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The Gates of Azyr
(The Realmgate Wars #0.5)
by
The war is over, and the Mortal Realms have all but fallen to Chaos... Khorgos Khul rampages across the fiery Realm of Aqshy, hunting down mortal kind to slaughter or subjugate to Khorne. His Goretide have crushed all resistance... until the storm. From the heavens hurtle paladins clad in gold. Sent by Sigmar, the Stormcast Eternals have come to liberate all the realms fro
...more
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ebook, 128 pages
Published
July 11th 2015
by Black Library
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This is it, then. The Age of Sigmar has come... and left me cold, bored, frustrated and unsatisfied.
There is very little to this novella. In fact, I am confused as to how there could be this little substance to this book. At 128 pages, I expected a lot more of... everything. Everything except mindless action, of course, since that is all you really get in this story.
Especially when compared to other novellas Black Library has published, this one is bleak. Even Space ...more
This is it, then. The Age of Sigmar has come... and left me cold, bored, frustrated and unsatisfied.
There is very little to this novella. In fact, I am confused as to how there could be this little substance to this book. At 128 pages, I expected a lot more of... everything. Everything except mindless action, of course, since that is all you really get in this story.
Especially when compared to other novellas Black Library has published, this one is bleak. Even Space ...more

As a big fan of the previous Warhammer universe I was going into this with high hopes of a reset that will bring life into the world that (apart from End of Times) was stuck not progressing and not moving forward. Boy, was I mistaken... I won't go much into details but there are two words that describe this reading experience:
Boring
Cliches
Prior to this book, I thought I like reading through epic battles. Now I have changed my mind.
If you're new to the universe, and like having over half of the b ...more
Boring
Cliches
Prior to this book, I thought I like reading through epic battles. Now I have changed my mind.
If you're new to the universe, and like having over half of the b ...more

Jul 14, 2015
Roger
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
ever
Shelves:
warhammer,
aos-age-of-sigmar
I Loved it
Vandus saw that already his captains were doing what was required of them. Ionus was leading the Retributors down from the heights and into the valley of fire. They would be charged with holding the line around the base of the portal, and there the Cryptborn’s strange powers would be tested as never before. Anactos had taken his Skyhost soaring into the rain-soaked storm, from where the assault on the magical wards would begin.
As for Vandus, he had the bulk of the Stormhost with him – ...more
Vandus saw that already his captains were doing what was required of them. Ionus was leading the Retributors down from the heights and into the valley of fire. They would be charged with holding the line around the base of the portal, and there the Cryptborn’s strange powers would be tested as never before. Anactos had taken his Skyhost soaring into the rain-soaked storm, from where the assault on the magical wards would begin.
As for Vandus, he had the bulk of the Stormhost with him – ...more

Wow! Holy Sigmar! Now that was a cool beginning to the new series!
First of all, I want to say that unlike other fans, I do love the idea of the Stormcast Ethereals a.k.a Sigmarines. They are what I missed from the old fantasy Warhammer. I never could like the old human Empire, but these new warriors are amazing. The book itself is also amazing. Sigmar the God King sends his new divine knights into a realm of Chaos, ruled by a monstrous warlord of Khorne with an endless army of bloodthirsty canni ...more
First of all, I want to say that unlike other fans, I do love the idea of the Stormcast Ethereals a.k.a Sigmarines. They are what I missed from the old fantasy Warhammer. I never could like the old human Empire, but these new warriors are amazing. The book itself is also amazing. Sigmar the God King sends his new divine knights into a realm of Chaos, ruled by a monstrous warlord of Khorne with an endless army of bloodthirsty canni ...more

This is the first book to herald in the new Age of Sigmar in the Warhammer world. It's a novella, so its pretty easy to read and the story, albeit short, is engaging and well written.
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I feel as if there will be a point in this ... book? novella? story? however you want to categorize it ... for everyone where they will turn to their metaphorical self and ask, 'What the hell am I reading here?' For me, it was exactly at the 50% mark, with this sentence: 'Even as the bulk of the Goretide waited for Khul’s orders, Skuldrak lumbered inchoately, bellowing in a haze of apoplexy as the flail bit deeper.' Yes, a good 75% of these words make sense, and even make sense together, but ...
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Well, this isn't what I expected at all. This book is honestly a extension of the story from the Age of Sigmar starter box, and not a good one at that. The 96 page manual for the game tellls the story better than this novel! It's not that I dislike the setting, there's a lot of potential(and I play Stormcasts as my army). Shoot, if these guys are supposed to be "Sigmarines" then why not take a lage from the other Space Marine novels and make the focus on battles and action? I'm fine with some 10
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This was interesting. it was a fun novella, but i was really hoping it would give more insight into how the Age of Sigmar came about, it being the first book to take place in the new setting. What it *is*, and this is by no means a bad thing, is a narrative retelling of the events that take place in the starter set. Which is actually kindof a good and needed thing. The End Times novelizations were a retelling of the textbook-like accounts of each volume. However in the Age of Sigmar box, it only
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Warhammer is dead, long live Warhammer! That’s right, the old Warhammer is gone and in its place is Age of Sigmar, and Black Library have got straight in on the action with Chris Wraight’s latest novella, The Gates of Azyr. This is a whole new chapter for Warhammer, set thousands of years after the events of the End Times, with endless scope for brand new storytelling. Running to the usual 120-ish pages, the book introduces the new Stormcast Eternals led by Vandus Hammerhand and the Khorne force
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Well, here it is. The first story in the new Age of Sigmar setting. And here I am, two years late to the party. This actually the third or fourth time I've read it, as I picked up the first omnibus after grumpily realizing that my beloved Old World of Warhammer Fantasy was dead and a new highly-trademarkable replacement had come, and I needed to either get on the AoS train or watch it vanish into the sunset of increased GW profits. The first time I rolled my eyes pretty hard, the second I got bu
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I'm not the most dedicated Warhammer fan. In fact, you'd not be wrong to question my status as a "fan of Warhammer". Not because I don't like it but because I've never really invested into this universe. Or franchise. Or setting. Whatever you want to call it. I never bought any of the miniatures or read any of the books so my only glimpse into this universe has been through my friends and the video games. But this year I decided that I should at least sample it and see for myself.
The Gates of Az ...more
The Gates of Az ...more

CAUTION HERE MAY BE SPOILERS
I wanted to read these Realmgate books after I read my first AoS book the Eight Lamen Spear of Shadows, i wanted a little backstory into what the hell this Age of Sigmar book series is about and everyone seemed to agree that the Realgate Wars books are the somewhat official entry into the AoS universe.
Right away i gotta say i really liked this opening short story, i liked the idea that this is like old works Warhammer except the Gods take a more active role in the wo ...more
I wanted to read these Realmgate books after I read my first AoS book the Eight Lamen Spear of Shadows, i wanted a little backstory into what the hell this Age of Sigmar book series is about and everyone seemed to agree that the Realgate Wars books are the somewhat official entry into the AoS universe.
Right away i gotta say i really liked this opening short story, i liked the idea that this is like old works Warhammer except the Gods take a more active role in the wo ...more

There are few things more divisive in this world than massive reboots of beloved franchises. Often they are the source of fan rage and, to be blunt, they’re extraordinarily easy to get wrong. Start copying ideas from the old universe or rely too much upon pop culture nostalgia (hello JJ Abrams) and it’s insulting to devoted fans who stuck with the universe. Don’t change enough and the reboot is seen as unnecessary, adding nothing to the franchise and cutting short countless ongoing interesting s
...more

The Age of Sigmar is upon us! Or as the forces of darkness/Chaos are calling it: Oh $@#*!
The Gates of Azyr is the first entry in the Realm Gate wars series, a novella that sets up the coming crusade of light against the forces of darkness/Chaos. The Dark Gods of Chaos have been busy since the God King Sigmar closed the gates of Azyr and allowed the forces of Chaos to run rampant, killing all that cross their path. With this novella, the God King Sigmar waits no longer! Sending forth his legions ...more
The Gates of Azyr is the first entry in the Realm Gate wars series, a novella that sets up the coming crusade of light against the forces of darkness/Chaos. The Dark Gods of Chaos have been busy since the God King Sigmar closed the gates of Azyr and allowed the forces of Chaos to run rampant, killing all that cross their path. With this novella, the God King Sigmar waits no longer! Sending forth his legions ...more

Clearly meant to be an introduction book to the new Age of Sigmar series, this book outlines a lot of the basics and focuses on the character and names of the two opposing sides from the introductory material. There isn't room for plot twists or deep philosophies amongst the constant fighting, but some good key elements are laid out here that define Age of Sigmar's break from its more tolkien-esque roots:
* The good guys are now shinier and less human. You'd think this would actually make it more ...more
* The good guys are now shinier and less human. You'd think this would actually make it more ...more

A quick and somewhat mindless read that sets the stage for the Age of Sigmar (AoS) Warhammer universe.
Well, I'm certainly tardy to the Warhammer party, but I've been considering getting into the game so I thought I'd start by familiarizing myself with the canon of the universe. This book, the first of the AoS books as I understand it, is quite quick and quite mindless, but I think it serves its purpose of setting the stage for the rest of the AoS lore. This book was released around the same tim ...more
Well, I'm certainly tardy to the Warhammer party, but I've been considering getting into the game so I thought I'd start by familiarizing myself with the canon of the universe. This book, the first of the AoS books as I understand it, is quite quick and quite mindless, but I think it serves its purpose of setting the stage for the rest of the AoS lore. This book was released around the same tim ...more

The first novel in a line of many expensive books
I do not pretend to know what the appeal of wargaming is, but something I can really get behind is the stories people fabricate around them. This first foray into the so-called AGE OF SIGMAR(tm) reflects all of that, complete with a lurid description of the named characters of the piece, then establishing them as demi-deitic entities with opposite answers to The question "do you like violence?" The resulting conflict is then is not so much a fight ...more
I do not pretend to know what the appeal of wargaming is, but something I can really get behind is the stories people fabricate around them. This first foray into the so-called AGE OF SIGMAR(tm) reflects all of that, complete with a lurid description of the named characters of the piece, then establishing them as demi-deitic entities with opposite answers to The question "do you like violence?" The resulting conflict is then is not so much a fight ...more

Too short for what Black Library asks for it. It's also still a pain to have to pull down their books outside of Amazon and manually put them on the Kindle. I'd read a lot more Warhammer books if I could get them direct. On top of that buying direct from BL was a pain... their site is crap.
With the Age of Sigmar I'm not sure what the books are going to be about. Those involved in the action have no human element. They are Kurt Russel from the beginning of Soldier. It's hard to see how that will ...more
With the Age of Sigmar I'm not sure what the books are going to be about. Those involved in the action have no human element. They are Kurt Russel from the beginning of Soldier. It's hard to see how that will ...more

I think this was before they decided that Stormcast immediately shoot like lighting back to Azyr for reforging when they die. Maybe its because of that they really didn't want to show weakness by having Stormcast die in battle. I am not saying it doesn't happen but they keep talking about how they are outnumbered like 4000000 for each Stormcast, but are pretty much untouchable. You can't build suspense when your characters are playing in "God-Mode"Other books in the Realm Gate wars are guilty of
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Wonderfully narrated, but the story is uninteresting and boring. The Age of Sigmar world is so uninteresting compared to the Old World. They are trying to build the world, but they are failing. The Old World lived and breathed. It had heroes, peasants, merchants, and all the others. The AoS world has only grand clashes between good and evil, and the everyday person is not featured really at all.
I understand why GW re-did the game of Fantasy, but I don't understand why a new game caused the destr ...more
I understand why GW re-did the game of Fantasy, but I don't understand why a new game caused the destr ...more

Gives insight in to world but...
As a jackhammer collector and owner of the Age of Sigmar box set I was quite tempted to get to know more about my painted war host. This book gives you a brilliant background to box set and the scenarios contained inside. Unfortunately, at least for me, it was lacking something. The book itself was clearly made based on the scenarios and therefore was missing on the story and focusing a lot on descriptions . Nevertheless I am still going to buy the next instalment ...more
As a jackhammer collector and owner of the Age of Sigmar box set I was quite tempted to get to know more about my painted war host. This book gives you a brilliant background to box set and the scenarios contained inside. Unfortunately, at least for me, it was lacking something. The book itself was clearly made based on the scenarios and therefore was missing on the story and focusing a lot on descriptions . Nevertheless I am still going to buy the next instalment ...more

A good introduction to the Age of Sigmar Mortal Realms.
The story is mainly focussed around Sigmar's Stormcast Eternals establishing a foothold again Khorgos Kul's Goretide and the battle that ensues. It is fast paced, but not so much that you get lost in the battle and lose who everyone is and what they are doing. It also gives you a little insight into what life was like before, during and after the Age of Chaos, but not too much.
I feel the book is mostly intended as a stepping stone into the ...more
The story is mainly focussed around Sigmar's Stormcast Eternals establishing a foothold again Khorgos Kul's Goretide and the battle that ensues. It is fast paced, but not so much that you get lost in the battle and lose who everyone is and what they are doing. It also gives you a little insight into what life was like before, during and after the Age of Chaos, but not too much.
I feel the book is mostly intended as a stepping stone into the ...more

Listened to the audio book while painting. The narration was quite good, however the story was dull. The majority of the book is one battle, with very little character development. I will listen to the next book, but I hope there starts to be more focus on character and less on the cosmically devastating impact of each hammer swing. The beginning and end, with focus on character interaction and world building, were the best parts of the book.

It’s little more than a giant battle scene which serves as an establishing shot for the Age of Sigmar, but Wraight’s prose is glorious, conjuring imagery like an endless power metal video, and the messages of reclamation and post-Chaos are inspirational enough to want to dive further into the fiction of this new Warhammer fantasy setting. And, come on...the Stormcast Eternals? How could you not cheer with a faction name like that?

It's just an intro. All set up, no real pay off, but it's a fun quick read. Plenty of action, not much characterization or anything else. If you have the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Starter Set it might spark your imagination, as this book uses those models to tell it's short story. The tale continues in the next book.
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A good introduction to the age of sigmar universe.
A good introduction to the age of sigmar universe. This eBook is free to no reason not to pick it up if your getting into aos. It's a short and enjoyable read. ...more
A good introduction to the age of sigmar universe. This eBook is free to no reason not to pick it up if your getting into aos. It's a short and enjoyable read. ...more

I know this is a novella and is just supposed to help you dip your toes into the new Warhammer world but it's thin even by that standard.
It was ok but I bet I could have skipped it and just moved onto one of the full novels without negative impacts. ...more
It was ok but I bet I could have skipped it and just moved onto one of the full novels without negative impacts. ...more

Games Workshop's first book of the world that is, after the world that was... its a good fun story for those interested in learning the lore although it does (naturally) concentrate on the first meeting of the characters from the starter set for the Age of Sigmar wargame.
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I've never read any Warhammer fiction and the size and breadth of hundreds of books is appealing. But I hope they're not always just long and drawn out battle scenes. Which they probably are (I mean, duh, why would I think any less?). Maybe I should try Horus Heresy instead.
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