy fan you will still enjoy this series
In the second half picks up where the first left off with the reforging of Vandus Hamemrhand. He has been tasked with recovering Sigmar's hammer which had been lost centuries ago. This quest takes them to Chamon which is firmly under the control of Tzeench who is trying to extract the power of Ghal Maraz for their own purposes.
Overall this is a very good book and makes me want to immediately start reading the next book in the series. If you are a fan of Warhammer this is a must read. If you are a general fantasy fan you will still enjoy this series
February 16, 2016
Two excellent novellas from Joshua Reynolds and Guy Haley, both follow on from the previous books.
The first following the war against the forces of Nurgle and the search for Alarielle and the second the forces of Tzeench and the search for Ghal Maraz.
The first Book as well as having all the action you could need also developed the relationships and the interaction between the individual storm hosts and individuals starting to bring individual characters to life - great novella and a bittersweet ending to it too.
The second novella focussed back on Vandus Hammerhand and asks further questions on the reforging process while having all the required war one could wants
Two excellent tales both with gripping endings.
The first following the war against the forces of Nurgle and the search for Alarielle and the second the forces of Tzeench and the search for Ghal Maraz.
The first Book as well as having all the action you could need also developed the relationships and the interaction between the individual storm hosts and individuals starting to bring individual characters to life - great novella and a bittersweet ending to it too.
The second novella focussed back on Vandus Hammerhand and asks further questions on the reforging process while having all the required war one could wants
Two excellent tales both with gripping endings.
February 24, 2017
This was a nice follow up to Book I of the Realmgate wars, and introduction to the Age of Sigmar. Vandus, and Khul are back in the 2nd novella in this book, and continues from a story in book I, and the other novella continues Gardus' story dealing with minions of Nurgle from the first book. The characters are becoming better acquainted with the reader, and the world continues to unfold. Should I start Book III already, or pause for a bit...hmmm...
April 8, 2018
Good story but often dragged out
Much of the time a story that could be told in 3-4 pages was dragged out over 20+ pages. When this wasn’t the case, the pacing was good and the story compelling and interesting.
Much of the time a story that could be told in 3-4 pages was dragged out over 20+ pages. When this wasn’t the case, the pacing was good and the story compelling and interesting.
June 22, 2016
More crazy action. This is the equivalent of straight out bolter porn.
June 22, 2022
Mejor que el primero, pero sigue siendo repetitivo, especialmente en las batallas. Vandus es bastante más profundo que Gardus, sin ser tampoco nada del otro mundo.
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