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Made in us
[DCM]
Savage Minotaur




Baltimore, Maryland

Just finished this. I liked it.

It starts off a few months after the Broken Realms saga, with the city of Excelsis still reeling from the siege led by Kragnos. As the cover suggests, the perspective characters are the father/daughter Witch Hunter duo: Galen & Doralia ven Denst. Both have their issues, stemming from the trauma of fighting the progeny of Slaanesh during the siege, as well as past events that shaped them.

Its a fun adventure/hunt novel, with a few twists and turns. One thing that I appreciate is how well written the minor characters are, mainly the thief that accompanies the duo for a portion of the journey, to one of the officers that they team up with during the latest “siege” of Excelsis* at the culmination of the novel. I felt the same about Mr. Strachand’s ‘Blood of the Everchosen’ novel as well. The dynamic between the two protagonists was well written and believable.

One of the baddies in the novel has a shared history with the father/daughter duo** and very much set them on the path that they are on. The main baddy I would’ve liked to have had more “screen time”, as he seemed like he could have been an almost sympathetic character in a way***.

*
Spoiler:
The main bad guy raises the dead on both sides of the armies from Kragnos’ siege and it completely swamps the still recovering defenders. There are some generally awesome scenes depicted, despite how hopeless it gets..


**
Spoiler:
Its a vampire that killed Galens wife, but not before turning her, forcing a pre-teen Doralia to kill her now twisted and vampiric mother, while a powerless Galen has to watch


***
Spoiler:
Its an extraordinarily powerful Necromancer, whose main goal is to restore his son to life. Kind of an understandable goal, but its obvious he’s been twisted by the dark arts. He’s a pretty creepy dude, but didn’t seem cruel for the sake of it, at least until the end.


Callus & Toll of City of Secrets fame, as well as the witchhunter from Cursed City all get brief shout outs during novel, which is cool.

All in all a fun adventure story and a quick read, and it motivated me to paint up the mini’s of the two protagonists.




This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/04/07 03:20:48


"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut






Neat, nice review. Been thinking about getting this to add to the pile. Still got to get through Gothghul hollow and Kragnos.
   
Made in us
Humming Great Unclean One of Nurgle






I am way behind on my AoS novels and just finished this one.

First half I really enjoyed, it had some nice twists and turns, depicted the mortal realms reasonably well, and did a fantastic job of characterizing the human characters. Even minor folks who showed up in no more than one chapter were believable and felt nuanced beyond 'good NPC' 'bad NPC' or 'neutral NPC'. I do with more of such had been given to the main antagonist before the very end though.

But really what spoiled the novel for me was how long the second half dragged out. It felt like what was supposed to be the last quarter of the novel stretched into the last half--a lot of the same theme and descriptions being rehashed and the same atmosphere being described and re-described. It somehow felt slow and yet rushed at the same time with events growing increasingly implausible and jarringly stitched together towards the end. By the last chapter I really just wanted it to be over, which is a dam shame after how good the first half was.

Road to Renown! It's like classic Path to Glory, but repaired, remastered, expanded! https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/778170.page

I chose an avatar I feel best represents the quality of my post history.

I try to view Warhammer as more of a toolbox with examples than fully complete games. 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Savage Minotaur




Baltimore, Maryland

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
It somehow felt slow and yet rushed at the same time with events growing increasingly implausible and jarringly stitched together towards the end. By the last chapter I really just wanted it to be over, which is a dam shame after how good the first half was.


Looking back, I can agree with this take.

While the "montage" of desperate last stands were pretty cool, it did get kind of repetitive and kind of take away from the actions of the 2 main characters and their struggles.

"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
 
   
Made in gb
Mighty Vampire Count






UK

Any mention of Arika Zenthe - curious how she reacts to Morathis power grab and ascension.

I AM A MARINE PLAYER

"Unimaginably ancient xenos artefact somewhere on the planet, hive fleet poised above our heads, hidden 'stealer broods making an early start....and now a bloody Chaos cult crawling out of the woodwork just in case we were bored. Welcome to my world, Ciaphas."
Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos

"I will admit that some Primachs like Russ or Horus could have a chance against an unarmed 12 year old novice but, a full Battle Sister??!! One to one? In close combat? Perhaps three Primarchs fighting together... but just one Primarch?" da001

www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/528517.page

A Bloody Road - my Warhammer Fantasy Fiction 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Savage Minotaur




Baltimore, Maryland

 Mr Morden wrote:
Any mention of Arika Zenthe - curious how she reacts to Morathis power grab and ascension.


Not that I remember, just a few blink and you miss it shout outs to the other Witchhunters roaming around.

"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
 
   
Made in us
Humming Great Unclean One of Nurgle






 Mr Morden wrote:
Any mention of Arika Zenthe - curious how she reacts to Morathis power grab and ascension.
Nope. Afaik the last mention was that she was Fleetmaster of the corsairs who sailed with Morathi to the rescue of Excelsius, but how long that service/position has lasted since we don't know. Nor if she was happy about it.

Road to Renown! It's like classic Path to Glory, but repaired, remastered, expanded! https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/778170.page

I chose an avatar I feel best represents the quality of my post history.

I try to view Warhammer as more of a toolbox with examples than fully complete games. 
   
 
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