Customer Reviews

Knight Errant (Warhammer Novels)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Knight errant is a novel following two brothers from the mythical land of Bretonnia who must join their Baron's army in order to repulse ork incursions into their land. The novel is full of political intrigue, bloody battles and interesting plots, but by far it is not the best warahmmer novel but it is a good introduction into the arrogant society of Bretonnian knights and lady's, it is a far cry from the imperial lands in the east that readers are most used to reading. I will read the second book as soon as I can, but for the moment there are no other books about Bretonnian knights (only mercenaries like Florence), thus read on faithful reader.

The other reviews here seem to cover the finer points so I'm going to keep things brief.

The cover of this book says it all, if you want to read about valiant knights fighting brutal beastman, then this is the book for you.

If you're familiar with the tabletop game of Warhammer,and you like Betronians, you'll be glad to know that almost all of the unit types make an appearance.

There is actually two "sections" to this book, the first half is story, the second half almost drops the story completely and consists of battles and fights.

Like the other reviewers I found the story "section" involving the two brothers traveling around entertaining, I also liked how this book covered some of the economic/social dynamics between the knights and the peasants.
In true Warhammer fashion, the gap between the nobles and the peasants is pushed to the extreme (the peasants and the nobles are almost different species).

Now about the action, this book has some looong fights that are meticulously choreographed. This is pretty cool and short doses, but by the end of the book it was beginning to wear on me a little. But this fast pacing resulted in a book that does not drag at any point, (I think I finished it in just a few days because I couldn't put it down).

If you are Warhammer player/fan like me, this is a solid read.

Lutheure, Lord of Bastonne, is ailing. It is up to his two sons to protect the area and uphold the honor of their line. Calad is first born and heir. Bertelis is his half-brother. The two could not be more opposite in looks, talents, and manners. When word comes that the south-eastern lands of Bordeleaux has been overrun with greenskins, Lutheure sends Calad, Bertelis, and some men to help repel the invaders.

Folcard, the household's fierce chamberlain, tells Taneborc, the Lady of Bastonne's favorite knight, that the lady wishes him to kill Calad. The assassin in the midst is not the only problem headed Calad's way. Maloric, the young Earl of Sangasse, hates the two brothers. Worst of all is the fact that the true enemy comes from an unexpected source and it preys on human and greenskin alike.

***** Never before has a tale of the Bretonnian Knights been told. This is the first of a new trilogy (or series). The author did a good job on developing the characters of Calad and Bertelis. However, why Lutheure is ailing will be too obvious to most readers. I wish that part had been handled better. Other than that, I cannot think of anything bad about the story. The plot is realistic for the Warhammer universe. The prime evil is secluded so readers will be just as confused and unsure as the brothers are. I like it when, as the reader, I see things unfold at the same time as the main characters. Author Anthony Reynolds has proven his talent in prior titles, but this tale shows that the author's best may be yet to come...and that is saying something awesome! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The beginning of this story is great. Calard is your typical arrogant nose in the air knight. He hates, well actually he loathes peasants. His brother is a bit more laid back and is favored by his parents although he is younger. Then a war starts as something evil stirs from the dark forest. An evil demon born sorcerer is summoning and controlling beastmen making a great time of killing the smallfolk and insitgating greenskins as well. The battle scenes in this book were really drawn out. If I read another gnashing of teeth sentence I'll rip my ears out! We get it. The combat really took away from this book. The story about the two brothers was much more interesting but , literally half the book is about fighting gnashing of the teeth grisley beastmen. It got old. Then the story picked up again after the fighting was over and had a decent ending, but continues on in the next book in the series. The book would have been more interesting if the beastmen were cut out. If the plot would have entailed battles with rival houses it would have been much more interesting. The author does a great job on character and story but the descriptions of the battles with the beastmen lacked anything but fluff, and gnashing of teeth.

This book is a journey of stereotypes and predictability. Truth be known, the thing that got me most about is was the same thing that caused me to stop reading anything by Anthony Reynolds entirely: The man is easy to predict. If the character is a total tool, an evil b@stard, or made of cardboard, then he's going to survive and prosper. If the character has *ANY* glimmer of humanity to him, he's going to die. The more human/virtuous, the more horrible the death. Once you have that down the story becomes predictable to the extreme and just drags. The twist at the end was foreseeable as well. Overall I was disappointed.

I always buy any Black Library book that tries a setting other than the Empire and pray for a decent plot. This book was surprisingly good. A great look into the lands of Brettonia and the characters are believable and dynamic while also being true to the Warhammer lore. The combination of exciting battles and threatening political intrigue gives a wide view on the lives of the noble and peasent classes, and the main character has an interesting story of his own. I definitely recommend this book for any warhammer fan, and it could possibly even intrigue newcomers.