Vermintide

by Bruno Lee

When Erwin Rohmer is asked to investigate a set of mysterious thefts, little does he realise that he will be plunged into a nightmare world of intrigue. No one will believe his tales of malevolent, walking ratmen. Branded madman and heretic, he is forced to run for his life. His last option is to turn to the dwarfs - but will this proud, taciturn warrior-race agree to help him?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 31, 2006

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I was expecting. Good dark fantasy. =)

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Games Workshop's fantasy world has one big thing going for it; no one else has anything like the Skaven, a race of humanoid rats, whose propensity for inventing dangerous and outlandish war machines is rivaled only by humans themselves. Many of their creations tend to be as hazardous for the user as for the target, but the true strength of the ratmen lies in their numbers - what's the loss of one or two Skaven when there are thousands more?

Vermintide tells the story of Heiko Geissner, a servant in one of the lesser noble houses of the Empire. Heiko is a man who takes care of things for his employer, and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Despite using the worn-out "hero is framed and must break out of jail to prove his innocence" meme, this is quite a page-turner. I especially like the detail Mr. Lee adds to the Skaven; he invests time in his characters' back-stories, and it pays off. I recommend this book as a solid fantasy novel, and one that gives the reader a good feel for the Warhammer world.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent read. The Skaven are always an interesting enemy.

[Michael Haase · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are a heinous race that over the long centuries has brought low ancient Dwarfholds, grinding down that proud race to but a fraction of its former glory. In the past they have contaminated the temple-cities of the cold-blooded creatures of Lustria, and reduced the Empire, the greatest human nation of the Old World, to total starvation and near ruin. And they are planning for worse to come...

That's what the 7th edition skaven Armies book says. They're an ancient and powerful evil, a menace to all, that lurks underground, sapping the world of its strength from below. They're sinister and terrifying beings like something out of your worst nightmares. That said, it's nice to finally see a book that drives that idea home.

The skaven in this book don't fuck around. They're not the goofy and incompetent cartoon villains of the Gotrek and Felix series, they're monsters, pure and simple. Deranged and abominable. A threatening force.

So to put it simply, this book does a good job of portraying the idea of the skaven, though it doesn't go into as much detail as some other books. Additionally, it also has a pretty good story and some damn good characters. The main character, Heiko, for example, has a pretty tragic story arc and by the end you really feel sorry for the guy. Skreezel on the other hand makes for an insidious and frightening villain.

Everything from the story, the characters, the writing were a blast for me to read. If you like Warhammer fantasy, especially if you like the skaven, I highly recommend it.

[Singleton Mosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book and it was much better then expected. Nice change of pace with less action then the title implies, more focusing on the investigation into the existence of the Skaven and their interference.

Nice tie ins with the Gotrek and Felix books as this is almost a continuation of book 3. It was also interesting to see The Loathsome ratmen and their vile kin, and other similar in-world books mentioned quite a lot.

[Peter Rybarczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I expected, the plot was interesting and gripping (first half especially), the main character and his enemy have been well written. Also, Skavens are always an interesting enemy. Also, this book gives a great foundation to the RPG campaign in Stirland.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had promise just didn't deliver

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had received this book and read it right way. I thought that we could enter the mind of Skaven and the main characters were the skaven but it wasn't. We see some parts where we can see the human side and others the skaven.

The main story is this.. We've got skaven stealing dwarvish machines which are held in the empire museuns. We don't know straight away what is their plan but later we learn that the skaven are trying to get the humans and dwarves fight each other.
We've got a plausible but very one dimensional main character. Well... the story unfolds quickly and the book is very easy to read.

The end was my least favourite part for two reasons.. first we see a areal combat. I didn't like it. I mean.. don't get me wrong but for me fantasy we stick in the ground or in air with the help of dragons or such but to have semi-helicopters with machine guns and ballons which remind me of the zeppelins was too much for me. Sorry Mr Bruno Lee. This is not a fault on you but on the world of course...

The second thing is the plot itselfs.. what a hell happens to Rudolf Alberich? He is a treachorous bastard (lol) .. is he arrested? Does he flee to the underworld among the rats? I don't know.. What happen to the fragile Elector count Graf Alberich?

Oh well... nevertheless it is a good book for reading specially for those with Skaven "personalities".