Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Warhammer Epic., 27 Aug 2008
Having read the first chapter some months before the release of this book (via the Warhammer website), I'd been really looking forward to this latest offering.
The first chapter is very fast moving and aggressive, but the rest of the book manages to maintain the momentum. It is true that the heroic characters are killed off left, right and centre thoughout the book - but given what they're up against, it isn't really surprising. There are also a large number of characters having specific roles in the story, which requires quite a bit of effort from the reader.
The way in which the story has been crafted has clearly relied upon a large number of characters, which have pivotal parts in shifting the plot about. The entertainment comes from the characterisations, as much as from the story. This is an approach which Werner's used in most of his other books.
The story is excellent and the leader of the undead army is literally something out of one of my own nightmares. Despite the doom-laden background there are moments of wry humour, some excellent battle scenes and a range of twists to the tale.
Contrary to other reviewers, I thought the searchers had a damned difficult time of it. The whole thing constantly teetering on the brink of disaster.
I'm of the opinion that Werner's offering a particularly original and entertaining twist to the fantasy genre with his books. I'm looking forward to reading his next project: Blood for the Blood God.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The search for the sword of Solland, 24 Jul 2008
When Gorbad Ironclaw defeated the Elector Count of Solland at the Battle of Solland's Crown, he took the Counts sword, one of the twelve mighty Runefangs, as a trophy of his conquest. Now, years latter, an ancient evil stalks the province of Wissenland and prophecy dictates that only the lost sword of Solland can return it to its grave. Baron von Rabwald and a small force of men are tasked with the recovery of the Runefang but with the forces of undeath ravaging the countryside and others searching for the blade for their own purposes the question is whether they will find Wissenland's salvation in time.
Runefang is a well written and enjoyable book set during the time of the three Emperors that seems to fit nicely into the history of the Warhammer World. The characters are all reasonably interesting and likeable and the book has a nice `anyone can die' atmosphere that is appropriate for the setting. The book does have a slight problem in that much of the plot does seem somewhat too convenient in places and although you could put this down to `the will of the gods' it does make the plot seem a bit too easy. As well as this there seems to be some slight confusion of the background of the main bad guy who at times it seems to suggest came from Nehekhara and at others that he came from the civilization that arose in what is now the Badlands between the fall of Nehekhara and the rise of Sigmar, but I doubt anyone will be too bothered about this unless you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of the Warhammer World. Overall though, Runefang was relatively enjoyable, if predictable, and would probably be of most interest to Empire fans.
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7 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, but has problems., 13 Jun 2008
The land of Wissenla is beset by inhuman abominations. Zahaak, one of the Dark Lords of Nagash, is causing havoc. His deathless legion is laying waste to Wissenland, ending all life upon it. Soon it is determined that they only hope of salvation is in locating the legendary weapon of Count Eldred. It is a sword known by many names, the most famous being the Grudge Settler and Runefang. The dwarf Skanir Durgrund says it is possibly locked away in a dwarfish war-tomb somewhere in the Black Mountains.
Count Eberfeld sends Baron Ernst von Rabwald and the baron's champion, Max Kessler, to gather an assorted group and begin the expedition that will decide the fate of Wissenla. A halfling cook, an ogre, a dwarf, a road warden, and a Crone of Morr are but a few of the odd people chosen. The task of finding Runefang is made even more impossible due to a traitor within their midst and a greenskin warlord.
As for Count Eberfeld, help just may come from an unexpected source - maybe.
*** One of my pet peeves is a story that gives a character's full background only to kill the character off early on. This story is guilty of that, more than once. There are some characters that I could find no reason to even be mentioned in the story. The plot line is pretty good, but such an ancient and powerful weapon should not have been this easy to locate. All-in-all, this is not a bad book, but do not expect anything worth telling friends about. ***
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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