Dominion

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

by Darius Hinks

A Warhammer Age of Sigmar novel

Witness the destructive forces that are on the rise in the Realm of Beasts first-hand, and see the indomitable defences of Excelsis tested like never before.

READ IT BECAUSE
This tie-in novel coincides with the launch of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Dominion, and it brings you right up to date with the events that are taking place in the bestial realm of Ghur.

THE STORY
In the rain-soaked shanty towns of Excelsis, sellsword Niksar Astaboras drunkenly barters his way to a meaningless existence. Little does he care for the war that rages between men and monsters beyond the city walls, despite portents of its encroaching threat. Mortal life in the Realm of Beasts is short enough, and to leave the shelter of civilisation is to surrender to certain death.

But death is coming to Excelsis. The forces of Destruction are on the move and the realm quakes with each thunderous step. In the wildlands, a sinister new foe overwhelms even the mighty Stormcast Eternals. Yet just as all seems lost, an unexpected champion rises – one to whom Niksar is inextricably linked – ready to lead a crusade into the very heart of darkness. Embroiled in this harrowing journey, Niksar is forced to choose between loyalty and the chance of survival, and in so doing discover his true worth in the greatest battle yet against the savage forces of Destruction.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Action

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2021

About the author

Darius Hinks is an author, writing primarily in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He was born in Birmingham, England, in 1972. He works and lives in Nottinghamshire. Hinks' first novel, Warrior Priest, won the David Gemmel Morningstar award.

Reviews

[Ahmad Othman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a light read as a tie in for the new edition, introducing the new orc faction and the new stormcast. And in that sense it’s great, engaging and fun to read. It doesn’t have crazy amounts of lore - which people are complaining about - but it provides a “mortal” look into the realms which is more akin to the old fantasy world and I appreciated that.

[Andrew Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent fantasy novel with some interesting world building. However, the character portrayals could have been a bit more interesting.

[Lionel Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following along with the new 3rd edition storyline Dominion is about a brother and sister who inadvertently end up leading a Dawnbringer Crusade, and an effort by the forces of Order to retake the land of Ghur. But they soon find out that there is a reason so many of these crusades are failures. In addition to facing the usual challenges in the land of beasts, there is a new mysterious threat that lurks in an unnatural mist that hangs over the land. This is a very entertaining story that is an excellent introduction to the storyline in the latest edition of Warhammer AOS. If you like stories that take place in this fantasy universe you should definitely give this one a read!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit was gewoon sick. Ben wel blij dat ik niet in dit universum leef.

[Jacob Bennike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed every part of this book. All the characters are interesting, the sturmmarines are actually grim dank and the story has a nice share of surprises a long the way.

I think this book could stand on its own as a fantasy novel without Warhammer and that is just rare for black library books. That’s sort of a backhanded compliment that’s a little mean, but you know that it’s true.

[FoolishValkyrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best age of sigmar novels.

[Jonathan Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect when I picked this up. I've been painting Age of Sigmar figures recently - though not playing the game yet - and I wanted to tie in some storyline to make it interesting. It worked. The book fueled my painting and the painting fueled my reading. Everything came to life. The story provides a "mortal" look into the world of Sigmar. There isn't a crazy amount of lore. It provides just enough to get you going and keep things interesting. Fast-moving, well-written and has a wonderfully imagined climax. This is a great, natural introduction to the world of Age of Sigmar. I can't wait to read - and paint - more.

[William Macleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first AOS novel i have ever read. I was always a bit put off getting into AOS fiction as i wasn't sure where to begin. This book was the perfect first start. A great and natural introduction to the world of AOS, giving a small taste of the setting and characters. Easy to understand, and follow. I soon got into the characters and plot and it was a real joy to listen to on audio. I hope this the start on an on going series, and I'd love to know more about these characters.

[Clay Kneip]

It's fine.

[Nic Larson]

Way better then reviews

This book is epic, great characters, excellent story, really does a good job of bringing Aos current, I throughly enjoyed it.

[Waltrius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une bonne surprise au final avec des personnages auxquels on s'attache, de l'action héroïque (c'est un roman AoS...) et une véritable histoire (même si simple) dans cet univers Age of Sigmar plein de potentiel mais malheureusement très souvent sous-exploité.

On peut regretter que les Kruelboys n'arrivent que tardivement dans le roman (dommage pour un roman de lancement d'une édition centrée sur des antagonistes Orks), mais j'ai tout de même passé un bon moment avec cette croisade perdue sur Ghur, un monde où littéralement tout essaye de vous bouffer.

Un bon roman Warhammer, rien de plus mais rien de moins (et c'est déjà pas mal !)

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know absolutely nothing about Warhammer, and after walking into a Warhammer store with my friend who is obsessed with the worlds and miniatures and games, I saw a bookshelf and thought, eh, why not read a book to see what the lore is about? And golly, was it a read. I regret nothing. There is so much action in this book, my heart was racing as if I were the one running from wild monsters. Great descriptions of beasts and greenskins—absolutely would recommend this to anyone who is a beginner and knows next to nothing about the Age of Sigmar.

[James Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written and released as a tie-in to the launch of the version of Age of Sigmar. Hopefully it's a relaunch of the fiction as well.
Fast moving, well written and with a wonderfully imagined climax, Dominion is one of the best Age of Sigmar novels recently published.
I highly recommend it, even if you haven't read any of the books.

[Declan Waters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Straight off, I want to say this - if you're just after a story from the Warhammer Age of Sigmar this is a fine book, well written with an interesting underlying story.

However, I picked it up because it was the companion book to the recent release of Age of Sigmar 3, which is the first edition to have Destruction (one of the Age of Sigmar factions) as well as the Stormcast. As such, I'm looking forward to more expansion of the history and background of the Destruction races - especially the new Kruleboyz released in the boxed set...

... Unfortunately this book didn't achieve this. There was the (now reasonably common) Black Library usage of a human as the main character to make them more relatable - in this case a brother and sister whose father had been killed by Orruks (Orcs) before they escaped to Excelsis (a very large city in Ghur - the Realm of Beasts). If you're not into Warhammer I've made this sound a bit confusing, but you can honestly read this book with no knowledge of the background.

The Realm of Ghur becomes one of the things that the siblings must overcome and they encounter monsters not released by Games Workshop (Kraken), and some that have (Kraken Eater Gargant), on their Crusade. If this is familiar to those who have read the Age of Sigmar rule book, it's because Crusades are a new way to play the game... all good so far.

But... the story revolves around the brother (Niksar), with his sister being relegated to a supporting role. This is unfortunate given the need for Warhammer to appeal to more women readers and gamers, and missed a perfect opportunity in a big release book.

And then my biggest complaint - there is a little background on the Stormcast from the box, but the Kruleboyz (Orruks) only make an appearance late and are hidden behind their mist, only appearing to attack and then be attacked by the Stormcast. There was little development for them and - as they are a new race - I expected a lot more. It's about time Black Library released some books from the perspective of the 'bad guys' which we know they can do, but which is sadly lacking for the new army - and indeed all the Destruction forces.

Disappointing.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay the ending boosted this to 3 stars because that was excellent and a fun little twist.

This book is designed to be very introductory and it works very well as just that. You are introduced to this very weird world that feels like a lot of previous fantasy, but is clearly restricted by a bunch of rules that you aren't quite aware of.

The narrative is split between two characters. Arulos is a demigod who is as unknowable as he is vague. But there's something endearing about that. Niksar is an idiot who is designed to make his sister look good. That's probably unfair to him but he spends most of his narrative complaining and trying to con his way up a ladder, only to be told what to do by women he will subsequently not listen to. His huge triumph in the end is the brave decision to actually help out of his own accord and not listen to anyone else's advice, despite everyone tell him to help out the entire book (I'm being vague for spoilers sake, but seriously he constantly contradicts what he wants to do, in a way that feels underwritten.)

Fine book, can't wait to read better Age of Sigmar books.

[GD Bessemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Golden-armored warriors ride literal lighting down from the sky and crash into their snarling foes. A wild, untamed land filled with deadly surprises and ever-bigger threats. Magic, miracles, mistakes, redemptions--if any of this sparks interest in you then check out Dominion!

This was my first Black Library book, and I got it as a primer for getting into the Age of Sigmar wargame. As a former aficionado of other licensed stories (like Shadowrun and Star Wars novels) I went in with lowered expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. Dominion had some compelling characters in a story told quite well, and even subverted my expectations at some points. It was nice to see the various shades of good with the main characters as opposed to them all being of one righetous mind or something. Of course if you came looking for epic depictions of combat and warriors making solemn vows to rend their foes, there's plenty of that too!

[Darren K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dominion was one of the better AoS books to have come out so far. The premise is simple: led by visions from Sigmar, a crusade is led into the wilds to forge a settlement and shield against the chaos. The protagonists are a brother and sister who both seek to rise from their tragic beginnings and become something more than they were. You also get to meet one of the more interesting Stormcasts, who really elevated the story to another level.

As can be expected from any Warhammer book, there's plenty of violence and twisted creatures for the crusade to pit themselves against and even more obstacles for them to overcome. The only complaint I have was that I kept waiting for a twist to occur with a certain object and woman which just never occurred. A lot of shade was dropped, so I spent the last half of the book anticipating something that would never happen. As such, I feel that I will enjoy the story a lot more on a second read through.

[Jason Cowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a decent book overall. Niksar, love him or hate him, is an interesting character with how he addresses the world around him, doing some half-assed scheming to secure a better place for himself. The zealotry of the world is a tad dull. It could've been explored a little more but the crisis of faith is at least somewhat compelling. The characters, despite many of them being grand embodiments of ideals in faith, are quite grounded. This book is almost a 4 for me. It just falls a little flat for me, especially with how many of the action scenes are less plot devices and more just hurdles used to show grimdark suffering. I did like the final conflict overall though. It did a little more of what I would've liked to see happen once or twice more throughout the book.

[Ethan Jarmush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm something was off here. Best character was the dwarf and they were against my boy the whole time! Dwarf racism up in here. Why would you ask him to built a giant keep, and give him an ancient relic that will allow him to do it. And then when he builds the giant keep using the ancient relic you guys are like “STOPP OH GOD STOP!!” And then he keeps using it and nothing bad happens and it’s never brought up again.

Also the stormcast eternals had me snoozing. Bunch of idiots walking around aimlessly. Getting beat up by a bunch of skinny orks. SKINNY ORKS.

Darius, I’m sorry for my three star review. I’m sorry you must forgive me!

[Efraim · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the context of Warhammer books this was a really entertaining read! A bit of the hero’s journey with normal men and women overcoming (and not) the odds on a holy crusade to save their city in the realm of life; a place that makes a regular wilderness and the law of the jungle look like playing in a greenhouse. Narrating the story around regular humans makes the superhuman Stormcast Eternals more mysterious and all the threats even more frightening, so it’s usually something I welcome in both Age of Sigmar and 40K books!

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an increasingly nuanced look into the personalities and motivations of people and Stormcast Eternals. It was interesting to read about the characters’ blind spots and how they dealt with disappointment and their own failures. It took a while to get to the fighting but it’s there for a long while toward the last quarter of the story. I’m saddened to think that readers won’t get a chance to read more about the relationship between the brother and sister.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best black library stories I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. I thought the characters were really well made I would like to have known more about some like Ocella and Tyndaris but what a great fantasy novel I loved it.
Being an age of Sigmar modeller it brought several of them to life for me. Great stuff.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A minor but enjoyable fantasy potboiler. Niksar’s a fun character, and watching Colgrim go insane was amusing. A few of Kruleboyz chapters are genuinely freaky. But everything with Erulos kind of sucks. He’s pretty boring, his visions don’t amount to anything, and he reads like an idiot who is always falling into obvious traps.

[Jess Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a massive Warhammer Age of Sigmar fan I absolutely loved reading this book and I also had the pleasure of speaking to the writer of this book which was absolutely amazing I one hundred percent recommend this book.

[Cuchi Aslogh · Rating 4 out of 5]

La verdad que esta bien bruto el librito. Mucho Sigmar, como siempre, pero desde otra perspectiva, que esta súper chulo eso. Los personajes súper chulos y la evolución brutal. La historia chulona también

[Leonardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a banger finish, but the road to reach it, much like the route of the crusaders, was rather circuitous. I think a third perspective could have been spared to give the reader time with the orruks so that they did not just pop up out of the blue halfway through the novel.

[Luke Costin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun fantasy romp across the realms, the orcs felt genuinely threatening although I’d have like more from them. I didn’t really care for the characters but as a world building story it was pretty good.

Nothing amazing but pretty solid.

[tahlia_ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great look into some light AOS lore and develops the new clans with interesting battles. The core relationship between the siblings gives a mortal look at AOS and brings something new to this style of Warhammer novel. It dragged slightly in the middle but was overall an excellent read.

[ape78 · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worse black library novels I have ever read. The story and the description of the setting are really elementary and non-sense. Also the new orruks are ridiculously characterized.

[Barthel Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch my full review here: https://youtu.be/9CtdJ5dQLJ8