Black Library Warhammer Novels

So I was wondering if anyone here had read Warhammer Fantasy books from Black Library and if so what ones do you regard as the best in the range?

I have the first and second Gotrek and Felix omnibuses...omnibi. They're good, I think, but can't speak for the other books.

Theo

I've read a few random ones. None of them were bad, but none were great. The 40K range novels were better done in my opinion.

The Witch Hunter Omnibus by C.L. Werner was pretty enjoyable, seeing as how it gave a in depth view of the Witch Hunter Order and how they interact with one another. Very Inquisitor like as you would expect but with a lot of other baggage as well.

Another good omnibus is Brunner the Bounty Hunter as it, once again, takes a different viewpoint from the one of a ruthless mercernary going throughout the Old World. It's particularly good to me because it includes some orc dialogue and perspective (the warboss smashes some Bretonnians apart like twigs!) and other foes besides the typical "OH NOES! LE CHAOS IS COMIN'...MAN ZE POSITIONS!". It also gets real interesting near the end as it reveals a signficant portion of Brunner's own enigmatic past that ties up the loose ends in the beginning that left you with a "what?". Basically it shows a whole array of different foes and areas that really keeps it fresh. (and stays realistic enough to explain why he survives most of the ordeals, and with wounds too!)

Other than that I would say either Sword of Justice and Sword of Vengeance, both tie in really well and explain the Mad Count of Averland's madness.

This post has been edited by Grimskul25 on Apr 19 2012, 02:25 PM

I have a few; The Vampire Genevieve omnibus is one of my favourites - maybe not the best writing but it's entertaining, which is what I'm after.

Other than that, I've got the Legend of Sigmar trilogy (Heldenhammer, Empire, God King) and they were very good. I enjoy Graham McNeill's writing to be honest, and Guardians of the Forest is another of my favourites (and a rare Wood Elf story!). The Malekith trilogy by Gav Thorpe is good as well. Not got round to reading the Nagash trilogy.

Aside from those, the Witch Hunter omnibus that Grimskul mentioned is OK. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with it as I thought it could have delivered more. It was enjoyable enough but for me it was fairly one-dimensional and, at times, dull.

I've also read the first of the Ulrika the Vampire books. She's no Genevieve, but it's good enough to be worth a punt.

Well, I haven't read many other than the Felix and Gotrek series, which is actually quite good. Not great though. Other than that I read a series of short stories called "Wolf Riders" which was very good! It showed some interesting sides to the Warhammer world, many of which were not based around battles or fighting!

Wazoo

BLASPHEMOUS HERESY! Everyone knows that the ONLY things that happen in the world of Warhammer are battles and fighting!

BLASPHEMOUS HERESY! Everyone knows that the ONLY things that happen in the world of Warhammer are battles and fighting!

You're thinking about 40k, I believe...

Theo

A lot of people seem to like the Genevieve novels, although I did not enjoy them primarily because I felt it was very inconsistent with warhammer fluff. Known vampires shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets of Altdorf openly, etc. If you like hot vampire chicks that kick some butt, it might be up your ally though. Again I've seen a lot of people say they really liked the series.

I've probably read 40-50 novels and I think my favorites were the Blackhearts series. It's about of bunch of empire criminals who are also a bunch of "average joes" who become unlikely and unrecognized heroes after they are given no choice but to take on a series of suicide missions.

Gotrek and Felix are great if you read them with the right mindset. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger movies in warhammer. They cover a lot of ground and are fast paced romps. The ones involving Skaven are particularly entertaining. Believe I've read the first 3 ominbus of this one (don't think the forth is out yet) and haven't regretted it, which you can't often say after you've read 9 books in a series.

Also enjoyed the Malus Darkblade series. There are 2 omnibus for Malus.

Didn't particularly enjoy the Konrad omnibus, and thought the Witch Hunter and Bretonnia ones were ok. Neither loved them nor regretted reading them.

I was really excited for the dwarf omnibus but felt a few parts were shockingly out of character. If you like dwarfs though it is a must read. There are also some interesting O&G bits, like when the trolls talk (I wondered if trolls could talk).

There are bunch of "random" empire novels. None really jump out though as being great but again I can't recall any that I was upset having spent the time to read them.

It's all shared world stuff, which is tough for a lot of writers so you don't get their best stuff. As long as you're not expecting brilliance, there's a lot of good options.

Beithir if you like books about Wood Elves, you should get your hands on the Bretonnia omnibus or just its last book, called Grail Knight. It features Wood Elves and how their gods are renewed each year, the great hunt, etc. I'll butcher it because I know next to nothing of wood elves but it jumped out as a "must read" when I read it.

This post has been edited by Warboss Gorbolg on Apr 20 2012, 02:51 AM

Anyone who likes Graham McNeill should try The Ambassador and Ursun's Teeth. They are among the best Warhammer novels I've read.

I agree that Witch Hunter is good but Gotrek and Felix got repetitive pretty fast. The parts where you got the Skaven or Chaos point of view were the best.

I read the first Nagash book recently. Rather different setting than you're used to. Pretty good book.

I have read The series about Nagash. It's plot is just as predictable as people allways say about black library books, but DANG that book is soaked in war!

very bloody, lots of armies and maneuvering going about.
If you like Tomb Kings, vampire counts, and Skaven this is the one to read.

another bonus, i now know everything there is to know about nagash and the rise of the undead armies. Fun fun fun!

Thanks for the replies.

I myself have read 4 books so far Drachenfels, Gotrek & Felix First Omnibus, Greyseer and Liber Necris.

I liked Gotrek and Felix to begin with but after reading the third book (Daemonslayer) I got tired of them as it felt like the same old formula. Still not sure what I should pick up next, warhammer fiction seems to be horribly hit and miss.

I would be reluctant to read the Nagash Trilogy simply because I know that the writer ignores the Liber Necris, and then in turn parts of the trilogy itself were apparently ignored by the GW armybook writers. The fluff on Arkhan for example. Although having not read it myself this understanding is based purely on 2nd hand information.

This post has been edited by Craze_b0i on Apr 20 2012, 12:19 PM

Well if it helps any, generally, I've found that the books about the empire can be a bit lower fantasy than those that are not. So depending on your tastes, perhaps that will help some as well.

I figured they might feature. I keep meaning to pick up the Bretonnia books, but then some other (better? ) book gets my attention

Well I'm pretty sure that wood elves only make an appearance in the last book, and if my recollection is accurate you really won't miss out on anything critical by not reading the first two. If you can still get Grail Knight on its own, you could probably knock it out in no time. I actually just pulled it out of a box and Grail Knight is literally 100 pages.