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Legends of the Age of Sigmar
City of Secrets
In the city of Excelsis, Corporal Armand Callis of the city watch stumbles upon a dark secret and finds himself hunted, with only a witch hunter for companionship.
Excelsis is the city of secrets, a grand and imposing bastion of civilisation in the savage Realm of Beasts. Within its winding streets and shadowy back alleys, merchants deal in raw prophecy mined from an ancient fragment of the World That Was, and even the poorest man may earn a glimpse of the future. Yet not all such prophecies can be trusted. When Corporal Armand Callis of the city guard stumbles upon a dark secret, he finds himself on the run from his former comrades, framed for a crime he did not commit. Only the witch hunter Hanniver Toll knows the truth of his innocence. Together the pair must race against time to save Excelsis from a cataclysm that would drown the city in madness and fear.
Excelsis is the city of secrets, a grand and imposing bastion of civilisation in the savage Realm of Beasts. Within its winding streets and shadowy back alleys, merchants deal in raw prophecy mined from an ancient fragment of the World That Was, and even the poorest man may earn a glimpse of the future. Yet not all such prophecies can be trusted. When Corporal Armand Callis of the city guard stumbles upon a dark secret, he finds himself on the run from his former comrades, framed for a crime he did not commit. Only the witch hunter Hanniver Toll knows the truth of his innocence. Together the pair must race against time to save Excelsis from a cataclysm that would drown the city in madness and fear.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
August 6, 2019
Despite several really good stories set in the realms of Age of Sigmar (notably Spear of Lamentations, Lord of Undeath, and Iron Dragon), most of AoS has been more on the miss side than hit. Nick Horth, himself a lore writer for Games Workshop, tried his hand at fiction with the novella City of Secrets.
Oft times, background writers or rules writers, or even editors, don't really translate well into fiction writers. Nick Horth, however, very much does.
This story, an action packed mix of intrigue, conspiracy, foul sorcery, and epic bloody battle, is a highly entertaining first entry into the realm of fiction writing for Mr. Horth.
I will be very openly direct and state that this was, easily, my favorite piece of fiction for Age of Sigmar. With a lot of nods to the World That Was, Horth reintroduces the reader to dwarves (now called Duardin), elves (now called Aelves...yes, they added an 'a' for...reasons), basic men and women of the Empire (now called the Freeguild), and Witch Hunters. It was that sense of nostalgia in the storytelling, though subtle, that really endeared me to the story.
There are Stormcast Eternals, the Knight's Excelsior Stormhost (think Black Templars but in fantasy, rather than in space), but unlike earlier works they don't overwhelm the story and Horth uses them flawlessly.
This was a highly enjoyable light read, this isn't high literature, merely pulp, after all.
But it is fun, a break from my studies of military history, philosophy, and theology, and the writing is done in a fashion that it won't annoy the more intellectually minded such as myself.
Overall, the best AoS fiction I have read to date. Really glad to see that Nick is continuing his saga built here, too.
This one I can recommend to any fan of fantasy or GW's intellectual properties in general.
Oft times, background writers or rules writers, or even editors, don't really translate well into fiction writers. Nick Horth, however, very much does.
This story, an action packed mix of intrigue, conspiracy, foul sorcery, and epic bloody battle, is a highly entertaining first entry into the realm of fiction writing for Mr. Horth.
I will be very openly direct and state that this was, easily, my favorite piece of fiction for Age of Sigmar. With a lot of nods to the World That Was, Horth reintroduces the reader to dwarves (now called Duardin), elves (now called Aelves...yes, they added an 'a' for...reasons), basic men and women of the Empire (now called the Freeguild), and Witch Hunters. It was that sense of nostalgia in the storytelling, though subtle, that really endeared me to the story.
There are Stormcast Eternals, the Knight's Excelsior Stormhost (think Black Templars but in fantasy, rather than in space), but unlike earlier works they don't overwhelm the story and Horth uses them flawlessly.
This was a highly enjoyable light read, this isn't high literature, merely pulp, after all.
But it is fun, a break from my studies of military history, philosophy, and theology, and the writing is done in a fashion that it won't annoy the more intellectually minded such as myself.
Overall, the best AoS fiction I have read to date. Really glad to see that Nick is continuing his saga built here, too.
This one I can recommend to any fan of fantasy or GW's intellectual properties in general.
June 29, 2025
A sympathetic duo of a rookie cop meets veteran agent in the fantasy setting of Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Serviceable as well as unremarkable short novels that treads familiar paths.
January 31, 2019
I loved the first two (of three) acts of this book. It so much reminded me of Murder in Cormyr by Chet Williamson, one of my favorite WHF books, that I really was thinking this could be a five-star review from me. Sadly in Act Three we get the unnecessary introduction of a Stormhost character, and it becomes nonstop fighting in a way that just ... I feel like Nick is really good at writing basically everything except fight scenes. It's a rough road for a Warhammer author because you have to be really good at both, or at LEAST really good at writing fighting, then just do an entire book of fighting. I wasn't completely lost, but I found myself losing track of some of the minor characters & their relation to the plot. Not terrible, and I feel confident Nick will get better.
The epilogue piqued my interest enough, and I liked the majority of this enough, that I bought the two smaller stories that have come out since then, and have my eye on the first full-length novel, just now out.
The epilogue piqued my interest enough, and I liked the majority of this enough, that I bought the two smaller stories that have come out since then, and have my eye on the first full-length novel, just now out.
June 11, 2018
Armand Callis is a corporal in the Coldguard, one of only three Freeguild regiments left behind to defend the city of Excelsis while the majority of its forces march to deal with a vast gathering of Orruks. After stumbling upon a sinister plot and accidentally experiencing a powerful prophecy, Callis finds himself working alongside the Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll as they race against time to prevent the city’s destruction.
It's really a novella masquerading as a novel, but its pace and straightforward narrative help it feel satisfying despite its brevity. It all feels quite familiar, but enjoyably so, and while at times it’s somewhat predictable it’s always fun. There’s a clear sense that it was intended to deliberately veer away from the Realmgate Wars style of books and explore a little of Age of Sigmar that hadn’t been shown before, and it does that very well. There are occasional glimpses of tie-in mentionitis, especially when the Tzaangors and other Tzeentch Arcanites turn up, but it largely avoids the pitfalls of the earliest Age of Sigmar stories and manages to feel fresh and valid throughout.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/05/...
It's really a novella masquerading as a novel, but its pace and straightforward narrative help it feel satisfying despite its brevity. It all feels quite familiar, but enjoyably so, and while at times it’s somewhat predictable it’s always fun. There’s a clear sense that it was intended to deliberately veer away from the Realmgate Wars style of books and explore a little of Age of Sigmar that hadn’t been shown before, and it does that very well. There are occasional glimpses of tie-in mentionitis, especially when the Tzaangors and other Tzeentch Arcanites turn up, but it largely avoids the pitfalls of the earliest Age of Sigmar stories and manages to feel fresh and valid throughout.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/05/...
October 5, 2022
City of Secrets, although not labeled as such, is the setup story for two reoccurring characters in age of sigmar: Armand Callis and Hanniver Toll. A former city guard and Witch Hunter, respectively. It follows Callis from his untimely retirement from the city guard to assisting the witch hunter helping him stop a traitorous plot brewing amongst the city elite.
It runs into a common problem I have with Warhammer fiction in that it was kind of hard to understand the villains motivations outside of a vague gesture toward power and corruption, but it all serves to setup a mostly action filled second half, which was serviceable. Most WH fiction has pretty well written action, and usually a lot of it. I don't know if there is a mandated amount of action that has to occur in the books, but it certainly feels that way.
Outside of that, there's not much to say. It's interesting to see the Knights Excelsior sect of the Stormcast Eternals. They are far less valiant paladin and more fanatical and untrusting. One of the biggest issues I have with the Stormcast in the fiction is they don't have much room for a variety of characters, as they exist entirely for one purpose. I haven't read much WH40k fiction to know if that's a similar issue with that setting, but i'd not be surprised.
All in all, it's a short but fun enough read.
It runs into a common problem I have with Warhammer fiction in that it was kind of hard to understand the villains motivations outside of a vague gesture toward power and corruption, but it all serves to setup a mostly action filled second half, which was serviceable. Most WH fiction has pretty well written action, and usually a lot of it. I don't know if there is a mandated amount of action that has to occur in the books, but it certainly feels that way.
Outside of that, there's not much to say. It's interesting to see the Knights Excelsior sect of the Stormcast Eternals. They are far less valiant paladin and more fanatical and untrusting. One of the biggest issues I have with the Stormcast in the fiction is they don't have much room for a variety of characters, as they exist entirely for one purpose. I haven't read much WH40k fiction to know if that's a similar issue with that setting, but i'd not be surprised.
All in all, it's a short but fun enough read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2023
I read this because I had listened to the audiobook for The Silver Shard some time ago, which was apparently the sequel to this one. This is the book in which the protagonists of The Silver Shard (Callis & Toll, as well as the pirate queen Arika Zenthe) meet for the first time. It's actually not strictly necessary to read City Of Secrets in order to understand The Silver Shard but it did fill in some gaps for me. City of Secrets is great on its own, though. It's a great urban adventure that really showcases the wildly imaginative setting of Age of Sigmar quite well. Callis is a likeable main character. And of course I love Hannover Toll, the Witch Hunter who is sympathetic and surprisingly gentle (but still ruthlessly committed to destroying evil and utterly dangerous to all worshipers of the dark powers)... I wonder why that is?
City of Secrets is really short but manages to deliver a surprising amount of story and lore in that time.
City of Secrets is really short but manages to deliver a surprising amount of story and lore in that time.
October 14, 2019
It was an average warhammer novel. What does that mean? Not much in the way of character development. Lots of violence. Silly "strategy". Valiant last stands. If you like this sort of thing then it is a decent read. This one is broken into 3 acts and the first act is clearly the weakest. An over abundance of superfluous description in the first act is a long trudge through a mire of someone's thesaurus. After that the story picks up dramatically and gets on with the meat and potatos of warhammer stories. One could suspect the word count was low and he had to pad out the first act to get the words up there. It wasn't a bad but but it wasn't a fun read for the first third or all that memorable.
November 7, 2018
Another strike for Black Library's Age of Sigmar fiction line. At least I finished this one, which cannot be said of the earlier Realmgate War novel I tried. This novella came highly recommended and to a certain extent I can see why as it gives us two memorable characters in Callis & Toll and a decent glimpse of the life of the average citizen in the Mortal Realms. That said, this was blandly written with lots of repetitive description and mundane plotting. Nick Horth is clearly a novice novelist and one hopes he improves quickly as I'd like to follow these characters around but am not convinced a rising page count would suit me given the demerits present.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2018
I bought the hardback release not the kindle edition, but that correction aside, this was a very enjoyable fantasy story, and the first Age of Sigmar book I've read. At its best it reminded me of some of the old great Warhammer Fantasy novels, with lots of twists and revelations. Author Nick Horth really captures the flavour of the otherworldly Mortal Realms setting, and his characters are engaging. The final third is a nod to the tabletop wargaming of the source material, with a chaotic bloodthirsty battle, where the stakes (and the bodycount) are high. Very enjoyable.
April 27, 2019
Provides sufficient intrigue and stakes to keep you invested, while building up what's likely to be a major city-setting for future AoS stories.
I feel the story is at its weakest when Nick Horth writes his fights, dropping into a very ho-hum, going-through-the-motions level of effort, which is a pity because a good third of the story is around some fairly detailed punchups.
Nonetheless, it paints a pretty picture for those fights to take place in, and I think has an important place for laying down the groundwork for other AoS stories done in a similar scale.
I feel the story is at its weakest when Nick Horth writes his fights, dropping into a very ho-hum, going-through-the-motions level of effort, which is a pity because a good third of the story is around some fairly detailed punchups.
Nonetheless, it paints a pretty picture for those fights to take place in, and I think has an important place for laying down the groundwork for other AoS stories done in a similar scale.
July 29, 2020
It’s a solid entry into AoS and begins the story of Callis and Toll, and though the action translates well (particularly the final battle), it feels as though Callis falls conveniently into the hands of an all too understanding witchhunter. Events just come together rather happenstance for our heroes and the characters are rather flat; it felt rushed. There was definitely more potential for backstory, but for something trying to build up a set of characters that are to be an iconic duo for this universe, it should of been a full length novel.
February 7, 2017
I've read all the AOS books released up to this point and this is my favorite. The story is the first to take place years after the Realmgate Wars. It's very nice to have a story from a regular mortal human's point of view. Author Nick Horth has done a very good job writing a story that feels very much like a movie and keeping me engaged. Though the book is a little on the short side I very much enjoyed it.
June 20, 2017
This was a novella about the human side of the Age of Sigmar and it also represents trying to establish human background and contrast to the Stormcast Eternals. The pace speeds up about halfway through the book and I found myself getting caught up with the characters with the same joy as when I read Dungeons and Dragons novels. I hope Black Libarary continue to pursue the more personal and human aspect of the new lore and I definitely want to see more of the adventures of Toll and associate.
June 29, 2025
very by the numbers, run of the mill origin story for "loose cannon detective makes friends, gets results"
deaths and twists you see from a mile away, lots of action that describes the physical models you can buy, and characters with nothing original in their character arcs.
at least the Callis and Toll models are cool as heck, cuz this book ain't
deaths and twists you see from a mile away, lots of action that describes the physical models you can buy, and characters with nothing original in their character arcs.
at least the Callis and Toll models are cool as heck, cuz this book ain't
August 12, 2024
Nice intro tale.
A nice, fast paced, action packed, sword and sorcery tale introducing Callis and Toll. I look forward to more tales of grimy, intrigue filled, Chaos thwarting. Check it out.
A nice, fast paced, action packed, sword and sorcery tale introducing Callis and Toll. I look forward to more tales of grimy, intrigue filled, Chaos thwarting. Check it out.
August 21, 2025
A fun adventure without many twists or turns, but it doesn't want to be more than that. Perfect pallet cleanser that can be finished in a couple of sessions, and good to put me in the mood for painting figures.
October 16, 2018
Enjoyable and quick read, first time in years I wasn’t annoyed or bored with a male human narrative which was very refreshing.
February 25, 2019
A good, quick read; need to know at least the basics of Age of Sigmar to understand certain aspects of the story though.
December 21, 2019
Looks like I found the next warhammer series for me...callis and toll
July 5, 2020
This is the sort AoS story that reminds me why I used to love The Old World setting of Warhammer.
January 3, 2021
Heroic, exciting, and refreshingly bereft of sex.
June 30, 2021
This more novella than novel, which is good because it keeps the pace up. It does get a bit bogged down in places, not least the finale, but that doesn’t really detract from the overall quality.
February 2, 2023
A decent entertaining read that builds a foundation for future stories.
June 10, 2024
A generous 4. Pulpish writing and didn't outstay it's welcome. A good serving of gibbering daemonic things claived in twain as you would expect.
February 2, 2017
What an amazing first Warhammer novella by Nick Horth. I look forward to reading a full length effort in the future.
April 5, 2017
Finally the dark grittiness of the old world meets the high fantasy of the Age of Sigmar.
The two elements are seamlessly blended together by the author in his debut outing for Black Library.
This is an enjoyable story that takes a number of elements not seem in the new age yet and brings them to the fore and manages to breath new life into them. A brilliant story from start to finish (although the ending was perhaps a little predictable) with a number of threads that could be expanded upon should a follow up be commissioned. I for one sincerely hope to see more from this author and look forward to seeing what else he can bring to the mortal realms.
The two elements are seamlessly blended together by the author in his debut outing for Black Library.
This is an enjoyable story that takes a number of elements not seem in the new age yet and brings them to the fore and manages to breath new life into them. A brilliant story from start to finish (although the ending was perhaps a little predictable) with a number of threads that could be expanded upon should a follow up be commissioned. I for one sincerely hope to see more from this author and look forward to seeing what else he can bring to the mortal realms.
April 24, 2017
City of Secrets is the first Age of Sigmar title I have read since Gates of Azyr came out - when I read that I treated it unfairly, looking for an explanation of what happened between the end of the Old World and the emergence of the Age of Sigmar world, which wasn’t and couldn’t be delivered. I haven’t read any Age of Sigmar since, until I was strongly recommended City of Secrets by a colleague.
And I have to say, despite mixed expectations (a good referral combined with a general uncertainty of the setting), I really enjoyed this overall.
The first thing that struck me was the richness of the world building. The city of Excelsis is a fascinating place, well embedded in the medieval/renaissance eras as you would expect from fantasy, making it understandable and relatable, but it is full of wonderful fantastical references that make it so much more… cosmopolitan than Warhammer. Aelves, Duardin and humans live together and can work together in ways never really possible in Warhammer. Dark Aelf corsairs ally with human witch hunters and there seems to be a new kind of esotericism with the weapons used, particularly with Duardin technology. A culture where the currency is ‘glimmerings’, artefacts that offer blips of the future, and that the streets are home to addicts of these minor-fortune-telling tokens really adds to the fantastical feel and is a great example of the scope the Age of Sigmar setting offers that Warhammer (for all it’s awesomeness) could not.
Read the rest of the review at A Thowsand Werds
And I have to say, despite mixed expectations (a good referral combined with a general uncertainty of the setting), I really enjoyed this overall.
The first thing that struck me was the richness of the world building. The city of Excelsis is a fascinating place, well embedded in the medieval/renaissance eras as you would expect from fantasy, making it understandable and relatable, but it is full of wonderful fantastical references that make it so much more… cosmopolitan than Warhammer. Aelves, Duardin and humans live together and can work together in ways never really possible in Warhammer. Dark Aelf corsairs ally with human witch hunters and there seems to be a new kind of esotericism with the weapons used, particularly with Duardin technology. A culture where the currency is ‘glimmerings’, artefacts that offer blips of the future, and that the streets are home to addicts of these minor-fortune-telling tokens really adds to the fantastical feel and is a great example of the scope the Age of Sigmar setting offers that Warhammer (for all it’s awesomeness) could not.
Read the rest of the review at A Thowsand Werds
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews