'Hallowed Ground' – Richard Strachan (Black Library)

The last book in the HBR pile... Well, more like the second from last but I can't for the life of me remember where I put my 'Blood Bowl' comic book. Dammit. Anyway...

It's been a bit of a week for Warhammer reading but that's never a bad thing, especially when the 'Age of Sigmar' books just seem to be getting better and better. I'm still hoping that there will be a line of 'Old World' books for when the game comes out but in the meantime, the 'Age of Sigmar' setting has really found it's voice and there are loads of cool tales to be told. That'll keep me going in the meantime ;o)

I really enjoyed Strachan's 'Thunderstrike' which led me to 'Hallowed Ground' and... Let me tell you about it.

The siege of Excelsis is over, and amidst the rubble of the city the survivors count the costs. But for Galen and Doralia ven Denst, two of the most feared witch hunters in the Order of Azyr, the horrors they have witnessed are not so easily dismissed. Struggling to cope with the traumas of the siege, Doralia is concerned when her father disappears into the wilds of Ghur. As she sets off on his trail, Doralia begins to suspect that Galen is hunting down a dark secret from their past – one that might hold the key to a new threat rising to engulf Excelsis. With the city barely recovered from its ordeal, the witch hunters must make a fatal choice between the desire for revenge and the rigours of duty – or Excelsis will pay the price.

Reading 'Thunderstrike' and 'Hallowed Ground' kind of has me wishing that I'd been around for the actual Siege of Excelsis. Looking at the wreckage that is left over offers tantalising glimpses into the Siege itself that the Wiki entry cannot hope to satisfy... That's ok though, 'Hallowed Ground' does its level best to repeat the event, in a way that only Warhammer novels can do... You know what I mean ;o) The last few chapters are absolutely stunning as pretty much everyone gets a chance to fight for Excelsis all over again, even the dead.

But I've gone and jumped ahead of myself. The rest of 'Hallowed Ground', leading up to that point, is a thoroughly engaging read that really has you thinking about all kinds of stuff (as well as enjoying the fights) as you're reading, all set against this magnificent backdrop that's very reminiscent of the Old West. The frontier is literally outside the city gates and it takes a very special person to move through it and not fall foul of, well... everything. Galen and Doralia ven Denst are very much those people but their journey through the land is also a journey into their past and that's not a journey that either of them particularly want to take. You may have a good idea of where the journey will end but the real fun lies in watching Strachan pit everything against the ven Denst's, just to see what they do. And watching Galen question what he put his daughter through, even though it was all done to protect her... That's just heartbreaking. But then you see what other fathers will do and... Damn, I didn't think I'd care that much about a villain but here I am...

A story that seems pretty straightforward on the surface then, has a lot more to it than you think. 'Hallowed Ground' isn't just about saving a city, it's about saving yourself and your loved ones from trauma and how sometimes, those good intentions can only make things worse. It's about what a father will do for his child, and whether or not he should. You may know the answers but Strachan gives us characters who are already hurting and you can't help but wish for a little healing. That's what kept me reading but I won't lie, the explosive finale didn't do any harm either ;o)