Bane of Kings reviews Sigvald, a novel in the multi-author Warhammer Heroes series, written by Darius Hinks and published by Black Library.

“Another amazingly well-written instalment in the Warhammer Heroes Series.” ~The Founding Fields

 Note: This is an advanced review for Black Library. This novel will not be available until July 2011.

 

The next chapter in the multi-author written Warhammer Heroes series is Sigvald, this time written by Darius Hinks, author of the Island of Blood novella and The Empire Army novel Warrior Priest.

Like its predecessors (With the exception of Sword of Justice and Sword of Vengance by Chris Wraight), Sigvald can be read as a standalone and follows the adventures of the Magnificent Prince, who has struck a pact with his Slaneeshi masters that bestows him incredible power and beauty.

However, nothing is taken freely and Sigvald’s new power finds himself driven to greater acts of hedonism. Despite his pre-eminence, the chaos champion finds himself tricked into an impossible war with the promise of a powerful artifact to slake his dark desires. After centuries of resting in his fortress, the army of Sigvald finds itself roused into a battle against the legions of the Blood God, Khorne.

Soon becoming obsessed with the Brass Skull, an object of misguided yearnings, Sigvald becomes unaware that his enemies are closing around him, and in a hellish quest that drives him across the twisted landscapes of the chaos wastes and culminates in an epic confrontation, Sigvald the Magnificent begins to realise that the lures of Slaneesh can never be stated…

Having not delved that much into the Warhammer background outside of the novels, I don’t know what happens to Sigvald, but I guessed by the various reactions to this books release that he was a pretty major character.

I found that the Warhammer Heroes series is one of the few multi-author series that I’ve read that has continuously produced one good book after the other. I’ve read everything bar Sword of Justice in this series, and I’ve enjoyed them all.

And Sigvald is no different from its predecessors, with Darius Hinks keeping up with the standards set by Chris Wraight and C.L. Werner, and gives us another pretty good read.

The characters in this novel are pretty well thought out as well, with character development taking place throughout the novel. Obviously, the main star is Sigvald the Magnificent, but we also get characters such as the Baron Gustav Schüler, and others like Sväla, each with their own backgrounds and each playing a key, important role in Sigvald’s future.

If there’s one problem with Sigvald however, and with most novels told from a Chaos Point of View, the main character is a villain, and somebody whom you will have a hard time relating to, as he shows little humanity and makes you want to end up cheering for the people who are out to kill him.

We looked at the Norscan Tribes in Wulfrik by C.L. Werner briefly, and we return to them here. Even though they are viewed as enemies by the people of the civilized lands in the Empire and Bretonnia, we still feel as though we can relate to them a lot more than Sigvald himself.

Overall, I found this an enjoyable read and left me wanting to learn more about Sigvald, especially after that climatic ending that does not fail to disappoint.

Rating: 3.5/5

More Warhammer Heroes: Sword of Justice by Chris Wraight, Sword of Vengeance by Chris Wraight, Wulfric by CL Werner, Sigvald by Darius Hinks, The Red Duke by CL Werner, Luthor Huss by Chris Wraight (Out February 2012), Valkia The Bloody (Out July. 2012), Orion: The Vaults of Winter by Darius Hinks (Out September 2012)