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Warhammer Age of Sigmar
Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard
A Warhammer Age of Sigmar novel
Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll and his companion, former Freeguild soldier Armand Callis, brave the deadly seas and jungles of the Taloncoast as they try to prevent their nemesis, Ortam Vermyre, from seizing an artefact that can reshape reality.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's an exploration of the people and dark places of the Mortal Realms, far from the front lines of war.
THE STORY
A malevolent threat looms over the once great city of Excelsis. For as long as the treacherous Ortam Vermyre lives, civilisation is no longer safe within the Realm of Beasts. Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll must brave the deadly seas and jungles of the Taloncoast to stop Vermyre before he can reach the legendary lost city of Xoantica. For within this forgotten ruin lies an artefact of darkest sorcery that possesses the power to reshape reality itself. The Silver Shard. Can Toll and his companion, a former Freeguild soldier known as Armand Callis, capture their nemesis in time? Or will Vermyre evade the Order of Azyr’s justice and tear the Mortal Realms asunder?
Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll and his companion, former Freeguild soldier Armand Callis, brave the deadly seas and jungles of the Taloncoast as they try to prevent their nemesis, Ortam Vermyre, from seizing an artefact that can reshape reality.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's an exploration of the people and dark places of the Mortal Realms, far from the front lines of war.
THE STORY
A malevolent threat looms over the once great city of Excelsis. For as long as the treacherous Ortam Vermyre lives, civilisation is no longer safe within the Realm of Beasts. Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll must brave the deadly seas and jungles of the Taloncoast to stop Vermyre before he can reach the legendary lost city of Xoantica. For within this forgotten ruin lies an artefact of darkest sorcery that possesses the power to reshape reality itself. The Silver Shard. Can Toll and his companion, a former Freeguild soldier known as Armand Callis, capture their nemesis in time? Or will Vermyre evade the Order of Azyr’s justice and tear the Mortal Realms asunder?
11 pages, Audiobook
First published July 7, 2018
17 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 24, 2020
Warning: there are spoilers here if you haven’t read City of Secrets.
A direct sequel to the short but very enjoyable City of Secrets, this explores Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll’s single-minded pursuit of ex-High Arbiter Ortam Vermyre. Leaving Excelsis behind, Toll and ex-Freeguild soldier Armand Callis pursue their enemy across the land, sea and air as Vermyre seeks out a long-lost artefact with the power to inflict untold damage on the Mortal Realms. It’s a journey that forces them to call upon all their skill and determination, and allies, just to survive.
Away from the grand scale of epic battlefields, it’s hugely satisfying to go on this sort of globe-trotting adventure with a few plucky characters in pursuit of a charismatic and devious enemy. It’s a book that continues the trend in Age of Sigmar fiction for exploring the Mortal Realms and mortal characters, and in doing so demonstrates once again just how much scope there is in the setting. While there’s plenty of danger and bloodshed, it’s not the darkest of books, but if you’re after something pacy and fun, which does a great job of showing off some of the spectacular sights and inhabitants of the Mortal Realms – floating mountains, hidden cities, monstrous sea beasts and so on – then this should be high up on your list.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/07/...
A direct sequel to the short but very enjoyable City of Secrets, this explores Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll’s single-minded pursuit of ex-High Arbiter Ortam Vermyre. Leaving Excelsis behind, Toll and ex-Freeguild soldier Armand Callis pursue their enemy across the land, sea and air as Vermyre seeks out a long-lost artefact with the power to inflict untold damage on the Mortal Realms. It’s a journey that forces them to call upon all their skill and determination, and allies, just to survive.
Away from the grand scale of epic battlefields, it’s hugely satisfying to go on this sort of globe-trotting adventure with a few plucky characters in pursuit of a charismatic and devious enemy. It’s a book that continues the trend in Age of Sigmar fiction for exploring the Mortal Realms and mortal characters, and in doing so demonstrates once again just how much scope there is in the setting. While there’s plenty of danger and bloodshed, it’s not the darkest of books, but if you’re after something pacy and fun, which does a great job of showing off some of the spectacular sights and inhabitants of the Mortal Realms – floating mountains, hidden cities, monstrous sea beasts and so on – then this should be high up on your list.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/07/...
