What do you think?
Rate this book
Daemon Gates #1
Day of the Daemon
In a thrilling race against time, Empire archaeologist Alaric and his no-nonsense sidekick Dietrich must find and destroy four Chaos icons before their evil power can be awakened and used to summon a powerful daemon that will destroy the Empire.
- GenresFantasy
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Rosenberg
234 books118 followersAaron Rosenberg is an award-winning, bestselling novelist, children’s book author, and game designer. He's written original fiction (including the NOOK-bestselling humorous science fiction novel No Small Bills, the Dread Remora space-opera series, and the O.C.L.T. supernatural thriller series), tie-in novels (including the PsiPhi winner Collective Hindsight for Star Trek: SCE, the Daemon Gates trilogy for Warhammer, Tides of Darkness and the Scribe-nominated Beyond the Dark Portal for WarCraft, Hunt and Run for Stargate: Atlantis, and Substitution Method and Road Less Traveled for Eureka), young adult novels (including the Scribe-winning Bandslam: The Novel and books for iCarly and Ben10), children's books (including an original Scholastic Bestseller series, Pete and Penny's Pizza Puzzles, and work for PowerPuff Girls and Transformers Animated), roleplaying games (including original games like Asylum and Spookshow, the Origins Award-winning Gamemastering Secrets, and sections of The Supernatural Roleplaying Game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and The Deryni Roleplaying Game), short stories, webcomics, essays, and educational books. He has ranged from mystery to speculative fiction to drama to comedy, always with the same intent—to tell a good story. You can visit him online at gryphonrose.com or follow him on Twitter @gryphonrose.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 6, 2016
This book wasn't anything amazing or terrible, but it was fairly enjoyable all round. I'm assuming about this time in the WHF line, there was a feeling that pairings was the way to go because of the success of Gotrek & Felix(or maybe they just all sprung out of love for the Gray Mouser tales? Who knows). In this series, we have Alaric (scholarly noble human) and Dietz (slightly ... rougher human?). The main problem with them is they aren't an extremely dynamic pairing. It sort of feels like they could've just been one character, and that would've worked. But that's all right, because they're still an interesting 1.25x character.
In this book, they get arrested for silly reasons, then go around the world with a ridiculously large entourage destroying four Chaos-imbued statues, which can let a demon through. As the title implies, the demon shows up & they have to fight to not let it through the hellish rift created.
Nothing too memorable, but Rosenberg keeps the writing fast-paced and doesn't dwell, like, say, the Malus Darkblade stuff (if Rosenberg had written those novels, I think they'd be 66% the size they are now, and I might give a shit).
In this book, they get arrested for silly reasons, then go around the world with a ridiculously large entourage destroying four Chaos-imbued statues, which can let a demon through. As the title implies, the demon shows up & they have to fight to not let it through the hellish rift created.
Nothing too memorable, but Rosenberg keeps the writing fast-paced and doesn't dwell, like, say, the Malus Darkblade stuff (if Rosenberg had written those novels, I think they'd be 66% the size they are now, and I might give a shit).
Read
January 21, 2026It moved along at a good pace with interesting characters.
June 2, 2012
I had this book for some time and as I made my monthly-unexpected distribution of my books from one place to another I start reading this book. It was small with barely 250 pages and it was a light read. There are three novels in this series. The second being Night of Daemon and the last one Hour of the Daemon. So far so good. The whole story develops as fast as they gallop across the empire (even if they say it took a couple of months). But even in that fast novel we get some character development. Just what I needed…. Being stuck on several books like Dune, Unlondon and 7 other books I wanted something different so I started reading this one. Well what a Joy it was. I am currently reading the second book called Night of the Daemon and so far so good.
The author was not unknown to me. I have Queen of Blades (starcraft) by him and other warcraft novels. Unfortunately as I have many books it's always hard to choose from them or to read them all. I am trying to diminish my reading pile but it's hard.
I enjoyed the book and this author it’s one who knows what is doing. He sure understands the warhammer world. It’s a shame that he only wrote this trilogy. The first book he gives you an image of Ind. I think it’s one of the few books who talks about that place. This second book goes to the Border Princes. Few books go there. And the third book goes to the Grey Mountains and the magical forest of the wood elves. Few books go beyond the Empire in the Warhammer Fantasy repertoire…
Now the plot… Four daemon-statues were made by an artist who was unaware the nature of them. One was discovered at Middenheim and the other three were sent to distant parts of the empire.
The story starts in Ind for the first chapter and it sure look like I was reading about Indiana Jones. Then the plot goes to Middenheim (White Wolf City) shortly after the Storm of Chao but most of the book is their search throughout the empire.
Our heroes are Dietz and Alaric von Jungfreud (a minor noble). If the latter is an archaeologist/tomb-raider the first is the one getting through all dangers.
After raiding the temple in Ind they escape to a rope-bridge (Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom anyone?) and they go home to Middleheim to sell a mask they had found and to learn from their exploits. As they try to sell to an honest artisan they discover one statue and confront the owner who tells them that he made four of them. Three have been already moved and this one is almost finish. As they tell him that those statues are chaos beings they tell the authorities that make them go after the other statues and destroy them.
Here is where the author gets its point. The plot is good but the development of the main characters is quite good. I enjoyed Kleiber, the witch hunter, but the rest of the characters are flat and un-interesting. But that’s okay because seeing a witch hunter like Kleiber is pretty unusual. This witch-hunter has some qualities and can even admit that he was wrong. He is not a fanatic as some of other authors portrayed them. There are other characters travelling with them in their quest (almost all with hidden agendas). There is an explorer, a merchant, a cartographer a scout and a small company of Middenheim troops. In their way they encounter several dangers such as beastmen, strigany (this one turn out to be good guys), orcs and humans. After destroying the three statues they return home and the last few chapters focus on the unfolding of a hidden agenda by Chaos-worshippers in Middenheim and provide the reasoning for events in the following instalment 'Night of the Daemon'.
This novel was good not only for those things I mentioned before but also because of the information give. Not only we get a brief glimpse into the relationship (or lack of it) between the Temples of Sigmar and Ulric but also we get to know some history behind the Strigany and the Empire. I really hope it continues this way...
The author was not unknown to me. I have Queen of Blades (starcraft) by him and other warcraft novels. Unfortunately as I have many books it's always hard to choose from them or to read them all. I am trying to diminish my reading pile but it's hard.
I enjoyed the book and this author it’s one who knows what is doing. He sure understands the warhammer world. It’s a shame that he only wrote this trilogy. The first book he gives you an image of Ind. I think it’s one of the few books who talks about that place. This second book goes to the Border Princes. Few books go there. And the third book goes to the Grey Mountains and the magical forest of the wood elves. Few books go beyond the Empire in the Warhammer Fantasy repertoire…
Now the plot… Four daemon-statues were made by an artist who was unaware the nature of them. One was discovered at Middenheim and the other three were sent to distant parts of the empire.
The story starts in Ind for the first chapter and it sure look like I was reading about Indiana Jones. Then the plot goes to Middenheim (White Wolf City) shortly after the Storm of Chao but most of the book is their search throughout the empire.
Our heroes are Dietz and Alaric von Jungfreud (a minor noble). If the latter is an archaeologist/tomb-raider the first is the one getting through all dangers.
After raiding the temple in Ind they escape to a rope-bridge (Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom anyone?) and they go home to Middleheim to sell a mask they had found and to learn from their exploits. As they try to sell to an honest artisan they discover one statue and confront the owner who tells them that he made four of them. Three have been already moved and this one is almost finish. As they tell him that those statues are chaos beings they tell the authorities that make them go after the other statues and destroy them.
Here is where the author gets its point. The plot is good but the development of the main characters is quite good. I enjoyed Kleiber, the witch hunter, but the rest of the characters are flat and un-interesting. But that’s okay because seeing a witch hunter like Kleiber is pretty unusual. This witch-hunter has some qualities and can even admit that he was wrong. He is not a fanatic as some of other authors portrayed them. There are other characters travelling with them in their quest (almost all with hidden agendas). There is an explorer, a merchant, a cartographer a scout and a small company of Middenheim troops. In their way they encounter several dangers such as beastmen, strigany (this one turn out to be good guys), orcs and humans. After destroying the three statues they return home and the last few chapters focus on the unfolding of a hidden agenda by Chaos-worshippers in Middenheim and provide the reasoning for events in the following instalment 'Night of the Daemon'.
This novel was good not only for those things I mentioned before but also because of the information give. Not only we get a brief glimpse into the relationship (or lack of it) between the Temples of Sigmar and Ulric but also we get to know some history behind the Strigany and the Empire. I really hope it continues this way...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2011
"c2006. Characters include Alaric von Jungfreud, witch hunter Kleiber , an explorer, a merchant, a cartographer, a scout and twenty-one soldiers who help them through encounters with beastmen, strigany, orcs and humans while on the hunt for statues. Certainly not a long book and I am not eager to read Books 2 and 3.
"
"
August 15, 2014
One of the better books I've read over the past few weeks.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews