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Warhammer: The End Times #1
The Return of Nagash (1)
An ancient evil returns to the Warhammer World
The End Times are coming. As the forces of Chaos threaten to drown the world in madness, Mannfred von Carstein and Arkhan the Black put aside their difference and plot to resurrect the one being with the power to stand against the servants of the Ruinous Powers and restore order to the world - the Great Necromancer himself. As they set about gathering artefacts to use in their dark ritual, armies converge on Sylvania, intent on stopping them. But Arkhan and Mannfred are determined to complete their task. No matter the cost, Nagash must rise again.
The End Times are coming. As the forces of Chaos threaten to drown the world in madness, Mannfred von Carstein and Arkhan the Black put aside their difference and plot to resurrect the one being with the power to stand against the servants of the Ruinous Powers and restore order to the world - the Great Necromancer himself. As they set about gathering artefacts to use in their dark ritual, armies converge on Sylvania, intent on stopping them. But Arkhan and Mannfred are determined to complete their task. No matter the cost, Nagash must rise again.
432 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2014
72 people are currently reading
605 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Reynolds
313 books339 followersJosh Reynolds’ work has previously appeared in such anthologies as Historical Lovecraft from Innsmouth Free Press and Horror for the Holidays from Miskatonic River Press, and his novel, Knight of the Blazing Sun, is currently available from Black Library. He can be found at: http://joshuamreynolds.wordpress.com
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
January 6, 2025
I listened to this on runs over several weeks (I rarely listen to books but when I do they tend to be sprawling fantasy novels). This was narrated by Andrew James Spooner. His narration was great. I loved how the characters spit insults at eachother. The story focuses on Manfred von Carstein, a vampire lord, and Arkhan the Black, a lich lord, and their schemes to bring back Nagash, the Great Necromancer. This is an epic, sprawling novel with at dozens of characters. It is 16 hours plus. You probably need to be well-versed in Warhammer Fantasy Old World lore to get the most out of this. I can't imagine listening to this if you don't have at least a vague sense of who the main characters are already. A key theme that runs throughout this is the lingering humanity of the undead. They are compelled to serve Death (Nagash) but their own wills and loves flicker on and haunt them. There is so much more to say about this but I'll leave it at this: I'm looking forward to reading more "End Times" novels.
September 26, 2014
You can read the full review over at my blog:
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
The End Times have begun for Warhammer Fantasy. The hordes of Chaos are pouring in from the North even as vast armies of Daemons lay siege to Ulthuan and the Skaven rise up from the Under-Empire to claim dominance on the surface world. Bretonnia and the Empire face enemies of their own and heroes and villains rise up as well, only to fall before each other. It is a dark time indeed for Warhammer Fantasy, made all the darker by the fact that the greatest villain of the ages, Nagash himself has returned to challenge everyone everywhere. The Return of Nagash is the tale of how the necromantic liche is resurrected and what part the Von Carstein vampires play in that.
In the age when the Nehekharan Empire was still strong and vibrant in the Southlands, Nagash rose to power as the greatest sorcerer of his times, and he eventually went on to become the grandfather of all vampires everywhere. He clashed with heroes like Sigmar of the Empire, who eventually went on to become a God to its people, and his is a name considered one of the foulest by all the good people of the Old World. His is a legacy that cannot be forgotten, and that is exactly what Josh Reynolds builds upon in this novel. Through the eyes of the liche Arkhan the Black and Mannfred von Carstein, we see how the End Times are changing the world, and get a hint of the role that Nagash is going to play in it, not to mention the immense challenges that must be overcome for his return to become an undisputed reality.
When I first heard about the End Times, I wasn’t sure what to make of all the news that was filtering out of Games Workshop. Warhammer Fantasy is a setting that has suffered, terribly so in my opinion, from a lack of attention through Games Workshop’s publishing arm Black Library. One need only look at last year’s Advent Calendar or the schedule of releases for the last eighteen months. Fantasy releases have been few and far in between, feeding the perception that Fantasy just doesn’t sell that well and so the content is to be more moderated than for either Warhammer 40,000 or the Horus Heresy.
Which is why The Return of Nagash and Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer are such important novels. For a setting that has been locked in a harsh status quo for years, things are finally changing. There are fortunes made and lost equally in the End Times and at the forefront of it all is Nagash, the greatest necromancer and sorcerer the Old World has ever seen. Nagash himself doesn’t make an appearance until the very last few pages, since the bulk of the narrative is from the point of view of his right hand man, the “nice guy” liche Arkhan the Black, and one of Nagash’s distant sorcerous progency, Mannfred von Carstein, the Vampire Lord of Sylvania.
There are many other characters we meet along the way, even get to see the story unfold from the perspectives of many of them, but the ultimate driving force in the novel are Arkhan and Mannfred. The reason is because with the advent of the End Times, Arkhan thinks that the time to resurrect Nagash is at hand finally, and Mannfred agrees, but he wants to bring forth Nagash to serve his own ends. They are both ambitious in their own way and the novel charts their ambitions and their foibles and their weaknesses and their strengths.
Given the large number of characters present in this novel, things could easily have gotten sidetracked, but that’s not the case thankfully. Even when we have characters making an appearance for a brief scene or two or three, they feel relevant to the plot because there is a genuine progression of the story with each character. Sometimes the novel can feel a bit disunited because it kind of amounts to Arkhan and Mannfred going to different places to collect artifacts necessary to resurrect Nagash, but Josh pulls off the execution and makes it all worth it in the end.
Nagash’s role as a supervillain of the Warhammer Fantasy world is undisputed. He is such a major threat in fact that even the Ruinous Powers want to stop Arkhan and Mannfred from resurrecting the Great Necromancer. That alone should tell you something and convey the import of the ritual. He is unto a god by himself and has contended against other gods. The way that it filters down into the novel with the characters involved is that the forces of Chaos do everything they can to stop Arkhan and Mannfred. They send armies of Beastmen and manipulate equally the Dwarfs and the forces of the Empire to content against both these mortal villains.
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
The End Times have begun for Warhammer Fantasy. The hordes of Chaos are pouring in from the North even as vast armies of Daemons lay siege to Ulthuan and the Skaven rise up from the Under-Empire to claim dominance on the surface world. Bretonnia and the Empire face enemies of their own and heroes and villains rise up as well, only to fall before each other. It is a dark time indeed for Warhammer Fantasy, made all the darker by the fact that the greatest villain of the ages, Nagash himself has returned to challenge everyone everywhere. The Return of Nagash is the tale of how the necromantic liche is resurrected and what part the Von Carstein vampires play in that.
In the age when the Nehekharan Empire was still strong and vibrant in the Southlands, Nagash rose to power as the greatest sorcerer of his times, and he eventually went on to become the grandfather of all vampires everywhere. He clashed with heroes like Sigmar of the Empire, who eventually went on to become a God to its people, and his is a name considered one of the foulest by all the good people of the Old World. His is a legacy that cannot be forgotten, and that is exactly what Josh Reynolds builds upon in this novel. Through the eyes of the liche Arkhan the Black and Mannfred von Carstein, we see how the End Times are changing the world, and get a hint of the role that Nagash is going to play in it, not to mention the immense challenges that must be overcome for his return to become an undisputed reality.
When I first heard about the End Times, I wasn’t sure what to make of all the news that was filtering out of Games Workshop. Warhammer Fantasy is a setting that has suffered, terribly so in my opinion, from a lack of attention through Games Workshop’s publishing arm Black Library. One need only look at last year’s Advent Calendar or the schedule of releases for the last eighteen months. Fantasy releases have been few and far in between, feeding the perception that Fantasy just doesn’t sell that well and so the content is to be more moderated than for either Warhammer 40,000 or the Horus Heresy.
Which is why The Return of Nagash and Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer are such important novels. For a setting that has been locked in a harsh status quo for years, things are finally changing. There are fortunes made and lost equally in the End Times and at the forefront of it all is Nagash, the greatest necromancer and sorcerer the Old World has ever seen. Nagash himself doesn’t make an appearance until the very last few pages, since the bulk of the narrative is from the point of view of his right hand man, the “nice guy” liche Arkhan the Black, and one of Nagash’s distant sorcerous progency, Mannfred von Carstein, the Vampire Lord of Sylvania.
There are many other characters we meet along the way, even get to see the story unfold from the perspectives of many of them, but the ultimate driving force in the novel are Arkhan and Mannfred. The reason is because with the advent of the End Times, Arkhan thinks that the time to resurrect Nagash is at hand finally, and Mannfred agrees, but he wants to bring forth Nagash to serve his own ends. They are both ambitious in their own way and the novel charts their ambitions and their foibles and their weaknesses and their strengths.
Given the large number of characters present in this novel, things could easily have gotten sidetracked, but that’s not the case thankfully. Even when we have characters making an appearance for a brief scene or two or three, they feel relevant to the plot because there is a genuine progression of the story with each character. Sometimes the novel can feel a bit disunited because it kind of amounts to Arkhan and Mannfred going to different places to collect artifacts necessary to resurrect Nagash, but Josh pulls off the execution and makes it all worth it in the end.
