David Guymer's Blog - Posts Tagged "mannfred"
Mortarch of Night
I’ve been a little slow in promoting this one, reading to do, books to write, axes to claim, but here we now are: Book 9 of the Realmgate Wars saga, Mortarch of Night, out now!
"Look into my eyes... now buy me"
It’s a prose collection of the eight audio stories written by Joshua Reynolds and myself, so if you’ve already enjoyed these in their full glory then much as I appreciate and accept your money, you don’t need to buy this. Unless you’re a completist of course, and simply CANNOT have Book 8 followed by Book 10. If you are that person then I feel your plight. Every day I sit down to write, see my badgered old original editions of the first three Gotrek & Felix omnibuses next to the sleek new fourth one and die a little on the inside.
there's just something about a neat row of books, all in a line
To recap then, this anthology contains the following stories:
The Hunt for Nagash by Joshua Reynolds
1) The Prisoner of the Black Sun - Cast into the Vale of Sorrow upon thunder and lightning, the Stormcast Eternals of Lord-Celestant Tarsus Bull-Heart seek the Starless Gates and an audience with the fabled lord of the Undead, Nagash. But when the Hallowed Knights are ambushed by Khorne's own Bloodbound, they are forced into a pact with a creature from an elder age, a vampire of dubious provenance, one whose name resonates throughout history... von Carstein.
2) Sands of Blood - In the quest to find the Nine Gates to the underworld of Styxx and an audience with the great Nagash, Tarsus of the Hallowed Knights leads his Stormcast Eternals to the Blood Wastes. His guide, Mannfred von Carstein, warns that this is a tempestuous land, full of ill-intent. Whilst rescuing a conclave of priests from a Bloodbound warband, Tarsus and his men are forced to seek refuge from a spectral storm in a strange bastion. As the Bloodbound follow them and lay siege, Tarsus discovers this Temple of Final Rest carries a dark secret, one that could either save or destroy them.
3) The Lords of Helstone - The quest to find the Nine Gates that lead to the underworlds of Shyish and an audience with Nagash continues... Tarsus of the Hallowed Knights leads his Stormcast Eternals into the unearthly city of Helstone. Their enigmatic guide, Mannfred von Carstein, assures them that what they need to find his necromantic master lies within its halls, but there is more than darkness lurking in the ruins. Chaos has already taken root and a reckoning against the servants of the Plague God awaits.
4) Bridge of Seven Sorrows - At last, the great search for the Nine Gates is over as Tarsus and the Hallowed Knights reach the lair of the Great Necromancer himself, Nagash. Here, in the dark hollows of one of the underworlds of Shyish, the Stormcast Eternals will meet their fate. As they stand in the shadow of death, they must trust that their vampiric guide, Mannfred von Carstein, has not played them false.
Knights of Vengeance by… er… me
5) The Beasts of Cartha - After being reforged, Lord-Relictor Ramus of the Hallowed Knights is sent by Sigmar to capture the betrayer, Mannfred von Carstein. The quest brings Ramus to the Carthic Oldwoods of Ghur where he comes to the aid of the Astral Templars against a massive ogor horde. Victorious, but at great cost, Ramus discovers Mannfred is finally close at hand. Only with the help of the Astral Templars will the Lord-Relictor catch his quarry, but there are deadlier things in the woods than ogors, a fact the Stormcast Eternals soon discover.
6) Fist of Mork, Fist of Gork - After a bloody triumph at the siege of Cartha, Lord-Relictor Ramus’ Hallowed Knights and the Astral Templars of Knight-Azyros Vandalus press on with their search for Mannfred von Carstein, but they soon learn that orruks, not ogors, hold sway in the Carthic Oldwoods. The Stormcast Eternals must overcome not only these brutish warriors, but also the will of their gods. Ramus and Vandalus must prevail against the fist of Gork and the fist of Mork if they are to forge a path to the Sea of Bones where their hated quarry awaits.
7) Great Red - The hunt for Mannfred von Carstein takes the Hallowed Knights and Astral Templars far into the hazardous Sea of Bones. It is here that Ramus of the Shadowed Soul and Vandalus, the ‘King of Dust’, meet a worthy foe: the Ironjawz. Led by the fearsome Great Red, this orruk tribe sees the intrusion of the Stormcasts as a challenge. War against the orruks would threaten their mission, so Ramus and Vandalus set out to broker an alliance – but Ironjawz only value strength and, to appease their savage nature, the Hallowed Knights and the Astral Templars must prove they are mighty enough to be considered allies...
8) Only the Faithful - After a gruelling journey, the warriors of the Hallowed Knights and Astral Templars have found their quarry in the Sea of Bones. During the hunt, Mannfred the vampire lord has raised a mighty undead host to protect the realmgate he has claimed. Whilst Ramus of the Hallowed Knights seeks the vampire’s head and Vandalus of the Astral Templars wants to reclaim the realmgate, both must fight as one and alongside their orruk allies if they are to triumph. Against one of Nagash’s mortarchs, the test will be stern and only the faithful will prevail...
you can get the collected audios here
I’d highly recommend the audios (some of the voice acting is just stellar), but I know a lot of people prefer to their reading by actually, you know, reading, and if that’s you then you can get Mortarch of Night here, in standard hardback, ebook, or in glorious special edition (which I’ve still not seen yet, Black Library. Hint. Hint...)
"Look into my eyes... now buy me"
It’s a prose collection of the eight audio stories written by Joshua Reynolds and myself, so if you’ve already enjoyed these in their full glory then much as I appreciate and accept your money, you don’t need to buy this. Unless you’re a completist of course, and simply CANNOT have Book 8 followed by Book 10. If you are that person then I feel your plight. Every day I sit down to write, see my badgered old original editions of the first three Gotrek & Felix omnibuses next to the sleek new fourth one and die a little on the inside.
there's just something about a neat row of books, all in a line
To recap then, this anthology contains the following stories:
The Hunt for Nagash by Joshua Reynolds
1) The Prisoner of the Black Sun - Cast into the Vale of Sorrow upon thunder and lightning, the Stormcast Eternals of Lord-Celestant Tarsus Bull-Heart seek the Starless Gates and an audience with the fabled lord of the Undead, Nagash. But when the Hallowed Knights are ambushed by Khorne's own Bloodbound, they are forced into a pact with a creature from an elder age, a vampire of dubious provenance, one whose name resonates throughout history... von Carstein.
2) Sands of Blood - In the quest to find the Nine Gates to the underworld of Styxx and an audience with the great Nagash, Tarsus of the Hallowed Knights leads his Stormcast Eternals to the Blood Wastes. His guide, Mannfred von Carstein, warns that this is a tempestuous land, full of ill-intent. Whilst rescuing a conclave of priests from a Bloodbound warband, Tarsus and his men are forced to seek refuge from a spectral storm in a strange bastion. As the Bloodbound follow them and lay siege, Tarsus discovers this Temple of Final Rest carries a dark secret, one that could either save or destroy them.
3) The Lords of Helstone - The quest to find the Nine Gates that lead to the underworlds of Shyish and an audience with Nagash continues... Tarsus of the Hallowed Knights leads his Stormcast Eternals into the unearthly city of Helstone. Their enigmatic guide, Mannfred von Carstein, assures them that what they need to find his necromantic master lies within its halls, but there is more than darkness lurking in the ruins. Chaos has already taken root and a reckoning against the servants of the Plague God awaits.
4) Bridge of Seven Sorrows - At last, the great search for the Nine Gates is over as Tarsus and the Hallowed Knights reach the lair of the Great Necromancer himself, Nagash. Here, in the dark hollows of one of the underworlds of Shyish, the Stormcast Eternals will meet their fate. As they stand in the shadow of death, they must trust that their vampiric guide, Mannfred von Carstein, has not played them false.
Knights of Vengeance by… er… me
5) The Beasts of Cartha - After being reforged, Lord-Relictor Ramus of the Hallowed Knights is sent by Sigmar to capture the betrayer, Mannfred von Carstein. The quest brings Ramus to the Carthic Oldwoods of Ghur where he comes to the aid of the Astral Templars against a massive ogor horde. Victorious, but at great cost, Ramus discovers Mannfred is finally close at hand. Only with the help of the Astral Templars will the Lord-Relictor catch his quarry, but there are deadlier things in the woods than ogors, a fact the Stormcast Eternals soon discover.
6) Fist of Mork, Fist of Gork - After a bloody triumph at the siege of Cartha, Lord-Relictor Ramus’ Hallowed Knights and the Astral Templars of Knight-Azyros Vandalus press on with their search for Mannfred von Carstein, but they soon learn that orruks, not ogors, hold sway in the Carthic Oldwoods. The Stormcast Eternals must overcome not only these brutish warriors, but also the will of their gods. Ramus and Vandalus must prevail against the fist of Gork and the fist of Mork if they are to forge a path to the Sea of Bones where their hated quarry awaits.
7) Great Red - The hunt for Mannfred von Carstein takes the Hallowed Knights and Astral Templars far into the hazardous Sea of Bones. It is here that Ramus of the Shadowed Soul and Vandalus, the ‘King of Dust’, meet a worthy foe: the Ironjawz. Led by the fearsome Great Red, this orruk tribe sees the intrusion of the Stormcasts as a challenge. War against the orruks would threaten their mission, so Ramus and Vandalus set out to broker an alliance – but Ironjawz only value strength and, to appease their savage nature, the Hallowed Knights and the Astral Templars must prove they are mighty enough to be considered allies...
8) Only the Faithful - After a gruelling journey, the warriors of the Hallowed Knights and Astral Templars have found their quarry in the Sea of Bones. During the hunt, Mannfred the vampire lord has raised a mighty undead host to protect the realmgate he has claimed. Whilst Ramus of the Hallowed Knights seeks the vampire’s head and Vandalus of the Astral Templars wants to reclaim the realmgate, both must fight as one and alongside their orruk allies if they are to triumph. Against one of Nagash’s mortarchs, the test will be stern and only the faithful will prevail...
you can get the collected audios here
I’d highly recommend the audios (some of the voice acting is just stellar), but I know a lot of people prefer to their reading by actually, you know, reading, and if that’s you then you can get Mortarch of Night here, in standard hardback, ebook, or in glorious special edition (which I’ve still not seen yet, Black Library. Hint. Hint...)
