The Court of the Blind King (Warhammer: Age of Sigmar)

by David Guymer

Deep beneath the oceans of Ghyran, in kingdoms forgotten by gods and time and overlooked by the ravages of Chaos, the Idoneth Deepkin endure in bitter solitude. However, the Jade Throne of Briomdar sits empty, its long isolation threatened as never before in its history. The Everqueen’s warsong awakens the forests of both land and sea and everywhere the diseased knights of Nurgle fight to the last foetid breath for the verdant Realm they claim as theirs. But, for Prince Lurien this time of peril is one ripe with opportunity. It will take every drop of wit, guile, and treachery the prince has to overcome not only the myriad foes of the Idoneth, but his fellow Deepkin as well.

• ISBN10: 1789991323
• ISBN13: 9781789991321
• Publish Date: 9 July 2020
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 24 February 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Games Workshop
• Imprint: The Black Library
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of The Court of the Blind King in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Court of the Blind King kicks off a new adventure in the Age of Sigmar from Warhammer. Written by David Guymer, this novel takes a deep dive (pun intended) into the lives and battles of the Deepkin.

In a tale that is full of politics and battles, one can find Prince Lurien. He's willing to fight the world – Nurgle included – in order to gain what he considers his rightful inheritance. His right to rule, as it were.

The Deepkin and the knights of Nurgle are about to collide as the Everqueen's Warsong has woken them all. The two cannot exist side by side, so instead a war is about to break out on this land (and water).

“Strange things happened to the water the deeper one went in the Green Gulch.”

The Court of the Blind King portrays the depth that can be found within the Age of Sigmar. It's thrilling and dangerous, full of politics, alliances, and battles. It is everything that fans could have hoped for, with a few surprises along the way.

The Idoneth Deepkin are relatively new to the world of Warhammer and Age of Sigmar, so it's been fascinating to get a chance to see more of how they work. This is the insight that fans will surely appreciate.

That being said, the worldbuilding is strong enough that even new readers could dive into this book and have a solid understanding of what is going on. Yes, they'll miss out on some of the larger bits of context involving the greater universe, but that also isn't really a requirement for this read. It's fully contained, and that is actually quite brilliant.

What I really loved about this novel is how we were really able to explore the lore of the world. It was complex, divisive, and strange. In short, it was actually perfect in terms of fitting into the world of Warhammer, and I adore that.

The leading character, Lurien, is one of those characters that one simply loves to hate. There's no mistaking him for a good person, yet it is still fascinating to read about his plans and exploits. More than that, it was interesting to see how he would plan his way around scenarios – and how his actions would come back to him (or not) in the end.

The inclusion of Chaos (Nurgle) was a solid choice as well. Though obviously it resulted in a ton of carnage of bloodshed. But once again, that sort of fit with the theme of the day, so it worked really well.

The Court of the Blind King was an all-around interesting read, one that is going to stick with me for some time. It made for a great first introduction to the Deepkin for me, and I hope it isn't the last novel we'll see about them.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks