(Warhammer)

Black Library, 2004

Florin d'Artaud is a Bretonnian who likes to gamble and live life on the edge. Unfortunately, his luck runs out when a gangster tries to collect his dues. Saved by his long-suffering manservant, Lorenzo, Florin escapes by bluffing his way onto a ship headed for the New World. The land of Lustria--laden with jungles, swamps and other tropical hazards--is a radical place of escape, but with the promise of finding gold, Florin joins the desperate expedition.

The ocean crossing is uneasy, the jungles deadly, and the ancient race of lizard-men are not about to let men so easily enter or leave their territory.

This was a great setup and it is well executed by Earl. Rather than another story set in the Empire, or any of the parallel old European countries found in Warhammer, Earl breaks the mold by sending his hero all the way to an alternate pre-colonization South America. The tale is a real breath of fresh air.

With the motley crew of men and dwarfs from the Old World, Florin finds adventure and trouble and plenty of danger. The various facets of the crew - Bretonnians, Tileans, Kislevites and Dwarfs - simmer near mutiny with discontent and dislike for each other.   The main characters all come across strong - Florin, Lorenzo, Thorgrimm the dwarf leader, and Colonel van Delft the expedition leader. Graznikov, the cowardly sneaky leader of the Kislevites, is somewhat one-dimensional, but that's his role. Another well-done character is Orbrant, the tough religious soldier who prays as hard as he punches - and certainly doesn't trust the expedition's sorcerer.

I especially enjoyed the lizard-men. They are wonderfully menacing and slightly Lovecraftian in their cold logic and understanding of magic through the stars. Unlike most Warhammer villains, these creatures are not worshippers of Chaos gods, or corrupted by the taint of Chaos. They are scientific, alien and all the more menacing for their intelligence and planning. They are more interested in studying their foes and learning their weaknesses than haphazardly attacking. While they have sub-lizards to attack in hordes, the larger lizards - and their shaman leader, Xinthua - are no ravening mob of beasts.

The use of magic is minimal. But when it comes, it comes in large, dangerous ways. The addle-brained wizard Kereveld is as dangerous as he is useful to the expedition. Kereveld's spell of the planets (for lack of a better name - I fear spoilers here) was one of the most unique pieces of spellcasting I've read.  The use of magic here is also somewhat of a departure from other Warhammer tales wherein magic is a corrupting force of Chaos. Despite Orbrant's concern's Kereveld is not an agent of Chaos (with a capital 'C'); he is an agent of chaos - biting off more than he can chew when he works magic he doesn't fully understand.

Dark and gritty, this novel has a definite sword-and-sorcery tone.

The Burning Shore was one of the best of my Warhammer reads to date. It certainly was the most original and intriguing. I look forward to reading more of Earl's adventures of Florin d'Artaud!