Product Description

Magnus Ironblood joins an Imperial force to try and bring down secessionist forces, and finds himself in a bloody battle against deadly foes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #141991 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781844167791
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Chris Wraight is a freelance writer and teacher. Along time fan of Games Workshop background art and fiction, Chris is also into the novels of Patrick O'Brian, Phillip Pullman and William Golding. He can occasionally be spotted running through the muddier bits of the country in training for some race or other.

His first novel, Masters of Magic was published in 2008.

Customer Reviews

Bloody
Chris Wraight is a relatively new author to the Warhammer Fantasy line with only a handful of books under his belt. He is however a very good writer. He has nice details without being too wordy and bogging a tale down. This book stands on its own, so you don't have to have read any other Warhammer title to know what is going on. It certainly help, since the book make minor references throughout. Like most Warhammer novels, this one is very bloody. Lots of action, lot of gore. This isn't high fantasy, it is pulp. But is is fun if you like high violence and great heroes.

Linear & one dimensional
This is my first exposure to Warhammer, so I will not be comparing it to other Warhammer novels, and I want to reiterate that this was my first exposure to anything in the Warhammer world.

On face value the novel appealed to me, it was right up my alley of things I usually like, warfare or mass combat, seigery, and I found the integration of black powder into an otherwise medieval universe to be interesting. There was also a dwarven angle, and I like dwarves.

However, in the end, I found it shallow and unfulfilling. Perhaps I have been spoiled reading such things as A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, but I am still capable of separating what I consider to be literary fantasy, and pulp fantasy. This was obviously going to be pulp fantasy and so I hold it to a lower standard, but even that standard it didn't meet.

The writer's style is acceptable, he kept the pacing smooth. Some of the non-US spellings for various words were a tad annoying, but I suppose all the UK readers feel that way about books written in American English. Otherwise it was an easy read, no problems with the diction or syntax.

However, where the book fails is in plot. The plot was predictable and ridiculously linear. You knew, at the beginning, exactly how it would end. You might wonder what details would happen next, but the broad strokes were all there, obvious, and straight.

The characters were all one dimensional, the good guys were all heroes, paragons of skill in their profession, and the bad guys all wore black hats. There was a small attempt at a bit of a redemption where a character quits drinking, buy having a vice you want to quit does not a flawed character make.

I give it two stars, merely for easy reading quality, I read it, I was mildly entertained, I finished it. The dreaded 1 star is something I reserve for things I'm loath to even finish.

This book will appeal to fans of R.A. Salvatore, or possibly those Eragon books. But fans of more complex fantasy, or more complex characters, should probably look elsewhere.

There was one point where the protagonist's massive friend (who was, apparently, a master engineer, swordsman, and boxer all in one) was on the edge of death, having been convinced to go on the journey and leave his wife and kids by said protagonist. I couldn't help thinking "What if he dies, now that'd be drama, the protagonist is going to blame himself, lots of internal mental conflict." But of course, predictably, he is saved, and is saved every time he goes into danger. In fact, no character in the book who isn't on the wrong side, treacherous, or malicious, dies. Sometimes good people die in war, when you have an author that doesn't acknowledge that then you never actually ever fear for the characters because you know they'll always be safe. That makes any danger they find themselves in seem false and uninteresting.

Enjoyable hack and slash
Set in the Warhammer universe, this book is a pleasant surprise. Up to now, I have been mostly disappointed in the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 books. But, Mr. Wraight has changed my mind. He tells a quick moving story with decent character and plot development. The pacing is very good and, at times, it became a page turner. Basically, the story is about a engineer who has become a drunk and now is searching for his redemption. Though in some rebellion against the Empire, old grudges, a dwarf and a rouge and you have the makings of a good tale!

If you are looking for a good and entertaining fantasy read, this is it. This is not epic fantasy, it just a good story that you can sit back and enjoy. Enjoy!