Xathrodox86 reviews: “Sword of Vengeance” by Chris Wraight

Time for another Warhammer Fantasy novel review. Today I am finishing the Schwarzhelm/Helborg duology written by one of my favorite Black Library writers.

Chris Wraight gets Warhammer. He can really bring both Fantasy and 40K to life, and his books are some of the best fiction I ever read. From the “Wrath of Iron” to “Warhawk”, all of his works tend to stay with me for a long time. Back in 2019 I reviewed “Sword of Justice”, a book about the grim and resolute Emperor’s Champion – Ludwig Schwarzhelm. Now, almost 5 years later, I am sharing my opinions on “Sword of Justice”, the second book in this duology which mainly focuses on Kurt Helborg, the Reiksmarshal of the Empire.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you… the best moustache in the whole Empire of Man!

SPOILERS AHEAD. As if it wasn’t obvious enough. Oh and before diving into this tome, you should REALLY read the previous book. Otherwise you’ll certainly feel lost, going through “Sword of Vengeance”.

Released as part of the “Warhammer Heroes” series, this book takes place directly after the finale of “Sword of Justice”. Schwarzhelm dealt a grevious wound to Helborg, the province of Averland has a new Elector Count, and the sinister cult leader is still plotting her nefarious plans. The Emperor doesn’t suspect that the newly appointed leader of one of his richest provinces could be up to no good, and soon it’s going to cost him… a lot!

Meanwhile Schwarzhelm discovered that he got duped. His old mentor was in league with the forces of Chaos, forces that, even now, threaten the entirety of southern Empire. He decided to act agains the orders given to him by Karl Franz himself, and seek out justice on his own terms. Meanwhile the few remaining Reiksguard Knights try to take their master to safety, while being constantly hounded by the search parties of the new Elector of Averland. The time is running out and if the two greatest heroes of the Empire won’t join forces soon, Chaos will triumph and all will be lost.

This book is a decent finale to the short series about Kurt and Ludwig. That said it’s not without its flaws. That said let me start with the good stuff. “Sword of Vengeance” has some great descriptions of how truly horrifying Chaos can be. It’s no exaggeration if I say that this book gave me a creeps more than once, when describing the various, disgusting (yet alluring!) practices of Slaaneshi cultists. This isn’t the first time that Wright wrote this particular Chaos God just perfectly. In the “Wrath of Iron” novel for Warhammer 40,000, he describes the true horror of the Lord of Excess in a fascinating, disturbing way. Here he tops even that book. The rituals, the mindest of a soon-to-be Daemon Prince of Slaanesh (as well as its transformation), the sheer depravity and madness – all of this and more made truly appreciate the autocratic and gloomy reality of the Empire. As bad as it is, the alternative is much, much worse.

The various battle scenes are also described really well. Chris Wraight knows his stuff when it comes to military matters, and the many clashes presented in “Sword of Vengeance” are detailed, visceral and evocative. They showcase the merciless nature of the Warhammer Fantasy universe, where heroes mostly end up dead, and there is no glory to be found on the field of battle. Hectic, chaotic and excellently paced – Chris Wraight knows how to write his combat engagements.

Many characters make a comeback from the “Sword of Justice”, including Schwarzhelm, Pieter Verstohlen (Ludwig’s master spy), Bloch (a noble halberdeir captain), Heinz-Mark Grosslich (the corrupted Elector Count of Averland), Rufus Leitdorf (son of the late Marius Leitdorf) and his corrupted wife Natassja (the big bad of the whole duology). One of the new, big names to hit the pages of the second book is none other than Volkmar the Grim, Grand Theogonist of Sigmar himself! Freshly returned from the war in the North (and his miraculous ressurection), he is a man teetering on the edge of sanity and reason. Volkmar, to put it franky, is extremely pissed off throughout the entire story. His experiences with Be’lakor left him a broken, angry man, not thinking clearly and rushing towards every problem and encounter, without any hesitation. I liked his story arc a lot. Here was a deeply flawed, broken man, who was still willing to do whatever it takes, in order to secure victory for Sigmar and the Empire.

All right, we covered the good stuff. Now it’s time for some criticism.

The time skipping in this book is all over the place. Wraight clearly intends for the story to be told over the course of couple of months, but he never exactly gives us precise dates, time skips etc. A good example is when the corrupted Count of Averland recruits some Tileans for his growing cultist army. The book treats it almost like those boys were in the nearest village, just chilling. In reality a trip from Tilea to the southern parts of the Empire would take a very long time. I have to admit, it kinda was jarring at times, seeing how fast people were covering vast distances between cities or even provinces. If I’d had to mention my main complaint about “Sword of Vengeance”, it would definitely be the one I just described.

Other than that there are a few minor nitpicks, like the Knights Panther suddendly worshipping Myrmidia (they are a secular order) or Schwarzhelm, an oaf of a man, apparently being so stealthy that he can infiltrate the Imperial Palace all by himself. Oh and apparently it is possible to corrupt an actual Runefang, one of the most powerful artifacts in the entire world, only for it to return to normal once its vile master kicks the bucket. Those swords were forged by Alaric the Mad, the greatest dwarven Runesmith of all time, and they almost had a sentience of their own. They could greatly amplify the skill and power of their wielders, and are considered the absolute pinnacle of dwarven runesmithing. The fact that some washed up, chaosified Elector Count could corrupt one of those blades is just… wrong.

Oh and I need to mention one more thing – the character of Kurt Helborg. I had a feeling that through most of this tome, his very own book, he was kinda siedlined. “Sword of Vengeance”, at times, felt more like a Ludwig Schwarzhelm story, which was kinda strange. Now I like Ludwig, I really do, but I was hoping for a much better description of the Reiksmarshal, who is not only marginalised, but also feels less like a main character. Schwarzhelm does some very impressive stuff in the second part of their shared story, while Kurt mostly lays in bed, then gets his ass kicked by a glorified mutant, only to regain his mojo at the very end of the book. Sure the last few chapters brought back the old Reiksmarshal that we know and love, but I felt it was kinda strange for the author to practically make him a side character in his own story.

However those are all small nitpicks, not really having any major impact on the main story… and the main story is good. It’s actually really friggin’ cool, engaging to the very end, interesting and perfectly showcasing the dangers and lethality of the Warhammer world. Make no mistake, this is no light-hearted pulpy novel, like the “Blackhearts” trilogy. It’s not Gotrek & Felix where you knew exactly that the duo will triumph in the end, and that everything will be fine. “Sword of Vengeance” almost reads like a horror story at times, and its ending is, well, extremely grim and downright depressing. It is also very fitting and does what many people often wished from both Warhammer universes – it advances the timeline, in a way. There are repercusions to the Empire at the finale of this duology. Nothing will ever be the same, especially for Averlanders and their rich province. Chaos always leaves a mark on the world, once mortals accepted it into their hearts and souls. There is no escaping its malefic influence. As the narrator from the excellent “Mark of Chaos” trailer said: “There is no escape from Chaos… it marks us all.”.

This game was waaaay ahead of its time…

I can safely recommend “Sword of Vengeance” to anyone who loves the deep, rich and dark world of Warhammer Fantasy. It is a satisfying conclusion to the Schwarzhelm/Helborg duology, a masterclass in showcasing the horrors of the Four, and a damn good fantasy book. I finished it practically in a single sitting and it made me reach for more Warhammer Fantasy novels. Currently going through the first Thanquol book and I’m absolutely loving it. Hmmm, maybe I should write a praise-review for it? Yes-yes, a very good-splendid idea!

Do yourselves a favor and check out both books. “Swords of the Emperor” (as the duology is officialy known) is a great read. Fun and engaging to the very end. Truly worth a read and a clear proof that Chris Wraight is one of Black Library’s best authors. His blog is worth checking out. You’ll find it here.

I also dedicate this post to Viluir who left a very nice comment under my “Sword of Justice” review, all the way back in June of 2019. Damn, I was still a Blogger man back then. How time flies… Anyway you can find her blog here.

Until nex time!

Xathrodox86

P.S. To those who read “Sword of Vengeance”: did you managed to decipher Chris’s message at the end of the book? I was too dumb to do that. Then again I am notoriously bad at riddles, cyphers and code breaking. I know that the author left a guide on how to do that. It can be found here.