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Warhammer Chronicles #3
Vampire Wars: The Von Carstein Trilogy
The von Carsteins were the most infamous bloodline of vampires to ever stalk the Warhammer Old World. Their very names – Vlad, Konrad and Mannfred – were whispered in fear by the people of the Empire, conjuring up images of doom, death and destruction. Charting the vampire family's rise to power in the shadowhaunted lands of Sylvania and their centuryspanning wars with the Empire, this omnibus edition collects all three of Steven Savile’s classic von Carstein novels into one goredrenched volume.
Read it Because
Vlad, Konrad, Mannfred – names that echo through history (and in the latter case, even into the Mortal Realms). But who were they, and how was their threat to the Empire defeated? Read this clasic trilogy and find out.
817 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 30, 2017
About the author
Steven Savile
242 books251 followersSteven Savile (born October 12, 1969, in Newcastle, England) is a British fantasy, horror and thriller writer, and editor living in Sala, Sweden.
Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.
Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
February 10, 2023
"Una danza de mortalidad, la vida no es más que el preludio de la más grandiosa de todas las canciones. Pues la vida es sólo pasajera, la muerte es eterna"
En el invierno de 1797 en Drakenhof, el déspota tiránico Conde Otto van Drak está muriendo.
Su igualmente cruel joven esposa, Isabella, y su ambicioso hermano están compitiendo para ver quién heredará. ero esa noche, la familia van Drak recibe la visita del noble y frío Vlad von Carstein.
Este fue el final de la historia y legado de von Drak. Drakenhof ahora pertenece al Conde von Carstein y su nueva novia, Isabella. El comienzo de un imperio..
"Herencia" el primer libro comienza contando la historia del primer gran Conde Vampiro, Vlad. Vlad von Carstein es el progenitor de la estirpe.
Vemos como lidera la primera gran guerra de ejércitos de muertos vivientes, invadiendo la población humana.
Además seguimos a un par de cazadores de brujas, el acero, la sangre y las criaturas de la noche están aseguradas. Una excelente historia y Vlad von Carstein es un personaje que deja huella. Es elegante, culto, sádico y despiadado. Será la perdición del Imperio humano y sus aliados los Enanos, que luchan por contener la horrible plaga y peligrosa amenaza de legiones y otras criaturas que diezma sus tierras.
Los conflictos internos de von Carstein son interesantes como miembros aleatorios que compiten por el poder.
"Dominio" es el segundo libro, nos cuenta la historia varios años después de los sucesos del primero, de Konrad von Carstein.
Es el heredero de Vlad. Konrad también está consumido por una locura todavía mayor que la de Vlad. Tras el final de la primera guerra de los vampiros, Konrad toma las riendas del poder.
Su imperio de vampírico está fragmentado y por ahora sólo actúa desde las sombras. Konrad busca moldearse a si mismo a lo que Vlad era e intenta moldear su nueva nación en una versión mayor del Imperio de Vlad.
Konrad me gusta tanto como Vlad, su locura lo hace muy impredecible aunque no tiene el poder y elegancia que tenía Vlad.
"Venganza" el fin, la guinda final del pastel, siendo la historia del primogénito, Mannfred.
Mannfred es un personaje como fue Vlad von Carstein. Es muy inteligente, despiadado, carismático y un nigromante.
Mannfred reaviva el terror de la guerra de antaño que cubren sus legiones de muertos vivientes. Mannfred es una amenaza para el mundo de los vivos.
Me ha gustado bastante el estilo narrativo de Steven Savile tiene la capacidad de crear una atmósfera muy oscura, gótica y pesada que se adapta perfectamente a los pueblos y ciudades que van cayendo en decadencia a medida que el imperio y linaje Von Carstein crece.
Como cambian los personajes, humanos una vez y que luego pierden todo rastro de su humanidad al transformarse. Hay de todo en una trilogía que ha sido mi estreno en el tan colosal universo de Warhammer. Del que no conocía nada. Lo bueno de los libros, es que no te hace falta, te ponen en situación de todo.
Sangre, aceros, plata, vampiros, conquistas, dones oscuros e imperios que surgen y caen.
Recomendable..✍️💀
En el invierno de 1797 en Drakenhof, el déspota tiránico Conde Otto van Drak está muriendo.
Su igualmente cruel joven esposa, Isabella, y su ambicioso hermano están compitiendo para ver quién heredará. ero esa noche, la familia van Drak recibe la visita del noble y frío Vlad von Carstein.
Este fue el final de la historia y legado de von Drak. Drakenhof ahora pertenece al Conde von Carstein y su nueva novia, Isabella. El comienzo de un imperio..
"Herencia" el primer libro comienza contando la historia del primer gran Conde Vampiro, Vlad. Vlad von Carstein es el progenitor de la estirpe.
Vemos como lidera la primera gran guerra de ejércitos de muertos vivientes, invadiendo la población humana.
Además seguimos a un par de cazadores de brujas, el acero, la sangre y las criaturas de la noche están aseguradas. Una excelente historia y Vlad von Carstein es un personaje que deja huella. Es elegante, culto, sádico y despiadado. Será la perdición del Imperio humano y sus aliados los Enanos, que luchan por contener la horrible plaga y peligrosa amenaza de legiones y otras criaturas que diezma sus tierras.
Los conflictos internos de von Carstein son interesantes como miembros aleatorios que compiten por el poder.
"Dominio" es el segundo libro, nos cuenta la historia varios años después de los sucesos del primero, de Konrad von Carstein.
Es el heredero de Vlad. Konrad también está consumido por una locura todavía mayor que la de Vlad. Tras el final de la primera guerra de los vampiros, Konrad toma las riendas del poder.
Su imperio de vampírico está fragmentado y por ahora sólo actúa desde las sombras. Konrad busca moldearse a si mismo a lo que Vlad era e intenta moldear su nueva nación en una versión mayor del Imperio de Vlad.
Konrad me gusta tanto como Vlad, su locura lo hace muy impredecible aunque no tiene el poder y elegancia que tenía Vlad.
"Venganza" el fin, la guinda final del pastel, siendo la historia del primogénito, Mannfred.
Mannfred es un personaje como fue Vlad von Carstein. Es muy inteligente, despiadado, carismático y un nigromante.
Mannfred reaviva el terror de la guerra de antaño que cubren sus legiones de muertos vivientes. Mannfred es una amenaza para el mundo de los vivos.
Me ha gustado bastante el estilo narrativo de Steven Savile tiene la capacidad de crear una atmósfera muy oscura, gótica y pesada que se adapta perfectamente a los pueblos y ciudades que van cayendo en decadencia a medida que el imperio y linaje Von Carstein crece.
Como cambian los personajes, humanos una vez y que luego pierden todo rastro de su humanidad al transformarse. Hay de todo en una trilogía que ha sido mi estreno en el tan colosal universo de Warhammer. Del que no conocía nada. Lo bueno de los libros, es que no te hace falta, te ponen en situación de todo.
Sangre, aceros, plata, vampiros, conquistas, dones oscuros e imperios que surgen y caen.
Recomendable..✍️💀
October 27, 2019
I thought it was fantastic!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
May 19, 2018
In the winter of 1797 in Drakenhof, the tyrannical despot Count Otto van Drak is dying. His equally cruel young wife, Isabella, and his brother are vying to see who shall inherit. On that night the van Drak family is visited by the noble Vlad von Carstein. Suffice to say this is the end of the von Drak tale. Drakenhof now belongs to the Count von Carstein and his newly minted bride- Isabella von Carstein.
Over 200 hundred years later-the real story begins. This is the story of the "Vampire Wars" of Sylvania. In a strange way it reminds me of a Game of Thrones story. This omnibus collects the stories of the three most famous and powerful of the von Carstein line.
"Inheritence" starts the story telling the story of the first great "Vampire Counts"- Vlad. Vlad is the progenitor of the line. His was the first vision of masses of undead armies led by vampire warriors overruning the human population. This was an excellent story and Vlad is a great character. Classy and ruthless, he is the bane of the Empire and their Dwarven allies, as they struggle to contain the horrifying threat of legions of zombies and other foul creatures march on their lands. The internal conflicts of the von Carstein's is interesting as random members jockey for power.
"Dominion" tells the story, several years after the events of the first, of Konrad von Carstein. Konrad is Vlad's get. Konrad is also insane. In the wake of the end of the first Vampire War and Vlad's demise-Konrad takes up the reins of power. But his vampire nation is fragmented and operates out of the shadows. Konrad seeks the magical power of Vlad and attempts to mold his new vampire nation into a version of Vlad's conquering Empire. I didn't particularly like Konrad, his madness made him unpredictable and he lacked Vlad's raw power and charisma.
"Retribution" is the story of Vald's firstborn- Mannfred. Mannfred is as great a character as Vlad. Intelligent, ruthless and a powerful necromancer- Mannfred reignites the terror of Undead legions marching on the living. Often called the greatest of Vald's progeny -Mannfred is a true threat to the lands of the living.
This large omnibus is essentially the tale of the von Carstein line and their wars of conquest as well as their dynastic conflicts. Like Vampires? Then you will enjoy this trilogy of von Carstein and his "Vampire Wars".
Over 200 hundred years later-the real story begins. This is the story of the "Vampire Wars" of Sylvania. In a strange way it reminds me of a Game of Thrones story. This omnibus collects the stories of the three most famous and powerful of the von Carstein line.
"Inheritence" starts the story telling the story of the first great "Vampire Counts"- Vlad. Vlad is the progenitor of the line. His was the first vision of masses of undead armies led by vampire warriors overruning the human population. This was an excellent story and Vlad is a great character. Classy and ruthless, he is the bane of the Empire and their Dwarven allies, as they struggle to contain the horrifying threat of legions of zombies and other foul creatures march on their lands. The internal conflicts of the von Carstein's is interesting as random members jockey for power.
"Dominion" tells the story, several years after the events of the first, of Konrad von Carstein. Konrad is Vlad's get. Konrad is also insane. In the wake of the end of the first Vampire War and Vlad's demise-Konrad takes up the reins of power. But his vampire nation is fragmented and operates out of the shadows. Konrad seeks the magical power of Vlad and attempts to mold his new vampire nation into a version of Vlad's conquering Empire. I didn't particularly like Konrad, his madness made him unpredictable and he lacked Vlad's raw power and charisma.
"Retribution" is the story of Vald's firstborn- Mannfred. Mannfred is as great a character as Vlad. Intelligent, ruthless and a powerful necromancer- Mannfred reignites the terror of Undead legions marching on the living. Often called the greatest of Vald's progeny -Mannfred is a true threat to the lands of the living.
This large omnibus is essentially the tale of the von Carstein line and their wars of conquest as well as their dynastic conflicts. Like Vampires? Then you will enjoy this trilogy of von Carstein and his "Vampire Wars".
October 6, 2017
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
- Herencia: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
- Dominio: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
- Venganza: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
- Herencia: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
- Dominio: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
- Venganza: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
September 3, 2018
I can't say I am happy after reading this.
This should have been three books describing mesmerising yet revolting legendary vampire lords in a dark twisted tale off ambition, obsession and madness. Yet only in one of these book is that promise fulfilled.
The fist book concerncing Vlad von Carnstein is the biggest letdown for it starts so promising with his mysterious arrival at von Drak's deathbed to marry of Isabella. But in stead of seeing how this enigmatic count transforms Sylvania and slowly grips the land and shrouds into obscurity from the rest of the empire, we jump ahead two hundred years. Not only that but suddenly we are following two witchhunters (or should I say two revenge seekers posing as witch hunters) they aren't bad characters but I was expecting Vlad von Carnstein here! More frustrating though was that the facts don't add up, for instance at some point they arrive in Sylvania in search of a murderer and discuss the county. They mention talking to the doctor who was there when Isabelle became a vampire! how Is that possible? Vlad has been in power 200 years at that point and Isabella has consistently been described as young looking! What did they happen to come across a doctor with a life elixer allowing him to be over let's say 170 years old? Now that we are talking about it, it does not add up that everybody is still acting as if there is nothing weird about Vlad von Carnstein still being around after two hundred years and he still has to mop up noble resistance in Sylvania? It seems as if the author got confused and perhaps the date was not supposed to be two hundred years but say 80 years which would have made a whole lot more sense.
Some might say I should not obsess so much about these details, but they aren't details to me, I love warhammer for the world and the worldbuilding in these books are at least half the reason I read them. However even if this would not have been butched up, the book still has flaws. The characters, as said we get very little Vlad or Isabella action POV in these books and what we get is very shallow and forgettable, the worst part is, beyond a "oh he is evil and a ooh he is so arrogantly ambitious" we never get any insight in Vlad's motivations, why does he want to rule the empire anyway? Halass, most of the time we spent with Skellan and Jerek two noble humans transformed into vampires and I don't get them. I guess they are supposed to be two extremes to what happens when a noble human turns vampire, the one embracing the new destiny as a religious convert and the other rejecting to end up a self tormented shadow of his former self, but I don't buy either, they just aren't interesting enough and have little to offer besides their gimmick. The humans in the story are ok and I did like Felix mann the thief, he was by far the most memorable character in the book.
Book two deals with Konrad Von Carnstein, well what can we say about this freak? Well they sure make him seem crazy that is for sure, but honestly? compared to the craziness of say Lucius the eternal from 40k, Hellebron of the dark elves, Konrad is just boring; a much better mad vampire is the red duke whose book by C.I Werner is a roller coaster in the dark, you don't see it coming and it gets in your throat every time. This Konrad.... I don't even quite get how or why he is mad, was he mad as a human when Vlad turned him? If the previous book had spent time on Vlad's growing influence that could have been hinted at early on, but since it did not we are left with a "ooh he has always been crazy insinuation" at least we get some insights in vampire society that does add more to the world yet halass a good chunk of it is through Jerek's eyes so yes we get this sorry excuse of a vampire and his half assed moral dilemma's. Skellan's back too but at least he is accompanied by Mannfred even if it still does not quite convince me how Skellan accepted his new life and total personality switch so easily. Finally we have Kallad stormwarden, a dwarf prince last surviver of his 'small' hold of whom all of them died defending humans from vampires. That bugged me from the start, so all the dwarfs were at that town? All non warrior dwarfs? All the women and children too? But fine whatever last survivor with a self imposed mission to kill vampires, whom for some weird reason does not take the slayer oath even when he is so guilt wrecked beyond the average Slayer. There are some other humans in there, but non really stuck to the mind, the ending last battle felt rushed and was confusing to read.
Finally the third book, at this point I had given up on the trilogy so imagine my delight to finally get what I was hoping for all along! Mannfred is enigmatic, ruthless and interesting whose actions are genuinely interesting to read. Skellan, Jerek and Kallad are back as well as some new humans as well as a few Lahmian vampires but even Jerek finally became a character beyond his gimmick and he even got an acceptable ending. Only one new character was wasted, the elf wizard who pops up and bit later on leaves, it felt as if they were introducing a new elf character, a wizard concerned with the fate of humanity that later on was replaced by Teclis, making this ones cameo completely pointless. The setting of city of Nuln works and the battles are well written, in the end the only truly frustrating bit about it, is why it is like it is. It makes the other books even less fun to read then they were. Even if it still has some flaws, the most important one being, a clear motivation for his actions, once again we get very little true explanation why they want to rule the world, unless you consider evil being evil counts as motivation. Heck, the Lahmians whom we meet in the book get more motivation then the von Carnsteins ever did in three books, which is kinda sad and even more so frustrating.
So yeah to bad but I guess this will be the trilogy on the vampire wars. Fortunately we have the end times book Nagash where Mannfred really shines even if at the very end they screwed it up and reverted back to the motivation in this triology here ; " I am evil and go me!"If I had written this triology I would have left out Jerek and Skellan, spent way more time on Vlad, introduced both Konrad and Manffred in book one; spent half the book two on mannfred in Arabia learning dark magic and emphasising his long distance role in encouraging Konrad's insanity and paranoia and most off all give all of them proper motivations for their obsession to rule the empire and what they wanted to do with it once they had it.
This should have been three books describing mesmerising yet revolting legendary vampire lords in a dark twisted tale off ambition, obsession and madness. Yet only in one of these book is that promise fulfilled.
The fist book concerncing Vlad von Carnstein is the biggest letdown for it starts so promising with his mysterious arrival at von Drak's deathbed to marry of Isabella. But in stead of seeing how this enigmatic count transforms Sylvania and slowly grips the land and shrouds into obscurity from the rest of the empire, we jump ahead two hundred years. Not only that but suddenly we are following two witchhunters (or should I say two revenge seekers posing as witch hunters) they aren't bad characters but I was expecting Vlad von Carnstein here! More frustrating though was that the facts don't add up, for instance at some point they arrive in Sylvania in search of a murderer and discuss the county. They mention talking to the doctor who was there when Isabelle became a vampire! how Is that possible? Vlad has been in power 200 years at that point and Isabella has consistently been described as young looking! What did they happen to come across a doctor with a life elixer allowing him to be over let's say 170 years old? Now that we are talking about it, it does not add up that everybody is still acting as if there is nothing weird about Vlad von Carnstein still being around after two hundred years and he still has to mop up noble resistance in Sylvania? It seems as if the author got confused and perhaps the date was not supposed to be two hundred years but say 80 years which would have made a whole lot more sense.
Some might say I should not obsess so much about these details, but they aren't details to me, I love warhammer for the world and the worldbuilding in these books are at least half the reason I read them. However even if this would not have been butched up, the book still has flaws. The characters, as said we get very little Vlad or Isabella action POV in these books and what we get is very shallow and forgettable, the worst part is, beyond a "oh he is evil and a ooh he is so arrogantly ambitious" we never get any insight in Vlad's motivations, why does he want to rule the empire anyway? Halass, most of the time we spent with Skellan and Jerek two noble humans transformed into vampires and I don't get them. I guess they are supposed to be two extremes to what happens when a noble human turns vampire, the one embracing the new destiny as a religious convert and the other rejecting to end up a self tormented shadow of his former self, but I don't buy either, they just aren't interesting enough and have little to offer besides their gimmick. The humans in the story are ok and I did like Felix mann the thief, he was by far the most memorable character in the book.
Book two deals with Konrad Von Carnstein, well what can we say about this freak? Well they sure make him seem crazy that is for sure, but honestly? compared to the craziness of say Lucius the eternal from 40k, Hellebron of the dark elves, Konrad is just boring; a much better mad vampire is the red duke whose book by C.I Werner is a roller coaster in the dark, you don't see it coming and it gets in your throat every time. This Konrad.... I don't even quite get how or why he is mad, was he mad as a human when Vlad turned him? If the previous book had spent time on Vlad's growing influence that could have been hinted at early on, but since it did not we are left with a "ooh he has always been crazy insinuation" at least we get some insights in vampire society that does add more to the world yet halass a good chunk of it is through Jerek's eyes so yes we get this sorry excuse of a vampire and his half assed moral dilemma's. Skellan's back too but at least he is accompanied by Mannfred even if it still does not quite convince me how Skellan accepted his new life and total personality switch so easily. Finally we have Kallad stormwarden, a dwarf prince last surviver of his 'small' hold of whom all of them died defending humans from vampires. That bugged me from the start, so all the dwarfs were at that town? All non warrior dwarfs? All the women and children too? But fine whatever last survivor with a self imposed mission to kill vampires, whom for some weird reason does not take the slayer oath even when he is so guilt wrecked beyond the average Slayer. There are some other humans in there, but non really stuck to the mind, the ending last battle felt rushed and was confusing to read.
Finally the third book, at this point I had given up on the trilogy so imagine my delight to finally get what I was hoping for all along! Mannfred is enigmatic, ruthless and interesting whose actions are genuinely interesting to read. Skellan, Jerek and Kallad are back as well as some new humans as well as a few Lahmian vampires but even Jerek finally became a character beyond his gimmick and he even got an acceptable ending. Only one new character was wasted, the elf wizard who pops up and bit later on leaves, it felt as if they were introducing a new elf character, a wizard concerned with the fate of humanity that later on was replaced by Teclis, making this ones cameo completely pointless. The setting of city of Nuln works and the battles are well written, in the end the only truly frustrating bit about it, is why it is like it is. It makes the other books even less fun to read then they were. Even if it still has some flaws, the most important one being, a clear motivation for his actions, once again we get very little true explanation why they want to rule the world, unless you consider evil being evil counts as motivation. Heck, the Lahmians whom we meet in the book get more motivation then the von Carnsteins ever did in three books, which is kinda sad and even more so frustrating.
So yeah to bad but I guess this will be the trilogy on the vampire wars. Fortunately we have the end times book Nagash where Mannfred really shines even if at the very end they screwed it up and reverted back to the motivation in this triology here ; " I am evil and go me!"If I had written this triology I would have left out Jerek and Skellan, spent way more time on Vlad, introduced both Konrad and Manffred in book one; spent half the book two on mannfred in Arabia learning dark magic and emphasising his long distance role in encouraging Konrad's insanity and paranoia and most off all give all of them proper motivations for their obsession to rule the empire and what they wanted to do with it once they had it.
September 27, 2016
Death’s Cold Kiss:
An awesome little short story set sometime after our witch hunting characters entered Sylvania, here we get to see a wonderful little drama of the Church of Sigmar being corrupted and how our helpful Witch Hunters help them solve this problem.
Needless to say, the story was horrifyingly dark, and I loved it. It really matched the fantastic tone of the parent novel, as well as gave us another pretty awesome glimpse of Sylvania and our first arc main characters. Definitely a juicy little read!
4/5
Inheritance:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
Court of the Crimson Queen:
Quite possibly my favourite undead story from Warhammer thus far, this chapter takes us into the heart of Isabella’s death and rebirth into unlife. I know I have mentioned it in every review for this series, but Mr. Savile is just a master of capturing the horrifyingly dark, with a touch of romantic, “feeling” of the Vampire Counts that I love so much about Warhammer Vampires. The whole story takes a step inwards, away from the cross-country wars, and right into Vlad and his wife’s story of rebirth. The little action that there was in the story was great, but I really just fell in love with the characters. I wish this had made it into the original novel, as it really adds another phenomenal dimension to our Vampiric cast of characters.
5/5
Dominion:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
An awesome little short story set sometime after our witch hunting characters entered Sylvania, here we get to see a wonderful little drama of the Church of Sigmar being corrupted and how our helpful Witch Hunters help them solve this problem.
Needless to say, the story was horrifyingly dark, and I loved it. It really matched the fantastic tone of the parent novel, as well as gave us another pretty awesome glimpse of Sylvania and our first arc main characters. Definitely a juicy little read!
4/5
Inheritance:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
Court of the Crimson Queen:
Quite possibly my favourite undead story from Warhammer thus far, this chapter takes us into the heart of Isabella’s death and rebirth into unlife. I know I have mentioned it in every review for this series, but Mr. Savile is just a master of capturing the horrifyingly dark, with a touch of romantic, “feeling” of the Vampire Counts that I love so much about Warhammer Vampires. The whole story takes a step inwards, away from the cross-country wars, and right into Vlad and his wife’s story of rebirth. The little action that there was in the story was great, but I really just fell in love with the characters. I wish this had made it into the original novel, as it really adds another phenomenal dimension to our Vampiric cast of characters.
5/5
Dominion:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
February 14, 2021
Trepidantes historias de vampiros conspirando entre ellos por el poder y la conquista de un mundo fantástico ambientado en el medievo donde se aparecen todo tipo de criaturas fantásticas, reyes y caballeros y magia que levanta a los muertos.
April 23, 2021
Mi motivación principal para aventurarme en esta trilogía es la cercana salida de los Soulblight Gravelords como una facción sólida en el universo de Age of Sigmar, y quería conocer los orígenes de los personajes que dieron "no-vida" a los conocidos Condes vampiro e inspiraron sus herederos espirituales a futuro. Además, tenía un creciente interés de saber el por qué la comunidad de fans tenían en un pedestal a Vlad von Carstein, el villano protagonista principal, mientras que Mannfred von Carstein, que tomaría el relevo en el tercer libro, era y es tan odiado.
La experiencia tras la lectura ha sido satisfactoria, entretenida, con personajes carismáticos que viven en un mundo oscuro, a lo grimdark, ambientado en mitos de Europa del este y referencias a Vlad Tepes o el conde Drácula. En guerra constante y sin esperanzas de vivir demasiado, la novela promete que es mejor no encariñarse demasiado con ningún personaje, pues no se sabe si pasarán de la siguiente página, pero esto le da realismo, una forma de sentirte más identificado con los héroes de la aventura pues no son más que seres desdichados que se han encontrado con un conflicto traído por los verdaderos protagonistas de la historia, que son los vampiros del linaje Von Carstein.
Mi favorito fue el primer título, donde se presenta la historia y a los memorables Vlad e Isabella von Carstein, que serán los más recordados en el universo de Warhammer. Pues si bien son una pareja peculiar, me parecen demasiado aclamados por el fandom, concretamente Vlad pero puedo entender su mayor cariño pues ha sido el único vampiro con un cierto aprecio por la humanidad.
El segundo libro trata el arco de Konrad von Carstein, un loco sanguinario que ve conspiraciones donde no las hay, y que personalmente encontré no demasiado interesante. En cambio sí me sentí mucho más atraído por la historia de Jerek von Carstein, un guerrero convertido por Vlad y que está en la sombra con un constante conflicto de personalidad.
Y el tercero, como final a la trilogía ha sido el que me ha provocado un chasco y desilusión, pues si bien prometía mucho pues el rol como mayor villano y más poderoso vampiro lo tomaba Mannfred, el uso descarado de uno de los mayores deux ex machina que he leído en mi vida con la participación de un hechicero élfico, puso en jaque todas las artimañas y planes de guerra del vampiro. Dicho elfo, ajeno hasta ahora a todo lo ocurrido, obtuvo conocimiento de la trama en un instante, además de encontrar soluciones a todo de manera arbitraría y conveniente.
Pero el remate fue cuando el final de la historia no coincidía con lo que yo ya era conocedor por otras fuentes, y es que con un poco de investigación, resulta que esta obra no es canónica en ciertos puntos del relato, respecto al canon actual.
Puede que esto no sea novedad para muchos, incluso esto puede darse en muchas sagas, por algo existe el "retcon", pero aún con todo me da muchísima pena que personajes tales como Jerek von Carstein o Kallad Custodio del asalto que me llegaron más por su profundiad y desarrollo, incluso que Mannfred o el propio Vlad, pasen sin pena ni gloria, y sean estos últimos los reconocidos a futuro.
Es una lástima, aún con todo he disfrutado muchísimo de la novela y por ende le doy 4 estrellas.
La experiencia tras la lectura ha sido satisfactoria, entretenida, con personajes carismáticos que viven en un mundo oscuro, a lo grimdark, ambientado en mitos de Europa del este y referencias a Vlad Tepes o el conde Drácula. En guerra constante y sin esperanzas de vivir demasiado, la novela promete que es mejor no encariñarse demasiado con ningún personaje, pues no se sabe si pasarán de la siguiente página, pero esto le da realismo, una forma de sentirte más identificado con los héroes de la aventura pues no son más que seres desdichados que se han encontrado con un conflicto traído por los verdaderos protagonistas de la historia, que son los vampiros del linaje Von Carstein.
Mi favorito fue el primer título, donde se presenta la historia y a los memorables Vlad e Isabella von Carstein, que serán los más recordados en el universo de Warhammer. Pues si bien son una pareja peculiar, me parecen demasiado aclamados por el fandom, concretamente Vlad pero puedo entender su mayor cariño pues ha sido el único vampiro con un cierto aprecio por la humanidad.
El segundo libro trata el arco de Konrad von Carstein, un loco sanguinario que ve conspiraciones donde no las hay, y que personalmente encontré no demasiado interesante. En cambio sí me sentí mucho más atraído por la historia de Jerek von Carstein, un guerrero convertido por Vlad y que está en la sombra con un constante conflicto de personalidad.
Y el tercero, como final a la trilogía ha sido el que me ha provocado un chasco y desilusión, pues si bien prometía mucho pues el rol como mayor villano y más poderoso vampiro lo tomaba Mannfred, el uso descarado de uno de los mayores deux ex machina que he leído en mi vida con la participación de un hechicero élfico, puso en jaque todas las artimañas y planes de guerra del vampiro. Dicho elfo, ajeno hasta ahora a todo lo ocurrido, obtuvo conocimiento de la trama en un instante, además de encontrar soluciones a todo de manera arbitraría y conveniente.
Pero el remate fue cuando el final de la historia no coincidía con lo que yo ya era conocedor por otras fuentes, y es que con un poco de investigación, resulta que esta obra no es canónica en ciertos puntos del relato, respecto al canon actual.
Puede que esto no sea novedad para muchos, incluso esto puede darse en muchas sagas, por algo existe el "retcon", pero aún con todo me da muchísima pena que personajes tales como Jerek von Carstein o Kallad Custodio del asalto que me llegaron más por su profundiad y desarrollo, incluso que Mannfred o el propio Vlad, pasen sin pena ni gloria, y sean estos últimos los reconocidos a futuro.
Es una lástima, aún con todo he disfrutado muchísimo de la novela y por ende le doy 4 estrellas.
September 4, 2019
Inheritance
This book was very divisive for me at first. Steven Savile clearly has exceptional talent to create a dark, heavy atmosphere perfectly fitting for the slowly sinking to decay villages and towns as the influence of Warhammer's infamous sylvanian vampires spread through the lands. He also created many excellently portrayed characters only to kick up the estabilished rules of the Warhammer Fantasy universe and pretty much delete the personality of ALL characters he build up so well, the moment some of them became vampires. After reading through Mike Lee's peak chapters in the Rise of Nagash that told the sad and slow descend of Neferata to darkness after becoming the undead monster that we know as a vampire in Warhammer, it was simply canon-breaking from Steven Savile to instantly turn people who dedicated their lives to exact vengeance upon the vampires for murdering their families, become bloodhungry crazed murderers of innocents from one page to another. I felt all the characters built up so far were thrown out to the trashcan in an instant, which is a shame since Vlad and Isabella von Carstein barely ever show up after the epilogue so losing the (historically speaking significantly less important random) characters the book focuses on made me think reading it was pointless. This book was my first and biggest disappointment so far after reading many Warhammer Chronicles books. However, it finds redemption.
Dominion
Because in the second book, it feels as if the author realized his mistake and does a succesful job of turning it into something else - bad pacing. The book spends significant amount of time with characters from the first book "waking up" to the fact of what they have become, and this finally restores what the vampires in Warhammer always had: free will. Just because one became a vampire, that doesn't mean they have to be evil. At this point we get significant character development for all the people, their real self I thought we lost in the first book, because they decide for themselves how to live with what they became - revel in undeath and blood of innocents as the monsters they fought against their whole life, or reject it and "live" as an outcast, enemy of both the living and the dead, trying to save the former while hunted by both, and trying to preserve of what's left of one's former life. Additionally we get a new main character, Konrad von Carstein who the book portrays as a political genius, rooting out all who'd betray him until a major twist in the book made me rethink everything I've read about him so far. The slowly turning to repetitive boredom infighting of the von Carsteins go out with a bang, and overall the whole second book is just miles ahead of the first one, fixing it's missteps and giving new value to Inheritance as an entirely setup book for Dominion, which speeds up the events significantly as the reader goes through it.
Retribution
And thankfully, through the last book this rise in quality never stops. Retribution combines the excellent character and atmosphere portrayal talent of Steven Savile, while successfully introduces new characters and fantastic war stories of footsoldiers, connecting the events of Inheritance and Dominion into a great final book. It finds perfect balance between showing us one of the biggest threat the Empire has ever seen, Mannfred von Carstein and how a few people around the world who stand up to make a difference were all required to put a stop to Mannfred's advance. However, while his presence is the obvious threat to the Empire - and undeniably the whole world next - after finishing the book I think it was still a secondary thing. Steven Savile thankfully did not abandon all those sidecharacters he used as eyes to tell the story of the vampire counts through them. I'm not going to list names here for spoiler reasons (you don't want it revealed here who makes it through the first two books, right?) but every sidecharacter who the author actually used as main characters get their story finally finished, and each in a very personal and satisfying way. To some, that's redemption, to others, punishment, to another, peace. And all three of these to one of my new favourite Warhammer Fantasy characters ever, the closing pages of Retribution says goodbye to. And I have Steven Savile to thank for creating him, the author who's knowledge and respect towards Warhammer Fantasy lore I seriously questioned in the first book. What a comeback these two others were!
I would recommend the book to everyone who likes grim, almost depressed characters and world building, and has the patience to eat yourself through it when it becomes too much, just to start to see the light at the end and go on an amazing journey out of the darkness along with the characters themselves. Characters who unlike us, can't put the book down to escape that world, and if you like characters who move in the moral grey zone, have tragic stories of suffering from or doing evil, and you want to root for them to find redemption or feel sad if they choose the wrong path - and to see these paths colliding - the von Carstein trilogy is definitely a great choice for you. However if you are looking for big, historical events of the Warhammer Fantasy world, you might want to skip this. Those who pick up this book already know Vlad, Konrad and Mannfred are destined to fail, and you won't get much more than that about them from this book, as they are treated as the sidecharacters in a story told through Empire witchhunters, soldiers, a young dawi adventurer, and half dozen lesser vampire characters where the author could enjoy the freedom to create his own characters and storylines. At first, that was hugely disappointing, but through the second book Steven Savile justifies this choice with excellent writing and doesn't stop until the last words of the third.
This book was very divisive for me at first. Steven Savile clearly has exceptional talent to create a dark, heavy atmosphere perfectly fitting for the slowly sinking to decay villages and towns as the influence of Warhammer's infamous sylvanian vampires spread through the lands. He also created many excellently portrayed characters only to kick up the estabilished rules of the Warhammer Fantasy universe and pretty much delete the personality of ALL characters he build up so well, the moment some of them became vampires. After reading through Mike Lee's peak chapters in the Rise of Nagash that told the sad and slow descend of Neferata to darkness after becoming the undead monster that we know as a vampire in Warhammer, it was simply canon-breaking from Steven Savile to instantly turn people who dedicated their lives to exact vengeance upon the vampires for murdering their families, become bloodhungry crazed murderers of innocents from one page to another. I felt all the characters built up so far were thrown out to the trashcan in an instant, which is a shame since Vlad and Isabella von Carstein barely ever show up after the epilogue so losing the (historically speaking significantly less important random) characters the book focuses on made me think reading it was pointless. This book was my first and biggest disappointment so far after reading many Warhammer Chronicles books. However, it finds redemption.
Dominion
Because in the second book, it feels as if the author realized his mistake and does a succesful job of turning it into something else - bad pacing. The book spends significant amount of time with characters from the first book "waking up" to the fact of what they have become, and this finally restores what the vampires in Warhammer always had: free will. Just because one became a vampire, that doesn't mean they have to be evil. At this point we get significant character development for all the people, their real self I thought we lost in the first book, because they decide for themselves how to live with what they became - revel in undeath and blood of innocents as the monsters they fought against their whole life, or reject it and "live" as an outcast, enemy of both the living and the dead, trying to save the former while hunted by both, and trying to preserve of what's left of one's former life. Additionally we get a new main character, Konrad von Carstein who the book portrays as a political genius, rooting out all who'd betray him until a major twist in the book made me rethink everything I've read about him so far. The slowly turning to repetitive boredom infighting of the von Carsteins go out with a bang, and overall the whole second book is just miles ahead of the first one, fixing it's missteps and giving new value to Inheritance as an entirely setup book for Dominion, which speeds up the events significantly as the reader goes through it.
Retribution
And thankfully, through the last book this rise in quality never stops. Retribution combines the excellent character and atmosphere portrayal talent of Steven Savile, while successfully introduces new characters and fantastic war stories of footsoldiers, connecting the events of Inheritance and Dominion into a great final book. It finds perfect balance between showing us one of the biggest threat the Empire has ever seen, Mannfred von Carstein and how a few people around the world who stand up to make a difference were all required to put a stop to Mannfred's advance. However, while his presence is the obvious threat to the Empire - and undeniably the whole world next - after finishing the book I think it was still a secondary thing. Steven Savile thankfully did not abandon all those sidecharacters he used as eyes to tell the story of the vampire counts through them. I'm not going to list names here for spoiler reasons (you don't want it revealed here who makes it through the first two books, right?) but every sidecharacter who the author actually used as main characters get their story finally finished, and each in a very personal and satisfying way. To some, that's redemption, to others, punishment, to another, peace. And all three of these to one of my new favourite Warhammer Fantasy characters ever, the closing pages of Retribution says goodbye to. And I have Steven Savile to thank for creating him, the author who's knowledge and respect towards Warhammer Fantasy lore I seriously questioned in the first book. What a comeback these two others were!
I would recommend the book to everyone who likes grim, almost depressed characters and world building, and has the patience to eat yourself through it when it becomes too much, just to start to see the light at the end and go on an amazing journey out of the darkness along with the characters themselves. Characters who unlike us, can't put the book down to escape that world, and if you like characters who move in the moral grey zone, have tragic stories of suffering from or doing evil, and you want to root for them to find redemption or feel sad if they choose the wrong path - and to see these paths colliding - the von Carstein trilogy is definitely a great choice for you. However if you are looking for big, historical events of the Warhammer Fantasy world, you might want to skip this. Those who pick up this book already know Vlad, Konrad and Mannfred are destined to fail, and you won't get much more than that about them from this book, as they are treated as the sidecharacters in a story told through Empire witchhunters, soldiers, a young dawi adventurer, and half dozen lesser vampire characters where the author could enjoy the freedom to create his own characters and storylines. At first, that was hugely disappointing, but through the second book Steven Savile justifies this choice with excellent writing and doesn't stop until the last words of the third.
August 13, 2020
3,5. A mediocre book with vampires. Nothing more, nothing less. At least, the vampires were routhless killers, not romantic weaklings
October 8, 2026
That was a slog. I collected Vampire Counts as an edgy teen/university student and enjoyed the fluff pieces and lore in the White Dwarf and books, so I wanted to sort of get the full Von Carstein story. But sadly this was poorly written, and got worse over the course of the books. The end of the final one was just a mess. I don’t know. I wanted to like it, but it felt like reading a rough draft.
January 15, 2021
#SPOILERS#
Steven Savile cannot (if i can go by these books) write a good long story The beginning of the books always seems promising, he builds up some characters pretty good (would like more filling than a simple minded need for every character) and then kills them without any good build up. (Except Skellan) Vlad dies by almost a non named Grand Theologist. He does show up and explain for Felix Mann to steal the Ring. I would love more Felix mann becuase Savile actually built that character up, but nooo its the "godly" Theologist that slays Vlad in a anti climatic scene. The first book felt hasty and anticlimatic. Vlad deserved so much better than this book.
Then we have Poor Konrad that starts awesome, sure being a little paranoid and insecure about that he cannot use magic. But is superior than everyone in melee combat. He suddenly gets super insane from nowhere, sure Skellan corrupts him but the speed how it happens is infuriating, and that Konrad never understand it is so stupid. And that the most powerful brutish Vampire (Konrad) gets owned by a angry dwarf and a teenager with a big sword, is almost as bad as Vlads Death. Though i Really liked Stormwardens story.
Then we have Mannfred, the man who have planned his rise to power during all the books gets owned so hard its not even funny the build up is good but the payoff sucks ( huehue ). A Random high Elf wakes up yeets himself to the empire to drop some knowledge on the humans how to fight and then yeets himself back. Why? i cannot understand why they where important to the story. Same with the Hidden Vampire family in Nuln. whats the point of having them in the story if they are not going to drive it forward in a meaniful way? Only good coming out of that part was the White wolf to understand he needed to feed to be strong enough to fight Mannfred. The death of
Mannfred was pretty good. but i did not enjoy how the Grand theologist just finds one of Nagash books and can use it without problem and just just shits on Mannfreds whole army like its nothing. I mean does not Mannfred have one himself? does he not have like alot of other magic spells he can use ?
The short stories where awesome and i have nothing bad to say about them. They where the best part of the omnibus.
I would not recommend reading this book except if you are in desperate need for some vampires in Warhammer. Steven Savile should have atleast given Vlad two books so they could have fleshed out Isabella and Vlad. Now i will Read Rise of Nagash to take the bitter taste from this omnibus ( except the short stories, sooooo good)
Steven Savile cannot (if i can go by these books) write a good long story The beginning of the books always seems promising, he builds up some characters pretty good (would like more filling than a simple minded need for every character) and then kills them without any good build up. (Except Skellan) Vlad dies by almost a non named Grand Theologist. He does show up and explain for Felix Mann to steal the Ring. I would love more Felix mann becuase Savile actually built that character up, but nooo its the "godly" Theologist that slays Vlad in a anti climatic scene. The first book felt hasty and anticlimatic. Vlad deserved so much better than this book.
Then we have Poor Konrad that starts awesome, sure being a little paranoid and insecure about that he cannot use magic. But is superior than everyone in melee combat. He suddenly gets super insane from nowhere, sure Skellan corrupts him but the speed how it happens is infuriating, and that Konrad never understand it is so stupid. And that the most powerful brutish Vampire (Konrad) gets owned by a angry dwarf and a teenager with a big sword, is almost as bad as Vlads Death. Though i Really liked Stormwardens story.
Then we have Mannfred, the man who have planned his rise to power during all the books gets owned so hard its not even funny the build up is good but the payoff sucks ( huehue ). A Random high Elf wakes up yeets himself to the empire to drop some knowledge on the humans how to fight and then yeets himself back. Why? i cannot understand why they where important to the story. Same with the Hidden Vampire family in Nuln. whats the point of having them in the story if they are not going to drive it forward in a meaniful way? Only good coming out of that part was the White wolf to understand he needed to feed to be strong enough to fight Mannfred. The death of
Mannfred was pretty good. but i did not enjoy how the Grand theologist just finds one of Nagash books and can use it without problem and just just shits on Mannfreds whole army like its nothing. I mean does not Mannfred have one himself? does he not have like alot of other magic spells he can use ?
The short stories where awesome and i have nothing bad to say about them. They where the best part of the omnibus.
I would not recommend reading this book except if you are in desperate need for some vampires in Warhammer. Steven Savile should have atleast given Vlad two books so they could have fleshed out Isabella and Vlad. Now i will Read Rise of Nagash to take the bitter taste from this omnibus ( except the short stories, sooooo good)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2008
The main conflict in the book is how to kill the vampire Vlad Von Carstien and stop his evil rain of terror. He starts an unholy war where the dead have risen to serve him and the living that become dead succumb to his will as well. The war last for forty years as the living slowly dwindle through the years as they feed and unwillingly join the ranks of his undead army. The final assault on the last civilization that had been defiant to the very end, had defeated the unholy army by killing finding Vlad Von Carstien's weakness, and finally killing him. Unfortunately I only read the first half of the book so that is what I am basing this review on. The story line was was constructed of four or five different stories that melded together in that last battle, the fallen warrior, the vengeful witch hunters, the honorable thief, the power hungry vampire, and the glory driven priest. The structure of the storyline reminde me of The Grudge. They used different time segments to form the main plot to the movie witch was you can't hide and if you interfere you'll die, and the difference ins that in the book they in the same time frame. I enjoyed reading this book although it was a little slow in the beginning, I'm glad I decided t o keep reading. My favorite parts of the book were the fight scenes where the humans took on the vampires face to face.
February 16, 2013
This was not the kind of book I normally read, there are parts in it that if your not open minded to a new experience involving gooey gorey guts you wont like this book. I normally read books that, in comparison, are "happy tra-la-la prancing through the forest killing "spiders"" type books. But I was glad I picked it up It held my interest through most of the book, there were parts that were redundant and detail overkill, like I dont need to know the color of the sash on the doll of the cousins nephews ... you get the point, but otherwise it was a surprising like.
May 28, 2009
I'm reading this book at the moment, and I'm on Chapter Twenty-Five, page 227, in the Inheritance part of the book. It's a really good book, and it makes you feel like your watching the book, word after word, just like a long movie. It's very difficult for me to put this book down. ;)
April 10, 2012
This was the grittiest, goriest, most disgusting vampire tale I've ever read, and I loved every single page of it. I can't wait to read it again.
January 23, 2016
The way Vampires were meant to be. Monsters and predators. It's a breath of fresh night air in the ever expanding pop-culture inspired sea of vampire teen romance.
April 4, 2020
Welp, I finished it.
I want to start with what works. There are a number of amazing scenes and even sections in this trilogy. Some evocative scenes and battles that were a joy to read. Reading the evolution of the Von Carstein bloodline was also interesting; however, unfortunately the best and most well fleshed out Von Carstein, Vlad, is only in the first book.
This leads me to the biggest flaw of this book, characters. The story tries to use the Von Carstein bloodline as the character, with other people weaving in and out of the story. However, this just doesn't work, as the reader is left with no one to clearly root for, and few to even root against.
When sections include interesting characters, such as the Wolf, the dwarf Kallad, the pair of Witch Hunters, or Vlad, the story flows amazing, and I grew invested. However, just as frequently we are stuck in a bog of bland and poorly fleshed out characters, dragging on and on, to the point where their deaths mean NOTHING (looking at you Konrad).
This trilogy as a whole feels like a jumbled together mess, with some really inspired bits, and other pieces of drivel.
My favorite book was easily the first one, it starts with arguably the strongest, most fleshed-out characters, Vlad and a pair of Witch Hunters, and later the White Wolf Jerek. Unfortunately, after this the characters are sort of lacking. Kallad the dwarf is intriguing, and Jerek continues to pop in and out, but the rest, even Mannfred, are bland and uninspiring.
Honestly, I don't think this book is worth a read. There are segments that are fun. But there is much better Black Library fiction out there.
I want to start with what works. There are a number of amazing scenes and even sections in this trilogy. Some evocative scenes and battles that were a joy to read. Reading the evolution of the Von Carstein bloodline was also interesting; however, unfortunately the best and most well fleshed out Von Carstein, Vlad, is only in the first book.
This leads me to the biggest flaw of this book, characters. The story tries to use the Von Carstein bloodline as the character, with other people weaving in and out of the story. However, this just doesn't work, as the reader is left with no one to clearly root for, and few to even root against.
When sections include interesting characters, such as the Wolf, the dwarf Kallad, the pair of Witch Hunters, or Vlad, the story flows amazing, and I grew invested. However, just as frequently we are stuck in a bog of bland and poorly fleshed out characters, dragging on and on, to the point where their deaths mean NOTHING (looking at you Konrad).
This trilogy as a whole feels like a jumbled together mess, with some really inspired bits, and other pieces of drivel.
My favorite book was easily the first one, it starts with arguably the strongest, most fleshed-out characters, Vlad and a pair of Witch Hunters, and later the White Wolf Jerek. Unfortunately, after this the characters are sort of lacking. Kallad the dwarf is intriguing, and Jerek continues to pop in and out, but the rest, even Mannfred, are bland and uninspiring.
Honestly, I don't think this book is worth a read. There are segments that are fun. But there is much better Black Library fiction out there.
February 2, 2025
Ambientado en el viejo mundo, en este libro encontramos la recopilación sobre las tres guerras de los Von Carstein contra el Imperio. Veremos cómo a partir de Vlad llegan los vampiros a la maldita Sylvania y como se irá extendiendo su prole. Ejércitos de esqueletos, zombies, espectros y necrófagos marchan a las órdenes de los condes vampiro.
Si bien el libro se hace un poco largo si se lee del tirón, hay que decir que el primer libro sobre Vlad es fantástico, cargado de acción, trasfondo y batallas. Sin embargo, a partir del segundo que trata sobre Konrad, la historia se vuelve pesada, ya que no hay acción y la temática se centra en la locura del conde, y no será hasta la última parte del tercer libro cuando con Manfred a la cabeza de los ejércitos de no muertos volverá a amenazar las puertas de Altdorf.
El libro está recomendado para los amantes del lore del Viejo Mundo y de los condes vampiro.
Pd. Imposible encontrar en físico porque el libro está descatalogado.
Si bien el libro se hace un poco largo si se lee del tirón, hay que decir que el primer libro sobre Vlad es fantástico, cargado de acción, trasfondo y batallas. Sin embargo, a partir del segundo que trata sobre Konrad, la historia se vuelve pesada, ya que no hay acción y la temática se centra en la locura del conde, y no será hasta la última parte del tercer libro cuando con Manfred a la cabeza de los ejércitos de no muertos volverá a amenazar las puertas de Altdorf.
El libro está recomendado para los amantes del lore del Viejo Mundo y de los condes vampiro.
Pd. Imposible encontrar en físico porque el libro está descatalogado.
September 24, 2018
A really engaging story set over a few hundred years that explains the history of the Von Carstein vampire dynasty
Starting off with Vlad Von Carstein, to Konrad and finally Mannfred
Loved the arc of the first book following the two witch hunters, one of whom (Jon Skellen) gets turned into a vampire himself and becomes a major character throughout the series.
All the battle scenes were really well written, some of the plot points seemed rushed at times but with so many characters over such a massive time, that’s to be expected.
Really got me invested and was a brilliant read from start to finish.
Feel very sorry for Jerek being locked in a tomb at the end. Makes me want to keep following the story!
Starting off with Vlad Von Carstein, to Konrad and finally Mannfred
Loved the arc of the first book following the two witch hunters, one of whom (Jon Skellen) gets turned into a vampire himself and becomes a major character throughout the series.
All the battle scenes were really well written, some of the plot points seemed rushed at times but with so many characters over such a massive time, that’s to be expected.
Really got me invested and was a brilliant read from start to finish.
Feel very sorry for Jerek being locked in a tomb at the end. Makes me want to keep following the story!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2023
Very meh. Each book seems rushed, timelines scream by and, save but a few, you don’t get to connect with any characters. MAJOR events and battles (like the siege of Altdorf) are rushed through. Time jumps are all over the place and mostly unnecessary.
Major inconsistencies throughout (Vampires don’t have shadows / this vampires shadow flickered, Vampires don’t have blood circulation / this vampire cut his wrist to feed another vampire) sometimes these happened on the same page.
If I have to read “and he unleashed the beast within” one more time I think I’ll throw up.
Major inconsistencies throughout (Vampires don’t have shadows / this vampires shadow flickered, Vampires don’t have blood circulation / this vampire cut his wrist to feed another vampire) sometimes these happened on the same page.
If I have to read “and he unleashed the beast within” one more time I think I’ll throw up.
October 27, 2018
1st part was interesting.. 2nd part kept my attention.. the 3rd part presented so many inconsistencies. Vampires dont have shadows... book comments on how main vampire character's shadow does something... the entire 3rd part felt rushed and it's supposed to cover the "greatest" of the von carstens and I felt like I learned more about him and the events that took place on a wikipedia page.
July 31, 2023
Slow start but picks up nicely
This book was a slow burn but picked up in the back third, as all the previous events fit into the overall story. Very grimdark, but satisfying conclusion. Gives lots of layers to the Van Carstein family, and thier different motivations. Stick with it during the slower start
This book was a slow burn but picked up in the back third, as all the previous events fit into the overall story. Very grimdark, but satisfying conclusion. Gives lots of layers to the Van Carstein family, and thier different motivations. Stick with it during the slower start
September 19, 2018
3, 5. Well-written, with interesting vampire characters and enjoyably Gothic settings. Negatives: too often plot forgets vampires and atmosphere, concentrating on drab and dreary story about pseudo-Medieval life, plague, and too much coughing!
November 7, 2018
Just getting into the Warhammer universe and this was an interesting read to get me caught up with the lore. I highly recommend it to get acquainted with all the right characters and events that have happened in the story.
June 25, 2020
Gran trilogía de aventura y fantasía. Una saga que se disfruta mucho. Bastante recomendable para aquellos que gustan del género fantástico.
September 8, 2020
Love them, the vampire protagonist are different, from the aristocrat to the warrior. I really liked the atmosphere, the warhammer references and the vampire lore in this book.
March 15, 2021
Seguir la historia de Skellan y Jerek fue más emocionante que la de los tres condes vampiros. Aunque no envidio el destino de Jerek.
May 12, 2021
Hands down my fav warhammer story.
October 13, 2021
Very intense book, trigger warnings however for fragile females
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews