Eye Of The Storm (The Realmgate Wars: Call Of Archaon 2)

The Realmgate Wars: Call of Archaon 2 - Eye of the Storm by Rob Sanders. A Warhammer: Age of Sigmar short story, originally published by The Black Library, August 2015. Approx. 28 pages.

HachiSnax Note: Apparently the full title of this series is The Realmgate Wars: Call of Archaon. When the first installment, Beneath the Black Thumb was released, it was billed as simply Short Story 1. Still haven't decided if I am going to change it, but I wanted to clarify. Cheers.

To start this review off, I have to admit one thing: not being up to date on all that transpired during The End Times (other than everything ending), I am not 100% sure why Archaon is "calling" warriors in this recent series. Well, I am assuming it is to cause some trouble, but I am not sure of the specifics.

So, in the last installment, we focused on Copsys Bule, Champion of Nurgle. In Eye of the Storm, we meet Orphaeo Zuvius, aka The Prince of Embers, who basks in the favor of Tzeentch. This was pretty exciting, since the first few Age of Sigmar shorts were Khornate overkill, and I wanted to see how a talented author like Sanders would portray a champion of the deceptive and treacherous God of Change.

I'll say this: the best part of this story is at the very beginning, encompassing the first three pages or so. We meet (again) the Many-Eyed, Tzeentch's watcher, and see things as he sees them. These opening paragraphs play out in a way that is both poetic and lurid. This is followed up by an excellent backstory that Sanders crafted for Zuvius.

From there, we follow Zuvius as he travels with his entourage to what he believes is his destiny: to traverse the Blasted Plain and prove his mettle on the Beaten Path before Archaon.

Sanders pens this short very well; one of his best skills is delivering rich detail through brief, figurative terms. He makes sure to keep a running motif of contrasts in the narrative, as befits a Tzeentchian tale. And he inserts the right amount of wit into the dialogue, especially in the interplay between Zuvius and his avian familiar Mallofax, who speaks in cryptic terms such as "Death?" and "This storm has teeth."

Also along the way, Zuvius manipulates Skargan Fell-of-Heart, a Khornate deathbringer, into bringing his retinue along on the trip (The Prine of Embers most potent weapon is his figurative and literal silver tongue). This leads to some more interesting interactions between the deceitful champion and the brutal one.

There are two aspects to Eye of the Storm which drag it down a bit. First is the fact that a journey is often only as interesting as the road it travels. You can write a whole book about walking around in NYC or Tokyo and never be bored, because those places have a vibrancy as strong as any fleshed-out character. But this is more of the same old, redundant Age of Sigmar scorched earth: barren, and always raining blood. It gets real old, real fast. Luckily, Sanders uses these moments to insert some of the winning dialogue, and a great action scene with some daemon spawn.

Then there is the second problem. Sigmarines. For no good reason, in spite of the fact that the Chaos champions are carrying the story fine on their own, we get the mandatory battle with some Stormcasts, because I guess Games Workshop felt the need to see the Judicators (archer units) get some page time. Although, I must admit, there is an excellent duel in that portion between Skargan and the Lord Castellant. Trust me, this is more a testimony to Sanders authorial talent than any inherent awesomeness in Sigmar's Reforged.

I mean, all the action scenes are pretty good. Some of the descriptions are deliciously over the top. My only issue with them is trying to keep count of how many troops are out there. You might read that one of the Champions has a very finite number of a certain troop type, then have 'swathes' of them cut down, and yet always have enough to put into a formation for the next clash. On the other hand, when the units are being portrayed so well (especially Zuvius' sorcerers, The Unseeing), you don't mind as long as the action keeps going.

In the end, it all ties up nicely. The ending scene is handled in a superb manner, if not as spectacular as the opening pages. But so far, in two Realmgate Wars stories, we have two very likable Chaos champions to root for.

So far this series is two for two.

Here's what it is:
Focusing on a devious mind rather than a brutal one, Eye of the Storm gives us a villain that is easy to love to hate. Handled by one of The Black Library's better authors, it makes for a solid, most enjoyable read.

Final Score:

8.5/10

Cover Score:

What's going on here? Who is that supposed to be? It isn't Zuvius, going by the story description. I don't think it is the Many-Eyed, even though it has many eyes. It looks like some bastard offspring of a Monsters, Inc. reject and the Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth. No bueno.

Cover Final Score:

4/10

Assault On The Mandrake Bastion (The Black Rift Of Klaxus: Part I)

The Black Rift of Klaxus Part : Assault on the Mandrake Bastion by Josh Reynolds. A Warhammer: Age of Sigmar short story, originally published by The Black Library, July 2015. Approx. 30 pages.

In our last post, I reviewed the freshman Age of Sigmar novella, The Gates of Azyr. Obviously, I am not too crazy about all this Age of Sigmar nonsense, and the story wasn't the greatest to boot either. I had my fun, but realized in all fairness I should give another AoS title or two a chance, just to see what some of the other authors could do with it.

I've really enjoyed the other stories I've read by Reynolds (there are a few shorts by him I need to get reviews up for). I don't know how best to describe it more succinctly, but he writes very well for how you would imagine your miniatures to move. He also describes specific attacks/spells within the Warhammer canon well. He choreographs decent enough action scenes. And his characters are usually approachable enough on a cinematic level (but no real emotion or pathos).

That's what readers can expect here. The rather long title perfectly summarizes the plot. I wish I could add more, but I can't. Once again we are assailed with numerous geographical names and specific unit types. I really cannot get myself to care enough about anything in this setting enough to memorize or care to differentiate. 

This isn't to say that there isn't anything of merit in this installment. It is written well enough. The Sigmarines are more enjoyable this go-round. The leader, Orius, has the same past-life memory hiccups as Vandus in Gates of Azyr, so I guess this is officially motif. These are interesting to read about. There is obviously a bit of a puzzle to sort out regarding Orius and Anhur, the Khornate warlord (who, in a nice twist, seems to be suffering the seeds of doubt regarding his life choices). Other than that, most of the good guy dialogue is barking directions, formation orders, and some sardonic one-liners (which work more or less). I couldn't keep up with the names. Two characters, Kartus and Tarkus, I kept confusing, and the fact that their names have the same letters, just rearranged, didn't help. They were both pretty cool, I won't lie. One didn't talk. There is also the Chaplain type unit. I remember his name - Moros, simply because he is somewhat morose.

The topography is detailed fine enough: it's red, ashy, and bloody. The concept of the Black Rift is realized very well.

The significant action scenes are done very well also. There is one scene where the sky units (whatever they're called) are assailing the Mandrake Bastion (btw, the mandrakes themselves are a great feature in this story). This whole scene was executed in a pretty exhilarating manner. Matter of fact, I was waiting for Brian Blessed to fly in and bellow "Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvve!!!!!"

Some weird looking Bloodreavers in this scene....

In the other fighting scenes, Reynolds does a good with the physical descriptions and fight choreography. He just suffers with some arbitrary action events between plot points. I can't really fault him for this; there isn't much to do between plot checkpoints. There will be some walking and skirmishing. But what to do? None of these characters are fleshed out enough for poignant interactions, there is nothing remarkable on the landscape, and we all know that the lower-echelon baddies don't have much more than primitive javelins to hurl at these gold-clad hulks. And yet, those pages need to be filled.

I have a feeling most of the future Age of Sigmar titles will suffer from these same dull parameters that seem to handicap creativity rather than inspire it.

Here's what it is:

The first part of an entirely unnecessary sequence sets up a major confrontation between two somewhat interesting, rather powerful fighters. Orius and Anhur have my interest piqued just enough to maybe stick around for Part II. Other than that; decent dialogue, exciting fight scenes, nothing else. Not great, not bad.

Final Score:

6.5/10

Cover Score:

One of the flying units. Not the best detailed picture of one, either. And nothing about that bright background screams "Black Rift".

Cover Final Score:

4/10

The Gates Of Azyr

The Gates of Azyr by Chris Wraight. The first Warhammer Age of Sigmar novella, originally published by the Black Library, July 2015. Approx. 90 pages.

I had come to pillory The Gates of Azyr.

For every perceived transgression committed by Games Workshop with their Age of Sigmar release against my inner child, I was prepared to show the world that there was no way that this gimmicky nonsense would translate into good fiction.

In short, I was ready to hate The Gates of Azyr.

I cannot say I was right. I also cannot say I was wrong.

The Gates of Azyr is a decently written novella with a paper-thin premise. Chris Wraight has always been a solid author, so I wasn't expecting total rubbish. It's just that in the end, he was handed a square wheel and tasked with making it roll. Let's take a look at what we have here.

First things first. I am not writing up a primer on this ridiculous Warhammer: Edgy Reboot. All you need to know can be told to you in a much better and more eloquent fashion than I would be able to convey by the nice folks at 1d4chan.

In short, Nagash, the AntiSigmar, rose up and everything got End Timesed. At the last moment, Sigmar himself plucks the worthiest warriors from the hellish near-apocalypse, bringing them to his celestial realm. Everybody else is.....wait for it......

Warhammer: Age of Rapture begins.

Sigmar has a plan though: he will rebuild these warriors. He will armor them in gold and cobalt overkill. He will give them all mighty warhammers and convenient comet fire to shoot from their palms. Behold! The Reforged!!!!

And I shall render their visages in my own glorious image!

So, anyway, the time has come for the Reforged to Retake the charred remains of the world, now renamed Aqshy, because don't even get me started, from the blood saturated minions of Khorne. And so, the forces of Sigmar teleport from Asgard, and ride the Bifrost Bridge down to Earth (I'm not typing Aqshy again in my life).

It's just...ugh, nevermind.

Alright, now that I've had a few paragraphs and puerile images to sate my dissatisfaction with the Age of Sigmar concept, let's look at the actual novella.

Everything I said already, plus due to a need for even more convenient/illogical gimmicks, the Gate of Azyr (which is the portal needed to reenter the sundered world) needs to be hit with magic from both sides in order to open. So, a smaller force of Reforged are teleported worldside in order to hold the line against the obligatory pre-massed horde of Khornites (named the Goretide, proving that 'excess' and 'cornball' are two words never introduced to Games Workshop employees), while some of their comrades "magic the Gate". 

With this in place, the book essentially becomes a battle report. I mean, let's be honest: this book isn't meant to introduce us to the literary possibilities of the Age of Sigmar setting, it is really just a tie-in novel to the box set, like Island of Blood or Dark Vengeance were for their respective sets (a bit of advice; if you aren't familiar with how the units and such look, take a gander at the set itself. Trust me, all the units are in the novella). Reserving yourself to that fact, and lowering your expectations in turn, will heighten your appreciation for what it is. Again, Wraight is a solid author, who writes vivid, bold scenarios. So let's look bit by bit at what he put together.

World Building:

Like I said, Wraight writes in colorful strokes. The world is a dismal, sundered landscape. Everything is saturated in red, the water is poisonous, vegetation in desiccated, ominous lightning crackles perennially overhead, etc. It's a post-apocalyptic wasteland. And Wraight portrays it all well. So, good marks here.

Characters:

What characters? Anyway. This here is the crux of the problem. Warhammer Fantasy allowed for characters to live and thrive. Even when there was the constant threat of war and evil, there was civilization, industry, etc. And thus, characters are born. Here, everything is about the mission. The Khornites are thoroughly evil. Wraight is wise enough to put any humor in the book into the conversations between the Goretide executives. There is some fun banter. 

The Reforged, on the other hand, are as dry as burnt toast. Our leader, Vandus, is understandably focused solely on his duty (another potential hamstring to future works featuring the Reforged: Space Marines of Future Past). To compensate, Wraight inserts scenes where Vandus' "previous life" hiccups some distant memories. It's pretty silly and generic, but something needed to be introduced to let the audience form an emotional bond with him. The rest of Sigmar's army, forget it. There is the Chaplain type who grunts out cryptic observations. He is also known as the Cryptborn. There is the leader of the sky units, I mean the Skyhost. The limit of his characterization is that his heart soars as he does. And that's it.

There are also some arbitrary humans scurrying about. They are standard post-apocalyptic types; there is a tough, grizzled female leader, a whiner/worrier, and some others. They offer little overall contribution other than ushering the bad guys towards where the action will take place. Once the hammers and axes start swinging (from about a third into the story until five pages from the end), these apocalypse urchins literally lay down to take a nap. 

Action:

I want to say this category is a home run. The mechanics of the fighting is portrayed very well. However, Wraight is again hamstrung by the materials. There are only so many ways you can talk about killing people with warhammers before careening ass over appetite into redundancy (he swung the warhammer in a wider arc, his warhammer scythed out, etc.). Any time a Reforged starts prepping for a comet-fire hadouken, the tendency is to groan, not become excited. Again, subject matter, not writing skill.

What I do have a problem with is some of the in-battle dialogue. Most of the time, it is harmless, standard growls, taunts, threats, and rallying cries. There was just one moment where Vandus made a declaration to a leader of the Goretide and basically told him "If you leave now, you will live to see another day. If you stay, you will surely die." Hold the phone, the entirety of your being transported from another goddamn realm is to purge these creatures from the scorched earth! Why are you giving options to daemon-spawn????

Other Issues:

Not much. There's some obvious padding. More than a few times we here the same thematic elements of how this is the start of the true battle, and how for the Khornites they had gotten bored living for a few thousand years off of refugee scraps, and their zest is now renewed. It gets tiresome, but given the world setting, what does Wraight really have to use to evoke emotion from the reader?

In the end, it has been a lot of fun ribbing this novella. Hubris may eventually sink Games Workshop, and Age of Sigmar seems an accommodating iceberg. Then again, I am known as a perennial pessimist. 

Pictured: Your humble blogger.

But I don't want to come off like I am insulting Chris Wraight as an author. Again, to stress the merits of this novella, the very distinct world concept is portrayed very well. There is a lot of action, and it is written in an exciting manner. The villains are very enjoyable. And we all know that a fun psychopath can more than compensate for a white bread hero.

Here's what it is:

The Gates of Azyr is a bit better than you would expect for a box set tie-in novella. The premise is paper thin, the action is non-stop. The fact that the good guys are pretty much devoid of emotion promises to be a hurdle for future authors and stories, but hey, I can still enjoy a yearly viewing of March of the Wooden Soldiers, so there is always hope, right?

For Sigmaaaaaaar!!!!!!

Wraight obviously does the best that he can with what he has to work with. I am not saying he is absolved of any blame associated with the final product, but he did take some garbage ingredients and serve up a palatable dish.

Final Score:

5/10

Cover Score:

A snippet of the box set art for the Age of Sigmar set (although if you buy the set, you get a spiffy little hardback). I can't really deduct points for it not jiving with my personal aesthetics; the composition, artwork, and color saturation are all strong. Wise choice to crop it to showcase the duel between Vandus and Khul.

Cover Final Score:

7/10