Review: The High Elf Duology (Warhammer Novels)

Author: Graham McNeill
Publisher: Games Workshop
Genre: Fantasy Novel
Release date: First release: 2007 Second release: August 30^th, 2011
Price: $8.99 each

I have long been a fan of sophisticated elves. Their culture of magic and beauty has always been captivating to me. In many epic stories, elves play a large role in the fantasy world as a whole, but usually have secondary (yet alluring) parts in the adventure itself. So I set out on a quest to find a good story based mainly on the elven race, not merely one that has them playing secondary roles.  My search turned up few results, but these two books–Defenders of Ulthuan and Sons of Ellyrion–happened to fit the mold very well. Featuring sophisticated elves, instead of the more savage, forest elf variety, the The High Elf Duology is based on the High Elves from the Warhammer MMO.

Storyline

Defenders of Ulthuan tells of the events that lead up to a battle for the homeland of elven-kind in the Warhammer universe. An elf washes ashore onto the land of his birth, but has no memory of the land or even of who he is. Together with a mage and the mage’s daughter, the elf goes on a quest to discover his true identity.

In another part of Ulthuan, Lord Eldain, ruler of a gorgeous elven city, spends his days locked in his tower, wallowing in self-pity. His relationship with his gorgeous wife, Rhianna (who wants nothing more than to experience happiness with her husband) is becoming strenuous. After a convincing argument, Rhianna is able to coerce her husband into leaving his tower and going on a journey with her. Many story-arches intertwine to lead to the climactic events that send Ulthuan into a battle of survival.

The druchii, the Dark Elf enemies of the High Elves, have begun a full-on assault on Ulthuan. A race of hate-mongering men that relish pain, torture, fear, and death have joined the druchii in their attempt to conquer the gorgeous land. Eldain and his long-thought-dead brother, Caelir, join forces with legendary heroes of Ulthuan to save their land from utter destruction and their race from being vanquished.

Battles rage and countless lives are lost as the war for Ulthuan ravages its lands. What bleak hope its people have begins to shimmer on the horizon as the enemy begins to overrun the elven city. Even the heroes of legend appear inadequate to save the nation. In a climactic battle that decides the fate of Ulthuan, the destinies of Eldain, Caelir, and Rhianna unfold.

Content Guide

Violence/Scary Images: The enemies in these books are very barbaric and driven by a desire to harm others (and even themselves). They worship the god of murder in the Warhammer universe, and one of the main antagonists bathes in the blood of innocent people to maintain her youth. The evil people are described as bulbous, putrid, and having flesh hanging from their bones. The descriptions and details of the torture of one elf (and his mercy killing), and the details of certain killings, go over the top at times. While the beautiful imagery is very picturesque and detailed, the dark and perverse imagery is very much so as well.

Language/Crude Humor: There isn’t much foul language in these books. There may be a slight profanity (d**n or h**l) here and there, but harsher words are not used in these novels.

Sexual Content: There are a lot of references to the leader of the human army’s motives being sexual in nature. The author is pretty descriptive in said character’s intentions and how he lusts after the specific body parts of a druchii mage (who is scantily clad and uses her attractive appearance to drive men to do what she wants). There are women who worship an idol, near-naked or otherwise fully nude. The main character fornicates and “performs” for a group of gypsies with a female of the group.

Drug/Alcohol Reference: There is a short segment in the first book (referred to frequently thereafter) where one of the main characters joins a band of gypsies and drinks a hallucinogenic beverage. The effects are described in detail.

Other Negative Content: The protagonists, antagonists, and some other characters participate in ritual incantations; there are multiple times when perverse things happen to people’s souls or the “entirety of their being” that could be cause for alarm.

Presentation

“Prince Tyrion: Defender of Ulthuan” by JSFantasy

Graham McNeill does an excellent job poetically describing the details of the story. The imagery of the diverse characters and scenery comes easily and flows naturally with the reading. The negative aspect of this, though, is that sometimes McNeill spends too much time being descriptive, which can make the reading slow-paced. The chapters are broken into seven or eight segments, and sometimes little to nothing happens within those segments because the majority are used to describe visual or emotional aspects of certain events.

The entirety of the second book is permeated by the war for Ulthuan, but the vast majority of the narrative is dotted with small victories amidst the slaughter of the people. The ending is amazing, but fits into only a small portion of the final chapter. I would have liked to see more of the battle after the turn of the tide.

The story is hard to follow from time-to-time because, throughout the duology, you are introduced to new characters while other characters die off; all the while, there are multiple storylines running simultaneously. The characters are a bit shallow and have practically no development (for example, most of the characters react to situations at the beginning of the first book and situations at the end of the final book, in almost the exact same way). The militaristic elves of Ulthuan are oftentimes found uncharacteristically weeping at both the ruination of wildlife and the ruination of cities, with little differentiation between the two. The few characters that actually stand out are mere side characters.

The High Elf Duology introduces readers to the culture of the elves of Ulthuan in a manner that is both believable and empathetic. You feel the love that the Ellyrions have for their horses, and the reverence that the Sapherians have for their magic, for example. The change of scenery between each location is thoroughly discussed, and the sophisticated elegance of the elven architecture and the use of elven magic is both captivating and powerful. The plot twists keep the books interesting, but extended periods of uneventful pages invoke boredom and tempt readers to put the books down.

Conclusion

These books are great for fans of Tolkien-styled “Rivendell” elves. If you like descriptive books with lots of action (and you are able to look past the darkness of the druchii and their allies), you will likely enjoy The High Elf Duology. Shallow characters are offset well by beautiful scenery, exciting battles, and strong world-building.

You can purchase the books by clicking the images below:

(Note: Defenders of Ulthuan had a limited second run to support the release of its sequel, so prices will change drastically from time-to-time.)

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