Wolf of Sigmar by C.L. Werner

The Black Plague #3

by C.L. Werner

The final part of The Black Plague trilogy.The Black Plague has done its work, and the ravaged Empire is ripe for the picking. As the dread armies of the skaven sweep across Sigmar's realm, each of the great cities looks to its own defence - except Middenheim. As he gathers warriors to his banner and liberates towns and villages from the verminous menace, Graf Mandred begins to embrace his destiny as the future leader of a united Empire - if he can survive the trials to come.

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

First published February 11, 2014

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

Wolf of Sigmar is a thrilling, adrenaline-filled tale certain to satisfy the appetite of all Warhammer fantasy aficionados, as well as to excite readers who just appreciate damn good sword and sorcery. This conclusion to The Black Plague trilogy truly among the very best Warhammer fantasy books I’ve read up to this point; C.L. Werner quickly rising into my handful of must read authors.

The black plague has brought the Empire low. The vile skaven scurrying to take control over the scattered survivors. The Empire’s remaining great cities have barred their gates, hoping and praying to their patron gods that the verminous forces of the ratmen will pass them by. Only Graf Malldred of Middenheim has raised his armies, setting out not to defend but to attack; this youth’s soul a burning cauldron of hatred for the skaven; his only desire to sweep them from the Empire forever. The crusade he undertakes drawing everyone — great, small and even legendary — to his side; the path he leads mankind onto a foreboding one, certain to be filled with grief, horror, treachery, sorrow, and, perhaps, hope.

While Malldred marches, the vile Kressig, hound of deceased Emperor Boris Goldgather, remains in the capital city of Altdorf, still posing as the Protector of the Empire. His thoughts endlessly drawn to the whispers of this Wolf of Sigmar, and though his power is waning, Kressig still weaves his tangled web of lies, schemes, and blackmail. The growing conflict between himself and the revitalized Church of Sigmar certain to lead down another path of darkness, despair, and tragedy before ever Graf Malldred appears.

For all this activity by the Empire’s heroes and villains, the key to the survival of humankind might not even reside in their hands at all. The perpetual struggles for power among the verminous hordes of the skaven holding out the best hope for the ratmen’s destruction. The waning power of the Greyseers causing __- to devise a desperate plan to destroy their hated rivals, using captured humans to turn Pestilens’ greatest triumph into the means of their destruction. For the Greyseer knows that if the plague were to begin killing the skaven, then nothing would keep the ratmen from turning on their own and tearing Pestilen apart limb from limb.

When all three books in a trilogy are great (like we have here) it is always difficult for me to choose my favorite of the trio. But, without a doubt, I feel fine ranking Wolf of Sigmar as tops in The Black Plague series. C.L. Werner writing a mythical tale of war and hope, love and loss, triumph and treachery in classic Warhammer style. His ability to maintain the relentless action, pacing, and tension of this tale amazing, as he still found time to add in more than a few emotional moments, tie up every plot, complete every character arc, and add to the Warhammer lore yet still leave mystery remaining as to where the Empire, the Skaven, and the survivors go from here. This story truly a fitting and nearly flawless conclusion to this epic tale.

Obviously, if you’ve been enjoying the series so far, there is little chance you will not love this final installment. These characters, their struggles, and their passions are so real and heartbreaking that it is nearly impossible not to be drawn into this narrative. And like all great conclusions, the final pages and scenes of Wolf of Sigmar are bittersweet, filled with satisfaction and sorrow, as you look back on all the things which have led your favorite characters to this final bow upon the stage. Highly recommended for Warhammer fans and lovers of sword and sorcery.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The warrior straightened in his saddle, waving his sword and sending drops of black blood spattering across the ground. ‘I am Mandred von Zelt,’ he called out in a bitter tone. ‘Graf of Middenheim. Lord of Middenland. Defender of the Eternal Flame.’ His eyes narrowed into slivers of rage. ‘Scourge of the Skaven,’ he declared in a low snarl, baring his teeth at the ring of monsters.

A more than satisfying ending to author C. L. Werner's Plague Wars fantasy trilogy, best one I've read from the Warhammer: Time of Legends series set during the past events of the Warhammer world's past.



Locked within one of those cells was his guarantee that Gazulgrund would do as he was told. So long as the Grand Theogonist’s daughter remained a ‘guest’ of the Kaiserjaeger, the priest belonged to Kreyssig.
Through the Grand Theogonist, Kreyssig controlled the Temple. Through the Temple, he controlled the peasants. Through them both, he controlled the nobles.
In time, he would control the entire Empire.

