Fantasy is at its best when there’s a few rough edges on things, and Nathan Long’s aptly-named Blackhearts trilogy is a perfect example. With a cast of unrepentant, yet sympathetic, villains and a series of nightmare scenarios full of twists, turns and rampant episodes of backstabbing for fun and profit, Long creates a thoroughly engaging storyline that more than fills the three books (and two short stories) that comprise this omnibus.
In his introduction, Long alludes to the obvious similarities between his trilogy and The Dirty Dozen-condemned military prisoners offered a nebulous pardon in return for performing suicide missions-but those similarities are only skin deep. The diverse characters who make up the titular ‘Blackhearts’ are unique individuals, and their conflicting personalities and quirks make for some fun (and occasionally tragic) character interaction in between the requisite pulse-pounding action sequences.
As with most of the Black Library’s tie-in output, action is paramount (plot over plod), but Long manages the not-so-easy trick of making the reader care about these largely disposable characters with only a limited amount of space to work with. Too, his deft use of several ongoing subplots help to fully flesh out the thoroughly unpleasant world his characters inhabit.
And it’s a world that is familiar to any aficionado of Games Workshop’s output, but Long doesn’t stint on the backdrop as some writers might be tempted to. Instead he incorporates as much of the “local color” as possible into things in order to firmly anchor his contribution into the greater meta-story-arc of the Warhammer Fantasy Universe. Which is no bad thing, because as fantasy universes go, it’s an interesting one.
All in all, The Blackhearts Omnibus is worth the ten bucks (three books for ten bucks ain’t bad) and I recommend it to any fan of dark fantasy.[yahooquestion]warhammer[/yahooquestion]
Ashling's Warhammer Leveling Guide was not just thrown together by some amateurs like so many other Warhammer guides out there. This guide was created by a team of three hardcore closed beta testers. Ashling's Warhammer guide has the most complete, up to date information on Warhammer Online available.
Other Warhammer guides will have you believe they have the best guide because it was not written during closed beta. They make this claim only a couple days after the game was released. So they wrote an entire guide on how to level up in Warhammer Online in a day or two? I find that hard to believe. Ashling's Warhammer guide was written during closed beta and continues to be updated with each warhammer and every change to the game. Since the public release of Warhammer Online, the leveling guide has been completely updated and is current with the live game.
Before using Ashling's Warhammer help guide, I bought another guide from one of the big name authors. It consisted of some maps and a list of quests. There was no information on where to go or what to do with the quests. It really wasn't anything more than I had already from the game. This is completely opposite of Ashling's strategy guide. The Warhammer quest guide and maps are very detailed. This saves me countless hours of playing time. I like to logon and get things done. Not wander aimlessly around trying to figure things out. I don't have that kind of time to waste.
Some advantages to owning this guide are as follows:
· Complete step-by-step Warhammer quest guide including coordinates
· Leveling guide covers solo, grouping, and PvP
· Not a bunch of rehashed forum posts
· Free updates every time the guide is changed
Only disadvantage:
Several parts of the guide are listed as "Under Development" and "Coming Soon". It's disappointing not to have those right away.
If you are considering getting help from a Warhammer leveling guide, be careful of all the junk guides out there. Unfortunately, there are plenty of them. Try Ashling's Warhammer leveling guide and you won't be sorry.
