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Blood on the Reik #1
Death's Messenger
Village life in the Empire is a relatively dull affair for Rudi. Living with his father, he dreams his life away, wishing he was anywhere else but here That all changes when a group of savage beastmen attack the village and Rudi is accused of Chaos worship in the subsequent investigation. Forced to flee, Rudi heads for the safety of Marienburg and the life of adventure that he wished so hard for Storming fantasy adventure in the Warhammer world, which ties in to the awesome new "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay."
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 29, 2005
3 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Sandy Mitchell
103 books422 followersSandy Mitchell is a pseudonym of Alex Stewart, who has been a full-time writer since the mid nineteen eighties. The majority of his work as Sandy has been tie-in fiction for Games Workshop's Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 science fiction lines. The exceptions have been a novelisation of episodes from the high tech thriller series Bugs, for which he also worked as a scriptwriter under his own name, some Warhammer roleplaying game material, and a scattering of short stories and magazine articles.
His hobbies include the martial arts of Aikido and Iaido, miniature wargaming, role-playing games, and pottering about on the family allotment.
He lives in the North Essex village of Earls Colne, with his wife Judith and daughter Hester.
His hobbies include the martial arts of Aikido and Iaido, miniature wargaming, role-playing games, and pottering about on the family allotment.
He lives in the North Essex village of Earls Colne, with his wife Judith and daughter Hester.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 1, 2016
Good Warhammer novel (#1 in a series of 3) with a rather slow pace, which I happen to like. Nothing insanely heroic going on, just like it should be in the Warhammer world (as opposed to Felix & Gotrek).
Don't read the blurb on the back though - the story outline described there doesn't happen until halfway through the book, which was annoying.
Don't read the blurb on the back though - the story outline described there doesn't happen until halfway through the book, which was annoying.
June 21, 2022
With a universe full of powerful warriors, magical beasts, and massive armies engaged in epic struggles, it's pretty damn surprising to see a story told from the perspective of a young peasant, placed on the outskirts of a remote town, unaware of all the goings-on of the greater world. The author had plenty of mighty heroes and villains and battles between good and evil to choose from but instead he opted for something more minimalist, and that is something I can appreciate.
Death's Messenger is a rare book (as far as Warhammer goes), because instead of a knight in shining armor or a necromancer imbued with unholy power, the story follow a simple messenger boy living in the woods whose world gets turned upside down when a catastrophe befalls him and his friends. It's a story told on a smaller scale, focused more on the characters and what they're feeling, as opposed to broad events and action pieces. It's a character-driven narrative that follows a person who's new to the world of Warhammer, so everything is told in a way that makes things seem new and exciting. For that reason, this book makes a great entry point for those who are new to Warhammer, while also providing a fresh perspective for those who are familiar with it.
On top of that, everything about the book is excellent. The writing: spot-on. The characters, it being a character-driven narrative: well written and sympathetic (this is one of the few Warhammer novels with a romance I actually cared about). The villain: far from being a generic bad-guy, is realistic; a character who does evil because of a rational desire to do what he believes is for the greater good. The story: surprisingly tense and full of unexpected twists. All in all, this wound up being one of my favorite Warhammer novels. If you like Warhammer, this should be on your to-read list.
Death's Messenger is a rare book (as far as Warhammer goes), because instead of a knight in shining armor or a necromancer imbued with unholy power, the story follow a simple messenger boy living in the woods whose world gets turned upside down when a catastrophe befalls him and his friends. It's a story told on a smaller scale, focused more on the characters and what they're feeling, as opposed to broad events and action pieces. It's a character-driven narrative that follows a person who's new to the world of Warhammer, so everything is told in a way that makes things seem new and exciting. For that reason, this book makes a great entry point for those who are new to Warhammer, while also providing a fresh perspective for those who are familiar with it.
On top of that, everything about the book is excellent. The writing: spot-on. The characters, it being a character-driven narrative: well written and sympathetic (this is one of the few Warhammer novels with a romance I actually cared about). The villain: far from being a generic bad-guy, is realistic; a character who does evil because of a rational desire to do what he believes is for the greater good. The story: surprisingly tense and full of unexpected twists. All in all, this wound up being one of my favorite Warhammer novels. If you like Warhammer, this should be on your to-read list.
March 11, 2013
Stark anfangen und stark nachlassen...
...scheint das Motto für diesen Roman zu sein.
Meiner Meinung nach einer der schwächeren Romane der Warhammer-Welt.
Die Geschichte fängt eigentlich (hier widerspreche ich meinen Vorrednern) interessant an und entwickelt sich auch sehr vielversprechend weiter - die letzten 100 Seiten sind aber IMHO reines Füllmaterial ohne jeden Wert, die sich der Autor hätte sparen können, und der Roman wäre besser gewesen. Dazu kommt, dass der Roman mit einem der übelsten (im Sinne von billig) Cliffhanger endet, den ich seit langem gelesen habe. Das ist keine Trilogie, das ist EIN langer Roman, der in drei Teilen veröffentlicht wird - meiner Meinung nach eine Frechheit, insbesondere, da man nirgends im Vorhinein darauf hingewiesen wird (aber das ist bei Black Library im Allgemeinen ein Problem).
Wenn ich Warhammer lese, dann will ich auch tatsächlich Warhammer vorgesetzt bekommen, und nicht irgendeine lahme Rollenspielanleitung (besserer Titel für dieses Buch: "Wie leite ich als Spielleiter eine 4-wöchige Reise durchs Unterholz ohne jegliche Ereignisse"). Warhammer ist für mich dunkle, brutale, blutige und hinterhältige Action, und nicht dieses belanglose Gelabere darüber, wie der gute Rudi zum dritten mal Hasenköttel sieht, und klug daraus schließt, dass Hasen in der Nähe sind.
Der Anfang (~150 Seiten) wäre ein klarer 4-Sterner gewesen, der Rest (nochmals 150 Seiten) ist IMO allerhöchstens 1 Stern.
...scheint das Motto für diesen Roman zu sein.
Meiner Meinung nach einer der schwächeren Romane der Warhammer-Welt.
Die Geschichte fängt eigentlich (hier widerspreche ich meinen Vorrednern) interessant an und entwickelt sich auch sehr vielversprechend weiter - die letzten 100 Seiten sind aber IMHO reines Füllmaterial ohne jeden Wert, die sich der Autor hätte sparen können, und der Roman wäre besser gewesen. Dazu kommt, dass der Roman mit einem der übelsten (im Sinne von billig) Cliffhanger endet, den ich seit langem gelesen habe. Das ist keine Trilogie, das ist EIN langer Roman, der in drei Teilen veröffentlicht wird - meiner Meinung nach eine Frechheit, insbesondere, da man nirgends im Vorhinein darauf hingewiesen wird (aber das ist bei Black Library im Allgemeinen ein Problem).
Wenn ich Warhammer lese, dann will ich auch tatsächlich Warhammer vorgesetzt bekommen, und nicht irgendeine lahme Rollenspielanleitung (besserer Titel für dieses Buch: "Wie leite ich als Spielleiter eine 4-wöchige Reise durchs Unterholz ohne jegliche Ereignisse"). Warhammer ist für mich dunkle, brutale, blutige und hinterhältige Action, und nicht dieses belanglose Gelabere darüber, wie der gute Rudi zum dritten mal Hasenköttel sieht, und klug daraus schließt, dass Hasen in der Nähe sind.
Der Anfang (~150 Seiten) wäre ein klarer 4-Sterner gewesen, der Rest (nochmals 150 Seiten) ist IMO allerhöchstens 1 Stern.
July 16, 2017
Meh, it's alright and in my case made for a weekend's lazy reading. The characters are believable but none too complex, the story a little bit long-wound but still entertaining. Its basic Sandy Mitchell: create a set of sympathic characters, have them run neck-deep into trouble and then let them live to tell the tale through a mix of cunning, luck and deus ex machina (this story ends on a cliffhanger, though).
February 21, 2019
I quite liked this book. I’m a fan of Sandy Mitchell from his Ciaphus Cain books and this book has his style. Warhammer fantasy doesn’t seem all that different from most fantasy settings so that was mildly disappointing but that’s not Mitchell’s fault since the world was built by the RPG campaign. Rudi and Hanna are both good young characters who are already growing and developing. This book ends on quite the cliffhanger so I’m glad that I have the whole series already.
December 30, 2009
this series proves to me that just because it is based on warhammer universe, does not mean i will like it no matter what.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews