Konrad

Konrad #1

by David S. Garnett, David Ferring (Pseudonym)

Warhhammer

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Novels, Role Playing Games, 20th Century, Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

David S. Garnett (born 1947) is a UK science fiction author and editor whose novels include Cosmic Carousel, Stargonauts and Bikini Planet. He edited a paperback anthology revival of Michael Moorcock's New Worlds magazine, two Zenith anthologies of original British SF stories, and three Orbit Science Fiction Yearbooks.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acceptable.

An army of Chaos is gathering around the outskirts of the Empire, monsters, demons, beast-men, ghouls, skaven and horrible aberrations that don't even have a name. An impossible alliance of chaos creatures bent on one single thing—destruction. Their destination, unknown. Konrad is a young busboy working for a local tavern, and the most miserable and ignored person in town. He doesn't know it yet, but his life is about to change—radically.

Entertaining, violent, interesting enough characters and acceptably action packed. Not bad, all things considering. Significantly less gorier and brutal to what I'm normally accustomed to when reading a Warhammer novel, but still good; my thirst for blood and destruction was sufficiently satisfied, for the moment.

Was hoping to see more of Konrad and Elyssa, so sad it didn't happen; Wolf was an interesting addition to the mix, and all the lore regarding Sigmar and the foundation of the Empire was certainly very enlightening. A somewhat lackluster ending tbh, so hoping to get more substance with the sequels. Just barely starting this trilogy, but getting the feeling this is going to be one of those short series that is better appreciated as a whole, rather than individually as installments. But we'll see.

Torn between 2-3 stars, so sounds like a solid 2.5 to me, rounded up for, uhm, generosity.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[2004] [256p] [Fantasy] [2.5] [Not Recommendable]
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★★★☆☆ Konrad. [2.5]

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Aceptable.

Un ejército del Caos se está reuniendo en las afueras del Imperio, monstruos, demonios, hombres-bestia, no-muertos, hombres-rata y horribles aberraciones que ni siquiera tienen nombre. Una alianza imposible de criaturas del caos empeñadas en sólo una cosa— destrucción. Su destino, desconocido. Konrad es un joven ayudante de camarero que trabaja en una taberna local, y la persona más miserable e ignorada del pueblo. Él aún no lo sabe, pero su vida está a punto de cambiar— radicalmente.

Entretenido, violento, razonablemente interesantes personajes y aceptablemente cargado de acción. No está mal, dentro de todo. Significativamente menos sangriento y brutal de lo que normalmente estoy acostumbrado cuando leo una novela de Warhammer, pero igual bueno; mi sed de sangre y destrucción quedó suficientemente satisfecha, por el momento.

Realmente esperaba ver más de Konrad y Elyssa, así que triste que no haya sucedido; Wolf fue una adición bastante interesante a la mezcla, y toda la historia sobre Sigmar y la fundación del Imperio ciertamente fue muy esclarecedora. Para ser honestos, un final algo mediocre, por lo que espero obtener más sustancia con las secuelas. Apenas estoy comenzando esta trilogía, pero tengo la impresión de que ésta va a ser una de esas series cortas que se aprecian mejor en su conjunto, mas que individualmente como entregas. Pero bueno, ya veremos.

Dividido entre 2 y 3 estrellas, así que me parece un sólido 2,5, redondeado para arriba por, ehm, generosidad.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[2004] [256p] [Fantasía] [2.5] [No Recomendable]
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[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come

[Lorewarden]

I enjoyed this book. It's been awhile since I've read something in the Warhammer universe, and the author does a great job capturing the dismal, gritty, sometimes hopeless tone of the Warhammer fantasy universe. I appreciated how the author took his time building the characters and setting, and didn't just jump into violence and mayhem, although there is of course plenty of that as well.

[Gavin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read this recently for a trip down memory lane. It was one of the first fantasy novels I ever read. It's still lots of fun.

[James Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Konrad is a young peasant boy, less than that really, in an unnamed village deep in the forests of the Empire. Treated as a slave by the village's innkeeper he lives a lonely existence on the edge of humanity. Until one day one of the creatures of the forests, one of the beastmen, twisted beings part man, part animal attacks Elyssia the daughter of the local lord. He saves her ad in doing so sets his life on a completely different path.

This was one of the first Warhammer books i ever read way way back in the 90's and while it's not the Warhammer World that we had in the End Times and certainly not the world of the Age of Sigmar. But for all it's age and the fact that it definitely feels like part of a story rather than a complete one (even more than is usual for book one in a trilogy) it's still very enjoyable and worth a read for general fantasy fans and for people interested in how the setting(s) have changed over time.

