5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic look at Warhammer Vampires, July 5, 2010
Ulrika is a character who started out in the Gotrek and Felix series, and has now been chosen for her own series. As a love interest for Felix, I always felt she could have had a little more character. In this novel, Nathan Long expands her motives, and comes off with a great read.
My only complaint in this book is how dark the ending is, but I can't expect much different given that the main character is a monster trying to live among ordinary people.
This book has a good bit of mystery, but more than that I think it is intended to show what life would be like for someone struggling against the inevitable. Ulrika is filled with self-loathing but she also loves living(or unliving). Nathan Long has written better action books in G&F series, and he has written better overall stories in the Blackhearts omnibus. He has never written better characters than this novel.
If you want to find out more about a main character from the past Gotrek and Felix stories, read this book. If you like Vampires (not the sparkling kind) and want to see how they live beneath the surface of the Warhammer world, read this book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Adventure From Nathan Long, August 29, 2010
In the
Gotrek & Felix series, Ulrika Magdova was Felix's former love interest. She was a Kislevite noble, daughter to Ivan Straghov, the March Warden of the Border, fighting against the Chaos hordes in the north. Before Ulrika was turned into a vampire, she traveled with Gotrek, Felix, and Max Schreiber during an expedition to Karag Dum. After this she was kidnapped by Krieger in Sylvania, who gave her the "blood kiss." In
Manslayer, she wanted to get back together with Felix, but their differences were too great.
Bloodborn takes place between her last appearance in
Vampireslayer, and her return in Manslayer. Ulrika has only been a vampire for a couple of weeks, and is having a terrible time controlling her urge to feed. The story begins with her running naked in a forest, about to feed on a victim, when her mistress Countess Gabriella and her blood-swain, Rodrik, stop her. The Countess takes Ulrika back to her castle, and continues her attempts to teach Ulrika to not only controls her hunger, but to control how much blood she takes, when she is allowed to feed.
Before the Countess is able to fully train Ulrika in the Lahmian ways, the vampire queen instructs Gabriella to go help her sisters in Nuln. There were originally six sisters, but two of them were ripped apart by an unknown assailant. The corpses were left in public areas, with their claws and fangs extended, causing a panic among the human population, and attracting the wrath of the witch hunters.
Once Gabriella and Ulrika arrive in Nuln, it is obvious that internal politics between the sisters is going to impede the investigation into the deaths. Ulrika is ordered to do some spying, when it is clear that Gabriella's sisters are too paranoid to trust one another; they suspect each other of the murders. While searching for clues, Ulrika comes face to face with a
witch hunter named Templar Friedrich Holmann, who does not realize that she is a vampire. They eventually agree to hunt together, which furthers complicates Ulrika's situation with her mistress and the other vampire sisters.
I think Nathan Long did a great job of writing a strong, female character as a tragic heroine. With all the clawing, sword-fighting, and ghoul attacks, these vampires were far from the fops that are usually found in vampire tales. As a matter of fact, this particular novel was more horror than fantasy. There were just enough flashbacks to tie this book into the Gotrek & Felix series, without it being necessary to have actually read the other Warhammer books. Even though this is just the first in an Ulrika series (the next one will be Bloodforged), I still thought the ending was a bit too abrupt; there was an element of this story, a mysterious voice, which was never revealed. Everything else was wrapped up into Ulrika's training with the Countess.
I love the
Gotrek & Felix series, and the
Thanquol & Boneripper series that branched off, but if you don't have time to catch up or backtrack the Warhammer timeline (for ex:
Gotrek & Felix: The First Omnibus (Warhammer), you can learn more about the characters in Ulrika's world in the collection,
Death & Dishonour, which includes vampires, witch hunters, and more.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read, can't wait for the next one!, June 5, 2010
What's not to like? This was only my second Warhammer Fantasy novel I've read, after William King's
Trollslayer (Gotrek & Felix), and I loved every bit of it! Lots of good action, witch hunters, and vampires, oh my! I was a bit surprised it didn't have quite the same level of overwhelming grimness present in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. I like that - it was a nice change-up. There was still some pretty grim scenes though, so don't believe this one is all bright sunshine and rainbows! Variety is a good thing. This was an easy and very rewarding read. I thought the setting of Nuln was great, and loved the descriptions of the different areas in the city. Ulrika as a character was great and I empathized with her agonizing situation. I only knock this book one star for being just a little bit too predictable in it's plot, but other than that it was wonderful, and I can't wait for the next one to see what Nathan Long has planned for the series!
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