reading
Books, Malus Darkblade Deathblade by C L Werner
So, after reading spoilers in the Khaine book of the End Times I put aside my lost interest in Malus Darkblade and read the final book in his series Deathblade by C. L. Werner. It’s important to note that the series ended after Lord of Ruin and this was another bolted on as a part of the Emd Times series (personal opinion).
It’s hard to review this because I don’t know for sure if I enjoyed it or not.
Potential spoilers ahead
The stories a few years after Lord of Ruin (quite a few), at that point Malus had finally rid himself of the daemon t’zarkan but was left without a soul and in the middle of nowhere.
Fast forward to the start of this book and he’s the Drachau of Hag Graef and General of the largest empire in Naggaroth. He also has his soul back and the daemons back inside him.
A little googling suggests he finally found the daemon and regained his soul but a chaos power put T’zarkan back, he’s also made no new friends having gone to war with several other Drachau’s in the meantime.
Malus is sucked into Malekiths plan to abandon Naggor and retake Ulthuan but due to a failed assassination attempt is placed in the suicidal vanguard assault. What follows is some moments of genius from Malus as well as some failures, more killing of characters and Malekith becoming more and more surrounded by enemies.
I had some issues with the book. Firstly it seemed Malus’ actions in the defence of Ghrond are completely ignored and suggest he wouldn’t go near- this was a huge event in Malus’ life as he went from an outlaw to one of the most powerful Elves in Naggoroth. Also, his use of the Warpsword seems to go completely ignored by Malekith, who is supposed to be the true bearer of the blade- this is also ignored by the leader of the Dark Eld Executioners who professes to be an avatar of Khaine. Finally, the daemon T’zarkan seems to have gone from being a Slaaneshi daemon to a Khorne- not an impossible shift but unnecessary.
As an end to the series it was a little anticlimactic, though it did give an insight into events from Khaine from an alternate point of view, covering a few more deaths and interactions that are alluded to in that book.
Books, Gotrek and Felix Skavenslayer by William King
So, Iv finished book two of Gotrek and Felix by William King and I was surprised. If you remember way back when I read Trollslayer I was surprised at the use of short stories to make up a full novel and assumed it would switch to a more typical style for Skavenslayer, yet I was wrong. It still used short stories, which initially was an annoyance as I prefer a flowing storyline, but as things progressed there was a much stronger link between the stories than I had found in the first one.
Down on their luck and poor (not for the first or last times) Gotrek and Felix are in Nuln and take a job in the sewers where they encounter the Skaven, as well as a future nemesis Grey Seer Thanquol and his rat ogre Boneripper. Naturally they spoil the plans of the Skaven before leaving the sewers to work as security in a bar.
What follows is a series of short stories linked into an overall Skaven invasion of Nuln, each having a specific plan or focus of the Skaven which the two heroes get tangled up in. I liked the approach, as Iv said it was a surprise and initially an annoyance, but in the end it worked. The only issue I had was that each story felt as though it were introducing a different clan of the Skaven (which in fairness was the point) and the inevitable failure of the plan gave it children’s cartoon feel to the seriousness of events. Whilst the overall focus on various aspects of Skaven society was interesting and the political maneuvring was representative of real life, it felt at times too isolated.
The ending of the book sets Gotrek and Felix back on the road hunting the Dwarfs doom. Given that the title is Daemonslayer then it should be good.
Books, malus darkblade Lord of ruin by Dan abnett and Mike Lee
So, that’s that. Iv finished the Lord of ruin a malus darkblade story by Dan abnett and Mike Lee. Ive finished the malus darkblade series of novels.
It’s hard to know what to say, there wasn’t much within the book that didn’t fit the already established stories in each of the books- Malus is exhausted, comes up against insurmountable odds, gets injured a lot, sometimes severely, prevails before coming up against even greater odds, finds the location of one of the ancient relics he’s required to find to free his soul from the daemon of Slaanesh T’Zarkan.
By this point Malus has pretty much turned into tue daemons puppet with his body not being his own. Caught by servants of the Witch King Malekith he is sent North to oversee the defence of the black tower of Ghrond from an invading force of Chaos led by his sister Nagaira, meanwhile all the leaders of dark elf lands that he has upset conspire against him.
The book was good, the action well written (malus facing off against a bloodthirster perhaps pushed the limit a little) and the story never felt rushed, in fact I suspect the story was a lot longer than previous books in order to ft everything in.
The series overall, whilst a little predicable- five relics five books- was an interesting insight into the Dark Elves society and the treachery that every Druchii is capable of, as well as highlighting how fast power can change hands dependent on usefulness to Malekith. The trudging sometimes was a little frustrating, too much of the same plot was recycled so you knew where things were going before Malus got greviously wounded yet kept going.
There has now been released a final darkblade book set in the End Times. I own it but I have other books I’d prefer to read through first.
Holiday in cardiff day four a day of rest and hobby
so, today Rox is meeting with her friend and so off she went at 8 leaving me in bed with a planned day of building wee men and doing some hobby.
After a naomi got dressed and headed into town (needing some new socks) and also picking up some new lounge pants. For those of you who haven’t discovered the luxury of lounge pants I recommend giving it a go, essentially its pyjamas you wear when you aren’t in bed and im starting to build up a nice selection, these being today’s addition
I also picked up a present for the kids
A talking Princess Leia keyring to join the Yoda I got in a past geek box.
After my little shopping trip I was accosted by a dirty dreadlocked charity fundraiser for Barbados who opened with “hey, have we met? I’m serious I know you.”
Sorry buddy you don’t, and I don’t have the time or the interest to talk to you about charity, if I want to give I’ll give via a direct method without you being paid to hassle people in the street. In slightly more positive accosting I was given a ‘free lunch’ courtesy of uncle bens rice in a promo campaign
Not having a microwave in the hotel room I’ll have to save it for a later date, but not to worry, I already had my eyes on a suitable lunch replacement opposite the hotel Mission Burrito. I opted for The ancho chilli beef burrito with all the salad, sour cream, guacamole, habanero sauce and beans.
All gone and mouth burning I turned my attention to some hobby. The plan had been to build some more Wild West exodus models but I’d forgotten a basing kit I’v been waiting for from a kickstarter (more on that in the future) so instead tore open my new YT-2400 freighter for the x wing miniatures as you’ll see in the relevant blog post.
Which brings me pretty much up to date. Now for some bargain hunt and another chapter of my now nearly finished book.
Two hours later
The books finished, woo- post coming on that one. I also enjoyed another game show of general knowledge and bowling. Typically Rox is now back and napping and I don’t know whether to start a new book or just wait for her to wake up. Anything to break the house buying programs now on the telly.
Rox woke up and after an hour of not being able to make her mind up we settled on going for dinner at her initial choice cafe Citta (another of her old favourites), unfortunately all that umming and ahing meant they hadn’t the space for us, so after wandering around another 40 minutes we ended up in red hot buffet for a variety of food (knowing we like it)
Course one- some random indian street foot, sushi, olives and a sweetcorn salad
Course two- five different pizza slices, chilli stuffed taco and chicken fajita. I had to use american cheese because I couldn’t be bothered to go to the other side of the restaurant for grated.
Course three- stir fry. This has beef, squid and chicken balls as well as all the veg and noodles I could add to the plate at the cooking station.
Course four has no picture because it was Piri Piri chicken thighs (gross) and a pork curry that tasted like it had been in a slow cooker for days. I also picked at another batch of sushi whilst choosing this course.
Final course- the deserts were a bit pants so it as a handful of sweets, some dry Apple crumble and a weird mega sweet sponge ball.
After dinner we headed to the Super Bowl for a game, me beating her 93 to 46. It was a tiny alley with really old and rickety equipment and we’re convinced the lanes were far shorter than normal.
There was time for a bit of wasted money on some games machines before a ‘quick’ game of pool. I say quick, I haven’t played in a few years and rox just isn’t very good so we smashed the balls around the table for ages before I finally got into the swing and beat her. I’d also beat her at air hockey, so it was a successful night.
Back in the hotel now we’re watching some programme about idiots raising aggressive dogs for ‘protection’ and ‘status’ and I have a solid lump of food in my belly once again.
Books, bastion by Craig gallant @wildwestexodus
so, with Outlaw mimiatures Wild West Exodus Unfinished Business kickstarter running I figured it a good time to start reading the books. Having finally found a UK stockist I trust (mentioning no names) I put an order in and less than a week later the book depository have delivered the full set of books.
I was torn between starting with the first book- the Jesse James chronicles honour among Outlaws- and the first chronological book – Bastion, in the end settling for Bastion. This being focused around the holy order of man meant it would provide a background on the overall story as well as giving me an insight that I haven’t been too bothered about so far. Whilst I like the models the bulky armour hasnt grabbed me. This actually has been a recurring theme in my interest in WWX as if favoured the more ‘realistic’ elements such as the Cowboys and Indians with less interest in the aliens and mysterious warriors, but the more I play and the more I learn the other races are becoming more and more interesting to me- which can only enhance my enjoyment of the game even if it does come at a quite literal cost.
The book starts immediately with discord and disagreement between key members of the mysterious Etta of the holy order with arguments over prophecies and chosen ones etc etc, which initially had me worried it would be a standard ‘chosen one’ style story, but it quickly moved away from that into the rest of the continent and the major players within the book.
The tale was split between three major storylines (which didn’t seem to be linked even tenuously yet interlocked nicely in their pace and felt as though there were setting up a much larger story in the near future)
The primary story is regarding giovanni Varro, a street fighter down on his luck and in the wrong place at the wrong time (this would be the potential chosen one). He ends up in training to potentially join the holy order after crossing paths with an agent of the dark council.
Second to this is another down on his luck character, a railhead crew leader who’s trainline ends up massively delayed resulting in him working construction in a new town. Meanwhile the local populace is being slaughtered by something mysterious and savage.
Finally, a focus on the active agents of the holy order as they seek an audience with Abraham Lincoln. This story held the most potential (it was also the least resolved) and also provided details on why the Ulysses S. Grant model looks like this-
Overall the book was a good read with my worries of a standard prophecy plot being resolved with the alternate stories and a broad depth of detailing over so many elements of the holy order.
The book also served to resolve my issues with the holy order as a gaming faction, I love an underdog so alls good.
Next up will be the Jesse James book, which is slightly more intriguing following a small cameo appearance in bastion.
Books, which series next?
Remember to like my facebook page
So, as you may be aware I’ve been unable to avoid starting series’ of books whilst leaving others unfinished. It’s now at a point where I want to get them finished in order to move on to even more books.

These are the next in line of the series of books Iv got in my pile at the moment.
Master of Sanctity by Gav Thorpe. Dark Angels. One do my favourite chapters of space marines, partly because they’re clearly not as ‘good’ as they’d suggest but also because of the secrecy in which they operate as nobody knows anything until they reach trusted levels and a closely monitored revealing of the truth is allowed to them. It’s a real reminder of working for games workshop. I read the first book of the trilogy Ravenwing about 18 months ago and whilst the story has largely gone from my memory I do remember the focus being on a new member of the Dark Angels vanguard force dealing with the revelations his new position has revealed to him, whilst having to hunt down chaos marine forces and fighting Orks. I also remember a cool vision of bikes racing around a space station as the mysterious dark angel Cypher evades capture or lays a trail depending on point of view.
Men from the Boys by Tony Parsons. If you read my previous posts on Tony Parsons books you’ll know that whilst i empathised slightly with being a new dad I was outraged by the characters attitudes and bitterness. The second book was worse than the first and honestly I have low expectations of the third. I do however have a curiosity as time has moved on faster than my life has so there may be some insights for me to prepare for.
Nagash the Unbroken by Mike Lee. Warhammer fantasy books about the undead invariably follow the same plot- undead army devastates all before them before the leader is destroyed or incapacitated and everything crumbles. The first in the Nagash trilogy wasn’t much different yet I know Nagash becomes more powerful than at any point previously. Again it’s curiosity that means I’ll be reading this one soon.
The Doom of Dragonback by Gav Thorpe. Another origin of the Warhammer world, this one isn’t strictly speaking part of a series (aside from the large time of legends books) but it ties in very closely with the war of vengeance books of which Iv read two and am waiting for the third and final one later this year. These books establish the reasons for the hatred between the dwarves and elves and so are an important background to the major races of the Warhammer world.
Gotrek and Felix book 2 by William King. I’m actually halfway through this one so I suppose I should really list book 3, but as the pair have a big hand in the end times I feel it’s one of those series I need to get through sooner rather than later.
Lord of ruin by Dan abnett and Mike Lee. A Malus Darkblade book- the last of the series. Except it’s not, the end times has added a sixth (and potentially final) darkblade book, so I’m going to need to get to this one in order to read that one. So far alls gone Malus’ way- not at all as planned but he’s recovering what he needs to and has killed off a good number of his enemies at the same time, so this one will be interesting as a conclusion (even if it’s no longer the conclusion.

The Devils Graveyard by Anonymous. The anonymous books so far have been really enjoyable- the first was theBook with No Name followed by The Eye of the Moon. Known as the Bourbon Kid series there are now four books and I have the third to read. The books aren’t linked beyond a few crossover characters and locations but they’re really enjoyable.
Manhattan in Reverse by Peter F Hamilton. This is the short story anthology I got from the in laws at Christmas, you’ll have seen previously Iv been working through it and have been enjoying them. I think because he’s keeping it simple by using the current world and changing minor things before exploring what that would do to society rather than attempting to create a whole new world.

Tales of the Old World by various authors. A fairly old anthology of Warhammer fantasy stories from a variety of settings. Being a large collection from a variety of authors the stories vary in content and quality but there have been some good reads in there so far. It’s interesting to read them because they’re from a time before there was any concerted effort to link stories and establish a timeline so it becomes something of a free for all with regards the themes and settings.
The Fall of Altdorf by Chris Wraight. The End Times books were a series I was resisting but I finally gave in and read the first one after seeing a few spoilers as well as knowing that the new edition of Warhammer fantasy this summer will require me to know what’s been going on if I’m to have any hope of continuing to read the books, let alone collect a new army. The first book The Return of Nagash was intense ade major characters started dying and major events in the future were alluded to, such as the fall of the imperial city of Altdorf, so the name of this book suggests we’ll be seeing some of this events first hand.

Hammer and bolter volume 2 by various authors. Similar to the Tales of the Old Times anthology this gives a selection of stories from both the Warhammer World and the Warhammer 40,000 universe, but from a slightly more recent selection meaning the stories aren’t so loose and are (mostly) written within a framework.
So I’m interested in your opinion, what should I read next?
Because of course Iv got these to get through too


Books, the return of Nagash by josh reynolds
So, I put aside the various series of books I’m currently reading through (Gotrek and felix, malus darkblade, the original Nagash trilogy) as well as the huge pile of other books I want to get through to finally read my first Warhammer end times book- the return of Nagash by josh Reynolds.
And wow, what a way to mash game of thrones with the warhammer world- people die- many many people die. And not only people of coursea characters die.
I will do my best to avoid spoilers but I can’t promise anything
The beginning was brilliant, no world of peace with a book or two to set up the full prologue (I’m looking at you horus heresy). Some bodies looking over the world and seeing death, war and destruction in pretty much every corner of the warhammer world. Some of this is implied or set in the future but many of the events are current setting you into the middle of the story.
The story then moves onto Mannfred Von Carstein and Arkhan the Black meeting up and planning to bring Nagash back from the dead/undead/not dead, whilst they are both haunted by a ‘ghost’ from their past- Vlad and Nagash respectively.
Alongside this is a secondary focus on the High Elves, Dwarves and Humans (with a little of the Wood Elves) and their response to the forces of the Undead doing evil things.
It’s hard to review without spoilers, but it was really good to see an undead themed book that didn’t end with the leader being killed and therefore the army crumbling- though many people died/redied. It was also nice to see Nagash missing from the early parts of the book. The real success of the book was expanding upon Mannfred and Arkhan- as well as the vampires on the whole- and giving them a little more personality than just being evil masters of armies of skeletons. Seeing them with weaknesses and doubts that were covered up with arrogance was a nice aside to the politics and scheming of every vampire that appears in the book.
I’m now of course left with a new dilemma- move onto the second End Times book or carry on with a different series.
Books, Ahriman: Sorcerer by John French
So, I’m a big fan of the Thousand Sons, and of their chief librarian Ahzek Ahriman, and John French’s trilogy was something a long time coming for me. Of course I’d read the two Horus Heresy novels ( thousand sons and Prospero burns) enjoying them a lot, though of course the space wolves account was a little anger inducing. Then came the battle of the fang, a loosely linked follow up to the destruction of Prospero as the Thousand Sons launch an assault on the Space Wolf home world Fenris. This one I enjoyed less; there was no Ahriman – him being exiled following the Rubric- and although the story was quite good and the ending left me in no doubt the Wolves were the bad guys, the actual climax ruined it for me. Even if it was funny to see Bjorn the Fell-handed in a dreadnought for the last time (him of course suggesting he’d rather be dead than entombed that way during the heresy).
This left me a little uncertain, and from an unknown author too (actually upon checking it turns out I’ve read a lot of John french’s short stories).
Ahriman: Exile was a good start to a trilogy, Ahriman is in exile -surprise surprise- and has abandoned his powers whilst hiding amongst a host of chaos space marine sorcerors. An encounter with a Thousand Sons sorcerer outs Ahriman who then embraces his powers again and seeks to reclaim his position amongst the thousand sons. I won’t provide any further spoilers, except to say the only problem I had with the book was the number of times Ahriman ‘died’ yet repaired himself using his psychic powers. Whilst it allowed for Ahriman to be injured, the reparations were a little too frequent and quick.
The second book, which I have finished just moments ago, was an even better story than the first. There were far less instances of Ahriman getting hurt and repairing, and in fact some of his injuries (physical and mental) are/will have long term effects. The style of this book was different enough that I had to check it was the same author (it was) and it made some good progress in expanding the scale from an individual with a small entourage in exile, to a fleet in sorcerer. The scaling up of the betrayals and politics of a chaos fleet were well handled also, as well as the larger scale sacrificed (of others) that Ahriman had to make.
Another interesting aspect was the flexibility of time within the Warp. This has always been referred to but never really exploited, however here if was used to allow for big changes in a comparatively short amount of time.
So overall, an improvement on the first one – which was also good- and after some major events towards the end I’m very much looking forward to the final book in the trilogy.
Not so keen on the probable wait until September/October release date though
Books, gotrek and felix trollslayer by William King
So, Yes I have indeed started yet another series of books instead of at least finishing one of the ones Iv been reading recently, but felt Gotrek and Felix was at least familiar ground so would act as a bit of a break from the new stuff.
I was sure I’d read the Gotrek and Felix books- probably not in the right order, but I’d read them, yet now I think about it I’m fairly sure I haven’t, I can’t remember any of the stories aside from a few short stories. I’m fairly familiar with the characters and stories yet am now convinced Iv not read them previously. Never mind, Iv started now.
Trollslayer is one I assumed would be a straightforward fantasy plot- stroll through a cave find a troll and kill it. Well I was wrong. Well no, I was right, that’s part of it, but actually only a very small part.
The books made up not of a story but of several short stories that loosely follow each other and deal with the initial adventures and bonding of the Dwarf Slayer Gotrek and the human poet outcast Felix Jaeger. It starts out simply enough, Gotreks temper and desire for death (worthy of course) gets Felix dragged into scenarios involving the forces of Chaos and other undesirable powers. However later on there is a focus more on the development of Felix as person, or at least his attempt to maintain his humanity. This is an element rarely covered in fantasy writing, when the exposures to otherworldly forces, death and destruction and the taking of another’s life change you. Felix becomes more grim and dour, yet his personality helps him to maintain and develop an inner strength. His companionship with the dwarf also builds him as a person as they bond.
The manner in which Gotrek is maintained as a slightly aloof and mysterious character allows for a great mystery (and often despair) to Felix, and in the two stories in which Gotrek is incapacitated or missing Felix has the opportunity to kill many individuals to save himself (that was a weird sentence). Typically the dwarf never notices as he’s normally surrounded by corpses when the two are reunited, but I’m sure there’s a high level of respect for Felix in the dwarf (there’s certainly a loyalty that goes well beyond the oath they swore to each other).
I’m now moving onto the second book so it’ll be interesting to see where exactly the story leads when written as a single story and not just a short story alongside others. Skavenslayer certainly hints at rat men dying so I’d guess it’ll see the introduction of Thanquol.
- ← Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 5
- Next →
hobbybutterfly 