CL Werner’s Lord of Undeath is the tenth and final Realmgate Wars book, concluding the series with another of the Stormcast’s missions to negotiate a new alliance with Nagash. This time the focus is on the Anvils of the Heldenhammer, led by Lord Celestant Makvar, who seek out Neferata as the first step on their mission in Shyish. The Mortarch of Blood has spent the Age of Chaos spinning veils of illusion to protect her city, Nulahmia, but the Slaaneshi warlord Lascilion threatens to undo all her efforts. If Makvar can ally with Neferata, it’s a step closer to success.
It’s a continuation of themes from Mortarch of Night – Stormcast not entirely happy about allying with the undead, and a Mortarch looking out for themselves as always – even if there’s not a lot of direct connective tissue between the two books. This is less Stormcast-centric than any others in the series, with viewpoints from not just Makvar and his lieutenants but also Neferata, her vampiric general, the Slaaneshi warlord and even Nagash. That variety helps keep the plot moving, and mitigates a little of the battle fatigue that sets in – there’s a lot of fighting within these pages, not least in the opening third which is given over entirely to the siege of Nulahmia. Thankfully the antagonists are largely not Khorne worshippers, but even so it does all feel like we’ve seen this before.
Where the book suffers is both that fatigue and also a strange lack of character to the Stormcasts. In spreading the viewpoints across so many characters, Werner fails to give much depth to the Stormcast beyond a basic sense of earnest practicality. There’s clearly more to the Anvils, but it’s only just hinted at by the end of the book. Thankfully the undead characters make up for the slightly dull Stormcast, with plenty of sneaky manipulation as every one of them looks out for themselves above all else. Werner’s style suits dark, ambiguous characters best, and he does a pretty good job here. Nagash himself at first appears a bit un-godly but becomes increasingly interesting as his machinations develop and his interest in the mechanics of the Stormcast becomes clear.
It all boils down to a lot of fighting providing a backdrop for Werner exploring a little of the relationship between Nagash and Sigmar; the Stormcast cling to duty and believe (probably naively) that they can sway Nagash, never really understanding just who they’re dealing with. Where it works best is when Werner’s innate style can shine, with depictions of Shyish and the elements of manipulation and general sneakiness. The plot lacks a bit of pace and invention for the most part, but by the end it does somehow come together into something endearingly old-school and relatively entertaining. It’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind about Age of Sigmar as a setting, but with a few familiar elements and a focus away from Stormcast Eternals it’s at least a little different to what’s come before.
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