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this about 3 years ago when I getting ready to run a Warhammer campaign. I thought it would help get me in the mood and give me ideas. BUT I never got around to it.

This is a very linear story with only one real main character and that character falls into the "blank slate with an epic destiny" cliche. I probably would have loved it when I was 12, with all the fighting and chaos warped mutants, but at 52 it didn't do much for me. I'm afraid I'll never find out who Konrad really "is", though by the end of the book you've got a pretty good idea.

[Jordan Sorcery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this simple fantasy tale: the beginning of an epic adventure that will shake the Warhammer world to its core!

Or at least I assume it will, because this first volume is very clearly a first volume - setting up a great many threads and mystery’s, but ending suddenly without resolution for any of them. Not too big an issue given there’s more to come, but not the most satisfying way to close off an entry in a series.

The story feels very much of the Warhammer world, and Konrad’s journey from ignorance to understanding of the way things work and the monsters that inhabit the world is very well told. The descriptions and fights with beast men of all types is well done, and there was a thrill to many of the tense scraps that the young Konrad found himself in.

I am eager to read more!

[Arthur B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best volume in the trilogy, with a very solid first half, but the pacing rather falls apart in the second half and the subsequent volumes declined in quality fairly rapidly, so what you end up with here is a bunch of setup for sequels which it isn't really worth your time reading. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/200...

[Luke Nyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit clunky, but still looking forward to continuing with the next book!

Really refreshing to read an older story set in the Old World; where Chaos was a little more chaotic, and "beastman" wasn't a synonym for "goatman".

[Virdomarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. The setting is interesting, particularly as a fan of early Warhammer, but the writing is quite poor overall. A lack of detail to the world, most of the descriptions are pretty cursory.

Characters are pretty light too. A weak book apart from the setting

[Sydney Stories · Rating 2 out of 5]

wasnt crazy about it, ill finish the trilogy because i own it but im not a huge fan by any means. it was ok, had some good parts. really bare bones tho, all tell and no show.

[Caleb Dickenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, classic Warhammer fantasy read.

[Tarl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first Warhammer novels, this is my third or fourth time reading it. Back in the day when beastmen weren't all goat/human crossbreeds and the Old World was a different place, it's a refreshing look at a gaming world in its infancy. (and most certainly not the same one it is today with the Age of Sigmar, that's for sure!)

Garnett has crafted an interesting story about a slave on a quest to find himself and to solve a mystery. The first book is very much a set up for the two that follow, taking the slow route to build up the storyline and to introduce us to Konrad's evolution from a simple slave to a formidable warrior. (some of which is done in a very montage-like sequence) Konrad's love interest is both believable and wrapped in its own mystery, something I really enjoyed and helps to drive the plot into the other books as well as give motivation for Konrad to push forward.

There is a bit of stop and go in this story, with Konrad going from one place to another and then spending time there. This creates a kind of halting manner to the story telling, often dragging the momentum of the story to a crawl. Often I found myself getting bored with the lack of forward movement. Though it doesn't happen too often, it was enough to make me put the book down and pick up a different book, if only for a moment. Thankfully, as this is a short novel and unlike a lot of the current Warhammer fiction, Garnett doesn't put in a lot of filler to flesh out his story, otherwise those breaks would have been terrible, rather than a minor annoyance.

Still, Garnett's writing is solid, his combat scenes are handled with a believable flare. The characters Konrad meets on his travels are diverse enough to entertain, and each has a realistic set of motives behind them. The Old World very much feels like it should be in this novel, dirty, hopeless and far stretching. Konrad's ignorance of the wider world means that things experienced Warhammer players/readers are familiar with don't get recognized or described with nothing more than a name. (like the mark of Khorne. Sure, we all recognize it, but despite being mentioned a number of times, Konrad doesn't know what it is so all he can do is describe it where other authors would have flat out just stated that it was the mark of Khorne, or that it was a stylized skull) It's refreshing, it's unique, and I loved it.

For anyone who is interested in seeing what Warhammer fiction was before Black Library and before they had a stable of authors, I recommend picking this novel series up. I've enjoyed it enough to pick it up a number of times, and that's not something I do often. So take a step back into a time when GW was a smaller company and its world was still developing. It's well worth the trip!

[Sebastien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Après voir lu Hammer of Ulric, j'avais faim. Je devais avoir d'autre livre de Warhammer. Je suis donc aller dans des librairie et à ma grande surprise, ces livre n'étaient pas disponible car ils n'étaient pas traduit en Français. Toujours persévérant, j'ai alors décidé de retourné chez Orthanc pour me procurer plus de matériel (il faut dire aussi qu'à l'époque j'avais abandonner SC Fiction Book Club, que je n'ai jamais rejoint par la suite). J'arrive et comble du malheur tous les livres qui m'intéressaient avait été vendu. Il ne restait que ce premier livre d'une trilogy. Comme je voulais à tout pris lire plus de Warhammer, j'ai décidé de l'acheter quand même et en même temps j'ai demander au propriétaire de me commander la suite.

Le titre me paraissait peu accrocheur, donc il m'a pris quelques jours avant que je me décide à entreprendre un roman que j'avais acheter comme bouche-troue. En fait, ce qui m'a obliger à le lire c'est le jour où ma copine de l'époque avait un rendez-vous où je devais tuer plus d'une heure à l'attendre. Je me suis dit, si c'est mauvais je perdais du temps anyway (quand je vous dit que la corellian trilogy m'avait traumatisé). Je me suis donc choisi un petit resto pour déjeuner, je me suis installé et j'ai ouvert ce livre sans avoir la moindre attente positive.

J'ai été alors incroyablement surpris. Croyez moi quand je vous dit que ce livre m'a apporter que du bonheur. Bien que l'histoire commence vraiment lentement, la mise en place se fait de manière à ce que même une personne qui ne connaît pas le monde de Warhammer puisse apprécié l'histoire comme roman de Grim Fantasy. Le héro, Konrad, évolue tout au long de l'histoire et de ce premier livre.

Un premier livre très prometteur qui ouvre plusieurs questions et qui vous embarque dans un épique comme on en voit rarement. Je le recommande à toute personne voulant lire quelque chose de différent, surtout si vous aimez voir les personnages évoluer.

[Declan Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Konrad is a youngster growing up in the forests of the Empire as an orphan. The local tavern owner 'employs' Konrad to work in the stables and when not working he walks and explores the forest. He meets Elyssa, the daughter of the local Lord who gives him his name, and teaches him to read, to shoot a bow, and to love.

Unfortunately this is the Empire in the Old World and soon Beastmen arrive... destroy the village... and kill everyone - except, of course, Konrad. He does the only thing he can do - he runs from the village and finds a pair of men who promise to take him to the local town... but it only gets worse for Konrad from here.

This book was published in 1989 - the year I first started to play massed battle wargames (Space Marine) - but the Warhammer Fantasy Old World history is still well developed and David Ferring weaves all this in with the adventure of Konrad. In a journey that sees him go from the forests of the Empire, to the frozen wastes of Kislev Konrad grows from a child to a warrior. Willing and capable to defend himself and his friends.

This is a great start to the series, and has really good representations of the beastmen (from the time that they included all forms of humanoid life including skaven and orcs), and superbly sets the scene of an Empire (and Kislev) beset on all sides by Beastmen from within and Chaos from the north.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a trip down memory lane for me, so I may be a little biased in rating it.
This first instalment of the Konrad saga chronicles the adventures of a young orphan; who, after witnessing the destruction of his village, goes forward on a quest that will ultimately lead him to the discovery of his past and his destiny.
From this description, you'd expect a typical fantasy book (which in many ways, it actually is). However, the writing is grim and graphic which separates it from some of the more recent fantasy works. Konrad has personality as a character, but has room enough for readers to actually fit himself (or herself?) into Konrad's character.

I happen to have enjoyed this book very much as a teenager, and found out recently that I enjoy it more as an adult.

[Ed C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in a series of three. These books cannot be read alone without dissapointment, as one leads into the other with cliffhangers forming one long epic story. A review of the series can be found here under the Konrad Omnibus edition.

This book was perhaps a slow start for me, but I did enjoy it by the end, once the story had found its feet and I had become used to the style and the character. By the end I was hooked into the story and indeed the cliffhanger ending.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good start to the interestingly dark nature of Chaos in the Warhammer setting. Gives you an idea of the theme and mood of that war-ridden era with civilisation beset by enemies on all sides, outside and inside. The book leaves a lot of questions unanswered, presumably as a way to entice you to read the other two. The pacing is good and the ending is grim, although the ending is actually a cliffhanger.

[Martin Ruff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, Entertaining, This was the first Warhammer novel that I read way back when.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these 1-day reads. A standard origin-story for an up-and-coming hero in a fantasy setting. Ordered the rest of the trilogy.

[Alison Tala]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14829921

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

But for the outdated Warhammer fanasty background, I enjoyed beginning the journey with Konrad.

[Eri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half a book before the story really begins, thanks god there are two more books to read!