‘Hammers of Ulric’ – Dan Abnett, Nik Vincent & James Wallis (Black Library)


Page Count: 320 Pages

I actually read this book some months ago (and I’ve only just found it again, under a pile of bills...) so you’re going to be hard pressed to get much more than quick thoughts and general impressions here. For completeness sake though (and the fact that I’m nowhere near finishing any of the other books that I’ve got on the go…), I’m going to give it a shot ;o) Here goes...

In the savage Old World, dark powers gather around the ancient mountain top city of Middenheim, the City of the White Wolf. Only the noble Templar Knights of Ulric and a few unlikely allies stand to defend her against the insidious servants of Death.

I ended up really enjoying ‘Hammers of Ulric’ but damn, the book really made me work for it in the early stages. What we’re looking at here is a collection of shorter tales that gradually tie together; by the end of the book and you realise that you’ve actually just been reading one complete book the whole time. I like that approach and it’s not often that I’ve come across it in a Warhammer Fantasy book so it was good to see here. At the beginning though… Things don’t tie together as well as they should and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was reading to start off with. It certainly didn’t look like anything the blurb had laid out.

Stick with it though, that’s what I’d say. ‘Hammers of Ulric’ takes its time but when it finally clicks into gear, it becomes a very engaging mix of military fantasy and detective fiction with a splash of horror thrown in for good measure. The Old World is always a dangerous place to visit but there’s a real edge to the proceedings this time round. And it’s all wrapped up in the sort of world building you get from people who really get the setting that they’re writing in. You can’t ask for a lot more than that really ;o)

From where I was sat then, ‘Hammers of Ulric’ is one of those books that rewards a little effort on your part; it takes a little while to get into but it’s worth it once you’re there. That might push the book into ‘one for the fans’ territory then (which is where I live so…), you might want to bear that in mind if you see a copy.

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