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Warhammer Age of Sigmar
Prince Maesa
A Warhammer Age of Sigmar Novel
Discover the tragic tale of Prince Maesa, a nomadic aelf willing to brave the terrible might of Nagash to find respite from his grief.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a tale of lost love – and the lengths one outcast aelf will go to mend his broken heart – as Maesa journeys across the Mortal Realms to bring his beloved back.
DESCRIPTION
For centuries, Prince Maesa of the nomad clans has wandered the Mortal Realms. Exiled from his people for the crime of loving a human woman, Maesa's woes were compacted by bereavement – for human lives are but brief sparks compared to those of the aelves.
Ever since his beloved Ellamar's death, Maesa has quested tirelessly in search of a means to return her to his arms. Now, accompanied by his spite companion Shattercap, Maesa nears the end of his quest – single-mindedly daring the deserts of Shyish, the fury of slumbering demigods, and the wrath of daemons to revive his true love. Yet the souls of the departed are guarded jealously by the God of Undeath. To carry out a true resurrection would be to earn Nagash's undying contempt, and the Great Necromancer is the least forgiving deity in all the Mortal Realms…
Discover the tragic tale of Prince Maesa, a nomadic aelf willing to brave the terrible might of Nagash to find respite from his grief.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a tale of lost love – and the lengths one outcast aelf will go to mend his broken heart – as Maesa journeys across the Mortal Realms to bring his beloved back.
DESCRIPTION
For centuries, Prince Maesa of the nomad clans has wandered the Mortal Realms. Exiled from his people for the crime of loving a human woman, Maesa's woes were compacted by bereavement – for human lives are but brief sparks compared to those of the aelves.
Ever since his beloved Ellamar's death, Maesa has quested tirelessly in search of a means to return her to his arms. Now, accompanied by his spite companion Shattercap, Maesa nears the end of his quest – single-mindedly daring the deserts of Shyish, the fury of slumbering demigods, and the wrath of daemons to revive his true love. Yet the souls of the departed are guarded jealously by the God of Undeath. To carry out a true resurrection would be to earn Nagash's undying contempt, and the Great Necromancer is the least forgiving deity in all the Mortal Realms…
343 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2022
13 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Guy Haley
288 books718 followersGuy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 15, 2022
If you told me that an Age of Sigmar novel would become one of my favourite fantasy books of all time before I read this, I'd have laughed in your face.
Loudly.
However, that's exactly what happened! I've read faaaar too many fantasy novels in my day and yet Prince Maesa has shot to the top of my favourites list. I love everything in this story. The characters are amazing, the story is fun at the start and grows into a very personal, quite sad tale which is far more mature in theme than anything else I've read in Age of Sigmar.
Maesa and Shattercap are fantastic characters that I won't soon forget, they're interesting, well developed and engaging, I wanted to read more about them. I've rarely met an Age of Sigmar character I actually care about so this was a welcome surprise.
And the ending is AMAZING!
In addition, all the lore we get for the Wanderers (GW's stupid, unnecessary new name for the Wood Elves in this setting) is great and makes me really hope we get more lore about them soon. I love me some Wood Elves, what can I say?
Then comes the action...this is the BIG let down. The action in this tale is boring, overlong and rarely adds anything to the story. Everything that happens in the fights could have been done without needing page upon page of generic, not very interesting or well written, sword fighting.
All in all, 4 out of 5. Would have been 5 out of 5 if not for the action that really lets the story down.
Loudly.
However, that's exactly what happened! I've read faaaar too many fantasy novels in my day and yet Prince Maesa has shot to the top of my favourites list. I love everything in this story. The characters are amazing, the story is fun at the start and grows into a very personal, quite sad tale which is far more mature in theme than anything else I've read in Age of Sigmar.
Maesa and Shattercap are fantastic characters that I won't soon forget, they're interesting, well developed and engaging, I wanted to read more about them. I've rarely met an Age of Sigmar character I actually care about so this was a welcome surprise.
And the ending is AMAZING!
In addition, all the lore we get for the Wanderers (GW's stupid, unnecessary new name for the Wood Elves in this setting) is great and makes me really hope we get more lore about them soon. I love me some Wood Elves, what can I say?
Then comes the action...this is the BIG let down. The action in this tale is boring, overlong and rarely adds anything to the story. Everything that happens in the fights could have been done without needing page upon page of generic, not very interesting or well written, sword fighting.
All in all, 4 out of 5. Would have been 5 out of 5 if not for the action that really lets the story down.
