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The Orfeo Trilogy #2
Plague Daemon
The second of a trilogy of macabre fantasies told by the minstrel Orfeo of the struggle against the Dark Powers that threaten the Warhammer world.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 6, 2020
Hmm, another Brian Craig novel. If you don't know, Brian Craig is a pseudonym for Brian Stableford. Brian Stableford is a British writer and wrote a ton of novels back in the 70's and 80's. Some I have read - one of the most memorable were Hooded Swan's 6 novels series published by DAW (you know the yellow books?)
He also wrote Dies Irae Trilogy, Daedealus Mission (6 novels), Asgard trilogy - Then he focus on the Warhammer 5 novels and in between wrote David Lydard trilogy, Genesys trilogy, Emortality 6 novels among other novels. Even now he is publishing novels. I have a lot of his novels having enjoy Hooded Swan a great deal. There are others in the pipeline to read (not counting the ones he wrote for BL - before it was BL)
Apart from that, one of the most interesting things he writes about is that he usually uses biology and sociology stuff on his novels. So it's fairly easy to differentiate his writing or his works comparing with newer BL writing which normally are more , what we call TIE-IN and not as much as novel. It's not they are not good but usually newer novels maintain the status quo of the world. In early BL novels (and this one is BEFORE-BL) they had more freedom - that's my opinion. I won't say that this novel has any lore but if you would change some names this could be their own fantasy series because there are almost no connection to Warhammer Fantasy.
The novel is set in the Border Lands in one of the dozens small states. This particular state, Khypris, is invaded by the Zani with regularity and so they maintain dozen of outposts in the top border. Unfortunately nothing much is said about the Zeni, they sure look like some Germanic tribe that from time to time invaded the roman empire. In this case, they say they invaded due, first good fertile lands for their beasts and then as a test to change from youth to manhood.
In this novel we follow Hamis as initially went on a quest to avenge his dead brother and meeting a magician and two of his apprentices. In their quest to alert Khypris they meet a lot of challenges and there is even a great battle. Sincerely this was not performed very well and instead this Zani, which where a lot more than the defending Khypris were easily thwarted. In the end there is even the battle against a evil plague lord but as I said before, this was way before there was a lot of a lore and to me it was a bit anti-climatic.
This story (which encompasses 90% of the book) is within another story. The story is told by the "bard" Orfeu as he is trading it for safe passage and horses.
As other Brian books there are lot of sociology debates and entire pages where philosophy is debated. This is no exception. I enjoy it, more than the first BUT it's not a excellent book in any regards. It doesn't stand out and I believe it doesn't even try to stand out. It's a tie-in novel BUT to be honest, if you want to read about life in the Borderlands, then read this. As I said before, apart from small references, probably for most people, it can easily read without any knowledge of Warhammer (not Sigmar).
He also wrote Dies Irae Trilogy, Daedealus Mission (6 novels), Asgard trilogy - Then he focus on the Warhammer 5 novels and in between wrote David Lydard trilogy, Genesys trilogy, Emortality 6 novels among other novels. Even now he is publishing novels. I have a lot of his novels having enjoy Hooded Swan a great deal. There are others in the pipeline to read (not counting the ones he wrote for BL - before it was BL)
Apart from that, one of the most interesting things he writes about is that he usually uses biology and sociology stuff on his novels. So it's fairly easy to differentiate his writing or his works comparing with newer BL writing which normally are more , what we call TIE-IN and not as much as novel. It's not they are not good but usually newer novels maintain the status quo of the world. In early BL novels (and this one is BEFORE-BL) they had more freedom - that's my opinion. I won't say that this novel has any lore but if you would change some names this could be their own fantasy series because there are almost no connection to Warhammer Fantasy.
The novel is set in the Border Lands in one of the dozens small states. This particular state, Khypris, is invaded by the Zani with regularity and so they maintain dozen of outposts in the top border. Unfortunately nothing much is said about the Zeni, they sure look like some Germanic tribe that from time to time invaded the roman empire. In this case, they say they invaded due, first good fertile lands for their beasts and then as a test to change from youth to manhood.
In this novel we follow Hamis as initially went on a quest to avenge his dead brother and meeting a magician and two of his apprentices. In their quest to alert Khypris they meet a lot of challenges and there is even a great battle. Sincerely this was not performed very well and instead this Zani, which where a lot more than the defending Khypris were easily thwarted. In the end there is even the battle against a evil plague lord but as I said before, this was way before there was a lot of a lore and to me it was a bit anti-climatic.
This story (which encompasses 90% of the book) is within another story. The story is told by the "bard" Orfeu as he is trading it for safe passage and horses.
As other Brian books there are lot of sociology debates and entire pages where philosophy is debated. This is no exception. I enjoy it, more than the first BUT it's not a excellent book in any regards. It doesn't stand out and I believe it doesn't even try to stand out. It's a tie-in novel BUT to be honest, if you want to read about life in the Borderlands, then read this. As I said before, apart from small references, probably for most people, it can easily read without any knowledge of Warhammer (not Sigmar).
April 25, 2021
Although I liked it better then the previous story, it still wasn't up to par with later black library publications.
Orfeo himself is not part of the story anymore, save for his role as storyteller which is for the best, I wasn't overly fond of him so his absence in the main story was not missed. For his replacement we get Harmis Detz a men at arms for one of the multitude of border princes who is dragged into a conflict of magic beyond his apparent skills. As a character he was alright, I liked his wariness of being pushed into a roll of hero and how his world until the very end does not treat him as one. He is just one guy in a chaotic time and place trying to do his part, the main difference is that his part by accident becomes a lot bigger then most would assume. The minor characters and other people he interacts with, including the main villain of the story are all serviceable and I cared for them so what more could one ask from them?
The story and plot however.... The main drive of the story is revenge, Harmis' brother and fellow men at arms is brutally killed by mutants and their foul sorcerer master which sets off a chain of events that leads to Harmis new role as a hero and one who opposes chaos. That and the title of the book makes one believe that this is all going to be about chaos and terror but then there is the invasion of the Zani. The Zani are these nomadic herdsmen who are at odds with the farmers and towns whom Harmis defends. To summarize, these people are manipulated by chaos to help devastate the land as part of the daemon's big plan. It leaves me conflicted; on the one hand the whole pressure of the nomadic horde barreling south has an interesting feel of urgency added to the story but on the other hand it felt a bit underwhelming because this plot and the daemon's plan don't feel as intertwined as they are supposed to be. It feels to much as two events taking place at the same time, not as one event's two facets which we are told is what is happening. The resolution of the horde conflict was clever but then it left so little time left for the plague aspect of the story to properly develop, and considering this is the title of the book; it left me hungry for more.
The previous Orfeo story I remarked did feel a bit different then most black library stuff later on; and here this did not go away. The border princes are a more grounded and interesting place then Estalia granted but not that much more. The chaotic horror and magic felt more grounded in the warhammer lore, which is good but still it had these elements that have been dropped since. "a Lazarite is a magician whose magic is donated by a particularly loathsome god, who must pay a price for his reward in flesh tormented by disease and morbidity." Later on they would simply say a chaos sorcerer and if need be add in that he is pledged to Nurgle. Nurgle who when I think about it is not mentioned even once this whole story. This to me feels again like DnD Stories and how magic works there, even the good wizards in this story feel that way.
Having said all that I liked the story but I can't shake of the feeling that it just isn't quite there or how it feels different to all the other later publications. Like an ill fitting piece in a puzzle. Although, oh irony, the concluding morality of the story fits quite well with the plot of age of sigmar. But that has to be a coincidence.
Orfeo himself is not part of the story anymore, save for his role as storyteller which is for the best, I wasn't overly fond of him so his absence in the main story was not missed. For his replacement we get Harmis Detz a men at arms for one of the multitude of border princes who is dragged into a conflict of magic beyond his apparent skills. As a character he was alright, I liked his wariness of being pushed into a roll of hero and how his world until the very end does not treat him as one. He is just one guy in a chaotic time and place trying to do his part, the main difference is that his part by accident becomes a lot bigger then most would assume. The minor characters and other people he interacts with, including the main villain of the story are all serviceable and I cared for them so what more could one ask from them?
The story and plot however.... The main drive of the story is revenge, Harmis' brother and fellow men at arms is brutally killed by mutants and their foul sorcerer master which sets off a chain of events that leads to Harmis new role as a hero and one who opposes chaos. That and the title of the book makes one believe that this is all going to be about chaos and terror but then there is the invasion of the Zani. The Zani are these nomadic herdsmen who are at odds with the farmers and towns whom Harmis defends. To summarize, these people are manipulated by chaos to help devastate the land as part of the daemon's big plan. It leaves me conflicted; on the one hand the whole pressure of the nomadic horde barreling south has an interesting feel of urgency added to the story but on the other hand it felt a bit underwhelming because this plot and the daemon's plan don't feel as intertwined as they are supposed to be. It feels to much as two events taking place at the same time, not as one event's two facets which we are told is what is happening. The resolution of the horde conflict was clever but then it left so little time left for the plague aspect of the story to properly develop, and considering this is the title of the book; it left me hungry for more.
The previous Orfeo story I remarked did feel a bit different then most black library stuff later on; and here this did not go away. The border princes are a more grounded and interesting place then Estalia granted but not that much more. The chaotic horror and magic felt more grounded in the warhammer lore, which is good but still it had these elements that have been dropped since. "a Lazarite is a magician whose magic is donated by a particularly loathsome god, who must pay a price for his reward in flesh tormented by disease and morbidity." Later on they would simply say a chaos sorcerer and if need be add in that he is pledged to Nurgle. Nurgle who when I think about it is not mentioned even once this whole story. This to me feels again like DnD Stories and how magic works there, even the good wizards in this story feel that way.
Having said all that I liked the story but I can't shake of the feeling that it just isn't quite there or how it feels different to all the other later publications. Like an ill fitting piece in a puzzle. Although, oh irony, the concluding morality of the story fits quite well with the plot of age of sigmar. But that has to be a coincidence.
December 1, 2025
This is an unpleasant book, which to a certain extent seems deliberate; for a Warhammer spinoff it is surprisingly willing to show how horrible and ugly war is. There is a skeleton of a heroic narrative in there, but the details are all bloody and desperate and dismal. And while there is a ragtag group of "heroes" none of them come across particularly well.
It sort of works? There's a sense that the book is trying to have its cake and eat it -- the protagonist values female characters according to their looks, because he's not very nice, but at the end of the day the book is still only describing female characters in terms of their looks -- and in the last third or so it gets rather too heavy handed in its lampshading of the not-heroes' not-heroism, but on the whole it just about works. Ish.
It sort of works? There's a sense that the book is trying to have its cake and eat it -- the protagonist values female characters according to their looks, because he's not very nice, but at the end of the day the book is still only describing female characters in terms of their looks -- and in the last third or so it gets rather too heavy handed in its lampshading of the not-heroes' not-heroism, but on the whole it just about works. Ish.
August 9, 2020
Well written, faster paced than the first in the trilogy. However, like the first in the series, the story itself is of little consequence, and it just never grabbed me.
August 17, 2015
Maybe it was just the fact that I started this too soon after Zaragoz, but ... meh. More of the same, except ... the stakes are EVEN LOWER this time. The framing device is still pretty dull, and now it's about someone Orfeo met once, and ... blah. I just did not care. Still, the first book was great.
August 10, 2022
Extremely bland stuff, utterly forgettable. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
February 24, 2024
Coming into this book I was not optimistic, the first in the Orfeo trilogy was a little rough and the prologue didn’t inspire me with confidence.
The opening chapters were solid, if unremarkable and there were a lot of names and details that felt less Warhammer and more like an 80s family fantasy movie.
Once the plot got going things came together surprisingly well though, with some incredibly clever devices used that embrace the fantasy setting and would work very well in a WFRP campaign.
The main character was well written as a soldier with a very particular set of morals, struggling to understand where his duty lay. Other characters were a bit flatter and there were more than a few that world have benefitted from a great deal more exploration.
Overall, this novel won me over by the end. There are a couple of ideas that really worked well for me and despite the awkward framing device I find myself looking forward to the last of the Orfeo stories.
The opening chapters were solid, if unremarkable and there were a lot of names and details that felt less Warhammer and more like an 80s family fantasy movie.
Once the plot got going things came together surprisingly well though, with some incredibly clever devices used that embrace the fantasy setting and would work very well in a WFRP campaign.
The main character was well written as a soldier with a very particular set of morals, struggling to understand where his duty lay. Other characters were a bit flatter and there were more than a few that world have benefitted from a great deal more exploration.
Overall, this novel won me over by the end. There are a couple of ideas that really worked well for me and despite the awkward framing device I find myself looking forward to the last of the Orfeo stories.
Read
December 27, 2024I enjoyed this second novel in the Orfeo trilogy. Much like the first volume, Chaos was treated in a more roundabout way, making it more of a brooding presence around the heroes instead of a typical Warhammer novel where Chaos seems to manifest mainly in rampaging armies. However, this one had more action and more direct involvement from the antagonist, making it a more exciting read. The heroes traveling through a society slowly collapsing around them added to the mood of despair that lends Warhammer its unique flavor.
December 21, 2018
Better than the first in the series, despite reading some negative reviews. The story was tighter in my opinion and due to that a better read.
Now to finish this unholy trinity with storm warriors!
Now to finish this unholy trinity with storm warriors!
October 11, 2021
A genuinely great piece of dark fantasy fiction, set in a recognisable, but very uniquely "micro" part of the well-trod Warhammer Fantasy world. Brilliant.
February 12, 2023
Eye read about 2008-2009
6.8/10
6.8/10
June 6, 2013
Pinkne, putreszierende Pestilenz
Die frühen Warhammer-Romane, wie der vorliegende von Brian Craig, waren ganz anders als die spätere Generation, angeführt von Dan Abnett. Sehr viel weniger actionorientiert, dafür mit deutlich mehr Charme und Atmosphäre, inspiriert von der ruhigeren Schreibe eines Moorcock.
Der Pestgott Nurgle ist schon eine interessante Kreation. Er liebt seine Krankheiten, die er wie Kinder unter die Menschen streut, und im Gegensatz zu Khorne ist er nicht mordbesessen, sondern hält seine infizierten Lieblinge möglichst lange am Leben. Er intrigiert nicht wie Tzeentch, ist nicht so körperfunktionsfixiert wie Slaanesh. Nurgles Anbeter sind die, mit denen die Gesellschaft am wenigsten zu tun haben will.
Meine Nurgle-Chaosarmee hat bis heute einen Platz in meinem Herzen, und wer einmal den Carnival of Chaos aus Mordheim gesehen hat, weiß, dass Nurgle der einzig wahre Chaosgott ist, der mit Geduld abwarten wird, bis sich Khorne, Slaanesh und Tzeentch gegenseitig zerstört haben werden.
Für jeden, der Papa Nurgle liebt wie ich, ist dieser Roman daher Pflicht.
Dies ist eine Rezension eines Buchs, das ich vor langer Zeit gelesen habe, und mein persönliches Deckbuch beschreibt, was nicht unbedingt wirklich viel über das tatsächliche Buch aussagt; siehe dazu den Kommentar in meinem Profil.
Die frühen Warhammer-Romane, wie der vorliegende von Brian Craig, waren ganz anders als die spätere Generation, angeführt von Dan Abnett. Sehr viel weniger actionorientiert, dafür mit deutlich mehr Charme und Atmosphäre, inspiriert von der ruhigeren Schreibe eines Moorcock.
Der Pestgott Nurgle ist schon eine interessante Kreation. Er liebt seine Krankheiten, die er wie Kinder unter die Menschen streut, und im Gegensatz zu Khorne ist er nicht mordbesessen, sondern hält seine infizierten Lieblinge möglichst lange am Leben. Er intrigiert nicht wie Tzeentch, ist nicht so körperfunktionsfixiert wie Slaanesh. Nurgles Anbeter sind die, mit denen die Gesellschaft am wenigsten zu tun haben will.
Meine Nurgle-Chaosarmee hat bis heute einen Platz in meinem Herzen, und wer einmal den Carnival of Chaos aus Mordheim gesehen hat, weiß, dass Nurgle der einzig wahre Chaosgott ist, der mit Geduld abwarten wird, bis sich Khorne, Slaanesh und Tzeentch gegenseitig zerstört haben werden.
Für jeden, der Papa Nurgle liebt wie ich, ist dieser Roman daher Pflicht.
Dies ist eine Rezension eines Buchs, das ich vor langer Zeit gelesen habe, und mein persönliches Deckbuch beschreibt, was nicht unbedingt wirklich viel über das tatsächliche Buch aussagt; siehe dazu den Kommentar in meinem Profil.
January 28, 2024
Has not aged well and reads more like a Dungeons and Dragons novel than a Warhammer Fantasy novel.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews