Instruments of War

The Warlock Sagas #1

by Larry Correia

Makeda , Supreme Archdomina of House Balaash, is known throughout the Iron Kingdoms for her leadership of the mighty Skorne Empire, but it was not always so…

Before the coming of the Skorne Empire into the west, Makeda was little more than the second child of a great house, but through her will, determination, and adherence to the code of hoksune, she rose above all others.

For the first time the secrets of both Makeda and her people are revealed in the tale of their epic struggle for honor and survival in Instruments of War. A novella of the Iron Kingdoms.

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Fiction, Role Playing Games, Games

4 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2013

About the author

Larry Correia (born 1977) is the New York Times bestselling author of the Monster Hunter International series, the Grimnoir Chronicles, and the thriller Dead Six.

Reviews

[Shadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Correia doesn’t waste a single page. The action starts from the first page and doesn’t stop until you put the book down and take a much needed breath.

Instruments of War is a novella set in the Hordes/WarMachine universe. Like the universe’s, and title suggest this novella is about war. A civil war to be exact. The Skorne live by a simple creed life can only be truly lived in battle. To engage in one on one, or many on one combat is to know the true meaning of life. Pain purifies the weak flesh, just as fire tempers steel. What happens when an heir becomes weak and resorts to assassination instead of direct combat? Those with honor scream for justice, two great armies once marching under the same banner clash!

As I said the action doesn’t stop from the moment you pick up the book. Yet we are still given a glimpse of this world through the eyes of Makeda the heroine. In the few respites we are afforded we enter her mind. See the conflict of Skorne life; the honorable thing is to topple the weak. In doing so will she weaken the family army she has served her entire life? If only she could commune with the exalted dead. Her grandfather would know what to do.

If you are a fan of Hordes/WarMachine you will love this fast paced action Novella. If like me you have never heard of Hordes/WarMachine you will be sucked into the universe. Perhaps the Skorne can purify you through pain as they do their own warriors…

[William Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short novella, Larry Correia manages to fit quite a bit of quality material into such a small space. Granted, this is hardly highbrow literature, but that's not what you came here for is it? Correia focuses on a series of episodes in the early life of one of Immoren's most influential and powerful women, Makeda of House Balaash. The story is fast paced, the action is easy to follow and full of descriptive imagery (and those familiar with the game will be able to follow it from an in-game perspective as well). Correia highlights the importance of honor and tradition in the fascinating culture of the Skorne, and honestly made me interested in the race like never before.

All in all, this initial release from the Skull Island's project exceeded my expectations for what a wargame-inspired digital only novella could be...quite a niche i know.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a single book by Larry Correia before, and loved it. This book was not up to that high standard.
It wasn't a bad book. Everything was competently written, and as others have said, he gets across a very alien culture and the desire to achieve alien ideals in a convincing way, but there really wasn't much going on plot wise for me.

I felt it was very much: Battle -> build up to big battle -> Big battle.
Sure, things happened inbetween, but I feel between the short length of the novel, and the amount the author had to cram in, a good novel was lost, sacrificed on the altar of a mediocre, churned out novella.

A real shame, however the writing and my own interest in the subject matter kept me going. If you don't like the Iron Kingdoms (world this is set in), then ignore this book, there's NOTHING here for you.

[Mr. Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with this book at first. The author was introducing a brand new world to me and I had very little back ground in his milieu. I had a feeling that it was based on some already conceived world (Warhammer, maybe) and I wasn't familiar enough with that world to slip in to it comfortably. The good news is that by pushing on I discovered a pretty darn good story. Larry is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. The action was good, the writing brisk, the characters well formed. All in just a few short chapters. In fact, maybe that is my biggest knock on the book. It was over all too soon. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Heck. I'm looking forward to Larry's next book. Period.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great biography of sorts for Makeda. Being very familiar with the character from the gaming books I found this book very interesting. Not only did it tell a lot of Makeda's back story but it also filled in some information about the Skorne's internal conflict before the arrival of Vinter. This was hinted at in the game books but the story of Makeda and her brother hadn't been fully explored like this.

I am really enjoying all of the Iron Kingdoms fiction so far, this one definitely left me wanting a follow-up since the arrival of Vinter was mentioned just at the very end of the story. That is saying a lot because I was never a big fan of the Skorne in the game books. This story really brought their race alive for me and piqued my interest. I am definitely going to read some longer works by Larry Correia as I have only been impressed by his shorter works in the Iron Kingdoms settings so far.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another novella set in the War Machine/Hordes universe. I suspect that if I played the game, and therefore, knew more of the background, I would enjoy these books even more. But having said that, even without that knowledge, I do enjoy these books. I've read two of these now (The Butcher of Khardov by Dan Wells) was the other. Both ave given enough detail that I was't scratching my head lost, and both had quick moving stories that were fun to read. It's only 84 pages, so a little steep for the $5 price on Amazon. It is a quick read, and fun will be had by all.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really gives you a look at the ideal Skorne archetype. I enjoyed learning about Makeda's background as much as I enjoyed the glimpses of the Skorne society. I look forward to future releases in this universe.

[Reanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as Into the Storm, but an entertaining read. I know very little about Warmachine, so a lot of the names and terms meant nothing to me and I had to work them out from context. It wasn't too hard to follow, though, even if I might not have gotten all the nuances.

[The Phantom Of The Apiary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another window to look into the iron kingdoms

Larry Correia has really gone for the gusto in creating this world of the iron kingdoms and this is another facet the the jewel it seems to be revealing itself to be.

[Shane Fraughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite novella from Skull Island X so far. Very interesting character and full of action. Can't wait for a full length book in this setting from this author.

[Ian James · Rating 3 out of 5]

the more and more i read these books the more and more i want PP to release character models of certain side characters in the story

[Scott Carmody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice samurai style novella. 5 star if you are a fan of the Warmachine/Hordes world. The book follows Makeada and her rise to power in the Skorne Empire.

[Michael Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Excellent view into the Skorne culture. I'm much more interested in the fiction and fluff surrounding this faction after reading this story.

[John Jeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fanboy all day.

The world of Hordes and war machine is rich. I savour every morsel. Tell me more of honor and warriors.

[Matthias Kostwein · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Warmachine/Hordes and Skorne in particular, give it a go. Its a good read. If not, this is not for you.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short piece by Larry Correia that takes place in a world where war is life. The entire culture is based around conflict and the only way into a cherished afterlife is through valor as a warrior. I find pieces like this interesting as there is nothing in the preceding sentence that I find appealing, yet Larry has a way to make it work with the heroine of the piece being sympathetic. Which is no mean feat when you consider she has her own cadre of torturers. (Paingivers in this vernacular) However, if you give yourself over to this outlook on life, this short story has plenty to give.

Starting at a young age, brother and sister are trained to be deadly warriors by a Grandfather who is the leader of their house. Unfortunately, there is no love lost between them as the brother, destined to lead, gets his ass handed to him in a conflict with his younger sister. This insult festers for years until through devious means he ascends to leadership and tries to have her killed. Sibling rivalry was never this intense. This leads to a lot of strife and an eventual conflict over leadership.

Sure, this is an old story, but Larry has a way of telling it again and better. His action scenes are incredible and he manages to build a system of magic and warfare that ropes the reader in. If you are looking for an exciting story to while away a quick hour or two, you will enjoy this one!

[Bryan Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this. Out of many backstroke and lore tales, I felt like I knew where Makeda comes from now and why she is who she is. A good kicking off point to start reading the WarmaHordes universe lore of you haven't been introduced yet, at least in my opinion.

[Alon Lankri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the whole book but it was just linear and more of the same. The ending was already clear from the beginning and my hope that the direction would be broken like in R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy was not to be. Other series by Larry Correia such as Grimnoir are miles and miles better.

[Filipe Passos-Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

entertaining and competently done, but a better novel was compressed in a lower quality novella. given more time to breathe, this could have been better.
6.5/10

[Compulsive Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good novella about the origin story of a villain. I did not know about Iron Kingdoms at all, but Larry drawn me in to the world and told a story about villains that you would be invested in.