Nine Brief Book Reviews... GO!

I have been voraciously knocking back fantasy books over the past few months like it’s nobody’s business. So I decided to make it everybody’s business with a series of in-depth reviews and analyses over an extended series of blog posts.

Unfortunately my ‘Generation Y’ laziness kicked in, and what we are all left with is a much briefer digest of my recent literary devourings. Enjoy.

Recommended Warhammer Community Projects

It is always a pleasure to come across fantastic little (or not-so-little) projects from enthusiastic hobbyists. To someone who really enjoys the hobby these discoveries are like a breath of fresh air amidst the ever-present cloying smog of internet-hate and negativity, and I find they invigourate aspects of my own hobby. There must be a truism in there somewhere about passion sparking passion. Below are my pick of some quality Warhammer community projects that are well worth a look.


Warhammer Armies Project


Mathias Eliasson's Warhammer Armies Project is a testament not only to the diverse potential of the Warhammer World, but to the commitment and patience of someone who loves his hobby.

In the spirit of the White Dwarf rules expansions and 'back-of-the-book' army lists which have sadly vanished from the GW army books of late, Mathias has been churning out 8th Edition-appropriate alternative army lists for almost any thematic army list variation out there (such as Halfling armies, Kislev armies, Cult of Ulric, Dogs of War) and even several that have never been released by GW (Fimir, Cathay, Nippon).

Reading and Insights into the Old World - Part 1

It would be fair to say that I care more for the Warhammer setting than for the game rules themselves. The first models I bought were less for gaming with and more for visualising the stories and figures I read about in the background sections of the army books (my first was the old Undead book... sigh). So I like to keep reading about the Old World when I can spare the time.

Some of my favourites from The Black Library so far have been the Mathias Thulmann series, Gotrek and Felix, and the Enemy Within. My dislikes include anything published to coincide with a computer game release. I plan on getting into the Time of Legends books too, as they look awesome, but I have had A Song of Ice and Fire to get through first.

This summer, my reading focus has been on the Empire. My tabletop army of choice, and also the setting for the RPG I currently GM for our group. With this in mind, here is a run down of my latest reading, with my thoughts on what they add to my understanding of the Empire.

Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos is beyond the quality of what I have seen published from GW, save maybe for collectors editions. Its primary interest for many is the Chaos Dwarf list, but the story is not to be looked over. An absolutely brilliant piece of work, reminiscent of Robert E. Howard. Reiksguard and Iron Company are the run-of-the-mill Black Library offerings, so I generally accept that it is what it is - mass produced paperback fantasy fiction. I'm not going to get hung up over proofing or whatever.

SPOILER ALERT. I will make no attempt to keep this spoiler free.