February 9, 2021
I grew up with Warhammer fantasy and like many, I hated the idea of Age of Sigmar when I first laid eyes on it, but after five years I decided to give this new setting another look through some lore videos on YouTube and was pleasantly surprised to discover great atmosphere, original worldbuilding and a flavour all its own. This novel is my first foray into the Mortal Realms and I must say, it did not disappoint. The Silver Shard is a thrill ride of an adventure, full of badass heroes, irredeemable villains, crazy monsters and highly imaginative locations. At times the violence was comically extreme, but that contributed to that whole Warhammer feel. Barnaby Edwards' narration is perfect, capturing the tone of the adventure and the characters in a very lively way. If you like Warhammer, Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones, you can't go wrong with this one.
October 29, 2023
This felt like Indiana Jones and the Age of Sigmar. There are several protagonists, and one of the main protagonists is an explorer (or archaeologist, if you will). She gets caught up in the schemes of a Tzeentch-touched sorcerer who is looking for an artifact of fell power. The Witch Hunter, Hanniver Toll, and his companion, the Free Guilder, Armand Callis, get involved as they are pursuing the evil sorcerer for past mis-deeds. There are exciting sea battles, bloody melees, and lots of atmosphere. This was a good Age of Sigmar novel for experiencing the world from the perspective of mortal folk (i.e. there are no Stormcast Eternals in this one). The only thing that bothered me was how subdued Toll is. He's a wisp of a character and as the Witch Finder, you want him to lead the party like Gregor Eisenhorn. But he's very passive. Things mostly happen to him.
July 11, 2024
Coming after City of Secrets, this was slightly disappointing. A fun story and I enjoyed it, but my main criticism is there was not enough time spent on the relationship between Callis and Toll. Too much of the book was focused on other characters, or Callis and Toll interacting separately with other characters. Although, overall it is still a good Warhammer read.
October 26, 2023
Great adventure around the mortal realms. Unexpected allies towards the end. Nice characters.
December 14, 2020
Another one from the Black Library 2020 Humble Bundle. https://www.humblebundle.com/books/vo...
There's dwarves and elves in this one. Scenes from Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribian, Film Noir, glimpses from this and that. Maybe one would like to play it as an adventure in an RPG, but reading about the single-minded protagonists on a quest is a bit dull. The boredom is amplified by the clear cut black-and-white characters that inhabit the Warhammer world of Chaos vs Order. Here we see the random followers and believers of Chaos God of Magic, Tzeentch. I guess that alone is enough motivation to the protagonists of this story to start a singleminded hunt for a magical gentleman called Ortam Vermyre.
I was hoping to get more worldbuilding and background to the point of all these conflicts through the Age of Sigmar, but I guess most of these "companion" novels for the miniature painting business don't really give you that. And now, come to think of it, maybe that's a good thing, since there isn't much complexity to uncover in this black-and-white world that feels more like a burden to build for the various lore-crafters of Games Workshop.
An example of a cliche taken from a classic would be a little Moby Dick in this one. At one point they're hunting a whale with a cool name ~ a gyreshark ~ with their ship Thrice Lucky on the open ocean using arbalests, ballistas and harpoons. Or actually it was the other way around, the monster was hunting them, but basically we get a re-iteration of the white whale overloaded by the generic fantasy. It's ok to loan and remix, but you have a budget to work with. If you cross into the red too many times, it becomes exceedingly difficult to balance the books with your original counterweight. I feel many of the Warhammer books suffer from this sin. Probably not worth delving much further into these empty "companion" novels, since I don't have any ambition to start painting or playing the Games Workshop main cash cow products. But I'm (almost) happy I've (almost) satisfied my curiosity.
On the other hand, the production is high quality and the narration with fun different voices helps to follow the story. So if you're into WH, you could probably do much worse.
There's dwarves and elves in this one. Scenes from Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribian, Film Noir, glimpses from this and that. Maybe one would like to play it as an adventure in an RPG, but reading about the single-minded protagonists on a quest is a bit dull. The boredom is amplified by the clear cut black-and-white characters that inhabit the Warhammer world of Chaos vs Order. Here we see the random followers and believers of Chaos God of Magic, Tzeentch. I guess that alone is enough motivation to the protagonists of this story to start a singleminded hunt for a magical gentleman called Ortam Vermyre.
I was hoping to get more worldbuilding and background to the point of all these conflicts through the Age of Sigmar, but I guess most of these "companion" novels for the miniature painting business don't really give you that. And now, come to think of it, maybe that's a good thing, since there isn't much complexity to uncover in this black-and-white world that feels more like a burden to build for the various lore-crafters of Games Workshop.
An example of a cliche taken from a classic would be a little Moby Dick in this one. At one point they're hunting a whale with a cool name ~ a gyreshark ~ with their ship Thrice Lucky on the open ocean using arbalests, ballistas and harpoons. Or actually it was the other way around, the monster was hunting them, but basically we get a re-iteration of the white whale overloaded by the generic fantasy. It's ok to loan and remix, but you have a budget to work with. If you cross into the red too many times, it becomes exceedingly difficult to balance the books with your original counterweight. I feel many of the Warhammer books suffer from this sin. Probably not worth delving much further into these empty "companion" novels, since I don't have any ambition to start painting or playing the Games Workshop main cash cow products. But I'm (almost) happy I've (almost) satisfied my curiosity.
On the other hand, the production is high quality and the narration with fun different voices helps to follow the story. So if you're into WH, you could probably do much worse.
January 13, 2025
(This book is a continuation from "City of Secrets". If you go into it without that context, as I did, you may not get what you're looking for.)
This story is formulaic and most of the characters are flat. The shining moments are Callis and Toll's relationship, but we don't really spend enough time with them working through things. They feel swept along by the Plot Outline, and are largely there because they are the titular characters. The book is a sweeping thriller, but I think these characters are best applied to noir or horror. (Imagine putting Benson and Stabler on a quest to catch someone after the Ark of the Covenant.)
But if you're like me and tired of reading Wiki's for Warhammer, than this book will satisfy your hunger if not your taste buds.
(From here on, I'm going to wax about Age of Sigmar, less than this book…)
There's something impermeable about Warhammer. (It's reputation as anti-casuals is earned.) You can start anywhere, but you have to accept that to really get what's going on you'll have to go back over lots of other material. I've found that to be pretty daunting, and, more often than not, it has left me disappointed in what I've picked up.
Despite all the changes that GamesWorkshop has wrought by bringing us into the Age of Sigmar, their best moments are brewed from Memberberries of The World That Was.
My case-in-point: witch hunters. Formerly religious zealots riding into backwaters to purge heretics. Now they are (a part of) the Jedi Order patrolling the galaxy for Sith we KNOW are out and about making trouble.
The eight realms is an operatic setting that doesn't need witch hunters, as I understand them. There's no question about the corruption of the Dark Gods, whereas in the Old World the Ruinous Powers were stories or superstitions to the peasantry. Sigmar is the King of all the gods, so his agents are powerful. Unlike before where we know the witch hunters belief in Sigmar was the source of their strength/zeal, despite Sigmar's fate being shrouded in mystery.
The witch hunters were cowboys who inspired as much fear as they did confidence. The Age of Sigmar now has them as some sort of military intelligence for the God King, but they've kept the same outfit so the fans say, "Oh! I member!"
This story is formulaic and most of the characters are flat. The shining moments are Callis and Toll's relationship, but we don't really spend enough time with them working through things. They feel swept along by the Plot Outline, and are largely there because they are the titular characters. The book is a sweeping thriller, but I think these characters are best applied to noir or horror. (Imagine putting Benson and Stabler on a quest to catch someone after the Ark of the Covenant.)
But if you're like me and tired of reading Wiki's for Warhammer, than this book will satisfy your hunger if not your taste buds.
(From here on, I'm going to wax about Age of Sigmar, less than this book…)
There's something impermeable about Warhammer. (It's reputation as anti-casuals is earned.) You can start anywhere, but you have to accept that to really get what's going on you'll have to go back over lots of other material. I've found that to be pretty daunting, and, more often than not, it has left me disappointed in what I've picked up.
Despite all the changes that GamesWorkshop has wrought by bringing us into the Age of Sigmar, their best moments are brewed from Memberberries of The World That Was.
My case-in-point: witch hunters. Formerly religious zealots riding into backwaters to purge heretics. Now they are (a part of) the Jedi Order patrolling the galaxy for Sith we KNOW are out and about making trouble.
The eight realms is an operatic setting that doesn't need witch hunters, as I understand them. There's no question about the corruption of the Dark Gods, whereas in the Old World the Ruinous Powers were stories or superstitions to the peasantry. Sigmar is the King of all the gods, so his agents are powerful. Unlike before where we know the witch hunters belief in Sigmar was the source of their strength/zeal, despite Sigmar's fate being shrouded in mystery.
The witch hunters were cowboys who inspired as much fear as they did confidence. The Age of Sigmar now has them as some sort of military intelligence for the God King, but they've kept the same outfit so the fans say, "Oh! I member!"
March 29, 2020
Listen, it's not high literature, if I'm honest. You won't put this next to War and Peace or Les Miserables or what have you. But at the end of a long day, I don't want to read the masterpieces of western civilization, I want to read a fun adventure novel where the heroes explore lost cities, fight foul barbarians, and everyone lives happily ever after. Callis and Toll delivers just that.
A sequel to Nick Horth's earlier City of Secrets, The Silver Shard follows the three main characters of that novel, and adds a new one, a delightful dungeon-exploring elf: Indiana Jones with pointy ears. It runs a rapid pace, taking the characters from set piece to set piece, each of which are fun fantasy adventures: pirate cities, blood thirsty reavers, lost lizard metropolises on floating isles, what have you. While it could really use a copy-edit, as there was a lot of typos, it's really worth picking up. Check it out.
A sequel to Nick Horth's earlier City of Secrets, The Silver Shard follows the three main characters of that novel, and adds a new one, a delightful dungeon-exploring elf: Indiana Jones with pointy ears. It runs a rapid pace, taking the characters from set piece to set piece, each of which are fun fantasy adventures: pirate cities, blood thirsty reavers, lost lizard metropolises on floating isles, what have you. While it could really use a copy-edit, as there was a lot of typos, it's really worth picking up. Check it out.
July 16, 2024
I feel like this book had a lot of potential that was squandered by a murky character work, strange choice of plot direction, and a baffling fixation on the side characters.
The main duo often felt outshined in their own book by the spinoff characters. Horth seems to like writing said side characters more than Callis and Toll themselves. The titular duo are both boring and are not served very well in a treasure hunting story.
What I want to read is a witch hunter story about rooting out corruption in a dense city crawling with atmosphere and danger. Maybe some moral grey areas and some cool urban close quarters melee. What I got was a middling to bad adventure story with a weird first half and a weak second. If you liked city of secrets, read a synopsis and pass on this one. It has none of what made the first story entertaining. Also the fight scenes are mid as well and Horth overuses the word whicker.
The main duo often felt outshined in their own book by the spinoff characters. Horth seems to like writing said side characters more than Callis and Toll themselves. The titular duo are both boring and are not served very well in a treasure hunting story.
What I want to read is a witch hunter story about rooting out corruption in a dense city crawling with atmosphere and danger. Maybe some moral grey areas and some cool urban close quarters melee. What I got was a middling to bad adventure story with a weird first half and a weak second. If you liked city of secrets, read a synopsis and pass on this one. It has none of what made the first story entertaining. Also the fight scenes are mid as well and Horth overuses the word whicker.
December 28, 2019
Fantasy Series
Witch-hunter and former soldier continue on their journey to kill the Golden God.
Review
The introduction of dungeon crawling character was amazing. That early part of the novel was amazing. It's a shame this was essentially a short story with the rest of a mediocre story attached.
The only character that carried any weight in the whole novel was the villain. The Gotrek series had this issue with a few of their novels. Their villain was so worthwhile that he had a series developed for him. Maybe this is what this novel should have been.
Witch-hunter and former soldier continue on their journey to kill the Golden God.
Review
The introduction of dungeon crawling character was amazing. That early part of the novel was amazing. It's a shame this was essentially a short story with the rest of a mediocre story attached.
The only character that carried any weight in the whole novel was the villain. The Gotrek series had this issue with a few of their novels. Their villain was so worthwhile that he had a series developed for him. Maybe this is what this novel should have been.
March 19, 2023
I'm not sure what I expected from this one. Following up from the excellent city of secrets, everything was left up in the air really and Horth could have gone anywhere with his characters. That being said I certainly did not expect an indiana jones-esque adventures in the mortal realms, and I certainly did not expect that it would be this entertaining. This is not a deep character study, nor is it a web of intrigue that unravels as you go along, it's 400 pages of swashbuckling, ruin exploring fun.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
March 8, 2024
Fun, swashbuckling, "buddy cop" action.
