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Tyrion & Teclis #1
Blood of Aenarion
Bill King's first new book for the Black Library in over six yearsFirst in a trilogy of books following the exploits of the descendants of the greatest of all Elves: Aenarion.
The twins Tyrion and Teclis are the greatest high elf heroes still to walk the earth. They are as different to one another as darkness and light.
Tyrion is an unparalleled swordsman, a superlative warrior and tactician from birth. He inspires courage and loyalty in those around him. Champion of the Everqueen, he is Ulthuan's greatest protector.
Teclis's gift is magic. The greatest natural sorcerer of the age, his power rivals that of fabled Caledor. Wise councillor of the high elves, Teclis was amongst those who first taught magic to the race of men and gave them the means to defend themselves against Chaos.
From their humble origin in the wild lands of Chrace, Tyrion and Teclis were meant for a great destiny. They come from the line of Aenarion, the first king of Ulthuan and cursed champion of that magical island.
When the Witch King Malekith learns of the twins' existence their lives are imperilled and they are taken to Lothern for their protection and to learn the arts of war.
The twins Tyrion and Teclis are the greatest high elf heroes still to walk the earth. They are as different to one another as darkness and light.
Tyrion is an unparalleled swordsman, a superlative warrior and tactician from birth. He inspires courage and loyalty in those around him. Champion of the Everqueen, he is Ulthuan's greatest protector.
Teclis's gift is magic. The greatest natural sorcerer of the age, his power rivals that of fabled Caledor. Wise councillor of the high elves, Teclis was amongst those who first taught magic to the race of men and gave them the means to defend themselves against Chaos.
From their humble origin in the wild lands of Chrace, Tyrion and Teclis were meant for a great destiny. They come from the line of Aenarion, the first king of Ulthuan and cursed champion of that magical island.
When the Witch King Malekith learns of the twins' existence their lives are imperilled and they are taken to Lothern for their protection and to learn the arts of war.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 29, 2011
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804 people want to read
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William King
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 15, 2017
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.
Sometimes, I find myself craving pure old-fashioned sword and sorcery escapism. You know, tales of action, adventure, and intrigue with vile villains and jaded heroes. Books where the exploits of legendary figures are chronicled, as they stride across a world, meting out death and destruction to their enemies, even while they carry around their own personal crosses upon their back. And Warhammer novels are tailor made for these moments.
The best part of these sugar-coated fantasy stories are the characters. Every Warhammer fan has their personal favorite. But few of them are as interesting or as ill-fated as Aenarion, the first Phoenix King of the Elves; the warrior who braves death by godly flames and the Curse of Khaine (when he draws the vile sword of the God of War and Murder) not for personal glory but to obtain the power to defend his people from the endless hordes of Chaos. So, naturally, when I saw this book, realized it was all about Aenarion’s descendants and promised to reveal, at least, a sliver of lore about the legendary Phoenix King, I had to read it.
Blood starts things off with a mesmerizing tale of Aenarion’s final battle. This too brief introduction to the Phoenix King taking a reader into the head of the doomed legend, revealing his true feelings about his life’s choices, exploring his complicated relationship with Caledor Dragontamer and Morathi, and, ultimately, setting the stage for the stories main villain, N’Kari the immortal Daemon prince.
Shifting from the ancient past, the story finally comes to rest on a pair of Aenarion’s ancestors: Tyrion and Teclis. These twins reared in the wilds of the continent of Ulthuan by their widowed father, who is more obsessed with repairing the ancient battle armor of Aenarion than spending time with his children. Tyrion is the athletic twin, endowed with amazing physical ability and with a mind for strategy; Teclis is a sickly youth, whose mind is better suited for magic. The two of them content with their current life, shielded by their father from the truth of what it means to be of the blood of Aenarion.
But peace never lasts. Things changing abruptly for the twins when their aunt arrives unexpectedly. The current Phoenix King having decreed that Tyrion and Teclis must be examined for the taint of Khaine’s curse. The fear of the elves that Aenarion’s ancestors will be born with the taint of the Bloody-Handed God of War and Murder, causing them to slip into some form of madness and bring untold misery to their race. And, thus, are our ill-starred twins ripped from their isolated childhood home and immersed in a world of power and intrigue they are not prepared to handle.
While I usually do not warm to coming-of-age stories anymore (too old and grumpy, I think), I enjoyed this one. William King doing a wonderful job of fleshing out the twins (especially Tyrion here), creating real individuals who lived up to their legendary Warhammer status but also were more complex. The pair exhibiting moments of confusion, sadness, weakness, and actual mistakes! Not Chosen Ones in the usual sense (though the twins are definitely gifted in different ways and viewed as having potential by those who wish to be their benefactors) but youths who have much to learn and seemingly not enough time to do so before doom befalls them. This personal portrait of the real Tyrion and Teclis, not the legends, a huge reason I enjoyed the narrative from start to finish.
The other element I thoroughly enjoyed throughout Blood was William King’s simple yet perfect observations regarding the differences (or lack of differences) between the Elves of Ulthuan and their Druuchi cousins. Specifically, I am referring to how the author deftly and subtly shows the High Elves and their demented cousins to not be so terribly different after all; each people merely a different side of the same coin. The Druuchi of Naggaroth and the Elves both flawed races, overflowing with intense passions and hopeless hubris. This seemingly simple and insignificant observation clarifying the eternal conflict for me better than any multi-page info dump ever could have.
The only problem I had with this story was the lack of suspense. Anyone who is the least bit familiar with Warhammer knows Tyrion and Teclis are important figures in the lore, legendary figures even, so the possibility of their tale ending here was basically zero. Certainly, all stories have a tendency to never ask more of their heroes than they are able to overcome, but with specific details of Tyrion and Teclis’s lives already set down in stone, William King had his hands tied to a certain extent as to what he could actually do with and to these characters. Unfortunately, that did hold back the narrative from reaching its full potential.
Blood of Aenarion had its grip on me from the first page of Aenarion’s story, building in me a deep desire to know who and what his ancestors would be. Tyrion and Teclis definitely lived up to my expectations, providing me with a nice action and adventure story in a world which I found comfortable yet intriguing. And, yes, I did like it enough to immediately move on to book two of the series.
Sometimes, I find myself craving pure old-fashioned sword and sorcery escapism. You know, tales of action, adventure, and intrigue with vile villains and jaded heroes. Books where the exploits of legendary figures are chronicled, as they stride across a world, meting out death and destruction to their enemies, even while they carry around their own personal crosses upon their back. And Warhammer novels are tailor made for these moments.
The best part of these sugar-coated fantasy stories are the characters. Every Warhammer fan has their personal favorite. But few of them are as interesting or as ill-fated as Aenarion, the first Phoenix King of the Elves; the warrior who braves death by godly flames and the Curse of Khaine (when he draws the vile sword of the God of War and Murder) not for personal glory but to obtain the power to defend his people from the endless hordes of Chaos. So, naturally, when I saw this book, realized it was all about Aenarion’s descendants and promised to reveal, at least, a sliver of lore about the legendary Phoenix King, I had to read it.
Blood starts things off with a mesmerizing tale of Aenarion’s final battle. This too brief introduction to the Phoenix King taking a reader into the head of the doomed legend, revealing his true feelings about his life’s choices, exploring his complicated relationship with Caledor Dragontamer and Morathi, and, ultimately, setting the stage for the stories main villain, N’Kari the immortal Daemon prince.
Shifting from the ancient past, the story finally comes to rest on a pair of Aenarion’s ancestors: Tyrion and Teclis. These twins reared in the wilds of the continent of Ulthuan by their widowed father, who is more obsessed with repairing the ancient battle armor of Aenarion than spending time with his children. Tyrion is the athletic twin, endowed with amazing physical ability and with a mind for strategy; Teclis is a sickly youth, whose mind is better suited for magic. The two of them content with their current life, shielded by their father from the truth of what it means to be of the blood of Aenarion.
But peace never lasts. Things changing abruptly for the twins when their aunt arrives unexpectedly. The current Phoenix King having decreed that Tyrion and Teclis must be examined for the taint of Khaine’s curse. The fear of the elves that Aenarion’s ancestors will be born with the taint of the Bloody-Handed God of War and Murder, causing them to slip into some form of madness and bring untold misery to their race. And, thus, are our ill-starred twins ripped from their isolated childhood home and immersed in a world of power and intrigue they are not prepared to handle.
While I usually do not warm to coming-of-age stories anymore (too old and grumpy, I think), I enjoyed this one. William King doing a wonderful job of fleshing out the twins (especially Tyrion here), creating real individuals who lived up to their legendary Warhammer status but also were more complex. The pair exhibiting moments of confusion, sadness, weakness, and actual mistakes! Not Chosen Ones in the usual sense (though the twins are definitely gifted in different ways and viewed as having potential by those who wish to be their benefactors) but youths who have much to learn and seemingly not enough time to do so before doom befalls them. This personal portrait of the real Tyrion and Teclis, not the legends, a huge reason I enjoyed the narrative from start to finish.
The other element I thoroughly enjoyed throughout Blood was William King’s simple yet perfect observations regarding the differences (or lack of differences) between the Elves of Ulthuan and their Druuchi cousins. Specifically, I am referring to how the author deftly and subtly shows the High Elves and their demented cousins to not be so terribly different after all; each people merely a different side of the same coin. The Druuchi of Naggaroth and the Elves both flawed races, overflowing with intense passions and hopeless hubris. This seemingly simple and insignificant observation clarifying the eternal conflict for me better than any multi-page info dump ever could have.
The only problem I had with this story was the lack of suspense. Anyone who is the least bit familiar with Warhammer knows Tyrion and Teclis are important figures in the lore, legendary figures even, so the possibility of their tale ending here was basically zero. Certainly, all stories have a tendency to never ask more of their heroes than they are able to overcome, but with specific details of Tyrion and Teclis’s lives already set down in stone, William King had his hands tied to a certain extent as to what he could actually do with and to these characters. Unfortunately, that did hold back the narrative from reaching its full potential.
Blood of Aenarion had its grip on me from the first page of Aenarion’s story, building in me a deep desire to know who and what his ancestors would be. Tyrion and Teclis definitely lived up to my expectations, providing me with a nice action and adventure story in a world which I found comfortable yet intriguing. And, yes, I did like it enough to immediately move on to book two of the series.
February 22, 2021
This is the first part of the Tyrion&Teclis Warhammer Fantasy trilogy, telling the story of the famous High Elf twins Tyrion ('unparalleled swordsman and tactician') and Teclis ('greatest natural sorcerer of the age'). Some (lengthy xD) thoughts below, as always focusing on a feminist pov and tackling points such as representation and female characters, social criticism and other intersections, and other issues that interest me. This review contains spoilers of the plot of this book.
The same review with selected screenshots on my Blogger blog here.
+1 Rereading for the second time, I still found this book to be well-written with an engaging plot, focusing on the teenage years of Tyrion and Teclis, their beginnings as the famed warrior and sorcerer they will become, and their first encounter with Demon N'Kari.
Epics, war and the Good/Evil binary
+1 Anti-war and Good/Evil binary critical content: Even though this is a Warhammer epic book focusing on a fantasy society with a heroic ethos and including plenty of battle scenes, some parts of this book also challenged the Good/Evil binary and included some anti-war content:
-Too many people kill without thinking in this world.
White Lion (the elite guard of the Phoenix King) Korhien Ironglaive has more than one conversation with protegé Tyrion about the dangers of idealizing war and battle, the concepts of glory and prowess, and how killing people is not something to be enjoyed. I personally really appreciated these scenes in the context of what is basically a very binary, epic genre which often disregards these matters and amps the glory and honour of battling your enemies. In spite of these pep talks, though, Tyrion - the good guy protagonist with a charming personality - turns out to be one born for war who actually claims to enjoy battle and even killing the ones who oppose him or his country, and will end up conforming more to the epic ethos of the genre :S.
-Dark Elf assassin Urian also offers some critical content of the Good/Evil binary when he muses on the centuries-long feud between the High and Dark Elves and how masquerading as a High Elf noble for decades and living among his enemies has made him see that both groups are not as dissimilar or as black and white as they think they are.
Female characters: Representation, roles and sexism
+-1 Female representation: Warhammer is not the best genre for a lot of (good) female representation, to be honest, as many in-universe societies, stories and authors are overtly male-dominated and sexist tropes and sexualization are often to be found both in the miniature and online game designs/roles, and in the books.
+(-)1 This particular book is still quite male-dominated, but I found to be a bit better regarding positive female representation, even though many women in interesting, subversive and proactive roles are still little more than mentions. Still, contrary to other Warhammer books and *ahem* the miniatures Warhammer Fantasy's range of High Elves offered (which is minimal and literally extend - I think - to the Everqueen, her guard, and a mage), there are mentions of female (arch)mages and loremistresses, sailors and captains of ship, huntresses and rangers, archers and warriors, priestesses, and women taking part in political circles. Like I said, most of these roles are little more than mentions, but the bar is so low sometimes in this genre that it's still a refreshing sight :S xD
+1 Female characters with interesting and proactive roles that I enjoyed: The main one is Lady Malene, a mage and loremistress who is also active in political circles and is described as serious, capable, powerful and intelligent. She is the aunt of Tyrion and Teclis and mainly acts as Teclis' mentor in matters of magic. I also liked that she is in a relationship without losing any iniciative or her role being ever reduced to a love interest trope. I also liked Joyelle, a ship captain who answers to Malene and is described as capable, tough and stern; and sailor Karaya, who acts as kind of a love interest for Tyrion but shows plenty of iniciative of her own during her scenes.
-1 Female characters with problematic characterization and tropes: Enchantress Morathi, the Dark Elven Queen, is always a character that's super sexualized in the Warhammer world and who follows a lot of femme fatale tropes (even though she is also an intelligent and powerful leader), and her appearance in the intro also included the love/hate relationship with Aenarion, which is not my fave thing. N'Kari the demon is also super sexualized and male-gazey when in female form. And characters such as Lady Malene's daughter Liselle followed the trope of the shallow, vain female character more than anything else and was there mainly to be one of Tyrion's love interests.
+-1 Male characters and their treatment of women: To finish talking about the treatment of women in this book, there's also the theme of how men treat and think of women. Some thoughts -
-Lady Malene's relationship with Korhien the White Lion is quite refreshing and healthy, and she's always seen as the authority figure in her group without question (the ship's crew answer to her, for example). Teclis and Lady Malene also get on well in a mentor/pupil dynamic.
-Tyrion is written with the intention of being charming and likeable, but he also revels in violence quite a bit and is quite a womanizer, sometimes bordering on dudebro material. His one-off relationship with the sailor Karaya is a pretty healthy example of a casual encounter, but the one he later has with his cousin Liselle showcases his entitlement and internalized sexism more, as he clearly views her as vain and shallow and later thinks of her in a quite disparaging way, showing he was using her more than anything else. Lady Malene also tells him to not extend his womanizing to his close kinswomen, but there he went anyway lol (le sigh).
-Dark Elf assassin Urian is probably the most misogynistic character in the book alongside Aenarion (who clearly hates his second wife Morathi but still lusts after her). Urian may give us some anti-binarism commentary which makes us relate a bit to him, but he's also a creep who's proud of the harem of slave girls he had back home, and who fantasizes about making stern Lady Malene, who dares distrust him, succumb to his (violent) charms. Eww.
-1 A bit related to this - Even though I have a higher tolerance for it in reading form than visual, I personally find the gorier and more graphic side of Warhammer so not my cup of tea. Especifically the sections in which the writers indulge and focus too lengthily in torture scenes or anything related to the cult of Slaanesh (which is always a good opportunity to also include sexualized women or sacrifice scenes, yay).
Poc and LGBT+ representation
-1 No representation of poc except for very brief mentions of poc humans from the Warhammer equivalents of North Africa and China (merchants, traders and people who live in the foreigners' quartet of the High Elven capital Lothern). As per usual fantasy white-centrism, it is assumed that all High Elves are white, and all Elves whose appearance is described have fair to very pale skin (Tyrion in book 2 has tanned skin from his journeys, but yeah).
+1 Some critical content tackling racism and xenophobia between High Elves and humans is explored. Ulthuan (the Elven insular continent) is a colonialist nation which trades with other races but is politically aislacionist and off bounds to anyone who is not a High Elf everywhere in the country except in Lothern's "foreigners' quartet", where humans and even some Dwarfs are permitted to live (with the main aim of trade). When Tyrion visits said quartet and sees humans for the first time in his life, these topics of Elven aislacionism, xenophobia and prejudice come to play in the narration. He also experiences xenophobic violence and slurs from some drunken humans, so there's also a bit of that other side as well.
-1 Practically no representation of LGBT+ people. Demon N'Kari can easily be seen as genderfluid, as many demons often are, but is portrayed in a quite problematic light. N'Kari uses 'he/him' pronouns the most, but also appears in female form at least twice. The problem is, when N'Kari is female she is incredibly sexualized as per male-dominated fantasy standards. The fact that N'Kari is a demon who serves Slaanesh, the Chaos god of pleasure and all things lascivious and perverse is not helping any matters.
Other intersections: Class and ability
+1 There's also some social commentary regarding classism, the hypocrisy and snobbery of the aristocratic classes and the difficulty of learning how to navigate and survive in a world full of protocol and courtly intrigues, as rural-raised Tyrion and Teclis find out when they go to the capital to live with their wealthy relatives for a while.
+1 Ableism critical content: While Elves see themselves as the superior race for their beauty, longer life, and the fact that most never get ill, Teclis is frail and disabled (he gets ill often to the extent of being in the brink of death, has a severe limp and mobility problems, and is considered to be less canonically beautiful), and thus he has experienced constant disapproval from his Elven fellow, who look down on him for being 'inferior'. Compared to his able-bodied, beautiful-even-among-the-Elves brother Tyrion, he feels insecure and bitter, but relies on his intelligence, acerbic wit and remarkable magical ability to shine.
Thankfully, the treatment of this issue was pretty positive, being critical of the classism and ableism of the High Elves from the pov of Teclis, who is never seen in a negative ligth by the narrator because of his health problems and disabilities. Teclis will also end up being the character most understanding of humans (also seen as frail, uglier and inferior by the Elves) and one of the few Elves more interested in helping them and sharing his knowledge with them. There's also the fact that even though Teclis ends up gaining more health and mobility that allow him to do adventuring of his own and living a long life to perfect his lore and magic powers, he ultimately gains a more able-bodied lifestyle mainly by his own agency, choice and powers.
+1 And finally, I also like that Tyrion and Teclis maintain a pretty healthy and supportive relationship in this and other respects, which is a refreshing subversion of the often competitive, love/hate trope dynamic based in jealousy issues of the 'golden, athletic brother pitted against the dark, bitter brother' (hello, Thor and Loki xD)
The same review with selected screenshots on my Blogger blog here.
+1 Rereading for the second time, I still found this book to be well-written with an engaging plot, focusing on the teenage years of Tyrion and Teclis, their beginnings as the famed warrior and sorcerer they will become, and their first encounter with Demon N'Kari.
Epics, war and the Good/Evil binary
+1 Anti-war and Good/Evil binary critical content: Even though this is a Warhammer epic book focusing on a fantasy society with a heroic ethos and including plenty of battle scenes, some parts of this book also challenged the Good/Evil binary and included some anti-war content:
-Too many people kill without thinking in this world.
White Lion (the elite guard of the Phoenix King) Korhien Ironglaive has more than one conversation with protegé Tyrion about the dangers of idealizing war and battle, the concepts of glory and prowess, and how killing people is not something to be enjoyed. I personally really appreciated these scenes in the context of what is basically a very binary, epic genre which often disregards these matters and amps the glory and honour of battling your enemies. In spite of these pep talks, though, Tyrion - the good guy protagonist with a charming personality - turns out to be one born for war who actually claims to enjoy battle and even killing the ones who oppose him or his country, and will end up conforming more to the epic ethos of the genre :S.
-Dark Elf assassin Urian also offers some critical content of the Good/Evil binary when he muses on the centuries-long feud between the High and Dark Elves and how masquerading as a High Elf noble for decades and living among his enemies has made him see that both groups are not as dissimilar or as black and white as they think they are.
Female characters: Representation, roles and sexism
+-1 Female representation: Warhammer is not the best genre for a lot of (good) female representation, to be honest, as many in-universe societies, stories and authors are overtly male-dominated and sexist tropes and sexualization are often to be found both in the miniature and online game designs/roles, and in the books.
+(-)1 This particular book is still quite male-dominated, but I found to be a bit better regarding positive female representation, even though many women in interesting, subversive and proactive roles are still little more than mentions. Still, contrary to other Warhammer books and *ahem* the miniatures Warhammer Fantasy's range of High Elves offered (which is minimal and literally extend - I think - to the Everqueen, her guard, and a mage), there are mentions of female (arch)mages and loremistresses, sailors and captains of ship, huntresses and rangers, archers and warriors, priestesses, and women taking part in political circles. Like I said, most of these roles are little more than mentions, but the bar is so low sometimes in this genre that it's still a refreshing sight :S xD
+1 Female characters with interesting and proactive roles that I enjoyed: The main one is Lady Malene, a mage and loremistress who is also active in political circles and is described as serious, capable, powerful and intelligent. She is the aunt of Tyrion and Teclis and mainly acts as Teclis' mentor in matters of magic. I also liked that she is in a relationship without losing any iniciative or her role being ever reduced to a love interest trope. I also liked Joyelle, a ship captain who answers to Malene and is described as capable, tough and stern; and sailor Karaya, who acts as kind of a love interest for Tyrion but shows plenty of iniciative of her own during her scenes.
-1 Female characters with problematic characterization and tropes: Enchantress Morathi, the Dark Elven Queen, is always a character that's super sexualized in the Warhammer world and who follows a lot of femme fatale tropes (even though she is also an intelligent and powerful leader), and her appearance in the intro also included the love/hate relationship with Aenarion, which is not my fave thing. N'Kari the demon is also super sexualized and male-gazey when in female form. And characters such as Lady Malene's daughter Liselle followed the trope of the shallow, vain female character more than anything else and was there mainly to be one of Tyrion's love interests.
+-1 Male characters and their treatment of women: To finish talking about the treatment of women in this book, there's also the theme of how men treat and think of women. Some thoughts -
-Lady Malene's relationship with Korhien the White Lion is quite refreshing and healthy, and she's always seen as the authority figure in her group without question (the ship's crew answer to her, for example). Teclis and Lady Malene also get on well in a mentor/pupil dynamic.
-Tyrion is written with the intention of being charming and likeable, but he also revels in violence quite a bit and is quite a womanizer, sometimes bordering on dudebro material. His one-off relationship with the sailor Karaya is a pretty healthy example of a casual encounter, but the one he later has with his cousin Liselle showcases his entitlement and internalized sexism more, as he clearly views her as vain and shallow and later thinks of her in a quite disparaging way, showing he was using her more than anything else. Lady Malene also tells him to not extend his womanizing to his close kinswomen, but there he went anyway lol (le sigh).
-Dark Elf assassin Urian is probably the most misogynistic character in the book alongside Aenarion (who clearly hates his second wife Morathi but still lusts after her). Urian may give us some anti-binarism commentary which makes us relate a bit to him, but he's also a creep who's proud of the harem of slave girls he had back home, and who fantasizes about making stern Lady Malene, who dares distrust him, succumb to his (violent) charms. Eww.
-1 A bit related to this - Even though I have a higher tolerance for it in reading form than visual, I personally find the gorier and more graphic side of Warhammer so not my cup of tea. Especifically the sections in which the writers indulge and focus too lengthily in torture scenes or anything related to the cult of Slaanesh (which is always a good opportunity to also include sexualized women or sacrifice scenes, yay).
Poc and LGBT+ representation
-1 No representation of poc except for very brief mentions of poc humans from the Warhammer equivalents of North Africa and China (merchants, traders and people who live in the foreigners' quartet of the High Elven capital Lothern). As per usual fantasy white-centrism, it is assumed that all High Elves are white, and all Elves whose appearance is described have fair to very pale skin (Tyrion in book 2 has tanned skin from his journeys, but yeah).
+1 Some critical content tackling racism and xenophobia between High Elves and humans is explored. Ulthuan (the Elven insular continent) is a colonialist nation which trades with other races but is politically aislacionist and off bounds to anyone who is not a High Elf everywhere in the country except in Lothern's "foreigners' quartet", where humans and even some Dwarfs are permitted to live (with the main aim of trade). When Tyrion visits said quartet and sees humans for the first time in his life, these topics of Elven aislacionism, xenophobia and prejudice come to play in the narration. He also experiences xenophobic violence and slurs from some drunken humans, so there's also a bit of that other side as well.
-1 Practically no representation of LGBT+ people. Demon N'Kari can easily be seen as genderfluid, as many demons often are, but is portrayed in a quite problematic light. N'Kari uses 'he/him' pronouns the most, but also appears in female form at least twice. The problem is, when N'Kari is female she is incredibly sexualized as per male-dominated fantasy standards. The fact that N'Kari is a demon who serves Slaanesh, the Chaos god of pleasure and all things lascivious and perverse is not helping any matters.
Other intersections: Class and ability
+1 There's also some social commentary regarding classism, the hypocrisy and snobbery of the aristocratic classes and the difficulty of learning how to navigate and survive in a world full of protocol and courtly intrigues, as rural-raised Tyrion and Teclis find out when they go to the capital to live with their wealthy relatives for a while.
+1 Ableism critical content: While Elves see themselves as the superior race for their beauty, longer life, and the fact that most never get ill, Teclis is frail and disabled (he gets ill often to the extent of being in the brink of death, has a severe limp and mobility problems, and is considered to be less canonically beautiful), and thus he has experienced constant disapproval from his Elven fellow, who look down on him for being 'inferior'. Compared to his able-bodied, beautiful-even-among-the-Elves brother Tyrion, he feels insecure and bitter, but relies on his intelligence, acerbic wit and remarkable magical ability to shine.
Thankfully, the treatment of this issue was pretty positive, being critical of the classism and ableism of the High Elves from the pov of Teclis, who is never seen in a negative ligth by the narrator because of his health problems and disabilities. Teclis will also end up being the character most understanding of humans (also seen as frail, uglier and inferior by the Elves) and one of the few Elves more interested in helping them and sharing his knowledge with them. There's also the fact that even though Teclis ends up gaining more health and mobility that allow him to do adventuring of his own and living a long life to perfect his lore and magic powers, he ultimately gains a more able-bodied lifestyle mainly by his own agency, choice and powers.
+1 And finally, I also like that Tyrion and Teclis maintain a pretty healthy and supportive relationship in this and other respects, which is a refreshing subversion of the often competitive, love/hate trope dynamic based in jealousy issues of the 'golden, athletic brother pitted against the dark, bitter brother' (hello, Thor and Loki xD)
February 12, 2013
After finishing this book, I can certainly understand why the Goodreads general review is 4 stars. It is not comparable to other fantasy works as a four star novel, but within the scope of Black Library or the range of action adventure fantasy, it really was a big success for Mr. King.
The characters are a lot more fully fleshed out than previous Warhammer canon books I've read and the pace is fast but believable. I have never felt more in the head of a Warhammer character than I have reading this novel. Tyrion was very fleshed out: he had moments of sadness, love, lust, frustration and - believe it or not - stupidity & outright foolishness. This is not the character that is depicted in the canon of the army books at all. He is a character that is believable within the integrity of the universe yet still has moments of being larger than life.
The action scenes were well scripted, but that wasn't a surprise from the author of the well respected Gotrek & Felix novels.
What really surprised me were the antagonists and their actions. The main villain is a follower of Slannesh - the Chaotic God of pain, pleasure & excess - and William certainly didn't pull punches with the imaginative ways in which he could upset or disgust his readers with the actions of the evil demon. This allowed the reader to become invested in the character of N'Kari while also cheering for the twins as they fight against him at the climax of the novel. He even managed to surprise and excite me with a reveal of the secondary antagonist.
Overall, very impressive. Really looking forward to the remainder of the series; especially getting more into the head of Teclis, the more morose and contemplative of the twins.
The characters are a lot more fully fleshed out than previous Warhammer canon books I've read and the pace is fast but believable. I have never felt more in the head of a Warhammer character than I have reading this novel. Tyrion was very fleshed out: he had moments of sadness, love, lust, frustration and - believe it or not - stupidity & outright foolishness. This is not the character that is depicted in the canon of the army books at all. He is a character that is believable within the integrity of the universe yet still has moments of being larger than life.
The action scenes were well scripted, but that wasn't a surprise from the author of the well respected Gotrek & Felix novels.
What really surprised me were the antagonists and their actions. The main villain is a follower of Slannesh - the Chaotic God of pain, pleasure & excess - and William certainly didn't pull punches with the imaginative ways in which he could upset or disgust his readers with the actions of the evil demon. This allowed the reader to become invested in the character of N'Kari while also cheering for the twins as they fight against him at the climax of the novel. He even managed to surprise and excite me with a reveal of the secondary antagonist.
Overall, very impressive. Really looking forward to the remainder of the series; especially getting more into the head of Teclis, the more morose and contemplative of the twins.
March 24, 2013
I've been waiting to read a new Bill King Warhammer novel for some time and was very pleased with this book. Although it's interesting to read about the renowned elven twins as teens, what I like most are the comparisons of High Elves to Dark Elves. One might think that one race is good, while the other is simply evil, but King describes the two elven sects as relatively the same, only the Dark Elves are a bit more extreme in their desires and passions. I found all this fascinating!
Looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy soon...
Looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy soon...
June 7, 2021
Quality writing and good use of tropes.
March 24, 2014
I am still torn between four and five stars rating, but decided to be generous, even if the book is not quite on the level of the Sundering trilogy. It tells to story of two twins - Tyrion, who is athletic, strong, handsome and exceptionally gifted warrior and tactician and Teclis, who is sickly, vulnerable, but extremely powerful magician. Together they become the greatest warriors of their era and here we see their humble beginnings, two youths from the home of a magician with moderate talent, possibly curses from the madness, which consumed their legendary ancestor Aenarion and his mad son Malekith, the Witch King of Naggorth. To test these, the two kids travel to Lothern, where the new Phoenix King Finubar rules and later to the sacred Shrine of Asuryan. But an ancient enemy is coming to them - N'Kari, a powerful daemon who serves the horrific chaos god Slaanesh and is a sworn enemy of Aenarion. Now he plans his vengeance - all children of his old nemesis must die...
The book is very well written and sometimes Tyrion and Teclis reminded me of Pug and Tomas from the classic Riftwar saga, while in other the story resembles "The Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks and the deadly fight to survival of descendants of a legendary king. In the end however Warhammar has its own unique charm and William King is gifted enough to have his own style and to use it well. He tells a captivating story with charming heroes, horrifying villains, vivid descriptions and fantastic battles, which is everything a good Warhammer story needs. The prologue of the novel, which allows the reader to see the ancient past and the last stand of Aenarion was exceptional.
The book is very well written and sometimes Tyrion and Teclis reminded me of Pug and Tomas from the classic Riftwar saga, while in other the story resembles "The Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks and the deadly fight to survival of descendants of a legendary king. In the end however Warhammar has its own unique charm and William King is gifted enough to have his own style and to use it well. He tells a captivating story with charming heroes, horrifying villains, vivid descriptions and fantastic battles, which is everything a good Warhammer story needs. The prologue of the novel, which allows the reader to see the ancient past and the last stand of Aenarion was exceptional.
July 24, 2019
Long ago I picked up an old and battered copy of the very first Gotrek and Felix anthology. This was to be my first introduction to William King as a writer and it was an absolute delight. I thought King's work was imaginative, fun and entertaining while at the same time paying tribute to the solemness of the warhammer world. This is a dark setting and the Gotrek and Felix stories never lost that.
So it was with great excitement that I went to read the first of the Tyrion and Teclis stories written by King and it is with a heavy heart I must report my disappointment.
While Blood of Aenarion starts off strong enough with a searing prologue which deals with the final battle of the Phoenix king as he struggles to save his people and the whole world from the onslaught of the forces of chaos, unfortunately this is as good as the book seems to get. The comaparison between the two brothers who would serve as the heroes for the trilogy and famed Phoenix King and his trusted friend Caledor Dragontamer are far too on the nose most of the time and more often than not, tended to leave me wishing he had just written a book about Aenarion instead.
The plot is rather thin but as it is an introductory book that can largely be forgiven. What could be less forgiven however is King's tendency to only drop in the antagonist as a reminder to the audience that he is there. N'Kari never really feels like a threat but rather something we are constantly told is a threat in the vague hope that we will eventually believe he is. In the end N'Kari almost ends up being a non-factor in the story only to be foiled by the twins at the end to a lackluster response from the audience.
Where King excels however is in the twins themselves. At the beginning of the story we're lead to believe that Tyrion is the one we're supposed to be rooting for he is after all a Han Solo type. He's devilish, handsome, roguish and has a keen eye for the ladies while having a keen hand on his sword. Yet, there's little to relate to, he truly is of his people, distant and removed from the world around him, cold and aloof to an almost psychotic level that makes him unrelatable.
His brother Teclis however is quite the opposite. At first it is he who is the aloof one, knowing that he is immediately the smartest person in the room, he uses his tongue as his chief weapon. His attitude wins him few followers and his sickness wins him even fewer friends. Yet by the books conclusion, he has entirely overshadowed his brother in almost ever facet. His vulnerability allows the audience to see the elves through his eyes, the eyes of an outcast and stranger and adds a very real and human element to a story chiefly written about elves.
Whilst not perfect it certainly give much in the way of entertainment and allows new readers into the fantasy world of the elves without any prior reading or research. It's one failing is in its antagonist and unfortunately it is the largest blot on an otherwise enjoyable read.
So it was with great excitement that I went to read the first of the Tyrion and Teclis stories written by King and it is with a heavy heart I must report my disappointment.
While Blood of Aenarion starts off strong enough with a searing prologue which deals with the final battle of the Phoenix king as he struggles to save his people and the whole world from the onslaught of the forces of chaos, unfortunately this is as good as the book seems to get. The comaparison between the two brothers who would serve as the heroes for the trilogy and famed Phoenix King and his trusted friend Caledor Dragontamer are far too on the nose most of the time and more often than not, tended to leave me wishing he had just written a book about Aenarion instead.
The plot is rather thin but as it is an introductory book that can largely be forgiven. What could be less forgiven however is King's tendency to only drop in the antagonist as a reminder to the audience that he is there. N'Kari never really feels like a threat but rather something we are constantly told is a threat in the vague hope that we will eventually believe he is. In the end N'Kari almost ends up being a non-factor in the story only to be foiled by the twins at the end to a lackluster response from the audience.
Where King excels however is in the twins themselves. At the beginning of the story we're lead to believe that Tyrion is the one we're supposed to be rooting for he is after all a Han Solo type. He's devilish, handsome, roguish and has a keen eye for the ladies while having a keen hand on his sword. Yet, there's little to relate to, he truly is of his people, distant and removed from the world around him, cold and aloof to an almost psychotic level that makes him unrelatable.
His brother Teclis however is quite the opposite. At first it is he who is the aloof one, knowing that he is immediately the smartest person in the room, he uses his tongue as his chief weapon. His attitude wins him few followers and his sickness wins him even fewer friends. Yet by the books conclusion, he has entirely overshadowed his brother in almost ever facet. His vulnerability allows the audience to see the elves through his eyes, the eyes of an outcast and stranger and adds a very real and human element to a story chiefly written about elves.
Whilst not perfect it certainly give much in the way of entertainment and allows new readers into the fantasy world of the elves without any prior reading or research. It's one failing is in its antagonist and unfortunately it is the largest blot on an otherwise enjoyable read.
December 6, 2021
A long time ago, Caledor, greatest archmage of the Elves, created the Great Vortex to siphon away the winds of magic in order to weaken the Chaos invasion to the point where it could be repelled. Aenarion, the first Phoenix King, wielded the mighty Widowmaker, the sword of Khaine, to guard Caledor while he and his mages worked their magic... but the Widowmaker cursed Aenarion's bloodline, and the daemon N'kari carefully orchestrated his re-entrance into the world of the living many thousands of years later. N'kari's scheme comes to fruition around the same time that Tyrion and Teclis' father realizes he must present them to the Phoenix Court for their own protection. The twin heroes learn the ins and outs of High Elf society as N'kari gathers an army and rampages across the countryside. Everyone is plotting something and it's a race to see who will succeed and who will die.
This is one of the 6 books on the USB key in the collector's edition of Total War: Warhammer 2. The entire game is over control over the vortex which is detailed in the first part of the book. Tyrion and Teclis are descended from the revered yet cursed Aenarion. When Tyrion isn't mastering the blade, he's fucking. Teclis is good at magic, but is too physically frail to risk any fucking-related injuries. Polar opposites. I ain't exaggerating about Tyrion fucking. He obviously inherited this from Aenarion, who was busy banging his wife Morathi before the final battle. I think this book has more sex than possibly the entirety of the Black Library books I've read combined. It's not bad, but James Workshop would never tolerate such a book today, so it's interesting to see how things used to be before heavy-handed corporate censorship became the norm.
Tyrion is a jerk, and Teclis has good instincts... we know this from the game, and we get this in the book, but it doesn't develop into anything more. Also, the scale of the fighting was rather small given the stakes. Since the video game is Total War: Warhammer 2, and the game that game is based off of is Warhammer Fantasy Battles, I was hoping for some more epic battles. Maybe in the sequels?
Either way, this book is old-school fantasy, and I enjoyed it.
This is one of the 6 books on the USB key in the collector's edition of Total War: Warhammer 2. The entire game is over control over the vortex which is detailed in the first part of the book. Tyrion and Teclis are descended from the revered yet cursed Aenarion. When Tyrion isn't mastering the blade, he's fucking. Teclis is good at magic, but is too physically frail to risk any fucking-related injuries. Polar opposites. I ain't exaggerating about Tyrion fucking. He obviously inherited this from Aenarion, who was busy banging his wife Morathi before the final battle. I think this book has more sex than possibly the entirety of the Black Library books I've read combined. It's not bad, but James Workshop would never tolerate such a book today, so it's interesting to see how things used to be before heavy-handed corporate censorship became the norm.
Tyrion is a jerk, and Teclis has good instincts... we know this from the game, and we get this in the book, but it doesn't develop into anything more. Also, the scale of the fighting was rather small given the stakes. Since the video game is Total War: Warhammer 2, and the game that game is based off of is Warhammer Fantasy Battles, I was hoping for some more epic battles. Maybe in the sequels?
Either way, this book is old-school fantasy, and I enjoyed it.
February 15, 2022
Warhammer fantasy is at its best when it gives us insight into its characters' ways of thinking; what thoughts go through their head when events occur, what motivations drive them to make certain decisions, etc. Its the thing which gives their stories depth and meaning. It also happens to be what makes this book such a great novel.
It tells the story of two High Elf princes, one charming, energetic, and strong, and the other sickly, moody, but extremely sharp witted, as they're brought from their modest, rustic home to the grandest city in Elvendom to be put to a test which will decide their fate for all years to come.
Throughout the story, these characters are exposed to many things that are new and strange, and as they witness them for the first time, so do the readers. You get a sense that the characters in this book act as conduits for the readers themselves to behold this awesome, fantastical world.
And not only that, but the story is told from several perspectives. We get to see things, not just from the heroes' eyes, but the villains' as well. Every character, even minor ones, are given thought and personality, fleshing them out and giving the world a greater sense of believability.
Blood of Aenarion, in my opinion, stands out as a book that puts a greater amount of thought and introspection into the universe it depicts than any other within the Warhammer canon. It isn't just a book about magical realms and fantasy battles; it's a book that ponders the way we come to grips with certain things: our history, our future, our limitations, the things which excite and terrify us. It's a book that probes the depths of the human soul while at the same time delivering a kick-ass story.
It tells the story of two High Elf princes, one charming, energetic, and strong, and the other sickly, moody, but extremely sharp witted, as they're brought from their modest, rustic home to the grandest city in Elvendom to be put to a test which will decide their fate for all years to come.
Throughout the story, these characters are exposed to many things that are new and strange, and as they witness them for the first time, so do the readers. You get a sense that the characters in this book act as conduits for the readers themselves to behold this awesome, fantastical world.
And not only that, but the story is told from several perspectives. We get to see things, not just from the heroes' eyes, but the villains' as well. Every character, even minor ones, are given thought and personality, fleshing them out and giving the world a greater sense of believability.
Blood of Aenarion, in my opinion, stands out as a book that puts a greater amount of thought and introspection into the universe it depicts than any other within the Warhammer canon. It isn't just a book about magical realms and fantasy battles; it's a book that ponders the way we come to grips with certain things: our history, our future, our limitations, the things which excite and terrify us. It's a book that probes the depths of the human soul while at the same time delivering a kick-ass story.
July 29, 2025
Comparing this to King's other works (Gotrek & Felix in particular), I have but one question:
Was this even proof-read?
The amount of repetition of words is baffling. There is a paragraph consisting of eight sentences, and seven out of those start with the word "he". Sentence structure as well as vocabulary used is kept rather simple, for the most part. And then there are the run-on sentences, and the lack of commas. Never mind that characters repeatedly contradict themselves, sometimes in the very same sentence even.
It reads like bad fanfiction. Or a rough draft.
There are grammatical errors I would expect from someone whose first language isn't English (someone like me), but certainly not from an author with dozens upon dozens of published novels under their belt.
It's also jarring how the reader is constantly reminded that this is a story about elves. Elves talking about elf things as if they were of a different species. So far, the whole story reads as if the author barely knows enough to write about these guys and the world they're from.
World-building is minuscule. It's just people talking, no immersion. The constant repetition and simple sentence structure do not help either. Remember the old saying "show, don't tell"? Yeah, you'll find very little of that here.
It feels as though writing this book was a chore for the author.
Maybe the question I should be asking is if this was even written by King.
If I could, I would refund this book.
Was this even proof-read?
The amount of repetition of words is baffling. There is a paragraph consisting of eight sentences, and seven out of those start with the word "he". Sentence structure as well as vocabulary used is kept rather simple, for the most part. And then there are the run-on sentences, and the lack of commas. Never mind that characters repeatedly contradict themselves, sometimes in the very same sentence even.
It reads like bad fanfiction. Or a rough draft.
There are grammatical errors I would expect from someone whose first language isn't English (someone like me), but certainly not from an author with dozens upon dozens of published novels under their belt.
It's also jarring how the reader is constantly reminded that this is a story about elves. Elves talking about elf things as if they were of a different species. So far, the whole story reads as if the author barely knows enough to write about these guys and the world they're from.
World-building is minuscule. It's just people talking, no immersion. The constant repetition and simple sentence structure do not help either. Remember the old saying "show, don't tell"? Yeah, you'll find very little of that here.
It feels as though writing this book was a chore for the author.
Maybe the question I should be asking is if this was even written by King.
If I could, I would refund this book.
September 5, 2019
A little slow in the middle, and not every loose end is tied up, but still pretty solid. King's best bits are when he's exploring details that others leave in the background. The encounter with and sheer power of Asuryan are particularly cool and lend some real sense of scale. Seeing Aenarion in battle at the dawn of elven civilization was also cool, and the final confrontation mirrored it well. The greater serenity of elven life makes the inevitable Warhammer darkness hit harder.
Fun to see two legendary characters make their debut, though they have a way to go to catch Gotrek and Felix.
Fun to see two legendary characters make their debut, though they have a way to go to catch Gotrek and Felix.
July 13, 2017
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
When William King returned to the Black Library some years ago after taking a long break writing various Warhammer fiction, his first trilogy for the fantasy arm was the Tyrion & Teclis trilogy that told the origin story and the adventures of two of the most famous High Elves of the Old World, the twins Tyrion and Teclis, one a warrior and the other a mage. In the High Elven lore, they are both great champions and much has been written of them, but this was the first time we got up close and personal. And it proved to be a decent enough experience as a reader, although there were definitely moments where I felt that the story and characters missed their mark.
The story starts off as we go back in time to the earliest days of Elven history, when Aenarion, the ill-fated first Phoenix-King, fought to save the Elven people from the armies of Chaos that ran rampant throughout their island kingdom. It was a time of great myths and great deeds and great heroes and great villains, a truly formative time for the Elves that would reverberate down the ages thousands of years later. The key part here was that we saw Aenarion vanquish the Slaanesh Greater Daemon N'kari, whom he'd already killed before when he discovered that the infernal daemon had murdered his family. That is the central story of these novels: N'kari's vengeance against all those who are descended from the line of Aenarion. And slowly, this turns into a story about how Aenarion's son by the sorceress Morathi, the Witch-King Malekith, plans to return to Ulthuan and reclaim the throne that was denied to him ages ago.
It is a long story told in three parts, but no less enjoyable for that. As purely a story about some of the most defining characters and events in High Elven lore, Tyrion & Teclis is a great read. We learn so much about the twins and their various enemies, and King certainly has a good grasp on the politics and culture of Ulthuan and Naggaroth alike. If for nothing else but this, the series deserves a read. If you like straightforward action fantasy with a dose of sword-and-sorcery, then these novels are for you.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
When William King returned to the Black Library some years ago after taking a long break writing various Warhammer fiction, his first trilogy for the fantasy arm was the Tyrion & Teclis trilogy that told the origin story and the adventures of two of the most famous High Elves of the Old World, the twins Tyrion and Teclis, one a warrior and the other a mage. In the High Elven lore, they are both great champions and much has been written of them, but this was the first time we got up close and personal. And it proved to be a decent enough experience as a reader, although there were definitely moments where I felt that the story and characters missed their mark.
The story starts off as we go back in time to the earliest days of Elven history, when Aenarion, the ill-fated first Phoenix-King, fought to save the Elven people from the armies of Chaos that ran rampant throughout their island kingdom. It was a time of great myths and great deeds and great heroes and great villains, a truly formative time for the Elves that would reverberate down the ages thousands of years later. The key part here was that we saw Aenarion vanquish the Slaanesh Greater Daemon N'kari, whom he'd already killed before when he discovered that the infernal daemon had murdered his family. That is the central story of these novels: N'kari's vengeance against all those who are descended from the line of Aenarion. And slowly, this turns into a story about how Aenarion's son by the sorceress Morathi, the Witch-King Malekith, plans to return to Ulthuan and reclaim the throne that was denied to him ages ago.
It is a long story told in three parts, but no less enjoyable for that. As purely a story about some of the most defining characters and events in High Elven lore, Tyrion & Teclis is a great read. We learn so much about the twins and their various enemies, and King certainly has a good grasp on the politics and culture of Ulthuan and Naggaroth alike. If for nothing else but this, the series deserves a read. If you like straightforward action fantasy with a dose of sword-and-sorcery, then these novels are for you.
March 12, 2021
Une lecture sympathique et plutôt bien écrite (William King, toujours aussi efficace) qui lance bien cette trilogie sur les héros légendaires des Hauts-Elfes, Tyrion et Teclis. Une des choses que j'adore avec les univers et romans Warhammer, c'est l'accent qui est mis sur le côté horrifique des antogonistes. C'est souvent à la imite du dérangeant et on en vient à vraiment éprouver de la haine et de la peur à leur encontre. Ici, les méchants sont vraiment méchants !
Même si la lecture n'a pas été désagréable, je regrette quand même que l'ensemble de ce premier roman me laisse l'impression d'une introduction de 300 pages qui (comme beaucoup de romans de commande pour ce genre d'univers) trouve une conclusion expédiée en quelques dizaines de pages. Ca pose les bases de l'univers et de l'histoire globale des héros, mais ça prend son temps, peut-être un peu trop ! J'aurais aimé voir autre chose que l'adolescence de Tyrion et Teclis.
Il n'empêche que j'ai quand même envie de lire la suite, donc au final, c'est plutôt positif !
Même si la lecture n'a pas été désagréable, je regrette quand même que l'ensemble de ce premier roman me laisse l'impression d'une introduction de 300 pages qui (comme beaucoup de romans de commande pour ce genre d'univers) trouve une conclusion expédiée en quelques dizaines de pages. Ca pose les bases de l'univers et de l'histoire globale des héros, mais ça prend son temps, peut-être un peu trop ! J'aurais aimé voir autre chose que l'adolescence de Tyrion et Teclis.
Il n'empêche que j'ai quand même envie de lire la suite, donc au final, c'est plutôt positif !
February 26, 2018
por diosss yo no quería terminarlo por que sabía que quedaría con la duda es decir este libro está muy bueno y eso que yo no suele leer fantasía heroica pero es que madre mía este libro me atrapó y no quería acabarlo por que me sentiría con ese vacío existencial. Espero poder leerá segunda parte pronto.
May 16, 2022
As a new player of the Total War: Warhammer games, I found this to be an excellent source of lore to accompany a High Elf campaign in TWW2. It does a great job of introducing you to Tyrion and Teclis, and introduces you to the daemon N'Kari as well who is an available lord in TWW3 campaigns. Great story, darkly disturbing and very epic in feel. On to books 2 and 3!
March 22, 2018
*Will write more extensive review later.
Not too difficult to enter for a fantasy book.
Clean and descriptive narrative/writing.
Not gonna lie though, the stuff at the beginning was a big highlight, just for a prologue/back history.
For the Phoenix King-
Not too difficult to enter for a fantasy book.
Clean and descriptive narrative/writing.
Not gonna lie though, the stuff at the beginning was a big highlight, just for a prologue/back history.
For the Phoenix King-
January 10, 2021
Rating: 4.5/5
The writing was solid, the plot entertaining, the world building exquisite, the characters were pretty interesting. I had some issues with some sexist themes in the story, but if you can get over those, it's a great read.
The writing was solid, the plot entertaining, the world building exquisite, the characters were pretty interesting. I had some issues with some sexist themes in the story, but if you can get over those, it's a great read.
May 1, 2023
incomplete
Too much left unresolved in this first of two, (I think). I read this on Kindle only to find out that there was not a kindle edition for two. Found kobo and going to try my luck.
Too much left unresolved in this first of two, (I think). I read this on Kindle only to find out that there was not a kindle edition for two. Found kobo and going to try my luck.
February 19, 2019
This book is a big disappointment, it could be a great book, but too slow then too quick. The ending is ridiculously short.
September 1, 2023
A satisfactory, if unimaginative piece of Warhammer Fantasy fiction looking into the early years of the legendary High Elven heroes, Tyrion and Teclis...
September 28, 2020
Sometimes Black Library actually hits the mark.
The origins of the old worlds most iconic heroes reads like a YA fantasy novel against a grimdark backdrop and I like it. The SE7EN style Slannesh cultists managed genuine terror that actually haunted my dreams. I actually enjoyed a book about the goddamn point-ears
It also has a sweet and atypical emotional core. Two brothers who are viciously protective of each other, no overly serious rivalry, no fights. Just two very different brothers who love, support and protect each other in a dangerous world. LOVE IT
The origins of the old worlds most iconic heroes reads like a YA fantasy novel against a grimdark backdrop and I like it. The SE7EN style Slannesh cultists managed genuine terror that actually haunted my dreams. I actually enjoyed a book about the goddamn point-ears
It also has a sweet and atypical emotional core. Two brothers who are viciously protective of each other, no overly serious rivalry, no fights. Just two very different brothers who love, support and protect each other in a dangerous world. LOVE IT
Read
May 13, 2015Pour ceux qui connaissent un peu le monde de Warhammer Battle, l'évocation des noms des jumeaux doivent vous rappeler nombreuses défaites ou victoires car dans ce jeu de figurines, ils sont les meilleurs de leur monde. Avant même la sortie du livre on a pu avoir un avant goût, dans le codex Haut-Elfe, de la vie de Tyrion et Téclis. L'histoire est bien écrite, c'est ce genre de livre qu'on lit d'une traite tellement l'univers est passionnant. Immersif, on ne peux qu'en réclamer aussitôt la dernière ligne lue. Les jumeaux ont tout deux des caractères bien différents et on sent une force d'esprit très présente chez Téclis, malgré qu'il soit très affaiblis par sa maladie.
On découvre un monde elfique où tout n'est pas parfait, endroit où les complots et les trahisons sont assez présent, ça change des textes/films habituels qui nous présentes les elfes comme une race parfaite en tout point. J'ai eu un coup de coeur pour le personnage de Urian. Son côté fou et sombre, qu'il arrive à caché pour passer pour un être calme et clairvoyant m'a tout de suite plu.
J'ai eu aussi un coup de coeur pour N'kari, le démon. Il est vraiment présenté comme un démon, pas juste un héros qui aurait deux-trois pouvoirs fantastiques et qui fait tomber toutes les femmes autour de lui. C'est un démon assoiffé de sang et de vengeance qui passera par toutes formes de cruauté pour tenter de parvenir à ses fins, coûte que coûte. Il est cruel, ambitieux et on parvient même à douté de la force de Tyrion et Téclis face à lui. C'est un personnage emblématique à ne pas négliger.
Pour les plus impatients, le deuxième tome, "L'épée de Caledor" sort en décembre 2012. Petit voir gros bémol: Les fautes de syntaxe et de frappe qui sont encore présentes, environ toutes les 10 pages et je n'éxagère pas. Au Games Workshop de ma ville, j'ai eu la petite explication: La dernière équipe de correcteurs ne faisaient pas leur boulot correctement. G.W et Black Library, leur faisant totalement confiance, n'ont pas pris la peine de vérifier. Ce qui fait que 75% des livres sortis avec cette équipe de correction sont truffés de fautes, que ce soit les romans ou les codex. Mais pour le deuxième tome, nous aurons une autre équipe de correction, qui, je l'espère, relèvera le niveau. Le prix aussi pourra faire grincer des dents: 28€ pour un livre de 333 pages. Malheureusement chez Games Workshop, du pinceau aux livres, en passant par les figurines, les prix sont assez élevés. Mais pour un roman aussi bien écrit, on peux se le permettre ♥
On découvre un monde elfique où tout n'est pas parfait, endroit où les complots et les trahisons sont assez présent, ça change des textes/films habituels qui nous présentes les elfes comme une race parfaite en tout point. J'ai eu un coup de coeur pour le personnage de Urian. Son côté fou et sombre, qu'il arrive à caché pour passer pour un être calme et clairvoyant m'a tout de suite plu.
J'ai eu aussi un coup de coeur pour N'kari, le démon. Il est vraiment présenté comme un démon, pas juste un héros qui aurait deux-trois pouvoirs fantastiques et qui fait tomber toutes les femmes autour de lui. C'est un démon assoiffé de sang et de vengeance qui passera par toutes formes de cruauté pour tenter de parvenir à ses fins, coûte que coûte. Il est cruel, ambitieux et on parvient même à douté de la force de Tyrion et Téclis face à lui. C'est un personnage emblématique à ne pas négliger.
Pour les plus impatients, le deuxième tome, "L'épée de Caledor" sort en décembre 2012. Petit voir gros bémol: Les fautes de syntaxe et de frappe qui sont encore présentes, environ toutes les 10 pages et je n'éxagère pas. Au Games Workshop de ma ville, j'ai eu la petite explication: La dernière équipe de correcteurs ne faisaient pas leur boulot correctement. G.W et Black Library, leur faisant totalement confiance, n'ont pas pris la peine de vérifier. Ce qui fait que 75% des livres sortis avec cette équipe de correction sont truffés de fautes, que ce soit les romans ou les codex. Mais pour le deuxième tome, nous aurons une autre équipe de correction, qui, je l'espère, relèvera le niveau. Le prix aussi pourra faire grincer des dents: 28€ pour un livre de 333 pages. Malheureusement chez Games Workshop, du pinceau aux livres, en passant par les figurines, les prix sont assez élevés. Mais pour un roman aussi bien écrit, on peux se le permettre ♥
March 13, 2015
In a secluded corner of the great continent of Ulthuan, the Elf princes Tyrion and Teclis - descendents of the great warrior Aenarion - have been raised by their eccentric father. Though twins, the two boys could not be more different. Tyrion is a skilled warrior and has an eye for strategy, while under his father's tutorage Teclis has developed a mastery of magic.
Their lives are changed forever by a delegation from the great city of Lothern, where they are expected to take positions of court. It's a dangerous and exciting time, if they can survive the dangerous politics of the Elves. Meanwhile, a dark force from ancient times is stirring in the magical vortex at Ulthuan's heart, and it desires vengeance on the blood of Aenarion.
Blood of Aenarion marks William King's return to the Warhammer world, and it's action-packed, fast-paced, and ultimately disappointing. The main protagonists, Tyrion and Teclis, are introduced as teenagers, and at this age they are already supreme in their fields. They are skilled in combat and wizardry, respectively, to a level which shocks even Elves with hundreds of years of experience in these fields.
There is very little for them to do, as a result. Both continue to grow in their respective talents, but neither is challenged or learn from their experiences throughout the novel.
At the same time a Slaaneshi daemon invasion against which the High Elves seem powerless to act threatens all of Ulthuan. This subplot felt disconnected from the main plot of Tyrion and Teclis' time in Lothern, and the two strands only met in the last few chapters of the novel. The conclusion - a showdown between the twins and their daemonic opponent - is quickly dealt with and seems a bit easy, especially after the enemy has fought its way through entire armies to get to them.
A stronger plot and better characterisation could have bumped this up a star, but there's a lot of good. As always with King the action element is strong, the pace is fast, and the novel is not too long. The descriptions of Elven society are excellent and atmospheric - not surprisingly, King knows this world inside and out - and I'm looking forward to reading more of Ulthuan.
Their lives are changed forever by a delegation from the great city of Lothern, where they are expected to take positions of court. It's a dangerous and exciting time, if they can survive the dangerous politics of the Elves. Meanwhile, a dark force from ancient times is stirring in the magical vortex at Ulthuan's heart, and it desires vengeance on the blood of Aenarion.
Blood of Aenarion marks William King's return to the Warhammer world, and it's action-packed, fast-paced, and ultimately disappointing. The main protagonists, Tyrion and Teclis, are introduced as teenagers, and at this age they are already supreme in their fields. They are skilled in combat and wizardry, respectively, to a level which shocks even Elves with hundreds of years of experience in these fields.
There is very little for them to do, as a result. Both continue to grow in their respective talents, but neither is challenged or learn from their experiences throughout the novel.
At the same time a Slaaneshi daemon invasion against which the High Elves seem powerless to act threatens all of Ulthuan. This subplot felt disconnected from the main plot of Tyrion and Teclis' time in Lothern, and the two strands only met in the last few chapters of the novel. The conclusion - a showdown between the twins and their daemonic opponent - is quickly dealt with and seems a bit easy, especially after the enemy has fought its way through entire armies to get to them.
A stronger plot and better characterisation could have bumped this up a star, but there's a lot of good. As always with King the action element is strong, the pace is fast, and the novel is not too long. The descriptions of Elven society are excellent and atmospheric - not surprisingly, King knows this world inside and out - and I'm looking forward to reading more of Ulthuan.
February 12, 2017
GodDAMMIT, William King! Why do you do the stuff that I hate oh so well?
Essentially this is your typical 'young boy from a farm learns magic/sword stuff in the city' fantasy story with a FEW minor twists. It's kind of the type of story that's old hat, tiresome, and annoying. William King presents it with his typical easygoing narration, however, and totally had me 2/3 of the way through the book before I realized that's ALL this book was going to be.
Here are the fun twists:
Tyrion and Teclis are twins, and they DON'T hate each other. Teclis, the twisted messed-up magic user, is a little jealous of Tyrion, the beautiful, shining swordsman, but not so much that it makes it cliche. They both stand up for each other, which is necessary quite a lot as they're both fish out of water. The main "plot" of the book is them being brought before the Phoenix King (Findubar?) to be tested for the curse, as they have the BLOOD OF AENARION, which could drive them insane.
There are some side characters I really enjoyed (especially ... Uriah? I believe was his name), but overall I have a feeling this trilogy should have been one 500-page book rather than three 300-page books. Still, despite some skimming during Act III, I enjoyed it well enough.
Essentially this is your typical 'young boy from a farm learns magic/sword stuff in the city' fantasy story with a FEW minor twists. It's kind of the type of story that's old hat, tiresome, and annoying. William King presents it with his typical easygoing narration, however, and totally had me 2/3 of the way through the book before I realized that's ALL this book was going to be.
Here are the fun twists:
Tyrion and Teclis are twins, and they DON'T hate each other. Teclis, the twisted messed-up magic user, is a little jealous of Tyrion, the beautiful, shining swordsman, but not so much that it makes it cliche. They both stand up for each other, which is necessary quite a lot as they're both fish out of water. The main "plot" of the book is them being brought before the Phoenix King (Findubar?) to be tested for the curse, as they have the BLOOD OF AENARION, which could drive them insane.
There are some side characters I really enjoyed (especially ... Uriah? I believe was his name), but overall I have a feeling this trilogy should have been one 500-page book rather than three 300-page books. Still, despite some skimming during Act III, I enjoyed it well enough.
September 19, 2014
In this newest addition of Warhammer books, twins Tyrion and Teclis become the greatest heroes of the Age. But before they can fulfill their destiny, they must face a powerful, long thought to be dead, daemon, which has risen to get revenge on the blood of the legendary elf Aenarion. Tyrion and Teclis must train in the arts of war and magic to face this mighty enemy while facing their cursed Aenarion blood.
Will Tyrion and Teclis overcome this great threat? Or will they fail and another daemon invasion will destroy their world. Pick up a copy today to find out this most epic conclusion!
For more information about William King and his books visit the author’s website at: http://www.williamking.me/
Reviewed by Wyatt R., TAB@DBPL Reader Advisor since 2012.
Will Tyrion and Teclis overcome this great threat? Or will they fail and another daemon invasion will destroy their world. Pick up a copy today to find out this most epic conclusion!
For more information about William King and his books visit the author’s website at: http://www.williamking.me/
Reviewed by Wyatt R., TAB@DBPL Reader Advisor since 2012.
July 16, 2016
I thought the Teclis story in the Gotrek and Felix books was by far the best, so I was keen to read this series. I didn't expect it to start so far back in their (Tyrion & Teclis) past, but it worked well, providing a good insight into their beginnings. Sometimes the writing felt a little stiff, but the plot made up for this.
May 3, 2016
There simply wasn't anything to dislike about this book. The pace was swift, but enjoyable, and being familiar with the lore, I simply enjoyed the insights into the life and history of two famed Warhammer characters. I look forward to reading more of this trilogy!
March 14, 2012
so far this book is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not-at-library
August 16, 2013Finalist for the David Gemmell Legend Award 2012
October 18, 2016
Based warhammer mmorpg world.
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