Customer Reviews

The Blackhearts Omnibus (Warhammer Novels)

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4 star:		(5)
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Hetzau's Follies
In this short story, the foundation is set. Wounded in his first battle, Reiner Hetzau is sent to recuperate in Vulsk, a Kislev border town. While there, Reiner single-handedly flushes out an evil priestess of Nurgle and kills her before she can spread disease and confusion throughout the army. However, no one believes Reiner. He is charged with murdering a clergywoman and perpetrating the very crimes he had stopped the sorceress from committing. But soon enough Reiner and his fellow prisoners are given a choice, they can either be hanged for their crimes or carry out dangerous and suicidal secret missions. Dubbed the Blackhearts, Reiner and the other unfortunates set out on their adventures.

Valnir's Bane
In this full length novel, the men are to escort Lady Magda, a Sister of Shallya, back to her convent. The convent has been overrun with Chaos. The group is to recover a relic (a banner) called Valnir's Bane. This banner could turn the tide of the war, leading the army to victory over Chaos. However, the banner has been tainted and Lady Magda is but another evil woman bent on power. Problem is that she has fooled everyone into believing the Blackhearts are the bad guys.

Rotten Fruit
Despite the fact that they helped Count Manfred Valdenheim reclaim his family castle from the Kurgan who had occupied it since the Chaos invasion and despite the additional fact that Reiner Hetzau and his group of Blackhearts had saved the count (and the Empire) from ruin, the Blackhearts were to publicly hanged. At least, that is what all will believe. Truth is that Count Manfred and a select few others will know that be the only ones to know that instead of the Blackhearts, other prisoners were hanged. This does not mean the Blackhearts are free. On the contrary, the band has simply exchanged one blackmailer for another. Now they must do Manfred's dirty work or die of a poison that had been rubbed into their skins. In this short story, the Blackhearts are dealing with a sorceress, bent on the downfall of Lord Groff's rule.

The Broken Lance
In this full length novel, the brands on the hands of the Blackheart team are gone. However, the poison in their blood remains. The poison lies dormant within them unless they attempt to leave Count Manfred's service or betray him. Thus Reine Hetzau and his group (plus four new members) continue onward, into their next mission. Deep in the Black Mountains is an Empire fort which guards an isolated pass and protects a nearby gold mine. The Blackhearts must discover why the gold supply has all but stopped. They entire the fort as new recruits for General Broder Gutzmann. Though suspecting one of the new four members is a spy for Manfred, Reine has his hands too full of ratmen to worry about it.

Tainted Blood
This is the last story and it is a full length novel. There are four Blackhearts left. There is a chance that one of them is still a spy for Manfred. This causes major friction between them. Reiner is still considered to be the captain though. Count Manfred add another four new members to the Blackhearts. They, too, have tainted blood. Manfred accompanies the elf mage Teclis to Talabheim on a diplomatic mission. The Blackhearts go as well, disguised as Manfred's servants. Chaos abounds in Talabheim. Reiner wonders if it has anything to do with Lady Magda who is in residence. He still has unfinished business with the evil woman. Lord Teclis soon realizes the cause of chaos is due to the removal of a waystone that deals with any magical energies in the area. Unless the waystone is reseated, the danger will worsen and eventually spread around the entire world. Problem is that the waystone has disappeared.

**** The entire Blackhearts series is collected in this one volume. Perfect for any fantasy fan! You do not have to be a Warhammer fan to thoroughly enjoy this series. Reiner is not the best example of humanity and that it is that very fact that makes him believable. I found myself alternating between holding my breath during the larger than life battles and laughing myself silly during the more outrageous scenes. Radical! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Blackhearts is an entertaining story that weaves a tale about a group of criminals turned soldiers, and is entertaining to the last page. Nathan Long does a great job of balancing action with character development, and it is truly a funny book. Trust me, you will laugh. It's a good read, and I recommend it to those who are fans of fantasy, with a bit of humor.

I've never written a review before. Nor do I care for writing reviews. However, I just HAD to say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. No book has held my attention like this one.

I truly hope that all of Nathan Long's work is similar to the quality of writing this book contains, because I'm about to purchase a bunch of his other books.

Just buy it. Seriously.

In the Introduction, Nathan Long states that this is basically the Dirty Dozen modified for the Warhammer Universe, but great writing is great writing. The characters are memorable, the plot thickens as the characters progress through the adventure, and you're gonna laugh. The book is entertaining from cover to cover! In this Omnibus, you get two short stories and a trilogy with an actual ending.

Story:
A bunch of criminals waiting to be hanged are given a choice. March to the gallows or 'volunteer' for a top secret mission to recover an ancient and powerful relic behind enemy lines for the good of the Empire! So you have a band of sinister misfits on an all important secret mission in a dark fantasy world at war. What could go wrong?

World:
The Warhammer Universe is a blend between Lord of the Rings and Germany when it was under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire. It's Gritty High Fantasy in a state of perpetual war and turmoil. This omnibus focuses on Altdorf, Secret Cults, Skaven, Talabheim, and Chaos-Tainted Mutants.

Characters:
The characters all have colorful pasts and personalities because they've all been arrested for things that qualified them for the Death Penalty. They are led by Captain Reiner, a quick thinking scoundrel from the same mould as Han Solo or Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Joss Whedon's Firefly. The Blackhearts aren't the smartest, the most courageous, or the best fighters. They are (slightly crazy) desperate men in dire situations. There is also a great deal of camaraderie between the Blackhearts. As they share experiences, they either become bonded in blood or their criminal history and suspicious actions warrant scorn from other party members. When ten guys are picked from Death Row, odds are, they aren't all going to get along or follow orders very well.

Writing Style:
The stories are all fast paced adventures with great dialogue, twisting plots, and visceral action. These stories are all very entertaining and the mysterious characters and plot twists will keep you guessing. I don't think there's a page of `fluff' in the entire Omnibus. If you like books where the author spends two pages describing a stool or a dish, you need to look elsewhere.

Action:
Blackhearts is loaded with the type of action that you'd expect from a Warhammer Series. There are large scale fantasy battles, demons, brawls, duels, assassinations, magic spells, black powder pistols, arrows, crossbows, mutants, and even elves! The action is great and the battles have consequences. Not all of the Blackhearts are great fighters... some of them aren't even good.

Maturity: Teen
There are some sexually suggestive scenes but nothing explicit. No cursing either. There are elements of horror, fantasy gore, and grotesque monster killing violence.

Overall:
This book is fun, entertaining, and it excels in what is lacking in the fantasy genre: Characters with humanity, plots that thicken, and genuine humor. It's refreshing to see characters that are more than archetypal character classes - wise wizard, valiant knight, rogue with a heart. It's refreshing to read about adventures that are more than 'get the magic sword so the chosen one can kill the dark lord.' It's refreshing to see real humor fit for the silver screen instead of snarky comments or geek references. Definitely pick it up if you like the Warhammer Universe, Shady Characters, Great Stories, and Hard Hitting Action.

If you like the Warhammer Omnibuses, I HIGHLY recommend the Malus Darkblade Books. If you like dark heroes, The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and The Black Company by Glen Cook are also very good. If you like dark heroic action, check out Legend, Winter Warriors, The Lion of Macedon, and Waylander by David Gemmell.

1) Blackhearts Omni
2) Malus Darkblade Omni Vol 1
3) Malus Darkblade Omni Vol 2
4) Mathias Thulmann Omni
5) Genevieve
6) Gotrek & Felix 1st Omni
7) Brunor
8) The Conrad Saga

what Ive read and in the order i liked.

1-3 far surpassing the rest

Based on his work here I can see why 'Black Library' picked Nathan Long to continue the long running 'Gotrek and Felix' series started by William King. This is a great trilogy. On a basic level this is Warhammer does the dirty dozen (with a bit of Twelfth Night thrown in for good measure).
These books could easily be enjoyed by both Warhammer fans and non-warhammer fantasy readers. They bounce along at a strong pace and leave you wanting more. Tie in novels are always going to be a mixed bunch because of the varied authorship, but it doesn't get much better than this.

I have read around 35-40 warhammer books now. I have yet to find anything better than these 3 books. Once I started the store I was hooked. Read straight through. All three books in less than 4 days.

Go down the checklist and this book has it all.

From action, to comedy, to horror etc... The list goes on and on.

Blackhearts was cleverly written and kept up with what one would want to expect from a Warhammer novel. It is dark, satirical, action-packed and fun. The characters are well written, and the last page is my complete favorite... I loved reading the book... but the last couple of lines really sealed it in my head of how much I loved the book :)Would read again.

Fantasy is at its best when there's a few rough edges on things, and Nathan Long's aptly-named Blackhearts trilogy is a perfect example. With a cast of unrepentant, yet sympathetic, villains and a series of nightmare scenarios full of twists, turns and rampant episodes of backstabbing for fun and profit, Long creates a thoroughly engaging storyline that more than fills the three books (and two short stories) that comprise this omnibus.

In his introduction, Long alludes to the obvious similarities between his trilogy and The Dirty Dozen-condemned military prisoners offered a nebulous pardon in return for performing suicide missions-but those similarities are only skin deep. The diverse characters who make up the titular 'Blackhearts' are unique individuals, and their conflicting personalities and quirks make for some fun (and occasionally tragic) character interaction in between the requisite pulse-pounding action sequences.

As with most of the Black Library's tie-in output, action is paramount (plot over plod), but Long manages the not-so-easy trick of making the reader care about these largely disposable characters with only a limited amount of space to work with. Too, his deft use of several ongoing subplots help to fully flesh out the thoroughly unpleasant world his characters inhabit.

And it's a world that is familiar to any aficionado of Games Workshop's output, but Long doesn't stint on the backdrop as some writers might be tempted to. Instead he incorporates as much of the "local color" as possible into things in order to firmly anchor his contribution into the greater meta-story-arc of the Warhammer Fantasy Universe. Which is no bad thing, because as fantasy universes go, it's an interesting one.

All in all, The Blackhearts Omnibus is worth the ten bucks (three books for ten bucks ain't bad) and I recommend it to any fan of dark fantasy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was hoping that the Blackhearts novels would live up to the author's Gotrek & Felix novels; they did that, and then some. This omnibus edition contains some of the best Warhammer fiction I have read... indeed, some of the best fantasy action I have ever read, period.

`Blackhearts' is non-stop action and intrigue, well plotted and relentless. From the get-go, you know that not everyone in this dead man's crew will see the last page of the omnibus, which ups the tension considerably. The set pieces of each story are strongly written and memorable, particularly the underground bridge sequence in `Valnir's Bane', and the final battle at the fort in `Broken Lance'. The climactic novel, `Tainted Blood', ups the ante and the action to almost absurd levels, but never gives way to parody.

I have to admit that the introductory story seemed a little pokey to me, and I didn't warm to the main character, Reiner Hetzau, right away. That is only right, as Hetzau is a rogue, a gambler, and a scoundrel through and through. But over the course of three novels and one connected short story, I grew to care for Hetzau and his band of miscreants, and by the end of the last book I could only wave goodbye to those that remained and wish them well. If this is all the time I'll ever spend with the Blackhearts, it was time well spent.