Blighted Empire A Review

Blighted Empire written by CL Werner published by Black library June 2013.

Blighted Empire by CL Werner

Reviewed by Lord of Ruin

After reading Dead winter I was left wanting more a lot more for Werner had created a huge cast of characters that had story lines left dangling ready for when Blighted Empire came out. Again these characters all make a return in some form or other; whether that’s the greedy Boris Goldgatherer or the fallen priest of Morr to the vile skaven Puskab Foulfur. It should be noted however that the cast of skaven has dramatically increased and many grey lords from the council thirteen make a significant appearance. The most important thing to note is that Blighted Empire picks up 5-6 years later after the events of Dead Winter and it’s during those years that many things have fallen into famine and despair.

Blighted Empire is a dark story set within a dark fantasy setting that in turn is going through a very difficult and dark time, needless to say this book really piles on misery and despair that the black plague has caused to the Empire of Man. As I’ve said before this book brings in returning characters and one of those characters that I could not wait to read about was Vanhal. Vanhal is a character that is renowned in warhammer lore as being a powerful necromancer, a necromancer who became so powerful he was rumoured to be nearly as powerful as the creator of necromancy himself Nagash and after reading Blighted empire you will believe it. Here is a man who we have seen fallen into the trap of necromancy for his own personal reasons but through this he has become something much, much worse. Werner’s depiction of him is handled with supreme care and love, it would of been easy to do some powerful warlock who’s evil and very bad, but instead like all of Werner’s ‘villains’ he delves into the man himself as well as the man that man is becoming and for doing this Vanhal becomes this extremely interesting character that also shows the reader just how powerful and extremely dangerous necromancy is for it is far more complex than just resurrecting the undead as you will quickly discover.

Adolf Kreysig is also a returning character and he has not changed at all, utterly ruthless in pursuing what he wants to achieve, here is a man you could hate, however Werner spins this character on its head somewhat by showing that though he is undoubtedly evil there is a man here who is also looking out for the Empire. You start to see why he is so cut throat sometimes and why he uses such extreme methods because if he did not things would turn out very differently in Altdorf and it would be a lot worse off without his ruthless and extreme methods of getting things done. The other villain of this duo is Boris Goldgatherer the Emperor of the Empire here Werner decides to see how far he can push the evil selfish limits of this man, for here is a character that will be utterly hated by all readers for Werner shows him to be even more degenerate than the last book.  I never thought i would say this but it feel as though Werner went a little too far trying to drive the point home that Boris is a very evil man and that the pace of the book would slow down too much sometimes when the story would come around to him and his ultimate destiny.

As I’ve mentioned in my review of Dead Winter Mandred is the Prince of Middenheim with a destiny that will shape the Empire and by seeing through Mandreds eyes his growth and progress into the man he becomes was a very welcome addition to the story, for when we see Mandred we also get to witness a man who is trying to understand the very different world that he now inhabits and how he is going to try and make a difference on its seemingly, only outcome. Werner uses this opportunity to introduce the dwarfs living under Middenheim in the mountain and it’s through the dwarfs that the world of man is introduced to the evil lurking and thriving underneath their feet, the skaven.

Werner introduced the skaven and the council thirteen in Dead Winter, whether that was the rise of clan Pestilens or the stalwart believers of the horned rat; the grey seers led by none other than grey seer Skrittar or the self proclaimed warlord of all skavendom Vecteek all of these characters and clans have been tasked with the destruction of the human race and though at times it can be a little charring when the author jumps from one different grey lord to the next he undoubtedly pulls them off superbly.

‘The pacing of the book is driven mostly by its narrative though when the action starts its ruthless and as brutal as one would expect from CL Werner’

Its when we are with the skaven that the action really gets cranked up somewhat, whether we are witnessing a massed battle between the greatest necromancer of the age battle against a grey lord and his massive skaven horde or we are watching the vile machinations of Clan Skyre fight against the unbreakable faith that is the church of Sigmar, Werner really demonstrates his understanding of how skaven armies work and function but also his descriptive writing is very clear and easy to follow when the two sides clash. Everything is there for any skaven fan, whether it be screaming bells or Jezzail sniper teams to gutter runners and assassins of clan eshin all are demonstrated to their fullest in the most grandiose and brutal manner. What I loved so much about the skaven armies is how much they turn on one another and how insidious these skaven leaders are, always trying to find a quick and easy lie to further there own ends and it is ultimately why skaven never fully succeed, dont get me wrong for skaven do succeed in a lot of things but their self destructive nature is also there greatest weapon and greatest failure and I believe that Werner has done a fantastic job of demonstrating these qualities that the skaven possess.

Though I maybe singing this books praises there were a few things that could of been avoided in order to of made this book perfect. Firstly how dire and dark the book can get can really put you off sometimes, I found that there is only so much misery and despair you can read before you have to put it down, there was just too much negative and not enough hope for my tastes though the skaven parts help with abit of humour the human parts particularly the Emperor sections i found to be abit dull after a while. The second thing has to be the size of the cast, if you thought Dead Winter was big then be ready for this one for the cast near enough doubles. I cant stress enough how important it is for Black Library to include a character list either at the front or back, I brought this up in my Dead Winter review and here its blatantly obvious it needs one. It should be noted that Werner has also included a preface covering what happened in the last book, which makes this book ideal for those wishing to start from here, though I would strongly recommend reading the first one.

5/5- Overall this is a tremendous tale set during one of the Empires most testing times and for those that love skaven or enjoyed the previous book then you will find a lot here for you to dissect and devour.  I’m giving it a five out of five because though it has a lot of very dark content, it is undoubtedly a dark story to tell and thus it can’t be marked down for doing what it’s supposed to.

Dead Winter A Review

Dead Winter by CL Werner first published by Blacklibrary 2012, then republished in June 2013.

Dead Winter by CL Werner

 Book Review by Lord of Ruin

The Empire is on the verge of falling apart, due to the influences of one greedy man, Boris Gold gatherer the Emperor of the Empire. Of course where their is dissention their is always something lurking in the shadows waiting for just such an opportunity and now that, that opening has presented itself they make there move. Meanwhile, others are trying to survive the greatest plague that has ever hit the Empire; whether it’s a lonely rat catcher or a priest of Morr each has a story to tell that will lead them to ever darker places.

C L Werner has been writing warhammer fantasy for black library now for many a year, with such great titles as his Brunner the bounty hunter series or his Mathias Thulman with hunter series. But its not just series he’s done, hes also produced some excellent chaos stories whether it’s a book on the diabolical chaos God Nurgle in ‘Palace of the plague lord’ or a book dedicated to the fury of Khorne in ‘Blood for the blood god’. Buts its his dark and menacing books that he really excels, books like ‘Runefang’ and ‘The Red Duke’, even with this catalogue of books to his name, it’s really his books featuring the under folk otherwise known as the skaven, that Werner is really famous for. This led him to write the tales of grey seer Thanquol, a character that became infamous through his schemes in trying to kill the famous warhammer duo of all, Gotrek and Felix. So when black library needed a writer to write about a time of legends story set during the time of the black plague, a plague unleashed by none other than the skaven, their really was only one writer who could take up that challenge and boy has he delivered, for Dead Winter is an epic undertaking to say the least.

In order for Werner to tell this tale he has clearly had to lay the ground work for this piece as the black plague is happening all over the Empire, slowly at first but eventually it reaches the major capitals of the Empire and it’s in these capitals that Werner tells his stories. Each of the three major cities has its own set of characters that propel the story forward and it’s through these characters that Werner helps the reader understand just whats at stake, not just in one city but across all of them.

The first Empire city we go to is the new seat of power Altdorf, as the new Emperor Boris Gold gatherer sits upon his thrown pitching all the states of the Empire against one another in order to keep their attention away from him and his spoils. Werner does an admiral job here of showing us how one man can become so greedy with power, power gained through the clever use of politics and the use of a man called Adolf Kreysig. Adolf is a truly despicable character that simply drips with venom a man who will do and has done anything to gain power, a great villain of the piece indeed. The other character is Erich von Kranzbeuhler, a young but well earned knight captain of the Reiksknecht an order of knights that protect the Emperor (you will have noticed Werner’s use of names in this book only barely resembles that of current warhammer opting for a more traditional, older use of knightly orders and titles). Erich is a man who has witnessed firsthand the machinations of Emperor Boris and who is a member of a prestigious group of men who are battling with the idea that maybe its time for Emperors Boris’s reign to be finished, and only a desperate but carefully laid plan will do. This character and others that feature with him shows the reader just how desperate a state the Empire is in, something of which is conveyed more so when the reader is taken to the other capitals of the Empire.

In the once prosperous city of Nuln we follow the frowned upon Ratcatcher, Walther Schill, a man who’s luck rises in terms of income as the regular food supplies of the city start to run dry or rotten, as a consequence of this there is a massive increase in rats, a supply that later becomes valuable, however Walthers story leads him to see things from the dark that is better off being forgotten. I found this character to be a lot of fun to read, and Werner does a very good job of portraying this character that, for the lack of a better word is so ordinary, but at the same time, so compelling to read about.

‘’When battle is joined it’s more claustrophobic and desperate making the reader feel like there is so much more at stake than the characters life’’

Meanwhile in the great city of Middenheim the count has closed the gates into the city, a decision not made lightly, however his son Mandred does not see this as a solution but an act of cowardice. Prince Mandred for those not familiar with the history becomes a major character in the future, whereas here Werner is more than happy to lay the ground work for this character that will really come into his own later in the series.

Its not just the major cities of the Empire that the story is told, but in two other places as well, one of which is the back bone of the whole story, the other at first, i thought to be none other than another way for Werner to show the impacts of the plague on smaller communities, however I was dead wrong, for again here is a small story that rises up to be something else entirely, without giving away the plot to this little tale, all I will say is that I found it to be one of the most compelling of the stories to read, especially once I realised where it was leading. Werner does a great job of showing a characters downfall and eventual destination that shows why this sort of shall I say ‘profession’ is taken up.

The second place the story is told is also the very first place the book takes us, and that’s to the under warren empire of the Skaven, aptly named SkavenBilght. Its here that we get a in depth look at the conniving, scheming, internal politics of the skaven empire, and its also here that we meet the main character of the piece Puskab Foulfur, high Priest of clan Pestilens and also creator of the Black plague. Its here that Werner really shines and shows his dark talent and that’s showing and conveying the backstabbing antics of the skaven empire, I especially liked his description of the older council of the thirteen lords of decay, and I especially liked his creation of clan Verms and its leader Blight, a very refreshing and interesting take on the rising and falling clans of skaven. Another thing that I really liked, was Werner’s revealing of the skaven to the Empire, for not many characters ever see the skaven, in fact only a couple do, but when they do, you really feel the horror that one comes from encountering such monsters.

Overall Werner has put together a book that really conveys that sense of despair showing us an Empire that looks and feels like its a cold and desolate place to live in, though there is not a lot of action in this, I find that to be a good thing, for when battle is joined its more claustrophobic and desperate making the reader feel like their is so much more at stake than the characters life. Another thing that is worth mentioning is how just when you think you have everything figured out, Werner throws in a surprise or two that I for one did not see coming, one of which I was completely taken of guard with, not many warhammer writers have accomplished this of me lately.

If I had anything negative to say about this piece it would be that there is one heck of a lot of characters to follow here, maybe an appendix in the back or character list in the front would of helped me keep up with who’s who, for sometimes I would have to back track to find out who a particular character was, this is not helped much by some of the characters titles, some of them are really long, though I liked the use of the more traditional titles, it was a pain in the arse to work out just who and what they do. This was however only ever a problem for the first half of the book for by that time, I had everyone worked out, so for those who are struggling a bit in the beginning bare with it for it will sink in. The only other negative which really is only minor at best, is that I did not want this to finish, and as this is book one of three I knew that it would end on many a cliff hangers, and boy does it finish on a few, though to be fare to Werner there are plot lines that are finished nicely and neatly, the next one cannot come along fast enough!

5/5 – a fantastic addition to the Time of Legend series, Werner has set up the Black Plague trilogy with plenty of characters and of course his portrayal of the skaven is second to none. For those wishing to see more skaven, set during the Time of Legends look no further, for here is a story that will take you to the darkest places below the empire of man, and threaten to never let you go.

 

Time of Legends - why the change?

The time of legends series has been going on for a while now and started out with the Rise of Sigmar in 'Heldenhammer' by Graham Mcneil. This along with the Rise of Nagash and The scouring series have continously produced excellent stories set during the past of current Warhammer fiction. The next set of trilogies focus on other major events that have shaped not just the Empire but also the state of the Warhammer World today.

It should be noted that after 'Neferata' by Josh Reynolds was published Black Library came to the decision to change the format of the books from mass paper back to trade paper back. This not only raised a few eye brows of concern for current readers such as myself, not because they cost a bit more (a whole £1) but what about the first books at the start of the new trilogies and how they would look next to the new trade paper back versions? Black library answered this concern by re publishing these first books in the trilogy along side the release of the next book and thus your collection does not look all that skewed.

In my eyes this was a good move for two reasons; the first being that the Time of Legends books have an identity all their own and thus do not look too similar to those produced for the Horus Heresy. The second reason is that when the Omnibus editons for the first three trilogies came out the mass paperback versions of the new books looked not remotely related and thus looked out of place. Whether Black Library did this for money that a lot of people say on the forum's I sincerely doubt for now the Time of Legends series has an identity all to its self as well as looking good on your shelf next to the omnibus collections of the first three triolgies.



(Above) Dead winter by CL Werner cover art by Jon Sullivan, first published by Black Library 2012.
(Below) Dead Winter by CL Werner cover art by Fares Maese, published by Black Library 2013.

 

 

There is in fact a third reason that I like the fact they have reprinted them in  trade paperback and thats the new fantasic cover artwork that has been done for them, don't get me wrong I enjoyed Jon Sullivans work but I must say that i really prefer Fares Maese's version more because I prefer his style more so than Jon's digital style and his style just seems to fit more for the setting.

My next two posts will be reviews of CL Werners entires into the Time of Legends series both 'Dead Winter' released in 2012 and the most recent entry in the Time of Legends series 'Blighted Empire'.

Mark of Calth A Review

Mark of Calth edited by Laurie Goulding. A Horus Heresy Anthology. Originally published April 2013 by The Black Library.

I figured for my first review I would put up a review that I finished recently, for I have written many reviews but where to start? I did not know, so therefore I figured I would start by putting up a Horus Heresy review that I did the most recent. Without further a do here is Mark of Calth. Enjoy.

The Shards of Erebus by Guy Haley

The story starts with Erebus forging the ritual blades (seen and used in previous books) from the shards of the Anathame, a weapon so deadly that it nearly killed a Primarch. Here Guy tells the story in two parts, one part of the story tells how each of the commanders in charge of ambushing and destroying Calth as well as a select few others come to receive their shard otherwise known as a ritual dagger. Here the author takes the opportunity to show how divided and unwilling they are to work with each other, for they are more driven by their own ambitions and goals rather than working together.

Guy does an ok job here, however they lack a lot of weight and substance compared to how well some of them were presented though fleetingly in ‘Know No Fear’ by Dan Abnett for instead Guys version of the big bads comes across as a bit more petty and one dimensional. Though we see one character that he spends some of his time introducing one who was once an member of the now banned but not Librarius  programme unfortunately that’s all we get, an introduction and nothing else, which could mean that this character is scheduled for showing up in a future Horus Heresy iteration. The other big names being Erebus and Kor Phaeron are handled flawlessly, they are exactly as they have been depicted in other Horus Heresy books, and it’s just a shame that the same could not be said for the likes of Hol Beloth and Foedrell Fell.

The second part of the story is the highlight and saving grace of the story, for here we get to see how that crafty Erebus learnt the knowledge on how to be in very different places throughout the current Heresy when they are so very far apart. Guys answer to this riddle is both very good and quite terrifying, for one such as Erebus should not be allowed to wield such power, and how he obtains it I found to be very fulfilling, for Guy brings back a character that we have not seen since the opening trilogy.

4/5 - Overall a nice little short story that answers a question that many die hard Heresy fans have been asking for years, with an explanation that seems both clever and fitting for the series and once again getting to read a bit more Erebus is always a pleasure for he is one of my favourite villains to come out of Black Library publishing in years.

Calth that was by Graham Mcneil

Here Graham picks up soon after Dan’s ‘Know No Fear’ and he does so without skipping a beat. It’s pretty obvious very early that these two authors have worked together before because the transition between ‘Know No Fear’ and Calth That Was’ is so seamlessly pulled off you can barely notice the difference. Graham does a wonderful job of portraying the after effects of ‘Know No Fear’, for here we see the scale of destruction wrought by the surprise attack committed by the Word Bearers, whether that’s the severe disarray of communications, to radiation levels that are so dangerous even space marines can’t venture out on to the surface for very long periods of time, the scale that Graham puts across is both saddening and awesome to witness.

Of course being a 4^th company veteran writer Graham has focussed the story on two returning characters from ‘Know No Fear’ Captain Ventanus and captain Sydance both being memorable characters in the previous book. Here Graham sees them recovering from the after math of the surprise strike by the Word Bearers, trying to take back Calth through any means. For the war on Calth is now fought underground in the vast network of natural tunnels and cave systems that Calth is now famous for. Graham Mcneil doing Ultramarines was a risk for he is so famous for his 4ok iterations, however never fear for though they share similarities they do stand apart from there older 4ok cousins.

The main villains of the novella are two that I have been looking forward to since we heard a lot about them in ‘Know No Fear’ but we never got to see them and that’s Foedrell Fell and Hol Beloth. Graham handles both of these characters in very surprising and fitting ways that I won’t spoil for you; needless to say you will be surprised by the turn of events that transpire between the two. In fact Calth that was has many surprising twists and turns not just in terms of plot but also in characters, one such character seemed to bear no real relevance to the story until towards the end this character becomes a key figure to the plots progression.

It must be said that the pacing of the novella is really tight and the continuing narrative along with all the surprise plot and character twists I found to be a very compelling read, so much so that I finished it in one sitting. The key word for this story would be ‘war’ for this story has it in spades, for I have always said that Graham Mcneil is the Micheal Bay of Black Library for Graham knows how to craft action both in terms of scale as well as immense in scope and here he puts his characters into a war they have never fought before.

My only gripe is that the other returning characters that I was really looking forward to seeing only get a small bit of page time to shine and show their worth and that’s the Tetrarch Eikos Lamiad and the dreadnought Telemechrus, when Graham does show them they are truly as awesome as they were in Dans version of them, its just I would of liked to see more of them in terms of plot integration instead they just show up kick some ass then that’s them done, I really feel that there is a lot more story to be told from these characters.

5/5 –  Overall a perfect companion piece to go along side that of ‘Know no Fear’ for those wishing to see more for the battle of Calth then look no further for Graham has picked up that torch and dipped it into the primordial aether.

Dark heart by Anthony Reynolds

Here is a story that kind of showcases just how far the word bearers legion (those sent to Calth) have truly fallen, for here Anthony goes to some length of showing how there is a severe lack of brotherhood within the ranks of word bearers sent to Calth for here is half a legion hell bent on one thing revenge and the quest for power. Power is the keyword for this story for here we follow Marduk, a Word Bearer Acolyte who is learning in the ways of chaos however, here is a character who is really driven by the need to learn more as well as acquire more power. But the question the author puts to the reader is, what’s the price for such power? To answer that question we get to witness an individual who has acquired power in a very real and manifested way and that character is Aurelian’s adopted father Kor Phaeron, here is a man who has acquired power through devotion and a fanatical worship of chaos, but what is the cost of such zeal? And doe’s the end’s justify the means, a dark heart filled with corruption?

Anthony tells this story as though Marduk is telling it and his story picks up during the events of ‘Know No Fear’ for here Marduk tells of how he was sent to learn from an individual who according to him is inferior, for he is not as touched in chaos than he is, needless to say it does not end well, this master and student relationship. The pacing of this story is not too bad for Anthony does a good job of blending action with equal amounts of character driven story lines, and those wishing to get a better look at Kor Phaeron then you are gonna be in for a treat here for Anthony’s version of Kor Phaeron is just as good as that depicted by Dan Abnett in ‘Know No Fear’.

But what I really liked about Anthony’s story is that we see a key confrontation between two epic characters that we saw in ‘Know No Fear’ but from a different perspective. For this Anthony deserves credit for his version of the same confrontation blends seamlessly into Dan’s version of the same event brilliantly. The only gripe I had with this story is that Anthony’s word bearers do come across as being a bit too similar to those of his 40k iterations, however this may have been the point for Marduk is the same Marduk from Anthony’s other series set in 40k otherwise known as the ‘Word Bearers trilogy’ a great set of books focussing on this characters rise through the ranks.

4/5 - Overall a great short story that shows just how divided the Word Bearers were when they were sent to Calth, as well as showing that there are those within the legion that crave power above all else, the question that comes to mind is, should space marines crave such base selfish desires?

The Traveller by David Annandale

A very interesting little story, that is really well conceived and pulled off. The character Jassiq Blanchett is the main character of the story for we follow the whole narrative from his perspective. By doing this David gets to delve into the characters psyche, which is fundamental to the story. The fleeting images at the edge of his vision, the whispers in his head is pulled off quite uniquely for David has opted to put in these little snippets of chaotic whispers and quite terrifying imagery in between sentences. This not only makes the sentences to read uncomfortable and difficult to gather your head around but it also conveys the notion that something is interrupting your thought processes and how uncomfortable it can be to have more than one voice in your head.

The fall into Anarchy and down rite massacre was handled in a really well believable way, for the fall into chaos can either be very sudden (those would be the lucky ones) or the fall can be along way down, and for those a very special kind of hell awaits. When I first read this story i was done with it and had moved on to another, however I would be thinking of this short story days after I had read it for it left quite a lasting impression on me, for I have always wondered (this is the curious, downright weird part of me) what it would be like to have something inhabiting your body and David did such a very real impression of that exceedingly well. Also by the end David leaves a very nice little twist that I found to be quite interesting and yet scary, for it shows just how carefully the Primordial Annihilator has planned events to unfold.

4/5 – Overall a great insight into how a normal person who is not some superhuman space marine, can fall just as far as anyone else, and that chaos does not always go for the big fish.................

A Deeper Darkness by Rob Sanders

The Word Bearers weapons stretch beyond the veil into the immaterium for the Primordial Annihilator has allied itself with the Bearers of the Word however, what if the Word Bearers try to bring something from the other side that bites back? It’s this question that Rob brings to the reader to discovery that there are somethings that should never be allowed to cross from the other side.

This story is told from the perspective of an Ultramarine who is no more distinguishable from the rest; however he is driven like all others of his legion to find and destroy the Word Bearers that have taken and nearly destroyed Calth. Its during his quest to find and kill a renowned Priest of the Word Bearers that leads him to the ‘Pereputinal’ a vast network of naturally formed caverns that run deep into the bedrock of the planet, a place where only darkness thrives. Darkness is the keyword for this story but also horror for Rob has crafted a horror story that is so fitting for this time in the Heresy. For now, the Ultramarines and even the rest of the Imperium of Man now face creatures, horrors and daemons from the other side that they had no idea existed until they were attacked by them. Rob also goes someway to show that though they have taken a vicious blow, the Ultramarines will not falter for long for they will soon lead the attack against such horrors.

Robs characters Pelion is a fine example of how heroic Ultramarines need to be in order to overcome such monsters of the dark, the reason I say this is that whilst i was reading Pelions quest into the darkness, I clung onto his character for reassurance and safety for his utter belief in himself that he will face this creature no matter what and show ‘know fear’ in the utter conviction that he will overcome and destroy it. ‘It’ is the best way I can describe the creature that the Word Bearers foolishly unleashed in the dark, for Rob lets the reader do all the hard work for him, think of the most unimaginable, scary and terrifying creature you can imagine and that’s what you will witness Pelion fighting in the darkness.....brilliant. By the end of the story Rob asks both Pelion and the reader a very relevant question, what are we prepared to do to fight such creatures and become victorious.

5/5 – Overall a brilliant story that addresses the monsters of the dark that the enemies of man are allying themselves with, but it also addresses how heroes like Pelion are going to be needed more than ever in order to fight such monsters. Another thing I would like to point out is how much I enjoyed reading a more horror/thriller based story set during the Horus Heresy and that I would dearly love BL to release more stories like this.

The Underworld War by ADB

Here is a story that answers many unasked questions, how is a member of the Gal Vorbak selected? Why was half the Word Bearers legion sent to Calth? And why were those selected to go to Calth chosen? All these questions are answered here in this one short story. It must be said that out of all the stories within the mark of Calth Anthology, this one has the most questions asked as well as being very relevant to the continuing story of the Horus Heresy.

ADB focuses the story on a member of the Gal Vorbak, left fighting the underworld war on Calth, here ADB ploughs the reader through rugged terrain and once fought battlefields fought during the surprise attack dealt by Kor Phaeron Word Bearers and its here ADB excels in bringing such disaster to vivid detail, I’ve always like ADB’s descriptive writing for he portrays the world ever so clearly, making his works very easy to fall into and immerse one self into. The pacing of the story is handled well, pushing the reader questions and tantalising glimpses that are not fully understood or realised until the bitter end.

What I enjoyed about this story is that ADB has focussed on what being a Gal Vorbak means and feels like, both from the Physical and Psychological side of things, for to be Gal Vorbak is a very appealing thing, what space marine would not want to be given near unlimited power to rend his foes asunder, however to become Gal Vorbak one has to endure extreme physical and psychological trauma, as well as form a union with a creature made from chaos he question is; is it worth it?

5/5 – Overall a nice little short story that covers a lot of interesting subjects in so short space a time, it also reveals a big revelation in regards to the battle of Calth that I was not aware of, which was very exciting to read.

Athame by John French

Here is a story about the destiny of an old obsidian dagger forged when man first knew how to forge such things. John tells the story from the very beginning right up until the current owner of such an artefact many years after its creation. The story is told from the third person perspective, as though the dagger itself is telling the reader of its journey. This form of storytelling I found to be utterly refreshing considering the rest of the book is told from human, superhuman perspectives.

What I loved about this story is the weight of it; John really lays down the history in thick detail, painting a massive picture on an equally massive canvas. The scale and scope of this story I found to be quite staggering for the dagger passes through many owners hands, but not just owners but it is also present in the presence of monumental figures throughout the Imperium’s history.

 The pacing of the story was pivotal to how well this story could be told and for that reason the pacing of the story is perfect, for it builds up momentum as the story progresses until its final quite telling destination. The author keeps the dagger moving through the ages from places to owners, the story is always pushed ever forward. John’s descriptive writing should be applauded for his touch on detail and vast story telling in such a short story is commendable because by the end I felt as though I had read an entire novel. What more the author leaves the story with more questions than answers, one big question he leaves is this; what was this daggers intended destiny? Where will this daggers destiny end?

5/5 – Easily one of my favourite shorts in the Anthology, this is how shorts should be done from time to time for here is a story that I could read again and again and always see something new. Brilliant.

 

Unmarked by Dan Abnett

Dan continues the story of Oll Person a very interesting character from Know no Fear. Here Dan tells part of a journey that Ollianus and the other ‘pilgrims’ take, an adventure that will take them to many places and it’s at these places we get to see that Dan has really outdone himself with. For he takes us to many different, strange, and dangerous and down rite unbelievable locations that Ollianus and the rest travel together to. There are so many hints of things to come that I was just crying out with Ollinaus for answers, for the level of suspense that Dan creates in this story was terrific.

 Dan bring up a key word often for this story and that’s faith, a word that the Emperor has tried to admonish and erase its true meaning, however Oll champions such a word for the word of faith is such a powerful notion that has helped Oll throughout his many lives and experiences. The question is why would the emperor want such a powerful word erased? When such a powerful word such as faith can be used as a shield against the true enemies of mankind?

 Towards the end of the story I was hanging off every word, description and line, for the final scene of the story is so immense and intensifying I was cowering within the circle of pilgrims, hoping, praying, wondering how on earth they were going to survive such a foe, needless to say Dans interpretation of Daemons and the warp is exceptional and second to none.

5/5 – Exceptionally well pulled off suspenseful and insightful tale, that gives hints into where the Heresy is going as well as hints into the forces at work behind such a cataclysmic event.

End verdict - 5/5

Knowledge, War, Power, Possession, Darkness, Union, Destiny and Faith each one of these words represent each of the shorts and Novella found throughout the Anthology, whether its heroic tales of good triumphing evil or evil triumphing over the blind, each tale is a solid representation of not just the war on Calth but also the war that is going to be fought on many other planets and places throughout the Heresy. Laurie Goulding has done a remarkable job of organising and getting the stories conveyed enough in a sense that by the time you get to Dans Unmarked story you will see that some of the stories tie in well with each other.

 

As a whole ‘Mark of Calth’ is a brilliant introduction into where the Heresy is taking not just us the readers, but also the characters we have come to love and adore and the dangers and trails they are all going to have to face before this rebellion is over.

 

 

 

Review Scores

Review rating system.

 

I’ve seen and read alot of reviews out there, that use a various degree of reviewing techniques and scoring systems and I must say out of all of them, I believe the 5 out of 5 scoring method is the most accurate one that could give a review. The reason for this is that if something is good it would recieve a score of say either 70 out of 100 or 6/10 or 65% or simply it was good. I feel these scoring methods are not a good representation of the overall score because no matter what a reviewer says or how he/she puts it, it’s still a score based off their opinion.

So say for example somone reviews a book and gives it 7 out of 10, another person may read that score and think that thats not high enough score for the book, or the vice versa may happen and the reader may see the score as abit too high. I believe  that by giving a score out of five, is more, should i say, broader less opinioned point of view. Let me explain; the reason I say this is that a score 3/5 would come across as an average score, either side of this mark would bring the score into either great status or less than good. Where as 5/10 is too broad a score to fully represent a review because the scorer basically says that you will either love or hate it, which when buying a product is risky because what happens if you hate it? its a question that buyers will think and thus is no help.

I believe that by giving my book, movie and game reviews a score out of five shows a more concise straight to the point score and that in terms of opinion, it may differ from one person to the next but, the score difference between two differing opinions will be no greater than a single number, unless of course that other person really believes in the exact opposite of your opinion which ive come to learn is very rare.

Ive been using this scoring technique on my own game and movie collection and in fact only games and movies from 4/5 and 5/5 are worth keeping in my eyes, whilst alot of the movies and games that ive impulsed bought or watched more than once tend to be around the 3/5 and 4/5 range. When speaking with freinds about a movie, 9 times out of 10 we are close to agreement either 4/5 or 3/5 the difference is never really too great.

And so I have decided on this scoring method for it is concise, straight to the point and caters to nearly everyones ideals on what a score out of five represents.

Below is my scoring method, as i’ve said ive tried to keep it as concise as i believe a reviewer can get, without showing too much bias.

1/5 – Not very good, lacking in all areas.

2/5 – An aquired taste,that is also lacking in some areas that keep it down.

3/5 –Average, good for a first timer, however may only be worth one read, watch, play through.

4/5 – Good, will be worth having a look at and should be considered worth buying.

5/5 – Excellent, undoubtably worth getting and is not one to miss.

 

The other thing I should mention is that I do not really enjoy writing negative reviews, if I were to do so, they would be short and straight to the point.

Thanks for reading.