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Ignorant Armies
An anthology of eight stories set in the "Warhammer" world of "The Konrad Trilogy", "Drachenfels" and "Genevieve Undead" - a land of grim fantasy and perilous adventure.
252 pages, Paperback
First published June 23, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 10, 2024
Grading an anthology is always hard. Ignorant Armies is no different.
There is a mix of short stories from the early EARLY days of Games Workshop, before they filled in the cracks of the setting and the lore was more of a loose guideline.
William Kings stories, Geheimnisnacht and The Laughter of Dark gods are stellar and on their own I would have likely given a four star rating
Nicola Griffiths story The Other is one that I wish had more room to breathe, there was a nice little mystery and tragedy there which felt weirdly hollow and rushed, I think if we got more agency from one of the characters it would have ready better.
Steve Baxter's the Star Boat, while a mess and not "good" feels like a strange early 80s BBC serial take on the property. I feel it would have been a lot of fun to see this in fully costumed glory. What a mess though, really feels over padded, take out the journey to Kislev that amounts to "of I have the map you said we needed, let's start the quest now.
Jack Yeovils Ignorant Armies, the titular story is an interesting and strangely unsettling journey for revenge, but I don't think it hits the heights of Jack Yeovils other contributions to Games Workshop
All in all, a nice journey back to see how things once were. Also penis flowers.
There is a mix of short stories from the early EARLY days of Games Workshop, before they filled in the cracks of the setting and the lore was more of a loose guideline.
William Kings stories, Geheimnisnacht and The Laughter of Dark gods are stellar and on their own I would have likely given a four star rating
Nicola Griffiths story The Other is one that I wish had more room to breathe, there was a nice little mystery and tragedy there which felt weirdly hollow and rushed, I think if we got more agency from one of the characters it would have ready better.
Steve Baxter's the Star Boat, while a mess and not "good" feels like a strange early 80s BBC serial take on the property. I feel it would have been a lot of fun to see this in fully costumed glory. What a mess though, really feels over padded, take out the journey to Kislev that amounts to "of I have the map you said we needed, let's start the quest now.
Jack Yeovils Ignorant Armies, the titular story is an interesting and strangely unsettling journey for revenge, but I don't think it hits the heights of Jack Yeovils other contributions to Games Workshop
All in all, a nice journey back to see how things once were. Also penis flowers.
February 9, 2025
Really solid array of short stories that introduce the world of Warhammer to fiction. Great artwork to accompany the stories and a pretty varied stock of tales.
May 4, 2025
Spoiler alert: this book was really good.
I decided a while back to read every Warhammer Fantasy book that I could get my hands on in chronological order. Ignorant Armies is, as near as I can tell, the first of them and I must say, we’re off to a great start. This book is an anthology of short stories edited by David Pringle
“Geheimnisnacht” – A dwarf trollslayer and his human chronicler search for a missing boy on the most cursed night of the year
“The Reavers and the Dead” – A wannabe necromancer faces the imminent destruction of his village by Norscans
“The Other” – An apprentice doctor runs into a strange woman who seems to know too much about mutants
“Apprentice Luck” – A young boy finds a book that could lead to treasure – but a lot of other people are looking for it too!
“A Gardener in Parravon” – Two Bretonian friends are convinced that something is strange about their neighbor’s garden
“The Star Boat” – A Norscan werewolf is recruited by a Slann to help him find a crashed “star boat” in the Chaos Wastes.
“The Ignorant Armies” – A young man and his mentor seek the Chaos warleader that destroyed his home and the younger brother he kidnapped
“The Laughter of the Dark Gods” – A Khornite warlord journeys through the Wastes and tangles with the followers of the other dark gods.
While some of these stories were better than others (I think “Ignorant Armies” was my favorite and “Other” were my least favorite), none of them was a slog to read. A few (“Star Boat” is the worst offender in this category) are pretty wildly incompatible with later lore, but all were well-written, snappy, and gritty.
Yeah, there’s not a lot to say about this one, it was just really good for fans of Warhammer Fantasy or anyone who likes gritty fantasy stories – the book reads fairly well blind.
Warnings: As is to be expected from a Warhammer Fantasy book, there’s a healthy share of blood, gore, death, and body horror, so if that bothers you, might want to skip this one.
I decided a while back to read every Warhammer Fantasy book that I could get my hands on in chronological order. Ignorant Armies is, as near as I can tell, the first of them and I must say, we’re off to a great start. This book is an anthology of short stories edited by David Pringle
“Geheimnisnacht” – A dwarf trollslayer and his human chronicler search for a missing boy on the most cursed night of the year
“The Reavers and the Dead” – A wannabe necromancer faces the imminent destruction of his village by Norscans
“The Other” – An apprentice doctor runs into a strange woman who seems to know too much about mutants
“Apprentice Luck” – A young boy finds a book that could lead to treasure – but a lot of other people are looking for it too!
“A Gardener in Parravon” – Two Bretonian friends are convinced that something is strange about their neighbor’s garden
“The Star Boat” – A Norscan werewolf is recruited by a Slann to help him find a crashed “star boat” in the Chaos Wastes.
“The Ignorant Armies” – A young man and his mentor seek the Chaos warleader that destroyed his home and the younger brother he kidnapped
“The Laughter of the Dark Gods” – A Khornite warlord journeys through the Wastes and tangles with the followers of the other dark gods.
While some of these stories were better than others (I think “Ignorant Armies” was my favorite and “Other” were my least favorite), none of them was a slog to read. A few (“Star Boat” is the worst offender in this category) are pretty wildly incompatible with later lore, but all were well-written, snappy, and gritty.
Yeah, there’s not a lot to say about this one, it was just really good for fans of Warhammer Fantasy or anyone who likes gritty fantasy stories – the book reads fairly well blind.
Warnings: As is to be expected from a Warhammer Fantasy book, there’s a healthy share of blood, gore, death, and body horror, so if that bothers you, might want to skip this one.
May 12, 2020
Not a bad book, but also not the great one. Just a book to read after a busy day with a pint of beer. Just... well just good enough to don't think I wasted my time. But, here are a few nice pearls that I will give 4 stars.
- The Others - interesting story not about war and gore but healers, people in need, and compassion. It was funny to read something like this in Warhammer World.
- The Laughter of the Dark Gods - soo good, story about the life of chaos warrior. You can read what they are doing, what are their needs, and how their life looks like.
- The Others - interesting story not about war and gore but healers, people in need, and compassion. It was funny to read something like this in Warhammer World.
- The Laughter of the Dark Gods - soo good, story about the life of chaos warrior. You can read what they are doing, what are their needs, and how their life looks like.
January 27, 2024
Great stories! Didn't like two of them, but that's ok. Ignorant Armies is one of the first publications from Games Workshop's Black Library. I can't find anything prior 1989. I'm trying to read everything published from beginning to end, from 1989 to (I think) 2015, when they put an end to Warhammer Fantasy. I want to experience how the lore evolved, and how different generations (boomers, genXers, and millennials) wrote their stories. I can say that I'm pleased with these founding novels. I also read Wolf Riders and it was awesome. Now I'm going to read Zaragoz. Let's see how that goes.
May 11, 2024
A mixed bag, with a few particularly weak and uninteresting stories (apprentice luck, the reavers and the dead) but thankfully saved by the black library stalwarts of King, Newman, and Craig. The titular story was by far the best, with classic action scenes and a predictable but enjoyable twist. Likewise, the laughter of dying gods is a perfect short read for anyone who loves the ruinous powers.
December 29, 2023
Some stories are better than others, but even the weakest story is worth the read.
February 4, 2025
całkiem fajne ale bez szału, najfajniejsze opowiadanie chyba to chciwym sklepikarzu z Nuln, no i klasyczny Gotrek i Feliks
August 27, 2025
Charles Davidson - The Reavers and The Dead
June 2, 2012
This book was the first edited by Boxtree a long time ago. Later was compiled with Red Thirst and Wolf Riders) into The Laughter of the Dark Gods. Some stories were incorporated here , others belong to other books like Trollslayer and Silver nails and others were considered a breach in the current cannon and were dismissed.
The Laughter of the Dark Gods
The Laughter of the Dark Gods - William King
The Reavers of the Dead (Charles Davidson)
The Phantom of Yremy (Brian Craig)
The Other (Nicola Griffiths)
The Song (Steve Baxter)
Apprentice Luck (Sean Flynn)
The Light of Transfiguration (Brian Craig)
The Spells Below (Neil Jones)
Cry of the Beast (Ralph Castle)
A Gardener of Parravon (Brian Craig)
The Tilean Rat (Sandy Mitchell)
But these books had more and I will review them independently .
Ignorant Armies (252 Pages)
Geheimnisnacht - William King (Trollslayer)
The Reaver and the Dead - Charles Davidson
The Other - Nicola Griffith
Apprentice Luck - Sean Flynn
A Gardener in Parravon - Brian Craig
The Star Boat - Steve Baxter
The Ignorant Armies - Jack Yeovil (Silver Nails)
The Laughter of the Dark Gods - William King
Review
There are some differences from the older books from Baxtree and Black Library. First was a Timeline with some important characters on this book and events. Then there were plates and drawings from great artists like Adrian Smith, Martin McKenna, Bob Naismith, Dave Gallagher (some of them made similar drawings to the Fighting Fantasy. As you can see from the myriad number of authors on this anthology we have here some important writers like William King, Jack Yeovil (Kim Newman famous from books like Anno Dracula series or Back in USSA), the prolific Brian Craig (Brian Stableford author of Hooded Swan aka Grainger, Daedalus Mission, David Lydyard (Werewolves) or Emortality and other dozen books and hundreds short stories), Charles Davidson (Charles Stross author of Accelarando and Glasshouse), Sean Flynn (Paul McAuley, author of Four Hundred Bilion Stars), Nicola Griffith (a female writer and one of the few who ever wrote for BL) and the most famous Steve Baxter (Stephen Baxter author of Time Ships, Xelee Sequence, Nasa trilogy Destiny's Children, Flood and Ark or Anti-Ice)
Short Stories
Geheimnisnacht - William King (Trollslayer) (Review here rather weak review) The first tale of the icon of Warhammer Fantasy Gotrek and Felix. Excelent! 9.5/10
The Reaver and the Dead - Charles Davidson In these tale we learn about how woman are seen in warhammer world. It's strange tale about two healers but nothing spectacular. Easily forgettable. 6/10
The Other - Nicola Griffiths This tale follows two characters, apprentice healers, and it's a tale that gives some importance to women in the warhammer world. Not the usually tale because in the medieval time women didn't had much power but yet it was a nice tale. Nothing exceptional. Noawadays another tale that wouldn't go far. 6/10
Apprentice Luck - Sean Flynn In these tale it remind me of old Wizards of the Coast short stories campaign. A bored teenager stumbles on the reoad to become a mage. Magic Spells, Wizards, Dungeons and a treasure quest. A good tale 6.5/10
A Gardener in Parravon - Brian Craig was one of the most interesting tales on these three books. A bizarre garden, strange dreams of flying cratures, mystery and a strange boy who loves the garden. Quite nice tale. A typical Brian Craig short story. These tale is on Bretonia so it must be good. 7/10
The Star Boat - Steve Baxter we follow Erik, the Were as he travels north with a Slann to find a boat. We learn about the Slann and where they came from. Tottally against the canon noawadays. Erik was nicely done but nothing spectacular. Nevertheless a nice story. 7/10
The Ignorant Armies - Jack Yeovil (Silver Nails) (Yet to read)
The Laughter of the Dark Gods - William King it's the title for the compiliation of three anthologies so you know it must be good. And it is. William King is the... well... King (sorry the pun). Excelent story about a man's descent into the dark life of a chaos warrior. As he battle onwards towards the Gates on the Chaos Wastes he finds adverseries and friends and most important his changes. Nice story and to my humble opinion it should had more 250 pages. A full lenght novel would be great. I wonder if those C L Werner novels about the Chaos Gods are somewhat related to this one (in stytle). Excelent story. The best on this anthology and in my opinion the best from all the first three anthologies. 10/10
Conclusion
For the price of a used copy of this three anthologies unless you are a die hard fun like myslef you better stick yourself with The Laughter of the Dark Gods.
The Laughter of the Dark Gods
The Laughter of the Dark Gods - William King
The Reavers of the Dead (Charles Davidson)
The Phantom of Yremy (Brian Craig)
The Other (Nicola Griffiths)
The Song (Steve Baxter)
Apprentice Luck (Sean Flynn)
The Light of Transfiguration (Brian Craig)
The Spells Below (Neil Jones)
Cry of the Beast (Ralph Castle)
A Gardener of Parravon (Brian Craig)
The Tilean Rat (Sandy Mitchell)
But these books had more and I will review them independently .
Ignorant Armies (252 Pages)
Geheimnisnacht - William King (Trollslayer)
The Reaver and the Dead - Charles Davidson
The Other - Nicola Griffith
Apprentice Luck - Sean Flynn
A Gardener in Parravon - Brian Craig
The Star Boat - Steve Baxter
The Ignorant Armies - Jack Yeovil (Silver Nails)
The Laughter of the Dark Gods - William King
Review
There are some differences from the older books from Baxtree and Black Library. First was a Timeline with some important characters on this book and events. Then there were plates and drawings from great artists like Adrian Smith, Martin McKenna, Bob Naismith, Dave Gallagher (some of them made similar drawings to the Fighting Fantasy. As you can see from the myriad number of authors on this anthology we have here some important writers like William King, Jack Yeovil (Kim Newman famous from books like Anno Dracula series or Back in USSA), the prolific Brian Craig (Brian Stableford author of Hooded Swan aka Grainger, Daedalus Mission, David Lydyard (Werewolves) or Emortality and other dozen books and hundreds short stories), Charles Davidson (Charles Stross author of Accelarando and Glasshouse), Sean Flynn (Paul McAuley, author of Four Hundred Bilion Stars), Nicola Griffith (a female writer and one of the few who ever wrote for BL) and the most famous Steve Baxter (Stephen Baxter author of Time Ships, Xelee Sequence, Nasa trilogy Destiny's Children, Flood and Ark or Anti-Ice)
Short Stories
Geheimnisnacht - William King (Trollslayer) (Review here rather weak review) The first tale of the icon of Warhammer Fantasy Gotrek and Felix. Excelent! 9.5/10
The Reaver and the Dead - Charles Davidson In these tale we learn about how woman are seen in warhammer world. It's strange tale about two healers but nothing spectacular. Easily forgettable. 6/10
The Other - Nicola Griffiths This tale follows two characters, apprentice healers, and it's a tale that gives some importance to women in the warhammer world. Not the usually tale because in the medieval time women didn't had much power but yet it was a nice tale. Nothing exceptional. Noawadays another tale that wouldn't go far. 6/10
Apprentice Luck - Sean Flynn In these tale it remind me of old Wizards of the Coast short stories campaign. A bored teenager stumbles on the reoad to become a mage. Magic Spells, Wizards, Dungeons and a treasure quest. A good tale 6.5/10
A Gardener in Parravon - Brian Craig was one of the most interesting tales on these three books. A bizarre garden, strange dreams of flying cratures, mystery and a strange boy who loves the garden. Quite nice tale. A typical Brian Craig short story. These tale is on Bretonia so it must be good. 7/10
The Star Boat - Steve Baxter we follow Erik, the Were as he travels north with a Slann to find a boat. We learn about the Slann and where they came from. Tottally against the canon noawadays. Erik was nicely done but nothing spectacular. Nevertheless a nice story. 7/10
The Ignorant Armies - Jack Yeovil (Silver Nails) (Yet to read)
The Laughter of the Dark Gods - William King it's the title for the compiliation of three anthologies so you know it must be good. And it is. William King is the... well... King (sorry the pun). Excelent story about a man's descent into the dark life of a chaos warrior. As he battle onwards towards the Gates on the Chaos Wastes he finds adverseries and friends and most important his changes. Nice story and to my humble opinion it should had more 250 pages. A full lenght novel would be great. I wonder if those C L Werner novels about the Chaos Gods are somewhat related to this one (in stytle). Excelent story. The best on this anthology and in my opinion the best from all the first three anthologies. 10/10
Conclusion
For the price of a used copy of this three anthologies unless you are a die hard fun like myslef you better stick yourself with The Laughter of the Dark Gods.
October 8, 2016
After reading Wolf Riders, I knew what to expect from Warhammer which might be why Ignorant Armies felt like a better compilation.
Although, it might just be a better compilation in any case.
I thought stories picked were pretty fun to read, and gave a really god insight into a dark, brooding world, a world full of magic and all sorts of evil that just seems to be everywhere. World I would not really want to live in.
As I kept reading something stroke a personal note, as I recognized Kislev territory being based on KievanRus, territories right next to it based on Viking lands of ages past and for some odd reason after having made that connection these stories just felt better. Message struck home.
Overall, if you're into Warhammer or enjoy a dark
fantasy, this is a good book to read.
Roman
Although, it might just be a better compilation in any case.
I thought stories picked were pretty fun to read, and gave a really god insight into a dark, brooding world, a world full of magic and all sorts of evil that just seems to be everywhere. World I would not really want to live in.
As I kept reading something stroke a personal note, as I recognized Kislev territory being based on KievanRus, territories right next to it based on Viking lands of ages past and for some odd reason after having made that connection these stories just felt better. Message struck home.
Overall, if you're into Warhammer or enjoy a dark
fantasy, this is a good book to read.
Roman
April 17, 2023
Another collection of short stories set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy, it's as usual a bit of a mixed bag, but there are some gems here. Standouts include the two stories by William King which open and close the volume, the first of them being a Felix and Gotrek story.
Other writers also contributing great stories here include Steve Baxter, Brian Craig and Kim Newman (as Jack Yeovil). In common all the stories have a pretty grim feel to them, which is common to a lot of British Fantasy as compared with its American cousin.
Definitely a fun volume, it isn't essential, but it's entertaining stuff. Recommended.
Other writers also contributing great stories here include Steve Baxter, Brian Craig and Kim Newman (as Jack Yeovil). In common all the stories have a pretty grim feel to them, which is common to a lot of British Fantasy as compared with its American cousin.
Definitely a fun volume, it isn't essential, but it's entertaining stuff. Recommended.
Want to read
May 8, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12782931
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12782931
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