Teaser

Breaking free of his prison for a single night, the enigmatic Cypher is loose on Holy Terra. Pursued by vengeful brothers and assassins alike, who can say what Cypher plans this night . . ?

Review

One of my goals for 2024 was to spend more time with audiobooks. Happily, Black Library are very consistent with matching formats, so there are a tone of Warhammer audiobooks out there for me. The fact that they often end up in 2 for 1 deals is just the icing on the cake. Cypher: Lord of the Fallen is only the first of many that I’ll be reviewing in the coming weeks.

As an interesting aside, this book has a long germination. Several (or possibly many) years ago, there was an official announcement for a Cypher boxed audio set, along the same lines as Saga of the Beast or Our Martyred Lady. That set never materialised, and when Black Library ran down their audio drama productions, I assumed it was dead in the water. I can’t say for sure that this book started there, but it seems a safe bet. Either way, we now have, at long last, a Cypher tale, which I have listened to on audio.

I wax and wane in my enthusiasm for John French’s writing. The Horusian Wars is a good series, but I was incredibly let down by his Ahriman trilogy. As his Agents of the Throne audio dramas suggest, however, his writing makes for very good listening. What might come across as overwrought on the page somehow sounds more natural when a human is speaking the words. Lord of the Fallen also benefits from the conceit of Cypher literally telling his story to an audience, a trick that Jon Rand uses to full effect in his narration.

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t match the narration. It’s caught up in the larger events of the Warhammer timeline, and only provides a brief snapshot of the full story. Taken on its own, it’s painfully lacking in context, with a story that never really goes anywhere. Even the trick of who Cypher’s audience is doesn’t really pay off. At first it seems brilliant, but then it doesn’t work with the few remaining chapters of the book. It’s an infuriatingly obtuse and twisted narrative that refuses not only to give answers, but to to hint and where to look for them.

Cypher, as the name suggests, thrives on being an enigma, but I think this book pushes that idea too far. Yes, it’s good to leave the audience wondering, but the question I have after five hours is ‘What was the point of all that?’

Audio Stats

• Narrated by Jon Rand
• Published in 2023 by Black Library
• Runtime: 5hrs 8mins