cbinx85's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
porge_grewe's review against another edition
3.0
Another solid Warhammer Horror anthology - Lora Gray and Cassandra Khaw raise the standard as usual in these first three collections, and there's a good distribution of other really good stories covering an array of horror subgenres. On the other hand, some entries are a little dull, or let down solid setups with endings which lean too hard into Halloween-y spooks (not that there's not a good time and place for Halloween-y spooks!). And of course, it is Warhammer, so *beyond* purple prose - Much of this prose is *ultraviolet*, and that's a lot of the fun. It's Warhammer Horror! If that idea doesn't appeal, don't read it! If it doesn't, you probably know what to expect, and it delivers with style.
nightshade_novels's review against another edition
3.0
This Warhammer horror collection contains eleven short stories by different authors. The stories vary in their quality and level of horror, although all of them were enjoyable. Some of the stories might require a little bit of pre-existing Warhammer knowledge to understand the locations, species and terminology, but generally these are really accessible and could quite easily be read by someone with no prior Warhammer experience. I was impressed by each of the authors abilities to develop rich worlds and characters in such a short number of pages.
In A Darksome Place, I was happy to see Reynolds return to the Greywater Fastness, which we see more in his other book, Dark Harvest.
In The Marauder Lives, I was really excited to find a Drukhari story as they don't seem to appear in the books as much as I'd like, so it was great to see them here.
The book ends with a longer story The Nothings which was possibly my favourite.
Overall this was a really fun collection which I'm sure I will return to many times in the future.
In A Darksome Place, I was happy to see Reynolds return to the Greywater Fastness, which we see more in his other book, Dark Harvest.
In The Marauder Lives, I was really excited to find a Drukhari story as they don't seem to appear in the books as much as I'd like, so it was great to see them here.
The book ends with a longer story The Nothings which was possibly my favourite.
Overall this was a really fun collection which I'm sure I will return to many times in the future.
katie_konneker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gigiviolent's review against another edition
I thought this was a collection of short horror stories I did not realize it was in connection to Warhammer or a video?/role play game. So as I read the first story and wondered what the hell was going on I decided to give the summary a re-read then looked up Warhammer and realized my mistake.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat hit and miss, not least because the Black Library's stable of authors seems to have not yet worked out how to do horror in the Age of Sigmar setting. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/maledictions-or-malapropisms/
iellzbellz's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
paulopaperbooksonly's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know if I will make a full length review but I must tell you that there were good stories and some that were not that good. One of two were pretty out there that could be easily be printed in another universe.
Per example C L Werner story I really couldn't connect to the Sigmar universe. IT could be easily set in his own japanese universe (he has some stories in it). The mention of nagash by the end tied it but...
The Nothings I Thought the story was set in the sigmar universe then it made a twist and it was set in the 40K. And it was pretty good by the end.
Nepenthe was a good story -not particularly scary but good nevertheless.
Predation Eagle could have been so good if it had a hundred pages. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to get to know the characters.
The Last Ascension of Dominic Seroff was another good 40K story and as the previously could have been even better with more 30 or 40 pages.
Triggers was okay.
The Marauder's Lives was probably the most horroresque of them all.
The widow tide was not that good - we all know racism is bad.
Overall a nice collection of stories. Didn't thought they were that scary or horror but nevertheless they were good. Looking forward to read more horror from Black Library.
Next read will be probably The Wicked and the Damned. Hope it's better after all there are only three stories so 100 pages to truly envelop us.
@Black Library there were some themes there like racism (particulary in The Widows Tide) and such. Please don't follow the SJW and PC tread. You've always tackle some social issues like masters but not shoving down our throats. Nobody likes that.
Per example C L Werner story I really couldn't connect to the Sigmar universe. IT could be easily set in his own japanese universe (he has some stories in it). The mention of nagash by the end tied it but...
The Nothings I Thought the story was set in the sigmar universe then it made a twist and it was set in the 40K. And it was pretty good by the end.
Nepenthe was a good story -not particularly scary but good nevertheless.