November 15, 2024
Just wow. One of the best fantasy books i've read
July 24, 2022
Prince Maesa (along with Shattercap the spite) first appeared in Guy Haley’s 2017 Age of Sigmar audio drama The Autumn Prince, which was followed by several short stories and a further audio, all of which have been combined, updated and expanded to form Prince Maesa, a full-length novel exploring the aelven Wanderer’s quest to return his beloved Ellamar to life. From their visit to ill-fated Shadespire, through Shyish and out across the Mortal Realms, Maesa and Shattercap travel far and wide as they search for the knowledge and the magic that will reunite Maesa with his long-dead human love. Eternally grief-stricken, Maesa finds solace along the way in companionship and in his attempts to teach Shattercap to be good, but his journey is filled with deadly enemies to face, and the prospect of Nagash’s wrath should he succeed in his quest.
It’s great to see Black Library not taking the easy option (i.e. just bundling the existing stories together) and instead giving Haley the chance to properly finish off this story, with the end result being an engaging and deeply satisfying novel overall. Readers who have followed Maesa’s individual adventures can recap on what’s gone before, reflect on the tweaks and changes, and finally find out whether Maesa succeeds in his quest or not, while readers new to these characters can enjoy this as a single brilliant story. Either way, taken as a whole this offers a compelling blend of bleak, old-school Warhammer vibes with the hint of hope that Age of Sigmar often brings, told with Haley’s characteristic flair for engaging characters and grounded, believable dialogue. A full Age of Sigmar novel from Haley has been a long time coming, and off the back of this let’s just hope there’s more to come.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2022/07/...
It’s great to see Black Library not taking the easy option (i.e. just bundling the existing stories together) and instead giving Haley the chance to properly finish off this story, with the end result being an engaging and deeply satisfying novel overall. Readers who have followed Maesa’s individual adventures can recap on what’s gone before, reflect on the tweaks and changes, and finally find out whether Maesa succeeds in his quest or not, while readers new to these characters can enjoy this as a single brilliant story. Either way, taken as a whole this offers a compelling blend of bleak, old-school Warhammer vibes with the hint of hope that Age of Sigmar often brings, told with Haley’s characteristic flair for engaging characters and grounded, believable dialogue. A full Age of Sigmar novel from Haley has been a long time coming, and off the back of this let’s just hope there’s more to come.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2022/07/...
August 13, 2022
While the fact that this book was created from a bunch of short stories hurts the pace and flow of the story a little, it is easily one of the best Warhammer books I have ever read. It is even one best fantasy stories I have read this year.
The ending is great and comes together flawlessly. I really liked most of the characters. They are remarkably deep for a Warhammer book. I would definitely love to see other adventures with prince Mesa and Shattercap. I must admit that I am biased toward elves books. I usually think they make the best novels.
I do not want to talk about the story, as I feel it is best to enter this adventure completely clueless and just go with the flow, especially if you already have a good understanding of the mortal realms. Everything comes together in the end.
Sadly, for non-Warhammer fans, it might be difficult to understand some of the background in the story. Especially the interactions between the different gods and realms. I feel this is a problem with most Warhammer books. It is what brings it down slightly for me. If there was just a little more explanation on the world building, I think this could really have been a great book for anyone that loves fantasy stories.
The ending is great and comes together flawlessly. I really liked most of the characters. They are remarkably deep for a Warhammer book. I would definitely love to see other adventures with prince Mesa and Shattercap. I must admit that I am biased toward elves books. I usually think they make the best novels.
I do not want to talk about the story, as I feel it is best to enter this adventure completely clueless and just go with the flow, especially if you already have a good understanding of the mortal realms. Everything comes together in the end.
Sadly, for non-Warhammer fans, it might be difficult to understand some of the background in the story. Especially the interactions between the different gods and realms. I feel this is a problem with most Warhammer books. It is what brings it down slightly for me. If there was just a little more explanation on the world building, I think this could really have been a great book for anyone that loves fantasy stories.
July 14, 2023
I have so much to say about this book, but very little will make sense with how emotional it made me so I'll keep it short, so it makes sense.
The writing was amazing, this is a fantasy but Guy Haley uses language that makes it easy to follow even if you're not used to the fantasy genre, you'll have no problem understanding what's going on plot-wise.
The characters are also amazing, absolutely wonderful, some start off sort of unsure but they quickly grew on me. Shattercap is the best character ever. Each character does have wonderful character development, no one seems tossed in for nothing.
The twists were all so brilliant, and painful, and glorious and the book had a wonderful ending, this book was very beautiful and emotional. The ending was satisfying and won't, or shouldn't, ruin the last few chapters or the rest book for you (fantasy books can sometimes do that but this one doesn't).
The writing was amazing, this is a fantasy but Guy Haley uses language that makes it easy to follow even if you're not used to the fantasy genre, you'll have no problem understanding what's going on plot-wise.
The characters are also amazing, absolutely wonderful, some start off sort of unsure but they quickly grew on me. Shattercap is the best character ever. Each character does have wonderful character development, no one seems tossed in for nothing.
The twists were all so brilliant, and painful, and glorious and the book had a wonderful ending, this book was very beautiful and emotional. The ending was satisfying and won't, or shouldn't, ruin the last few chapters or the rest book for you (fantasy books can sometimes do that but this one doesn't).
September 9, 2023
This book collects a number of previously published short stories and audio dramas staring the exiled aelf Prince Masa, and puts them together into a narrative to tell the story of his quest to resurrect his dead lover. I had only read one of the short stories, and listed to two of the audio dramas, before reading this book so I am unsure who much is new and how much it republished, however. The fact that the book is made up of various short stories does make it easy to dip in and out of. The conclusion of the story is very interesting, and it does leave things open for future stories.
The story in this book is good, with my favourite part being the At the Sign of the Brazen Claw section, where the main character and two other characters tell true stories, as it has some nice world building for multiple realms. The plot of the book also takes Maesa from Shyish to Ghur and then Hysh, giving a good look at the realms (although I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the Realm of Beasts). The action in the book is good but one of my favourite aspects of the book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the one between Maesa and the duardin Stonebrack.
The story in this book is good, with my favourite part being the At the Sign of the Brazen Claw section, where the main character and two other characters tell true stories, as it has some nice world building for multiple realms. The plot of the book also takes Maesa from Shyish to Ghur and then Hysh, giving a good look at the realms (although I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the Realm of Beasts). The action in the book is good but one of my favourite aspects of the book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the one between Maesa and the duardin Stonebrack.
May 18, 2023
The best AoS novel I have read to date. Not only that, but a really great fantasy novel in general. This would be a great read for anybody with no knowledge of the AoS setting. It initially begins with a series of short stories introducing the cast of characters and their individual journeys that lead them to come together. From here the story moves into a singular narrative and develops on the relationships and drive initially established. By the end, you've become so heavily invested in the two main characters that the ending may very well move you to tears. Never would I have thought a dumb throw away fantasy written to support a table top game would illicit such an emotional response but, by the power of Sigmar, it certainly did. Please read this book.
November 23, 2022
This is another great addition to Age of Sigmar by Guy Haley.
Prince Maesa is an interesting character, with great development over the novel, and Shattercap was an enjoyable addition.
The biggest let down is the pace of the story due to the fact that it is essentially a collection of short stories, but the ending does a great job of trying it all together.
All the ancillary characters add a great deal to the story, are well fleshed out, and really help to drive the narrative.
However, those unfamiliar with some of the more important lore aspects such as races, realms and gods from AoS may find it hard to keep up at times.
Well worth the read, very enjoyable.
Prince Maesa is an interesting character, with great development over the novel, and Shattercap was an enjoyable addition.
The biggest let down is the pace of the story due to the fact that it is essentially a collection of short stories, but the ending does a great job of trying it all together.
All the ancillary characters add a great deal to the story, are well fleshed out, and really help to drive the narrative.
However, those unfamiliar with some of the more important lore aspects such as races, realms and gods from AoS may find it hard to keep up at times.
Well worth the read, very enjoyable.
July 5, 2022
Having read 60 plus black library books, this one stands above all. A clear and concise story that shows the forming of a bond between companions. The story follows one heart wrenching journey of Prince Maesa (a wanderer elf) that, that finds several unlikely companions across the classic age of sigmar high fantasy setting. Through the use of stories you will be taken to the wildest places of the realms, each told by different in story narrators, which all accumulate into one grand narrative. Truly some of the most likable characters I have ever read and I hope we see them again.
August 10, 2025
"If you told me that an Age of Sigmar novel would become one of my favourite fantasy books of all time before I read this, I'd have laughed in your face.
Loudly.
However, that's exactly what happened! ..."
This quote from another Goodreads reader perfectly describes how I feel!
There are many references, but I think you could read this book and enjoy it even if you don't know anything about Warhammer, and just like fantasy stories.
One of very few Warhammer books (and books in general) I know that I will read again some day.
Loudly.
However, that's exactly what happened! ..."
This quote from another Goodreads reader perfectly describes how I feel!
There are many references, but I think you could read this book and enjoy it even if you don't know anything about Warhammer, and just like fantasy stories.
One of very few Warhammer books (and books in general) I know that I will read again some day.
July 19, 2023
As someone who's usually not a fan of Haley's writing at all - this was shockingly good. The prose has an old-fashioned storyteller quality to it that's overall a cut above his usual writing style, and Maesa's actions throughout are motivated entirely by his odd character rather than a simple macguffin quest with a bunch of "exciting" happenings along the way. The characters overall are solid and the ending is fantastic. Very worth the read.
