Drachenfels

The Vampire Genevieve #1

by Jack Yeovil, Kim Newman

High medieval gothic horror, featuring vampire Genevieve, from an undisputed master of macabre fiction.

Detlef Sierck, the self-proclaimed greatest playwright in the world, has declared that his next production will be a recreation of the end of the Great Enchanter, Constant Drachenfels – to be staged at the very site of his death, the fortress of Drachenfels itself. But the castle's dark walls still hide a terrible and deadly secret which may make the first night of Detlef's masterpiece the last of his life.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Vampires, Audiobook, Dark Fantasy, Novels

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

"Jack Yeovil" is a pseudonym used by author Kim Newman.

Newman's pseudonymous novels, as Jack Yeovil, play elegant games with genre cliche--perhaps the best of these is the sword-and-sorcery novel Drachenfels which takes the prescribed formulae of the games company to whose bible it was written and make them over entirely into a Kim Newman novel.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic.

It’s been decades since Genevieve, Prince Oswald and a group of brave warriors stormed Drachenfel’s Fortress and slayed the legendary evil necromancer, ending a tyranny that lasted millenia. Now, Detlef Sierck, the greatest actor the world has ever seen, and a group of very talented artists plan to make a theatrical recreation commemorating that glorious victory that freed the world from the evil tyrant, in no other place than the Castle itself, cleared and reaccommodated for the occasion. Personalities from all over the Kingdom are to attend the grand event, even the Emperor himself. But the evil sorcerer’s taint on the land is far from being completely extinguished, it’s Castle walls still holds horrible secrets that no one knows. Slowly, malignantly, his horrific power will start corrupting everything and everyone around it.

This was absolutely FANTASTIC. Completely engrossing, fast paced, action packed, so horrifyingly gruesome and darkly twisted! Loved Genevieve, Detlef, Oswald, Lazlo and even Drachenfels, in a way. Whether they were heroes or villains, admirable or abominable, they were all so memorable and amazingly unique in their own way. Frequently names and most of a book’s plot for me goes right out the window in a matter of months, or even weeks; but this group of heroes and villains came, set their flag, and stayed for good.

It’s been ages since I read it and I’m still wowed by it. I enjoyed reading this one so much it unleashed in me a thirst for Warhammer Fantasy novels that, thirteen books and a decade later, is still nowhere remotely close to being quenched. Always trying to find one that overthrows or at least equals this amazing experience and, although found several good ones, none was even close to toppling it. The Warhammer universe is so massively diverse and full of different authors that, although they share a similar palette, and varying degrees of quality, most of them were nearly always a wondrous surprise. Great heroes, horrifying villains, twisted plots, sanguinary battles, humans, orcs, elves, vampires, monsters, zombies, demons, you name it. I usually pick one blindly by its title and I just love that I never know what’s coming.

This book is hardly a literary masterpiece, I know there are better authors, series and wowing themes out there, and better written; but for me this was one of those few special books that for some reason, despite all its flaws, they truly stayed with me. So utterly unforgettable!

This was a gift from my irl friend Delia, and one of the best gifts I ever got. Never ending thankyous <3

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PERSONAL NOTE : For some reason I rated it 4-stars but it’s been so long I can’t remember why, so I guess there is something wrong with it. Can’t remember what though; in my memory this was imprinted as one of my greatest favs ever.
[1989] [288p] [Fantasy] [4.5] [Highly Recommendable]
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★★★★☆ 1. Drachenfels [4.5]
★★★☆☆ 2. Genevieve Undead [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ 3. Beasts in Velvet [1.5]

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Epico.

Hace décadas ya que Genevieve, el Príncipe Oswald y un grupo de valientes guerreros asaltaron la Fortaleza Drachenfels y acabaron con el legendario y malvado nigromante, terminando con una tiranía que duró milenios. Ahora, Detlef Sierck, el más grande actor que el mundo ha visto jamás, y un grupo de muy talentosos artistas planean realizar una recreación teatral conmemorando esa gloriosa victoria que liberó al mundo del malvado tirano, en ningún otro lugar que el mismísimo Castillo, despejado y reacomodado para la ocasión. Personalidades de todo el Reino planean asistirـ al gran evento, incluso el Emperador mismo. Pero la influencia del malvado hechicero sobre la tierra está lejos de haberse extinguido completamente, las paredes de su Castillo todavía mantienen horribles secretos que nadie conoce. Lentamente, malignamente, su horroroso poder empezará a corromper a todo y todos cerca de él.

Esto fue absolutamente FANTASTICO. Completamente absorbente, de ritmo rápido, cargado de acción, ¡y tan horrorosamente cruento y oscuramente retorcido! Amé a Genevieve, Detlef, Oswald, Lazlo e incluso a Drachenfels, en cierta forma. Fueran héroes o villanos, admirables o abominables, todos fueron tan memorables y maravillosamente únicos a su manera. Frecuentemente los nombres y la mayor parte de la trama de un libro se me va por la ventana en un par de meses, o incluso semanas; pero este grupo de héroes y villanos llegaron, plantaron su bandera, y se quedaron para siempre.

Ha pasado mucho tiempo desde que lo leí y todavía sigo maravillado por él. Disfruté tanto leyendo este que desató en mí una sed de novelas de Fantasía Warhammer que, trece libros y una década después, todavía no está ni remotamente cerca de ser saciada. Siempre tratando de encontrar otro que sobrepase o al menos iguale lo que fue esta maravillosa experiencia y, aunque encontré algunos buenos, ninguno estuvo ni cerca de destronarla. El universo Warhammer es tan masivamente diverso y lleno de diferentes autores que, aunque comparten una paleta similar, y con distintos grados de calidad, la mayoría fueron casi siempre una maravillosa sorpresa. Grandes héroes, horribles villanos, tramas retorcidas, batallas sangrientas, humanos, orcos, elfos, vampiros, monstruos, zombis, demonios, lo que sea. Usualmente escojo uno ciegamente por el título y amo nunca saber que es lo que me voy a encontrar.

Este libro dificilmente sea una obra maestra literaria, sé que hay mejores autores, series y asombrosas tramas allá fuera, y mejor escritas; pero para mí este libro fue uno de esos pocos especiales que por alguna razón, a pesar de todas sus fallas, se quedaron en mí para siempre. ¡Tan completamente inolvidable!

Este fue un regalo de mi amiga irl Delia, y uno de los mejores regalos que jamás recibí. Gracias infinitas <3

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NOTA PERSONAL : Por alguna razón califiqué esto 4 estrellas pero fue hace tanto que ya no recuerdo por qué, así que supongo que algo malo tiene. No recuerdo qué puede ser, en mi memoria esto se grabó como uno de mis más grandes favoritos jamás.
[1989] [288p] [Fantasía] [4.5] [Altamente Recomendable]
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[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it perfect? No.

Is it the best Warhammer book I have read? Without a doubt.

Is it the best tie-in novel I have read? Quite possibly.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband asked me to read Drachenfels, so last night I took it into the bath with me. I only realised my bath had gone cold when he came in and told me, "honey, it's nearly 11, I'm going to bed." If that isn't a sign of a good book, I don't know what is.

[Olivier Delaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Fantasy world of Warhammer few words can give you the shivers the way Drachenfels does. Interchangeably used to refer to The Great Enchanter’s name and that of his dark castle, it embodies everything that’s vile and corrupt under the sun. To give you an idea of how deranged Drachenfels is, our good enchanter even thinks that what the gods of chaos (Khorne the god of war and bloodlust, Tzeentch the god of change and mutation, Nurgle the god of plague and despair, etc.) stand for is all well and good but falls a little short of true cruelty and evil. So yeah, you know you have something of a winner on your hands when even demons from the Realm of Chaos are scared shitless of the antagonist. So you can imagine my shock when our protagonist Genevieve and her band do away with him within the first twenty pages of the book!

Now I understand what Kim Newman tried to do here by taking the well-trodden Sword & Sorcery trope of the final battle and turning it upside-down in order for us readers to go through the final battle first and then witness the aftermath instead of shutting the book down. Such quick demise of The Great Enchanter works fine on its own, but it works especially well if like me you are well-versed in the Warhammer universe. Does that mean that you have to be a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay fan to enjoy this book? Absolutely not. If Sword & Sorcery Fantasy is your jam, then you're in for a treat.

Back to the beginning of the book, the fact that the final battle is not a flashback but really and truly the beginning allows the whole story to move at a swift pace, which is always nice with this kind of Fantasy. I don’t know about you but I’m not a huge fan of flashbacks in books and movies because usually they tend to slow down the narrative. Not so here. Here, the final battle only serves the purpose of setting up our story. And what a story it is. Set 25 years after The Great Enchanter’s death, Detlef Sierck, a playwright down on his luck, is commissioned to produce a dramatic recreation of the event, to be staged nowhere other than at the very place where it all happened—the haunted castle of Drachenfels. Now what could possibly go wrong?

From the surprising start to the climactic finale, there isn’t a single thing I didn’t like about this book. Now keep in mind that it’s Sword & Sorcery we’re talking about here, and as such don’t expect deep philosophical passages about life and death a la Anne Rice or beautiful prose verging on the purple a la Patrick Rothfuss or fully-fleshed characterization a la Robin Hobb, because you won’t get any. Instead what you’re getting is an adventure/horror story laced at times with a sense of humor not unlike that of Terry Pratchett, and that’s more than fine with me.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was first published in my TRIAPA zine, The Watcher 3.8 (October 2025).

This is an excellent and peculiar novel: strange, atmospheric, and distinctly not a conventional fantasy. If anything, it is a kind of postmodern gothic masquerading as a tie-in, an eccentric experiment that uses the trappings of sword-and-sorcery to meditate on art, memory, and the metaphysics of evil.

The opening 10–15% reads like a baroque dungeon crawl: a company of adventurers brought together to confront a terrible sorcerer. This section is vivid, operatic, and tragic, with each hero meeting an ornate doom. Then the novel leaps forward decades into a new register. A playwright, Detlef Sierck, has been commissioned to dramatize the defeat of the dark enchanter Constant Drachenfels. The surviving heroes are summoned as consultants; the play is to be staged at the very site of the battle, the sinister fortress itself. This theatrical conceit, i.e. art performed within the haunted locus of its own subject, gives the novel a self-reflexive depth.

Among the characters, Genevieve, the centuries-old vampire, is especially compelling: a quiet, ironic observer who seems to carry history’s melancholy within her immortal frame. Oswald, the prince and ostensible slayer of Drachenfels, grows increasingly ambiguous as the story unfolds, while Detlef, the playwright, emerges as the novel’s true center: a man obsessed with turning horror into art, and art into truth.

But what most haunts Drachenfels is its meditation on the ontology of evil. Constant Drachenfels, the titular sorcerer, ceases to feel like a mere villain in a story. His presence--a mask, half-symbol, half-entity--seems to assert itself through multiple narrative strata: Drachenfels the historical figure, Drachenfels the legend retold, Drachenfels the character in Detlef’s play, Drachenfels the force that perhaps transcends fiction altogether. The novel seems to whisper that evil itself may have ontological autonomy and that narrative and imagination are merely its disguises.

If we read this Platonically, we might say that Yeovil (perhaps unwittingly) dramatizes the Form of Evil, the abstract Idea that shadows all its particular instances. Plato conceived the Form of the Good as the highest reality, the sun from which intelligibility radiates; by inversion, Drachenfels suggests an anti-Form, a negative absolute. After all, if Goodness is Being (as in Plato and later in Augustine), then radical evil is a kind of parasitic existence, a privation that nonetheless exerts real influence. Simone Weil once wrote that "evil is the form which God’s mercy takes when we refuse it," and this is a paradox that fits Drachenfels, whose malign vitality endures because humanity continues to summon it in art, in ambition, in cruelty.

When the novel peels back its layers--the play within the story, the actor playing the villain, the author writing the actor playing the villain--we begin to suspect, like Boethius in The Consolation of Philosophy, that evil cannot be confined to persons or epochs; it is a metaphysical principle endlessly incarnated. The horror here is not only what Drachenfels did but that he is, and that his being can recur in new forms, again, and again, and again.

Thus, by the novel’s end, when evil resurfaces (I’ll leave the details unsaid), the reader feels less the shock of plot than the dread of metaphysics. The realization dawns that evil, like an archetype, subsists beyond time. It finds new vessels: in art, in memory, in pride, in the will to mastery. As we close the book, we recall that the same essence animates our own world’s atrocities: an abuser’s cruelty, a bureaucrat’s indifference, a tyrant’s delight in domination. Yeovil’s fantasy, then, becomes a parable about the persistence of evil’s form beneath history’s surface.

For a Warhammer novel to make us meditate on the Platonic Form of Evil is no small achievement. Drachenfels is a strange and understated triumph: a gothic mirror held up to the idea that stories, like rituals, can both contain and conjure the things they describe.

[Mec · Rating 1 out of 5]

La premessa necessaria è che questo genere non mi piace, quindi parto già un po' prevenuta.
La lettura non ha fatto altro che confermare i miei sospetti, perché la storia è piuttosto banale. Non bastano i dettagli truculenti a rendere il libro emozionante. La cosa più imbarazzante, però, è la traduzione in italiano (?) con continui sfondoni imbarazzanti. Il posto giusto per un libro del genere è il camino. 

[Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this. THIS. Is what Warhammer is all about (according to me, and as we all know, I can never be wrong...). Dark and gritty fantasy with a horror element, flawed characters and epic heroism in the face of insurmountable adversaries!

To start of we follow a band of adventurers who wouldn't look out of place in a sword and sorcery role playing game like Dungeons & Dragons (or the Warhammer fantasy RPG, I guess) while they try to penetrate the evil dark lord of dooms fortress™. Avoiding traps and fighting the evil minions while losing comrades along the way. And then, finally. They enter the dark lords hall of ominousness and the final battle can begin!
Stop!
End of the first chapter.

Now we jump 20 years forward and get to follow the surviving adventurers. How have they coped with life after the great adventure? The Evil enchanter has been beaten. Destroyed. Vanquished.
But we, as the reader don't really know how it happened. Aren't we lucky that one of the greatest play-wrights of the world (according to himself, that is) has managed to get the approval, and funding to write and enact a play that will finally show us what happened at castle Drachenfels so many years ago. Of course, the play has to be set up at the original location of the enchanters lair. With the help of the surviving adventurers. In the presence of the most important people and rulers of the Empire.
What could possibly go wrong?

From a time when the world of warhammer was filled with dark, morbid humour and still managed to be both horrifying and thrilling at the same time. With quite a big and diverse cast to boot.
*Sigh* I so miss the olden days...
And I so loved listening to this story. Most definitely one of the best stories I've ever heard. Period.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically I have a copy of The Vampire Genevieve, which is a compilation of Drachenfels, Genevieve Undead, Beasts in Velvet and Silver Nails. But after reading this first story, I'm just not interested enough to stick with it for another 500ish pages. (Not least of which, because for a book titled The Vampire Genevieve, she plays very little role in this first story.) That probably tells you more than the rest of this review ever could.

I picked the book up because it had and interesting cover and was about a female vampire. I thought it could be interesting. I didn't actually know what the Warhammer imprint was (proving unequivocally that I'm not as nerdy as I would have given myself credit for), so I didn't know what to expect.

Drachenfels struck me as a pretty run of the mill über-evil overlord tries to take over the world and is defeated by a spunky group of outcasts kind of book. Meh. It took a long time to get going, then came to a lightning-speed conclusion and ending with an everyone lived happily ever after (or not) recap of the characters. I thought the world-building was weak, the character development shallow, and the action all crammed into one end of the story. There were some really funny passages, but for the most part I was uninvested. It wasn't a waste of my time, but I'm not bothering with anymore.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by Jack Yeovil (aka Kim Newman) and what a read it was. In the beginning of the novel we see Genevieve, Prince Oswald and her band of adventures fighting the Great Enchanter Drachenfels.

After the demise of Drachenfels and several years later Detlef Sierck, a playwright, wants to make a play about that event.

The novel is devided in acts like a play which gave the feeling of reading a script of one. The first couple of chapters is about Detlef joining the right persons to enact the protagonists including the surviving members of the real battle to teach the actors.

From this moment on nothing happens according to plan and it was a nice tale of mystery in gothic scenery. The ending is quite good and I couldn't see it coming.

If you want to read about vampires in Warhammer I would advice you to buy this book (there is a omnibus with all novels). I would also advice to anyone who wants to read a nice book of fantasy, gothic/vampire novel.

[Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top-notch horror/fantasy with a strong sense of humour. Vividly gruesome and atmospheric, with characters more shaded than the stereotypes they initially seem to be. Written by Kim Newman under a pseudonym, and featuring an alternative reality version of Genevieve from his Anno Dracula books.

[Al Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am nearly 50 and a lifelong reader of fantasy, yet this is the first Warhammer book I have ever read. Gasp!! I am aware of the Warhammer universe from many different sources, but for all intents and purposes, consider me a noob (as my son likes to call me about everything).

You can read the blurb yourself to figure out what it's about, but it was a fun read. Genevieve and Detlef were fun characters, and the story was lighthearted (I'm not sure I'm the best judge of this). The plot revolves around Detlef staging a recreation of the death of the Great Enchanter Drachenfels, which you know from reading any book that this is not going to go well. I enjoyed the witty repartee throughout, although I have discovered since that this is not necessarily Warhammeresque. But I'm a noob, so what would I know.

Worth a read/listen whether you're a Warhammer buff or not.

[Neospooky · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't break any ground, but it does a very good job of keeping you reading. Set in the Warhammer fantasy world, Drachenfels is not your standard fantasy story.

[Matthew Pennell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite having first read it almost 30 years ago, I could remember every scene of this novel before I even turned the page; if that's not a mark of great writing, I don't know what is.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drachenfels is both the name of an evil demon wizard and his castle. Much like the second half of Stephen King's "It", a team of adventurers are forced to regroup 25 years after defeating Drachenfels, who has risen again much like Harry Potter's nemesis Voldemort. Seeing that this book takes place in the Warhammer universe the team is made up of various fantasy races and classes like dwarves, elves, wizards, a fighter prince, and most interestingly the vampire Genevieve, the glue of continuity that holds this four-book series together. The main narrative here concerns playwright/director Detlef who has been commissioned to put on a new play by the prince commemorating the defeat of Drachenfels and in a bad move - hold it in his abandoned castle. I liked that the plot revolved around putting on a play, not a typical fantasy/vampire storyline, although it was really kind of weird too. Well written, although a bit slow for my taste, inducing some snores for bedtime readings. Anyway, I liked it enough to give it three stars.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buscava sang i fetge i he trobat: sang, fetge, vísceres, tortures, vampirs (pocs), fantasmes, mutacions...
I una història que s'allarga massa, es perd en un pobre sentit de l'humor, no acaba de donar allò que pretén, però entreté a estones.
Ara, l'autor hauria de saber que per més sang que hi fiqui, no la fa més inquietant ni terrorífica.

[Theofilos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should get 5 stars just because it's a Warhammer novel that is actually a good fantasy book and can be read by people who are not into Warhammer, that's more than something when the vast majority of Warhammer books are just over glorified fanfiction.

[Yanik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read a Vampire story in the Warhammer setting for a while. I have been reading vampire stories since my childhood but don’t get to much these days. I hadn’t read anything my Newman before so went into Drachenfels with few expectations.
At near every turn (save for the ending), the novel positively surprised me.

I normally don’t do spoilers in my reviews, but in order to talk about some of the creativity here I’ll need to disclose some things about the plot-driven structure and themes of the story that might be best experienced as surprises, so consider this a spoiler warning for that.

First of all, this isn’t so much a vampire story as a story that has a vampire as one of the POV characters.
Genevieve plays a crucial role but she doesn’t feel the main character, rather, the unfolding plot is the main character. The story structure is quite creative. In the intro chapters we get a glimpse of the end of an adventuring campaign group to defeat the titular big bad evil. It’s fast, bloody and we don’t even get to experience the final fight.
The rest of the novel is arranged like a play; as plot threads weave around the creation of a stage play based on that adventure of the intro chapters.
The drama surrounding the actors, the creation of the play and the mysterious murders and mishaps surrounding it all interweave nicely and feel like a stage play on their own; making this quite a layered story.

Another constant surprise was the quality of the writing. Newman does an impressive job with both crafting the story through unexpected, creative turns and often wonderful prose.
There are a collection of chapters that convey short moments of select characters that are masterclasses of short story telling in their own right.
The characters are mostly interesting and especially Detlef (the play-wright and actor), and Genevieve herself are well fleshed out and fun to read. We get occasional fantastic chapters from people like the ex-adventurers down on their luck or the senile old elector count playing with his toy soldiers.
A special shout out to Breughel, the stage manager with dwarfism. His competence and strength of character coupled with the tragedy of being shunned by handicap-shunning fellow humans as well as actual Dwarfs made his arc quite gripping.
Interestingly, we don't get a whole lot of backstory for the main villain, Constant Drachenfels himself. I suppose its being presumed that everyone was familiar with him as a major player in the setting. But this was 10 years before I got familiar with the setting so it probably wasn't as impactful to me as it could have been as he had mostly disappeared off the major lore by then.

While the plot was fun, interesting and gripping, the ending felt kind of anticlimactic and cheap to me.
There is an epilogue which lists the lives of the surviving characters after the events of the book, but I had a hard time putting many of those names to their owners.
Another thing that surprised me was the mounting horror. It started off as good grimdark fantasy as Warhammer stories go, but the more the plot unfolded the bloodier it got. Black Library selling this as Warhammer Horror ended up being quite fitting.

It’s a bit dated in some places. Most of the female characters are either obsessed by their own, or others obsessed by their beauty and described as such. The Warhammer lore, especially surrounding Karl-Franz’s elector counts and the nature of Vampirism is a far cry to what it would later be.
But these things only slightly distract from the solid story being told.

I look forward to reading of Genevieve and Newman's work in general.

[Roman Kurys · Rating 3 out of 5]

All things considered, this was a good read.
After having read a few short story compilations that took place in Warhammer universe, I was interested enough to read more about that world.
Admittedly I have never played anything Warhammer and have no idea what the rules are, so the review is just how I felt about the story Jack Yeovil had told.


Characters: 3
I really enjoyed the set up for characters here. There were a bunch of them and many viewpoints in a story have a special place in my heart.
I did not expect Vampires for one reason or another, however so got caught by surprise. What is even more surprising is that it is acceptable for vampires to just walk among the rest of the populace. Then when there was a monastery for vampires to just spend an eternity in to relax, that made my day.

I guess, all things considered, what I felt was that I enjoyed the variety of the side characters more that the two main ones. Although Genevieve is an intriguing femme fatale, she also felt like a side character.

From perspective of character development there isn’t much going on, but there are enough variety to keep things interesting. Good enough for me.


Plot: 4

Call me simple, but I was intrigued right from the start. I simply cannot recall the last book I have read that had anything to do with play making. Now, play making in fantasy universe with all sorts of dark gods and weird creatures is just weird.
I like weird.
It was obvious from the beginning that something had happened and we were in a journey to find out what. I knew something was sort of up in the air, but could not really guess for whatever reason what happened until the very end. In retrospect, I don’t know how I had not seen it, it probably was my fascination with all the dark mythical setting.


Setting: 3

Talking about the setting, that was the glue holding it all together. The more books in Warhammer universe I read, the more I enjoy it. It’s sort of like a compilation of a bunch of mythologies plopped together and then any happiness there is gets sucked out of it all.
BAM.
We’ve got Warhammer. What’s not to like?

Overall, nothing groundbreaking here. However, it is a solid, fun to read story with its own quirks and interesting world to delve into. It’s pretty short and definitely worth the read.


Roman “Ragnar”

[Chip Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being accustomed to the Dan Abnett, Gaunt's Ghosts style of Warhammer fiction, I wasn't sure what to expect from a Warhammer novel starring a vampire. I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find myself totally taken in by this book and finishing it in less than 24 hours. The characters and Yeovil's excellent writing style make this one of the most enjoyable and memorable books I've read in a while.

The book takes the form of a dark and gritty mystery (without the reader being sure of what the mystery to be solved really is) with classic elements of fantasy and spoof comedy. Its really hard for me to do this book justice because I'm not quite sure exactly why it was as gripping as it was.. The characters are rich and believable (for a fantasy) while the storyline progresses smoothly without slowing down from the beginning to the dramatic conclusion (which has a totally unexpected and thrilling twist). The story is told from multiple characters' perspectives, giving the reader a good feel of what is going on from multiple angles.

The basic premise consists of a prince of the realm sponsoring a theatre production telling of his famous defeat of the dark and evil Constant Drachenfels. Genevieve played a role in the original feat and is invited back to participate in the play version. Twists and turns and mysterious happenings plague the production as hilarious characters scheme and plot for their own agendas. It may not sound like much, and it is unique in the Warhammer world, but Jack Veovil does an outstanding job in creating a marvelously fun read that will keep you thinking and interested the whole time.

Highly recommended for readers of all ages. Interest in the Warhammer world is not relevant in the least.

[Rachel Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start off by saying that I know nothing about Warhammer so I am probably not the target demographic for this book, however it does have a lot of fantasy elements so it seemed like a book I could still enjoy. Sadly this book just didn't seem to deliver. It follows a Prince who wants to create a play based on the story of how he and his friends defeated a dark wizard called Drachenfels. He brings his friends together to help create the play properly only things start to go wrong the closer they get to bringing the Prince's vision to life.

Genevieve, a vampire who was part of the band of heroes who took on Drachenfels, is barely actually in the book and when she is she does very little which is a shame given this is supposedly the "Vampire Genevieve" series. I get that their were quite a few characters that needed their time in the spot light too but they did were quite forgettable themselves and did little to drive the plot forward. The character that showed up most was probably Detlef Sierck the playwright but he seemed quite dull too.

In all honesty I found most of the characters and plot lacklustre and the big plot twist at the end was fairly predictable. Thinking back I can't really remember much I actually liked about this book except that it made me laugh occasionally and the locations were quite interesting. Sadly I was let down by the characters and plot, no manner of demons, creatures or strange happenings could bring this book to life for me.

Just like the vampire I expected more from, this book seems to lack a pulse.

Rated: 2.5/5 Stars (rounded up to 3)

[Martti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one from the Black Library 2020 Humble Bundle. https://www.humblebundle.com/books/vo...

This is one of Games Workshop's Warhammer Horror novels set in the Fantasy setting. A bit long for what it's trying to do, but also a bit refreshing with it's span over the years and intrigue which is different to usual warfare and battle report type of novels.

Drachenfels is yet another type of evil personified, a superbeing, a necromancer, maybe a vampire (I got some Dracula vibes), who lives in a castle with the same name. Not sure if "lives" is a correct term to use here, but anyway, he seems to want to conquer the world and "be evil" as most "original" baddies in this miniature painting franchise want, but in a different way than Chaos gods Khorne or Nurgle, who also personify some other aspects in the Warhammer. He plans to do all that from his castle somehow, until we get a standard gang of D&D adventurers who in the beginning of the novel come to kill him at his very home!

And then you get a jump forward in time into a theater troupe who is going to enact the whole event on the stage to some high-born royal family, among them some German Reich-style emperor Karl something. Probably a very important person in the Warhammer world, probably one of the "good" cannon fodder.

Anyway, an intriguing start. Then you get a long boring middle part of the worlds most boring topic - theater. And the end again really hits home when it gets on going again somewhere in the middle of Act 5. All in all - up-down-down-down-up kind of a ride.

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinarily well written, classic (as in one of the first) Warhammer Fantasy novel. Rather than an epic tale of mighty armies, massive battles, and sieges, and heroic and evil deeds on an enormous, continental scale, this is a smaller, more tightly focused tale.
Drachenfels is part murder mystery, part Gothic horror, part comedy (more than a few of the scenes with Detlef Sierck were laugh out loud funny), part action tale, and part romance. The fact that the story features a heroine who is a good vampiress, as in no, she's a decent sort who controls her Thirst, and takes her violent passions out on evil doers and wicked ones, is odd, but works.
She's a very interesting, sympathetic character, (and very, very French, being from Bretonnia, an in setting, Medieval French style Kingdom...which is only worth mentioning as I am first and foremost a military historian, and tend to like the French).
Very clear to see why this, and the series from the same author that followed, keep getting reprinted. Very well written, very laudable fantasy, with a very different way to tell this type of story.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third or fourth read of this book, and it's still one of my favourite novels of all time. Set in a fantasy version of the mediaeval Holy Roman Empire, it is dark gothic fantasy horror at its best! In a prologue, five acts and an envoi, it follows the attempt by playwright Detlef Sierck to stage the greatest production of his life: the retelling of the expedition 25 years previously by a diverse band of adventurers to defeat the Great Enchanter, Constant Drachenfels. However, the decision to stage it in the apparently abandoned Castle Drachenfels would prove to be a fateful one. Good characters, crisp lively narrative, atmospheric settings, and pleasing twists make this a terrific read.

[Badger Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The structure of this novel is overwhelmingly astonishing. As a play in prose it's syntax guides you through the story like you are listening to the voice of a master orator which is especially emotive during the scenes that define it as a horror.

I can see it being highly approachable for non warhammer fans as, due to how early on in the lores life it was published, many things have since being retconned. To compare it with another authors work I'd say it similar to Terry Pratchett.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

old school, Old World, Warhammer Fantasy. I read it in my youth while RPG'ing Warhammer Fantasy and loved picking up immersive novels for the setting. It's a different experience picking up the novels again as an adult when many years have passed since I last read books of this ilk. My tastes have somewhat changed and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much although it was fun to reminisce.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I played any Warhammer but it was a familiar world to step back into with this book.

It was gruesome, dramatic and detailed, just as Warhammer should be. A very good book, but I would only recommend it to people with at least a basic understanding of the Warhammer universe.

[Marco Bizzarri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts slow, but ends in a crescendo, with an epic final.

The first book for me from the Vampire Genevieve (even though not the first one from the Warhammer world). Looking forward to the others.

[Phil On The Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just good fun.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually just a good yarn in its own right independent of Warhammer.

[Mark Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good gothic tale set in the Warhammer World.