Sword of Vengeance - Chris Wraight - Advanced Review

Sword of Vengeance: Chris Wraight

A Warhammer Heroes Novel

Averland is aflame. An army of cultists rises in the corrupted city of Averheim. The Theogonist Volkmar marches towards the city in a race to snuff out the rebellion before it grows too widespread to defeat. Schwarzhelm races to return to the site of his recent battles, as does the spy Pieter Verstohlen, evading assassins while trying to discover the truth of the conspiracy that drew him away. But none of these holds the key. Out in the wilderness is Kurt Helborg, Grand Marshal of the Reiksguard. Only he has the indomitable strength of will to hold together the province in its hour of need. Only he can rally the terrified citizens of Averland to resist the infernal powers that beset them.

~http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/coming-soon/Sword-of-Vengeance.html

Note: This is an advanced review for Black Library and this novel is not available for purchase until February 2011. 

Now then, let’s begin. This is the third instalment in the popular Warhammer Heroes series, and the second Warhammer book that I’ve read, the first, being Wulfrik, also a Warhammer Heroes Novel.

And as it turned out, Sword of Vengeance is a great book, and Chris Wraight is an excellent author. Despite the fact that this novel is a sequel to Sword of Justice, there is a short synopsis of the events in the previous book that brought me up to date on what happened last time around.

I probably should have picked up Sword of Justice, but as I was behind in my review on God King, I decided to plough on regardless, and I’m glad I did, as this novel is a page-turning, well written, plot-twisting book that is easily my new favourite Warhammer Novel.

There’s character development, but mainly in the ‘bad guys’, however I won’t spoil things for you. As well has having character development, Sword of Vengeance is well paced out, drawing the reader in and then going out with one last hurrah in the final battle, that will tie up all loose ends.

And of course, there’s plenty of action. You get to see Daemons fight men; men fight Daemons and so forth.  The description is fantastic as well; you really get a feel of the surroundings and the events happening, even though they are in a completely different world.

Now, I’d like to discuss the predictability. Sure, you know what the overall outcome is going to be, but you won’t be able to guess what happens to the secondary characters that are Helborg’s allies.

Now, overall, The Sword of Vengeance is a fantastic read, and I am eagerly awaiting Chris Wraight’s next novel. I apologize for the short length of the review, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless.

And, on that bombshell, it’s time for what I usually finish with:

Rating: 9/10 – a fantastic read, but not a perfect book.

Should you buy this book? Yes, especially if you are a fan of Empire,  Sword of Justice, Warhammer Heroes, or Chris Wraight,