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Warhammer Fantasy
Blood for the Blood God
The Skulltaker is a feared champion of Khorne, a lone warrior of hideous strength and power who kills all who lie in his path. Blood for the Blood God tells the tale of this terror of the north, as he stalks his prey with an iron determination and a dark purpose.
410 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 28, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 11, 2023
Is there anything at all that can stop the Skulltaker?
In the Chaos Wastelands inhabit some of the most dangerous tribes of the Warhammer world. Half beast half men, creatures deformed by Chaos, and other unknown horrors. In the desolate lands of the north, only the strongest survive; tribes are forged by fire and live only for war. Among them, seven tribes in constant fight since time immemorial. That is, until their long time feud is halted by an unforeseen event. The rebirth of a millennial warrior, insatiable in its lust for blood, capable of killing rivals by hundreds, thousands, single handedly.
The Skulltaker, the champion of Khorne, the terror of the north.
“Blood for the Blood God. Skulls for the Skull Throne!”
From time to time, whenever I feel like for some death and destruction, I visit the Warhammer Fantasy world. Unending action, thrilling combat, constant treachery and light drama are always guaranteed, at least to an extent. But mainly, a non-stop bloodfest of death and destruction. This was Interesting and entertaining, but hardly at all excellent or recommendable. Warhammer Fantasy novels are not always the best, but I must admit without a doubt that they do get the job done. I came looking for blood, and I got it. More than plenty.
Still, my long time favorites in this franchise are “Drachenfels" and the "Malus Darkblade" saga; and I’m always looking for that one WH novel that may actually equal or surpass those extraordinary reads.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[2008] [410p] [Fantasy] [2.5] [Not Recommendable] [Death & Destruction] [Gore Galore] [Drachenfels 4EVER]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ Palace of the Plague Lord [2.5]
★★★☆☆ Blood for the Blood God [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
Acaso hay algo que pueda detener al Tomador de Cráneos?
En las tierras perdidas del Caos, habitan algunas de las tribus más peligrosas del mundo Warhammer. Seres mitad bestia-mitad humano, criaturas deformadas por el caos, y otros horrores desconocidos. En las tierras desoladas del norte, sólo sobreviven los más fuertes; las tribus son forjadas por el fuego y sólo viven para la guerra. Entre ellas, siete tribus en constante pelea desde tiempos inmemoriales. Esto es, hasta que su largo feudo es interrumpido por un evento imprevisto. El renacimiento de un guerrero milenario, insaciable en su sed de sangre, capaz de aniquilar rivales de a cientos, miles, por cuenta propia.
El Tomador de Cráneos, el campeón de Khorne, el horror del norte.
“¡Sangre para el Dios de la Sangre! ¡Calaveras para el Trono de Calaveras!”
De vez en cuando, cuando quiero algo de muerte y destrucción, visito el mundo de Fantasía Warhammer. Acción interminable, peleas emocionantes, constantes traiciones y drama ligero son siempre garantizados, al menos en cierta medida. Pero principalmente, sangrienta muerte y destrucción sin descanso. Esto fue interesante y entretenido, pero difícilmente excelente o recomendable. Las novelas de Fantasía Warhammer no son siempre las mejores, pero debo admitir sin ninguna duda que sí logran su cometido. Vine buscando sangre, y la encontré. Más que abundante.
Aun así, mis favoritas de larga data en esta franquicia son "Drachenfels" y la saga "Malus Darkblade"; y siempre estoy en la búsqueda de esa novela WH que tal vez iguale o supere esas extraordinarias lecturas.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[2008] [410p] [Fantasía] [2.5] [No Recomendable] [Muerte & Destrucción] [Abundante Sangre] [Drachenfels 4EVER]
-----------------------------------------------
In the Chaos Wastelands inhabit some of the most dangerous tribes of the Warhammer world. Half beast half men, creatures deformed by Chaos, and other unknown horrors. In the desolate lands of the north, only the strongest survive; tribes are forged by fire and live only for war. Among them, seven tribes in constant fight since time immemorial. That is, until their long time feud is halted by an unforeseen event. The rebirth of a millennial warrior, insatiable in its lust for blood, capable of killing rivals by hundreds, thousands, single handedly.
The Skulltaker, the champion of Khorne, the terror of the north.
“Blood for the Blood God. Skulls for the Skull Throne!”
From time to time, whenever I feel like for some death and destruction, I visit the Warhammer Fantasy world. Unending action, thrilling combat, constant treachery and light drama are always guaranteed, at least to an extent. But mainly, a non-stop bloodfest of death and destruction. This was Interesting and entertaining, but hardly at all excellent or recommendable. Warhammer Fantasy novels are not always the best, but I must admit without a doubt that they do get the job done. I came looking for blood, and I got it. More than plenty.
Still, my long time favorites in this franchise are “Drachenfels" and the "Malus Darkblade" saga; and I’m always looking for that one WH novel that may actually equal or surpass those extraordinary reads.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[2008] [410p] [Fantasy] [2.5] [Not Recommendable] [Death & Destruction] [Gore Galore] [Drachenfels 4EVER]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ Palace of the Plague Lord [2.5]
★★★☆☆ Blood for the Blood God [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
Acaso hay algo que pueda detener al Tomador de Cráneos?
En las tierras perdidas del Caos, habitan algunas de las tribus más peligrosas del mundo Warhammer. Seres mitad bestia-mitad humano, criaturas deformadas por el caos, y otros horrores desconocidos. En las tierras desoladas del norte, sólo sobreviven los más fuertes; las tribus son forjadas por el fuego y sólo viven para la guerra. Entre ellas, siete tribus en constante pelea desde tiempos inmemoriales. Esto es, hasta que su largo feudo es interrumpido por un evento imprevisto. El renacimiento de un guerrero milenario, insaciable en su sed de sangre, capaz de aniquilar rivales de a cientos, miles, por cuenta propia.
El Tomador de Cráneos, el campeón de Khorne, el horror del norte.
“¡Sangre para el Dios de la Sangre! ¡Calaveras para el Trono de Calaveras!”
De vez en cuando, cuando quiero algo de muerte y destrucción, visito el mundo de Fantasía Warhammer. Acción interminable, peleas emocionantes, constantes traiciones y drama ligero son siempre garantizados, al menos en cierta medida. Pero principalmente, sangrienta muerte y destrucción sin descanso. Esto fue interesante y entretenido, pero difícilmente excelente o recomendable. Las novelas de Fantasía Warhammer no son siempre las mejores, pero debo admitir sin ninguna duda que sí logran su cometido. Vine buscando sangre, y la encontré. Más que abundante.
Aun así, mis favoritas de larga data en esta franquicia son "Drachenfels" y la saga "Malus Darkblade"; y siempre estoy en la búsqueda de esa novela WH que tal vez iguale o supere esas extraordinarias lecturas.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[2008] [410p] [Fantasía] [2.5] [No Recomendable] [Muerte & Destrucción] [Abundante Sangre] [Drachenfels 4EVER]
-----------------------------------------------
December 14, 2022
This is an intense Warhammer Fantasy novel, the pulp fantasy equivalent of brutal metal music. The premise is that an ancient demigod, the Skulltaker, has emerged from the shadows and stalks the chief leaders of several groups of barbarians who live on the outskirts of the Chaos Wastes. He seeks their skulls as trophies for the Blood God, Khorne. The main character, Dorgo, is tenatious and unrelenting in his pursuit: to protect his people, the Tsavags, from destruction and bloody ruin. There are some interesting supporting characters, particularly Sanya, a Chaos Witch who worships an incarnation of Tzeentch. The action is intense. The settings are vivid and colorful (mostly...reds). The enemies--the Skulltaker and the various treacherous tribes--are great villains. If you are into Warhammer Fantasy and the Chaos factions specifically, this is required reading.
March 7, 2017
Herr Werner’s second Chaos Wastes novel, Blood for the Blood God is a complete stand-alone from the first novel Palace of the Plague(which was excellent). Blood for the Blood God starts off slow, with an amazing introduction, and then world/character building with small bits of formulaic Skulltaker murders scattered throughout. Get past the 40% mark though, and the book really gathers steam. The character and culture of the numerous tribes of the Shadowlands were awesomely done, and each tribe felt unique and interesting in their own way. Our noble warriors quest for the Bloodeater and the insane number of treacherous plots, backstabbing villains, Chaotic horrors, and surprisingly character really made the last half of the book race by, and is definitely murdered and mauled its’ way to one of my favourite WHFB stories I’ve read thus far.
Couple that with Herr Werner’s absolutely amazing take on Chaos(my 2nd favourite faction in WHFB), and an ending that will definitely leave any Warhammer fan pleased, and you’ve got your reason on my anything written by C. L. Werner is definitely worth buying and reading ASAP.
Thanks for the story!
Sorry it took so long to finish, I got caught up in a pack of Night Lords for a while!
Couple that with Herr Werner’s absolutely amazing take on Chaos(my 2nd favourite faction in WHFB), and an ending that will definitely leave any Warhammer fan pleased, and you’ve got your reason on my anything written by C. L. Werner is definitely worth buying and reading ASAP.
Thanks for the story!
Sorry it took so long to finish, I got caught up in a pack of Night Lords for a while!
December 28, 2008
First book with a "bad" ending that I´ve ever enjoyed! Though, for anyone with even a single iota of Warhammer-lore know-how the ending is a forgone conclusion the moment the true nature of the Skulltaker is revealed. Still, in true Khornate fashion the book is an awesome kick to the face, very cinematic and with an ending that, though one might call negative, is still a perfect finally to a symphony of blood!
Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!
Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!
January 12, 2012
A bit like reading gorier, bloodier, even more rage-filled Conan stories. Grimdark fantasy pulp.
November 20, 2023
I took a long break coming back to this book. I normally love C.L. Werner as a writer and think his Warhammer Fantasy novels are some of the best. However, this one just dragged to me. I enjoyed the story a lot, but it felt like it was 75-100 pages too long. By the end, I was ready to close the book and be done with it. Still a solid read overall though
April 21, 2009
It took me awhile to get into this book. Most of the characters are too warlike and petty to be called likable, and there are times when the author revels in the gruesome violence of the grim story and setting a little too much. In fact, as I read the first few chapters I had all but decided that the only redeeming quality of the book would be the elaborate and well-written battles. It did grow on me however, and in the end it turns out to be a pretty decent (if very dark) fantasy adventure story.
Maybe I'm reading a bit too much into it, but there also seemed to be an anti-war message buried within the main story (ironic, since the book is essentially an adaptation of a tabletop war game). In the book the chieftains of eight tribes are hunted by a nearly-invincible warrior called the Skulltaker. The Skulltaker's goal is to take the heads of the eight chieftains and present them as trophies to Khorne (the blood god of the title). If he succeeds in this quest the hold that the chieftains have over their lands is lost, and everyone in their tribes will die as the land becomes part of the realm of Khorne. In other words, the fate of the world is at stake, and the only hope anyone has of stopping the Skulltaker is if the tribes band together against their common enemy. The problem with that is that the eight chieftains are so petty, hateful, warlike, and power-hungry that there is almost no way that they will agree to work together. In fact, most of them seem to be intent on using the chaos caused by the Skulltaker to their advantage and attack the other tribes. In the end it's their own hubris and warlike nature that is their undoing, and as the Skulltaker hunts them down one by one it's hard to feel any sympathy for who are essentially some very evil characters. It's a very cynical interpretation of the text, but it does add a lot to what would otherwise be a very straightforward adventure story.
The only real complaint that I have about this novel is that aside from the group of warriors who get their act together and embark on a quest for the one weapon capable of defeating the Skulltaker, most of the characters aren't very well-defined. For the most part we know little about them aside from the fact that they are all violent, treacherous warriors who would probably be villains in any other novel. Out of the near-constant death in this book there were only two character deaths that got any kind of emotional response from me. Fortunately, the story moves quickly enough that I didn't notice the lack of character depth until I was almost finished with the book.
Overall, I have to say that this is definitely better than I expected it to be. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is turned off by anything too dark or too violent, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes their fantasy adventure stories on the grim and barbaric side.
Maybe I'm reading a bit too much into it, but there also seemed to be an anti-war message buried within the main story (ironic, since the book is essentially an adaptation of a tabletop war game). In the book the chieftains of eight tribes are hunted by a nearly-invincible warrior called the Skulltaker. The Skulltaker's goal is to take the heads of the eight chieftains and present them as trophies to Khorne (the blood god of the title). If he succeeds in this quest the hold that the chieftains have over their lands is lost, and everyone in their tribes will die as the land becomes part of the realm of Khorne. In other words, the fate of the world is at stake, and the only hope anyone has of stopping the Skulltaker is if the tribes band together against their common enemy. The problem with that is that the eight chieftains are so petty, hateful, warlike, and power-hungry that there is almost no way that they will agree to work together. In fact, most of them seem to be intent on using the chaos caused by the Skulltaker to their advantage and attack the other tribes. In the end it's their own hubris and warlike nature that is their undoing, and as the Skulltaker hunts them down one by one it's hard to feel any sympathy for who are essentially some very evil characters. It's a very cynical interpretation of the text, but it does add a lot to what would otherwise be a very straightforward adventure story.
The only real complaint that I have about this novel is that aside from the group of warriors who get their act together and embark on a quest for the one weapon capable of defeating the Skulltaker, most of the characters aren't very well-defined. For the most part we know little about them aside from the fact that they are all violent, treacherous warriors who would probably be villains in any other novel. Out of the near-constant death in this book there were only two character deaths that got any kind of emotional response from me. Fortunately, the story moves quickly enough that I didn't notice the lack of character depth until I was almost finished with the book.
Overall, I have to say that this is definitely better than I expected it to be. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is turned off by anything too dark or too violent, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes their fantasy adventure stories on the grim and barbaric side.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2012
This is the second instalament of the Chaos novels that C L Werner is penning. The first book is The Palace of Plague Lord and it was a fantastic and different read. Probably the book I read that had more interesting evil characters... The third book will depicts Wulfrik (you can see more of it on my Grey Seer review that C L Werner had the amability to comment and share some new information about it. There is no need reading the first book to fully enjoy this one.
On this book it is focused on Khorne as the name of novel implies. Well on this book we are presented with Teiyogtei Khagan who had united eight tribes under his banner to entablished his own empire however he was killed in a duel with Skulltaker, the bloody executioner and champion of Khorne. On this duel the Skulltaker was wounded by Khagan weapon called Bloodeater. Well the book then jumps to five hundred generations after that conflict as the empire is divided again into eight tribes who are fighting among them with no winner... No tribe can destroy another... A stalemate war...
Well then the Skulltaker returns and wants the heads of every ruler of the eight tribes.. why? Well there's the plot of the other characters... They must find the Black Altar (Teiyogtei's tomb) and reforge the Bloodeater so they can have a chance against their adversarie.
Well one thing for sure... C L Werner can really do landscapes as he creates a great mood that we drawn into it as he as done on the previous novel.
The Skulltaker character is never fully devoloped and we are presented with only glimpses of it. But one thing that made me give 9 out of 10 is the uber fighter. He cannot be defeated and for several chapters we see the same thing. He arrives at a tribe and he fights numerous opponents and he kills them all and then behead the chief.
This book is more than hack and slash (but there is plenty of it). It's a political game of every tribe tries to take advantage of the next or situation. After all they are chaos cultists and have history of fighting against themselves.
On this book as the previous one C L Werner gives the Chaos followers a bit of humanity (after all they are human, well most of them are...). After all we in each book of Black Library are presented with the other side of the story. It's the views of elves, humans and dwarves and now we have the chaos view. Very nice indeed. But on the same level as he gave some humanity to the chaos followers the Chaos looses some of the horror they should represent.
The other thing that I hope to see more than I did were the development of the other characters but nevertheless they were satisfactory and I did enjoy the book believe me.
Another thing that I must congratulate C L Werner is the ending... That's Chaos alright. I really hope for the next chaos book... After all it will be Wulfrik...I really hope he could do a Sigvald book. I bought the figurine and all because i find it very interesting character...
On this book it is focused on Khorne as the name of novel implies. Well on this book we are presented with Teiyogtei Khagan who had united eight tribes under his banner to entablished his own empire however he was killed in a duel with Skulltaker, the bloody executioner and champion of Khorne. On this duel the Skulltaker was wounded by Khagan weapon called Bloodeater. Well the book then jumps to five hundred generations after that conflict as the empire is divided again into eight tribes who are fighting among them with no winner... No tribe can destroy another... A stalemate war...
Well then the Skulltaker returns and wants the heads of every ruler of the eight tribes.. why? Well there's the plot of the other characters... They must find the Black Altar (Teiyogtei's tomb) and reforge the Bloodeater so they can have a chance against their adversarie.
Well one thing for sure... C L Werner can really do landscapes as he creates a great mood that we drawn into it as he as done on the previous novel.
The Skulltaker character is never fully devoloped and we are presented with only glimpses of it. But one thing that made me give 9 out of 10 is the uber fighter. He cannot be defeated and for several chapters we see the same thing. He arrives at a tribe and he fights numerous opponents and he kills them all and then behead the chief.
This book is more than hack and slash (but there is plenty of it). It's a political game of every tribe tries to take advantage of the next or situation. After all they are chaos cultists and have history of fighting against themselves.
On this book as the previous one C L Werner gives the Chaos followers a bit of humanity (after all they are human, well most of them are...). After all we in each book of Black Library are presented with the other side of the story. It's the views of elves, humans and dwarves and now we have the chaos view. Very nice indeed. But on the same level as he gave some humanity to the chaos followers the Chaos looses some of the horror they should represent.
The other thing that I hope to see more than I did were the development of the other characters but nevertheless they were satisfactory and I did enjoy the book believe me.
Another thing that I must congratulate C L Werner is the ending... That's Chaos alright. I really hope for the next chaos book... After all it will be Wulfrik...I really hope he could do a Sigvald book. I bought the figurine and all because i find it very interesting character...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2020
I was really impressed with this book. This is my first dive into Warhammer fantasy. I’ve read a number of the 40k, Horus and Beast series’, but usually stick to smaller worlds for fantasy. I’m not going to anymore. The book had great action, good characters and even a solid quest. Being Warhammer, it avoids many of the cliche and childish trappings of the genre as well, which was very refreshing. Very happy I picked this up.
September 10, 2009
Compelling characters.
Really brings the Chaos part of the Warhammer fantasy setting to life.
Really brings the Chaos part of the Warhammer fantasy setting to life.
October 9, 2013
Blood for the Blood God!
Verdienterweise ein Klassiker.
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/bloo...
Verdienterweise ein Klassiker.
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/bloo...
January 1, 2020
This book kicked started my love not only for chaos deamons but warhammer in general and skulltakers story is just one I've always been fascinated with.
January 27, 2020
blood for the blood god
skulls for the skull throne
skulls for the skull throne
September 14, 2024
It's not exactly high fiction, but as far as Warhammer goes it's good.
May 26, 2025
A bloody, ridiculous, fun, violent mess that encapsulates Warhammer.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews