Book review: Magestorm

I actually read this a few weeks ago when I was on a business trip. I find that these books are ideal for a trip on a budget airline with all the waiting and needs for distraction built in to the whole thing. This book perhaps more so than others... And that's not a compliment.

This is, sadly, another example of where Warhammer books become these sad instruments, this filthy mixture of advertising and teaching tool. Usually their stock and trade are.... well, stock characters, cliches, mass destruction, and these frighteningly shallow characters who are basically these odd Moebius strips that have a certain personality because of what they are, and are what they are because of their personalities. Explanation? Not needed, but basic and from the "so, what have you come up with for your Mage character then, Carl?"-category that anybody who has ever actually sat down and thrown dice across character sheets will recognisze. Sad, mr. Green. Sad.

Lets run through the plot. It won't take long. A mysterious (Really? Not to me, man.) fire mage is caught up in the fight against Archaon's invading forces as some staunch defenders try to prevent Wolfenburg from falling. Also featured: A warrior priest, a witch hunter, some other wizards... Everyone doing exactly what you might expect. As an aside... Does anybody know of ANY Warhammer book where there is an even remotely cool Jade wizard featured?

Our main character, Gerhart Brennend, has a fiery temper, a noble heart, but his liasion with magic, the very stuff of Chaos does of course set him apart... No surprises here. And we are at it with the German names again, obviously. I have heard that it's considered a "love it or hate it"-thing, but I find it mildly distracting when it gets TOO thick, or when we encounter yet another slew of people with the same handful of German first names. THEN I get annoyed, but normally I can stomach it just fine. I am tolerant. Laid back.

Almost all other characters are worthy of little attention. Some are pretty cool, but with no depth. No twists, no surprises.

Is there nothing good? Oh Green CAN write, and probably does it best when it is about the spellcasting itself. However, I have read other books by the same author, and this one is by far the weakest. If I was not a fan of magic, Chaos, etc, I would have been in a worse mood when I finished it, but it was adequate, and might be a great primer for someone new to Warhammer.

Rating: 2 out 5. Empty calories. You'll be hungry again soon.