Warpsword, a Warhammer Black Library novel by authors Dan Abnett and Mike Lee is dark fantasy tale of a dark elf, strangely enough. It follows the adventures of Malus Darkblade, an evil Highborn that is possessed by an ancient daemon. Malus must traverse the lands, seeking to regain five different artifacts, or he loses his soul.
Warhammer is a miniature game from Games-Workshop, and the two main games under this label are Warhammer 40K (Sci-Fi) and Warhammer Fantasy (High fantasy in a medieval world). Black Library is the publishing group for books of fiction based in these worlds, and a myriad of book have been published by this company. Warhammer novels range from the absolutely terrible to amazing. This is partly due to the large group of writers that contribute to the Black Library, as there are many different writers with many different writing abilities. I’m a big fan of author Dan Abnett, especially of his sci-fi Warhammer 40k writings. Books like Double Eagle stand out from the general low-quality Warhammer writing. However, I must take him to task for this book, Warpsword.
Warpsword is an incredibly grim and dark book of a foul dark elf, who, possessed by an evil creature, must seek out certain objects of power to reclaim himself. Warpsword follows him trying to claim, surprise, a sword of incredible power. Throw a little family feud/politics of power into the mix, a land on the brink of a civil war, (amongst the evil Druchii, nonetheless), a city at the heart of the situation, and you have Warpsword. Little else stands out amongst the bloodshed, gore, and dark offerings, little to redeem so poor a work.
Obviously, it is rather foolish to expect an evil creature, especially a Dark Elf of the type of Malus Darkblade, to have certain redeeming characteristics, but even a touch of something other than pure evil would be nice. I grew tired of reading of the dark city of the Dark Elves, and their rather disgusting rituals, sacrifices, and temple practices. Sure, they may make a very interesting and dark army for Warhammer fantasy, but as far as novels go, this one did them little justice.
Or, perhaps it did. Perhaps Abnett refused to grant his readers any comfort, and any sympathy for Malus Darkblade to show just how depraved these individuals, these Druchii, are. Yet, it’s not what I want to read. We [fans of the Warhammer games] know that these types are utterly despicable and evil. Would it be too much to give at least some more ‘humane’ moments to Malus Darkblades’ adventures, at least a second or so when I didn’t want him to get utterly destroyed? Even given the dark setting that Warhammer books almost always have, there usually exists at least a few characters that the reader can sympathize with, can be disappointed when they fall, and can appreciate. Warpstone lacked any.
Maybe the entire Warhammer genre just needs some touching up and re-doing. It’s terribly droll right now, and much of the series in the Black Library are a waste of time to read. Quality fantasy seems to be lacking, and instead, savage hack n’ slash books seem to be the only thing in the series. Yet, Abnett almost always rises to the task, and creates art out of the mud that is the Warhammer World, as seen in Double Eagle, and some of his other works. However, this was didn’t cut it at all-if anything, it saw the bar, and tried to slither underneath it, much the same way a Chaos creature would ooze along a dungeon floor.
Perhaps Abnett should stick with Warhammer 40K and sci-fi, as it seems to be more of his territory. I’ll admit, he’s written a few decent Warhammer fantasy novels, but this one certainly wasn’t one. Of course, his style may have been watered down, thanks to the influence of a second author, but nevertheless, it was a poor showing.
If you are a fan of the Dark Elves, and truly want to get a sense of the utter evil that they are, and represent, then this book might (notice, I only said might) be of some interest to you. Otherwise, if you are looking for high quality high fantasy, set in the Warhammer fantasy world, search elsewhere. Wait a minute-if you are looking for high quality in the Warhammer fantasy world, then you may be disappointed.
