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Warhammer Heroes #9
Headtaker
A Warhammer Fantasy Battles novel
When King Kazador begins to gather an army at Karak Azul it falls to Queek Headtaker to lead a surprise attack on the hold, but even one as cunning as he cannot resist the chance to face such a renowned hero of the dwarfs…
READ IT BECAUSE
Few authors capture the full lunacy of the skaven as well as David Guymer, and in Queek he creates a memorably deranged hero (from a certain point of view) whose penchant for talking to the dead and general madness are both entertaining and terrifying.
THE STORY
Warlord Queek Headtaker is unlike other skaven, a fearless warrior, a general who leads from the front and the grim victor of many great battles. When King Kazador begins to gather an army at Karak Azul it falls to Queek to lead a surprise attack on the hold, but even one as cunning as he cannot resist the chance to face such a renowned hero of the dwarfs in single combat. With old enemies moving against him on both sides of the conflict, he musters his stormvermin for war...
When King Kazador begins to gather an army at Karak Azul it falls to Queek Headtaker to lead a surprise attack on the hold, but even one as cunning as he cannot resist the chance to face such a renowned hero of the dwarfs…
READ IT BECAUSE
Few authors capture the full lunacy of the skaven as well as David Guymer, and in Queek he creates a memorably deranged hero (from a certain point of view) whose penchant for talking to the dead and general madness are both entertaining and terrifying.
THE STORY
Warlord Queek Headtaker is unlike other skaven, a fearless warrior, a general who leads from the front and the grim victor of many great battles. When King Kazador begins to gather an army at Karak Azul it falls to Queek to lead a surprise attack on the hold, but even one as cunning as he cannot resist the chance to face such a renowned hero of the dwarfs in single combat. With old enemies moving against him on both sides of the conflict, he musters his stormvermin for war...
416 pages, Paperback
Published June 11, 2013
32 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
David Guymer
173 books176 followersDavid Guymer is a freelance author, PhD in molecular microbiology (which still comes in more handy than you might think), and tabletop warlord based in the Yorkshire East Riding. He has written for Black Library, Marvel, Aconyte Books, Asmodee, Mantic Games, Cubicle 7, Creative Assembly, and Mongoose Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 2, 2016
Headtaker is an incredibly strong novel and delivers a great demonstration of Skaven supremacy, lots of humor, schemes and backstabbing, stubborn dwarfs and heavy-hitting orcs, but also very visceral action and some truly thought-provoking scenes.
Queek Headtaker himself had fantastic character development throughout the book, becoming more and more menacing, shifting from pure madness and bloodlust to a genuinely fearsome warlord playing his own cards smartly. But not just the great Headtaker himself felt incredibly interesting to read about, but also the other Skaven characters, and the dwarfs. I am also not lying when I say that David's rendition of Goblins has made me laugh very hard indeed.
David Guymer really gets Skaven and the circumstances they live in, and I cannot wait for his next work (which would be a Gotrek and Felix novel).
12/10, would buy again.
Queek Headtaker himself had fantastic character development throughout the book, becoming more and more menacing, shifting from pure madness and bloodlust to a genuinely fearsome warlord playing his own cards smartly. But not just the great Headtaker himself felt incredibly interesting to read about, but also the other Skaven characters, and the dwarfs. I am also not lying when I say that David's rendition of Goblins has made me laugh very hard indeed.
David Guymer really gets Skaven and the circumstances they live in, and I cannot wait for his next work (which would be a Gotrek and Felix novel).
12/10, would buy again.
October 28, 2020
Headtaker.. where to begin?
I enjoyed how the story started and the character of Queek Headtaker was very fascinating, as well. Refreshingly honest in his lack of subtlety and backstabbing, or so we are made to think. Is his madness genuine? Almost definitely. However, he uses it to his advantage in cowing other high-ranking skaven. On one hand, I want to ask how the heck does someone with his lack of military tact and planning become warlord, but anybody with even rudimentary knowledge of fantasy Warhammer already knows the answer - skaven. That's just how they roll.
