LoopyZebra Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 Who else has read Shadespire: the Mirrored City? I just finished it today, and I really liked it. Definitely one of my favorite AoS novels so far! There have been a few short stories and audio books set in Shadespire, but while they were intriguing, they did not flesh it out as a full setting. I really like the full vision of Shadespire - as a prison, as a mystery, as something violently changing but also statically looping. I also like how the themes of the setting are reflected (ha) in the themes of the plot. There's mystery in characters and motivations. The narrative is an oppressive march forward - it always seems like it's going somewhere but not necessarily going somewhere good for the characters. I appreciated the multiple references to the Season 1 Shadespire warbands, some of whom are full characters and others who are cameos. It was interesting to see those warbands scattered and split, or working together. I also appreciated the references to other Shadespire short stories. I'm curious what the ending means for future AoS stories and lore. What did you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWingDuck Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Spoilers Ho! I read it and liked it. I too liked the setting description (I got a vague "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" Elven Realms vibe to it) With all of the cameos, I was surprised that the main Khorne character wasn't Redbeard (it seems like it would have been an obvious reference). They kept referencing something awakening/rebirth, and at first it seemed to be referencing Slaanesh (who we know is hidden in the same general location as Shadespire), but in the end it turned out to be the minor chaos god Zuvassin (the Great Undoer). That caught me a bit off guard. Also, given the time when Zuvas finally escapes from Shadespire, I'm wondering if he immediately just get's pulled back in (to do it all over again). I also was surprised that the Katophrane was able to leave Shadespire (and lure other explorers to their doom), and it was hinted at strongly that no one has ever actually escaped (except Zuvas at the end). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopyZebra Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 Spoiler warning I also thought it was Slaanesh at the beginning, and had to look up Zuvass / Zuvassin after I finished. I hadn't thought about him getting pulled back in, but given the time he escapes, that would make sense and continue the loop. That would also explain why we never hear about Zuvass anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnelian Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 I've read the book but feel like I didn't understand the ending. SPOILERS Is Rayner the same person as Zuvas? I didn't get the connection between them, nor the significance of the Amber amulet thing they share. Nor what happened in the end. Could someone who is not a dunce please explain it to me? Serves me right for speeding it through it on holiday while partially drunk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinros Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 4 hours ago, Carnelian said: I've read the book but feel like I didn't understand the ending. SPOILERS Is Rayner the same person as Zuvas? I didn't get the connection between them, nor the significance of the Amber amulet thing they share. Nor what happened in the end. Could someone who is not a dunce please explain it to me? Serves me right for speeding it through it on holiday while partially drunk Yes, he went back into the past to the point where Nagash cursed the city. It's a cycle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malios Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Its one of the most clever AoS novels written so far in my opinion. Josh Reynolds really did well with it. The setting was dark, the characters and their motivations weren't straight forward and overall you genuinely felt the depressing reality of Shadespire as you were reading it. The thing I appreciated most was that time itself was not linear: Shadespire itself defied even the loose definition of Physics that the mortal realms possess which made the ending make sense in its own twisted way. Bit of a shame that Beastgrave threw Shadespire's concept under the bus with its own advancement of Warhammer Underworlds: there was so much potential in Shadespire to be covered. Warcry or even Warhammer Quest could have easily had spin off campaigns or kits set in Shadespire for example. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlvalentine Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Absolutely loved this novel, I really feel like he took a seeming pretty limited setting and expanded it into something totally fascinating. SPOILERS I think the ending is intentionally quite ambiguous, but I think you are supposed to assume that, one way or another, Rayner and Zuvass are the same person - and that basically the former's actions at the end are him starting on the path to becoming the latter. There are quite a lot of hints towards that throughout the novel. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinthMusketeer Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Spoilers I think it is pretty clear they are the same person. It seems that Rayner does die at some point after the events of the novel, being in Shadespire he of course revives, but does so at the first moments of it's cursed existence, taking the name Zuvass and becoming that character. What that leaves open is how Rayner dies (Zuvass presumably knows, having been through it before) and what Zuvass does after Rayner dies. It is a loop, but one that only goes around once rather than perpetually. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikethefish Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 On 12/29/2019 at 6:09 AM, Malios said: Bit of a shame that Beastgrave threw Shadespire's concept under the bus with its own advancement of Warhammer Underworlds: there was so much potential in Shadespire to be covered. Warcry or even Warhammer Quest could have easily had spin off campaigns or kits set in Shadespire for example. Indeed. I mean it's possible that Beastgrave will be equally compelling, but it has a really high bar to achieve, after the Shadespire novel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnelian Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 14 hours ago, NinthMusketeer said: Spoilers I think it is pretty clear they are the same person. It seems that Rayner does die at some point after the events of the novel, being in Shadespire he of course revives, but does so at the first moments of it's cursed existence, taking the name Zuvass and becoming that character. What that leaves open is how Rayner dies (Zuvass presumably knows, having been through it before) and what Zuvass does after Rayner dies. It is a loop, but one that only goes around once rather than perpetually. I don't think that he revives at the first moment of Shadespire's existence - I think he escapes Shadespire but arrives at the moment just before Shadespire is created (that's him crawling out of the mirror). The more I tgink about the more unsatisfied I am by this book. Too many unanswered questions that go beyond interesting ambiguity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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