8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat slow start, typical great Abnett finish, May 3, 2003
This review is from: Riders of the Dead (Warhammer Novel) (Warhammer Novels) (Hardcover)
The early portions of this book are not consumed with the typical fire of Abnett's other books, e.g., the Gaunt's Ghosts Warhammer 40k novels, but there are many good things to recommend this book.
First, for readers who are unfamiliar with the Warhammer Fantasy universe, things might be a bit confusing, but Abnett does a good job of explaining things as they come, focusing more upon the characters and their plights than on the game world.
There are two main characters, who begin the story very different from how they are at the novel's end. One was born into nobility, and is very haughty and overbearing, while the other is of lesser birth and has worked very hard to improve his station. They are fellow horse soldiers in the Empire, sent to help the defense against the northern hordes.
They quickly become separated, and their lives follow very different paths both from each other and from their previous existences. One is captured by the evil northern forces and is slowly corrupted by them, while the other falls in with the barbarians of the steppes, tenuous allies of the Empire. Both experience radical changes of perspective and personality before the climax of the novel.
Besides what I thought was a slow start, it seemed that the end was almost too quick. Perhaps this in itself is a statement of the way of life in the Warhammer world, but for a novel it seemed very hurried and disappointing. Don't get me wrong, now, for the last 75 pages or so I could not put the book down. But for the first hardcover Warhammer book, I would have liked a longer novel with more resolution than was given, though the very end was quite nicely done.
Basically, I really liked the story, but I think most people should wait for the paperback, as this is not quite worth the hardback price. Personally, I hope that the Black Library puts out more hardcover books (again, Gaunt's Ghosts, guys!), but that they make it more worth the price. For [the money], I want a longer read than this one.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun book, ending was a bit anti-climatic., June 1, 2006
This was a fun fantasy warfare book from Mr. Abnett which tracks the divergent lives of 2 cousins after a military defeat in which they are separated, and the sequence of events which was obviously going to bring them into conflict.
I think either of the subject's stories would have been a good standalone novel's basis, as the inevitable confrontation between the two seemed like a lot of effort to get nowhere. The scenery and background/settings were very well written, along with the individual threads of the 2 stories.
I prefer Mr. Abnett's eisenhorn trilogy to this.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best Abnett novel yet....., March 19, 2004
This is a very good read. If you ar into battle scenes, Abnett is your man. No one is better than Abnett at descibing the blurr,blood, and chaos that is medevil combat. But it not just the battles that make this book great, its cultures add a huge amount of flavor and substance to it also. Would be a 5 star classic if not for the sudden ending. Abnett likely had a page count given to him to stay under by the publisher.
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