'The Fall of Altdorf' – Chris Wraight (Black Library)

The way this week is going, I'll be really lucky if I manage to read anything, let alone finish an actual book. I should probably say, at this point, that it's not a bad week, it's just another one of those weeks where work has exploded and there's really not enough time in the day to get it all done. Oh well, I'm on leave next week (which is a large part of the reason why this week is being a problem...)

In the meantime then, I've had to go and search out the 'Emergency HBR' pile ('Has Been Read') for something to write about today. And as it happened, there was only the one book left in said pile. It had to happen. So lets talk about a favourite book of mine then...

With the hordes of Chaos marshalling in the north and the Emperor lost, it falls to Reiksmarshal Kurt Helborg to prepare to meet the forces of the Ruinous Powers.

The End Times are coming. With the hordes of Chaos marshalling in the north, Emperor Karl Franz leads his armies in defence of his realm. But when the worst happens and the Emperor is lost, it falls to Reiksmarshal Kurt Helborg to return to Altdorf, capital of the Empire, and prepare to meet the forces of the Ruinous Powers in a final battle for that ancient city. As plague spreads and the defences weaken, all seems lost, until help arrives from a most unexpected source... if Helborg can bring himself to accept it.

'The Fall of Altdorf' can be found as it's own book but I own it as part of the 'Lords of the Dead' anthology. Neither book is particularly easy to come by, unless you're very lucky or have a large amount of disposable income, so maybe consider picking up the eBook instead (which is a lot cheaper). I guess the message is to make sure you do get yourself a copy (whatever the format) as it is very much worth a read.

Nothing lasts forever, unless you're the Warhammer 40K game that is; then you get to sit there and watch other games fade away and die. Games like Warhammer Fantasy Battle for instance, a game that Games Workshop decided to ditch and replace with 'Age of Sigmar'. Now I never played the game but absolutely adored the Old World setting so was gutted to see it go. On the flipside though, if you really have to see the Empire's capitol city fall, I can't think of anyone better to take you through that than Chris Wraight and he did not let me down. Not back then and not when I re-read the book a few months ago. 'The Fall of Altdorf' is always a great read.

Mankind's heroes always fight hardest when the situation is hopeless. This time round, there's no coming back from what's happening (this world has to end so a new one can begin, literally and figuratively speaking) but Wraight's heroes fight anyway and this makes for a constant flow of stirring battle scenes punctuated by a hero being just that, whether it's the Emperor himself, the wrong wizard for the job or a priestess facing down a plague demon (can you guess what my favourite bit was...?) It's great stuff to read as although you know the ultimate outcome, there is nothing like a good dose of stirring heroism to make you feel good and keep those pages turning.

It's not just about the battles though (although if it was, it would still be a great read). There is also a degree of intrigue and politicking going on which in some cases adds to the air of inevitable demise.(people just can't get on, can they...) but also adds a nice counterpoint to the fighting by asking the question, 'is the enemy of my enemy really my friend?' I always want to grab Helborg, shake him, and say 'look, they want to be your allies!' I can understand why he hesitates though. It lends the book another degree of urgency which all helps to make that much more readable.

Like I said earlier, if you're going to raze Altdorf, 'The Fall of Altdorf' is the only way to do it and Chris Wraight is very the man to be in charge of the wrecking ball. Good luck finding a copy but it will be worth it when you do ;o)