GW Novels

I made a quick search but couldn't find anything, so I figured I'd ask. Has anyone read the Games Workshop novels set inte the warhammer fantasy setting? Are they worth a read?

Stu (Werekin) has read a lot (all?) of the Dan Abnett novels about the Chaos servants as well as lots of other stuff (Ogre Kingdoms and God knows what) and that knowledge was invaluable for the BTB background. He has often recommended several of them to me but I never read any of them.

Gilead sucks big time. It is about a high elf that acts like a stunty slayer. Book of short stories. The only one that is half worth it is a total copy of the 7 samurais. Sucks.

Gortek & Felix MIGHT have a slight appeal. I read 2 of them. Time killers more than anything,. The first one (troll slayer) is about short stories like the previous (Gilead) one, but at least it has some sense (after all, Gotrek is a slayer) instead of being a piece of pure crap. The second one (Skaven slayer) has some appeal in some of the scenes, specially when described from the skaven perspective. There are a few acts of "skaven common sense that CANNOT be defined as cowardice regardless of what other skavens say" that are quite priceless. Not a grewat book, but some humourous scenes make it passable.

I also read The Hammers of Ulric. Entertaining. About the white wolves, obviously. A doisgraced company of them contretely. It is OK even if the numbers of knights that they work with are extremely small IMO. If those numbers are true, I have 2 out of 5 companies of them in my shelves

The last one I read was about Kislev and the chaos worshippers. Quite a good one that one. Interesting point of view. NOt amazing (it reads like fan fiction, of the level you can find in long running forum stories by a decent fan writer, generally) but entertaining enough.

Cheers,

Xavi

I guess it's hard to state a general opinion because the quality depends on the author and there are many different ones.

I moved this topic by the way, as it's not really Mordheim-related.

Thanks Cianty.
--Admin Tom

Tried to read ONE warhammer novel in my life. Had to put it away after 50 pages because it was so very bad.

I don't recall the name, but it was a Vampire Counts story I think. I even got rid of the book because it was so bad... and I NEVER EVER throw/give away books normally, because I have too much respect for literature. But this just did not fall in that cathegory.

I generally regard Warhammer novels as pure time killers at best. I personally could not pick up another one, I just think they are too badly written. Even the GW codexes are painful to read most of the time... so I just look at the pretty pictures

I think that some of the fluff that was posted on this forum (especially the stuff from the Flame On guys) has 1000x more literary value than "professional" (*laughing out LOUD*) Warhammer books.

Just my humble opinion.

[EDIT]: This being said, I do not entirely close my mind to warhammer novels. If someone wants to suggest a novel that he thinks is a real exception to the rule of bad warhammer books, I'd be more than glad if he shared his experience. And i would readily give the thing a read.

I have read a few, I can't remember them all but there are an excellent source of fluff.

Just find a novel that matches up with what you need and read away. $8 a book is not bad.

Well I think there is one Wood Elf novel. And one or two featuring Bretonnia.
I might give them a try one day...

I only have read four of the five novels of the Malus Darkblade series from GW and I liked them enough. If you like the dark elves I recommend it to you, they are a few damned sadistic and bloodthirsty bastards

Naggaroth is the frozen homeland of the dark elves. The twisted cousins of the high elves, they revel in torture, depravity and dark pacts with demons. They are feared throughout the Old World for their evil, savage ways, yet one member of this despicable race stands out for his treachery and cunning – Malus Darkblade.

Possessed by the ancient daemon Tz’arkan, dark elf Malus Darkblade is faced with a stark choice – recover five items of unimaginable power within one year or forfeit his soul forever!
There is little honour in this series of dark adventures – there are only shades of evil.

I never read any Warhammer novels except Felix and Gotrek. Now I'm reading the last novel about them and altough it's only time killer, I still love it

I read some short stories and some of them were really not bad. But... not all of them

I have even written a little but of course it was never printed in any book

I've read Heldenhammer and am now reading Nagash the sorcerrer. Instead of most people here, I LOVED reading heldenhammer, and am also loving Nagash the sorcerrer. I think these two books are very good written, and have no lack of blood and gore. there's some humor in them, not much though, but I can easily imagine how it would look, and I like that. so, if you don't like warhammer novels, but you do want to try something, this might be your change of heart !

cianty wrote:

I moved this topic by the way, as it's not really Mordheim-related.

Thanks Cianty.
--Admin Tom

.... Am I confused, or aren't these novels set in the same universe as Mordheim? Aren't they about the races present in Mordheim? I'd call that fluff! But you're the bosses!

What good 40k books are there about marines anyone know? *totally throws topic off topic*

Theodeus wrote:

cianty wrote:

I moved this topic by the way, as it's not really Mordheim-related.

Thanks Cianty.
--Admin Tom

.... Am I confused, or aren't these novels set in the same universe as Mordheim? Aren't they about the races present in Mordheim? I'd call that fluff! But you're the bosses!

Yeah, Warhammer Fantasy Battle is also set in the same universe as Mordheim. Doesn't make Warhammer armies suitable for the Gallery section either. And to my knowledge there are no Mordheim novels out there so this is where the topic belongs.

Duce wrote:

What good 40k books are there about marines anyone know? *totally throws topic off topic*

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL of the Space Marine books are epic!!
I'm reading all 40K from one end to another - started with Space Marines and Chaos and atm i've moved on to Eisenhorn (an inquisitor dude).
Depending on your favorite chapter - start with that ofc.. But if you're looking for general SM books, you should start with the Horus Heresy series, it's actually warhammer 30K - before Chaos was known to humankind
But yeah, write me if you need advice on any 40K books (read a lot - not nearly all of them though)

Cianty....There is one Mordheim story in a GW Fantasy Novel that has several other stories in it. I can't remember the name but there is one and it came out last year.


I have read 5 books on 40K Novels and I am liking it. I am reading only on Imperial Guard (15 hours), Catachan (Death World) and Caiphais Cain Novels. Cain's novels are good at least for me. I am finding a lot of interesing fluff that I would have never gleaned from a Codex.

MyLittlePwny wrote:

Duce wrote:

What good 40k books are there about marines anyone know? *totally throws topic off topic*

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL of the Space Marine books are epic!!
I'm reading all 40K from one end to another - started with Space Marines and Chaos and atm i've moved on to Eisenhorn (an inquisitor dude).
Depending on your favorite chapter - start with that ofc.. But if you're looking for general SM books, you should start with the Horus Heresy series, it's actually warhammer 30K - before Chaos was known to humankind
But yeah, write me if you need advice on any 40K books (read a lot - not nearly all of them though)

As long as their marine books not chaos i'm happy. got a list of the ones centered on marines themselves?

http://www.blacklibrary.com/product.asp?prod=60100281056&type=Book

I read the Murder in Marienburg and it was good, looks like a new one coming out in Dec.

without checking lists and websites (read: what i can remember at 5:45am), here's a list of Space marine centered books:
(Omnibus=1+2+3 in one big book, they have individual names but i don't remember them)

Space wolves omnibus+4+5(+6?)

Blood angels omnibus

Ultramarines omnibus+4 (haven't read the 4th yet, it's still only published hardback and i suck at being rich)

Brothers of the snake (written a bit like novels - following a single marine through his career and seing his different missions at different ranks)

Grey Knights+2+3 (Elite ordo Malleus killteam)

Angels of Darkness

Deathwatch+2 (Elite ordo Xenos killteam)

-The whole horus rising/horus heresy is pretty much about space marines, but it's 30K and it's mostly history.. NO reason not to read them though, they're some of the greatest!




There might be more that i haven't read/don't remember, but these i can really recommend

ur a useful lil pwny... give me a hug *opens arms*

awwww ok (looking for a hug-smiley)

hmm i guess one of these will have to do.. choose your hug duce:

Oooh Ooh OOOOH!! Just went to the GW store and couldn't help myself, ended up with 4 paperbacks and 2 omnibus :O
Ravenor omnibus
Gaunts Ghost omnibus
Ultramarines 4th book 'the killing ground'
the newest horus heresy 'fallen angels'
some book about nagash (i know, not 40K, but i got tempted)
and some new inquisitor from a new author - gotta check him out


Just wanted to share, haven't read em yet so can't say if they're any good... (they are though!)

Just read 40K Brothers of the Snake and it was great!

In general, I've enjoyed Dan Abnett's writing (the Eisenhorn trilogy in particular) but none of the other Black Library authors have really managed to grab me.

C.L Werner's Witch Hunter books have a bit of a Mordheim feel going, with a few flashback bits even taking place in the city at its wyrdstone-crazed heyday. One of them has a nice portrayal of the working relationship between a vampire and a necromancer, and the terror balance needed for two such ambitious and ruthless beings to co-exist. Still, the stories are pretty much Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane with the names of warhammer-specific elements grafted on. In simplified language.

In BL's defense, I'll admit that I'm such a George R.R Martin fanboy, that any other fantasy work I try has to work really hard to get out of the 'you're in the way of my annual Song of Ice and Fire re-read' space

That does remind me though, it's about time I took on the Ravenor trilogy.

FKSN: You should give Graham McNeil a try, in my opinion, he's a close 2nd after mr. Abnet when it comes to 40K books

Da Bank: Keep going! haha, and if you come by Denmark, just yell, i have lots of books for you to read
(but yeah i really enjoyed brothers of the snake as well!)

Well from being not having read a single book from my firs tpost in this i've read tons.

Though their all 40k, but i believe i've read most of the books out, working way through the grey knight omnibus, still have from book 3 onwards for the horus heresy and also the new salamander book on way, other than that i think i've read all the good guy marine books. ordered 2 chaos ones, the iron warriors of course becaus ei like the lead guy Honziou (spelling?)

none have been really that boring but i'm easily pleased, some bits were slow i admit but just had to get myself in the mood and it was fine.

I would say i loved the space wolves books alot, mad me go from feeling meh over them to liking alot more, same with a few more, the ultramarine ones even though i collec tthem were towards the middle of the order, the second book was a bit bleh (Killing ground) and the newest was ok to a degree. I find 200 pages odd is not enough to keep me interested, i read it too quick then want more.

Grey knights omnibus is so far so good. the blood angels one was semi ok, the dark angels book was decent enough i suppose.

Damn my reading