Thanquol's Doom by CL Werner (Warhammer)

8/10

The third book featuring Grey Seer Thanquol as the main protagonist (although not his first appearance in Warhammer franchise books) sees him pitted against the Dwarves of Karak Angkul.

Thanquol is the perfect anti-hero, which sees you routing for a cowardly and thoroughly despicable individual. Werner manages to convince you that Thanquol’s thought processes and adversaries are truly non-deserving in victory.

In this novel, the Grey Seer has returned from his previous adventure in Lustria and, like most of his exploits, he accidently finds himself at the thick of the action in an attack on the stubborn dwarves. Unwittingly, he is assisting master Warlock engineer, Ikit Claw, in testing a wonder weapon. As ever, the characterisation of the Skaven in the novel is excellent and the scheming of these nefarious bad-guys against each other reveals how this numerous race has not succeeded in unifying and bringing down its many enemies.

Werner also does an admirable job of representing the stubborn and traditional dwarves. He shows a new side to this hardy race in the form of Klarak Bronzehammer, an innovative engineer who is fighting against the traditional ways of his kind. The question lingers for the dwarves however - have his innovations saved the Dwarves of Karak Angkul or was it these advances that drew the attention of the Skaven in the first place. A poignant question for the Dwarves which is left without answer.

The plot of the book is good and like the chaotic nature of the anti-hero, there are many twists and turns to the plot which leaves you guessing what the underlying plot behind the action is going to turn out to be. Some might not appreciate the ever-changing plot but I felt it reflected well on the subject matter. I also felt the pace of the book was helped by the chapter length.

This was a good third outing for Thanquol with a good insight into two very different fantasy races and what happens when they clash in an epic confrontation. It left me wanting more ratman adventures.