I didn't care overly for the non-skaven parts. I was led to believe that it would be all about Headtaker. I understand that there has to be humanization and "good guys" to root for - and what better than criminal/thief mercenaries? However, I couldn't say that they were characterized enough, or rather, to my liking. I never wound up caring for them in any true sense. Most of their chapters, I found myself counting down the pages until the next non-human/dwarf section. I did not enjoy the Bretonnian's "backdeal with the skaven" arc - it did not seem to actually go anywhere. Actually, warplock pistol to my head, I'm trying to piece together what Sharpwit's plan actually was. Get the human to undertake Kazador's mission to save his son/kill the squatter king at Black Crag, have said-human bring him back, and then collect the reward from the human? Is that actually it? I am really asking here - it was unclear to me. Anyway, for me, about halfway through the novel and on, the human/dwarf parts became very thin to me.
It may just be me (probably IS just me) but there were parts where I had trouble following the writing. It almost didn't seem descriptive enough. For example, there was a part where one character had to run to another's aid - but we never figured out why. Small things like that, that irked me a bit.
The writer definitely has in-depth understanding of how skavendom works. All the finicky backstabbing plots and schemes were brought to life (and death) in good detail. The other skaven leaders' exasperation with Queek was also quite humorous. All of their planning for the upcoming battles are entirely forgotten when Queek is involved. His idea is to take the most direct approach and kill everything. Marvelous to read, but as I said earlier, definitely not a great trait in a military tactician. How did he become leader again? (Skaven.) Oh well. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. That is especially topical in this book.
I was quite let down with the duel between Queek and Gorfang. I was hoping it would be something big, but Queek gets tossed around the room once or twice, loses interest, and then pursues Sharpwit. If I interpreted it correctly, it is because I think he put it in his mind that Sharpwit's "betrayal" was more important to deal with than Gorfang - almost like he unconsciously knew he could not defeat him. Even though he was salivating at the prospect of facing off against and killing Gorfang. I understand that writers are most likely not able to kill big name characters in such a haphazard fashion, but I would have appreciated more of a battle.
Reading this so soon after Skarsnik only makes me appreciate the subtle nuances of Skarsnik's tactics and leadership.
That's my take on Queek. I hope to see him again down the road. I am sure I will, during the End Times.
I enjoyed how the story started and the character of Queek Headtaker was very fascinating, as well. Refreshingly honest in his lack of subtlety and backstabbing, or so we are made to think. Is his madness genuine? Almost definitely. However, he uses it to his advantage in cowing other high-ranking skaven. On one hand, I want to ask how the heck does someone with his lack of military tact and planning become warlord, but anybody with even rudimentary knowledge of fantasy Warhammer already knows the answer - skaven. That's just how they roll.
I didn't care overly for the non-skaven parts. I was led to believe that it would be all about Headtaker. I understand that there has to be humanization and "good guys" to root for - and what better than criminal/thief mercenaries? However, I couldn't say that they were characterized enough, or rather, to my liking. I never wound up caring for them in any true sense. Most of their chapters, I found myself counting down the pages until the next non-human/dwarf section. I did not enjoy the Bretonnian's "backdeal with the skaven" arc - it did not seem to actually go anywhere. Actually, warplock pistol to my head, I'm trying to piece together what Sharpwit's plan actually was. Get the human to undertake Kazador's mission to save his son/kill the squatter king at Black Crag, have said-human bring him back, and then collect the reward from the human? Is that actually it? I am really asking here - it was unclear to me. Anyway, for me, about halfway through the novel and on, the human/dwarf parts became very thin to me.
It may just be me (probably IS just me) but there were parts where I had trouble following the writing. It almost didn't seem descriptive enough. For example, there was a part where one character had to run to another's aid - but we never figured out why. Small things like that, that irked me a bit.
The writer definitely has in-depth understanding of how skavendom works. All the finicky backstabbing plots and schemes were brought to life (and death) in good detail. The other skaven leaders' exasperation with Queek was also quite humorous. All of their planning for the upcoming battles are entirely forgotten when Queek is involved. His idea is to take the most direct approach and kill everything. Marvelous to read, but as I said earlier, definitely not a great trait in a military tactician. How did he become leader again? (Skaven.) Oh well. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. That is especially topical in this book.
I was quite let down with the duel between Queek and Gorfang. I was hoping it would be something big, but Queek gets tossed around the room once or twice, loses interest, and then pursues Sharpwit. If I interpreted it correctly, it is because I think he put it in his mind that Sharpwit's "betrayal" was more important to deal with than Gorfang - almost like he unconsciously knew he could not defeat him. Even though he was salivating at the prospect of facing off against and killing Gorfang. I understand that writers are most likely not able to kill big name characters in such a haphazard fashion, but I would have appreciated more of a battle.
Reading this so soon after Skarsnik only makes me appreciate the subtle nuances of Skarsnik's tactics and leadership.
That's my take on Queek. I hope to see him again down the road. I am sure I will, during the End Times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2023
Some confusing and weird moments throughout, but overall very enjoyable. I enjoyed every character, but I can see someone being overwhelmed with the amount, and even disappointed that it's not about Queek himself. It would be a 4.3/5 for me
February 27, 2022
A solid debut novel from one of Black Library's stalwart authors. Guymer manages to write convincingly from the prespectives of skaven, dwarfs, humans, and goblins over the course of the story and even a few glimpses into the brutish malevolence of Warhammer's orcs. Quite a lot to juggle in a first novel!
April 20, 2016
This is one of the hardest novels for me to review... There was some truly memorable characters, backstabbing, action and lots of evil ratmen and noble dwarves.
My problem lies with how the story was told.
The entire premise with a skaven plot to stop a dwarven stronghold from producing and selling arms to other dwarves is pretty good. The Headtaker him self is quite awesome. As is the assassins, the old-thing Sharpwit (and there's a rat who truly deserved the name!) not to mention the grey seer and his albino bodyguard. The only characters I didn't really care for was the dwarves, but that's more a question of taste than not being able to characterise them well enough.
But when the skaven march to war against the dwarves (with plots within plots and backstabbing everywhere!) and then suddenly decides that they should attack the local greenskins instead... that just feels odd. like, "what just happened?". The plan entire plan of how the skaven intended to make the dwarves pay a fortune for the return of some royal prisoners from the greenskins felt equally weird.
Something like this usually gets under my skin, but still the author manages to save the story. Mostly thanks to some truly interesting characters. And here I must mention Sharpwit. I have so far read about Queek Headtaker, Deathmaster Snikch and Grey seer Thanquol. All of them interesting and cool skaven characters, all of whom have their own models in the tabletop game. Sharpwit doesn't. And still he gets the most characterisation of them all. His motivation is spot on and you can't help to actually root for him, even though this really isn't his book (the cover says Headtaker, I've checked!).
I can't put a lower rating than 4 stars, but I can't really set is as a favourite either.
My problem lies with how the story was told.
The entire premise with a skaven plot to stop a dwarven stronghold from producing and selling arms to other dwarves is pretty good. The Headtaker him self is quite awesome. As is the assassins, the old-thing Sharpwit (and there's a rat who truly deserved the name!) not to mention the grey seer and his albino bodyguard. The only characters I didn't really care for was the dwarves, but that's more a question of taste than not being able to characterise them well enough.
But when the skaven march to war against the dwarves (with plots within plots and backstabbing everywhere!) and then suddenly decides that they should attack the local greenskins instead... that just feels odd. like, "what just happened?". The plan entire plan of how the skaven intended to make the dwarves pay a fortune for the return of some royal prisoners from the greenskins felt equally weird.
Something like this usually gets under my skin, but still the author manages to save the story. Mostly thanks to some truly interesting characters. And here I must mention Sharpwit. I have so far read about Queek Headtaker, Deathmaster Snikch and Grey seer Thanquol. All of them interesting and cool skaven characters, all of whom have their own models in the tabletop game. Sharpwit doesn't. And still he gets the most characterisation of them all. His motivation is spot on and you can't help to actually root for him, even though this really isn't his book (the cover says Headtaker, I've checked!).
I can't put a lower rating than 4 stars, but I can't really set is as a favourite either.
July 25, 2013
Neat content and characterization, but I found the action and general story line hard to follow at times.
May 2, 2021
Various Dwarf factions are assembling with the goal of retaking an ancient citadel overrun by Greenskins. Anyone who has played a free-for-all knows how this goes: When the 1st player attacks the 2nd player, both inevitably lose when a 3rd player sweeps in to wipe them out while they're weak. Sure enough, along comes Queek Headtaker to ruin everyone's plans! Ork? Dawi? Queek doesn't care, Queek kills them all!
This is one of the 6 books on the USB key in the collector's edition of Total War: Warhammer 2. Queek Headtaker is a warlord of Clan Mors. He decapitates his defeated opponents and mounts their skulls on an array he carries on his back. But the point isn't to intimidate the living with his fearsome trophies, no! Once Queek takes an enemy's head, that head becomes his new friend, and Queek's friends give him all sorts of helpful advice! If it isn't blazingly obvious, Queek is certifiably insane. Most Skaven are cowards, but not Queek! He regularly leads his armies from the front, and this confuses bothfriend fellow Skaven and enemies alike. Queek's master is Warlord Gnawdwell, supreme ruler of Clan Mors. Gnawdwell loves Queek, an emotion and sentiment utterly alien to the Children of the Horned Rat. All in all, it is very strange to read about Skaven who are more than just craven schemers and respond to setbacks with something other than cursing and running away.
This book showcases the war for Karak Eight Peaks. In the game, if you play as Belegar Ironhammer (Dwarfs/Dawi), Skarsnik (Greenskins/Grobbi), or Queek (Skaven/Thaggoraki), your primary campaign goal is to retake the 8 peaks... which is represented as a single settlement. In the World That Was, Karak Eight Peaks is a sprawling metropolis, a haunting reminder of long-faded Dwarven glory, with multiple floors, many outlying fortresses & facilities, and countless tunnels that lead everywhere & nowhere.
Meanwhile, there are human mercenaries up to no good, and they have a Dwarf in tow. That Dawi's job is to get the human mercs in good with the local Dwarf king. That's right, in the middle of this absolute omnishambles, these clowns are gonna try and pull a heist! All the individual Dwarf characters are interesting of course, and I would love to know more about them, but in their own book. Headtaker is supposed to be all about Queek, and Queek's time is NOW!
Some authors are overly optimistic and/or ambitious, and their books try to do too much, so they inevitably fail. Not David Guymer: he's fucking great!
This is one of the 6 books on the USB key in the collector's edition of Total War: Warhammer 2. Queek Headtaker is a warlord of Clan Mors. He decapitates his defeated opponents and mounts their skulls on an array he carries on his back. But the point isn't to intimidate the living with his fearsome trophies, no! Once Queek takes an enemy's head, that head becomes his new friend, and Queek's friends give him all sorts of helpful advice! If it isn't blazingly obvious, Queek is certifiably insane. Most Skaven are cowards, but not Queek! He regularly leads his armies from the front, and this confuses both
This book showcases the war for Karak Eight Peaks. In the game, if you play as Belegar Ironhammer (Dwarfs/Dawi), Skarsnik (Greenskins/Grobbi), or Queek (Skaven/Thaggoraki), your primary campaign goal is to retake the 8 peaks... which is represented as a single settlement. In the World That Was, Karak Eight Peaks is a sprawling metropolis, a haunting reminder of long-faded Dwarven glory, with multiple floors, many outlying fortresses & facilities, and countless tunnels that lead everywhere & nowhere.
Meanwhile, there are human mercenaries up to no good, and they have a Dwarf in tow. That Dawi's job is to get the human mercs in good with the local Dwarf king. That's right, in the middle of this absolute omnishambles, these clowns are gonna try and pull a heist! All the individual Dwarf characters are interesting of course, and I would love to know more about them, but in their own book. Headtaker is supposed to be all about Queek, and Queek's time is NOW!
Some authors are overly optimistic and/or ambitious, and their books try to do too much, so they inevitably fail. Not David Guymer: he's fucking great!
November 3, 2021
This book proves why the skaven are the best race. They're crazy and conniving and unpredictable, Queek Headtaker most of all. He's just a batshit insane character, easily the most interesting one I've seen so far. He's loony and wild and he keeps a rack full of corpses on his back which he talks to like old pals. Best of all, he's strong, whereas most Skaven are cowardly and weak. He makes for a really interesting protagonist.
The problem with this book though, is that for a while, it feels like the real protagonist isn't him, but a dwarf called Handrik. A significant portion of the book follows this and other dwarf characters on some journey to reclaim lost treasure, and honestly, it feels very unnecessary. It makes Queek feel like a side character, or even the antagonist in a book that's named after him. Handrik as well is a pretty unimposing character; your archetypical dwarf whose sole trait is he wants to kill Queek.
The book dawdles too long talking about him and this weird subplot about a human named Bernard and another dwarf named Thordun which I didn't even quite understand, when it could have been talking about the real star of the show, Queek. For instance, we don't learn much about his origin except that he was an apprentice of Thrunq Gnawdwell. Headtaker should have been more like Skarsnik and talked about his childhood and his rise to power. That would have been fun to read.
There's also a lot of jarring perspective shifts, jumping from character to character, often abruptly. And what was supposed to be a climactic battle at the end was actually kind of anticlimactic. Queek starts fighting one guy and then stops and starts fighting another guy, and then stops and starts fighting another guy, etc. And none of those guys die in the end. And then the chapter ends and that's the end of the book. We have no idea how the battle panned out. Who won, who died. But that's kind of a common issue with Warhammer books. Authors rush to finish their novels and then move on.
All the same, it's still a really good Warhammer novel. Well worth a read if you're into that.
The problem with this book though, is that for a while, it feels like the real protagonist isn't him, but a dwarf called Handrik. A significant portion of the book follows this and other dwarf characters on some journey to reclaim lost treasure, and honestly, it feels very unnecessary. It makes Queek feel like a side character, or even the antagonist in a book that's named after him. Handrik as well is a pretty unimposing character; your archetypical dwarf whose sole trait is he wants to kill Queek.
The book dawdles too long talking about him and this weird subplot about a human named Bernard and another dwarf named Thordun which I didn't even quite understand, when it could have been talking about the real star of the show, Queek. For instance, we don't learn much about his origin except that he was an apprentice of Thrunq Gnawdwell. Headtaker should have been more like Skarsnik and talked about his childhood and his rise to power. That would have been fun to read.
There's also a lot of jarring perspective shifts, jumping from character to character, often abruptly. And what was supposed to be a climactic battle at the end was actually kind of anticlimactic. Queek starts fighting one guy and then stops and starts fighting another guy, and then stops and starts fighting another guy, etc. And none of those guys die in the end. And then the chapter ends and that's the end of the book. We have no idea how the battle panned out. Who won, who died. But that's kind of a common issue with Warhammer books. Authors rush to finish their novels and then move on.
All the same, it's still a really good Warhammer novel. Well worth a read if you're into that.
July 11, 2017
Being quite new to the world of Warhammer, I found this quite a tricky book to get into.
Having read Valkia the Bloody and Skarsnik prior to this, I found them quite accessible due to following the characters from their early years to their status as the established characters we know and love/hate in the Warhammer lore.
Headtaker throws you straight into the action and lacking any knowledge of the principal characters, it was a bit of a struggle for me to follow at first.
But in spite of this, I still found myself really enjoying it. Queek is a character that you can't help but root for - he's devious and cunning but has enough charisma that you still find yourself rooting for him.
The battle scenes were very well written (and I say this as someone who usually struggles to follow large battles in the written form) - they were brutal, visceral and you could easily picture every piece of blood, sweat and fur being shed.
So if you're a Warhammer newbie or a more experienced reader, I definitely recommend it.
If you aren't playing as Skaven now, you will be by the time you finish Headtaker.
Having read Valkia the Bloody and Skarsnik prior to this, I found them quite accessible due to following the characters from their early years to their status as the established characters we know and love/hate in the Warhammer lore.
Headtaker throws you straight into the action and lacking any knowledge of the principal characters, it was a bit of a struggle for me to follow at first.
But in spite of this, I still found myself really enjoying it. Queek is a character that you can't help but root for - he's devious and cunning but has enough charisma that you still find yourself rooting for him.
The battle scenes were very well written (and I say this as someone who usually struggles to follow large battles in the written form) - they were brutal, visceral and you could easily picture every piece of blood, sweat and fur being shed.
So if you're a Warhammer newbie or a more experienced reader, I definitely recommend it.
If you aren't playing as Skaven now, you will be by the time you finish Headtaker.
October 9, 2018
David Guymer created believable Skaven characters - feat not easily achievable. And that's the thing that I liked the most with this book. The Dwarfs and their culture have been described and brought to life really good as well.
We have a book with Skaven, Dwarfs and little bit of Greenskins, and all of that was mixed in properly.
The character of Queek is really well written... but I've had a problem with some of his decisions at the end of the book. I understand that he is psychotic and prone to capricious behavior. But the build up leading to his big encounter at the end of the book ended up kinda disappointing. I knew that they wouldn't kill each other in that encounter, but nevertheless, the reason why Queek left was not believable enough for me (psychotic or not).
We have a book with Skaven, Dwarfs and little bit of Greenskins, and all of that was mixed in properly.
The character of Queek is really well written... but I've had a problem with some of his decisions at the end of the book. I understand that he is psychotic and prone to capricious behavior. But the build up leading to his big encounter at the end of the book ended up kinda disappointing. I knew that they wouldn't kill each other in that encounter, but nevertheless, the reason why Queek left was not believable enough for me (psychotic or not).
July 6, 2020
There’s really not much to say about this book. It’s just constant combat and a bunch of politics. And honestly it’s kinda hard to keep track of who is who because the characters are so bland and easily forgettable.
My favorite part was when the one dwarf took the Slayer Oath. That at least was interesting. Once I got about to the point with 50 pages to go I just started skimming, and I doubt I missed much.
I recommend skipping this book. The cover looks cool and there are a few interesting parts but that’s about it.
My favorite part was when the one dwarf took the Slayer Oath. That at least was interesting. Once I got about to the point with 50 pages to go I just started skimming, and I doubt I missed much.
I recommend skipping this book. The cover looks cool and there are a few interesting parts but that’s about it.
March 4, 2023
Queek is absolutely unhinged, you love to see it.
My expectations for this were really low and it exceeded them greatly. Such a fun book with probably my favorite Warhammer character. So many hilarious Skaven moments and great action sequences between Dwarves, Orcs, and Skaven all fighting in Eight Peaks.
The writing was way better than I thought it would be too and the descriptions of the various locations, battles, and creatures were immersive and interesting.
My expectations for this were really low and it exceeded them greatly. Such a fun book with probably my favorite Warhammer character. So many hilarious Skaven moments and great action sequences between Dwarves, Orcs, and Skaven all fighting in Eight Peaks.
The writing was way better than I thought it would be too and the descriptions of the various locations, battles, and creatures were immersive and interesting.
October 31, 2019
Queek Headtaker slays dwarf-meat mighty-strong! Another insight in the life of our beloved warlord with red eyes. Skaven-lovers must-read!
September 3, 2020
Queek, upon being confronted by rain for the first time in his life, states that “Water doesn’t work like that.” Then he considers going into the sky in order to kill a cloud. I love him.
October 4, 2020
I made spoilerless book review on youtube:
https://youtu.be/6kVbo7diP08
https://youtu.be/6kVbo7diP08
March 16, 2024
Skavendom’s most perfect boy.
May 31, 2025
There is shockingly little Queek in this book. I found it hard to follow occasionally. It’d be two stars if it weren’t for a few really well written scenes here and there.
May 2, 2020
I really wanted to like this one, but I couldn't.
The main problem this book has, is it's title. For a book called headtaker, it has precious little Headtaker in it. Yes almost everybody is talking about Queek Headtaker, at some points his name is in every third sentence but the character himself sort of fades to the background in the later third of the book. In stead we get more and more time with this Thordun Locksplitter and longbeard Handrik of Karak Azul and their assembled motley crews of dwarfs and human mercenaries who are off on a quest to save the kinsmen of King Kazador of Karak Azul and slay Gorfang Rotgut the orc king of Black Crag? Huh I thought this was a Queek headtaker story?? At some point Thordun comments on two human mercenaries who died in the last battles on how he never new their names, yeah you and me both Thordun! At that point I did not even knew there were any other humans around; So imagine how little I cared when these characters appear and die in the same sentence!
It almost feels as if this book was never supposed to be about Queek Headtaker; because arguable the most important Skaven in this book is Sleek Sharpwit whose actions led to Gorfang breaching Karak Azul and the long grudge of Kazador towards Gorfang that brought into motion the events of the book. Honestly it is very easy to rewrite this book and leave Queek out of it( please don't take my head oh most horrifying of skaven warlords). In stead of Sharpwit and Razzel the seer (an annoying character whom we spent more and more time with as the book progresses) going to Queek Headtaker and convince him to attack Karak Azul, they could easily have mopped up a bunch of lesser clans force their way to Karak Azul's under town and have the same interactions with the warlock of clan skryre in charge there. They could even keep the subplot of this warlock stealing precious beer from the dwarves as the motive of the dwarfs alerted to the skaven's intentions in stead of the bs of Queek writing a letter to Kazador to say "hey I am a big bad rat warlord and I want your head" as the reason why the skaven and dwarfs fight. I mean yes Queek is a selfish and bonkers skaven warlord but this is something a Slaneeshi champion on a quest would do, not a skaven warlord even one as insane as Queek.
That brings me to my third complaint; why is Queek so supposedly awesome? If anything it comes across that he is perhaps an uncommonly capable fighter but one who is so lucky that plot armor seems a huge understatement. Compared to the Queek Headtaker in the end time novels, where we get a maniac and tunnelvision obsessed killer, this Queek comes across as a petty vainglorious child. The only thing that sets him apart are his skulls and his interaction with them. Only rarely do we get a glimpse of why Queek was given so much power so quickly, in particular the mentioned storming of a disgruntled skaven clan where he first made name for himself. Then again it only makes this book more frustrating because where is that Queek that made these unusual "so simple its genius" strategic choices? Why are we stuck with naked Queek playing with skulls and spreading blood all over himself?
If it were up to me, these would have been two books. One centers around Karak Azul, Sleek Sharpwit (a character that really had to carry the team here), Thordun Locksplitter and his untrustworthy friend Bernard (don't get me started on the out of nowhere subplot of Bernard scheming with the Skaven) and the former Ironbreaker Handrik who blames himself for what happened to the prince of Karak Azul. That would have been a great novel!
Second book is about the Headtaker, but make it about why he is so rare, how he got so much power and why he differs. Make it about the Skaven politics and society of which we get a few precious glimpses early in the book but have to make room for more subplots adding on top of several convoluted story archs.
So yeah Headtaker, it simply fails to impress; especially if compared to Skarsnik and a shame it does really does.
The main problem this book has, is it's title. For a book called headtaker, it has precious little Headtaker in it. Yes almost everybody is talking about Queek Headtaker, at some points his name is in every third sentence but the character himself sort of fades to the background in the later third of the book. In stead we get more and more time with this Thordun Locksplitter and longbeard Handrik of Karak Azul and their assembled motley crews of dwarfs and human mercenaries who are off on a quest to save the kinsmen of King Kazador of Karak Azul and slay Gorfang Rotgut the orc king of Black Crag? Huh I thought this was a Queek headtaker story?? At some point Thordun comments on two human mercenaries who died in the last battles on how he never new their names, yeah you and me both Thordun! At that point I did not even knew there were any other humans around; So imagine how little I cared when these characters appear and die in the same sentence!
It almost feels as if this book was never supposed to be about Queek Headtaker; because arguable the most important Skaven in this book is Sleek Sharpwit whose actions led to Gorfang breaching Karak Azul and the long grudge of Kazador towards Gorfang that brought into motion the events of the book. Honestly it is very easy to rewrite this book and leave Queek out of it( please don't take my head oh most horrifying of skaven warlords). In stead of Sharpwit and Razzel the seer (an annoying character whom we spent more and more time with as the book progresses) going to Queek Headtaker and convince him to attack Karak Azul, they could easily have mopped up a bunch of lesser clans force their way to Karak Azul's under town and have the same interactions with the warlock of clan skryre in charge there. They could even keep the subplot of this warlock stealing precious beer from the dwarves as the motive of the dwarfs alerted to the skaven's intentions in stead of the bs of Queek writing a letter to Kazador to say "hey I am a big bad rat warlord and I want your head" as the reason why the skaven and dwarfs fight. I mean yes Queek is a selfish and bonkers skaven warlord but this is something a Slaneeshi champion on a quest would do, not a skaven warlord even one as insane as Queek.
That brings me to my third complaint; why is Queek so supposedly awesome? If anything it comes across that he is perhaps an uncommonly capable fighter but one who is so lucky that plot armor seems a huge understatement. Compared to the Queek Headtaker in the end time novels, where we get a maniac and tunnelvision obsessed killer, this Queek comes across as a petty vainglorious child. The only thing that sets him apart are his skulls and his interaction with them. Only rarely do we get a glimpse of why Queek was given so much power so quickly, in particular the mentioned storming of a disgruntled skaven clan where he first made name for himself. Then again it only makes this book more frustrating because where is that Queek that made these unusual "so simple its genius" strategic choices? Why are we stuck with naked Queek playing with skulls and spreading blood all over himself?
If it were up to me, these would have been two books. One centers around Karak Azul, Sleek Sharpwit (a character that really had to carry the team here), Thordun Locksplitter and his untrustworthy friend Bernard (don't get me started on the out of nowhere subplot of Bernard scheming with the Skaven) and the former Ironbreaker Handrik who blames himself for what happened to the prince of Karak Azul. That would have been a great novel!
Second book is about the Headtaker, but make it about why he is so rare, how he got so much power and why he differs. Make it about the Skaven politics and society of which we get a few precious glimpses early in the book but have to make room for more subplots adding on top of several convoluted story archs.
So yeah Headtaker, it simply fails to impress; especially if compared to Skarsnik and a shame it does really does.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2024
Skaven YES-YES
December 26, 2013
This is the 8th Warhammer novel I read, other than Gotrek & Felix and Grey Seer Thanquol series. Honestly, sometimes the narrative and story line are pretty hard to follow (The reason this is a four and not a five star).
The story are surrounding those of uniqely character. Amazing development in the Skaven character, like the cunningly old Sharpwit, the mad warlord Queek, even the haughty Grey Seer Razzel. Each are skaven, each have a very distinct point of view. Unfortunately on the other side, some character like Bernard or Thordun looks kinda uninteresting with these skaven character exist in the story.
Another lovely stuff was the Skaven plotting and back-stabbing policy depicted in the book. It's not like the one in Skavenslayer book, it's an ever changing plot of treachery.
In short, this is a great book with good characters in it, wonderfully schemed story line, but a little bit lacking in some narrative style.
The story are surrounding those of uniqely character. Amazing development in the Skaven character, like the cunningly old Sharpwit, the mad warlord Queek, even the haughty Grey Seer Razzel. Each are skaven, each have a very distinct point of view. Unfortunately on the other side, some character like Bernard or Thordun looks kinda uninteresting with these skaven character exist in the story.
Another lovely stuff was the Skaven plotting and back-stabbing policy depicted in the book. It's not like the one in Skavenslayer book, it's an ever changing plot of treachery.
In short, this is a great book with good characters in it, wonderfully schemed story line, but a little bit lacking in some narrative style.
March 28, 2014
Felt the story was very slow, jumped from character to character so often and needlessly, found myself unable to follow the story. David Guymer does eventually deliver a good yarn, but it took me so long to get through, I can't rate it higher.
July 21, 2014
Ich sollte etwas vorsichtiger in meiner Auswahl sein, und nicht alle Warhammer-Bücher ungeschaut lesen... Headtaker war zach
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/head...
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