In terms of pulpy, sword and sorcery, high adventure fantasy, I really think Age of Sigmar has the market cornered. It helps that the novels support (and are supported by) a huge world that includes games and animation, but the worldbuilding and character work in this story are particularly good. I consider AOS to be in the same lane as D&D or MTG books, but casts like Callis & Toll and their friends elevate the stories and the world as a whole.
Super fun, action-movie style novel here.
In terms of pulpy, sword and sorcery, high adventure fantasy, I really think Age of Sigmar has the market cornered. It helps that the novels support (and are supported by) a huge world that includes games and animation, but the worldbuilding and character work in this story are particularly good. I consider AOS to be in the same lane as D&D or MTG books, but casts like Callis & Toll and their friends elevate the stories and the world as a whole.
Super fun, action-movie style novel here.
July 26, 2018
This was a refreshingly straight forward adventure with easy to identify good and evil characters that promises more episodes in the future. I felt like I was reading something out of the TSR library; it was nostalgic. It was good. Two human adventurers chase after a Chaos corrupted sorcerer who in turn seeks the Silver Shard, an artifact of incredible power. Along the way they meet cool people and cool things happened.
February 3, 2020
A massive improvement over previous installments in the series. The author has clearly been studying his classics of pulp fiction as this has that magical resonance of stock archetypes moving at a relentless pace through an absolute spectacle of fantastical scenarios. This takes the best elements of sword-and-sorcery, piratical tales, and planetary swashbuckling and mashes them together for one of the more enjoyable tales set in the Mortal Realms.
April 28, 2023
The age of sigmar fiction is really picking up, this is another excellent book with interesting characters, good pacing and some really interesting world lore.
It’s more a regular fantasy novel than some black library books, but if you enjoy a small party of adventurers going on a quest then you will probably love this book. It can be read by people who aren’t into warhammer, but people who are will really enjoy the tie-ins.
It’s more a regular fantasy novel than some black library books, but if you enjoy a small party of adventurers going on a quest then you will probably love this book. It can be read by people who aren’t into warhammer, but people who are will really enjoy the tie-ins.
November 26, 2023
More than decent W:AOS novel. It suffers from the syndrome of early novels Age of Sigmar where they tried to stuff all the lore possible in all books, so a lot of things come out of nowhere, but still they made sense in that universe.
On the other hand, it works as a non-stop adventure exploration novel, if you're in the mood for it. It even has some badass romance.
On the other hand, it works as a non-stop adventure exploration novel, if you're in the mood for it. It even has some badass romance.
May 19, 2020
Good fun, classic fantasy adventure romp. A great escapist piece, one that doesn't big itself down by trying to take itself too seriously.
Could serve as an introductory work to the world's of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Did I mention this one was fun?
Could serve as an introductory work to the world's of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Did I mention this one was fun?
January 14, 2025
Villians were introduced with an entire POV chapter only to be killed almost off screen in the next chapter. Cool story and lore implications for AOS but I am really hopping that AOS writers can move away from Tzeench always being the force of chaos in the narrative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2018
'Warhammer-Fantasy' style story set in 'Warhammer-Age Of Sigmar' times.
Lots of Tzeentch related intrigue.
Lots of Tzeentch related intrigue.
January 28, 2024
Very nicely written; strong characters and a well defined plot. I hope Black Library commissions more full lenght novels to Nick Horth.
May 20, 2024
A nice story well written. Nothing special, no huge suprises but entertaining. Some great passages from the perspective of a chaos follower.
August 17, 2025
my favourite character was the ancient wizard in the artefact. My second favorite character was the lawyer dwarf
June 24, 2024
This was really fun. Not amazing, but very fun. Great characters, especially with our two leads, and it’s surprisingly accessible for non-Warhammer fans. A lot of the stuff they throw at you is quickly explained, and the things that aren’t are things like dinosaurs or ghost. Can’t wait to get these guys models for the game.
May 8, 2019
This is a bizarre one, but not for the reason that you might expect. In almost twenty years of reading Black Library fiction, I don't think that I have read a story so openly promoted and yet so overlooked as Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard. It's not that the book is bad, and it even offers the sort of story that Age of Sigmar has needed far more of since its release, with more general colourful figures on realm spanning quests over huge armies. Yet, even one year after its publication, few people seem to have reviewed it.
So, let's remedy that.
The Synopsis:
In the city of Excelsis, a band of mercenaries hunt for a lost relic. Led by a sinister figure who hides his guise behind a mask, only the promise of pay and the desire to escape alive keeps them going. Yet the threat posed by their employer is far greater than any of them could imagine, and the Realm of Beasts will soon face an ancient threat the likes of which have not been seen in centuries. Yet as the aelf hunter Shev is drawn into this plot, she soon realises that she is not the only one which has been drawn to this quest. The Witch Hunter Toll and the ex-Free Guilder Callis are hunting her employer, who has more than merely his greed as his greatest sin.
The Good:
The best part of the entire story is its tone and approach. Age of Sigmar has opted for something grandiose, something high fantasy and a few bits of steampunk to keep things interesting. It's a good mix, but in trying to focus upon the epic legends angle, it lost something in terms of its smaller stories. Tales like The Silver Shard are a step away from that, and they allow the reader to see more of the overall world (well, worlds) even when they are brimming with action. They're more Fellowship of the Ring than Return of the King, and it's definitely a welcome change of pace. Because of this, we see far more of the Realm of Beasts, the societies established there and get a good idea of just what the wider world is like. Much of this is present in the second act, which devotes a substantial amount of time to having the heroes travel across a monster-infested ocean to a corsair dominated port city.
The book isn't nearly so tied into the tabletop models as you would expect, and it veers away from promoting the major factions of the game. There are no Stormcast Eternals, Chaos shows up but in a manner that you would not expect, and the Seraphon play a role but vary heavily from their tabletop counterparts. The only groups which retain serious comparisons with their tabletop minis are a band of Kharadron Overseers and the Witch Hunter in the title. None of these are written in complete opposition to their tabletop variants or with an intentional desire to completely break from them. However, it never feels as if there's some requirement to show off each and every one, which makes the world feel much, much bigger as a result.
The story is also excellent when it comes to hinting at things but only showing so much. The various lost cities of knowledge that the groups encounter have been long overrun by greenskins or worse things, and only fragmented memories remain. Details surrounding the prior Age of Myth are key to the story, but Horth does an excellent job of only showing so much at any one time to keep you guessing. Furthermore, these are addressed and delved into in a relatively irreverent style which befits an adventure tale of this nature. While it's not exactly one-to-one, it's the closest that Warhammer will likely ever get to something along the lines of The Mummy films. Well, that or having an atmosphere which has you humming the Indiana Jones theme under your breath as you read it.
The characters are a nicely broad mix of individuals, with conflicting values, desires and roles. They are very boldly detailed and do fit into certain niches as you would expect, but there is a very well rounded quality to their writing and their conversations give them a very human quality. Even though you're always aware that you're reading story, it makes them lifelike enough to forgive an accept that fact.
Finally, the fights are excellently described at many points. This isn't so much the case where the heroes are vastly outnumbered, but any situations where they are facing small gangs of enemies or a big monster stand out well. You can clearly tell where everyone is supposed to be, and actions flow extremely easily from one moment into the next. The fact that the heroes and those accompanying them shift around so frequently also means that it feels constantly fresh, and from the second act onward they remain a strong element in the book.
However, from that last line, I think you know where the weaknesses are going to come into play.
The Bad:
So not to mince words, let's outline this clearly for all involved: The starting chapters to The Silver Shard are quite difficult to get through. They are easily the weakest in the entire book and the way in which they are executed seems to actively avoid Horth's strengths as a writer. There is very little in the way of easing the reader into the wider world, or even the characters in question. It just very abruptly starts, and you have to keep up with it. To make matters more difficult, it also spends almost all of this time following Shev and the main villain. As such, you're left wondering why you are following this character, and why the clearly ominously evil person hasn't revealed himself yet. Honestly, it's the sort of involvement where the mercenaries have been hired by John Not-A-Villain-At-All and then act surprised when he does turn on them.
The environments also lack the varied and dynamic nature of later areas, and much of this is due to how they are presented. We are given a very generic forest environment - with a few fun enemies at one point - followed by a large horde of Orruks occupying a ruin. It's one of these irritating situations where the sheer lack of a proper introduction undermines what is an otherwise good sequence, and that is only knocked down further by later issues. The first of these being that we have a band facing off in a three-way melee against more numerous opponents, which works against Horth's writing strengths, and then a surprise arrival. Callis and Toll's relationship with the villain is also delivered via an "as you know" detail which you can very easily miss, and the ideas behind it only become much clearer when they are repeated later on.