After two bleak novels, with the Empire crumbling under the Black Plague unleashed on it by the Skaven and Emperor Boris Goldgather's greed and cruelty towards his subjects and peers, Graf Mandred of Middenheim embraces his fate at last becoming the hero he was destined to became, forged in a cauldron of pain, sorrow and grief.



‘The Order of the Silver Hammer will cut the weakness from the Temple of Sigmar. The Templars will go forth and scourge the families of arch-lector and lector, prelate and bishop. Root and branch, the flesh must be culled. To protect the Temple from those who would exploit it, we must wash the Empire in the blood of innocence.’

These previous two books were for me something like Warhammer meets Game of Thrones, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death and H. P. Lovecraft’s Color Out of Space, with the grimdark trademark heavy metal vibes of the setting turned into gloomy and black death metal ones.



Mandred stared down at Count van der Duijn.
‘I reject the fealty of Westerland,’ Mandred repeated, then extended his hand to the distraught count. ‘Instead, I beg the friendship of my brotherland. I ask that they accept the fellowship of Middenheim.’
Stunned silence held the room. Tears were in Count van der Duijn’s eyes as he rose and seized Mandred’s hand in his own.

But when Mandred Skavenslayer finally starts gathering warriors and allies under his banner, liberating the land at last from the verminous menace of the ratkin oppressing it, you can nearly hear the music in the background change, like starting playing again symphonic power metal on my stereo after days and days of Summoning, Moonspell and Inner Shrine.



When it was over, when his spells told him the tower was once more stripped of life, Vanhal muttered a lesser conjuration, endowing the least mutilated of his adversaries with a mockery of animation. The zombie skaven shuffled and staggered, stumblingly obeying their killer’s commands. The undead began gathering up the remains of their less complete comrades, to cleanse the hall of the detritus of battle.

And the chapters about the battle for Dietershafen, with Mandred leading the Knights of the White Wolf on their charge against the Skaven under the cover of fog, and lots of other scenes too, gave me so many John Boorman's Excalibur vibes that in the end I could hear distinctly Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and Richard Wagner's notes from Siegfried's Funeral March resounding inside my mind.



His suspicions were justified. Unable to entrap him through passion, she now sought to snare him through his ideals. His hands were clenched into fists of rage as he rounded on her.
‘The lowest slattern is the one who seeks to climb the highest,’ Mandred snarled at her, his words clipped and cruel.
Baroness Carin didn’t even blink at his accusation. ‘For my people, I would seduce the gods themselves,’ she told him.

Thank you, mr. Werner, for writing this masterpiece, I'm almost sad to see it end, and thank you very much for depicting some of the most hateful villains I have ever read about.



Whatever could be done to restore her body and her mind would be done, he made this vow to himself.
He made another vow too. He would exterminate the skaven, whatever the cost. It wasn’t hatred now; it wasn’t Hartwich’s Wolf of Death. No, it had grown beyond that, become something greater and more terrible.
Something that could lead him only to victory or death.

Because the gods may build great things from tragedy, for every villainy there must be a reckoning, and when the bad guys among these pages finally paid the price for every cruelty they ever made, I was just cheering and bringing my hands together in an heartfelt applause.



Raising Ghal Maraz in one hand, Mandred basked in the jubilant cries of those who had followed him, those whose lands he had liberated and whose people he had saved.
Only the men from Altdorf were silent, their faces pale with fear. Even if they didn’t feel it, they recognised the power of the symbol Mandred held.
The power to unite the whole Empire.

Suggested soundtracks for the whole trilogy:

Stronghold (1999) by Summoning.
Wolfheart(1995) by Moonspell.
Nocturnal Rhymes Entangled in Silence (1998) by Inner Shrine.
Rain of a Thousand Flames (2001) by Rhapsody.
Carmina Burana (1936) by Carl Orff.
Götterdämmerung (1876) by Richard Wagner.

The ways of the gods, Hartwich realised, weren’t always as simple as men or even priests would like them to be.
As he descended towards the camp, Hartwich could hear the troops cheering Mandred. They hailed him as ‘Skavenslayer’, liberator of the Empire. The first title he had already earned, but Hartwich knew there were things still to be done before the Empire could be truly declared liberated.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hell what a read! Herr Werner has finally delivered this stunning conclusion to the Black Plague trilogy. Well, it's been out for quite a while, but it has taken me a very long time to get around to reading it. Once I started though, I couldn't put it down. The characters were phenomenal, the growth, emotions, and twists involving everyone was supremely well done. The action was great, gruesome and bloody just as it should be in the world of Warhammer. My only regret for it was that there wasn't quite as much romance as I would have liked, and the timeline for each chapter was a little odd, since it would jump around the years a little bit.
Outside of those 2 things, the novel was really perfect. I really wish Forge World had made a model of Graf Mandred(or Man-Dread, if you're of the underfolk), as he was just a stellar character.

Really well done sir, I can't wait to read your other adventures in the worlds of warhammer!

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the conclusion to the epic "Black Plague" trilogy that takes place during the pre-history of the Warhammer Fantasy "Old World." It treats the internecine fighting among the Skaven; the cleansing and unification of the human lands after a horrible plague and the Empire's rallying behind a new emperor--the "Wolf of Sigmar," Graf Manfred of Middenheim; finally, it relates the rise of the necromancer Vanhal of Sylvania. One definitely has to have read the first two novels to enjoy this. This is a great ending to the trilogy. There are several subplots that take an attentive reader to keep in the air, and particularly so with the skulduggery of the scheming Skaven (lots of schemes within schemes). The character of Graf Manfred was really compelling; he goes from being a revenge-obsessed beserker to a selfless leader of men. The wolf-priestess of Ulric, Hulda, was really interesting. It was great that the dwarfs had a role (a trollslayer makes a cameo). Overall, this is required reading if you play/enjoy the Skaven in Warhammer Fantasy and excellent grimdark fantasy in general. The Skaven are such great villains and Werner captures something here.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect ending to a really good series. So glad Adolf died, the sick bastard. Honestly would have liked a Skaven victory but oh well.

[Maximilian Surjadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested in reading this trilogy because I have read the Thanquol & Boneripper trilogy. I like how C.L. Werner depicit the skaven race.

Even though the Grey Lords in Dead Winter seems too stupid to be Grey Lords. The Grey Lords in Wolf of Sigmar certaintly are better than their predecessor. Warlod Vrrmik show an amazing ferocity, still worthy of a Grey Lord title. But my favourite of all are Seerlord Queekual. I really love his plot against the whole Skavendom to regain Grey Seers popularity. Even when the plans kinda gone wrong, he's still winning. Meanwhile Sythar Doom and his skyre machinery, as always, failing.

Even though this is story are plagued with disaster and tragedy. I like the few humour in it. Like the sense of skaven naming; Fleetmaster Skarpaw’s Vengeful Fang of Avenging Violence and Inevitable Domination over Clan Sleekit. Apparently the sea rats are more creative in naming. Warpsqueaker? Warp-lantern? Warpcaster? C'mon, the Skyre couldn't think of a proper name. What's more awesome and powerful than Fleetmaster Skarpaw’s Vengeful Fang of Avenging Violence and Inevitable Domination over Clan Sleekit?

As always, C.L. Werner offers various view points in the story. I say he has succeed in delivering all of them in an interesting storyline. Can't wait to see how Mandred's campaign turn out, what's the next stage of Queekal conspiracy, how Adolf Kreyssig going to die (still dissapointed, suppose to be more brutal). The less interesting part was von Drak and all that ruckus in Sylvania.

[Dawie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I am giving this book a 5 star rating for an over all great series. Starting with The Black plague all the way through too Wolf of Sigmar. This series has almost everything, I loved the skaven side of things and its kinda sad they did not win in the end, but The Emperror protects right? Very well thought out and executed, and boy, were there executions... Thank you mr. Werner

[NerdyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 really. Epic in scope but lacking in structured storytelling. This whole trilogy was told in weird leaps forward and backward in time in order to bring a cultivation of about 20 years of strife into 3 books. It was jarring at times. The books also brought forth characters you thought would be leads in the series only to have them be side characters for the final book. Another thing I didnt care for was the amount of skaven characters. Simply too damn many! You couldn't keep track of them all and like the last critique, the ones you thought would be major players ended up being minor characters towards the end. The battles were fun but altogether seemed to easily won and only lasting a few pages for a book based off a game of "war." Anyways I'm glad I'm done with this trilogy.

[Elijah Allensworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good writing for Warhammer, but it time skips a bunch and seems to try and hurry to end each of the storylines. A little anticlimactic and somewhat disappointing.

[Armanis Ar-Feinial · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fine conclusion to this trilogy. It was a ride to say the least, and I highly recomment.

[Alex Engelsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well well well, looks like the plague boil’s on the other foot, now isn’t it?