Death's Angels

Terrach Chronicles #1

by William King

In a world of magic and gunpowder, the half-breed Rik must rise from simple soldier to the deadliest assassin the world has ever known.

In Death's Angels, Rik and his fellow soldiers of the Seventh Infantry uncover a sinister conspiracy to waken an ancient slumbering evil. They encounter the lovely and terrible Lady Asea, immortal sorceress and ultimate manipulator of men and nations. Their deadly quest will eventually take them to the haunted city of the cannibalistic Spider God to face the hidden peril lurking there.

Death's Angels is a thrilling tale of muskets and magic blending Lovecraftian horror with adventure in the tradition of Sharpe by the bestselling creator of Gotrek and Felix.

ABOUT THE SERIES
A thousand years ago the world of Gaeia fell to the Terrarchs, cruel and beautiful alien invaders with a deadly secret. Masters of sorcery and intrigue they have ruled humanity with a fist of steel inside a glove of velvet. For a thousand years, ancient demons have slept, waiting for the moment of their return. Now the stars are right. Old and evil gods are wakening. New revolutions are being born. A genocidal war that will destroy civilization sweeps ever closer.

Born a Shadowblood, one of a clan of genetically engineered super-assassins created to serve a long dead Dark Lord, the outcast Rik must master his deadly birthright before his own lost kinfolk can kill him.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Ebooks, Amazon, Dark Fantasy, Military Fiction

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite frankly I’m a little amazed at how entertaining this novel was and appalled with myself for never having read it before.

Death’s Angel is a musket-and-sorcery extravaganza, one which reminded me a lot of Glen Cook’s Black Company stories in its focus on realistic characters from a military unit caught up in huge events in a world ruled by mysterious, powerful magic wielders. These soldiers argue, laugh, scheme, and try to stay alive as they fight supernatural demons, engage in realistic musket-sword-and-sorcery fights, and deal with their own problems,as well as interpersonal relationships. The author even manages to have a couple introspective lead characters who wax philosophical about religion, the unfairness of life, and social injustice; none of those themes preachy at all but certainly thought provoking and important to the overarching story being told. Hell, we even have a beautiful, all-powerful sorceress in the mold of the Lady. At least for me, all this meant I could not put this book down until I had finished.

What should make this a must try for anyone who reads this review is the fact the book is free on Amazon Kindle. Plus there are three more volumes in the series! Can’t wait to download them and dive back into this amazing world, and I hope others will as well.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better-than-average swords and sorcery--muskets and sorcery, in this case. More like 3.5 stars, but so many of these are drivel that the higher rating seemed appropriate.

King draws you into the action while introducing characters in a realistic, engaging way. Main characters are conflicted enough to seem real, while enough of the expected to draw the reader along.
Built steadily to a big climax but left many issues--internal as well as external--to draw the reader into subsequent adventures.

Good technical qualities, which is not a given with Smashwords.

Worth the price. A good read.

[Chris Stoesen]

Black powder fantasy

I really enjoyed this book far more than I expected to. I am a fan of the Sharpe Series and a fan or lotr. This was pleasant surprise find. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Pöfivonat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nekem ez most nagyon, de nagyon tetszett. Vannak hibái a könyvnek, de a történet annyira lefoglalt, hogy észre se vettem. A vége az pedig... nagyon ott van. Várom a folytatást, úgyhogy igyekezzen a kiadó de iziben. :D

[Andrew Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this in my library for a few years now, it was free on Kindle so why not?

I don't know if this sub genre has an official title; Flintlock Fantasy, or Muskets and Magic, either way I find this setting well up my street.

The setting and world building is excellent, the author is a show don't tell storyteller which I like.

The history and lore of the world is really interesting and I found I really wanted to know a lot more.

The main character Rik is interesting and well fleshed out; he's not a good guy my any means, but it's understandable from where he's come from; everyone is a product of their upbringing, culture and surroundings. Rik was an orphan who grew up on the streets, so of course he's a bastard who thieves and lies, it's survival and it's consistent. Don't get me wrong, he's not a tosser, he's just not your standard good guy, selfless shining protagonist.

My only gripe would be that the term musket and rifle are used interchangeably; they are not the same thing. You can have rifled muskets and the term is used once in the book so it's possible the author is referring to rifled muskets, but the two change places so often it's hard to tell what he means. At least there's no spitting of balls down barrels. You can thank Forester and Cornwall for spreading that particular piece of bollocks throughout the literary world.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kniha se mi do ruky dostala na doporučení. Jejím dějem či zaměřením jsem byla zcela nepolíbená a ke čtení jsem tak usedala pouze s vědomím, že se jedná o fantasy.
První stránky mě uvrhly do hlubokého zmatku - bylo to tolik jmen a pojmů, odkazů, událostí, historie osobní i světové a netušila jsem, co si myslet a kam pojmy zařazovat. Uvažovala jsem, zda skutečně držím první díl série anebo jsem nevynechala alespoň příručku, která by mi všechno to, co bylo zmíněné vysvětlila hlouběji, ale nic takového neexistuje a musela jsem se na učit plavat v hluboké vodě. Ke konci se mi už nejedna událost zdála docela srozumitelná a u dalších si slibuji rozzuzlení či dovysvětlení v následujících dílech.
Kniha je psaná poutavě; autor zbytečně neplýtvá slovy, ale dílo rozhodně nemůžu označit za strohé. Postavy nejsou ploché, uvěříte jim. Zvlášť jsem si oblíbila Barbara - jeho prostoduchost spojená s nekonečnou odvahou (hraničící s šílenstvím) mě mnohokrát pobavila.

Kniha mě zavedla do míst, na která jsem před roky zapomněla; místa, co jsou vzezřením a svými obyvateli skoro pohádková (ale rozhodně tím nemyslím krásné zámky nebo princezny). Prožíváte příběh hrdiny a čekáte, co přinesou následující hodiny - rozhodně to bude napětí, strach a odhodlání.

[Mark Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deaths's Angels was a fun read. It’s a mix of Dark Fantasy, Muskets, spells and demons.

The soldiers of the Forager company, with Rik the half-breed as protagonist, are an unlikely bunch of heroes. They are a mix of guys pulled from unfortunate circumstances, they're mostly a bunch of guys that are just trying to survive and loot enough corpses to binge drink and whore through the next leave. Understandable as this is a pretty grim world. So I would probably do the same

Rik struggles with the prejudice that comes with his mixed heritage. This is my first novel off Kings and I enjoyed it probably 3.5 stars. Rick is an easy go to like. Purchased the next book.

[Nick Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book and the start of an excellent series.

Everything on the checklist of a great book stands out:

Well written.
Great characters who are well developed, especially the main hero.
Lots of good description, action and suspense with humour in places too.
The world is excellent - a fantastic mix of muskets and magic blended together brilliantly to make a unique world. The history and backstory also adds to this.

Whilst this isn't the most critical of reviews it's hard to find much to fault with the book. Perhaps if looking for classic fantasy this wouldn't be your thing but outside of that I think most people would really enjoy this. A definite must read book.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

This is a story that has a lot going on. It starts out slow,at least to me, and smartly and rightly so builds upon the backstory. The earth (gaeia) has been conquered by an alien race and mankind has become a subjugated race. They aren't happy about the fact, throw in demons, dragons, and wizards and you began to understand the basics of the story. The author does tie all of the elements into a very cohesive element with surprises thrown in along the way

[ElGoblinVolador · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela de WK fuera de lo que me tiene acostumbrado.
Me gusta como mezcla genero (época napoleonica+fantasia) aunque no es mi mejor “trasfondo” para engancharme

Novela entretenida y que te da unas pinceladas del mundo que construye aunque al contrario que en otros libros, aquí no encuentras a ningún héroe entre los protagonistas, tal vez se escapa el sargento Hef pero el resto son una panda de cortacuellos que solo se preocupan por su culo.

Puede que me decida a continuar leyendo los libros de la saga, pero no estarán entre los primeros en mi elección

3,5/5

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

More from the huge pile of freebies I collected years ago. This opener to a muskets and sorcery type fantasy series, this was a pretty entertaining read that managed to spin a good tale from a mix of familiar tropes. Did I enjoy reading it? For the most part, yes. Will I remember anything about it tomorrow? Probably not.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can not help myself

I had to work through character names like "the barbarian" and the well trod tropes such as the hero discovering untapped sorcerous abilities but it was worth it. The author knows how to tell a fun story.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good story
This is a very good story with well developed characters, lots of action, and a great ending. I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a story with lot of action written by one of the very good writers. Enjoy 2014

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome.
William King Rocks!

[Tomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good enough to keep me reading, yet not good enough to amaze me. RTC. 3.5*

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it took while..

Well it took a while, but we got there. Overall, a well written tale. I found myself going from, I wonder if I'll finish it, to, hmm I wonder what happens next.

[Irene Domenech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está bastante entretenido, sin ser innovador en nada. Es como una buena aventura de rol de mesa y me lo he pasado bienVoy a por el segundo.

[Jimmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started slow as a lot of new series do but William King always pulls it out and provides the reader with a rich tapestry of characters.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.
Muskets and flint pistols against Eldritch Horrors.

Luckily the flintlock soldiers have semi-tamed dinosaurs to back them up.

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty darn good flintlock fantasy - 3.5/5 stars rounded up.
Engaging enough that I'm keen to know what will happen next in the series.

[Miguel Tomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bueno comienzo, buena ambientacion, personajes algo estereotipos, de fácil lectura lástima que la trama vaya flojeando algo con los otros libros.

[Abhinav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadowhawk reviews the first in a series of self-published novels by the acclaimed (traditionally published) William King, author of the Space Wolf novels and the Gotrek & Felix series for Black Library.

“This is a series that turns a whole host of fantasy standards on their collective heads and then takes them for a rip-roaring ride through an extremely unique world full of tyrannical elves and muskets.” ~The Founding Fields

William King, the man who got me hooked into Black Library fiction with the third Space Wolf novel, Grey Hunter, all those years ago and instilled in me an appreciation for all things Space Wolves. I’ve read a variety of his work, for both Warhammer settings, and his work is among the ones I really like. If I had to make a call on the top 5 authors for Black Library, his name would definitely be on that shortlist. His long break from writing more Warhammer stories was something I was never really aware of and it was a little disheartening to find out that was the case a couple years back. Mostly because it meant that Ragnar Blackmane, the protagonist of his Space Wolf novels, would never become a Wolf Lord and that it’d forever be a mystery. And then Bill came back to writing more Warhammer, starting with the fantastic (so I’ve heard) Blood of Aenarion for Warhammer Fantasy, a novel that was recently shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend awards! Talk about arriving in style.

That was roughly the time when I also found out about his self-published novels, of which he has put out quite a few in recent years and even sold his 10,000th eBook very recently! Success all around for him. The premise for the Terrarch Chronicles novels didn’t really appeal to me initially, which contributed to my lack of interest, but then I finally picked up the novel last month and after a rather brief chat with Bill, decided that I’d better read it as soon as I could.

As I mentioned in the blurb up above, this is a novel that takes a lot of fantasy standards, mixes them all together, and then gives the reader something that is an entirely unique experience. As such, this was perfect reading material for me this year, since I’m on the lookout for “unique experiences” as part of my 200-Reading Challenge.

To start off, the world of Gaeia is not the kind of worlds you find in most traditional epic fantasy settings; this is a world where a nation of Elves from another realm dominate the lands of Men under the rule of their Queen. Pretty unique as far as I’m concerned! Then there’s the fact that this features gunpowder and muskets and regiments of Men lorded over by Elven officers. This is also comparatively unique although Warhammer has something similar as well. It has the makings of a really evocative setting however, and you are never disappointed with how the narrative unfolds.

Characterisation has always been one of his strengths, whether it is Ragnar Blackmane or the adventuring duo of Gotrek & Felix or the various villains they all encounter at one time or another. Death’s Angels is full of a such characters, each with his or her own backstory, quirks, mannerisms, attitudes, motivations, beliefs and so on. The chief protagonist is Rik, a halfblood who serves in the Death’s Angels regiment as a common trooper and is often picked on by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Sardec. I’d like to say that Rik was a really enjoyable, complex character but in all honesty, it is Sardec who I really liked. Don’t get me wrong, Rik is a really enjoyable and complex character but I felt that Sardec was much more well-rounded in that he was intensely driven by a need to prove himself to everybody around him, whether it is his Terrarch peers and betters, or the dregs of his regiment. As such, I really felt that Sardec should have been given much more exposure than he already gets. His frustrations and his attitudes really added a whole another layer of three-dimensionality to all the characters he interacts with, particularly Rik himself. Together, these two are definitely characters to watch out for and I have lots of high hopes about these two in the sequels.

You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/06/...

[Jan-Niklas Bersenkowitsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Den originalen Text können Sie auf der Website des Webmagazins "Comicgate" in der Kategorie "Währenddessen" nachlesen.

Link: http://comicgate.de/aktuelles/waehren...

William King, Autor der "Gotrek und Felix" - Romane, die in der Welt des Tabletop-Rollenspiels "Warhammer" spielen, war mein erster Lieblingsautor. Nachdem ich Jahre damit rangen, mir diese Serie als Ebook zu kaufen, habe ich dieses Jahr nachgegeben und den Kauf nicht bereut. Unter anderem schrieb er die "Terrarch-Chronicles", eine interessante Fantasy-Tetralogie in einer Welt, die ich als Elisabethanisches England mit auf Drachen reitenden Elfen beschreiben würde, deren Name Terrarch lautet. Diese Elfen sind ein rassistischer Haufen adeliger Schnösel, die sich für die Auserwählten Gottes halten und dank interner Streitigkeiten ihr gewaltiges Imperium einst in zwei Hälften spalteten. Jetzt droht ein weiterer Bürgerkrieg, der die Erweckung finsterer Mächte zur Folge hat. Zwischen den Stühlen stehen der Halb-Terrarch Rik und der Terrarch-Offizier Sardec, denen es beiden vorherbestimmt zu sein scheint, an vorderster Front gegen die Finsternis zu kämpfen.

Die großen Themen der "Terrarch-Chronicles" sind Macht und die Frage nach dem Bösen. Niemand in dieser Welt, sei er nun Mensch, Terrarch oder Schlangenmensch, wird böse geboren. Stattdessen ist das Böse eine bewusste Wahl. Vor den Verlockungen der Macht ist keiner sicher, vor allem nicht Rik, der zu Beginn der Handlung ein verbitterter, junger Mann voller Misstrauen ist. Kommt ihm jemand zu nah, verjagt er ihn, aus Angst verletzt zu werden und wird dadurch noch bitterer. Dieser Teufelskreis frisst ihn langsam auf, sodass er nur minimal besser ist als seine Gegenspieler, die ihre eigenen, deprimierenden Gründe haben, weswegen sie ihre Allmachtsphantasien ausleben.

Die Armen wollen an die Macht, um die Reichen zu stürzen, die Reichen unterdrücken die Armen, weil sie sich vor ihnen fürchten. Zu Recht? Darüber denken die konservativen Elemente der oberen Ränge nicht nach und werden im Verlauf der Geschichten immer verzweifelter, während zumindest einige Terrarch die Zeichen der Zeit erkennen und sich für Reformen einsetzen, die auch Menschen die Teilhabe ermöglichen. Daraus werden sich wieder neue Hierarchien ergeben, die erneut auf die Unterdrückung anderer hinauslaufen wird. Dieser ewige Kampf mit dem eigenen Misstrauen und Minderwertigkeitskomplexen macht die Figuren der Terrarch-Chronicles zu tragischen Gestalten, aber auch greifbar und realistisch.

Natürlich wird auch gelacht und sich gefreut, aber trotzdem schwingt diese negative und zynische Haltung gegenüber den Mächtigen stets mit. Unter all dem Zynismus verbirgt sich aber ein großes und mitfühlendes Herz, das zu Gleichheit und Liebe aufruft – selbst eigensüchtige Figuren erweisen sich als fähig zu guten Taten, wenn die Umstände sie dazu zwingen. Zumindest glauben sie, dass sie dazu gezwungen werden, denn am Ende ist auch das Gute eine Wahl. Selbst diese düstere Welt birgt demnach Hoffnung auf ein besseres Morgen.

Der erste Band ist noch klassische Fantasy und führt die Figuren und ihre Welt ein. Er ist auch der Band mit der meisten Action.

Die Bücher kann man inzwischen als Ebooks kaufen. Die ersten drei Bände wurden ins Deutsche übersetzt, ich rate aber von deren Kauf ab. Die Übersetzung ist zwar solide, aber die Übersetzer wiederholen hier und da bereits erwähnte Fakten, um die Bücher von 300-350 Seiten auf mindestens 500 zu strecken. Das muss nicht sein. Die Bücher wurden in einem geradlinigen, klaren Stil verfasst, der einfach zu verstehen ist. Negativ aufgefallen sind mir diverse Lektoratsmängel, die eigentlich nichts in Büchern zu suchen haben, die seit acht Jahren angeboten werden.

[Volpot · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Very good book in all respects

[Fco. Salvador · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los tres tomos que componen la trilogía Terrarca son bastante cortos. Tienen unas 300 páginas, y sinceramente creo que deberían haberse añadido otras 50 a cada uno, para redondear la narración en diversas partes y sobre todo para no dejar esa especie de finales abruptos (que no inacabados, ojo, simplemente que es un "pimpán, matan al malo, y ya te imaginas que vuelven a casa y todo eso"). Supongo que el sr. King es uno de los que se aburrió con el final de "El retorno del rey".

La ambientación de Gaeia se aparta de la fantasía medieval al uso, y digamos que realiza un traslado de varios siglos hacia adelante: rifles, pistolas, casacas,... ¿A alguien le suena? A mí me recuerda al Viejo Mundo de Warhammer. Lo bueno es que la raza dominante (los terrarcas, cuyo aspecto es bastante élfico) llegaron de Al'Terra hace dos milenios, con un dominio mágico superior al humano y todo un surtido de dragones y wyrms (que vendrían a ser dinosaurios de diversas especies) a su servicio. Mucho después, hubo una secesión entre los dominadores, y para cuando comienza la historia hay una guerra en ciernes.

Y así, el primer tomo, Los ángeles de la muerte, se centra en uno de los regimientos de batidores. El peso de la narración recae en Rik, un mestizo de terrarca y humano, y en el teniente Sardec, un terrarca excesivamente joven. ¿Verdad que la ambientación que he contado antes parecía original? Pues ahí acaba toda la originalidad. La historia es excesivamente manida, y se resume en un poco de acción rápida al inicio, un poco de charla para descubrir que hay algo oscuro y peligroso, y otro mucho de acción, con salvación in extremis. Un esquema que a los lectores de las novelas ambientadas en Warhammer les sonará mucho, lamentablemente. Hay que admitir que King lo hace bien, y su prosa, sin ser excesivamente llana, se lee con mucha velocidad. Y la brevedad del libro hace que todo pase en un suspiro.

Si les apetece una lectura rápida, amena y repleta de acción, sin muchas pretensiones y nada de intriga o misterio, sumérjanse en la Trilogía Terrarca. Si buscan algo más, creo que les defraudará.

[Javir11 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si te gustan las historias de espada y brujería clásicas, creo que este es un buen libro para leer.

Es entretenido, que eso ya es algo importante y se lee rápido.

Además, tiene un par de puntos en su trama y trasfondo con cierta originalidad, como el uso de armas de pólvoras y alguna otra más que no revelaré.

Su problema, pues que tampoco tiene nada especial que le haga sobresalir. Es decir, es una buena historia de fantasía, pero como hay cientos de ellas. Tampoco ayuda que la trama este muy vista ni los personajes estereotipados y muy planos con los que nos encontramos.

Es una pena, porque estoy convencido de que si King hubiera arriesgado un poco más le hubiera quedado una novela trascendente.

Os dejo el enlace a mi blog por si alguien está interesado en leer la reseña que dejé allí.

http://fantasiascifiymuchomas.blogspo...

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a cookie-cutter, "hero saves the day" story. King takes many elements that are not commonly together... (aliens, gunpowder, magic and dragons), mixes it with a nod to Richard Sharpe and creates a very convincing world. The reader discovers this world's history through the eyes of the characters. Facts are not listed as filler just to get the reader caught up but as a well written inner dialog by the characters that give them life and purpose. You can't hate everyone. The villains are not cut and dry. The heroes are not true blue. This is a world worth exploring. Well done.

[Daniel Beazley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death's Angels is a good and solid start to this fantasy tale. Although it didn't seem overly loaded with background and history there were some parts that seemed quite slow and a bit of a plod. Having said that I loved the characters, especially the three heroes, Rik, Weasel and the Barbarian. King is great at creating lovable and memorable characters and they certainly kept me reading when the pace slowed to a crawl.
It's definitely not Gotrek and Felix, but I think it could turn into an entertaining series.

[Brian Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

William King, probably best known for his Warhammer novels (fantasy and sci-fi), has created a novel that could best be described as the love-child of Glen Cook's "Black Company" series and Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe".

This is a fantasy set in a world with magic, demons, elves but the technology has progressed as far as black powder weapons. It focuses on a small group in the army and their interactions amongst themselves, their superior officers and locals.

Plenty going on, the characters are quite well done and the story moves at a good pace.

[Lokidm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Empecé a leerlo porque me recordó a una mezcla entre Malaz y La Compañía Negra,pero no llega a estar a su nivel. Aún así es entretenido, libro de soldados que son carne de cañón bajo el yugo de unos oficiales que son de otra raza y les tratan como basura.

Lástima que el final sea precipitado y abrupto. Además de caer en que el protagonista es mucho más de lo que parece y bla, bla, bla.

Los secundarios sñcaen bien (aunque Comadreja y Bárbaro son unos clichés andantes), y el villano es estúpido. Podría haber sido mucho mejor.