Nagash’s role as a supervillain of the Warhammer Fantasy world is undisputed. He is such a major threat in fact that even the Ruinous Powers want to stop Arkhan and Mannfred from resurrecting the Great Necromancer. That alone should tell you something and convey the import of the ritual. He is unto a god by himself and has contended against other gods. The way that it filters down into the novel with the characters involved is that the forces of Chaos do everything they can to stop Arkhan and Mannfred. They send armies of Beastmen and manipulate equally the Dwarfs and the forces of the Empire to content against both these mortal villains.
April 18, 2016
As mentioned in some of my other reviews, I'm enjoying the concept of the End Times. I also think, if even half the rumours turn out to be true, that it's an incredibly brave move on behalf of the publishers. Games Workshop have spent thirty years building a world which is teetering on the brink of apocalypse. War and horror are a part of daily life, giving the world a far darker feel than, for example, Dungeons and Dragons, even if it is also laced with childish humour.
You could argue, not unreasonably, that such a setting is necessary for a war game. Now though, it's being re-written in the biggest way possible - that apocalypse the world was on the brink of has arrived and these books describe it. Watching a world I grew up with die and its heroes and races fulfil or fail their purported destinies has an undoubted appeal.
The writing here though is pretty bad. Joshua Reynolds is to be applauded for keeping it simple and avoiding the trap of over-writing but he almost seems to veer too far the other way. It's like the prose of an earnest, enthusiastic fanboy. It's saved from being completely unreadable only by the relentless pace - the reader's barely given time to dwell on the text's inadequacies as we're bowled along to the next event.
One for the fans then, or, as in my case, the lapsed fans. The plot's neatly summarised, like a scientific paper, in the title... On to the Nagash campaign book.
You could argue, not unreasonably, that such a setting is necessary for a war game. Now though, it's being re-written in the biggest way possible - that apocalypse the world was on the brink of has arrived and these books describe it. Watching a world I grew up with die and its heroes and races fulfil or fail their purported destinies has an undoubted appeal.
The writing here though is pretty bad. Joshua Reynolds is to be applauded for keeping it simple and avoiding the trap of over-writing but he almost seems to veer too far the other way. It's like the prose of an earnest, enthusiastic fanboy. It's saved from being completely unreadable only by the relentless pace - the reader's barely given time to dwell on the text's inadequacies as we're bowled along to the next event.
One for the fans then, or, as in my case, the lapsed fans. The plot's neatly summarised, like a scientific paper, in the title... On to the Nagash campaign book.
April 6, 2018
As far as the end time novels go, this one was not too bad.
Reynolds does an interesting job writing about the various forces that are battling where the undead are involved. His mix of characters are interesting and as he shifts the pov from one to another, it keeps things interesting.
Unfortunately though, because of this jumping, it runs into issues at points. For example, you see Manfred's prisoners in the opening pages of the book. A fair bit is given over to who they are, what's happened, and Manfred's interactions with them. But then, as the book goes on, very little to no more information occurs with them. We see them briefly at the climax and that's it. All in all, it made for it to feel like padding rather than actual substance.
This treatment carries over to a lot of the side characters as well, where some of them deserved full novels themselves, yet were given only a glancing treatment as things carried on. I think the entire story could have done well without all the pov jumping, but in the end, it's still a good book regardless.
Reynolds has done a good job writing something that is a fairly epic event in the Warhammer universe. He manages to tie his numerous characters together and manages to keep the story moving forward with tons of action. Beyond the pov jumping, I rather enjoyed how everything played out, and look forward to seeing how this book ties into the other ones.
Reynolds does an interesting job writing about the various forces that are battling where the undead are involved. His mix of characters are interesting and as he shifts the pov from one to another, it keeps things interesting.
Unfortunately though, because of this jumping, it runs into issues at points. For example, you see Manfred's prisoners in the opening pages of the book. A fair bit is given over to who they are, what's happened, and Manfred's interactions with them. But then, as the book goes on, very little to no more information occurs with them. We see them briefly at the climax and that's it. All in all, it made for it to feel like padding rather than actual substance.
This treatment carries over to a lot of the side characters as well, where some of them deserved full novels themselves, yet were given only a glancing treatment as things carried on. I think the entire story could have done well without all the pov jumping, but in the end, it's still a good book regardless.
Reynolds has done a good job writing something that is a fairly epic event in the Warhammer universe. He manages to tie his numerous characters together and manages to keep the story moving forward with tons of action. Beyond the pov jumping, I rather enjoyed how everything played out, and look forward to seeing how this book ties into the other ones.
April 16, 2023
Great prose (I had to look up more than a handful of awesome archaic words) and action, okay story.
Vampires and skeletons and ghouls oh my! The Return of Nagash is the start of the end of Warhammer 'Fantasy' and the beginning of the Age of Sigmar.
