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Heirs of the Laughing God #1
A Deadly Wit
'Monster king, monster king, where are you?
Your house is burning down.
Monster king, monster king, won’t you play?
The Red Swan wants your crown.'
The charismatic Great Harlequin, Duruthiel, leads his troupe on a daring raid of an ork settlement. Urging them forth with bold eccentricity, the Red Swan proclaims fate as the guiding hand for the Masque of the Fading Dawn. But as Skyweaver jetbikes invade the night skies, his attempts to overthrow the great warlord become increasingly reckless. It soon becomes apparent that this is more than just another performance for Duruthiel, but a battle for honour and freedom.
Written by Gav Thorpe. Running time 62 minutes. Performed by Gareth Armstrong, Tim Bruce, Steve Conlin, Emma Gregory & Matthew Hunt
Your house is burning down.
Monster king, monster king, won’t you play?
The Red Swan wants your crown.'
The charismatic Great Harlequin, Duruthiel, leads his troupe on a daring raid of an ork settlement. Urging them forth with bold eccentricity, the Red Swan proclaims fate as the guiding hand for the Masque of the Fading Dawn. But as Skyweaver jetbikes invade the night skies, his attempts to overthrow the great warlord become increasingly reckless. It soon becomes apparent that this is more than just another performance for Duruthiel, but a battle for honour and freedom.
Written by Gav Thorpe. Running time 62 minutes. Performed by Gareth Armstrong, Tim Bruce, Steve Conlin, Emma Gregory & Matthew Hunt
Audio CD
Published February 17, 2018
68 people want to read
About the author
Gav Thorpe
378 books581 followersGav spent 14 years as a developer for Games Workshop, and started writing novels and short stories in the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 when the Black Library imprint was launched in 1997.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 23, 2018
It's harlequins!
Highly specialized and extremely deadly ninja space elf clowns!
What's not to like?
The story’s quite plain. A greater harlequin leads his masque on a daring raid against an ork-held imperial city in order to slay the ork warboss. But why this assassination attempt? What reason is there to risk an entire masque to kill this enemy leader? There’s a hidden depth in the story. We get a nice view of the inner workings of a harlequin masque and the characters are portrayed rather nicely. The orks certainly feel orkish enough and the harlequins sure do have the right flair and drama. I get the feeling that the voice actors had a blast recording it.
Highly specialized and extremely deadly ninja space elf clowns!
What's not to like?
The story’s quite plain. A greater harlequin leads his masque on a daring raid against an ork-held imperial city in order to slay the ork warboss. But why this assassination attempt? What reason is there to risk an entire masque to kill this enemy leader? There’s a hidden depth in the story. We get a nice view of the inner workings of a harlequin masque and the characters are portrayed rather nicely. The orks certainly feel orkish enough and the harlequins sure do have the right flair and drama. I get the feeling that the voice actors had a blast recording it.
June 10, 2018
Great audio drama, I love the style of the language in the dialogues - so theatrical and full of metaphors. Good work mr Thorpe.
Exeunt!
Exeunt!
April 5, 2023
Good audio play
July 14, 2023
8/10
Pretty enjoyable audiobook even tho it was just one hour there were plenty of details that made my imagination go wild. Even tho this is my first literature in the Warhammer 40k universe some things were really confusing because they were using a lot of lingo from the Warhammer but it did not take from the experience. The voice acting was really good now I imagine all of the Harlequins to sound just like them.
Pretty enjoyable audiobook even tho it was just one hour there were plenty of details that made my imagination go wild. Even tho this is my first literature in the Warhammer 40k universe some things were really confusing because they were using a lot of lingo from the Warhammer but it did not take from the experience. The voice acting was really good now I imagine all of the Harlequins to sound just like them.
October 29, 2025
Honestly, pretty good. The sound design was solid, and the dialogue was really good at several points. I really liked the voice acting on the part of the harlequins, too.
The big detractor, however, is the fact that the mystical unknowable harlequins are little more than theater kids prancing about with swords and guns. Not the greatest depiction of them, sadly.
The big detractor, however, is the fact that the mystical unknowable harlequins are little more than theater kids prancing about with swords and guns. Not the greatest depiction of them, sadly.
June 13, 2018
Not a bad story but harlequins are..... Gits. So it's hard to engage with the central characters. The language is also elaborate and overwrought, deliberately and appropriately for the characters., but it's a pain to listen to.
November 15, 2025
9/10
No he escuchado muchos libros en este formato. Teniendo en cuenta que dura menos de una hora, me ha parecido fantástico. Aprovecha al máximo el tiempo, personajes chulos y aprendes de como funcionan los payasos asesinos élficos. Also Emma Gregory está estupenda, como siempre.
No he escuchado muchos libros en este formato. Teniendo en cuenta que dura menos de una hora, me ha parecido fantástico. Aprovecha al máximo el tiempo, personajes chulos y aprendes de como funcionan los payasos asesinos élficos. Also Emma Gregory está estupenda, como siempre.
May 3, 2018
Very Shakespearean in style which was fun.
July 2, 2021
“Monster King, Monster King, where are you? Your house is burning down. Monster King, Monster King, won’t you play? The Red Swan wants your crown.”
November 5, 2022
Я прочитал имя главного арлекина как "Дуритель" это подходило больше.
September 12, 2023
Fun but ultimately too light on lore, alien culture, and intrigue for what I expected of a Harlequin story.
October 15, 2024
Świetnie się przy tym bawiłem
January 2, 2026
Quick short audio book that captures the harliquens well. Would love more stories on them, really arnt many.
February 14, 2022
Audio Drama, Great voice acting! Story is good for being so short.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews