Guardians of the Forest

High Elf Novels #3

by Graham McNeill

A human knight is plunged into a strange, mystic realm when he joins forces with wood elves who are fighting to defend their forest homeland from marauding beastmen. As the forces of magic run wild, can wood elves and humans put aside their differences for long enough to defeat the evil forces of Chaos?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dark Fantasy

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 27, 2005

About the author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.

Reviews

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best Warhammer Fantasy novels I read this year. It features the Wood Elves and a knight of Brettonia, Leofric. The human/elf prejudices were an intriguing element. The gist is that Leofric gets lost in the mysyerious and fey forest realm of Athel Loren and becomes entangled in the family politics of an elven kinband there. This was written wonderfully with vivid characters and atmosphere. The plot was dynamic and intriguing, a complex tapestry where all the threads come together in the end. Rarely does a fantasy novel actually give me goosebumps. The conclusion of this novel did.

[David Guymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful

[Angela~twistedmind~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been sitting here trying to come up with something to say without just providing a short summery of the book. All I can say is maybe it will come to me as I write; I can only try.
First, this isn't one of those stories that I just reeeeealllllly like, but it is worthy of 3.75 stars. Although I didn't find just a load of errors there were points where it seemed a word must have been left out when the story was put to paper. (I've mentioned my pet peeve of authors, proof-readers & publishers making grammatical errors) This is a strong story. One many women will find to be filled with too many bloody battles. There is only a slight nod to romantic notions and chivalry, but it is sprinkled throughout the story.
I am that odd lady who loves to read of fantastical creatures (especially in medieval times) and their adventures and battles with other fantastical creatures and humans. I do enjoy paranormal romance, but much prefer the other. This book stands on it's own, but I think it may be part of a series of 'stand alone' books, for want of a better description. At any rate this book is a Warhammer novel; whether characters intertwine and show up in other books as a secondary character, I do not know.
I found myself liking most of the characters, to one degree or another, never really despising anyone but 'the bad guys'. Leofric, the main character is a knight of reknown, great honor, and chivalry........however, he displays one characteristic that is definitely not something you'd expect to find in a brave and fearless knight. No, I'm not going to spoil that little piece of the pie. You'll just have to find it yourself. :P

Kyarno lives with constant anger and trouble follows him wherever he goes......not that he minds. But true love opens his heart and mind and he begins trying to prove his worth as a member of the kinship. I really like Kyarno, even when he's being an ass. He's that classic bad boy, and I do love my bad boys.
There are quite a few more important characters in this story. Naieth, the prophetess; Aldaeld, the Elfin king; Cairbre, the king's champion; Morvhen, the king's daughter & Kyarno's forbidden lover; and Cu-Sith, leader of the wardancers.
Would I recommend this book? To certain people, yes. If you're easily offended by graphic descriptions of bloody battles don't even think about it. Others may become immersed in the story as it unfolds and find themselves looking forward to getting back to it when they have to put it down.

The dark forest of Athel Loren, home of the wood elves, is a place of mystery and danger, a place no mortal man dares enter. Leofric, a noble knight of Bretonnia, has been raised since birith to shun and fear the forest and its enigmatic denizens.
But a beastman plot to corrupt the sacred places of Athel Loren throws Leofric into an uneasy alliance with the wood elf Kyarno as they battle the invasion. If the beastmen succeed, not only will the elves and their forest home be corrupted forever, but the destructive spirits of the forest will be unleashed to lay waste to all Bretonnia!

[Kassar Krennic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. THIS BOOK! Oh my god this book is a masterpiece! It follows a knight of Bretonnia named Leofric Carrard who, after being drawn into the magical forest of Athel Loren finds himself becoming part of the forests destiny and the destiny of the Elves within.
The characters, whether background or important, are all well realised and developed. This book provides a fascinating look not just into Athel Loren but into the mind of a Knight. Leofric starts to love the new land he's become part of but he still has a duty to his newborn son and his King. This leads to a conflict within about wanting to leave the forest while wanting to learn all about it and explore it. The Elves he befriends also begin to realise that not all humans are as bad as they thought and start to actually like Leofric, however no matter how much they like him there is the ingrained belief that humans are terrible, useless and should just die. Thus Leofric spends much time speaking with people who actually like him but who allow their beliefs and thoughts about humans to slip out from time to time leading to a tense story in which you wonder if what they are saying is genuine or not and if Leofric is truly accepted within Athel Loren.
The action in this book isn't very common and takes place mostly near the end but when it's there it is exciting and always has you worried someone you like will die. The romance plot line between two of the other characters isn't forced and even better, it doesn't feel like it exists just to have a romance plot. It actually plays a large part in the story and is one of the driving points.
All in all, this is one of the greatest Warhammer Fantasy novels out there and an amazing fantasy book in general. If you like Bretonnia, Wood Elves or just great fantasy you owe it to yourself to read this! Not to mention that you don't even need to know about the Warhammer Fantasy setting to enjoy it, so go read it. You won't regret it.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this a lot. Love the Asrai and any glimpse into their culture is good fun.
Likes
-Bretonnian knight was noble and fun to read
-great descriptions by author about Athel Loren
- insight into Wood Elven politics
-bittersweet end

Dislikes:
- while the Beastmen were well conceived, would have liked more scenes with them in it
-did not like the King of the Forests role

[Vardi Sigurdson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story about adventures of Bretonnian knight in the Athel Loren. Wood Elves, or "asrai", as they call themselves, look more kind in comparison with the trilogy of Orion, but despite everything the book is easy-to-read.

[JOHN MITCHELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book for Warhammer Fans

A good story and well written. Not a literary great but captures the spirit of Athel Loren well.

Thoroughly enjoyable, and if this genre is your bag one not to miss.

[Peter Bobovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straighforward look into the wood elven realm. The story isn't something to glamour about, but there were nice scenes.

[Linda Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just the book for summer vacation. Elves, knights, magic, a dragon, battles against ever present evil. Yes!

[Kristopher Godwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Character progression was great and the action was awesome, while not over taking the story. Was a little sad, and yet fulfilling. Really recommend.

[Eduardo Carrión Pareja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only for very seasoned fans of warhammer you have to like lore a lot, the plot of the story is Avatar type, if you don't like the universe of the wood elves very much don't read it

[Michael Eklund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of it very good, exciting, with good descriptions of Elf culture. But the end seems a bit quickly assembled.
But if interested in WH Old World, definitively worth the buy.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

“They had to fight and if that meant they had to die, so be it. They fought because Chaos had to be opposed wherever it was found.”

[Genny Clary tice]

just could not get into this.

[Luke Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading some of my old favourites from Black Library as Warhammer The Old World approaches; this book remains a favourite of mine, as well as a formative influence on a lot of my own fantasy writing...

"For all his life, Leofric Carrard, knight of Bretonnia, has feared and shunned the enchanted forest of Athel Loren, domain of the Asrai, or Wood Elves, like all his people. But when a personal tragedy draws him deep into the forest, he discovers he may prove pivotal to a coming conflict that threatens his homeland and the elven kingdom. Aided by the elven lovers Kyarno and Morvhen, the mysterious seeress Naieth, the venerable warrior Cairbre and the unpredictable Cu-Sith, Leofric must prepare for battle against the malevolent Cyanathair, who seeks to corrupt the primordial magic at Athel Loren's heart. If they fail, the consequences will be disastrous..."

With a bittersweet ending like only Black Library could deliver, epic battles against monsters hell bent on destroying the world, unlikely friendships that span across races, some (albeit tame) steamy moments and a tragic love story, this remains one of my favourite books, I still have the very battered first copy I bought...

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the journey I was given through the forests of the Asrai of Athel Loren. The descriptions were beautiful and the forest was every bit the way I imagined it to be. The book was an easy read and was not filled with too much political talk. I didn't get lost in the web of characters and intrigue like I did in the Sundering series. I appreciated the author's vocabulary, however, there was a definite overuse of the word "exultation."

[Benedict · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up while waiting for the release of total war warhammer immortal empires and it did not disappoint. A very enjoyable read if you can stomach how over-the-top the warhammer world sometimes is. If only I was reading this instead of other "classical" works during my schooling years. It is a colossal shame that black library no longers writes stories in the setting anymore especially when there is much that is left to be fleshed out.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my 1st warhammer book and i loved it. the descriptions of the forest realms were really well written. it really made me feel i was deep in a magical forest.

This book would make a great film. I will definitely be reading more warhammer books in the future.

[Isteniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I loved the book. It does not only do its purpose to describe the society of the wood elves of Athel Loren, but it also describes the society of Bretonnia.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, an interesting look into Warhammer's Wood Elf culture. Certainly moves away from the 'tree hugging' image.