January 6, 2023
So wholesome. Fantastic ending. Like others have mentioned, you can see the stitches of where the short stories have been quilted together, but not so much that it gives you whiplash. Brilliantly told tale with some of the most creative fantasy locations I’ve ever read (the inn in the claw!) I would have loved more.
June 7, 2025
The first 50 pages were really hard to sit through. I put the book down for five months because I just couldn't get through that first chunk. I finally got back around to it and flew through the rest! Sometimes it's just like that, especially with fantasy.
Worth the read. I'm not otherwise familiar with the Warhammer franchise. I didn't feel like that detracted from the story.
Worth the read. I'm not otherwise familiar with the Warhammer franchise. I didn't feel like that detracted from the story.
December 4, 2025
This isn't just a good Age of Sigmar book, it's just a good book. 5/5 for AoS content, 4.5/5 for general fantasy. Prince Maesa focuses on character interactions, motivations, and worldbuilding first. The action is there to facilitate these things and it's not used sparingly. There's some structural elements that might give a reader some issues, but honestly, it's just a damn good book.
July 10, 2022
Usually, all these black library (taking place in games workshop universes) are a bit dull. But not this one. I genuinely liked it as a standalone book. Interesting main plot with twists, emotions etc
January 10, 2024
Masterpiece.
Guy,
Sir, you crushed this one. For me, it was a combination of Canterbury Tales, Lord of the Rings, and Epic of Gilgamesh. I sincerely hope to read more of the Autumn Prince.
Have you thought about writing children’s books?
Guy,
Sir, you crushed this one. For me, it was a combination of Canterbury Tales, Lord of the Rings, and Epic of Gilgamesh. I sincerely hope to read more of the Autumn Prince.
Have you thought about writing children’s books?
July 7, 2024
Shockingly good considering its origin. The Brazen Claw is so genius - it seamlessly connects three unrelated stories into an extremely memorable finale, transforming what began as a collection of short stories into a very complete novel. The climax is equal parts touching and heartbreaking.
August 26, 2022
A nice semi-anthology that weaves together all the Prince Maesa short stories, while also adding some new lore to it.
Watch the full review here: https://youtu.be/Fboq8qU9_SM
Watch the full review here: https://youtu.be/Fboq8qU9_SM
January 22, 2023
I found the pace of this disjointed, but the story itself was good.
September 11, 2023
I've said it before, but I'll say it again: If Guy Haley wrote it, I'm gonna read it.
September 23, 2023
An excellent age of Sigmar story, that feels more mature than most, as we follow Prince Maesa in a tale of grief and friendship.
November 6, 2023
An excellent journey through the realms
January 4, 2024
Might just be my favorite Black Library novel.
March 10, 2024
A Beautiful story with a wonderful characters.
April 1, 2024
I did enjoy it but it is more a collection of stories all from Maesa's Journey. Sometimes it felt a bit like i was missing things. I do like Maesa and i love Shattercap.
February 6, 2025
Really enjoyed this, I feel it's been his most cohesive book with a good story, okay characters and a very solid flow to it.
June 12, 2025
A surprisingly deep story of adventure, romance and hope.
July 27, 2025
This is my third AOS book and I can't say one bad thing about it. I loved the writing style and storytelling part of it and was impressed by the complexity of the story.
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January 26, 2023Coming into this, I was pretty familiar with Guy Haley’s other work, mainly from 40k. He’s always an author I felt has added unique sense of perspective to Black Library and I was excited to see he’s branching out more into AOS.
Lo and behold, Price Maesa is one of the best BL books I’ve ever read. By this, I mean that the book is so well paced that there are several points when things click into place and your left with a true sense of what living in the mortal realms.
With that said, there is filler between these points. Some of it more generic than others, but inoffensive enough. That comes from the method in which the book was divised.
The standout points of the book were a impactful series of chapters in the middle where characters are telling their backstories, the surprisingly well done side characters, the relationship between the two main characters, and finally, the reason why I will always remember this book… well, I can’t say because that’d spoil it for you wouldn’t it?
Lo and behold, Price Maesa is one of the best BL books I’ve ever read. By this, I mean that the book is so well paced that there are several points when things click into place and your left with a true sense of what living in the mortal realms.
With that said, there is filler between these points. Some of it more generic than others, but inoffensive enough. That comes from the method in which the book was divised.
The standout points of the book were a impactful series of chapters in the middle where characters are telling their backstories, the surprisingly well done side characters, the relationship between the two main characters, and finally, the reason why I will always remember this book… well, I can’t say because that’d spoil it for you wouldn’t it?
August 31, 2025
Not just a great warhammer novel, but among the fantasy novels I've read as well
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews