Castle of Blood

Warhammer Horror

by C.L. Werner

A Warhammer Horror novel

Seven families arrive at an ancient castle, expecting a grand feast – but each guest brings the weight of their own expectations as well, not to mention hidden agendas and a thirst for revenge that will push them into darkness as evil approaches.

READ IT BECAUSE
Experience a Warhammer Horror take on a classic set-up – people gathering for a meal, each of them carrying their own secrets. It's sure to terrify and delight you in equal measure.

THE STORY
Guests are arriving at the ancient castle of Mhurghast, summoned by the reclusive Count von Koeterberg. They expect a grand feast, and something more... The ambitious Baron expects to inherit the Count's wealth; the wife of a broken swordsmith hopes to revisit happier times; the fallen priest prays for a chance of recovering his faith. Seven families, each with their own dark secrets. Each with their own hidden agenda. Each marked for revenge. Doomed to discover the depths of horror and despair, it is not a night of revelry that awaits them, but a night of unprecedented terror. Son will turn against father and daughter against mother, as daemonic evil descends upon Mhurghast.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Demons, Adult

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2019

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh... OH WHAT FUN!

You know what doesn't happen often enough in my opinion? Fantasy and horror combined. I'm not talking urban fantasy, where it takes place in something bearing resemblance to the modern world, I'm talking sword and sorcery fantasy meets true horror novel plots. Thankfully Warhammer's new horror lineup has decided to take the title Ravenloft once held as being a long term fantasy horror series.

Well, this is two Warhammer based novels in a row that I'm giving 4 stars. Where the last one (Requiem Infernal) got that fourth star for being well above and beyond what I expect from a Warhammer book in terms of sheer frightening ideas and originality, this one instead gets it for being the perfect example of pure entertainment even if I knew where it was going.

The plot was plain and simply fun. It focuses around several guest arriving at a dinner being thrown by the reclusive Count von Koeterberg. Unknown to them, all of them have something in common; one member from each family was in some way involved in the death of the count's son. For some, it is fairly obvious how they are involved... for others less so, but to the count each is equally at fault.

Count von Koeterberg's solution is elegant. The castle will be sealed and a demon summoned, one that will transfer from body to body when killed, but it will only possess the children of his enemies. You see, where they took his son away, he'll take their children... and have the extra benefit of the children killing the parents as well.

In other words, this is what would happen if you somehow mixed And Then There Were None with The Lord of the Rings and The Exorcist... and it is as mindbogglingly entertaining as that sounds.

This is a delightfully macabre little tale and a wonderful example of what Warhammer's new horror line could be. While the Warhammer universe has always played with cosmic horror, these newer tales play with classic horror tropes in fun unique ways, and what can I say, I'm a sucker for such tropes. Add in all the gothic horror elements one would expect from a Hammer horror film and some good old fantasy sword play... well, you have something tailor made for my enjoyment.

Perhaps others will not grin at the horrible dilemmas these characters face (from death traps, to... well, obvious, but unpleasant solutions on how to avoid having your child kill you) but for a certain group, this will be a gem of a read.

4/5 stars. Recommended to all fans of gothic horror and fantasy.

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know nothing about the Warhammer universe but apparently it is science fantasy for fans who find Game of Thrones to be too lighthearted and full of joy. I gave this book 2 stars because the writing is crap but honestly who cares about prose when the plot is There Will Be Blood.

Castle of Blood is about a bunch of people in a dark fantasy setting in a dark gothic castle in a dark revenge plot involving possession, and in a dark twist on that possession, those possesed get to turn into a monstrous demon whose sole goal is to stalk and then devour their parents, usually in the dark. Patricide, matricide, filicide, suicide, all the 'cides get their moment to shine in this speedily told tale that is basically the most brutal game of whack-a-mole imaginable and the mole is your son or daughter or parent. But I don't think you can call it a slaughter per se when everyone is killing everyone - I think of that as more of a murder party. Even the servants are invited!

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark and often disturbing Age of Sigmar murder mystery packed full of despicable characters, ingeniously lethal traps and a hideous daemonic threat. In the town of Ravensbach, eight families receive invitations to join the Count von Koeterberg for dinner at the ominous iron castle of Mhurghast, each wondering why they have been invited. Once gathered together, the bitter old Count reveals his motivation, setting loose an ancient daemon whose terrifying presence turns the families against each other and even themselves in the name of long-desired revenge.

It's horror which isn’t exactly scary, but more disturbing. There’s blood and gore aplenty, but the emphasis is more on tension, desperation and a fair number of pretty unpleasant choices being made as characters are forced to decide between survival for themselves or for others. If you enjoy a bleak, bloody tale of vengeance, desperation and futile heroism then chances are you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/11/...

[Jess Big Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting concept that starts like Clue and quickly turns into a more more exciting less scary Haunting of Hill House.

Castle of Blood takes place in the Warhammer fantasy/Age of Sigmar universe where a angry count plots his revenge against several families by luring them all to his castle with an invitation to a dinner party. Complete with creepy butler, elves, dwarves, Witch Hunters, and a demon as well as a trap filled dungeon.

[Dijananas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A horror story on three levels:
Level 1: A classic demon possession plot that takes over people, gore and suspense involved.
Level 2: The story delves later into the horrors of the human mind and what price they are ready to pay to survive, or to save their loved ones.
Level 3: a tragedy really, because they all die in the end. A series of bad decisions made by numerous people contributed to this. And I like that the writing shows you that the decisions the humans made matter, it's not like the story was linear or the author had something in mind and would follow it no matter what, but was guided by the characters and the decisions they made. Which is cool, especially if you look at it through the eyes of a DM.

Easy read, the prose was not terrible and easy to follow.
What I would have liked more is if we got to know the characters better before the predicament started. It was hard to remember all and if we knew them better at the beginning we would have understood their behaviour better throughout the plot, or connected with them more easily.

[Hallien · Rating 3 out of 5]

The issue with this book is that I have read similar tales many times before. It is using a classic horror formula, just giving it a little brush over and popping it into a Warhammer setting. There is nothing inherently wrong with the story and the writing is solid, it just did not surprise me with anything. Nor is the setting unique enough to where I could give an excellent rating. This is a standard run-of-the-mill fun tale full of blood, murder and daemonic forces.
Also, I was advertised this book (in good faith I am sure) as something I would enjoy if I was looking for Warhammer vampire novels. It had nothing to do with vampires, and did not even take part in the Old World, so I am not sure what the recommendation was based on.
If you are new to Warhammer or you just want a thrilling story full of blood, then this might just be the book for you. However, be also warned that if you have read horror literature before, this one might not even seem all that frightening. It was more funny than frightening at times.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know what Warhammer was or is, again I grab a book based on it's cool ass cover and then 3 chapters in I am like" What the what ?"
Anyway you can muddle along with no knowledge of Warhammer and get the gist of what's up and what is up is a very basic story with no real twists and an insane amount of violence and gore. The kills are different only in manner and everything is a little repetitive. If you want a gory, medieval story in a castle with magic, elves and demons, well this is for you. Easy, quick read.

[Wiki Pippin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given it a 4 stars, but the end was soo bloody bad. It was terrible. It makes me think I should give it even less stars, just for how bad the ending was. People often complain about books having rushed endings. You don't know what a rushed ending is until you read this book. It was so rushed it wasn't even an ending at all. I am so angry. The book was genuinely enjoyable. Nothing close to horror, it read much more like a closed room mystery. But it was still nice and enjoyable enough. That's why the way it ended made me so angry. The dude clearly wanted to do something semi deep with it, but he mentioned it in only one sentence and yet created the entire ending around that one sentence?? What????? Not to mention the lack of catharsis. Its very clear from the beginning, that the author has close to zero knowledge on the topic of horror, but he could have done at least the bare minimum amount of research to know, that all the misery and death and brutality in horror often leads to some sort of katharsis. No katharsis here. I am beyond words. I understand that this is most likely a book for Warhammer fans and not fans of horror, but if you call this horror, at least try to research what horror is meant to be. Making a closed type of room mystery with a load of meaningless, useless demise at the end is not what horror is. That is what non horror fans think that it is. But if you're writing a horror book, try to make it at least seem like you know the tropes and ropes. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[Scott Waldie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal adventure horror set within the Age of Sigmar, throws a few nasty unsuspected twists your way, reads quickly and leaves no good looking corpses behind. This Warhammer Horror line is proving fun, and this was the first hardcover I picked up in it, a cool looking book.

[C.A. Baynam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Castle of Blood is a dark, gothic delight with layers of dread, cursed legacies, and that signature Warhammer Horror vibe. If you love old-school gothic tales with blood-soaked tension and lurking terror, this one is for you! 🕯️🏰

The premise kicks off with a mysterious dinner invitation to the infamous Mhurghast Castle, where Count Wulfsige von Koeterberg has summoned an eclectic group of guests. This alone sets up that classic horror suspense: “Why us? What does he want?” It’s as if the castle itself is a trap. And spoiler alert—IT TOTALLY IS.

From the outset, C.L. Werner paints Mhurghast Castle as a character in its own right—iron walls, gargoyles, and an air of malevolence that just feels wrong. It’s no wonder the place holds the darkest of secrets. The guests, including Magda Hausler, Bernger Walkenhorst, and Roald von Woernhoer, each have their own motives, histories, and sins, which slowly unravel as things spiral into chaos.







Let’s talk spoilers! 🚨
The book really shines when Count Wulfsige’s true plans come to light. The sinister old man isn’t just hosting a banquet; he’s orchestrating a blood sacrifice to fulfill a vengeful curse and plunge Ravensbach into darkness. The phurba—a brutal and cursed dagger tied to the barbarian Skullcaller tribe—is chillingly introduced early on, foreshadowing the violent reckoning that comes later.

One of the standout moments? When Magda realizes the dinner isn’t what it seems—certain “guests” have been poisoned, the castle's traps are closing in, and Wulfsige’s price for vengeance is far higher than anyone imagined. The gore ramps up, and Werner doesn’t hold back as all hell breaks loose (literally). And THAT ending—oh man. The castle gets its final toll, but at what cost? You’re left both horrified and satisfied.

The pacing is strong, though the opening chapters could feel a bit slow as the guests arrive. However, once the blood starts spilling, it’s impossible to put down. The horror is relentless—dark magic, betrayals, and a creeping sense of inevitable doom. This is gothic Warhammer at its finest.

If you love cursed castles, blood rituals, and tales where no one truly escapes their sins, Castle of Blood will hit the mark. Just don’t read it alone at night. 😉

#WarhammerHorror #GothicTerror #CastleOfBlood #CLWerner #GrimdarkHorror #CursedLegacies 🏰🩸🕯️

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, and I think there are some great moments, but lets start with what doesn't work.

Much like a B-horror movie, the characters are pretty flat and unlikable, most of them felt like just fuel for death scenes, serving little real purpose in the story. The few characters I did feel like had more personality or purpose sadly played very little role in the actual story. This means that parts of the story really drag, because you just don't care about the characters. The most satisfying parts are the atmospheric moments where the ragged survivors are fleeing or cowering from the monster.

I really enjoy black library books, but the Age of Sigmar setting is so odd that it is hard to really suspend disbelief, it just sounds and feels like a game setting. This hurts what could have been a pretty atmospheric novel, that is just dragged down by some game mentions and weird AoS language. Pointless references to the Stormcast Eternal, who aren't even in the book, odd references to realms of magic, which again served no purpose, derailed the story.

What worked, well the best part of the book is the physical design of the book, the cover (particularly being hardbacked) the pages, its size, everything made it an incredibly enticing read. I had a few people even comment saying "wow that looks like a cool book" while I was reading it at work.

The setting and core story is decent, survivors trapped, forced to struggle together or apart. It has a creepy castle and pretty much everything you could want from a gothic horror. Unfortunately, the setting doesn't get a lot of screen time, with every room feeling similar and not a great deal of time spent describing anything after the characters first arrive. Its a disappointment, as without decent characters, the setting could have been a saving point, but this one is just mediocre.

The pacing of the book is good, building some good anticipation and suspense and then maintaining the quick fast paced slashings of the characters that would fit perfectly in any slasher film.

Overall, this wasn't a great book. There is a lot better horror out there.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It starts off fast and keeps moving at a high pace. The characters really shined here. Almost all were unlikable, which did wonders for fleshing them out. Almost every character was profoundly affected by a sense of regret, which is what seems to be the main theme here, especially when it comes to love. Many of the characters had a history beyond the Count's arbitrary accusation of guilt, and it manifested itself a few times through the children.

Which brings me to the horror aspect. The Count slit his throat in front of his guests and summoned a daemon that would possess the children of the handful of men and women he blames for the downward spiral and death of his son. What manifests is a massive, bloody horror, complete with flayed skin and gashes to the bone, still in the shredded garb of the child. Awesome.

It gets worse (better?) as the parents start hating their children, two of the bastards going so far as strike a pact to murder the other's kids. One brought a mace, one had a knife. Crazy.

And then the dungeons. Always, the dungeons. The count hired a duardin to construct five rooms of mayhem and death, including a seemingly safe room that had the entire floor coated in acid, or the classic impaling ceiling. Imagine navigating that while the daemon is trailing you.

At the end, it was the characters that really drew me in. The witchhunter, the duardin, the brave swordsman and the cowards. And Magda, with her bone chilling decision.

Regret and revenge. Two of our strongest pathos, our oldest enemies. We're all just a whisper away from becoming daemons ourselves.

[K.J. Shadmand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent Warhammer Horror novel, replete with lucid prose, compelling characters, rich environmental descriptions, and genuinely shocking and frightening moments. It’s so good, that it has brought me back into the Warhammer Fantasy fold (now reinvented as Age of Sigmar) and shown me that the Old World that I so enjoyed has a worthy successor. The only negative is a nightmare editorial error about three-fourths of the way through the story, where the sentences seem to irrevocably break down. Still, these things happen to the best, and in all other respects Black Library have produced a quality book from a very talented author. Give this novel a chance, and see if you can guess the fiendish ending (I could not!).

[Martti · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

Warhammer fantasy horror, a separate story that has very little to do with the miniature painting world. Instead it's a little fun horror banquet or betrayal and mystery. A scenario of the boardgame Betrayal at House on the Hill or something similar. With some familiar occupation and monster names from the WH franchise, if you know it. I don't know very well, but you get the general idea from the generic horror context.

The main issue here might be the amount of characters in the whole whodunnit scenario. And if you're not invested in any of them, then they are just a bunch of random victims screaming here and dying there.

[Phillip Krzeminski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but not quite as good as his other books (witch hunter series, specifically). It’s a good Warhammer story, full of the moral weakness of man leading to his own demise. It feels like it is trying to be Drachenfels (elaborate revenge plot to be carried out in a haunted castle years later) but doesn’t achieve the creeping horror of that book. There are a few twists that show that most of the victims are worse than the monster, a trope that always delivers for this cynic. What these self interested rich people are willing to do to save their own skins rings true and is probably the most horrifying moment of the whole book. It also has some Age of Sigmar mumbo-jumbo rolled into it, but you can easily ignore it (as I did).

[William Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little shallow on lore and background in a Warhammer Fantasy novel for my liking. Though I believe that its intended.

Grimdark is present, horror, death, dispair and pain.

The setting of the cold, iron castle, dark and maze-like, gives a good feel of isolation and a sense of how small the characters are in the grand scheme of things.

I like how the past compromises, immoral actions and failings of the castles guests show how the seeds and Chaos are sown and when allowed to fester, without corrective measures, evil will manifest!

No one is innocent, there will be bloody vengeance!

[Danny Saines · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, this book was atmospheric, creepy and engaging. Whereas at others it felt bogged down and muddled. The book shined when it went into details of the setting or how the characters had to make the choices they did. However, the dialogue at times felt clunky and uninspired. The book ultimately left me frustrated as I was expecting more especially after reading Dark Havest in this set of books.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went in with the normal expectations of a novel set in a branded game world...and was pleasantly surprised. This is a compelling and fun (if horrific) story about a group of people unwittingly brought together at a castle. Figuring out why they are there is only the start! If a revenge story combined with The Thing sounds interesting to you, definitely check this out. And I can affirm that no prior knowledge of the Warhammer fantasy universe is needed (because I had none going in).

[The Shreester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lavish and exclusive dinner invitation from a wealthy host with a hidden agenda becomes a macabre nightmare of demons and death.

Given such a premise, you might expect an engrossing narrative, which is difficult to put down, but the novel fails to elicit the horror expected. The author introduces a diverse cast of interesting characters, but only as potential victims, so we never get to know them or sympathise with their predicaments, making their inevitable deaths inconsequential. The horror also relies on certain rules, which these characters then inexplicably ignore, making their choices unconvincing. This is a pity, because the narrative is well suited to the Warhammer Fantasy setting, providing an ideal opportunity to explore the lore, but it's let down by weak and inconsistent characterization.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Warhammer themed slasher-horror. A nice change from the normal goodies and baddies on a battlefield with some vignettes (a lot of these are great, don't get me wrong).. a self-contained tale of fairly normal folk.. would make for a great DnD campaign!

[shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A guilty pleasure read. This Warhammer Horror novel is an amalgamation of gore, horror, demons, and unexpected twists and turns. A solid read for those wanting something quick and easy to read. Little to no prior knowledge of the Warhammer universe needed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Claire Trigell · Rating 1 out of 5]

God this book was bad!!!! Just really really bad! It was my first Warhammer Horror and if they are all like this it’ll probably be my last! Weak plot line! Zero character development! You could see the ending coming a mile off! Just very bad.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun reading this book and it had enough horror and gore, the main characters were great too. Highly recommended even if you're not a Warhammer fan!

[Alexander W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average rating, neither a raving hit nor a flat story.

[Arthur B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Age of Sigmar take on a low-grade slasher movie. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...

[Aaron A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed 95% of this! But the ending felt rushed, and unfairly ended for two major characters.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was entertaining! I liked it! Some nice ideas for dungeoncrawling as well.

[Chase Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell yeah! Castlevania Evil Dead but in the Mortal Realms. A huge blast.

[Andrew Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the rest of the Warhammer Horror line thus far, this is a fun, blood-spattered romp, the literary equivalent of a drive-in horror flick by way of Hammer, with a dash of Saw. A crumbling castle, demonic possession, deadly traps, and forbidden secrets.
Scratches an itch I didn’t know I had.
As always, killer cover.