Inheritance
Steven Savile
Black Library
First of the three novels detailing the rise and fall of three important characters in the Von Carstein bloodline as they try to conquer the Empire for their own.
The story details the (in)famous Vlad von Carstein, of how he almost toppled the Empire and replaced it with his own undead parody of it. But we all know how it ended as Vlad died at the hands of the Great Theogonist. The story begins with Vlad acquiring the throne of Sylvania, of how he married Isabella, the only daughter and child of the dying count. Vlad marries her just before his demise, but not before tearing out the heart of the girl's uncle at her request. This shows the beginning of the strange relation between Vlad and Isabella, who is clearly mad but loved dearly by Vlad.
The story then forwards several decades into the future, to the 2000's, of the era of the Three Emperor's as two brothers in law travel to Sylvania in search of the murderers of their wives. While they get their revenge one of them gets more then he bargains for. Several battles follow over the course of forty years as Vlad slowly advances towards Altdorf, turning Middenheim into one gigantic necropolis as a revenge. But during the advance Vlad dies several times, but always manages to resurrect, how could that be? At the walls of Altdorf, the final cataclysmic battle would be fought that would decide it all.
All in all it's a fine read, with some dull moments in between but rewarding overall. We finally get to know what it was that made Vlad so hard to kill, we know how he died, how Isabella died, how mad she really was and what happened to the survivors of that first invasion.
The story continues in Dominion, which recounts the revenge of the Von Carsteins under the banner of the mad Konrad Von Carstein. And perhaps without any real surprise, the third novel will detail the exploits of Mannfred Von Carstein, in both his attempt at trying to take the Empire as his own and his campaign of conquest before the Storm of Chaos led by Archaon.
Defining moment: This is history being retold at it's best. Most people with a glimpse of knowledge of the fantasy verse knew of this, of how the Empire only just managed to pull through. But here, in this book it's all told. BL has made the right step by novelizing the history of both 40k and the fantasy settings, looking to inform the people in a way that is not boring or considered too much alike to history classes.
Rating: 8,5
Steven Savile
Black Library
First of the three novels detailing the rise and fall of three important characters in the Von Carstein bloodline as they try to conquer the Empire for their own.
The story details the (in)famous Vlad von Carstein, of how he almost toppled the Empire and replaced it with his own undead parody of it. But we all know how it ended as Vlad died at the hands of the Great Theogonist. The story begins with Vlad acquiring the throne of Sylvania, of how he married Isabella, the only daughter and child of the dying count. Vlad marries her just before his demise, but not before tearing out the heart of the girl's uncle at her request. This shows the beginning of the strange relation between Vlad and Isabella, who is clearly mad but loved dearly by Vlad.
The story then forwards several decades into the future, to the 2000's, of the era of the Three Emperor's as two brothers in law travel to Sylvania in search of the murderers of their wives. While they get their revenge one of them gets more then he bargains for. Several battles follow over the course of forty years as Vlad slowly advances towards Altdorf, turning Middenheim into one gigantic necropolis as a revenge. But during the advance Vlad dies several times, but always manages to resurrect, how could that be? At the walls of Altdorf, the final cataclysmic battle would be fought that would decide it all.
All in all it's a fine read, with some dull moments in between but rewarding overall. We finally get to know what it was that made Vlad so hard to kill, we know how he died, how Isabella died, how mad she really was and what happened to the survivors of that first invasion.
The story continues in Dominion, which recounts the revenge of the Von Carsteins under the banner of the mad Konrad Von Carstein. And perhaps without any real surprise, the third novel will detail the exploits of Mannfred Von Carstein, in both his attempt at trying to take the Empire as his own and his campaign of conquest before the Storm of Chaos led by Archaon.
Defining moment: This is history being retold at it's best. Most people with a glimpse of knowledge of the fantasy verse knew of this, of how the Empire only just managed to pull through. But here, in this book it's all told. BL has made the right step by novelizing the history of both 40k and the fantasy settings, looking to inform the people in a way that is not boring or considered too much alike to history classes.
Rating: 8,5
