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Thanquol & Boneripper #2
Temple of the Serpent
Skaven Grey Seer Thanquol travels to the jungle island of Lustria. The cunning wizard seeks an artefact to cement his power in the halls of Skavenblight, undercity of the rat-men
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 31, 2018
Usually part two is the weakest part of every trilogy but for a few exceptions, but this second novel of C.L. Werner's Thanquol & Boneripper
Just imagine a fantasy version of "Green Inferno" (or "Cannibal Holocaust"...) set in Warhammer green hell of Lustria continent with lizardmen, ratmen, dark humour and much more, told by the triple pow of a Slann alien mage, vily scheming and paranoid Thanquol, and the poor doomed crew of the Cobra of Khemri merchantile ship.
Just one of the best Warhammer fantasy tales I've ever read.
December 11, 2023
This is an excellent Warhammer fantasy novel. It features Thanquol, the Skaven Grey Seer, and a group of human tradesmen who crash on the continent of Lustria, a jungle hellscape that is also the homeland of the mysterious lizardmen. The plot is straightforward: the Skaven are attempting to assassinate a lizardmen priest who wronged them long ago. The humans become the unwitting subjects in a lizardman slann's experiments. There are several intriguing supporting characters: Hildrude the courtesan, Chang Fang the vengeful Skaven of Clan Eshin, and Lord Tlaco, the Slann master of the Great Math. Werner does a great job of depicting Lustria as a vivid, dangerous, and ancient place. There are scenes in the temple complexes of the lizardmen that vaguely reminded me of classic movies, like the old Universal Mummy films. The main appeal of this book is the morbid spectacle of Skaven psychology. Thanquol's narcissism, delusions of grandeur, persecution complex, unwavering anxiety, and extreme selfishness are always on display. He is so easy to hate that it's hard not to be captivated by the teeth-grinding and frustrating scenes of him always surviving, succeeding, and escaping by a hair's breadth, despite deserving every misfortune he avoids or thwarts.
December 11, 2013
The very first impression I got after finished reading this was "Wow, I think this is what they called minimum filler on the story". All of the pages was not wasted on something without use or purpose.
All three point of view kept making me curious troughout the storyline. The human confusion when they're dragged to Lustria, the skaven humorous persuit for each of their own objective, and the slann curiosity to examine the variable of the whole event.
One of my favourite part was Thanquol triumph in claiming the leadership of the expedition party. It was a moment of crowing glory (for him)! Although I was kinda annoyed by the way Goji/Boneripper could manage to overcame all of his obstacles (including a giant serpent that was worshipped by the lizardmen). Which remind me what happened to the gigantic mummy serpent that was accidentally resseructed, they did not give a distinct conclusion on that one.
Still I really love the way CL Werner close the story. Sending back the viral variable to the Old Worlds.
Worth all the sleepless night I spent for reading this book.
All three point of view kept making me curious troughout the storyline. The human confusion when they're dragged to Lustria, the skaven humorous persuit for each of their own objective, and the slann curiosity to examine the variable of the whole event.
One of my favourite part was Thanquol triumph in claiming the leadership of the expedition party. It was a moment of crowing glory (for him)! Although I was kinda annoyed by the way Goji/Boneripper could manage to overcame all of his obstacles (including a giant serpent that was worshipped by the lizardmen). Which remind me what happened to the gigantic mummy serpent that was accidentally resseructed, they did not give a distinct conclusion on that one.
Still I really love the way CL Werner close the story. Sending back the viral variable to the Old Worlds.
Worth all the sleepless night I spent for reading this book.
April 14, 2024
Thanquol reaches Lustria, and the Southlands will never be the same again. Werner mixes sly humor and unrelenting violence into a heady mix.
April 11, 2011
Thanquol and his rat ogre Boneripper return in "Temple of the Serpent", the sequel to "Grey Seer". Although this is the second entry in C. L. Werner's Thanquol & Boneripper saga, it is not necessary for you to read them in order, as each novel is pretty much self-contained.
After his failure in "Grey Seer", Thanquol returns to Skavenblight and faces the Council of Thirteen. Needless to say, they rat lords are far from pleased. And for Thanquol to make up for his latest fiasco, he is ordered to travel to the distant lizardmen-inhabited land of Lustria (which would be South America in our world). There, in the middle of the lush jungles, lies the city of Quetza, where a lizard priest and his cult reside, worshiping the great serpent Sotek. On the other hand, a human merchant vessel is set astray by a peculiar storm, and washes up on the shores of Lustria. On top of that, an age-old and mysterious entity, known only as Tlaco'amoxtli'ueman, has a hidden agenda known only to himself. When the opposing parties meet in the city of Quetza, mayhem erupts.
Although this is in title a Thanquol and Boneripper novel, the truth is each party - the castaway humans, the skaven expedition, and the cold-blooded lizardmen - are given equal amount of space. And what's most important of all, each POV is a delight to read. Often, is such multi-POV novels, there is one POV of real interest, and you find yourself hastily rushing through others, in order to return to the one that you want to read about. Not here. The fates of the humans and skaven, and the lizardmen are equally captivating for the reader.
C. L. Werner's writing style once again shines, and here more than ever you get that authentic Robert E. Howard feel, which tells a lot. Werner gives you vivid imagery with his prose, and the jungle comes to life in your mind. A lot of attention has been put into developing the characters, and the result is that you will really come to care for them throughout this adventure. But worry not, there is plenty of exquisitely written action scenes to satisfy your thirst for blood and gore.
In short, this is without the smallest shadow of a doubt one of the finest titles in the Fantasy genre today. It may not be a NY Times bestseller, but it is an old-school fantasy novel of the highest quality. Once again, thank you Mr. Werner, for such awesomeness. Highly recommended.
Rating: 9.5/10
After his failure in "Grey Seer", Thanquol returns to Skavenblight and faces the Council of Thirteen. Needless to say, they rat lords are far from pleased. And for Thanquol to make up for his latest fiasco, he is ordered to travel to the distant lizardmen-inhabited land of Lustria (which would be South America in our world). There, in the middle of the lush jungles, lies the city of Quetza, where a lizard priest and his cult reside, worshiping the great serpent Sotek. On the other hand, a human merchant vessel is set astray by a peculiar storm, and washes up on the shores of Lustria. On top of that, an age-old and mysterious entity, known only as Tlaco'amoxtli'ueman, has a hidden agenda known only to himself. When the opposing parties meet in the city of Quetza, mayhem erupts.
Although this is in title a Thanquol and Boneripper novel, the truth is each party - the castaway humans, the skaven expedition, and the cold-blooded lizardmen - are given equal amount of space. And what's most important of all, each POV is a delight to read. Often, is such multi-POV novels, there is one POV of real interest, and you find yourself hastily rushing through others, in order to return to the one that you want to read about. Not here. The fates of the humans and skaven, and the lizardmen are equally captivating for the reader.
C. L. Werner's writing style once again shines, and here more than ever you get that authentic Robert E. Howard feel, which tells a lot. Werner gives you vivid imagery with his prose, and the jungle comes to life in your mind. A lot of attention has been put into developing the characters, and the result is that you will really come to care for them throughout this adventure. But worry not, there is plenty of exquisitely written action scenes to satisfy your thirst for blood and gore.
In short, this is without the smallest shadow of a doubt one of the finest titles in the Fantasy genre today. It may not be a NY Times bestseller, but it is an old-school fantasy novel of the highest quality. Once again, thank you Mr. Werner, for such awesomeness. Highly recommended.
Rating: 9.5/10
January 25, 2025
Welcome to the Jungle, Warhammer style (Minimal spoilers)
Temple of the Serpent is overall an engaging Warhammer novel. There are three perspectives overall – the human perspective, the lizardmen perspective and the skaven perspective. Each one has at least a couple of POV characters, and we get a nice insight into how they think and view the world, including how they view each other (such as Thanquol seeing Adanwolf’s compassion as nothing but stupidity and lust and Adanwolf recognizing Thanquol for the conniving coward that he is).
The characters grab your attention and make you want to know more, even ones you end up hating. Adanwolf is a particular favorite as a mercenary forced to confront his conflicting loyalties, culminating in him becoming just like the swashbuckling heroes of old even as the adventure takes its toll on him. Thanquol dominates every scenes he’s in as the Skaven mage you love to hate. You’ll enjoy watching him try to scheme his way out of trouble just as much as you want him to fail and meet the horrible end he richly deserves.
There are a few issues that, while they don’t make the book bad, they really drag it down. The human characters were decent, but the story felt like they were included just for the sake of having human characters, as if you can’t have a Warhammer story without humans. There's also tons of plot armor. Three starved, tired, injured humans vs three well-fed, battle-ready saurus warriors? For the uninitiated, a Saurus is a seven-foot-tall warrior with armoured scaly skin that can rip a full-grown man limb from limb with their hands and teeth… and yet two tired men and a woman without combat training kill them. Don’t get me started on Thanquol and Boneripper. Boneripper surviving a fight with a giant snake AND a fight with a Saurus riding Warhammer’s answer to T-rex – monsters at least twice his size -was ridiculous, while the fake outs with Thanquol continually cheating death were as predictable as they were stale.
That said, you really get a feel for the Warhammer world, and it satisfies the craving for dark fantasy and the old-style adventures ala Indiana Jones. Gave it four starts, but only because it's too good for three and three and a half-stars wasn't an option. If you can get past the plot armor and mostly dark ending, it’s well worth a read.
Temple of the Serpent is overall an engaging Warhammer novel. There are three perspectives overall – the human perspective, the lizardmen perspective and the skaven perspective. Each one has at least a couple of POV characters, and we get a nice insight into how they think and view the world, including how they view each other (such as Thanquol seeing Adanwolf’s compassion as nothing but stupidity and lust and Adanwolf recognizing Thanquol for the conniving coward that he is).
The characters grab your attention and make you want to know more, even ones you end up hating. Adanwolf is a particular favorite as a mercenary forced to confront his conflicting loyalties, culminating in him becoming just like the swashbuckling heroes of old even as the adventure takes its toll on him. Thanquol dominates every scenes he’s in as the Skaven mage you love to hate. You’ll enjoy watching him try to scheme his way out of trouble just as much as you want him to fail and meet the horrible end he richly deserves.
There are a few issues that, while they don’t make the book bad, they really drag it down. The human characters were decent, but the story felt like they were included just for the sake of having human characters, as if you can’t have a Warhammer story without humans. There's also tons of plot armor. Three starved, tired, injured humans vs three well-fed, battle-ready saurus warriors? For the uninitiated, a Saurus is a seven-foot-tall warrior with armoured scaly skin that can rip a full-grown man limb from limb with their hands and teeth… and yet two tired men and a woman without combat training kill them. Don’t get me started on Thanquol and Boneripper. Boneripper surviving a fight with a giant snake AND a fight with a Saurus riding Warhammer’s answer to T-rex – monsters at least twice his size -was ridiculous, while the fake outs with Thanquol continually cheating death were as predictable as they were stale.
That said, you really get a feel for the Warhammer world, and it satisfies the craving for dark fantasy and the old-style adventures ala Indiana Jones. Gave it four starts, but only because it's too good for three and three and a half-stars wasn't an option. If you can get past the plot armor and mostly dark ending, it’s well worth a read.
May 15, 2020
CAUTION HERE MAY BE SPOILERS!
The second of three spin of works from the Gotrek and Felix books follow Thanquol into the jungles of Lustria. I've read and own over seventy Warhammer books and it's not all that often I come across something I haven't heard before. And this happened with this book. It's the first book I have read that is based in the jungles of Lustria! I've waited for ages to finally read a book about this bizarre Amazon-like place. And once again C.L.Werner does not disappoint.
The Good Stuff
-First of all, it's a book about Thanquol, and I can read books on this guy all day every day. Original Gotrek and Felix author William King really did the Warhammer universe a great service when he came up with this crazy dude, but C.L.Werner is the guy who took a forgetful side character to a full-fledged force to be reckoned with. The only thing worse than this guys narcissism is his belief that he alone is the favoured child of the Horned Rat. Also, his insults and sarcasm crack me up. There was a line in this book where he doesn't blame someone for trying to kill him and failing as he refers to himself as a "force of destiny" 🤣
- I agree with Thanquol when it comes to Lustria, it and all its inhabitants can stay at the ass-end of nowhere. First of all, if the blue lizards who inhabit this hell hole don't kill you, their giant snake god might, or if you're really lucky the environment itself will, this place is a green hell. Think the Amazon rainforest if run by the devil himself.
- I'm still not quite sure what the blue lizard men's leader was doing trying to contemplate great the "Great Math" what with all his talk of higher organisms and lower ones, but if anything that just adds to the craziness of Lustria. Everything here is madness. Just pure madness.
- Loved how it ended where the weird crazy leader did the math and realised it was better to let Thanquol leave than let him stay, he knew that Thanquol, for all his talk and arrogance does indeed have a part to play in future events and he was smart enough to send him on his way than have him cause trouble for him. Even so far as to manipulate the waves to get him away from Lustria as fast as possible.
I read the third Thanquol novel many years ago even before I read the Gotrek and Felix novels so I won't be reading that one for a while, but this trilogy was one of the top tiers of Warhammer series. Shame he never wrote more 🙌🏻🙏🏻
The second of three spin of works from the Gotrek and Felix books follow Thanquol into the jungles of Lustria. I've read and own over seventy Warhammer books and it's not all that often I come across something I haven't heard before. And this happened with this book. It's the first book I have read that is based in the jungles of Lustria! I've waited for ages to finally read a book about this bizarre Amazon-like place. And once again C.L.Werner does not disappoint.
The Good Stuff
-First of all, it's a book about Thanquol, and I can read books on this guy all day every day. Original Gotrek and Felix author William King really did the Warhammer universe a great service when he came up with this crazy dude, but C.L.Werner is the guy who took a forgetful side character to a full-fledged force to be reckoned with. The only thing worse than this guys narcissism is his belief that he alone is the favoured child of the Horned Rat. Also, his insults and sarcasm crack me up. There was a line in this book where he doesn't blame someone for trying to kill him and failing as he refers to himself as a "force of destiny" 🤣
- I agree with Thanquol when it comes to Lustria, it and all its inhabitants can stay at the ass-end of nowhere. First of all, if the blue lizards who inhabit this hell hole don't kill you, their giant snake god might, or if you're really lucky the environment itself will, this place is a green hell. Think the Amazon rainforest if run by the devil himself.
- I'm still not quite sure what the blue lizard men's leader was doing trying to contemplate great the "Great Math" what with all his talk of higher organisms and lower ones, but if anything that just adds to the craziness of Lustria. Everything here is madness. Just pure madness.
- Loved how it ended where the weird crazy leader did the math and realised it was better to let Thanquol leave than let him stay, he knew that Thanquol, for all his talk and arrogance does indeed have a part to play in future events and he was smart enough to send him on his way than have him cause trouble for him. Even so far as to manipulate the waves to get him away from Lustria as fast as possible.
I read the third Thanquol novel many years ago even before I read the Gotrek and Felix novels so I won't be reading that one for a while, but this trilogy was one of the top tiers of Warhammer series. Shame he never wrote more 🙌🏻🙏🏻
November 16, 2021
Another entertaining episode in the life of Skavenblight's #1 most mighty and successful grey seer, Thanquol.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty fun read, though a bit of a slog in the latter half. The beginning half of the book was really interesting with its broad descriptions of life in the under-empire, the machinations of different clan lords vying for power, the near-death encounters Thanquol has with Eshin assassins, the first steps onto Lustria with its many mysteries and unknown perils, but later on, the story starts to feel too much like an Indiana Jones movie and the many battles that happen towards the end only serve to slow the pacing down through their blandness. Thanquol's about to die but then he's saved, then he's about to die, but then he gets saved. About to die, gets saved, about to die, gets saved. There's only so many times you can do these kinds of fake outs before they get really tiring.
