All About You | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

For many long years through the Age of Chaos, the lands of Ghyran suffered under the yoke of the servants of Nurgle. Disease wracked the lands, and life became an unending cycle of horror and misery. Then came light, in the form of the Stormcast Eternals, Sigmar's celestial heroes. Yet light cannot destroy darkness, as Bered Davan has learned. A witch hunter, he is no stranger to the vile things that lurk in the Mortal Realms, but as he hunts the source of a contagion, he will be tested as never before...

THE HUNT by David Annadale is told through second-person, and this ruined the story for me. I didn't feel any connection to Bered, so I didn't care what happened to him.

Annadale's story THE VINTAGE is a far better Warhammer short.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Slow Death | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

Life in the wild places of Shyish is not as life elsewhere in the Mortal Realms. How could it be, when Shyish is the Realm of Death itself? For one inhabitant of that benighted land, the dream of life within death becomes a nightmare when dark invaders come to Shyish and takes their skull for the pleasure of a dark god. Yet even death isn't always permanent in Nagash's domain, and the sole warrior has the chance to fight again and avenge themselves on their foes…

SKULL THRONE by Jake Ozga is a great mix of suspense and horror. The POV offers a thrilling twist towards the end.

I recommend both this short and Ozga's story, ABERATION.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Sci-Fi Drama | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

On the agri world of Ballard's Run, an invasive alien weed is killing the crops and blighting the farmers who have dedicated their lives to working the land. Kavel is one such labourer. A former member of the planet's militia, he lost his family fighting the orks a decade ago. Now the so-called 'warrior weed' threatens to take all that he has left. But fate has other plans for him… A chance encounter with a wounded woman sets him on a collision course with a group that plans to bring destruction to Ballard's Run – and nothing will stand in their way.

THE CHILD FORETOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann is a short sci-fi story with a couple of unexpected twists. Good balance of action and introspection.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Deception in the Deep | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

Lost to the Black Rage, an Adeptus Astartes warrior of the Blood Drinkers Chapter runs rampant on a drifting spacecraft. An unlikely duo team up to try to subdue the soldier by attempting to help him tackle the visions that have driven him mad.

BLOOD DRINKER by James Brogden is a thrilling dark fantasy. The setting is amazing, and the interaction between characters is intriguing.

I had a little trouble following the changes in POV, even with the italics, but I'm glad I stuck with it...the ending is truly mind-blowing.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Red Thumb | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

A traumatised Freeguild Soldier stationed in a lonely stronghold remembers how he suffered as a child under the tyranny of Anasta Malkorion, dreading the day she returns to claim the blood she was denied.

THE VINTAGE by David Annadale is far better than anything I imagined. I love the way the author cultivates the bond between the reader and the main character, but, most of all, I love the twist on the vampire encounter.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Stupid Girl | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

A community of Tzeentch cultists binds a youth to a tree to be sacrificed to the 'Bird of Change', an annual practice that they believe has granted them the favour of their Dark God. As it turns out, the 'bird' isn’t what they think it is, and the youth is forced to confront the terror directly.

BIRD OF CHANGE by Richard Strachan centers on a young girl awaiting her coming of age. When she realizes another year has passed without her change, she decides to volunteer to be sacrificed to a deity she believes will help her.

More to the point, this is the story of a cult worshipping a cursed creature, with a stupid girl who chooses to continue believing the lies she's been fed all her life, even after she is faced with the truth.

Let me make this clear though: this is a captivating story, and the ending is perfect.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Revelation | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

Set on a feudal planet in the Imperium, two men meet in secret at a ruined cathedral to discuss a plot to assassinate the world's Imperial Governor. The cathedral is rumoured to be the hunting grounds of a mythical beast – the so-called Isenbrach Horror. They soon discover the apocryphal stories just might bear a kernel of truth...

THE ISENBRACH HORROR by Darius Hinks nearly lost me with the slow setup, but the revelation towards the end is an absolute must-read. This is a great creature feature mixed with drama and dark fantasy, and a thrilling addition this series.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Poison Within | Warhammer Horror Review | AstraDaemon

A young woman finds herself the guest of a vampire from the Vyrkos Dynasty bloodline. Will her dark romance lead her to take the Blood Kiss? Or will she resist her host’s supernatural attraction?

ABERRATION by Jake Ozga comes across as a Warhammer version of Beauty and the Beast, only much more lurid and gruesome. A young girl is accused of being a witch after her family home burns down. With visions of a hanging in her mind, she makes her way to the only sanctuary she can hope for.

Needless to say, the situation is more complicated than she can imagine. While I did enjoy the battle of wills, I found the ending a little confusing. However, I'm still recommending this one to anyone who loves gothic horror, even if you've never read any Warhammer before.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Vampire Vengeance | Warhammer Review

THE WOLF AND THE RAT by C.L. Werner is a short packed with more than one twist. After the Necroquake event, Radukar the Wolf turned against the nobility of Mournhold, and the city was renamed as Ulfenkarn, the Wolf's Feast. Kritza the Rat Prince, who attempted to undermine his former master once before, now possesses the hide of the last Vyrkos Blood-king, thinking he will be able to use the pelt to lure Radukar into a fatal trap.

The Wolf, however, is three steps ahead of his enemies, and those who joined Kritza soon realize they backed the wrong vampire.

While readers who are familiar with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar will appreciate this tale the most, you don't have to know anything about Warhammer to appreciate this story of betrayal and revenge.

There is also a preview of CURSED CITY by Werner included.

As always,

AstraDaemon

More Skaven Stories!

THANQUOL'S DOOM by C.L. Werner is a brilliant way to tie together the storylines from the previous two novels.You have Jeremias Scrivner, the human sorcerer from the first novel, and Lord Tlaco, the mage-priest Slann from the second novel, planning a combined effort to "fix the Great Math" by getting rid of a "miscalculation" by the name of Grey Seer Thanquol.

Thanquol, always involved in some Skaven controversy, is forced into yet another political conspiracy between clans, the inventive Skyre clan and the muscle clan Mors, by Seerlord Kritislisk, which includes a war with the Dwarves of Karak Angkul. Everything goes wrong for the Grey Seer. Everything. I had no way of predicting what was going to happen from one chapter to the next.

The POV switches between the skavens and the dwarves, but this time the alternating narration worked much better than in Temple of the Serpent because both views were describing the same point in the timeline. When you leave the Skavens' perspective to read the Dwarves' perspective, you are returned almost to the exact moment you leave the Skavens' POV, so you are never left to wonder what happened to either group while you were reading about the other.

Despite his obvious negative traits, Werner has done an excellent job developing Thanquol as the ultimate antagonistic character. I haven't enjoyed a bad guy this much, since Darth Vader. Thanquol's Doom provides a lot of insight into the Grey Seer's twisted way of thinking, as well as showing how powerful he has become since the first two novels. Unfortunately, Thanquol has been so preoccupied with the intrigue of Skavendom, he completely overlooks how many other races perceive him as a very dangerous threat.

This was definitely my favorite of the three Thanquol & Boneripper adventures. Even the rat-ogre bodyguard has changed over the course of the series!


While I've reread the first three novels more than once, this is the first time I've read the short story, MIND-STEALER. Classic Thanquol over-thinking, thanks to his inflated opinion of himself, but I still love this character! This time, the Grey Seer attacks a human caravan, triggering a battle between villagers and outsiders, only to find himself fighting a powerful witch.

The ending is a bit of a surprise, and little abrupt. I'm wondering if this story might be referenced in The Black Plague trilogy...

As always,
AstraDaemon

SKAVENS IN THE LAIR!!

Not sure if I'll get any pushback for including Warhammer in my month of horror, but I am a huge fan of the Skaven, and I felt the man-sized rat-like creatures deserved to be included among my monster roster.

GREY SEER by C.L. Werner is something I first read about ten years ago, after I had already been introduced to the Gotrek & Felix series. Thanquol is a recurring enemy of theirs, along with his rat-ogre bodyguard, Boneripper. He is also a Grey Seer, a natural-born wizard, aided by Warpstone, which is dark magic in solid form (humans call it Wyrdstone). Unrefined is far more dangerous than refined, and Thanquol is absolutely addicted to the stuff.

Grey Seer Thanquol is forced to retrieve the Wormstone (a toxic version of Warpstone) by the Council of Thirteen. He's made many enemies among the Skaven clans, mostly due to dirty politics (and a certain dwarf screwing up his past plans), so the Council considers Thanquol to be disposable.

The narration switches views between the skavens and humans, and it's easy to follow. I personally prefer the scenes with the skavens. The smugglers who find the Wormstone seem so boring compared to Thanquol and his adept, Kratch. While the mysterious Dark Master, playing the skavens and humans against each other, is interesting, very little is revealed about him. Thanquol and Boneripper are completely awesome characters, even if they are technically the "bad guys."

TEMPLE OF THE SERPENT is the second book in the Thanquol & Boneripper series. The Grey Seer is called before the Council to explain to the Lords of Decay what happened in the first book. TOTS actually begins with a prologue from the POV of an ancient creature named Lord Talco, who studies the Great Math of the Old Ones, and views the xa'cota (the rat fractals) as corrupted algorithms. A bit difficult to follow, but necessary to illustrate how different the lizard race is from the Skaven or humans.

Readers will learn more about the different Skavens clans, as well as their ongoing political scheming. As a result of the chaos around him, Thanquol has to deal with a mountain of problems just to stay alive. Of course, there is always a human factor within these stories, and, when the three races converge in the City of Quetza, the battles are superb.

Werner does such a great job describing the surroundings and the jungle's other inhabitants, I felt the suffering of the characters as if I were there with them. You don't even have to be a Warhammer fan to enjoy this Skaven series!

As always,
AstraDaemon