Plague Garden (Hallowed Knights #1) in The Mortal Realms of the Age of Sigmar

Jun 29, 2017 Vincent Knotley rated it it was amazing

Let's get the obvious out of the way here. This is an Age of Sigmar novel, so in part you know what you'll be signing up for. There's plenty of fighting to be found, because of course there is. There's a whole buffet of settings and locales which, quite frankly, all but put me off my lunch on more than one occasion. If you like anything with even the faintest mote of Nurgle's festering blessings upon it, then Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden is a must(y)-read.

Pirates man. Nurgle frigging pirates! Let's get the obvious out of the way here. This is an Age of Sigmar novel, so in part you know what you'll be signing up for. There's plenty of fighting to be found, because of course there is. There's a whole buffet of settings and locales which, quite frankly, all but put me off my lunch on more than one occasion. If you like anything with even the faintest mote of Nurgle's festering blessings upon it, then Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden is a must(y)-read.

Pirates man. Nurgle frigging pirates! No more traipsing over endless grim battlefields for Age of Sigmar. Oh no, Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden takes the archetypes we know and love (or love to hate) and chucks them into an overflowing vat of bilge water during high tide. Not once in over two decades of reading Warhammer literature did I imagine Plaguebearers hoisting the main sail, but here we are, and here we have an example of just how well it can be done.

Delightful (or disgusting) as the battles going on around the characters may be, it is their internal conflicts which stand out in Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden.

Never in seven times seven years did I imagine that the standout characters of this book wouldn't be the 'poster boys' Gardus and Grymn (though they do shine with the radiance one might expect. It is in fact Tornus and one of the better characters in Nurgle's roster (who's name I won't spoil) who turned Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden from fun frolic into the plague realms to something altogether exquisite.

Laughs too were to be found while reading the book. One in particular between two Stormcast debating the finer tactical points of a shield caught me off guard and set off a laugh so loud I believe the neighbours heard it over their incessant hoovering and X-Files reruns.

Now let's be fair here. Most books, be they great or otherwise, have a tendency to leave the reader wanting just a little more of a particular scene or character. Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden does indeed have this, but only in one place. A philosophical debate is set up, one that promises to be a hoot, and then falls away in favour of some good old fashioned Rotbringer bashing. To call this a problem, however, is to invite falsehood. There was enough to give me a glimmer of hope and laughter, and the fact I'm already buying a goat to sacrifice for just one more line of said debate is more praise for this fact than disappointment.

Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden is, without a doubt, worthy of a seat upon the pinnacle of Age of Sigmar literature so far, and dare I say will keep its place at the table for many years to come.

(Count the Seven. Seven paragraphs. Count the Seven). ...more

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May 06, 2018 Michael Dodd rated it really liked it

Continuing one of the most enjoyable storylines from the Age of Sigmar Realmgate Wars series, this returns to the Hallowed Knights’ campaign in Ghyran against the forces of Nurgle. As Lord-Castellant Grymn leads his warriors against the sargasso-citadels of the Order of the Fly, Lord-Celestant Gardus Steel Soul prepares to return to Ghyran and rejoin his warrior-chamber, accompanied by the contentious figure of Tornus the Redeemed. When Grymn is lost to the Garden of Nurgle, Gardus leads a rescu ...more

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