Black Library announce new Warhammer Fantasy series - Warhammer Heroes.

I suppose this may be old news to those paying attention (or anyone who isn't me), but I just read about the new Warhammer Fantasy book series starting this year from Black Library. This new series is called "Warhammer Heroes" and the books in this series will feature stories written about some of WHFB's special characters. From the BL blog:

"The Warhammer World has the most incredible, rich history, full of wonderful heroes, villains and epic events. What better than to devote a whole series of books to characters we already know and love? But how will this series differ from Time of Legends, I hear you ask? Well, while Time of Legends deals with people and events that formed the Warhammer World, this new series focuses on contemporary heroes, characters who still stride the battlefields today, in our imagination, and as models on the tabletop."

"When we read Chris Wraight’s story Premonition, one of our short story competition winners way back in 2007, we knew we had found a very special talent. He has an intrinsic, sensitive understanding of the Warhammer background, he’s great at characterisation, and always comes up with good plots. Chris’s name was on our shortlist for authors to write for the Warhammer Heroes series, and when he sent us in his proposal – a set of stories about Ludwig Schwarzhelm, the Emperor’s Champion – we loved it. In fact, we thought it was so good that we decided it was perfect to launch the series with."

"The Empire army is the core of what Warhammer is about; knights are the core of the army; and special characters such as Ludwig epitomise the knightly ideal. Sword of Justice takes that special character and turns him into a living, breathing person, full of fire and glory; a dangerous man, a man who will never give up, who will never fail to discharge his duty to the Emperor and the Empire."

"The story of Ludwig, and his arch rival Kurt Helborg, will continue at a later point in Sword of Vengeance. The subject of the second novel in the Warhammer Heroes series could not be more different – Black Library stalwart C L Werner is penning the tale of Wulfrik the Wanderer, the exiled Chaos warrior."

Most exciting! While the first books sounds like it will be an enjoyable read I am far more excited to read a tale about one of my favorite Warriors of Chaos special characters Wulfrik the Wanderer. I also really like the new book design for this series:

Skavenblight Gazette - Issue #8 here just in time for the holidays.

What's this!? A new issue of Skavenblight Gazette is out you say? It's an xmas miracle!

Skitter away and find it here!

This is the first issue of SBG since the release of the new Skaven army book and as you can imagine there are a couple of pieces dealing with that subject. Other topics include secret police working for the rat-things, a story about everyone's favorite monster the Hellpit Abomination, a how-to for making your own flying rat monsters, and an excellent interview with Black Library author C.L. Werner. The issue is relatively short at 22 pages but all of the content is good and I enjoyed everything that was presented.

Of course my favorite part of the new issue is page 10 which features an ad for the Bellower ... something that I am trying hard to finish in time for the new year! I have a few more layouts to finish, an editorial to write, and then I need to put the whole thing together for release.

Seeing this latest issue of the SBG was a big help in this endeavor. I like the clean layout throughout, and the use of colorful background to highlight some of the articles. It has certainly given me some ideas for future issues of the Bellower.

Hope you and yours have a great holiday. I'll be spending mine working on a late gift to all you Ogre fans and maybe painting a model or two.

Book Review - "Grey Seer" by C.L. Werner.

A recent release from the Black Library and another book review for the site. Finishing up the new Gotrek and Felix book "Shamanslayer" right now and should have a review of that coming sometime in the next few weeks.

"Grey Seer" by C.L. Werner

Fans of Gotrek and Felix are probably already familiar with Grey Seer Thanquol. Reading that series is not required to enjoy "Grey Seer" but I did enjoy reading Thanquol's recollections of his past failures (blamed mostly on the "Demonic Dwarf" and his "Man-servant"). As a stand alone novel (or the first in a new series?) "Grey Seer" delivers a classic fantasy story full of ratmen, smugglers, monsters, sewers, bizarre magic, and raucous battles.

The story begins with Thanquol being summoned to the Council Of Thirteen - the dread rulers of Skavenblight. After managing to not being burnt to a greasy smear by the horrific Skaven of the Council, Thanquol is sent on an important (and dangerous) mission - to find and recover a mighty Skaven weapon known only as the Wormstone (which has been lost for several hundred years).

Thanquol's quest sends him deep into the treacherous realm of Under-Altdorf (the Skaven realm that lies directly below the Empire city of Altdorf) where the Skaven rulers are a little too happy with their current situation and not excited to see the Grey Seer and his entourage of albino Stormvermin. Conversely, Thanquol is disgusted by Under-Altdorf's dependence on the humans and sees their reliance on the "manflesh" as heretical in the eyes of the Horned Rat. Shortly after arriving, and bullying the local leaders into at least pretending to help him, Thanquol discovers his "new" best friend - Boneripper the mutant Rat Ogre (Thanquol has gone through many different Bonerippers, most of which died at the hands of Gotrek).

While some of the Skaven characters in the book represent the "heavy hitters" of the Skaven elite, the human characters featured in the book are mostly criminals or those associated with them. One exception is a mysterious figure who controls a vast network of servants across all of Altdorf and leads the band of "heroes" to stop the maniacal Skaven from controlling the Wormstone. The relationship between the denizens of upper and under Altdorf is the primary focus of much of the novel and provides some interesting moments for fans of Warhammer lore.

Overall the storyline is a basic one. Villain sets out on an impossible quest, villain meets another villain, villains meets resistance, big fights ensue, magic is used, warpstone is snuffed, and the musk of fear is sprayed all over. The end?

I found the book to be an enjoyable read and better by far than some of Werner's more recent work. Werner manages to craft a believable world of Skaven, complete with interesting rat-characters, a good old fashioned mystery, and a huge magical showdown deep under the city of Altdorf. Those interested in Skaven culture will find plenty of new information here while those looking for an entertaining (and easy) read should be entertained as well.

I'm sure this is far from the last we have seen of Thanquol and I look forward to more stories set in the dark and dank world of the Skaven.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10.

Book Review - "Blood for the Blood God" by C.L. Werner.

Another recent purchase from the Black Library and another book review for the site. Still working my way through a fairly massive stack of books, hope to have another review up within the next few months!

"Blood for the Blood God" by C.L. Werner

The "glorious king" Teiyogtei Khagan was once worshipped as a god on earth. An unstoppable warrior of the Tsavag tribe, Teiyogtei managed to unite the warring tribes near the Chaos Wastes - aided in part by an extraordinary weapon known as the Bloodeater. A weapon crafted on the Black Altar deep within the Chaos Wastes, the Bloodeater thrived on raw hate imbued by a fallen daemon Teiyogtei had slain. While he held this weapon no one dared oppose the will of Teiyogtei, to do so meant a swift and brutal death. And so it was within and without the tribes until the Skulltaker came...

The Skulltaker - an executioner of Khorne who had come to kill those who had been deemed traitors of the Blood God. In an epic battle between Teiyogtei and the Skulltaker, Teiyogtei slays the champion of Khorne with the Bloodeater but at the cost of his own life. Once destroyed, the Skulltaker's mortal shell is banished for over five hundred years - but prophets claim the Skulltaker would return once again to wreak his bloody vengeance on the descendants of Teiyogtei. And that is where the story begins, with the Skulltaker having returned to tribes intent on adding a few skulls to the Skull Throne of Khorne.

Werner does a great job of depicting life within the northern lands of the Chaos Wastes, highlighting the humanity of the Chaos hordes while emphasizing each Tribe's particular beliefs and traditions. The story is at its best and most interesting while delving into the political relationships between each tribe and their Warlords. The region is held in place by each tribe in a sort of diplomatic stalemate that has formed between them. The stalemate is finally broken when the Skulltaker returns to the lands intent on cutting the legacy of the King Teiyogtei from the flesh of each tribe's Warlord.

The fight scenes within the book are fairly one dimensional and overly simplified and there are quite a few of them in the story. Most encounters with the Skulltaker can be summed up with the following series of events:

1. We can kill this guy! Who does he think he is! We are the descenders of Teiyogtei and have been gifted by the ruinous powers with wondrous abilities and magic weaponry.
2. Go my minions! Kill this intruder! The Skulltaker is a myth!
3. Holy crap he just killed hundreds of my best warriors. I will have to be careful fighting him.
4. Oh crap. I can't kill this guy.
5. Oh crap, I am dead.
6. Skulltaker takes the Warlord's skull as a trophy for the Skull Throne.

While some of the story's characters are interesting and unique, many come of as your typical Fantasy cliches and are treated as such. Some stretches of the story can drag as Werner like to use long-winded descriptions to get across simple plot points. If you can work your way through these few tedious sections there is plenty of fantasy action to be had with treason, war, magic, bloody battles, and a rather unexpected ending as your reward.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would love to see more stories which center around the Northern Chaos tribes. This may not be the best example of Werner's writing, and I still prefer the Witch Hunter series over this book, but if you are looking for a blood-drenched tale of death and doom then look no further.

Verdict: 6 out of 10.