‘Forged by Chaos’ – C.L. Werner (Black Library)

It’s getting closer and closer to Christmas (and I’ve still got so much to do...) and I’m finding myself winding down in preparation for the holidays and New Year. I think this is why I’m feeling a little burnt out on the reading front... Yesterday I went for something I wouldn’t normally read, in order to combat this, and once I finished ‘The Toymaker’ I figured that another way to beat the slump would be to have a crack at something I knew that I’d enjoy; something a little lighter that perhaps wouldn’t require too much effort to really get into it.
The last book I read by C.L. Werner, ‘Blood for the Blood God’, wasn’t without its faults but was still very much a fun read that wasn’t too demanding. With this in mind I figured that I couldn’t go too far wrong with Werner’s latest, ‘Forged by Chaos’. As it turned out, I pretty much got what I was expecting...

When they’re not fighting amongst themselves, the forces of the Ruinous Powers seek to spread their influence out of the Chaos Wastes and into the lands of the Old World. The Raven Host is poised to march on the Empire but needs to unleash the power of the Winds of Chaos if victory is to be certain. This means defying the malignant might of the Bastion Stair, portal to the realm of the Blood God Khorne, as well as fighting off the attentions of treacherous Dark Elves, Black Orcs and an Imperial Army desperate to deny Chaos Cultists any more power than they already have. With so many people after the same thing only one thing is certain, The Blood God will have blood in abundance...

As with ‘Blood for the Blood God’, ‘Forged in Chaos’ is a blood fuelled orgy of death and destruction that rages across the Chaos Wastes to a suitably apocalyptic conclusion that promises good things for a sequel if one was to come. Character development is light to the point of non-existence though. In a way, I’d say that this is fair enough. Threats to life and limb are pretty much constant and demand a more physical response than mere introspection! It also keeps the plot barrelling along at a pace that demands you keep following it. You’ll pretty much feel every sword stroke while you’re reading as well. Werner knows that his readers are after liberal doses of gore and is only too willing to oblige...

It would have been nice though to find out a little bit more about the characters that we are journeying with (other than their single minded obsession with the prize to be gained). While there is intrigue between, and within, each of the rival groups it all seems a little one dimensional. There is nothing else to these people other than their mission or quest and you just know that there is more to them than that; it’s frustrating then when you don’t see it...

I can’t remember who said it originally but I’ll say it here, the more things change the more they stay the same... This was a feeling that I definitely got from reading ‘Forged in Chaos’. The Chaos Wastes are in a constant state of flux but I couldn’t help feeling that I’d seen it all before. The landscape changes and is full of lethal new dangers.... Then the landscape changes and is full of lethal new dangers... The background may change but it’s the same thing underneath.
Now I could be charitable and suggest that this a wry commentary on the contradictory nature of Chaos but I don’t think it is. If you’re going to bring the action to the forefront then it will be at the expense of other elements of the book...

What can’t be denied though is the power behind Werner’s writing and this is what kept me reading. I’ve already said that you can feel every sword stroke and axe bite; while the setting might be repetitive it’s also vividly drawn in such a way that you can almost feel it. This is a book where, despite some misgivings, I really found myself getting engrossed in the story. There may not have been much doubt over the ending but it was getting there that was the fun part!

As was the case with its predecessor. ‘Forged in Chaos’ is by no means a challenging read but is very much a book that you’ll have a lot of fun with if you’re looking for a knockabout ‘hack and slash’ read for a lazy afternoon...

Seven and a Half out of Ten