And the lizardmen...if you like lizardmen, then this is not the book for you because they are wimpy af, not to mention dumb as hell. Tell me, who do you think would win in a fight? Three tired, bruised and battered, cut up humans with torn clothes and broken limbs, or these guys
huge, beefy warriors with armored skin and powerful weapons, fresh to the battle? If you guessed the guys in the picture, guess again.
Yes, the humans beat these saurus warriors because plot armor.
And the lizardmen don't even make any sense in the story, letting themselves be caught off guard, even though they have eyes everywhere, struggling to capture a couple of humans despite having huge numbers and soldiers that can go invisible. They have a mage that can literally fold time and space and a prophet that can turn his enemies into ash just by pointing his finger at them, but they still get their asses handed to them. Excuse me, what?
All the same, the writing is good and fun to read for the most part. Thanquol's a wickedly hilarious character and there's plenty of good moments, despite the grind of other moments.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty fun read, though a bit of a slog in the latter half. The beginning half of the book was really interesting with its broad descriptions of life in the under-empire, the machinations of different clan lords vying for power, the near-death encounters Thanquol has with Eshin assassins, the first steps onto Lustria with its many mysteries and unknown perils, but later on, the story starts to feel too much like an Indiana Jones movie and the many battles that happen towards the end only serve to slow the pacing down through their blandness. Thanquol's about to die but then he's saved, then he's about to die, but then he gets saved. About to die, gets saved, about to die, gets saved. There's only so many times you can do these kinds of fake outs before they get really tiring.
And the lizardmen...if you like lizardmen, then this is not the book for you because they are wimpy af, not to mention dumb as hell. Tell me, who do you think would win in a fight? Three tired, bruised and battered, cut up humans with torn clothes and broken limbs, or these guys
huge, beefy warriors with armored skin and powerful weapons, fresh to the battle? If you guessed the guys in the picture, guess again. Yes, the humans beat these saurus warriors because plot armor.
And the lizardmen don't even make any sense in the story, letting themselves be caught off guard, even though they have eyes everywhere, struggling to capture a couple of humans despite having huge numbers and soldiers that can go invisible. They have a mage that can literally fold time and space and a prophet that can turn his enemies into ash just by pointing his finger at them, but they still get their asses handed to them. Excuse me, what?
All the same, the writing is good and fun to read for the most part. Thanquol's a wickedly hilarious character and there's plenty of good moments, despite the grind of other moments.
February 22, 2019
A fantastic story from the Old World. While it picks up where Grey Seer left off, you shouldn't be afraid to dive straight into this story as you'll miss very little.
GW are currently reintroducing the Warhammer Horror and, I think, this sits firmly in that vein. This is a Heart of Darkness, Lords of the Flies, survival horror-type deal. You get a great feel for the treacherous, squabbling skaven and the mystical seraphon/lizardmen civilisation. But best of all you get some humans caught in between.
Sadly, I think this is one of the stories that highlights just how much damage GW have done to the storytelling potential of the Warhammer Worlds. A lot of their recent catalogue reads more like rulebook filler than genuine fiction.
Go old school and be rewarded!
GW are currently reintroducing the Warhammer Horror and, I think, this sits firmly in that vein. This is a Heart of Darkness, Lords of the Flies, survival horror-type deal. You get a great feel for the treacherous, squabbling skaven and the mystical seraphon/lizardmen civilisation. But best of all you get some humans caught in between.
Sadly, I think this is one of the stories that highlights just how much damage GW have done to the storytelling potential of the Warhammer Worlds. A lot of their recent catalogue reads more like rulebook filler than genuine fiction.
Go old school and be rewarded!
December 10, 2017
Grey Seer Thanquol returns to the world that was, and is sent to Lustria by the Council of Thirteen to kill a Skink Priest / Prophet.
A great story, with all the swashbuckling heroics, and under-world cowardice one would expect from a Warhammer / Thanquol story. Definitely one if like the Gotrek books, Skaven or just the World that Was... if you get over the grief of its destruction.
Great to read more about the Skaven seer, and his brave/foolhardy/lucky/cowardly actions in Lustria.
A great story, with all the swashbuckling heroics, and under-world cowardice one would expect from a Warhammer / Thanquol story. Definitely one if like the Gotrek books, Skaven or just the World that Was... if you get over the grief of its destruction.
Great to read more about the Skaven seer, and his brave/foolhardy/lucky/cowardly actions in Lustria.
February 12, 2024
Maybe a 4.5 at times - Thanquol himself is amazing throughout. As the title character he very much does not disappoint, but I did find some of the cutaway characters to be ultimately disappointing in comparison, and largely pointless.
The lizardmen were often built up as this unbeatable threat, only to be almost comically useless at critical moments.
But overall, a great read, especially when it lingered on the Grey Seer himself.
The lizardmen were often built up as this unbeatable threat, only to be almost comically useless at critical moments.
But overall, a great read, especially when it lingered on the Grey Seer himself.
May 17, 2024
I have been advised this book since I used to love Skaven. This was like a "road documentary" accross unknown and it was really underwhelming. Not a lot of fun, action just for sake of action without any stakes and I was indifferent towards all of the characters. It was like reading about a road trip of your distant relatives who are particulary boring.
August 8, 2024
always funny seeing how hypocritical and lacking in integrity thanquol is.
also interesting seeing each race’s mutual incomprehensibility towards each other. seeing them assign meaning and intent to the other race’s actions based on their own race’s psychology.
also interesting seeing each race’s mutual incomprehensibility towards each other. seeing them assign meaning and intent to the other race’s actions based on their own race’s psychology.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2018
thanquol continues to be one of the most hilarious foils in warhammer. such a goober, everything he does backfires.
September 27, 2018
Great read
A great end to the second book of thanquols adventure! I know a good name... BoneRipper, that serves it purpose
A great end to the second book of thanquols adventure! I know a good name... BoneRipper, that serves it purpose
November 18, 2019
Thanquol and Boneripper in thick of it. This time trying to make it trough sea of lizard things. It was action packed story filled with skaven amiable approach to everything.
February 27, 2023
Skavenki... Tak tak Skavenki
Uwielbiam Wernera
Uwielbiam Wernera
April 20, 2016
Being the most powerful and most beloved of all the children of the Horned Rat Thanquol should probably have an easy life, right? Obviously not.
Being sent to the steaming jungles of far away Lustria, where the life expectancy of Skaven are not very long would probably be bad enough. Being sent there, escorted by assassins, who probably want him dead doesn't make it any better. When powerful wizards plot his destruction as well it gets down right awful...
Now add humongous serpents, cold blooded lizardmen, various venomous creatures and a priest of Sotek and it just wont get any better.
...except for those bent yellow fruits, they are nice-nice!
I know these stories of Thanquol and Boneripper are not for everyone, but they have proved time and time again to be just my cup of tea, and this novel is no exception!
Being sent to the steaming jungles of far away Lustria, where the life expectancy of Skaven are not very long would probably be bad enough. Being sent there, escorted by assassins, who probably want him dead doesn't make it any better. When powerful wizards plot his destruction as well it gets down right awful...
Now add humongous serpents, cold blooded lizardmen, various venomous creatures and a priest of Sotek and it just wont get any better.
...except for those bent yellow fruits, they are nice-nice!
I know these stories of Thanquol and Boneripper are not for everyone, but they have proved time and time again to be just my cup of tea, and this novel is no exception!
August 25, 2016
Another light jaunt with a comical character through the dark world of the warhammer universe. This one struck a better chord with me than the first. Again the story is split from the titles main character but it feels more appropriate and enjoyable than shoe horned in. While the novel does drag a bit the ending makes it all worthwhile. Also you have to applaud the author's descriptions. While obviously these books are built upon the tabletop game it is often difficult to visualize the characters described. Werner easily bypasses this with succinct but vivid descriptions for those unfamiliar with the game.
March 4, 2011
So-so fantasy novel, but fun to read one where the lead character is a snivelling, manipulative coward.
June 2, 2012
A lot of fun to read. I am now a fan of the Skaven.
April 9, 2016
Thanquol escapes from the wrath of the Slann.
February 29, 2024
Good book humorous and good story
July 1, 2022
review to come
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews