Warhammer Community sat down with Adrian Tchaikovsky to talk Starseer’s Ruin.
The feature length novel follows a dutiful Skink Starpriest. They seek the lost wreck of an ancient Seraphon temple ship. As a longtime gamer, I love how this premise hums. Consequently, the interview digs into themes, factions, and character clashes.
Why Seraphon, and why now
Adrian has loved lizardfolk since the 80s, from RPG tables to screen icons. Therefore, the Seraphon’s current Age of Sigmar incarnation hit perfectly. He is drawn to their relationship with time, destiny, and distant design. Moreover, the slann work to a cosmic plan beyond mortal sight. Chaos has mangled that order, so faith carries the day.
He highlights the servants’ perspective as inherently tragic and compelling. Skinks and Saurus enact incomprehensible details with absolute conviction. Meanwhile, they trust that a shattered grand design still points true. Consequently, their viewpoint feels refreshingly different in the Mortal Realms.
Irixi’s path, short stories, and clashing allies
The book’s protagonist, Irixi, first met many readers in Written in Stars. However, that short actually post dates the novel. Adrian used it to explore Irixi’s early contact with humanity. The comedic mismatch with a witch hunter mirrors larger tensions. Technically they share a Grand Alliance, yet their methods diverge hard.
Therefore, Starseer’s Ruin leans into allied friction as story fuel. Sigmar’s faithful and the Seraphon want victory, not the same path. Consequently, their priorities collide even before blades draw.
Parallels with 40k faith and the unknowable plan
Adrian connects Seraphon duty to Day of Ascension’s cult devotion. Moreover, he notes the Astra Militarum fits the same mold. You obey terrible orders from distant authority without full context. Consequently, sacrifice becomes a leap of faith across settings. Maybe that means Seraphon feel closer to 40k themes than Stormcast. The idea is provocative, and it tracks for tabletop players.
Favorite scenes, mixed parties, and saurian garage logistics
Adrian loves points where factions truly meet and talk. Therefore, he relishes scenes of humans, Stormcast, and Seraphon testing worldviews. Not every meeting must erupt into violence immediately. What is a human to a Skink Starseer, and why. What is a Saurus to a Stormcast, and how. Consequently, the novel digs for rare common ground before the war resumes.
Finally, he picks his dream mount with practical flair. A Carnosaur is a handful and impossible to park. However, an Aggradon is stylish, frightening, and garage capable. Therefore, he goes Aggradon, and honestly, same.
Summary
Starseer’s Ruin promises cosmic faith, fractured plans, and bold exploration. Consequently, Seraphon serve slann designs with tragic clarity and stubborn hope. Irixi anchors clashes between allies who rarely align cleanly. Moreover, the book probes that 40k flavored devotion inside Age of Sigmar. As a gamer, I am here for talking scenes that actually matter. Grab this when it drops, then paint a Skink and plan a temple ship raid. Because destiny waits, and the stars still whisper to cold blooded hearts.
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