Mysteries of Montreal

As mentioned previously , Games Workshop are re-releasing older books in their back-catalogue. I really enjoyed " Drachenfels ",  so this was a great opportnity to increase my Old World lore, get my oldhammer fix, and read some good stories. As I mentioned in my last post on the subject, there is " Drachenfels " and " Genevieve Undead ", to which I have now added " Beasts in Velvet " and " Silver Nails ". If you only read one of these four books, make it Beasts in Velvet. There is so much going on in this book in terms of plot threads and characters for you to mine for your game, you could get a whole campaign out of it. This book makes the Old World come alive in your mind. Silver Nails is a great follow up, where the author shows us other little vignettes for the characters we have come to know and love, showing their further adventures. There is also pay-off in the final book that explains what was a non-sequitous plot thread in one...

I recently read " Drachenfels ", by Jack Yeovil (aka Kim Newman). I was aware of the existence of this book back when it came out in 1989, but I never read it. I was wary of fiction lines based on games, as I still am. However on reading it now with the release of the 30 year anniversary edition I did enjoy it immensely. One thing that surprised me about was that there is something of the Discworld in this book in that the integration of the undead, and especially Vampires into the cities of the Old World smacks more of Terry Pratchett than it does of my reading of the original WFRP canon from the game books. In the book there is a monastic retreat for vampires, and the undead have their own bar that they frequent in Nuln. There is also a lighthearted tone to much of the novel that also makes me think of Pratchett, even though there is not the same level of humor. Of course WFRP is known for its humour, but in general it comes in a darker more satyrical form in the game m...