Black Pyramid

Hallowed Knights #2

by Joshua Reynolds

As cities rise across the Mortal Realms, Lord-Celestant Gardus Steel Soul leads his Hallowed Knights into darkest Shyish, hoping to gain a foothold for the forces of Azyr. But as the foundations of a new citadel are laid, the Hallowed Knights find themselves beset by enemies both living and dead – including the Mortarch of Night, Mannfred Von Carstein. Now, Gardus must lead his warriors into the very heart of darkness in order to save the soul of a warrior long thought lost…

Read It Because

The Hallowed Knights get a long-awaited chance to take revenge on Mannfred von Carstein for betraying the Bull-Hearts, as Josh Reynolds ties together a host of his Warhammer Age of Sigmar tales.

Genres: Fantasy

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2018

About the author

Josh 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.

Reviews

[Paul J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gardus und „Vlad“ sind cool, Rest eher mittelmäßig… gibt bessere Bücher im Warhammer Universum.
Insgesamt ließt sich das Buch sehr flüssig! Kaum Rechtschreibfehler oder falsche Übersetzungen wie in anderen Black Library Büchern.

Mir hat es Spaß gemacht, aber ich werde mir den Rest der Reihe nicht geben.

[Noah Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghosteater, man. Ghosteater.

I'm a fanboy. What else is there to say? I loved this. Loved the lore, loved the dialogue, loved the characterization. In a lot of ways this novel took me off guard, because I was expecting some slash-and-burn action and not much else, but that's a treat, obviously. Josh Reynolds is a talented writer and every time I cross another of his stories off my list, I can't help but wonder what is waiting for me down the line.

Also, most of all (besides Ghosteater), I -loved- the climax. Nagash has a bone-chilling appearance, and the way Bakhos goes down made my blood run cold, and the resolution was complex and satisfying.

Looking forward to Ghosteater's reappearance one day, somewhere in the setting!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's better then it's predecessor, wrapping up in a suitably grim fashion hanging plot threads from Reynolds' audio drama series involving the Hallowed Knights. It also tackles more complex ideas then the predecessor, or any other Age of Sigmar book, really. The character of Ghosteater, a Slaanesh-aligned Beastman, is a very fascinating case study that pushes against the natural stereotypical identity of most Warhammer characters.

[Jack Creagh-Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining read.

I enjoyed the various descriptions and world-views explored in this book. We see the daily tasks of a chaos lord. We are shown what life is like for beastmen that live in close proximity to human chaos warrants. We see how a ruined city is reclaimed and the efforts and costs for rebuilding. However, for me, the most interesting part is seeing how far a stormcast can go to get what they want, even if it might go against the orders of Sigmar himself.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another pretty decent novel. I like that fact it follows on from the previous, several characters from the book that precded it returning but also introduce new and interesting players.
One that really stood out was a beastman of a fair intellect but also had the ability to commune with those he'd eaten; the possibilities for interesting background explored from the myriad souls he'd consumed.

And how can I not mention a certain Vampire Lord from the Old World, still serving the Lord of Death.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reynold's AoS fiction has a baseline level of quality that this novel continues to meet. Loses focus here and there due to just the large cast of point of view characters, but all in all an enjoyable read if for no other reason than I enjoy spending time with the characters I've come to know. And there's a lot of them.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another typically solid Reynolds writing about the Age of Sigmar. I am starting to think of him as the Abnett of the Age of Sigmar. Herein, Stormcast battle against Chaos and Death and amongst themselves. It’s a great read about the foundation of a city and the intrigues, both mortal and godly, that revolve around its founding. Also, an important character possibly returns to the fold.

[Fredrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The culmination of many story threads involving the eternal warriors of the Hallowed Knights, but also includes perspectives from agents of death and chaos. An engaging story centered around establishing a new city on the ruins of an old, dead city in the realm of Death and the various challenges opposing the project.

[Luke Bushman · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘All things reach their end, inevitably. And then it begins again. And again. Forever.’


For some reason I read this before Plague Garden, but still appreciated a lot of it, as I read after Mortarch of Night.

Mannfred is a fantastic character, and is an excellent compliment to the host of Stormcasts in the tale.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nagash is still a sore loser.

Josh shows some of the Practicalities of reclaiming a city, in this case in the realm of the dead. Good antagonist with madness seeping from every pore. Nagash is still a whiney little loser of pure incompetence.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was decent though I didnt enjoy it as much as Plague Garden. I really enjoyed most of the book but I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and not as well thought out as the rest of the story.

[David Guymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As of this moment this is now my favourite Age of Sigmar novel, relegating Eight Lamentations: Spear of Shadows to an honourable second place.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to The Plague Garden, my only complaint being it’s not on Audible yet, hopefully when it does John Banks will narrate 😀

[Dawid · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a story about the inner struggles of the Stormcasts, the longing for a friend and a purpose, and the reclaiming of the city from the grasp of Chaos, with all its obstacles.

I'd say "Black Pyramid" is a great collection of different storylines that expand on AoS lore in different ways. We get to see how new Sigmar cities are founded, the preparations that go into them, and the factions that fight for power even before the city is fully established. We learn that Stormcasts are not without their own internal conflicts, and that they may even choose to disobey Sigmar's command. Finally, "Black Pyramid" gives us a fascinating perspective on both the Slaanesh forces and the Beastmen, fleshing them out as more than just chaos villains.

There's one nitpick I have, though, and it might matter to you if you're a Warhammer Fantasy fan - Manfred von Carstein. He was an interesting character, but I felt he shared little more than a name with his old self.