“The Ambassador Chronicles”, by Graham McNeill

416 pages, Games Workshop, ISBN-13: 978-1844161997

The Ambassador Chronicles is a two-part omnibus that contains the novels The Ambassador and Ursun’s Teeth, both set in the cold, eastern land of Kislev, full of intrigue, scheming, blackmail and, of course, battles…well, maybe I should just let Mr. McNeill speak for himself:

In the icy Northern Wastes, a mighty army of darkness prepares to sweep southward and lay waste to the civilized lands of the Empire. In this dangerous time, retired Imperial general Kaspar von Velten is sent to Kislev as ambassador to the court of Tsarina Katarin. Unused to the power struggles and politics at court, Kaspar is forced to use all the skills and resources at his command in order to survive in this cold and hostile land. As winter draws in, can Kaspar re-forge the fragile alliance between the Empire and Kislev and prepare its troops for war before the hordes of Chaos are unleashed on the land?

Good stuff, no? What was remarkable about this book is that, unlike other Warhammer books that attempt to detail areas outside of the Empire but which fail to portray the subtle and obvious cultural differences between areas, this book really convinces the reader that they are experiencing life in Kislev. These books deal more with intrigue and politics than some other books by the Black Library (or rather Games Workshop, at the time), and offer a range of excellent and well-developed characters to build the story around. The protagonist is compelling, and the whole book has a gritty realism which I was sucked into. This is amongst my favorite Warhammer books.