Category Archives: Reviews

The Rise of the Horned Rat – Guy Haley

The Warhammer End Times series of novels gets its 4th instalment with Guy Haley’s The Rise of the Horned Rat, accompanying the Thanquol background book and exploring the skaven’s involvement in the series. In a similar way to The Fall of Altdorf this avoids trying to cover everything that happens in the background book, instead focusing on the ratmen’s all-out assault on the dwarfs. Queek Headtaker returns to the war-torn Karak Eight Peaks to finally cast out his great rivals, Skarsnik and King Belegar, while the all across their realm the dwarfs see only darkness and death. In the shadows, pulling strings, lurk the daemonic Verminlords.

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Warhammer : The End Times – Thanquol

For the fourth Warhammer End Times background book, the focus is on the skaven as they attempt to put aside their traditional backstabbing and double-dealing, and work together for once. Emerging from their tunnels all across the world, they lay siege to the lizardmen cities of Lustria, the remaining cities of the Empire and the scattered dwarf holds in the mountains. In typical skaven fashion however, things don’t turn out to be so simple; the grey seers are in disgrace, Verminlords are getting personally involved in the various plots and plans, and both the dwarfs and lizardmen are determined to make the skaven pay for every victory.

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QUICK REVIEW – Tallarn : Witness – John French

Beginning with the first novella Tallarn : Executioner, the story of the Battle of Tallarn has developed into a mini-series of its own within the Horus Heresy, with John French’s micro-short Tallarn : Witness capping everything off. Set in the aftermath of the battle’s conclusion, it sees the new governor of Tallarn surveying the desolate surface of his world from the bridge of a Titan, and considering the cost that the victors have paid for their success.

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Warhammer : The End Times – Khaine

Following the template laid down in the the Nagash and Glottkin books, the third in the series of Warhammer End Times background books is Khaine, which unsurprisingly focuses on the fate of the elves during the End Times. A new chapter in a story thousands of years in the making, it sees the three elven races drawn back together in a battle for the soul of their combined race. The elven gods play out their own battle through mortal avatars as Malekith risks everything in an all-out assault on Ulthuan while the high elves reel from the latest daemonic assault and the wood elves reluctantly venture forth from Athel Loren to join the fray.

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The Curse of Khaine – Gav Thorpe

We’ve seen Nagash rise and Altdorf fall, and now it’s the turn of the elves to get involved in the events of the End Times. Accompanying the Khaine background book comes The Curse of Khaine by Gav Thorpe, which follows Malekith, the Witch King of the dark elves, as he leads his entire race in battle against his high elf cousins. It’s the natural continuation of his long-running arc as in the chaos and confusion of the End Times, Malekith sees the opportunity to finally claim what he sees as his birthright, although along the way things don’t quite end up how he expected.

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Warhammer : The End Times – Glottkin

The second in Games Workshop’s latest series of Warhammer expansions, The End Times – Glottkin follows in the footsteps of Nagash and tells the next part of the apocalyptic End Times story. It keeps to the same format as Nagash before it, split across two volumes – one for the background and one for the rules – and while it’s noticeably shorter than its predecessor, this is still a hefty tome. With the Great Necromancer risen once again, the focus of the story now moves to the forces of Chaos, specifically the gruesome, rotting hordes of Grandfather Nurgle led by the horrifically mutated Glott brothers.

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Bloodspire – CZ Dunn (audio drama)

Released back in 2012, CZ Dunn’s Bloodspire was the very first Space Marine Battles audio drama that Black Library published, two years after the series began with the novel Rynn’s World. Based on a short paragraph in an old codex, it follows the Blood Angels’ assault on the hive world of Axonar; stymied by the hives’ defences, they turn to less conventional methods in order to gain entry and quell the insurrection, using scouts to infiltrate ahead of a massed drop assault.

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Templar – John French (audio drama)

So far in the Horus Heresy series, the Imperial Fists haven’t had a huge amount of the spotlight. Presumably that’s going to change the closer things get to the Siege of Terra, but in the meantime there’s John French’s audio drama Templar to whet the appetite of 7th Legion fans. It follows First Captain Sigismund, leading a mission to cleanse an enclave of Word Bearers that still remains within the Solar system. As he faces the prospect of killing his own kind for the first time, he considers the nature of his duty in light of the changing face of the galaxy.

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Master of the Hunt – Josh Reynolds (audio drama)

The 40k universe is all about suspension of disbelief, and perhaps the Space Marine Battles series especially so. After all, genetically engineered giants who can spit acid, absorb memories through eating their enemies. survive the loss of limbs and internal organs…and still prefer fighting with swords? It’s not exactly grounded in realism. Which is why it’s perfectly acceptable for the series to include Josh Reynolds’ audio drama Master of the Hunt, which follows Kor’sarro Khan of the White Scars as he pursues the daemon prince Doomrider – let’s face it, a story about a 10,000 year old, motorbike-riding daemon is unlikely to be very realistic.

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The Fall of Altdorf – Chris Wraight

The Warhammer world is changing, as The End Times carry on apace and the shadow of Chaos falls across the map. Released to accompany the Glottkin background book, the second Black Library novel in the series is The Fall of Altdorf, by Chris Wraight. After the dark events of Josh Reynolds’ The Return of Nagash, the focus now turns to the lands of men, as Archaon sends a vast horde deep into the Empire, led by the foul Glottkin, three siblings who have long since shed their past lives as men in favour of Grandfather Nurgle’s blessings. With the devastating loss of the Emperor, plague ravaging Altdorf, and the other cities of the Empire falling one by one, things are looking bleak for the stoic defenders of the realm.

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