It's brutal story of an uneasy alliance between Vampires and Necromancers in order to resurrect basically an Egyptian-esque god for different reasons. The Vampire leader Mannfred von Carstein wants to usurp the gods power (simultaneously fighting a voice from his past in his head) while Arkhan the necromancer wants to simply end existence and finally rest.
As the two bicker and scheme, The Bretonnians, Elves (high and wood), and dwarves begin to muster their forces around Sylvania, home of the Vampires, erupting into an all-out battle on multiple fronts. There are also guest appearances from the forces of Choas such as Beastmen and Skaven but they are mostly fodder in this story.
Vampires and skeletons and ghouls oh my! The Return of Nagash is the start of the end of Warhammer 'Fantasy' and the beginning of the Age of Sigmar.
It's brutal story of an uneasy alliance between Vampires and Necromancers in order to resurrect basically an Egyptian-esque god for different reasons. The Vampire leader Mannfred von Carstein wants to usurp the gods power (simultaneously fighting a voice from his past in his head) while Arkhan the necromancer wants to simply end existence and finally rest.
As the two bicker and scheme, The Bretonnians, Elves (high and wood), and dwarves begin to muster their forces around Sylvania, home of the Vampires, erupting into an all-out battle on multiple fronts. There are also guest appearances from the forces of Choas such as Beastmen and Skaven but they are mostly fodder in this story.
December 28, 2023
Super fun audiobook. Probably the largest scale Warhammer book I've read so far. Lots of great races and faction interactions including legendary characters and higher stakes. Probably a bit too large and a bit too much stabby stabby going on and needs a bit of breathing room, but a lot of cool stuff happens.
May 17, 2018
Book one of The End Times starts off nasty, and just gets nastier. Trapped between Chaos and the forces of the von Carstein's undead hoards the Empire, the Elves and the Dwarves are forced to work together to save the world. Have they swallowed their pride in time? Check it out.
October 11, 2014
An entertaining enough read, Reynolds slaughters his way through Warhammer characters like it's a Game of Thrones novel. Though I had hoped that Nagash would feature more in a book called 'The Return of Nagash'. Still, worth a look.
December 8, 2014
With the End Times series Warhammer has broke their own records for awesomeness. The book needed some time to build momentum, but once it got it, "Return of Nagas" became an epic, more powerful than a tidal wave, till the very, bitter end.
January 4, 2022
Fun start to the End Times. Wish some heroes had more of an impact that displayed why they are in fact heroes. But overall it was entertaining.
December 14, 2025
I felt obligated to read this as I loved the og warhammer fantasy and wanted to know how the end times actually, you know, ended. But holy cow is this book a slog.
First, I've seen other reviews praise the prose, and I have no idea what they're talking about. This book should be called "adverbs, the novel" (aka words ending in "ly").
"He grimaced, darkly." "He said, coldly." etc. It's overwhelming.
The other part is how much of this book tells without showing. There's very little to infer here.
This is in part due to bizarre pacing, framing, and structure. Fundamentally this is about the vampires of fantasy collaborating with a tomb lord to resurrect Nagash, who is basically Sauron to this world. To do this they need to gather a bunch of relics from neighboring factions, Castlevania 2 style, and then do some kind of ritual.
Thing is, this could have been just a book about Von Carstein (head vamp) hanging out with his tomb lord buddy on a fun road trip to get some relics (which is pretty much what the much better WH40k novel, The Infinite and the Divine, is), but instead the book feels the need to provide both a zoomed in view of certain scenes, but also wide view of the world as a whole.
Did you need to see what the dwarfs were up to? No? Well, too bad. What about the empire? Elves (of all flavors)? Lots and lots of Brittonia? So many scenes of Brittonia knights ruminating about a charge or combat, only to get instantly killed by a vampire. It happens multiple times, and every time feels like it's wasting my time.
The flip-flop between bigger picture stuff and lots of drawn out conversations (and fight scenes) gets dreary very quickly, but also messes up the pacing. There's no clear act structure here, instead it just reads like a mix of Total War Warhammer campaign map interaction with more zoomed in bickering of vampires.
I get that these are all named characters and so they needed resolution from a brand perspective, but it dilutes the story to a point where it's indecipherable.
I still gave it two stars because despite all this, it's still an above-average warhammer book, and there is some decent scenes and smart writing here, though less often than I'd prefer.
Overall, meh. I'm committed to seeing these end times books through because I actually liked the lore of old WHF, but man am I worried about the quality of this stuff.
First, I've seen other reviews praise the prose, and I have no idea what they're talking about. This book should be called "adverbs, the novel" (aka words ending in "ly").
"He grimaced, darkly." "He said, coldly." etc. It's overwhelming.
The other part is how much of this book tells without showing. There's very little to infer here.
This is in part due to bizarre pacing, framing, and structure. Fundamentally this is about the vampires of fantasy collaborating with a tomb lord to resurrect Nagash, who is basically Sauron to this world. To do this they need to gather a bunch of relics from neighboring factions, Castlevania 2 style, and then do some kind of ritual.
Thing is, this could have been just a book about Von Carstein (head vamp) hanging out with his tomb lord buddy on a fun road trip to get some relics (which is pretty much what the much better WH40k novel, The Infinite and the Divine, is), but instead the book feels the need to provide both a zoomed in view of certain scenes, but also wide view of the world as a whole.
Did you need to see what the dwarfs were up to? No? Well, too bad. What about the empire? Elves (of all flavors)? Lots and lots of Brittonia? So many scenes of Brittonia knights ruminating about a charge or combat, only to get instantly killed by a vampire. It happens multiple times, and every time feels like it's wasting my time.
The flip-flop between bigger picture stuff and lots of drawn out conversations (and fight scenes) gets dreary very quickly, but also messes up the pacing. There's no clear act structure here, instead it just reads like a mix of Total War Warhammer campaign map interaction with more zoomed in bickering of vampires.
I get that these are all named characters and so they needed resolution from a brand perspective, but it dilutes the story to a point where it's indecipherable.
I still gave it two stars because despite all this, it's still an above-average warhammer book, and there is some decent scenes and smart writing here, though less often than I'd prefer.
Overall, meh. I'm committed to seeing these end times books through because I actually liked the lore of old WHF, but man am I worried about the quality of this stuff.
March 28, 2025
A decent frame of a story, but the writing itself is lackluster - guess that's Reynold's signature. Still, I feel obligated to finish the End Times story arc, and get fully done with the Warhammer universe. Feels like I've been fully immersed for a year or more.
I don't think Reynold's has a great command of the English language, or at least idioms. As an example, he describes a ship as "adrift, sailing southeast" - a ship cannot be adrift, which means it's following currents without direction, and sailing, which implies direction and propulsion. Not exactly rocket science here. There are several other times where he betrays his lack of understanding of a given subject through poor word choice.
He takes the same approach to characters. Most of the book is focused on Manfred von Carstein's vampire and necromancer allies, who are constantly described as scheming to their own ends, but there is no backstabbing or betrayal. The only example is Heinrich Kemmler turning on Arkhan the Black, to no real purpose. A lot of characters are dropped without fanfare, having contributed nothing to the plot - the necromancers Arkhan brought from Brettonia did nothing the entire book, and could easily have been cut. The inclusion of meaningless tertiary characters can pad a short book's length, but is inexcusable for a book that weighs in at 450 pages.
The are some decent elements, like the two fold bone wall erected by vampires and the wall of faith preventing undead from leaving, the exploration of a reluctant vampire in Morgiana le Fey (although that was treated with more brevity than I would have liked).
I don't think Reynold's has a great command of the English language, or at least idioms. As an example, he describes a ship as "adrift, sailing southeast" - a ship cannot be adrift, which means it's following currents without direction, and sailing, which implies direction and propulsion. Not exactly rocket science here. There are several other times where he betrays his lack of understanding of a given subject through poor word choice.
He takes the same approach to characters. Most of the book is focused on Manfred von Carstein's vampire and necromancer allies, who are constantly described as scheming to their own ends, but there is no backstabbing or betrayal. The only example is Heinrich Kemmler turning on Arkhan the Black, to no real purpose. A lot of characters are dropped without fanfare, having contributed nothing to the plot - the necromancers Arkhan brought from Brettonia did nothing the entire book, and could easily have been cut. The inclusion of meaningless tertiary characters can pad a short book's length, but is inexcusable for a book that weighs in at 450 pages.
The are some decent elements, like the two fold bone wall erected by vampires and the wall of faith preventing undead from leaving, the exploration of a reluctant vampire in Morgiana le Fey (although that was treated with more brevity than I would have liked).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2020
CAUTION HERE MAY BE SPOILERS
What can I say about this book?! I loved every page! I am a huge Warhammer fan and when I first heard that they were ending the series to start another series (Age of Sigmar) I was very interested. This is the first of 5 books excluding the tie ins. This book blew my mind, even though Nagash didn't turn up in it until the last few pages but I expected that going into it. In the first 50 pages I knew that this book was going to be more of a prequel to the events of the 4 remaining books, more of a "here is everyone and everything" it gears you up for the next 4 books while still doing a great job of telling its own story.
The Good Stuff
- As is said this book does a good job of explaining whats happening to other soon to be important character in the next books, it mentions the Elves and Druchi, the Dwarfs and the Rat men so and so forth. Ita great because it takes care of the "who is this and why do I care" that you get at the start of every book, this one does a good job of fleshing them out and where they are on the game board of these 5 books.
- The story it's telling is just awesome, everybody wants Nagash back but everybody wants it under their terms. Its great to see Arkhan the Black again seeing as how the last time I read about him was in the Nagash Time Of Legends book. Its great to see that he hasn't changed much, if anything he seems to have a sense of humour which is nice.
- Ahh Manfred. One of my favourite Vampires is back and out to steal Nagash's power. Like that is possible 🤪 as Arkhan said himself Nagash doesn't just use people he corrupts them, over time he scoops out their soul and everything that makes them them and he leaves them as nothing but an empty shell ready for himself to fill.
- Vlad Von Carstien is back!
- Nagash is back! But you only get to see him at the last 5 pages but as I said, I knew that as soon as I read the first 50 pages, the book is mostly a by the by Warhammer novel involving vampires and necromancers. Full of treachery and deciect and you can't help but root for one side to be victorious. A great novel.
The Bad Stuff
- Absolutely nothing. Loved it.
I can not wait to read the next one, this novel has put the End Times on a serieous good start, I was worried about this series. I mean how do you end over 20 years of novels? Well, we shall see. Great novel just great! 🙌🏻🙏🏻
What can I say about this book?! I loved every page! I am a huge Warhammer fan and when I first heard that they were ending the series to start another series (Age of Sigmar) I was very interested. This is the first of 5 books excluding the tie ins. This book blew my mind, even though Nagash didn't turn up in it until the last few pages but I expected that going into it. In the first 50 pages I knew that this book was going to be more of a prequel to the events of the 4 remaining books, more of a "here is everyone and everything" it gears you up for the next 4 books while still doing a great job of telling its own story.
The Good Stuff
- As is said this book does a good job of explaining whats happening to other soon to be important character in the next books, it mentions the Elves and Druchi, the Dwarfs and the Rat men so and so forth. Ita great because it takes care of the "who is this and why do I care" that you get at the start of every book, this one does a good job of fleshing them out and where they are on the game board of these 5 books.
- The story it's telling is just awesome, everybody wants Nagash back but everybody wants it under their terms. Its great to see Arkhan the Black again seeing as how the last time I read about him was in the Nagash Time Of Legends book. Its great to see that he hasn't changed much, if anything he seems to have a sense of humour which is nice.
- Ahh Manfred. One of my favourite Vampires is back and out to steal Nagash's power. Like that is possible 🤪 as Arkhan said himself Nagash doesn't just use people he corrupts them, over time he scoops out their soul and everything that makes them them and he leaves them as nothing but an empty shell ready for himself to fill.
- Vlad Von Carstien is back!
- Nagash is back! But you only get to see him at the last 5 pages but as I said, I knew that as soon as I read the first 50 pages, the book is mostly a by the by Warhammer novel involving vampires and necromancers. Full of treachery and deciect and you can't help but root for one side to be victorious. A great novel.
The Bad Stuff
- Absolutely nothing. Loved it.
I can not wait to read the next one, this novel has put the End Times on a serieous good start, I was worried about this series. I mean how do you end over 20 years of novels? Well, we shall see. Great novel just great! 🙌🏻🙏🏻
April 14, 2024
3/5 Starkhans ™
I dunno if it's public when I start and finish books. It probably is but I don't care to check. If so, you'll see that this one took me absolutely forever to finish. Partially it's because I learned about how Warhammer Fantasy was big dead and that the lore is only vaguely related to Age of Sigmar. Partially it's because I am (somewhat obviously) not a big Warhammer Fantasy fan or attached to any of the characters
That said this book is not a great starting point for Warhammer Fantasy. I technically started with the Total War games, but they aren't great for lore and I didn't play them that much. There are about a million different characters in this book and tons of stuff happens. If you aren't familiar with the factions and such I expect you'd be completely lost
I did however enjoy it for the most part. I think it suffers from trying to cover so much ground in a single novel, but that's what happens when you're trying to kill a franchise
The narration was pretty great and Arkhan is awesome
I dunno if it's public when I start and finish books. It probably is but I don't care to check. If so, you'll see that this one took me absolutely forever to finish. Partially it's because I learned about how Warhammer Fantasy was big dead and that the lore is only vaguely related to Age of Sigmar. Partially it's because I am (somewhat obviously) not a big Warhammer Fantasy fan or attached to any of the characters
That said this book is not a great starting point for Warhammer Fantasy. I technically started with the Total War games, but they aren't great for lore and I didn't play them that much. There are about a million different characters in this book and tons of stuff happens. If you aren't familiar with the factions and such I expect you'd be completely lost
I did however enjoy it for the most part. I think it suffers from trying to cover so much ground in a single novel, but that's what happens when you're trying to kill a franchise
The narration was pretty great and Arkhan is awesome
August 4, 2025
'The end times are coming', not just because endless factions have been waging constant war on all the other factions since the setting was first introduced, but also because - if my Warhammer timeline is correct - the tabletop gamemasters decided it was time for a big reboot and realised they had a lot of narrative loose ends to tie up.
So, everyone is fighting everyone and a bunch of the most notable undead factions begin to bicker over how best to improve things. Evidently Warhammer baddies are not the brightest bunch because a surprising number of potential solutions involve the return of Warhammer Sauron.
Lots of enjoyable Skaven and Vampire silliness help the enjoyment factor, but I suspect my limited prior knowledge of any characters not present in the early Gotrek and Felix books probably limited how much I could get from this one. I'm sure I'll read more End Times, but probably not just yet.
So, everyone is fighting everyone and a bunch of the most notable undead factions begin to bicker over how best to improve things. Evidently Warhammer baddies are not the brightest bunch because a surprising number of potential solutions involve the return of Warhammer Sauron.
Lots of enjoyable Skaven and Vampire silliness help the enjoyment factor, but I suspect my limited prior knowledge of any characters not present in the early Gotrek and Felix books probably limited how much I could get from this one. I'm sure I'll read more End Times, but probably not just yet.
April 9, 2019
¡No, tío, NO!
El libro es muy bueno y su trama es genial, pero es que el autor se va demasiado por las ramas. Entiendo que es necesario mencionar la postura de los enanos, de los elfos y de los humanos para no saber de donde han salido en un momento dado, pero es que lo que me ha dejado colérico son dos cosas.
1- Me habría encantado ver la dinámica entre Arkhan y Mannfred, pero es que apenas se les ve interactuando.
2- Esto no es a malas, pero no me importa lo que le está pasando a los enanos y a las otras razas. Enterarme un poco me parece bien, pero es que hay muchas páginas dedicadas a lo que están haciendo, y mientras tanto, yo estaba tentado a saltármelas para saber qué pasaba con Arrkhan, o con Mannfred.
Todo hay que decirlo, las tres páginas en las que sale Nagash son BRUTALES.
El libro es muy bueno y su trama es genial, pero es que el autor se va demasiado por las ramas. Entiendo que es necesario mencionar la postura de los enanos, de los elfos y de los humanos para no saber de donde han salido en un momento dado, pero es que lo que me ha dejado colérico son dos cosas.
1- Me habría encantado ver la dinámica entre Arkhan y Mannfred, pero es que apenas se les ve interactuando.
2- Esto no es a malas, pero no me importa lo que le está pasando a los enanos y a las otras razas. Enterarme un poco me parece bien, pero es que hay muchas páginas dedicadas a lo que están haciendo, y mientras tanto, yo estaba tentado a saltármelas para saber qué pasaba con Arrkhan, o con Mannfred.
Todo hay que decirlo, las tres páginas en las que sale Nagash son BRUTALES.
July 24, 2019
The book starts off pretty rocky, with it being a conintual series of chapters about how group after group gets the random idea to go beat up on the undead kingdom nearby. Like many books designed to portray an over-designed battle by a game company who 'wanted to include everyone' There are a massive number of side characters and factions that need to be chewed through so the book can get on with the business of actually telling a story. That story itself is pretty good, the characters are pretty complex for a bunch of villans and thier interactions are enjoyable. There aren't any real plot twists but the core story is still pretty good. I just wish there wasn't all this 'And look the dwarves were there too - let me give you a couple dozen pages about them. And elves - more elves - they were there too so let me finda couple dozen more pages...etc.'
August 18, 2018
This is my second attempt to read this book. The first time, a couple of years ago, ended with me not being able to get into it and giving up after a couple of chapters. The holiday sunshine must have made the difference as I found it very easy to get into but the story (not the writing!) is pretty bleak.
Without giving away spoilers, pretty much everything is horrible in the world and so we follow two bad guys trying to make it worse.
Can’t wait sit up get home so I can start on Book 2 in the series.
Without giving away spoilers, pretty much everything is horrible in the world and so we follow two bad guys trying to make it worse.
Can’t wait sit up get home so I can start on Book 2 in the series.
May 5, 2020
I’d put off reading the End Times novels as I was weary about not knowing the characters from old Warhammer Fantasy. But as soon as I started the well written story dragged me in. I knew the names and all was forgotten. I will get though these quite quickly now I think.
This is the tale of Arkhan and Manfredd attempting to bring Nagash back into the Old World. They are up agains men, Dwarves, Elves and the rampaging hordes of Beastmen. Who will come out on top?
