Blighted Empire (1)

The Black Plague #2

by C.L. Werner

Second novel in the Time of Legends: The Black Plague series

The Black Plague spreads across the Empire, followed by a tide of monsters from legend: the skaven. In Altdorf, Emperor Boris's troops valiantly hold off the ratmen while the corrupt Emperor escapes to safety. In Middenheim, Graf Gunthar and his son Mandred defend their city against a horde of the vile invaders. And in Sylvania, the skaven find more than they had expected in the form of the necromancer Vanhal and his army of the dead... an army that gets larger as the plague worsens.

Genres: Fantasy

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2013

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

They were deserted now, those villages. Devastated by the cataclysm that had struck Sylvania, the disaster the simple peasants were calling 'Starfall'. The night sky had, for a terrifying moment, become ablaze with eerie green lights, an uncountable multitude of ghoulish flames that winked down
from the heavens. The length and breadth of Sylvania had been pelted with noxious green-black stones, the toxic embers of those ghoul-fires. The whole of the land had been afflicted by the dark sending: crops smashed flat, pastures poisoned, creeks turned foul with glowing scum, homes enflamed as the smouldering stones crashed through thatch roofs.

Such a shame one of my most favourite storylines had a tragic ending in last chapters of Dead Winter, but besides that Blighted Empire not suffered at all of the dreaded Middle Book Trilogy Sindrome in my humble opinion.



Beck drew his sword, one of the rangers unlimbered the bow strapped to his saddle. An expectant tension filled the air. These men were veterans of many patrols.
This close to the Ulricsberg, they knew what the stink of cooking human flesh meant.
The Kineater was back in its old haunts.

I really loved author C. L. Werner progressively rising the stakes after depicting in the first novel how the Skaven unleashed the Black Plague on the Empire above in 1111 IC, with multiple old and new storylines and sub-plots intertwining back and forth in an arc of seven years (1112-1119 IC) and showing the greatest kingdom of men on the edge of annihilation.



It was true, what the peasant said. In trying to secure temporal wealth, he had stumbled upon true power - the power of magic and the arcane. What did lands and titles matter beside the ability to invoke death with a touch, the power to raise the dead from their tombs?
'You will have your money,' Baron von Diehl promised.
'But let us wait a little. I have a father I must bury first.'

Very interesting storylines describing the horrific tales about rise to power of necromancer Vahal and his ravaging of Sylvania with an army of the undead, perverse Mordheim nobleman Baron Lothar von Diehl trying to emulate him in embracing the dark arts and opening his career with a cold blooded parricide and matricide, ruthless commander of the Kaiserjaeger (the Emperor’s secret police) Adolf Kreyssig becoming appointed Protector of the Empire and consolidating his power with the help of the witch Baroness Kirstina von der Linden, while greedy and incompetent Emperor Boris Goldgather flees the plague ridden capital of Altdorf for the safety and reclusion of Schloss Hohenbach outside Carroburg, and isolated city of Middenheim experiencing at last the slow creep of the disease into its midst while the drarf community deep inside the mountain endures the first impact of the hideous ratmen swarming out of the deeps.



'Be careful, my dear,' the Emperor advised, staring at her expression of undisguised disapproval. 'If you become too much a boor, then We might decide you don't like Our
company.'
The Emperor nodded his head towards the battlements where his sycophants laughed and joked as they tossed scraps to the begging peasants. 'If We tire of you, We might have to
throw you to the dogs.'

Definitely a solid central part of the trilogy with lots of twists, action, political intrigues, horror swinging from classic gothic to gruesome and disturbing (a certain scene set in Boris’ court inside Schloss Hohenbach is probably going to haunt my dreams and nightmares forever…), with Warhammer’s trademark heavy metal vibes definitely turning into gloomy and black death metal ones.



'I have been most thorough. My Kaiserjaeger have pursued inquiries in many places. I am quite aware of the Temple's dirty little secrets,
of what happened that night Grand Theogonist Uthorsson burned with the cathedral in Nuln. Tell me, how do you think the people would react if they learned Uthorsson was a servant
of the Ruinous Powers, or that Thorgrad was a murderer?'

Just imagine something like Warhammer meets Game of Thrones, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, to make yourself an idea about what lurk among these pages.



'His Imperial Majesty has feted his guests,' Moschner hissed.
'He's fed and pampered them well!'
'Did none refuse?' Erna pressed him.
Moschner gave her a disgusted look. 'Two,' he said.
'We must pray for them,' Erna said.
'It's too late for that,' Moschner said. 'There's no help for us. The gods will have nothing to do with us now.'
'We are the living damned.'

And when skaven lord Skrittar and the entire Order of the Grey Seers perform an unholy ritual in the prologue of this book, drawning downwards chunks of raw warpstone from cursed moon Morrslieb and making them rain on backwater imperial province of Sylvania, even H. P. Lovecraft’s Color Out of Space is added to the already awesome grimdark cocktail of themes setting the mood of this page-turning trilogy in one of the greatest easter-eggs I’ve read in my life.



Opening his eyes, the Grand Theogonist glared at Kreyssig. ‘A mandate from the divine,’ he cried. ‘A holy duty to overwhelm and destroy heretics like yourself, no matter where they be found!’
Kreyssig scowled at Stefan. Almost absently, he removed a fold of cloth from under the sleeve of his doublet, a strip cut from the dress of Stefan’s daughter. He laughed darkly when he saw the irate priest flinch at the sight.

So, when heroes rise at last, and a small beacon of hope starts to shine in the darkness, you can nearly feel joy and cheer in an otherwise extremely bleak but still very entertaining read.

He watched for a moment as the soldiers adjusted to the new formation, then called out in a voice loud enough to carry back to the surface. ‘Let’s show these beardies how men can really fight!’
When he turned back around to lead his army into the subterranean gloom, Mandred saw Kurgaz looking at him. He wasn’t sure if it were his imagination, but he thought he saw Kurgaz smiling before the dwarf turned away.

This is fantasy storytelling at its best for me and, regardless of what the end will be, I’m totally enjoying the ride.



The tunnels would break up into the sewers beneath Middenheim. From the sewers, the skaven would filter into every cellar, dungeon and crypt.
The walls of Middenheim were tall and strong, built to keep out any foe. Any foe except the one who chose to ignore them. Now those same walls would imprison the people of Middenheim.
Would ensure that none of Vecteek’s prey escaped.

Onward to book three!

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

Blighted Empire is a classic of fantasy storytelling, filled with heroes and villains, magic and malignance, gore and glory.; a tale from Warhammer’s Time of Legends which will thrill long time fans of the fantasy setting and persuade new readers that The Black Plague trilogy is a sword and sorcery affair not to be missed.

As the story opens, the Plague is still ravaging the Empire, pushing the greatest kingdom of humanity to the brink of annihilation; its Emperor fleeing the capital, leaving it in the hands of a ruthless madman while he takes sanctuary in the apparent safety of the countryside, wallowing in petty cruelty and deep depravity as the remaining bastions of humanity slowly begin to collapse. The instigators of the plague watching it all from their hidden burrows and tunnels; the Skaven hordes waiting for the right time to burst forth from the underworld to seize all from the man-meat. And, meanwhile, in the far east of the Empire, the fallen priest turned necromancer lurks; his motives and plans unknown to all — even his newest minion and apprentice!

What a great setup for a book two! C.L. Werner taking the dark, gritty tale of Dead Winter into fertile new ground, shepherding his cast of characters in new directions, and crafting a Warhammer tale of epic proportions. The narrative a perfect balance of fast-paced action, horrific darkness, brutal realism, historic exposition, and the smallest of light, where goodness strives to drive back the darkness. This epoch of Empire lore bursting to life before a reader’s eyes, turning the legendary figures into living, breathing individuals with understandable motivations, weaknesses, fears, and faults.

Having thoroughly enjoying Dead Winter, I was happily surprised that I liked this novel even more, finding the shift away from the plague and more of a focus on the repercussions from said plague very enjoyable. I suppose you could say I prefer post-apocalyptic struggles more than the cataclysm themselves, and that would be a fair assessment, because I do love to see people having to adapt and change to their new environment, evolve their way of thinking, and make choices they struggle with before and after the fact. This type of setting strikes me as filled with opportunities for deep introspection, contemplation about morality and beliefs, and lends itself to dramatic (sometimes tragic) story arcs; all of which C.L. Werner takes advantage of in this tale.

The only problem I had with the narrative was my continued dislike of the Skaven section of the book, which I found confusing and a bit repetitive. (Honestly, how many times do I need to read about fear scent being expelled, man-meat being eaten, and Skaven killing Skaven to understand these guys are an alien species to humankind and pretty damn dangerous.) I know, I know this trilogy is about the ratmen in large part, but they still bore me even after the first two books of the trilogy have spent a great deal of time focusing upon their culture and politics. All I can say is that Skaven aren’t for me. And, honestly, I believe this trilogy would be just as good with them remaining in the shadows, existing only as a little known and understood race of tormentors in the mold of Tolkien’s orcs.

To sum up, Blighted Empire builds upon the foundation Dead Winter laid down, directing the path of the tale into new avenues and dark paths. Yes, the horrors of the plague are not as pronounced as the first book, but everything else which comes about to fill the vacuum left behind after the pestilence is just as disconcerting and grim, though the rise of heroes to face the looming darkness is quite compelling. So, yeah, I really enjoyed this novel, and the trilogy itself is slowly growing into my favorite Warhammer read to date.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a lot of Warhammer novels and this one is currently my favorite. It is the second in a trilogy, the *Black Plague Trilogy,* which takes place in a historical period, "the Time of Legends," years before the concluding and apocalyptic of the Warhammer fantasy world. This novel relates the emergence of the horrible Skaven, the evil rat-men underfolk, and a time of crisis in the Empire of Man. The main conflict is a plague that is killing countless humans (engineered by the Skaven, of course). There are several interesting subplots woven intricately together. One features the capital of the empire, Altdorf, and Kreyssig, the peasant-origin "Protector of the Empire." Another features Middenheim and an alliance between dwarfs and humans; there is an intriguing relationship between a father and his son here. Another subplot features a quasi-sympathetic necromancer, Vanhal, who raises an army in Sylvania in order to give the Skaven "peace" (he comes off as a demented Zen master). Finally, there is a literary homage to Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" in a gruesome subplot featuring the profligate and grasping Emperor Boris Goldgather and his cowardly attempt to inocolute himself from the troubles of the Empire and his dying people. This novel really surprised me. I have read several of Werner's *Warhammer* novels. So, I was expecting a great read. I got a something else: an inspired and inspiring tale about widescale social degeneration into chaos and the heroic struggle by the few to maintain cohesion, to fight to preserve hope despite encroaching darkness. Next level.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues in the same vein as the first of the trilogy. In all actuality, there's no way the Empire should survive, and if they do just b/c of "skaven inter-clan treachery," that's going to be kind of cheesy (ha!).

Character development continues pretty well, and I do like how Werner shows vignettes from the different provinces of the Empire. The only thing that would also be cool is to show how the external powers are dealing with the decimation. (It's been 6 years and no mention of orc/beastmen/chaos/elf incursion has happened and that seems unrealistic).

[Abhinav · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can read the full review over at my blog:

http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2013...

In recent years, C. L. Werner has emerged as one of my favourite Black Library authors, especially through his short fiction. Primarily writing in the Warhammer Fantasy setting with an occasional foray into Warhammer 40,000 I think of him as one of the more technically sound authors and someone who can tell complex stories and complex characters really well. He showed that with Dead Winter last year, his first Black Plague novel for the Time of Legends meta-series. It was political epic fantasy at its best and showed a cross-section of the Empire and its enemies at one of the lowest points in the former’s history.

Earlier this year the second novel in the trilogy was released, which I got to read last month. I’ve been really neglectful of my Black Library reading this year, so I haven’t had a chance to read all the books that I’ve wanted to. But what little I’ve read has been quite good and Blighted Empire is a great example of that.

Black Plague 02 Blighted Empire

Dead Winter was one of my top favourite reads of last year. It told a really complex story with some really fascinating characters, each and every one of them. It was the story, you could say, of a train-wreck, but in the best possible sense of that word. We see the Skaven begin their plans to plunge the Empire into chaos by spreading a deadly plague throughout its various regions. With the Empire at its weakest, riven with internal strife and mistrust, they seek to move in and pick up the pieces to make the Skaven Under-Empire ascendant on the surface world as well. The primary focus of the story was on the lecherous depredations of Emperor Boris Goldgather, his right-hand Adolph Kreyssig who is essentially the commander of the Emperor’s security, a Skaven Plague-Priest named Puskab Foulfour, a Priest of Morr named Van Hal and and Graf Gunthar of Middenheim and his son Mandred. There are other perspectives in the novel of course, due to the great scope of the story, but in retrospect after reading Blighted Empire, these are the perspectives that are carried over and that become the connecting links.

The novel continues the fall of the Empire. Emperor Boris abandons the capital Altdorf, leaving it in the hands of Kreyssig who immediately begins to lord over the nobles. He goes instead to the city of Carroburg where he intends to wait out the Black Plague with his Court, leaving the people to fend for themselves. In Sylvania, Van Hal is joined by Lothar von Diehl, a noble of the Empire who dreams to become a great necromancer himself. Over in Midden heim, things continue to deteriorate for the Graf and his son since their city is hit hard with the Plague and also has to contend with incursions from other evils. And finally, in Skavenblight, the eternal game of dominance between all the Clans continues as they all seek to outdo each other and Foulfur’s opponents too continue to counter his ascendancy.

With all of this, Herr Werner sets the stage for things to get darker and worse for everyone involved, no matter who it is. Any scene involving Kreyssig and Goldgather absolutely stole the show. With the Skaven, you know that they are nothing but villains, but you don’t expect the same from the leader of the Empire, the man invested with its protection. But that’s exactly what happens in both Dead Winter and Blighted Empire. Boris Goldgather, so named because of his fascination with gold beyond the norms of common-sense and prudence, is running the Empire into the ground because he doesn’t take the Black Plague seriously and leaves the running of Altdorf to Kreyssig, a peasant he raised to such a high position. Together, they are a villainous duo who care for nothing except their own personal gain. And Kreyssig is even allied with the Skaven, who are using him for their own ends, sowing intentional mistrust and discord so that its easier for them to take over the city.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man what a book! The Blighted Empire picks up shortly after the events in Dead Winter and does an absolutely stellar job of continuing the plot lines. Action wasn't always at the fore of the novel and it really benefited from that as the political intrigue was just THAT well done. Every scene with Boris, Kreyssig, or Mandred just stole the show. The novel had so many twists and turns it could make your head spin if you read too fast.
The Outlaw Knight wasn't in the novel as much as I would have liked, but I know why and it's a Damn good reason.
Really top notch job Herr Werner, thank you for the glorious read!

[Dawie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was quite a read.I read Dead Winter about a year ago and could still just remember most of the characters. In some parts a slow read but thats the way politics go, there is alot of it in this book, but it was a great setup, Mr Werner, job well done. Secretly I have been rooting for the Skaven through the whole book. Humans have alot of dicks trying to run the show and Boris was a douche. I liked all aspects and all vantage points this book had to offer and it will come highly recomended to anyone interested in Old World Warhammer. Thanky again mr. Werner. I cant wait to see what happens in the Wolf of Sigmar.

[Maximilian Surjadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much better than the first book. It's a good thing, the thrill from book series should escalated with each book.

More conflict and less boring stuff compared to the first book. The only thing I regret is how weak the council of thirteen members are. They are suppose to the most experienced, cunning and cautious, but some of them died pretty easily. In the Thanquol & Boneripper series, the council are viewed as malignant superpower of skaven community. In here, they're not so different from common skaven warlord.

I like Graf Gunthar sacrifice tho. Kinda touched me.

[David Earle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheer Warhammer dark fantasy insanity at its best.

[NerdyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although very intriguing, the plot was lacking action. But once the third act started it was all action, making better than the first book in the trilogy.

[Michael Haase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good novel by C. L. Werner, though not as good as its predecessor, Dead Winter. Blighted Empire, second in the "Black Plague" trilogy, delves deeper into the hardships and strife the humans of the Warhammer world are subjected to in their struggle against the Skaven. This time however, there is a greater focus on battle and physical conflict, as the forces of good and evil are pitted in a fierce and direct confrontation.

While, the previous novel had more of a "horror" feel to it, had greater mystery and tension to it, this novel plays all its cards on the table. There are huge battles, beasts, enchantments, everything you'd expect in the usual high fantasy narrative, but despite all that, I preferred the subtle anxiety and realism of the previous novel. Not to mention that some of my favorite characters (Walther Schill, Erich von Kranzbeuhler, Puskab Foulfur, etc.) have been taken out of the picture irked me a bit.

There's also a new character, Baroness Kirstina von den Linden, who kind of ruins the story in my opinion. Magic has always been a pretty contrived plot device and its contrivance is at full force here, since Kirstina's character doesn't bring anything to the story other than a series of comical situations where Kreyssig is about to be killed but get's rescued, is about to be killed but get's rescued, over and over. It becomes kind of a joke. Then she's killed off unceremoniously and that's that. She feels like a literary tool and nothing more.

Other than that, there's still a lot of interesting things in the book. Vanhal's character arc is great, and his apprentice has an interesting story. We get to see more of the dwarves, and that's always a plus.

[Billisonthewagon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in every way a step up from book 1.

Mandred was more fleshed out and felt more like a hero. The dwarves were a fun addition to the story. The female characters, who seemed to exist just to be abused in the first book, had a lot more to do within the story.

Emperor Boris continues to be an absolutely vile character, somehow even worse than Adolf Kreysig in the first book.

Vanhal, the commoner priest of mor who became a powerful necromancer, is in the book, and gets an apprentice and a few well-written battle scenes, but his story never really organically ties into the rest of the story. In fact, he barely even has any lines in the book, and the only assumption I can come to is this was just part of the Warhammer lore and therefore had to be thrown in with the rest of the story.

I thought the Skaven finally attacking was handled really well. I could picture a really gruesome version of gremlins as they started to flood the cities and murder the populations.

Overall, I found this book a big step up, and an admirable middle book, which are sometimes stumbling blocks in trilogies. I wish some of the evil characters had a little more depth and the necromancer plot felt a little relevant, but I enjoyed the book and I'm excited to see how it all concludes.

[Andrés J. Fry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le cuesta empezar, hasta mitad del libro, los acontecimientos se desarrollan, en mi opinión, muy lentos. Es un bajón de ritmo, sabiendo como acaba el primero, y creo que las partes del emperador Boris son las mas cansinas.
Creo que el autor se pasa a veces dandole vueltas a las mismas ideas en algún capítulo, pero... que descripciones se marca, te mete de lleno en las ciudades, en las cuevas de los skavens, en las batallas, en las fortalezas y catedrales del Imperio, asi como las descripciones de personajes y escenas.

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man this book was difficult to read. It sure if it was me or the book but this one I just had trouble with. I felt that all the tension and excitement from the first one just wasn’t in this one.

This was my second attempt at finishing it and I’m glad I did but it will have to be a while before I read the third one.

3.5 ⭐️ closer to 4 than 3 🤷🏼‍♂️🙌🏻🙏🏻

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

This book has multiple factions still vying for domination. 2 empires are near collapse, the stakes extremely high, and the way this edition is told leaves so much that is satisfied. This is grimdark.

[Lewis]

starting to get sweep along with the ride. How much along the ride ? Still thinking - do I get book 3.....

[Elijah Allensworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good continuation. More interesting than Warhammer novels are generally when they get to such a scale.

[Alex Engelsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

You ever read about a war where every faction is its own worst enemy?

[Paul Q · Rating 2 out of 5]

[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
After reading Volume 1 of the Black Plague series, Dead Winter (which I rated 4 stars), this second volume was a disappointment because of lots of little discrepancies and confusing odds and ends. For example: why was Vanhal building his supertower? How the hell do the Skaven get their huge warmachines above ground .. through the sewers? Why set up the Emperor and his entourage to spiral out of control into immorality and depravity (i.e. Chaos) and then cut that story line short and wrap it up with plague monks? After hundreds of pages depicting the Skaven as honourless cowards how do you imagine three Skaven assassins attacking the Middenheim leaders to avenge a Skaven warlord, in a church packed with soldiers and Knights, when the battle is already lost? Why would Mandred, a devotee of Ulric, be called the Wolf of SIGMAR, after a miracle witnessed in a church of Ulric, in a city full of Ulric worshipers ... he should've been the Wolf of Ulric! And what was that weird intermezzo with the dwarf king and the dragon head trophy that dropped from the wall and ate the fire keeper, new characters we've not heard of before or haven't since? The book is not without its redeeming qualities and quite fun to read still, so two stars, and I do rush on immediately to Wolf of Sigmar, so stay tuned.