Inheritance

Von Carstein #1

by Steven Savile

The first of a trilogy that tells the rise and fall of the most infamous family of vampires in the Warhammer world - the Von Carsteins. When Vlad Von Carstein becomes ruler of the haunted land of Sylvania, a plague of evil is set loose. Can anyone save the Empire from this bloodthirsty family of vampires and their shambling undead armies?

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Novels, Pulp, Dark Fantasy

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 16, 2006

About the author

Steven Savile (born October 12, 1969, in Newcastle, England) is a British fantasy, horror and thriller writer, and editor living in Sala, Sweden.

Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.

Reviews

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first third of this was much more atmospheric and Gothic. Sylvania felt mysterious and full of dark potential. The two pov characters--two Witch Hunters--were intriguing: haunted by the loss of their family, driven by vengeance, but also wracked with longing for their lost ordinary lives. It was surprising when the novel shifted gears at about the 33% mark. It became about Vlad von Carnstein consolidating his army and marching on the Empire, specifically the capital Altdorf. The first third was much better than the rest. The middle third was a bit rough, almost like sketches of scenes rather than a proceeding and cohesive story. The last third was more about the Seige of Altdorf by the undead. This was instense, epic even, but eventually I became numb to all the Jerru Bruckheimer action. The last few chapters were quite strange; too many new characters were introduced. It is very hard to care at all about a character when they show up near the novel's conclusion (when I have 20 pages left, I'm usually emotionally ready to move on to something new). I'm a Warhammer Fantasy fan, so this novel worked for me, and I'll probably read the next two books in this trilogy, but I'm in no rush. I wish the Gothic atmosphere was sustained throughout in a more intentional way. Sylvania, the von Carstein's, the Vampire Counts: they are such cool characters. To conclude: this started great but it eventually just became a action-oriented fantasy novel (which is cool, but is not Vampire-focused Gothic horror).

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Novelizando trasfondo.-

Género. Narrativa fantástica.

Lo que nos cuenta. Al lecho de muerte del conde Otto van Drak de Sylvania llega el misterioso Vlad von Carstein que, de golpe, se hace con el control del castillo Drakenhof, se casa con la hija del conde, Isabella, y comienza a expandir su poder por la región mediante habilidades oscuras. Primer libro de la Trilogía de von Carstein: Las guerras de los vampiros.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just readed this book. And it was great. It will enrich not only the fans of warhammer but also the fans of vampires. If you play with the Vampire Count army I think you will liked it. It won't tell you anything you don't know (About the army) but It will give some depht and history to your army. I think you will like it.

Good Things : The characters and the plot itself.
Things to improve in the next books: I think Mr. Savile would do better to take some depht to the vampires and take more time developing it's history. (well this will be fruitless even if he reads it since the second book it's already written lol)

Minor Spoillers Ahead.. Jump ahead

Don't take me wrong. The characters are great... We've got, of course, Vlad von Carstein. We read about it's rise and grow of his empire. How he come to be the ruler of Sylvania and finally the strike on the empire. Something on the story I didn't like. When the thief Felix Mann stole the ring that gave immortality to the Count. It was too damn easy. Then Vlad outburst and strike recklessly the empire fortress and died. It was too quick. Bah.. It was the only thing I didn't like.

Minor Spoillers Ended

Well we've got a lot of characters beside the Vlad and Isabella von Carstein. Inbetween the chapters of Vlad we've the history of these minor characters. We've got Jon Skellan and Stefan Fischer the witch-hunters, Ganz the human chancellor of Vlad. Then we've got Krueger a knight of White Wolf and the thief Felix Mann. And of course other minor characters that appear in some chapters.


In the end it is a great book but it does not finish here. It's just sad that the writer quit working for Black Library. He really knew how to made the Vampires "live".

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars because it felt callow. Generally, when through most of a book I'm more concerned with the style of writing than paying attention to the storytelling, something is wrong.

The story progresses in a straight line, telling the story of Vlad von Carstein's rise and fall in a way that shows good plotting. The style, too, is overall talented and well chose. The point of view is mostly that of his antagonists, though in rare moments we get to experience Vlad more directly. The beginning was by far the best part of the book.

On the other hand, early during the first arc, characters possessed new information out of nowhere. Scenes were often described twice and other pieces of telling appear duplicated. During actions, convenient details appear exactly when they are needed without buildup or foreshadowing. Considering all these impressions, it feels like reading a first draft, cover to cover, where a raw tale this good would deserve a proper revision.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I have really been looking forward to reading this series, and I was not disappointed! Now, the novel wasn’t perfect, but it was still a hell of an exciting read!
It has some pacing issues, and probably due to its age it had some character issue that I personally found to really take away from how great this novel was. That said, it was still a blast.
The prologue was absolutely brilliant, with the crowning of Vlad von Carstein as the new count of Sylvania and his first time meeting his future wife Isabella. It really sets the tone for the novel, and paints Vlad as the sort of mysterious/dangerous character he is, without having to resort to (much*) violence. *Much being very relative in this case!
Now after the prologue annoys me a little bit, as we skip about 200 years to follow some unofficial witch hunters on a hunt through Sylvania. This part of the story was definitely exciting, and it was awesome to see the province through the eyes of an outsider. Sylvania has always interested me in terms of actual landscape and towns, and while Sylvania isn’t really conventionally beautiful, it definitely has a haunted beauty to it that I find enchanting, especially here in this novel. While this part of the novel was definitely fun to read, it really dragged for me in some places, as I was much more interested in the Vampire Counts and as much fun as following our gallivanting witch hunters on the quest was, it didn’t really live up to the rest of the novel that focused on the Von Carsteins. That said, the climax of that story arc was phenomenal. The visceral bloodshed and ironic twists really followed the established tone of the novel exceptionally well.
The actual Vampire Wars aspect of the novel was absolutely spectacular. It really felt like what I wanted out of the novel, and as an undying fan of the undead, seeing the world of the living crushed beneath the heel of our glorious undead masters was amazing. The action throughout the Vampire Wars was superb, the story thrashing just as violently through the twists and turns all the way to the heart of the Empire. The whole setting of the siege, rather than the actual battle itself was a thrill to read. The use of terror tactics and the cruelty of the Vampires was exceptional.
Well, really the novel was a blast. All throughout Vlad von Carstein was the star of the show, and the author did an amazing job with him and his family. You really got the feeling that Vlad and his family had the character and charisma to truly command the page. Definitely one of my favourite reads in the Old World thus far, and I can’t wait to continue my journey through it!

[Kris43 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Warhammer Fantasy universe. Its a typical fantasy universe, but darker than Tolkien's. Among other things, its based upon Michael Moorcock's work. This was my first contact with Warkammer and i like its world.

The good:
Its a story about how one of its fractions, Von Carstein vampires where created. All in all its a satisfying mix of epic and dark fantasy with healthy dose of horror. The book is fun to read and it has a good pacing.

The bad:
There is no complexity here. For a dark fantasy world i would expect some. The vampires here are evil and their actions are portrayed as evil. That on its self is not a bad thing, i wouldn't want them to be good, gods forbid:) But there are no shades of gray. They are just plain evil monsters with nothing much else to them. And off course, the guys that are fighting against them are the good guys...How boring!

And for a Von Carstein book i expected more about them. The whole book, you mostly see them through
the eyes of people who are fighting against them. I was waiting for focus to shift to vampires, so i can finally read about them. It never really did. True protagonists of this story are witch hunters. Here the vampires are just another dumb monster to kill. I wish i knew that before i started reading.

[Sydnie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Wow- Once you get into this book its hard to get back out- It immediately sucks you in with the detail and excitement. Steven Savile really did well on this one. And it is a major thumbs up due to the pristine correctness of what a vampire is and should be. The personalities of Count Von Carstien, his Wife, and Posner were so proper for the vampire Race. It didnt help much that the Count was so sexy as well -Melts-

[Eric Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this a 3.5.

There are awesome things about this book and I did enjoy reading it I just never ended up feeling a connection with any one character. Maybe because most of them died so quickly. I did enjoy some of them and all of them were well written in my opinion with excellent use of their time in the spotlight so to speak. One or two were very standout and even if I didn't have time to feel much for them they were still interesting and added with to the depth of scope of what was going on.
The best part for me was a combination of the descriptions of the battles against the undead and the tactics of Von Carstein's army. Nothing else I have read quite gets the whole feel of an army of the dead right before this. The sheet relentlessness of the zombie and skeleton horde, the unstoppable exhausting tide of them that the living cannot stand against, watching the soldier who was just cut down by rusty weapons and dirty claws climb back jerkily to un-life to turn against their allies from moments before, the feasting of the ghouls and other carrion eaters on the bodies of the recently dead before they rise again, the sheer hopelessness when even after holding back the physical dead the wraiths and unquiet spirits tear through the defenders freezing them with cold and terror before devouring their souls from within... its how an army of the undead should feel in my opinion and it is captured amazingly well here.
A solid read that covers a good span of time in the history of the Warhammer fantasy world. Looking forward to book two.

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah Vampires, how pop culture has thoroughly wrecked you, emasculated you, and pimped you out for the twisted erotic vibes of a lost generation to addled to see what you really are.
One of the things I adore about the Warhammer universe (at least the fiction published up till a year or so ago) was the uncompromising nature of evil. If something was evil, in Warhammer, it was really damned evil. In the world of Warhammer Fantasy, Vampires are what they always were and should be: pure evil.
Not the modern, effeminate shades of soft porn that most modern 'vampires' have been twisted into, Warhammer Fantasy Vampires are demonic beasts who see human beings as little more than protein sources, and who have an unquenchable thirst for secular power and military conquest. Though they can, and mostly do, take human form, and are invariably handsome or gorgeous, suave, masculine or ladylike, sophisticated and incredibly well educated, they are also entirely convinced of their superiority as a species.
They are the ultimate racists.
Inheritance is the first book in a trilogy devoted to the Von Carstein family of Vampires, family of Vampire Counts who rule the province of Sylvania from their capital of Drakenhof, and who yearn to destroy the Empire and tear down the rule of the followers of Sigmar.
Though this book started slow, with a slow burn build to it's great reveal nearly a third of the way in, it was done quite well. The author did a bang up job of building the tension, and otherworldly darkness of Sylvania, before unleashing the armies of undead, wraiths, ghouls and vampires on the Empire. Vlad von Carstein was mostly well written, as was his insane wife Isabella, though neither made enough appearances in the book for in depth character development.
At times the books pacing was an issue, epic military contests immediately followed by a side story or quest that was often akin to throwing the engine of the story in reverse speaks either to Mr. Saville's age as a writer, or a lack of quality editing.
Regardless the book was enjoyable and is a very good start to what will hopefully be a great series.
Black Library has recently reprinted these as an omnibus in their Warhammer Chronicles line of reprints and repackaging efforts, so this is again available. (Which is good, my used copies are a bit worn...)
3 and a half stars, though I rounded up to spark interest in a story that tells Vampires as they really are.
Good story with a great blend of horror, dark fantasy, and epic military action.

[Michael Da Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn't quite what I expected, but then again, I wasn't really sure what I expected.

Steven had a difficult task... the Vampire Wars last decades, have three major antagonists, and are relatively vague in the Warhammer background. The main players are also evil as heck, inhuman, and certainly hard to empathize with.

It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but he manages to pull it off surprisingly well. I'm not sure if I was just really enjoying the book, or whether it's the pacing, but I feel like I absolutely flew through this one.

Steven manages to tell the story by flying between multiple POV characters, several of them for only a chapter or two. Even though this book is ostensibly about Vlad Von Carstein, we don't see the entire book from his perspective. We mostly see it from the perspective of those who are around or against him.
In a way, this was genius. It allows for huge leaps of time and space, and is able to hit all the major beats Warhammer fans will be familiar with.

I also feel like he understands what makes Warhammer vampires, vampires. They are not wish-fulfilment characters. They are evil, bestial, soulless creatures driven entirely by hunger, and completely insane. I feel like he was able to clothe these monsters in just the right amount of 'humanity' to make them feel 'right', and I look forward to seeing what comes next in the series.

The biggest downside, for me, was that this book kind of 'spoils' the background, in a way. There are lots of "What Ifs" in the lore, but the book establishes beyond a doubt that some scenarios hinted at are true. This was part of what turned me off of the Horus Heresy books, as well. It's not a huge deal, but part of the excitement at seeing the story played out was tempered for me by the loss of that mystery.

Overall, a well done tale of some of the Warhammer universe's most interesting villains, and it manages to do so without making them gimmicks, or outstaying their welcome.

[Luisartbook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nos llevan a un mundo cruel y despiadado, donde la maldad tiene muchísima ventajas, los humanos son corrompidos de sus creencias y la sed de venganza es normal.

Solo hablaré del 1er libro. La historia no se centra en un solo personaje, mientras vas avanzando en los capítulos, algunos personajes cierran su ciclo, otros nacen y así están. En Sylvania, el conde Otto van Drak se enferma, mientras que el doctor y el sacerdote hacen todo lo posible, aparece un invitado especial, Vlad con Carstein, quien se casa de inmediato con la única hija de Otto y se vuelve conde después de la muerte de Van Drak. Resulta que Vlad es un vampiro y tanto el doctor como el sacerdote logran salir con vida del castillo.

Con el paso de los años, Stefan Fischer y Jon Skekall, dos amigos que perdieron a sus esposas por culpa de algunos vampiros, toman venganzan, matando uno por uno hasta que buscan al último vampiro vivo, Sebastián Aigner. Vlad logró hacer su ejército de vampiros, y de la nada ya estaba reviviendo a los muertos y yo: WTF! todo se fue a la shit. Debo de admitir que amé a estos personajes, creo que su forma de pensar y de esa sed de venganza me llamó la atención, sobre todo Jon, fue un personaje que su pasado lo perseguía.

El libro no es para nada bonito, tiene miles de partes crudas y de maldad, hay mucho contenido explícito con las matanzas, sangre por todos lados. Aquí no hay final feliz, y todo el trascurso estaba sorprendida de los giros que daban. Hubo partes que se me hicieron pesadas, pero que por algún motivo eran necesario. Lo que sí, el escritor es muy detallistas y la mayoría de los capitulos son largos.

Solo diré: Felix Mann, eres mi ídolo, te amo. Es uno de los tantos personajes, pero este se la comió, un simple ladrón hizo mucho, a pesar de que tuvo ayuda, desató la furia de Vlad a más no poder.

[NerdyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a warhammer book this was a fun read with good vampire action. As a story, however, it was a bit if a let down. SPOILERS: We're introduced to main characters with a good background in the beginning of the book only for them to die a third of the way in and then the rest of the book plays out like a textbook with dialogue throughout. Any semblance of a plot with characters is gone and replaced with a new character defending their city every chapter. I'm not sure why the author chose this. If anything Von Carstein deserved his own trilogy and not simply the first book in one, hence this book taking place over 50 years and causing the lack of main characters or any over-arching story. I mean this book was supposed to be about Von Carstein and after reading it I couldn't tell you really anything about the vampire except he had fangs.

[Carlos Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

La novela la verdad es que ha parecido irregular, con cosas que me han encantado y otras que no tanto. El personaje de Vlad esta bien representado, aunque hecho de menos más desarrollo de él y de Isabella, y de su relación ya puestos. El resto de personajes no tienen un gran desarrollo, pero son carismáticos y se mantienen en lo mucho o poco que duran. Las escenas de acción son un poco demasiadas, pero estan narradas de una manera bestial. De verdad vais a asentir a los zombies arrancando carne mientras los desesperados luchan como pueden contra esas incansables hordas. Tanto el principio como el final me han parecido un poco demasiado largos, como que daban demasiadas vueltas, pero tampoco nada grave. La recomiendo, sobretodo a fans de Warhammer Fantasy.

[Kevin Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its Average Pulp.
Also Sword and Sorcery.
The entire genre is identified by a speedy story, overly descriptive on objects, and flashy descriptive fight scenes. plot doesn't have to be thin, but it's acceptable.

There are about 4 fight scenes in this book, one is a fantastic example of SnS, the two others are rather middling, and one is outright bad. There's some pacing issues that make some sections seem overly rushed.

I suspect this was a result of executive mandates on plot because there is also a bit of a large leap in the story. As soon as everything is all setup for the plot really get rolling, Fast forward decades so we can skip to the end.

In the end enjoyable, not great.

[Lanfear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro bastante divertido pero a la vez muy mediocre, con todo lo que intenta abarcar debería ser mucho más épico, más ordenado y saber que detalles merecen contarse y cuales no. Vlad Von Carstein no es un mal protagonista, pero es un torpe villano, no tengo la sensación de poder imaginarmelo tal y como están descritas sus escenas. Además me decepciona que continuamente pierda contra meros mortales en todos los momentos claves de la guerra. Cualquiera es capaz de matarlo.
Lo mejor es el renacer de Isabella y el encuentro de Von Carstein con el caos, es la mejor parte.

[Adam Short · Rating 2 out of 5]

( Spoilers )I was so excited to finally read this, why I enjoyed the book the death of the main character and the repeated switching of the focus and deaths of main characters annoyed me quite a lot and I found it made the titular Vlad von Carstein look quite weak and not as much of a threat as he should have. the start up to the death of the main characters the story starts with is where it was good and got worse after in my opinion

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que es el primer libro de vampiros que me leo alejado de novela juvenil. Por su forma de contar las cosas me recuerda mucho a un juego de rol totalmente, poca descripción a los entornos y no se alarga en los pensamientos de los personajes, solamente lo justo para comprender, es decir, la acción es lo que predomina, lo que hace que este libro de fantasía medieval sea bastante entretenido y ameno.

[Michael Haase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how you do vampires right. Vicious, cunning, refined, macabre. Human beings, good people maybe, horribly transformed into something abominable. A sickness of the body and the mind. Sophisticated and feral.

At the center of the novel is Vlad von Carstein, a powerful and imposing figure, even more so than Dracula. Unlike Dracula, he doesn't need to hide or disguise himself; isn't always running in fear of humans. Vlad von Carstein is fearsome, and with this book you get a real sense of the scale of fear and destruction an undead horde would bring on humanity. You get to see the depth of darkness and depravity that envelop the creatures of the night, and you get to see the horrors of the undead from a human perspective. You get to witness the shock and disgust of ordinary people at the sight of gruesome atrocities.

At it's heart, Inheritance is both a grim fantasy story about the legion of the undead, as well as a philosophical exploration into the meaning of good and evil, life and death. Can people be good if they've done wicked things? Can people have a good and a bad side? If so, what does that make them in the end? What happens to us when we die?

[Kathryn Satterfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vlad von Carstein lore is some of my favorite in the Old World, and I loved seeing it brought to life… but this was poorly written to the point of distraction. Editing was clearly not a phase in Black Library’s publishing process. As for content, many of the focal points of the story were of people affected by Vlad’s armies, and we got about two chapters of actual Vlad or Vlad and Isabella storytelling. It was quite disappointing. This could have been done much better.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

The accounts of Vlad Von Cartsein's rise and fall in the Old World from the accounts of a pair of Witch Hunters out for revenge, a Knight-Master/Commander of the White Wolves, a master thief, and Head Warrior Priest.

It is a good read if you are interested in the history of the Vampire Counts from Warhammer setting. Not more, not less.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is such an intense read. I don't completely agree with the philosophy many of these characters hold true to but, to Savile's credit (and maybe Warhammer's credit too), they act in a consistent manner according to their own view and the logic of the world plays out very nicely. I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

[Aaro Huttunen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book, this was my introduction to Warhammer books and it hooked me straight. This book has the best battles, characters and description of the world out of the trilogy. This is must read for any Warhammer fan, and a great recomendation for anyone interested in Vampires, gruesome battles or thrilling tales of the eternal struggle between good and evil!

[Stefan Koepeknie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The events leading to the 1st Vampire Wars vs the undead armies of Vlad Von Carstein. Includes the final epic stand on the walls of Altdorf led by Wilhelm the 3d- Grand Theogonist of the Cult of Sigmar.

[Scott Lines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helps to know the lore or be familiar with warhammer a bit.

[Emre Gülen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, just amazing.

[Barthel Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made spoilerfree book review on youtube (2.5 min):
https://youtu.be/02FW1lXX01w

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good introduction to the trilogy nicely paced, kept you intrigued through out

[John Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose was wanting but the story was decent enough to make me want to finish.

[Thom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pretty excellent - it’s dark, gothic, and miserable in exactly the way that the Warhammer books should be. Definitely one worth reading.

[Joseph Phillipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean it's definitely not the greatest work of fiction ever written, but it was an easy read and a bit of fun