This is the tale of Arkhan and Manfredd attempting to bring Nagash back into the Old World. They are up agains men, Dwarves, Elves and the rampaging hordes of Beastmen. Who will come out on top?
November 12, 2021
As an avid fan of Warhammer, I was exceptionally excited to finally put my hands on this series. Nagash begins strong, with great character development and bringing that desperate, gloomy, misgiving atmosphere of the whole setting. I collected the miniatures (Chaos! Slaanesh preferably), played the tabletop wargames, read novels, and this one gives just about the right feeling as being inside, as living the storyline myself.
Great work of fantasy!
Great work of fantasy!
July 27, 2022
Picked this up on 2 for 1. Disappointing, but I think that's more the fault of the End Times arc than anything of Reynolds doing, as I've read nice tight stories by them.
It's too long, has too many moving parts to care much about any of them, lingers in one point and then leaps across the map and it feels like it's all a bit inevitable and lacking drama.
Definately just one for WHFB completists.
It's too long, has too many moving parts to care much about any of them, lingers in one point and then leaps across the map and it feels like it's all a bit inevitable and lacking drama.
Definately just one for WHFB completists.
December 3, 2022
I originally started reading this as an ebook but then I was struggling, so I swapped to the audio that I downloaded from Audible and though I feel a bit dirty for doing that, it certainly helped me work my way through the book 😅
I think Jonathan Keeble gave a better account as the many named heroes of the Old World of Warhammer than my own imagination could manage 😆
His Arkhan the Bkack was the most prominent by far, twinned with his nefarious Heinrich Kemmler voice.
Nagash must rise!
I think Jonathan Keeble gave a better account as the many named heroes of the Old World of Warhammer than my own imagination could manage 😆
His Arkhan the Bkack was the most prominent by far, twinned with his nefarious Heinrich Kemmler voice.
Nagash must rise!
January 31, 2023
4 stars, based on the fact that it's a very good Warhammer book, but if you are unfamiliar with the universe and the players in it you might be more than confused. Still, this is one of the best things to come out of GWs End Times - shakes the status quo, and gives you interesting characters. Oh, and Mannfred is an a** - guess some things never change (although Mr. Reynolds does his best to make him somewhat likable, which is quite the Sisyphean task and he gets a star for trying)
September 20, 2017
Was probably the okayest of the end times series always good to see Nagash but where the fuck is W'soran or Abhorash or Ushoran???
And FYI Mannfred Von Carstein is not a bumbling idiot like portrayed in this boom he is patient and calculating.
But the end times is as we have seen a crock of shit so game on I suppose.
And FYI Mannfred Von Carstein is not a bumbling idiot like portrayed in this boom he is patient and calculating.
But the end times is as we have seen a crock of shit so game on I suppose.
May 14, 2019
Me cuesta poner solo dos estrellas a esta novela. El concepto en sí me gusta mucho y esperaba muchísimo de ella. Pero la excesiva cantidad de tramas y la lentitud con la que se desarrollan los hechos ha hecho que se me hiciera muy difícil de leer. Echo en falta mucho más de Manfredd y Arkham y, por supuesto, un poco más de Nagash.
September 21, 2024
Simply one of the best Warhammer books out there. Josh Reynolds crafts a tale a the return of Nagash that any fan of fantasy not just Warhammer could and should read. It’s epic in scale and tells a compelling tale of the fall of a world brought about by the arrogance of two creatures who thought they could control the Undying King. How wrong they were.
December 3, 2022
Probably a good book for someone with an undead Warhammer army, but otherwise not impressive. Nearly every single character having some treacherous scheme for world domination made for a pretty boring cast.
January 5, 2024
Libro con una acción y un ritmo ascendente, no da tiempo para el aburrimiento, con personajes interesantes de motivaciones claras, y con sinergia entre ellas. Sin duda una sorpresa agradable, y una aventura impresionante.
December 13, 2024
Facciamo un gioco, ogni volta che Mannfred dice Nagash will rise beviamo, coma etilico a pagina 5, peccato che non succeda niente di interessante fino alle ultime 10 pagine.
La storia è un insieme di millemila personaggi che parlano senza arrivare mai ad un punto. Inutile. Tutto inutile
La storia è un insieme di millemila personaggi che parlano senza arrivare mai ad un punto. Inutile. Tutto inutile
May 1, 2025
I could tell you about this book. About the politics of the vampire court. About how delightful Arkhan the Black and his undead cat are. About the plots within plots.
But I don't know that I'd do it justice. It's a great story in an intricate world to get lost in for a bit.
But I don't know that I'd do it justice. It's a great story in an intricate world to get lost in for a bit.
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