Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Horrifyingly addictive!, December 31, 2005
This review is from: Darkblade: Bloodstorm (Warhammer Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
Malus Darkblade is a dread lord of Hag Graef. He is a dark warrior, betrayer, and one of the fiercest among the Dark Elf race.
Malus is still possessed by the foul daemon, Tz'arkan. Malus has one year to locate five unholy artefacts or his soul will be forfeit. In the first book, Malus retrieved one of the needed items. Now he seeks the Idol of Kolkuth. To do this, Malus must betray, double cross, and even triple cross his dark elf siblings as he uses them to locate an island belonging to their enemies, the Skinriders.
Skinriders worship a god of decay. Therefore, their skin literally rots away. They attack ships belonging to the dark elves as they return from raiding for slaves. Skinriders consider flesh as treasure and take as many slaves and prisoners as possible from the ships. These poor souls are skinned alive as tribute to their god and for new skin to adhere to their own rotting bodies.
Maulus Darkblade does not expect his task to be easy. But he does expect to spill a lot of enemy blood.
***** Once again Dan Abnett and Mike Lee give readers exactly what they want; more blood and violence in less time. Malus has turned blood and treachery into an art form. Since Malus betrayed his sorcerer brother, Urial, in the first novel, I believed there was no way possible to convince Urial to team up with him. But I am proven wrong. Malus is a master of his art/war craft. I stand by my words in the review of the first novel: Horrifyingly addictive! I want more! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Black leather, high heels and pointy ears., June 5, 2006
This review is from: Darkblade: Bloodstorm (Warhammer Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
The continuing story of Malus, the murderous black elf on his search to find the artifacts that will rid him of the Daemon yoke.
The Second artifact involves sailing into territory controlled by Northern pirates (mad worshippers of Chaos). To do that Malus manipulates his king to send him at the head of Malus's brother's fleet to cleanse the northern waters.
The Good:
Dan Abnett scores high above the average fantasy garbage writers that are more numerous than flies these days. He is a professional writer, with lots of experience and it shows.
His storytelling is excellent. The story is full of fast paced popcorn action and is hard to put down. There is a delicious sea chase, and ample gory battles for the Warhammer fans. Actually I liked this story better than the first volume, which was a just a series of violent encounters (They reminded me a DM rolling for random encounters, with only a thin connection between them).
We get to see a lot more of Malus' deranged family, in this volume. The plots of his younger sister. The love triangle between two of Malus' half brothers and his extremely beautiful half sister (indeed a twisted family) is the fuel that runs this story.
The Bad:
Ok, this is the story of a dark protagonist, but still I would expect our hero to have a few redeeming qualities. Minor characters with redeeming qualities surround Malus. They show courage, honor, humor, resourcefulness and leadership. Qualities that Malus lacks, and that attach readers to a character. Don't get attached to any of these minor characters though, cause Malus will probably kill them at some point.
Malus is vicious, cruel, manipulative, liar, spiteful and bitter on his good days.
His only standing quality is his willpower, Malus will refuse to die just out of spite. I would expect a more round, less flat, protagonist. Something that will make me care if he lives or dies. Currently I care more for Malus' new subordinate (the cynic Hauclir) than for Malus.
To sum it up, this is a good read for any Warhammer fan. I'd give it 3.5 stars if there was such a rating option.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Send a monster to kill a monster ..., July 29, 2006
This review is from: Darkblade: Bloodstorm (Warhammer Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
'Bloodstorm' is the second installment in the tale of dark elf Malus Darkblade, the first being 'The Daemon's Curse'. While 'Bloodstorm' could stand alone, I highly recommend picking up 'The Daemon's Curse' first.
Malus has returned to Hag Graef and his father, the Vaulkhar Lurhan, once again in shame. Now possessed by the daemon Tz'arkan, who insinuated himself inside Malus the moment he touched the treasure found in Tz'arkan's Temple. Malus has brought back the Octagon Of Praan, a relic of great power, but cannot rid himself of the daemon unless he finds four more relics within one year's time. The Octagon, and his plans, he cannot reveal to his family.
The Vaulkhar finds Malus out, though, and tortures him brutally. After enduring torture beyond any ever met out by Lurhan, kept alive by Tz'arkan, Malus is nursed back to health by his sister Nagaira. Nagaira has more plans for Malus, but Malus has plans of his own.
Now Malus must find the next relic, the Idol Of Kolkuth, which is said to reside on a hidden island deep in the territory of the Skinriders, a savage people who worship a god of decay. For this, Nagaira is useless to him, but not so his older brothers Bruglir The Reaver and Urial The Forsaken.
Through blood, treachery, murder, torture, blackmail, and horrifically brutal rituals, Malus gains Urial's support and forces Bruglir's fleet to take him through the dangerous waters of the Skinriders to find the Idol of Kolkuth. The Skinriders are a great addition to the series, their bodies literally rotting, their skin sloughing away, from their worship of the god of decay. Yuck!
'Bloodstorm' is the second bloodbath ... er ... book in this series, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Comparable to Salvatore's awesome 'War Of The Spider Queen' series, the tales of Malus Darkblade are a feast worth dining on for any lover of dark elves. Don't skip over these books because they have ties to a popular video game, they are well written, stand alone tales that will leave you thirsty for more. Enjoy!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
