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Warhammer
Wulfrik
Emerging from the mists, Wulfrik the Wanderer brings destruction and death everywhere he treads. Cursed by the Ruinous Powers, the champion must travel across the Old World and seek prizes to appease the forces of Chaos. But now dark forces plot against Wulfrik, and he must discover the enemy within or else his soul will be lost to the Dark Gods forever.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 30, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 11, 2022
This book focuses on Wulfrik, an evil Norscan warrior who has been blessed by the dark gods to wander the world to raid in the names of Chaos. It is brutal and unrestrained. Some interesting elements of the Warhammer "Old World" are explored, and some surprising ones that fans of the lore will appreciate (refraining here so as not to spoil the surprise). The "Norscan" (or evil Chaos-worshipping Viking-inspired culture) is intriguing and atmospheric. Sometimes this novel felt like a modern, gonzo re-telling of a Viking saga. Two subtle/subdued plot elements realy intrigued and surprised me: (1) the tragic love story embedded amongst all the carnage and (2) the portrayal of the Priest of Sigmar, who even though he was the enemy in Wulfgar's story, he was nevertheless admirable.
March 24, 2011
One of the very top authors Black Library has to offer, C. L. Werner, penned a novel in the Warhammer Heroes series – the saga of Wulfrik the Wanderer. After making a bold boast without thinking, Wulfrik - a fearsome northman - finds himself cursed by the Ruinous Powers themselves. To prove his words, he is to be a mercenary, hunting beasts and creatures they command him all around the world, and dedicating their deaths to the Chaos Gods. If he fails, his soul will forever be damned. Followed by a band of ruthless and fearless warriors, aboard a magical ship called the Seafang, Wulfrik roams the lands, bringing death and destruction wherever he goes.
This sounds like your typical fantasy novel plot, and, in reality it is – but while the story itself is nothing extraordinary, the writing is exquisite, and a true example of how all fantasy novels should be written. So, the plot - there are some political intrigues in the background, schemes and plots to bring about Wulfrik’s demise, but basically it is a straightforward and rather simplistic novel. What you have here is, in essence, an RPG formula: the hero, in this case Wulfrik, is sent on a series of quests by various parties. Still, this did not really bother me, since I prefer an ordinary story well told much more than an extraordinary story told poorly. C. L. Werner does the former.
The biggest appeal “Wulfrik” held for me was the fact the novel is really… well, badass. There are no 16-year old heroes suddenly becoming Chosen Ones to save the world from evil, no kiddy stuff pampering to whiny teens. This is a real man’s fantasy novel through and through. Wulfrik does not save anyone from evil, because he is evil – and that is a nice change of perspective for once.
The character Wulfrik, though it may seem otherwise in the beginning, is far from black and white. The way C. L. Werner fleshed-out the character is wonderful. Wulfrik has been given the Gift of Tongues – an ability to understand and speak and language of any creature on the earth – and a magical ship to do the Gods’ bidding, bringing him unparalleled fame that reaches far beyond his land. Still, what most consider a blessing, Wulfrik considers a curse. Because of it, he is forced to wander around the world, and be far from his love – the fair Hjordis, which tears the hero apart from the inside. Again, this is not some pathetic whining about love from an overly-emotional teen hero you usually see in what passes for fantasy these days, but actual (manly) character development. However, aside from Wulfrik, the majority of the characters are one-dimensional, at least compared to the hero. But again, this novel is called “Wulfrik”, not “Wulfrik and Friends”, so…
In terms of action, there’s plenty of it, and C. L. Werner does it amazingly well. A part that stands out is the battle against the davi zharr, the fire dwarfs. Wulfrik’s assault on their fortress takes up almost a quarter of a novel, about 100 pages, but you’ll be turning pages and never get fed up with it. Also, the climax is a bloody one, and the ending again very badass. Suffice to say, Wulfrik is one nasty motherf*****.
For every fantasy lover, this should be a no brainer. With each novel, C. L. Werner proves not only he is amongst Black Library’s best, but also one of the best in the world at what he does.
Rating: 9.5/10
This sounds like your typical fantasy novel plot, and, in reality it is – but while the story itself is nothing extraordinary, the writing is exquisite, and a true example of how all fantasy novels should be written. So, the plot - there are some political intrigues in the background, schemes and plots to bring about Wulfrik’s demise, but basically it is a straightforward and rather simplistic novel. What you have here is, in essence, an RPG formula: the hero, in this case Wulfrik, is sent on a series of quests by various parties. Still, this did not really bother me, since I prefer an ordinary story well told much more than an extraordinary story told poorly. C. L. Werner does the former.
The biggest appeal “Wulfrik” held for me was the fact the novel is really… well, badass. There are no 16-year old heroes suddenly becoming Chosen Ones to save the world from evil, no kiddy stuff pampering to whiny teens. This is a real man’s fantasy novel through and through. Wulfrik does not save anyone from evil, because he is evil – and that is a nice change of perspective for once.
The character Wulfrik, though it may seem otherwise in the beginning, is far from black and white. The way C. L. Werner fleshed-out the character is wonderful. Wulfrik has been given the Gift of Tongues – an ability to understand and speak and language of any creature on the earth – and a magical ship to do the Gods’ bidding, bringing him unparalleled fame that reaches far beyond his land. Still, what most consider a blessing, Wulfrik considers a curse. Because of it, he is forced to wander around the world, and be far from his love – the fair Hjordis, which tears the hero apart from the inside. Again, this is not some pathetic whining about love from an overly-emotional teen hero you usually see in what passes for fantasy these days, but actual (manly) character development. However, aside from Wulfrik, the majority of the characters are one-dimensional, at least compared to the hero. But again, this novel is called “Wulfrik”, not “Wulfrik and Friends”, so…
In terms of action, there’s plenty of it, and C. L. Werner does it amazingly well. A part that stands out is the battle against the davi zharr, the fire dwarfs. Wulfrik’s assault on their fortress takes up almost a quarter of a novel, about 100 pages, but you’ll be turning pages and never get fed up with it. Also, the climax is a bloody one, and the ending again very badass. Suffice to say, Wulfrik is one nasty motherf*****.
For every fantasy lover, this should be a no brainer. With each novel, C. L. Werner proves not only he is amongst Black Library’s best, but also one of the best in the world at what he does.
Rating: 9.5/10
November 21, 2012
One of the best books iv ever read and such funny parts in it made me laugh out loud.
Only thing i didnt like is the lack of a sequel.
Only thing i didnt like is the lack of a sequel.
August 29, 2022
Wulfrik is a warrior of chaos whose last ties to humanity is his love for a Norscan princess. The book focuses on his journey to rid himself from a chaos curse that would allow him to settle down and be with his love permanently. Throughout the journey Wulfrik battles evil dwarves, elves, sea monsters, warrior priests, etc.
The scenarios Wulfrik finds himself in are often quite fun, exciting and brutally violent. Wulfrik isn't really even an anti-hero, he's mostly just evil. There are 2 people in the book he seems to have any love or respect for at all. He's the type of villain who slaughters his own men, shows no respect to his enemies, takes no prisoners, and kills without mercy. Even saying this, the book is kind of focused on Wulfriks fall into further losing what tiny shreds of humanity still tethers him to the human world. In that sense, it is a success, as a kind of tragedy and downfall of a man posing as some kind of pyrrhic victory.
On the other hand, I found myself having trouble getting very invested in the story. Wulfrik isn't particularly likeable, even as a villain, his entire motivation is around a non-character in the Princess Hjordis that he's in love with. I could describe almost nothing about her only that Wulfrik thought she was hot and smelled good. If I don't understand why Wulfrik cares so much about her, how am I supposed to care? It kind of makes Wulfrik look pathetic that he travels the entire world just for this one empty character.
There's not a single side character in the entire book that is fleshed out in any meaningful way at all. It's just Wulfrik, basically, so it is just difficult to care when every character could, frankly even the main character, and I wouldn't have felt anything.
It does have a fairly succesful ending in how brutal it was, but I don't think it justified all the meandering that came before.
The scenarios Wulfrik finds himself in are often quite fun, exciting and brutally violent. Wulfrik isn't really even an anti-hero, he's mostly just evil. There are 2 people in the book he seems to have any love or respect for at all. He's the type of villain who slaughters his own men, shows no respect to his enemies, takes no prisoners, and kills without mercy. Even saying this, the book is kind of focused on Wulfriks fall into further losing what tiny shreds of humanity still tethers him to the human world. In that sense, it is a success, as a kind of tragedy and downfall of a man posing as some kind of pyrrhic victory.
On the other hand, I found myself having trouble getting very invested in the story. Wulfrik isn't particularly likeable, even as a villain, his entire motivation is around a non-character in the Princess Hjordis that he's in love with. I could describe almost nothing about her only that Wulfrik thought she was hot and smelled good. If I don't understand why Wulfrik cares so much about her, how am I supposed to care? It kind of makes Wulfrik look pathetic that he travels the entire world just for this one empty character.
There's not a single side character in the entire book that is fleshed out in any meaningful way at all. It's just Wulfrik, basically, so it is just difficult to care when every character could, frankly even the main character, and I wouldn't have felt anything.
It does have a fairly succesful ending in how brutal it was, but I don't think it justified all the meandering that came before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2020
Wulfrik is a stand alone, grimdark fantasy novel set in the Warhammer fantasy universe. The story follows Wulfrik, an ultra badass warrior blessed (or cursed?) by the dark gods of his people, to forever wander the world and killing worthy foes. This book is wild and epic, it is the stuff of blood and thunder, in the space of 400 pages Wulfrik fought and slew all manners of unimaginable monsters and champions. The action scenes are top notch. In the character department though the only character with more than two dimensions is Wulfrik himself. For most of the book I sympathized with Wulfrik's predicaments until the ending when I was reminded he is not meant to be a good person. Meanwhile the supporting characters are a tad simplistic. However, as a whole this novel succeeded in what it is meant to be; a fast-paced, entertaining romp that would have Robert E. Howard himself nod in approval.
July 29, 2022
Fairly entertaining book with a lot of action. Took me awhile to get into, just because the main character would be the antagonist in most books. Still, interesting enough world building.
June 26, 2025
I can’t believe how dark this got towards the end
August 2, 2012
Wulfrik is a Warhammer Fantasy novel by the master of this genre, C.L. Werner. It has been awhile since I have visited Warhammer Fantasy and Wulfrik definitely surprised the hell out of me. Yetis, Fire Dwarves, Hobgoblins, the lammasu, and the Treetroll, I had no idea the editors at Black Library were letting their authors branch out so far away from their usually safe medium. Few noteworthy tidbits worth mentioning least I forget: Wulfrik’s Gift of Tongues; while originally I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this it turned out to be pretty sweet.
So let’s row on into the plot shall we? Wulfrik is cursed by the Dark Chaos Gods, damned to wander for what may be eternity until he kills everything sent to him through the visions the gods provide him. This turns into somewhat of a quagmire for Wulfrik because the love of his life is stuck back in his home town, Ormskaro and his love Hjordis’s father, King Viglundr is trying to marry her off to a rival prince. In the meantime a Kurgan shaman comes along with hefty promises to end Wulfrik’s curse once and for all. Whether the shaman can make good on these claims or whether Wulfrik and his men can survive the trials and tribulations ahead of them is as good as anyone’s guess.
As you can probably tell from the title, Wulfrik is the main character and really while some of the side characters are intriguing themselves (Jokull, the scout with a tentacle “…lash-like appendage growing from his shoulder…” and another reaver, Arngeirr, welding a kraken blade) I didn’t really pay as much attention to any others and didn’t feel a ton of connection. This is excluding some of the more major characters within this saga, Hjordis, The King Viglundr, the Aesling prince Sveinbjorn, and the mysterious Kurgan shaman, Zarnath.
The linear change in Wulfrik and a few others isn’t so extreme that it jars the reader but nearing the end you might find it a bit shocking, until it settles in upon you that even though this is classified as a Warhammer Hero novel, Wulfrik is anything but a saint and will go to any lengths of the world to get his way.
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the use of some magic ruining fantasy novels but the bits used by a varying assortment of unscrupulous creatures and fiends was crafted admirably. I loved the portrayal of the raven within this book and how it correlates with everything; you probably won’t understand my meaning with this until you read the book.
The setting changed vastly due to the “Wandering” nature of Wulfrik and his enchanted ship “Seafang” and for me that was fantastic. One day you could be resting up and getting drunk in a mead hall at Ormskaro and the very next instant you might be battling the fire dwarves in the “Dronangkul” or “Fortress of Iron”, or perhaps even elves from as far away as Ulthuan.
This was definitely an exciting read for me as Warhammer Fantasy is what originally hooked me on the fantastic worlds of Warhammer. I think Mr. Werner has been doing an excellent job in lighting the torch per say to hopefully grab some more attention to this greatly under-appreciated universe.
So let’s row on into the plot shall we? Wulfrik is cursed by the Dark Chaos Gods, damned to wander for what may be eternity until he kills everything sent to him through the visions the gods provide him. This turns into somewhat of a quagmire for Wulfrik because the love of his life is stuck back in his home town, Ormskaro and his love Hjordis’s father, King Viglundr is trying to marry her off to a rival prince. In the meantime a Kurgan shaman comes along with hefty promises to end Wulfrik’s curse once and for all. Whether the shaman can make good on these claims or whether Wulfrik and his men can survive the trials and tribulations ahead of them is as good as anyone’s guess.
As you can probably tell from the title, Wulfrik is the main character and really while some of the side characters are intriguing themselves (Jokull, the scout with a tentacle “…lash-like appendage growing from his shoulder…” and another reaver, Arngeirr, welding a kraken blade) I didn’t really pay as much attention to any others and didn’t feel a ton of connection. This is excluding some of the more major characters within this saga, Hjordis, The King Viglundr, the Aesling prince Sveinbjorn, and the mysterious Kurgan shaman, Zarnath.
The linear change in Wulfrik and a few others isn’t so extreme that it jars the reader but nearing the end you might find it a bit shocking, until it settles in upon you that even though this is classified as a Warhammer Hero novel, Wulfrik is anything but a saint and will go to any lengths of the world to get his way.
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the use of some magic ruining fantasy novels but the bits used by a varying assortment of unscrupulous creatures and fiends was crafted admirably. I loved the portrayal of the raven within this book and how it correlates with everything; you probably won’t understand my meaning with this until you read the book.
The setting changed vastly due to the “Wandering” nature of Wulfrik and his enchanted ship “Seafang” and for me that was fantastic. One day you could be resting up and getting drunk in a mead hall at Ormskaro and the very next instant you might be battling the fire dwarves in the “Dronangkul” or “Fortress of Iron”, or perhaps even elves from as far away as Ulthuan.
This was definitely an exciting read for me as Warhammer Fantasy is what originally hooked me on the fantastic worlds of Warhammer. I think Mr. Werner has been doing an excellent job in lighting the torch per say to hopefully grab some more attention to this greatly under-appreciated universe.
March 14, 2015
This is the tale of the warrior Wulfrik, who challenged the gods of chaos and was cursed to serve as their champion. It's the story of how he sought to cheat the gods and escape his captivity, and of the horrors which followed.
While the Warhammer 40'000 setting is renowned for the freedom of storytelling it allows the Black Library's authors, with ten thousand years of history and millions of possible worlds, the Warhammer world is notably more constrained. It's a good thing, then, that authors like C.L. Werner are keen to explore this world from different angles and viewpoints. Warhammer Heroes: Wulfrik takes the reader away from the familiar setting of the Empire or Brettonia to the Northern Wastes, where the barbarian Wulfrik has found himself damned by the Chaos powers for his hubris. A monster of a warrior, even by the standards of his people, Wulfrik is cursed to hunt down the mightiest champions of each of the races of the Warhammer world and slay them, until eventually he'll die in combat and his soul will be consumed by his eternal masters.
Unless he cheats.
This book is, in a word, mad. The action is nonstop and, by means of a magic boat, jumps effortlessly from place to place and enemy to enemy. We get yetis, sea serpents, elves, chaos dwarfs, and soldiers of the Empire as Wulfrik seeks both his freedom and revenge on those who have wronged him. It'd be exhausting, but for the central character. Wulfrik isn't a particularly complicated lead character. He's a pulp fantasy hero in the vein of Conan or Druss the Legend, and his solution to any problem will tend to involve a lot of violence. However, he's spared from being just a two dimensional berserker by his intelligence, a strong grasp of tactics, and a streak of ruthless pragmatism which at times is almost admirable. At times, however, Wulfrik is just too competent or powerful, and the rather weak supporting cast of wizards and barbarians, kings, and princesses whose world seems to revolve entirely around him doesn't do him many favours.
Ultimately, though, this book is about the action. A reader will know this going into it, given the cover. Heck, the name of the setting is Warhammer, and Werner delivers on the promise of war. This a violent and nasty character doing violent and nasty things in a violent and nasty world, and I enjoyed it a lot.
While the Warhammer 40'000 setting is renowned for the freedom of storytelling it allows the Black Library's authors, with ten thousand years of history and millions of possible worlds, the Warhammer world is notably more constrained. It's a good thing, then, that authors like C.L. Werner are keen to explore this world from different angles and viewpoints. Warhammer Heroes: Wulfrik takes the reader away from the familiar setting of the Empire or Brettonia to the Northern Wastes, where the barbarian Wulfrik has found himself damned by the Chaos powers for his hubris. A monster of a warrior, even by the standards of his people, Wulfrik is cursed to hunt down the mightiest champions of each of the races of the Warhammer world and slay them, until eventually he'll die in combat and his soul will be consumed by his eternal masters.
Unless he cheats.
This book is, in a word, mad. The action is nonstop and, by means of a magic boat, jumps effortlessly from place to place and enemy to enemy. We get yetis, sea serpents, elves, chaos dwarfs, and soldiers of the Empire as Wulfrik seeks both his freedom and revenge on those who have wronged him. It'd be exhausting, but for the central character. Wulfrik isn't a particularly complicated lead character. He's a pulp fantasy hero in the vein of Conan or Druss the Legend, and his solution to any problem will tend to involve a lot of violence. However, he's spared from being just a two dimensional berserker by his intelligence, a strong grasp of tactics, and a streak of ruthless pragmatism which at times is almost admirable. At times, however, Wulfrik is just too competent or powerful, and the rather weak supporting cast of wizards and barbarians, kings, and princesses whose world seems to revolve entirely around him doesn't do him many favours.
Ultimately, though, this book is about the action. A reader will know this going into it, given the cover. Heck, the name of the setting is Warhammer, and Werner delivers on the promise of war. This a violent and nasty character doing violent and nasty things in a violent and nasty world, and I enjoyed it a lot.
July 31, 2011
My first thought on starting to read this was "Mister Werner, what are you doing to me?" He is one of my most cherished Black Library authors, yet he seemed to be offering up an untidy, sluggish piece of work with characters so one-dimensoinal I was unable to get a handle on them. The fight scenes seemed void of meaning and passion. I was starting to despair. But then Wulfrik got to Ormskaro and the Werner I have come to love started to show through. Human interest and stakes were introduced along with Wulfrik's love Hjordis and I began to care about what happened.
Werner's wonderful plotting also saved this novel for me. There's some amazingly awesome fight scenes (the one with Khorakk the fire dwarf? Awesome!) and enough backstabbing and hidden motives to make Tzeentch himself proud. I love how neatly Werner brings everything together for the climax of his novels, everything falling perfectly into place, the cogs and wheels greased with blood.
Which is another thing... I know Warhammer is a bloody, gory world and all that, but Werner doesn't let me forget it. Lots of guts and torture and bleh. All in good fun though, I suppose. Fantasy violence doesn't really bother me and it wasn't overdone too much.
I suppose the only things that let this novel down for me was the beginning and the general flatness of the characters. They all had their personalities and mannerisms, but they felt a little flat. Especially Hjordis. Definitely not an example of a strong Norscan woman, no matter strong she might have thought she was. A bit of a voiceless wimp really. Zarnath was quite a good character though. A fine example of a wizard.
So yeah, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Thank you for another brilliant Warhammer book, Mr. Werner!
Werner's wonderful plotting also saved this novel for me. There's some amazingly awesome fight scenes (the one with Khorakk the fire dwarf? Awesome!) and enough backstabbing and hidden motives to make Tzeentch himself proud. I love how neatly Werner brings everything together for the climax of his novels, everything falling perfectly into place, the cogs and wheels greased with blood.
Which is another thing... I know Warhammer is a bloody, gory world and all that, but Werner doesn't let me forget it. Lots of guts and torture and bleh. All in good fun though, I suppose. Fantasy violence doesn't really bother me and it wasn't overdone too much.
I suppose the only things that let this novel down for me was the beginning and the general flatness of the characters. They all had their personalities and mannerisms, but they felt a little flat. Especially Hjordis. Definitely not an example of a strong Norscan woman, no matter strong she might have thought she was. A bit of a voiceless wimp really. Zarnath was quite a good character though. A fine example of a wizard.
So yeah, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Thank you for another brilliant Warhammer book, Mr. Werner!
July 9, 2020
3.5 stars
Novel set in the Warhammer Fantasy world, following Wulfrik as he does the gods' bidding.
It tries to show him as a doomed/tortured anti-hero and succeeds fairly well in that regard.
The start is a bit slow, but once the action gets going it doesn't let up.
Wulfrik comes up against a good selection of enemies and they don't give him an easy time. There are also some of his own coutnrymen who'd prefer to see him out of the way, and these are a bit two-dimensional, used more to show his standards up against theirs.
Novel set in the Warhammer Fantasy world, following Wulfrik as he does the gods' bidding.
It tries to show him as a doomed/tortured anti-hero and succeeds fairly well in that regard.
The start is a bit slow, but once the action gets going it doesn't let up.
Wulfrik comes up against a good selection of enemies and they don't give him an easy time. There are also some of his own coutnrymen who'd prefer to see him out of the way, and these are a bit two-dimensional, used more to show his standards up against theirs.
October 22, 2012
This had kind of a slow start for me, and I wasn't getting into it right at the beginning. Soon enough, things picked up and I found myself really enjoying it. It would have been very easy to make Wulfrik a one-dimensional character. He's an angry barbarian berserker that kills things. Despite this, he has quite a bit of depth. The story is good, and as can be expected when dealing with Chaos, pretty messed up.
February 22, 2014
This book was a lot of fun to read. I do not really consider C.L Werner my favorite author, by any means. The book left a bit to be desired in some areas of character development, but overall, it was enjoyable.
March 7, 2011
Mein erster Teil aus der Warhammer Heroes Serie: http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/wulf...
September 23, 2013
Please read my review on the excellent Wulfrik here:
http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/20...
http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/20...
September 15, 2012
Excellent dark fantasy. Very good read. =)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews