The Red Duke Book Review

Title: The Red Duke

Author: C.L. Werner

Publisher: Black Library

Pages: 413

ISBN: 9781849700733

With the last of Earl Gaubert d'Elbiq's sons dead, sent to their deaths by their own father, an already existing blood feud between the d'Elbig's and the du Maisne's comes to an epic climax.

Seeking revenge for the deaths of his sons, Earl Gaubert heeds the words of one of the lowliest peasants in his court, and seeks out a witch named Jacquetta who promises to lead him to the unmarked tomb of the Red Duke. And with the help of  Renar, -- a peasant Necromancer -- instill the powers of the duke into vessel's of Earl Gaubert's choosing.

"Beware you sons of Britonnia! Beware the forces of darkness that lie in wait to tempt and trap even the strongest soul! Beware the sad end of the heroic knight, that defender of chivalry and crown! Beware, you children of Aquitaine, lest your wickedness draw down upon you the foul curse of the Red Duke!" - Jacques the Troubadour

Once known as El Syf ash-shmel, or "the North Sword," by the Arabyans, the Duke of Aquitaine cast fear into the hearts of his enemies, even before his vampiric resurrection as the Red Duke. Entombed after a bloody battle upon the Fields of Ceren, it will take everything within the Lady of the Grail's reach to help to bring the Red Duke's resurrected reign to a final and bloody end.

Werner, a veteran of the halls of the Black Library delivers a bloody brilliant approach to vampires, Warhammer Fantasy style. Now, granted I haven't read too much of Warhammer Fantasy, but what I have read I've liked for the most part. More specifically the vastness of the world building. After finishing The Red Duke, I've come to the conclusion that Werner knows his stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if the man lives and breathes the source material. And this shows more than anything in the thoughtful layout of the novel.

Beginning with each chapter and speckled throughout The Red Duke, are flashbacks to 500 years before the Earl of Aquitaine's entombment, giving the reader the rich history and backstory needed without the endless, mind-numbing, drool-fest infodumps that seem to be so crippling to most speculative fiction novels. Although each flashback isn't as long as the chapters they reside in, Werner finds a way to include just enough information into them without giving the whole story away.

"Everything a man loves dies. Everything he values must turn to dust. It is only the things inside a man that he can keep with him always. Things like loyalty and honour." - The Red Duke

With most shared worlds it is to be expected that there's not much character development to be read and cultivated within the characters that populate the stories. The Red Duke is not one of those novels. Instead, as the backstory of the Duke is unveiled, the reader slowly begins to see not only the title character grow, but also a large handful of the main cast and secondary characters. No doubt it's a refreshing feel.

But not everything is refreshing. As the story unfolds almost poetically in spots, I can't help but think that the plot of the story is kind of overdone and cliched: an evil from centuries past has been resurrected to exact vengeance on the heads of those who most deserve it. Along the way, said ancient evil being manages to somehow amass a large following of supporters and soldiers willing to die with a single command. It's not that it's overly used in fiction, but in movies as well. Although it does manage to work rather well with this story, I would have much preferred it to be more refreshing.

If that doesn't bother readers, though, the ending might. For those that like closure and a succinct tying of loose ends, The Red Duke might disappoint. But, if you're looking for a story that carries well, and is richer than most when it comes to shared world literature, then look no further.

With that being said, I'm giving The Red Duke 7.5 out of 10 TARDISes.

~Rodney

Book Bombed! Black Library!

Not pictured: The box

I've just been book bombed, thanks to Black Library! Here's what the contents of the package looked like:

• Sabbat Worlds a short story anthology featuring some of the bigger names in Black Library's repertoire, all playing in Dan Abnett's sandbox, the Sabbat Worlds, which includes the Gaunt's Ghosts series.
• Salvation's Reach, the second book in Dan Abnett's  "The Victory" story arc of Gaunt's Ghosts series.
• Red and Black, an audio drama featuring The Sisters of Battle. Written by James Swallow and performed by Beth Chalmes and Lisa Bowerman.
• Thanquol's Doom, the third book in the Thanquol and Boneripper series, written by C.L. Werner.
• It would seem as though C.L. Werner has been a very busy person as of late, with not only one book in the box, but two. The second one being The Red Duke, a stand alone novel in the Warhammer Fantasy Universe.
• Nocturne, the last book in the Fire Tomb trilogy. Written by Nick Kyme, the series focuses on the Salamander chapter of the Space Marines.
• And finally, included in this box of Black Library goodies: The Outcast Dead, the newest title in the Horus Heresy series. Written by none other than Black Library veteran Graham McNiell. 

Fingers crossed, I'll be able to squeeze in a few reviews of some of the titles mentioned above.

~Rodney

A Very Black Christmas.

Christmas came early this year, in several forms including two boxes of review copies from Black Library Publishers, who specialize in Warhammer Fantasy fiction, as well as Warhammer 40k (40,000).

Look for several new reviews of some of the pictured titles above in the next several weeks. Until then: Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

~Rodney

Call to Arms Book Review

Title: Call to Arms
Author: Mitchel Scanlon
Publisher: Black Library
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781844168132

Deiter Lanz has always wanted to be a member of "The Scarlets;" a soldier in the 3rd Hochland Swordsmen. Raised by an almost heroic figure, starting at a young age Deiter has been trained to be a soldier.The novel starts off with Deiter having his dream come true: he's the newest recruit to "The Scarlets."

Just as he gets omitted to the ranks of the 3rd Hochland Swordsmen, a horde of greenskins headed by Morgoth Ironfang attack and force The Scarlets to act. From there, everything goes down hill, as Count Aldebrand of Hochland comes to the realization that no other country would be willing to come to the countries aid. In his realization, Count Aldebrand promotes legendary General Ludwig von Grahl as leader of his armies, to fight back against Ironfang and his hordes.

There were many parts of this where I would get to a scene and be like, "Oh! This is where it's going to pick up... it's got to!" And then, I was let down; hopeful, I kept reading on, but was let down more than I'm willing to admit. There were several parts of Call to Arms, where I felt it had potential to expand and spin into something better, but unfortunately it didn't, In the end culminating with an anti-climactic battle that seemed to have been rushed and generically ended.

Call to Arms is riddled with cliches, with the typical characters that can be found in just about any generic fantasy novel, or B rated/Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie, including rather lackluster fight scenes. Especially the premise of the novel: a horde of goblins/trolls/orcs, led by a badass commander decide to invade a country, or area with no real reason other than to start a fight, and see things die. (I know, I just defined the definition of an orc.) I was hoping that Call to Arms would stay away from this. I don't want to have to compare the world of Warhammer Fantasy with that of the newly visioned Dragonlance, that's why I'm hoping this doesn't become a trend.

In parts, it felt as though Scanlon hadn't been made aware of one of the golden rules of writing, and that is to 'show, don't tell.' There were many parts of Call to Arms where, instead of having the character experience something, Scanlon has another character explain it instead. His narrative also suffers from this. There were several scenes where he switched narratives so quickly, that I kept getting lost. One moment he was writing from Character C's point of view, then the next it was back to Character A's.

I personally would have loved to have seen a few little info-dumps throughout, but sadly there were none. Maybe it's a good thing, considering I'm a new reader and all, but I was expecting just the slightest bit of exposure to any reader, whether they be new to the world, or old.

Although it would seem that I've done nothing but bashed this novel, there's plenty of good things to speak of about it. As much as it would seem when Call to Arms begins, it is not a coming of age story, which I thank Scanlon for. Too many fantasy titles these days use the typical view point of a young person in order to narrate their stories from a pair of fresh, unexpereinced eyes.

Call to Arms is my first official Warhammer Fantasy novel experience, and all-in-all, it wasn't bad. I've read worse. Therefore, I'm giving it an even 5.0 Tardis's out of 10. If you want to take a chance on it yourself, you can procure your very own copy from both: Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

~Rodney

Death and Dishonour Book Review

Title: Death and Dishonour
Editor(s): Alex Davis, Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestley
Publisher: Black Library
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781844168064
Title: Death and Dishonour

Death and Dishonour is the newest short story anthology in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, and features some big named Black Library authors.

I have to admit: it's the first real Warhammer Fantasy novel of any kind that I've ever read, -- and for that matter finished-- and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's truly an amazing collection of stories, and within the first couple stories I was hooked and felt right at home. Although there's some technical terms and the like that I had no clue about when reading it -- and still don't, but I'm hoping to remedy this in the next few months -- it was still easy to get lost in, and enjoy. Unlike some other universes where you automatically need to know the back history of the universe before you dive into any kind of literature, this collection was very basic in that regard.

Compiled of nine fantastic pieces, this anthology is chalked full of awesome stories that are gauranteed to make you think, including two of the most famous duos, and one of the most brutal bounty hunters in all the Old World.

This selection of shorties starts off with a classic duo that many people are very fond of: Gotrek and Felix. Although I own all three Gotrek and Felix Omnibus's, I've only read a hundred or so pages of the first novel from this duo. But now that I've read Red Snow, I've bumped up the first Omnibus in my personal To-Be-Read Pile, and am extremely looking forward to it.

Following a few short stories later, is Noblisse Oblige, featuring the second duo to grace the pages of Death and Dishonour: Florin and Lorenzo. This was my first real look at these two, and I have to say that their Omnibus is on my To Buy list. I've flirted with the idea of picking it up in the past, but always found a reason to get something else. The story seemed to read as if it were just another adventure wherein the two friends get in trouble once again and have to find their way out. I mean, isn't that how some of the greatest duos are? But with this story, it doesn't seemed forced like some fictional pieces that I've read in the past.

To wrap this whole anthology up, is the final short story: Wolfshead, which features Brunner the Bounty Hunter. A character that, until I picked this book up, I have never heard of before. Now that I've read this piece of amazingness, I feel like I've been cheated on all these years for never knowing he existed. However, there is good news! Sometime in the month of May, I'll have the Brunner the Bounty Hunter Omnibus in my greedy hands, and hopefully I won't be too blown away that I can't write a review. I've read C.L. Werner's books about Matthias Thulmann the Witch Hunter, so hopefully it'll be just as good, and if this story is any indicator, I have I'll be in for one hell of a ride.

But, that's not all for this anthology. Each short story is sperated by three others, filling in the awesomeness with more amazing! Out of the six though, are some true gems, such as: Rest Eternal by Anthony Reynolds, and The Judgement of Crows by Chris Wraight, both of which blew me away with endings I never expected.

The others were interesting, but they for one reason or another just didn't score too high with me, and I admit that part of it's because I am so new to this world. However after reading each of them I wanted more of the Old World. For instance: The Assassin's Delimma for me, introduced the Skaven to me and because of it, I want to find out more. And The Last Ride of Heiner Rothstein threw in a whole new element for me that I'm not quite used too yet, which is the whole concept of black powder weapons. I'll admit that the majority of the fantasy I read doesn't have anything remotely close, or as cool as pistolier korps.

Over all, I was quite impressed with this anthology. Alex Davis, Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestley, have far surpassed my expectations as editors. With very little spelling, punctuation or grammar errors, it's a solid book, and each story reads smoothly, and the flow from one story to the next is fluid. Not once did I think about sitting this book down to pick something else up to read. That's why I'm giving Death and Dishonour 8.5 TARDIS's out of 10. This is Sword and Sorcery in a large scaled world at it's best, and I can't wait to read more!

For anyone who has never delved into the fantasy universe of Warhammer, but have always wanted to, I would highly suggest picking up a copy of Death and Dishonour. It's a good starting point and stepping stone into what I hope will continue to be an amazing universe.

~Rodney