For centuries, Karak Eight Peaks has been a war zone, the embattled dwarfs who claim the region under siege by goblins, orcs, skaven and worse creatures. This omnibus contains five stories that lay bare the battles to hold this mountain realm.
READ IT BECAUSE Classic stories from the world-that-was focus on renowned heroes of the goblins, skaven and dwarfs as they fight to claim the fabled Eight Peaks.
DESCRIPTION Once, during the great Golden Age of the dwarfs, Karak Eight Peaks was a beacon of prosperity and unbridled wealth. Many a dwarf king looked on with envious eyes at this sprawling mountain fastness. But the history of the dwarfs is riddled with tragedy, and none more so than the lords of the Eight Peaks, whose holds were devastated by earthquakes and ravaged by the predations of goblins, ratmen and even darker horrors.
This omnibus edition charts three bleak episodes in the history of the doomed Karak Eight Peaks and its fall to annihilation and infamy. From warlords like the cunning goblin king Skarsnik and the murderous skaven chieftain Queek Headtaker, to the noble dwarfs seeking to save or reclaim these war-torn halls for their kin, like Thorgrim Grudgebearer, all have a stake in the fate of the notorious Karak Eight Peaks.
Includes the novels Skarsnik and Headtaker, the novellas Thorgrim and two short stories.
CONTENTS Skarsnik by Guy Haley Headtaker by David Guymer Thorgrim by David Guymer The Karag Durak Grudge by David Guymer The King of Black Crag by Guy Haley
Guy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
This collection of three major books in this tome is incredible. You get comprehensive stories about the cruelest goblin king, the most vengeful dwarf, and the most insane ratman. I stayed up extremely late for days on end reading this collection due to how wonderfully written it was. I'm not even a Skaven (ratmen) guy, but Queek Headtaker is by far the best villain I've seen in a Warhammer Fantasy book. Read this, keep reading it, and beg the universe for more about the wonderful setting of Karak Eight Peaks once you're done.
I would, however, skip the short stories that are laced throughout it. Imagine if you read Lord of the Rings and at the very end there was a ten page story. The story stars Sauron, the clutz, who pisses his pants when orcs walk by. No really, my comparison is about 99% of the way there. It is so bizarre to follow an amazing book about a villain with a short story that infantilizes the same character. The disadvantage of having multiple authors work on the same characters is made clear... Just read the three main books by Guy Haley and ignore the slop around them written by worse authors.
I still give the books a five. The slop stories interlaced are the editors fault, for shame.
This is an awesome Warhammer omnibus that anyone interested in skaven, goblin, and dwarven lore should read. It follows the tradition of Warhammer and is very dark, but that darkness alludes to amazing stories. This is a must read for any Warhammer fans as it is filled with lore, action, romance, songs, and so much more.
This book gives a good insight into the Minds of the various warlords that vie for Karak Eight Peaks, from the crafty and violent Skarsnik of the Orcs, the violent and insane Queek Headtaker, and the Noble and Stubborn Belegar Ironhammer.