Cursed City

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

by C.L. Werner

A Warhammer Quest novel

When a series of vicious murders rock the vampire-ruled city of Ulfenkarn, an unlikely group of heroes – a vampire hunter, a vigilante, a wizard, and a soldier – must discover the truth even as the city's dread ruler takes to the streets and the bloodletting increases.

READ IT BECAUSE
Delve into the dungeons beneath the city of Ulfenkarn and discover the story behind the board game in this tale of thrilling adventure.

THE STORY
Ulfenkarn is a city of nightmares. Its vampiric rulers have indulged their bloodlust in every shadow-clad alley, turning the once-proud metropolis into a charnel house. Already crushed beneath the tyranny of Radukar the Wolf and his Thirsting Court, a spate of vicious murders plunges the mortal inhabitants into fresh terror. Emerging to uncover a connection between the attacks is an unlikely group of heroes: a vampire hunter from Carstinia, a slum-born vigilante, a ruthless wizard, and a soldier who is the last survivor of her noble bloodline. Arrayed against them are the undead monsters that thrive upon Radukar's gory regime. But a daring search for answers turns into a fight for survival when the Wolf himself descends his Ebon Citadel and joins the carnage in the streets…

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Vampires, Gothic, Dark Fantasy, Action

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2021

Reviews

[Jacob Bennike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike the release novels for Warcy, Beastgrave and Blackstone Fortress, Cursed City is actually pretty good. As with any game-release novel from Black Library, the story is less free and more obvious, but it’s not as bad as the others. It’s a pretty decent dungeon crawler with interesting characters. It’s more a kin to a warhammer horror novel than a regular Age of Sigmar novel, which is somewhat fitting for the over all horror theme.

So it’s a tad ironic that the game isn’t available, because the entire books is about setting up the experience and introducing the city and some of the characters, and a game for you to use that in, well, what’s the point of the book exactly?

*Edit* September 2022
Now that cursed city is back on the menu, I feel it’s only fair to update my review. It’s been some years, and this is one of the AoS novels that stuck with me, it’s funny how this and a lot of the crime and horror novels + that crazy dwarf, do that, while the main “storyline” books don’t. At least not in the way the 40K books do for me. But I’ve always been a sucker for the “small protagonist in a big world of gods and monsters” type story and Cursed City is definitely that.

Honestly, it’s one of the best AoS novels out there, it’s an interesting dungeon crawler and it has some really great and even a little unusual characters with decent development and storylines, and now that the game is back out, I’m going to change my rate from its original 3/5 to 5/5

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

C. L. Werner is my favorite author from Black Library so I might be a bit biased on his work.

As usual, Werner can explain a scene like no other. His best character in his books has to be the setting in a weird way, because he shines when he writes about the world around his characters. The city of Ulfenkarn is a twisted city, one haunted by dark creatures and people trying to live out their lives under dark masters. It really is a wonderful setting.

As a prequel novel to the Cursed City board game, it does a good job of setting up the story for the game. However, having played the board game, I knew the fate of certain characters already as the story progressed. However, Werner’s take on a serial murder mystery that stalks the city and leads both the heroes and villains on a race to catch the serial murderer is a fun ride. Also the intercession of random characters right before they meet their end by the killer know as Baron Grin was a fun and interesting way to break up the story.

Also, maybe I’m alone in this but Werner delivers some of the greatest lines in written literature imo. He has such gut punches and moments of “oh hell yeah” that really pop out with single lines of just great impact. Two of my favorites from this book are “The murders indeed had caused the cattle to become bold and forget whose hand held the whip” and the interaction where Radukar says “If I must sully my hands dealing with you, I expect satisfaction” and Gustaf snarling back “Expect destruction instead. Make what peace you can with your master, Nagash”. Really, Werner is just an excellent write of witch hunters and he makes their religious zeal and fervor slice across the page with such cunning lines.

Overall, I recommend Cursed City. It’s a fun read and a good way to get some back story into the setting of the board game. Plus, it delivers some solid action and mystery that only Werner can provide.

[Noppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! It’s a murder mystery with a neat setup and structure. Every chapter [SPOILERS] starts with the viewpoint of someone who is about to be murdered by the newly infamous Baron Grin and as the story takes the main characters and investigators Emalda and Gustaf further along all kinds of characters you think ‘yup that’s the killer’ and every time you think ‘ok now the murders end’ and they just keep on happening! Every chapter there’s that murder again and every time the details throw you for a loop.

Is there anything I did not like? Yes! The ruler of the city and main threat to the heroes is such a standard trash talking bad guy. There is _nothing_ interesting going on with him. Just a standard “you have walked into my trap heman!” kind of bad guy. Also the two main characters have little chemistry between them. One is a noblewoman ex-general, another one a dour and rugged witchhunter. Surely there should be some sparks there. Some fuzzy feelings. But no. Most of the dialouge is bickering about methods and strategy. And they even do that during fights! I just don’t think that between unsheathing you blade and parrying attacks there is time for sentences like “You must’nt attack the one in the front. My magical power scythe will clear this right up.”. It puts me out. It’s a little too docile and a little too wordy. Also the word ‘snarl’ is used a lot.

But that’s minor stuff! It reads easy and takes action fast. No page meanders yet still the gothic locations are handsomely described. Recommended.

[Jordan Capasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely excellent! When it started it had a real swash buckling and fun adventure style theme to it which quickly descended into carnage horror and bloody murder.

Exceptionally well written and there are some terrific twists and turns throughout the book to keep you hooked and guessing.

Fully recommend this one!

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to get into this book. I'm not a super critical reader. If I like the story, I'll gloss over any structure, tone, or character problems and just enjoy the experience.

I think this book suffers because it's a prologue book to the board game. The main characters' stated goals is to defeat Radukar, the tyrant of the city, but they spend the entire time hunting a serial killer. I know they try to explain that away by saying that anticipating where the serial killer will strike next will allow the protagonists to catch Radukar unaware, but that just didn't work for me. I just didn't buy the justification. I was unable to suspend my disbelief.

And the justification also felt weird considering that two of the three protagonists are very lawful good, and probably would've hunted the serial killer because it's the right thing to do. They're also very lawful good in the "badly written stereotype" way and not the Black Panther, Captain Picard lawful good sort of way. These are also two characters that, upon meeting, were instinctively distrustful of each other and then by the next chapter (an hour or so in their time), they were stating how they could only trust each other.

A plot twist didn't feel earned.

There's a lot I could say, but that's about it. As always, your mileage may vary, but this book didn't do it for me. Now I'm going to go watch Castlevania again and think about how good Cursed City could've been.

[Waltrius · Rating 1 out of 5]

Une grosse déception. C'est un roman qui sort en parallèle du jeu de plateau donc je m'attendais à de grosses ficelles scénaristiques mais pas à ce point là.

Les personnages sont creux et à la limite du supportable pour certains (Bon sang Emelda...).
L'histoire est à peine assez intrigante pour motiver à lire la suite (j'ai pensé à passer à autre chose quelques fois), mais le vrai problème, c'est le style. Mon dieu que c'est lourd et redondant. Je ne sais pas si ça vient de la traduction(lu en français pour une fois) ou de l'auteur lui-même, mais c'est une catastrophe, pendant tout le roman. Les personnages passent leur temps (et je n'exagère pas) à commenter l'action, à souligner l'évidence, et à exposer des éléments qu'on nous a déjà expliqué. De temps en temps je ne dis pas, mais là c'est chaque dialogue ! On sait que Emelda veut se venger, on sait que Moorval est borderline necromancer, on sait que Radukar est très méchant et très intelligent. On a compris !

Très sincèrement, le livre aurait bien 20% de pages en moins et serait plus digeste avec un style normal. Au lieu de ça on t'explique tout ad nauseum. C'est d'autant plus frustrant que l'ambiance et la ville d'Ulfenkarn sont plutôt bien rendus. On laisse entrevoir un bon potentiel pour l'univers (certes, une ville gothique dirigée par des vampires donc on repassera pour l'originalité) sans jamais vraiment creuser.

Bref, c'est un roman de commande, dans ce que ça peut avoir de plus mauvais. Passez votre chemin et allez lire des trucs plus intéressants !

[S.L.W. Arrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is fine, not exemplary or anything. I think the city itself is the real main character and I get a good visual feel for its grit and despair. The cast of characters is depressing to me as i expected the heros (most of them) from the game to be more than just vague mentions in the epilogue or hearing from vladrik that theres "still no sign of jelsen darrock". Yea tell me about it, vladrik.

At first i rather liked what i thought would be a side or lead-in sub plot of the hunt for baron grin. The interludes gave a concise feeling of what any given mortal citizen of Ulfenkarn's existence would be like, which i did enjoy. When the baron grin plot turned out to be a chaos cult i was instantly turned off. Im here for a gothic tromp through a cursed city haunted by the undead and their vampire masters, not khornes moronic followers trying to summon a demon prince i don't care about. I get it, chaos has pushed into shyish just like everywhere (except azyr anyway) but seeing it be a plot point left me feeling unfulfilled given the setting.

The final showdown was just okay. I kept saying 'alright, heres where darrock triumphantly shows up and starts shooting!'. I was wrong. The old wizard gets drained rather pathetically in the first minute killing a wave of deadwalkers, loew gets eaten after accomplishing next to nothing and my boy poor gustaf gets stomped.

At least Morrvahl was always entertaining.

[James Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ulfenkarn is an unfortunate city. Firstly the land of Shyish is not a lucky place for any mortal to live being literally the land of Death a grim land made from the magic of death and ruled by Nagash the Great Necromancer the god of the Undead. Second the city was rescued by the vicious vampire lord Radukar the Wolf who then overthrew the rulers of the city and turned it into a nightmare city where the dead walk freely and his thirsting court prey on the mortal inhabitants trapped there. But now a serial killer is hunting the streets at night, totally separate from Radukar's own brutality.
But there is hope, of a sort. A small group of heroes are willing to fight back but against the horrors arrayed against them, chances are slim.

This book serves as a prequel to the game Warhammer Quest: Cursed City though less so than I was expecting. It only really features one of the eight playable characters from that game though plenty of the baddies are there. And the story is a murder mystery rather than the quest plot of the game. But for all that it's a really enjoyable and atmospheric book and really sets the scene for the game. I'd recommend this book to anyone lucky enough to get hold of the game and to anyone interesting in Age of Sigmar or vampire stories though it might feel a little unfinished as it's sequel is of course the game.

[Johan Larsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sjätte boken i vår bokklubb och Erlands val då han precis skaffat brädspelet med samma namn. Denna förklarar storyn fram till vad som händer i det.

Boken utspelar sig i Warhammer-universumet närmare bestämt Sigmar tidsåldern. I boken får vi följa ett gäng (varav en är vampyrjägare) som tillsammans ska stoppa vampyrkungen som styr över (Cursed City) staden Ulfenkarn. Staden är riktigt eländig och på nätterna rör sig fruktansvärda varelser runt på gatorna. En av dessa är Baron Grin som mördar bybor och skär av deras ansikten. Vampyrkungen beger sig därför ut för att hitta denna baron, det är då gänget ser sin chans att döda kungen när han nu rör sig bland stadens gator istället för sin fästning.

Bokens brädspel är ett spel jag gärna vill prova och jag var faktiskt taggad på att läsa denna. Omslaget var fett och jag fick en go känsla av boken vid första anblick. Dock ändrades denna känsla fort. Boken fångar inte mitt intresse dels för jag ej bryr mig om karaktärerna men också för att jag har svårt att följa den röda tråden och se platserna där det utspelar sig. Därför kom jag aldrig riktigt in i boken. Det var dessutom lite väl mycket beskrivningar hur folk sa olika repliker. Det blir för tjatigt för mig.

Boken får 2/5. Jag kände inte att jag fick ut något av denna bok. Men jag gillade att den hänger ihop med ett brädspel och tanken bakom.

[Louise White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tie-in novel to the game released by games workshop.

I was lucky enough to be gifted an audio copy of this story to listen to whilst I painted the models to go along with the game.

This is my first step into the warhammer universe. The story is a prequel to the game, so it gives you a background for the characters and sets the scene for game. What initially attracted me to the game/story is the fact that it had vampires in it!

The story follows the hunt for the mysterious Baron Grim, who is murdering the people of Ulfenkarn. Ulfenkarn has had its fair share of darkness, what with a vampire ruler and undead warriors. This new threat brings together a band of vigilantes, who seek to not only bring down Baron Grim but also seek revenge on their ruler, Raduka the wolf.

I'm fairly new to audio books, and this was the first one that I listened to without reading the book first. Listening mostly on my drive onto work, I do feel that I didn't fully take in everything that was being said. The narrator and the story set the scenes well, and I didn't expect it to end the way it did. Having the different voices for the characters really added something to the story.

I enjoyed this audio book but do want to revist the story, either in book format or listen to the audio.

[Dylan Universe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This does a really good job of fleshing out the cursed city and what it’s like to live there. Sadly I wanted more from it. I got the book to learn more about the lore of the board game of the same title and the characters you play as in the game. The first blackstone fortress book (which is the predecessor board game to cursed city. Which also has its own book.) did a great job of introducing a majority of the characters you play as and you learned a lot about them. This book however only focuses on three main characters only two of which you can play in the game. (One of the two is only available to you if you got a physical copy of the book.)

So overall I didn’t like cause I had a certain expectation for it. That being said it’s still a good read where you learn a lot about the setting. It’s really written as if the cursed city is a character itself. Also any scene with Radukar in it was an absolutely blast.

[Michael Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an introduction to Curse City, this was a great success. Werner did a terrific job introducing the setting, the main characters and the feel of the area. This would probably fit well into the horror imprint as well from Black Library.
I appreciated learning more about the structure of the city of Ulfenkarn and how the menacing vampires control the population with blood tithes and the undead city guard. Watching out the demoralized citizens live their daily lives under this oppression and then have to deal with the appearance of a serial killer was fascinating.
The characters were fleshed out and intriguing and the plot moved at a good pace building suspense.
This is worth reading even if you aren't familiar with the Warhammer Age of Sigmar books. You can't go wrong with zombies, skeletons, vampires, and even werewolves and those that oppose them.

[David Strašák · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this as a story introduction to the game, but Holy hell this was a fun read. Probably my most favourite books I've read in fantasy warhammer.

The plot is all over the place. It was surprising me every few pages with new information. One time something happens, then it stops, then it happens again, etc. But it all makes sense. The plot developments are all over the place, but they are explained. Which is a huge plus, because it was made exciting, but not frustrating.

I've also had good overview about all of the information, so everything was understandable.

The characters were okay-ish. And there one or two mistakes I've been wondering about, but this book is way too good of a read to mark it down because of that. To me it was thrilling and really exciting, which is why I'm giving it 5 stars.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this was merely a cursed city related novel I would consider scoring it higher, as it is well written and reasonably engaging and does give interesting insights into the background of the game and setting in some small snippets. My issue with this is that it isn't A cursed city novel, it is THE cursed city novel (as far as I am aware). Given this, I would have anticipated that the story would cover more than just one of the main characters and one of the villains from the game, and give a better overall feel for the backstory of the game and the heroes.

Is it a decent murder mystery novel set in the background of the Cursed City game? Sure. Will it give interested players of the game more insight into the relationships and characters of the heroes, villains, and settings that they are using? Not really.

[Joe A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read which draws on Gothic Horror and applies it into the realms of the Age of Sigmar.

Though words can be repeated a lot, and others find themselves used a tad pretentiously, it doesn’t detract from the story of the accursed city of Ulfenkarn, or it’s denizens (be they living in squalor or shambling in undeath).

There are a few different characters the novel focusses on, and not necessarily just ‘the good guys’, having these different perspectives really enhances the story, it’s progression and it’s flow without giving away too many potential reveals or twists.

The novel presumably sets up a tabletop gaming experience, that is of course if the reader can get hold of a copy of Warhammer Quest: Cursed City.

[David Endean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a gory and macabre book, but as a complete foreigner to the Warhammer franchise, it worked well as a stand-alone with no prior knowledge of lore needed. Probably shouldn’t have chosen this book as my first exposure to Warhammer, but I get the feeling I’d have the same opinion if this were my 20th book instead. Story and prose was well done, but the second half of the book seemed rather dull and anti-climactic. It almost ended up as one of my least favorite type stories of all, one whose ending is incomplete and leaves the world no different than when it began. Nevertheless, the writing did enough to save it and kept me interested throughout, but still ended as a rather average novel, in all honesty.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I was anticipating the new game from Games Workshop and truly am a big fan of their worldbuilding efforts, this book was a bit dull. Many of the characters in the game are not present in the book and those that are could use more development besides a bland one-dimensional need for revenge.

Some other descriptions of the magical abilities were interesting, but the overall plot of a gruesome mystery seemed like too simple a vehicle to explore this interesting world.

[Christina Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cursed City is a fantastic read. It appealed to me as a big Warhammer fan, but it’s readable if you don’t know any lore or characters.

I don’t particularly enjoy books that skip to multiple characters or points of view, but it was done very well in this book. I enjoyed reading it a lot. I’m itching to play the board game now too and would love another book to come out following the story!

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, as I often do C. L. Werner's Warhammer novels.

A particular stand-out for me was the structuring of the plot, with interludes setting the scene and raising the stakes for the main story as it develops in regular chapters.

Easy to recommend if you plan to play Warhammer Quest: The Cursed City (which it's a prequel to) or just kick back for some dark fantasy fun.

[Connor+Lindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good prequel for the Boardgame of the same name

Fun story and really sets the scene for anyone planning to play Warhammer Quest: Cursed City.
It deliberately leaves the conclusion of the adventure up to the players, arming you with a reason to fight the antagonist and introducing some of the player characters and their history.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining enough read to pass my commute to and from work. Because of what has happened to the boardgames I wonder if this book will get a sequel. I hope I can read more of the last of the Braskovs, at least in a short story.

[Luke Costin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun fantasy tale, nothing deeper than some heroes fighting off the horror of the night but for a tie in novel I’m not too surprised. I liked the murder mystery element and thought the main villain was well done.

The word visage is used a lot 😂

[Barthel Loren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is excellent and this is a great book for anyone who needs inspiration for a vampire-corrupted settlement. Sadly the main characters are super-boring and the plot is just not really there.

Watch the full review here: https://youtu.be/LY5UF_aDfmU

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This blows away Realm Lords or any story in the Thunderstrike anthology. This is an exciting novel with excellent pacing. It's unpredictable. It made me interested in the Ulfenkarn setting and Cursed City game. This is a must read for any Age of Sigmar fan.

[Géza Bastanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish the book. Felt like a chore to read. The story progresses too slow for my own personal taste. Some interesting characters, but not interesting enough to carry the story forward. Really wanted to like it and sit it through, but I just can't.

[Robert Gatenby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Felt like a chore to read. The book is set dressing for the board game and certainly feels like it as it ends up being 300 pages of the protagonists rushing from one place to another not achieving anything they set out to achieve.

[Samantha Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Loved the book. Loved the characters and the world building. Would tell my friends and family to buy. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book! What a great way to start a gam!

[Stefan Koepeknie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a old school Warhammer Fantasy feel.

[Alexander Páez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Flojísima. Espero que la narrativa del juego sea mejor.