Bloody Books Reviews - Starseer’s Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adrian Tchaikovsky has built a career out of thoughtful, character-heavy sci-fi, and his collection of Black Library releases have been, so far, unmissable reads. What he's managed to do with Starseer's Ruin however isn't just bring his immaculate skills to Warhammer, but brought Warhammer round to his style of writing. This is a very odd book, equal parts heartfelt, smart and weird. At the core, there's a very simple premise of characters having to work together as things go horribly wrong around them, but around those bones is a emotional, character driven narrative that astounds as often as it baffles.
Tchaikovsky's first Age of Sigmar novel casts eyes on the Seraphon after the rise of the Skaventide engulfed the realms. Taking something as muddied as the Seraphon (are they beings of starlight or a more mortal beast?) and drawing together all the elements to, for the first time in AoS history, bring an understanding of just what they are. The theology, the urgency and and the purpose of the Great Plan is laid out as an ideology here, a time limited destiny where Chaos will fall, and can be made to work against itself to bring about such a moment.
We follow the first of our main POV narratives in the form of Starseer Irixi, who arrives to retrieve a lost fragment of forgotten prophecy. Unfortunately, this is the exact moment a Freeguild company marches in, as well as a Stormcast Eternal hunts the last threads of his fading identity, and a Skaven warband prepares to do what Skaven do with much enthusiasm and not enough risk assessment.
From here, the narrative splits into three strands, following Irixi & Perlo, Oaxmal & Stanner and Gokumet & Vael. Each of these parings are mirrors, distorted in many ways but the sense of each is refracted in the other. We learn just as much from the opposite number as we do the character themselves from what they see in each other.
Vael stands out here, wholly encapsulating the genuine horror that is the Stormcast Eternals, as they watch another piece of themselves skimmed away through each reforging. Vael fights passionately to hold on to what's left, and it's damned effective storytelling.
Need I say that Tchaikovsky gets the Skaven bang on the money? Because he really does. They are both terrible and hilarious, dark comedy wrapped in atrocity shrouded in incompetence. There are moments here that truly shine in displaying how monstrous the Ratmen are to the average human.
What stands as a surprise considering how much love is given to the setting that this is a perfect primer, a gateway into the setting that can be a difficult one to find your feet in.
Very well could be my late entry to book of the year. It really is that good.