The point of this is that most of the book's failings are made very evident in the first few chapters, but there is little to nothing of its strengths brought up to help balance them out. It's only when things calm down and the heroes have more time to talk that it seriously starts to improve.
However, even considering the difficult beginning, there are a number of other problems which do crop up in the story. The first of these is that it is very predictable much of the time, and you can usually tell how things will pan out. This isn't so obvious in terms of who might arrive so much as how they will act once they do, and what their involvement in the story will be. It doesn't hinder how well these scenes are told, or even how effectively they are used, but you can usually predict how they will act in relation to the heroes. This will certainly bother some people more than others, so it's very much an issue which will vary from person to person.
However, a definite problem overall within the story stems from how it so often makes its titular characters seem like supporting figures within the story. They are introduced late into the book and the importance of their role varies heavily throughout the tale. Because of this, the story can feel oddly out of focus at various points, as if it doesn't quite know who to follow. You can work without a protagonist in some tales, certainly, but in this case, it's as if the book is trying to select a different person for its leading role every other chapter.
The Verdict:
The Silver Shard is deeply divided between very good and very flawed segments, with the latter sadly coming into play first. After reading through it twice it is easy to see just why it might have been logical for the book to be structured in this manner. Yet without foreknowledge of the overall narrative, it proves to be confusing, and it doesn't fully pick up until the second act. Because of this flaw, it's very easy to put down the book and never feel the drive to pick it up again.
However, even with this problem, the story does show a great deal of promise. Horth has a solid style of prose, and a nice balance between descriptions and action when he has more of a general world to world with. He avoids a lot of the more detailed purple prose of other writers, but he doesn't allow this to make the world seem empty or lackluster through his presentation. Plus, for all their flaws, I was interested in these characters and remembered their names long after I finished reading. If there was to be a sequel which improved upon the flaws here, I think it would be a great book.
As for this one, if you're interested in Age of Sigmar at all, I would suggest delving into this one but just keep in mind that it is deeply flawed.
So, let's remedy that.
The Synopsis:
In the city of Excelsis, a band of mercenaries hunt for a lost relic. Led by a sinister figure who hides his guise behind a mask, only the promise of pay and the desire to escape alive keeps them going. Yet the threat posed by their employer is far greater than any of them could imagine, and the Realm of Beasts will soon face an ancient threat the likes of which have not been seen in centuries. Yet as the aelf hunter Shev is drawn into this plot, she soon realises that she is not the only one which has been drawn to this quest. The Witch Hunter Toll and the ex-Free Guilder Callis are hunting her employer, who has more than merely his greed as his greatest sin.
The Good:
The best part of the entire story is its tone and approach. Age of Sigmar has opted for something grandiose, something high fantasy and a few bits of steampunk to keep things interesting. It's a good mix, but in trying to focus upon the epic legends angle, it lost something in terms of its smaller stories. Tales like The Silver Shard are a step away from that, and they allow the reader to see more of the overall world (well, worlds) even when they are brimming with action. They're more Fellowship of the Ring than Return of the King, and it's definitely a welcome change of pace. Because of this, we see far more of the Realm of Beasts, the societies established there and get a good idea of just what the wider world is like. Much of this is present in the second act, which devotes a substantial amount of time to having the heroes travel across a monster-infested ocean to a corsair dominated port city.
The book isn't nearly so tied into the tabletop models as you would expect, and it veers away from promoting the major factions of the game. There are no Stormcast Eternals, Chaos shows up but in a manner that you would not expect, and the Seraphon play a role but vary heavily from their tabletop counterparts. The only groups which retain serious comparisons with their tabletop minis are a band of Kharadron Overseers and the Witch Hunter in the title. None of these are written in complete opposition to their tabletop variants or with an intentional desire to completely break from them. However, it never feels as if there's some requirement to show off each and every one, which makes the world feel much, much bigger as a result.
The story is also excellent when it comes to hinting at things but only showing so much. The various lost cities of knowledge that the groups encounter have been long overrun by greenskins or worse things, and only fragmented memories remain. Details surrounding the prior Age of Myth are key to the story, but Horth does an excellent job of only showing so much at any one time to keep you guessing. Furthermore, these are addressed and delved into in a relatively irreverent style which befits an adventure tale of this nature. While it's not exactly one-to-one, it's the closest that Warhammer will likely ever get to something along the lines of The Mummy films. Well, that or having an atmosphere which has you humming the Indiana Jones theme under your breath as you read it.
The characters are a nicely broad mix of individuals, with conflicting values, desires and roles. They are very boldly detailed and do fit into certain niches as you would expect, but there is a very well rounded quality to their writing and their conversations give them a very human quality. Even though you're always aware that you're reading story, it makes them lifelike enough to forgive an accept that fact.
Finally, the fights are excellently described at many points. This isn't so much the case where the heroes are vastly outnumbered, but any situations where they are facing small gangs of enemies or a big monster stand out well. You can clearly tell where everyone is supposed to be, and actions flow extremely easily from one moment into the next. The fact that the heroes and those accompanying them shift around so frequently also means that it feels constantly fresh, and from the second act onward they remain a strong element in the book.
However, from that last line, I think you know where the weaknesses are going to come into play.
The Bad:
So not to mince words, let's outline this clearly for all involved: The starting chapters to The Silver Shard are quite difficult to get through. They are easily the weakest in the entire book and the way in which they are executed seems to actively avoid Horth's strengths as a writer. There is very little in the way of easing the reader into the wider world, or even the characters in question. It just very abruptly starts, and you have to keep up with it. To make matters more difficult, it also spends almost all of this time following Shev and the main villain. As such, you're left wondering why you are following this character, and why the clearly ominously evil person hasn't revealed himself yet. Honestly, it's the sort of involvement where the mercenaries have been hired by John Not-A-Villain-At-All and then act surprised when he does turn on them.
The environments also lack the varied and dynamic nature of later areas, and much of this is due to how they are presented. We are given a very generic forest environment - with a few fun enemies at one point - followed by a large horde of Orruks occupying a ruin. It's one of these irritating situations where the sheer lack of a proper introduction undermines what is an otherwise good sequence, and that is only knocked down further by later issues. The first of these being that we have a band facing off in a three-way melee against more numerous opponents, which works against Horth's writing strengths, and then a surprise arrival. Callis and Toll's relationship with the villain is also delivered via an "as you know" detail which you can very easily miss, and the ideas behind it only become much clearer when they are repeated later on.
The point of this is that most of the book's failings are made very evident in the first few chapters, but there is little to nothing of its strengths brought up to help balance them out. It's only when things calm down and the heroes have more time to talk that it seriously starts to improve.
However, even considering the difficult beginning, there are a number of other problems which do crop up in the story. The first of these is that it is very predictable much of the time, and you can usually tell how things will pan out. This isn't so obvious in terms of who might arrive so much as how they will act once they do, and what their involvement in the story will be. It doesn't hinder how well these scenes are told, or even how effectively they are used, but you can usually predict how they will act in relation to the heroes. This will certainly bother some people more than others, so it's very much an issue which will vary from person to person.
However, a definite problem overall within the story stems from how it so often makes its titular characters seem like supporting figures within the story. They are introduced late into the book and the importance of their role varies heavily throughout the tale. Because of this, the story can feel oddly out of focus at various points, as if it doesn't quite know who to follow. You can work without a protagonist in some tales, certainly, but in this case, it's as if the book is trying to select a different person for its leading role every other chapter.
The Verdict:
The Silver Shard is deeply divided between very good and very flawed segments, with the latter sadly coming into play first. After reading through it twice it is easy to see just why it might have been logical for the book to be structured in this manner. Yet without foreknowledge of the overall narrative, it proves to be confusing, and it doesn't fully pick up until the second act. Because of this flaw, it's very easy to put down the book and never feel the drive to pick it up again.
However, even with this problem, the story does show a great deal of promise. Horth has a solid style of prose, and a nice balance between descriptions and action when he has more of a general world to world with. He avoids a lot of the more detailed purple prose of other writers, but he doesn't allow this to make the world seem empty or lackluster through his presentation. Plus, for all their flaws, I was interested in these characters and remembered their names long after I finished reading. If there was to be a sequel which improved upon the flaws here, I think it would be a great book.
As for this one, if you're interested in Age of Sigmar at all, I would suggest delving into this one but just keep in mind that it is deeply flawed.
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