Customer Reviews

Sword of Justice (Warhammer Heroes)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sword of Justice is about Ludwig Schwarzhelm, The Emperor's Champion. I haven't seen other books in the Warhammer Heroes series, but apparently this book is the first in a trilogy about various Empire heroes.

Best opening sequence ever. I've read a fair number of Warhammer books, and there has never been an opening sequence like the one in this book. You really get a sense of the massive battles that take place on a fairly regular basis in the Empire. The author puts in quite a bit of effort to show not only the life of someone like Schwarzhelm, but also of more average citizens and of middle level champions like Markus Bloch. The entire novel centers around the succession problems in Averland, but the ending is not at all what you'd expect. If I had to say one part of the book I didn't like, it was the overdramatization of Schwarzhelm animosity towards Helborg. You do find out the cause of the anger at the end of the book, and it makes up for the weirdness of it somewhat.

Sword of Justice is a fantastic book about battles in the Empire and of one of its most famous heroes. Read this if you want action and adventure with a massive conspiracy mixed in for good measure.

I purchased this book for my 11yr old son and we are reading it together. The author has been able to hold both of our attention. This is a great action packed story with the elements a young male reader needs to keep interested. Chris did a great job. We look forward for the next Warhammer Heroes book.

Sword of Justice is one of the best warhammer novels I have ever read, if not the best, and I am a avid fan and reader of both the medieval Warhammer and the 40 K universe. Chris Wright has created a book that may start like most warhammer novels in a gritty battlefield with factions beating each other to a bloody pulp but it soon evolves into an incredible spy/political thriller. Don't get me wrong if you are a fan of Black Library's bloody battles you wont be disappointed since you will get plenty of action, but the genius of this book is clearly apparent when you start to question your own conclusion on who is evil and who is righteous. I have read dozens of books and I have never been so surprised at the end, you will end up wanting Black Library to release Sword of vengeance immediately so you can see what will happen next in the warhammer world.

This is the first of the new Warhammer Heroes series. This time focusing on Schwartzhelm. The book started out slow for me - but that's because I wanted to get to know the characters a bit more, and as mentioned in the other reviews, this book starts out with a large, 70 page battle involving some very harrowing scenes. What an awesome way to start out the book! If the whole book were to be this way though, I would've been disappointed - fortunately it's not. After this we get more battles, but we also get lots of intrigue in Averland, and also a look behind the Empirical doors in Altdorf. I'm used to reading about the peons of the Empire, so this was a nice change. I loved the gritty, corrupt atmosphere of Averland portrayed here. In particular, any scene with Verstohlen or Bloch was great. Bloch brought things down to a regular peon level, with lots of battles with orcs and such. Verstohlen...well, he's just a great character, sneaking around here and there. And chaos is well...chaos. It's always there, and is it ever in this book! I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves the Warhammer setting, or lots of action and intrigue in general.

Sword of Justice opens with a 70 page gritty Warhammer Battle where the Imperial Forces are surrounded by advancing hordes of bloodthirsty beastmen! This book is a treat for fans of Fantasy Action.

Story:
The story centers around the commanders of the Imperial Army. After a fierce battle, General Schwartzhelm gets sent to Altdorf, a border town run by wealthy families to settle a power struggle between nobles. When he arrives, he discovers that the forces of Chaos are behind the struggle and he begins to unravel a conspiracy.

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. In this book, there are demons, magic, undead, Chaos Gods, orcs and beastmen.

Characters:
The main characters are General Schwartzhelm, General Helborg, the Spy Verstohlen, and a halberdier named Bloch. They are not the most memorable characters in fantasy, but they are good characters trapped in a difficult situation. Because there is so much time devoted to the battles and the conspiracy, there isn't much time to really develop the characters. Fans of Action will be ok with this.

Writing Style:
The battles are exciting and visceral, the environments are well described, but the pacing is a bit off. A few characters just appear in the story and it's a bit jarring because they aren't introduced, they just appear. If you're reading this for exciting battles in a fiendish setting, then you'll still enjoy the book.

Action:
This may be the most action packed book that I have ever read. The book is full of really long and dramatic battles. The battles are well written and you really get a sense of the shifting tides of battle. Hope clashes with Despair as armies gain position on the battlefield and men die for the Empire.

Maturity: Teen
The body count for this book is in the thousands. It's full of Fantasy Violence as men fight the forces of Chaos to restore peace to the empire. There are some scenes of brutal interrogation techniques (torture) and some elements of horror. There are some scenes of scantily clad women and implied sexual situations.

Overall: 8
This is a WARHAMMER book about WAR! If that is what you are after, then you'll be happy. If you want a well paced, character driven story, then you may be disappointed. A year from now, I doubt I will remember the characters, but I will remember the intense battles. Everything takes a back seat to the action, which is fine for action fans.

If you enjoyed this book, read Grimblades by Nick Kyme or Legend, Sword in the Storm, or The Lion of Macedon by David Gemmell.

Sword of Justice is the opener for the Warhammer Heroes series of novels featuring the Emperor's Champion Ludwig Schwarzhelm.


The novel starts out with a bang and really never lets up. Short of spoiling the novel I'll say that like many stories set in the Warhammer universe, the opening scene revolves around a battle. This is handled in a very deft manner showcasing some pretty ordinary, grunt-level characters that grow in to something more as well as some characters that we know little about, but grow to really admire as the story goes on.


One thing I have to point out is the superb manner in which the author describes the characters, the scenes and how the characters are ...human. One thing that I feel sets a good novel apart from a great one is having characters that are fallible, that make mistakes; especially when we see them coming and even when we don't. I loathe Mary Sue characters, Golden Child characters, "the Chosen One" who really is a superhero in all but the cape...usually. Putting it mildly, the characters in this novel are all flawed in one way or another.


Another thing that sets this apart from other good novels is that we see some of the plot coming, and knowing the characters aren't omnipotent, they blunder in to things. Not stupidly (or overly so) but in ways that any of us would. Add to this Chris Wraight throws us a few curves. Nicely handled I must say. Not in the M Night Shyamalan velveeta-kind of way but in a well thought out way that we stub our toe on...look down and realize we just lost a foot-kind of way.


There are some fun twists and exceptional descriptions of the setting. Actually, the description of the empire from top to bottom is the best I've seen yet; especially the description of Altdorf and the other main cities. Brilliant!

The descriptions throughout were really well done. From the thought blurbs, to scents, sights, all the senses were covered without seeming overworked or trite.


Cover art: Wow. Cheoljoo Lee really pained a fantastic cover piece. It would make a beautiful print, poster. Man, it really is gorgeous. Well done!


There is a map at the beginning, good, always like a map so I can keep an idea of where things are but there is no "Cast of Characters". It's a fairly good sized cast and it can be a bit confusing. Thankfully the main characters are pretty distinct.


I have to admit; I've fallen in love with the characters, and added their figures to my GW wishlist. Now I need to work on my Empire guys. I'm painting up some Reiksguard and Averlander troops! DAMN!


Rating:

Just...wow. Blew my doors off. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series!