Predation Eagle could have been so good if it had a hundred pages. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to get to know the characters.
The Last Ascension of Dominic Seroff was another good 40K story and as the previously could have been even better with more 30 or 40 pages.
Triggers was okay.
The Marauder's Lives was probably the most horroresque of them all.
The widow tide was not that good - we all know racism is bad.
Overall a nice collection of stories. Didn't thought they were that scary or horror but nevertheless they were good. Looking forward to read more horror from Black Library.
Next read will be probably The Wicked and the Damned. Hope it's better after all there are only three stories so 100 pages to truly envelop us.
@Black Library there were some themes there like racism (particulary in The Widows Tide) and such. Please don't follow the SJW and PC tread. You've always tackle some social issues like masters but not shoving down our throats. Nobody likes that.
trackofwords's review against another edition
4.0
One of the first releases for Black Library’s brand new Warhammer Horror imprint, Maledictions features eleven stories across both Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar which dig a little deeper than usual beneath the surface of the settings. From dense jungles to rural communities, enginseers to dryads, it’s a characterful and wide-ranging anthology packed full of strange, unsettling stories.
Readers hoping for outright jump scares or brutal gore-fests might not find what they’re after here, as these stories offer characterful, psychological drama more than full-on shock factor. Think of them as your usual Black Library fare but with the horror elements which are almost always present in these settings (mostly) subtly brought to the fore. Existing fans should find lots to enjoy, even those who don’t normally venture into horror, and while readers new to Warhammer may struggle a little with the specific details there might just be enough here to turn them onto the bleak joys of Age of Sigmar and (especially) 40k.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/03/25/maledictions-a-warhammer-horror-anthology/
Readers hoping for outright jump scares or brutal gore-fests might not find what they’re after here, as these stories offer characterful, psychological drama more than full-on shock factor. Think of them as your usual Black Library fare but with the horror elements which are almost always present in these settings (mostly) subtly brought to the fore. Existing fans should find lots to enjoy, even those who don’t normally venture into horror, and while readers new to Warhammer may struggle a little with the specific details there might just be enough here to turn them onto the bleak joys of Age of Sigmar and (especially) 40k.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/03/25/maledictions-a-warhammer-horror-anthology/
choccyfish's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Nepenthe - I loved the descriptions but not a massive fan of the plot? Like I know it's a short story but I felt like it could've used more of something idk. Also some of the stuff I didn't get? Maybe I'm stupid idk
The Widow Tide - Interesting, fine. Probs would get more out of it if I knew sigmar lore better
No Good Deed - I liked this one a lot, could see where it was going and it was cool!
Crimson Snow - Would probs like this one a lot more if I knew the lore but still great, very descriptive and gross
Last of the Blood - A bit stinky, not really using any of the age of sigmar lore to benefit it like the other stories have
Predation of the Eagle - Fun one! I liked this quite a lot
The Last Ascention of Dominic Seroff - I liked this one too. A little hard to follow at points but I liked some aspects of the twist
Triggers - I found this one cool, it was fun
A Darksome Place - This was a cool one, big fan of fungus
The Marauder Lives - I like that this didn't head in the direction I thought. Some cool stuff here
The Nothings - I really liked the twist here and was honestly surprised it took this long to do a story like this.
The Widow Tide - Interesting, fine. Probs would get more out of it if I knew sigmar lore better
No Good Deed - I liked this one a lot, could see where it was going and it was cool!
Crimson Snow - Would probs like this one a lot more if I knew the lore but still great, very descriptive and gross
Last of the Blood - A bit stinky, not really using any of the age of sigmar lore to benefit it like the other stories have
Predation of the Eagle - Fun one! I liked this quite a lot
The Last Ascention of Dominic Seroff - I liked this one too. A little hard to follow at points but I liked some aspects of the twist
Triggers - I found this one cool, it was fun
A Darksome Place - This was a cool one, big fan of fungus
The Marauder Lives - I like that this didn't head in the direction I thought. Some cool stuff here
The Nothings - I really liked the twist here and was honestly surprised it took this long to do a story like this.