Bloody Books Review: Kragnos: Avatar of Destruction
Games Workshop have a tendency at times to market and name a book in manner that misleads. We say it with the Olyander: Lady of Sorrows novel*, with the 8th Ed Genestealer Cults novel, with the Return Of Nagash, to name a few. We return to this trope with Kragnos: Avatar Of Destruction.
While the book bears his name, the God of Rage himself is a distant threat for the first half, an earthquake on another continent, a thunderstorm half heard. Kragnos’ gradual appearance works very well, but once on the board, he appears less elemental fury and like a righteous king, which we will get into later on. There's a lot to into here as everything in these pages is wondrously Warhammer.
The main thrust of the book is, surprisingly, a tale of unrequited love between the Freeguild / Mercenary Leader Braun** and the Celestial General Lisandr, which leads to some deft touches of character development** as Braun leads his band of warriors (Known as The Twelve, a righteous number in the mythology of Sigmar) through the ever-present insanity that is the Wilds of Ghur***. The Realm itself is as much of a character as the humans, throwing both the crazed flora and fauna as well as some fantastic takes of society in the wildest of wilds. Comparing the more fragile, death dwellers of Shyish against the hardy, muscle-bound civilised barbarians of Ghur is a master-stroke, showing that there are very deep differences between the Realms.
Also, one of the good guys is a out and out cannibal. And he also deserves his own book.
The plot itself pivots around the coming of Kragnos, leading towards the siege of Excelsis (always happy to return to the city of secrets), bringing in characters such as the Orruk Ironjaw “Bosskilla” and a sneaky little Grot who manages to become quite successful in his every grotty plans. By the way, Bosskilla, and the relationship he has with Braun, also deserves his own book. You may be noticing a pattern.
This is where the strength of the book lies, it feels like a snapshot, a time and place taken out of the lives of these characters. They existed before this chronicle, and they will continue to exist (well…. some will) once you’ve passed the final page. It fits in with Dominion as a almost sequel but-not, expanding out concepts and core ideas into new and unfamiliar shapes that hold the echo of a warhammer-that-was. Kragnos, oddly enough, continues this current trend of feeling like a better shaped Boxtree Warhammer Fantasy book****, filing in various societal holes along the way whilst the Big Bad Boy sets his hooves on humanity.
Recommended.
*Don’t take that as a bad thing. Lady of Sorrows is a god-damn trip
**I demand a book of Mortal Realms poetry.
***And what wilds they are!
****I say that knowing that the Orfeo series is amazing and possibly my favourite Old World series*****
*****Sorry Gotrek