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  • Drachenfels

  • Warhammer Horror
  • By: Kim Newman
  • Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
  • Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (404 ratings)

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Drachenfels

By: Kim Newman
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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Summary

A Warhammer Horror novel.

Many years ago, the Great Enchanter Drachenfels was defeated by brave adventurers. Now, playwright Detlef Sierck plans a production showing these events - at the site of the necromancer's death. But the dead do not rest easy.

It's the original Warhammer Horror novel. Hailing from the late 1980s, it depicts an early version of the Warhammer world and is packed with spine-chilling moments and memorable characters - there's a reason it's still a dearly loved title 30 years after its original release!

Detlef Sierck, the self-proclaimed greatest playwright in the world, has declared that his next production will be a re-creation of the end of the Great Enchanter Drachenfels - to be staged at the very site of his death, the Fortress of Drachenfels itself. But the castle's dark walls still hide a terrible secret which may make the opening night an evening to remember!

A classic Warhammer novel - 30 years old this year - returns in a brand-new edition under the Warhammer Horror imprint.

It includes a new introduction by the author, the horror legend Kim Newman, whose real name is appearing on the cover for the very first time. Written by Kim Newman, writing as Jack Yeovil.

Narrated by Antonia Beamish.

©2019 Games Workshop Limited (P)2019 Games Workshop Limited
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What listeners say about Drachenfels

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Highly enjoyable, excellent narrator.

The story was fine, as you'd expect to come from Warhammer Horror, gruesome details and daemonic powers, especially given Drachenfels nature.

Loved the narrator and her voice acting, however I felt her dwarf voices were quite the ways off though. Not nearly as hardy enough or Northern enough.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good book. Must listen to.

Very clever in many ways and even those who are not fans of warhammer can enjoy this fantasy novel.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great horror

Full of dread and fun twists. Narrator did a good job selling it as well.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic WFB Old World Horror

A fantastic horror story that builds to a crescendo, great characters, and I enjoyed the audio version just as much as having read the novel around three times since it's release.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic fantasy

It cought me off guard, with its amazing tale. I found myself guessing and listening. Only to be wrong and awe struck

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Stop Looking Here & Buy It

Ruddy marvellous!

Splendid story, very well performed and with a pleasing motley crew of characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!

Best Ever Vampire Adventure by Far. Beautifully/Told/By/AntoniaBeamish. First/Read/This/Years/Ago... Still /Get/Chills/Over/The/17th/Wagon. Thank You Kim Newman.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An introduction to an interesting character

Not a typical how done it but not far off. I like the way vampires are portrayed in the world that was. Just another species of human that have the right to live as much as any other abhuman. Genevieve is a special character and I look forward to her other books

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable, action/mystery/horror

The only con is that the book is oriented somewhere between mystery and horror but does not quite fall in any category. The plot is good, the acting is also fine and for any Warhammer fun it is a must read

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Orson Welles & Vampire Nun Battle Dracula Hitler

Drachenfels dates from the post-quirky 89-91 period of Games Workshop when they were first trying to coalesce their hokey fantasy properties into a coherent shared world. They'd hit upon a great vibe - Gothic Low Fantasy with added Cosmic Horror - and hired a bunch of experienced novelists to tie all the lore together and develop it. Naturally they all went with the game with the strongest story ideas, WHFRP, which GW would jettison entirely shortly afterwards in favour of developing the world via WHFB 4th edition. This is why in this novel goblins work in human towns, vampires live openly among humans, and Emperor Karl-Franz is a thoughtful, considerate statesman as opposed to a Gryphon-mounted one man slaughterhouse. We're cultivating an atmosphere of subtle dread, in other words, as opposed to Tolkienesque shiny-speared mass battles.

Drachenfels is what would nowadays be pitched as a Young Adult book, although the editors would probably ask for Mr Newman to tone it down a bit since the baby-murdering, eyeball-munching serial killer and the mutant who bites his own heart in half with the set of teeth inside his chest cavity might prevent the movie adaptation from getting a 12A, and that's before we get to all the lowkey references to 40s film noir set personnel.

Plot: Gothic German Orson Welles gets bailed out of prison to dramatise the 25th anniversary of Prince Handsome's defeat of Satan, but his script advisors get picked off one by one by a supernatural Hannibal Lecter. A classic tale, thrillingly told.

Subplot: French vampire nun seeks closure on an old relationship. Genevieve is supposedly credited for getting girls into Warhammer but I've yet to see one tbqh.

Twist: Prince Handsome's hiding a dark secret in his well-filled tights.

Storywise, from beat to beat Drachenfels doesn't ever turn out quite as you expect. It's a story about staging a play, with a murder mystery and fantasy quest nested inside it. It's witty, fast-moving and fun, the gore is turned up to 11, and it openly takes the piss out of its intended audience - two people play with lead soldiers in this book; one's a child and the other is a senile old man.

Performance - Antonia Beamish's narration is very good but her voices are inappropriate and I wish she'd read it straight rather than trying to act it out. Still it's not so jarring that it spoils the book.

Give this one to your kids when they're finished Hunger Games or whatever, and watch the light gradually go out of their eyes as they discover the current Warhammer Library and get bored.

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6 people found this helpful