Skarsnik Short Review

Warning: Contains some spoilers.

Sweet Mork (or was it Gork?) am I late with this one. So anyway, this book is actually an origin story and is one of the more better ones I've read. I admit, I feel only certain characters can get away with an origin story about them and Skarsnik is one of them (compared to some others like Queek Headtaker, who I don't see having an origin story would work). This book does good in giving a little insight into some of the aspects of Goblins and their lives, which I did find very interesting.

The story is from three views and while all three seem to mix with each other, you never feel confused as to who's view it is. The three in question are Kaspar Wollendrop, a man doing extensive research into Goblins; Jeremiah Bickenstadt, former poet but now asylum resident who was once captured by Skarsnik to write the accounts of the Warlord (the reason why Kaspar is there); and finally Skarsnik, who Jeremiah recounts the Warlords own life story as the greenskin saw it.

After a brief introduction to the first character and the location he's in, the story moves onto Jeremiah and his own quick life account before the events that saw his capture and travel the lair of the dreaded Night Goblin Warlord. From here on in the story is mostly about the life story of Skarsnik, from his birthing, his rise and fall, before rising again to become the great Skarsnik. In between the book takes a break in between ether to give Jeremiah a chance to explain his time as a captive, or to Kasper and the reasons why he took up trying to study Goblins (and his fear of them).

I guess my only complaint is that it does seem less interesting when it comes to the Human parts of the book. This is probably a nitpick, but I just couldn't get into the Human characters compared to Skarsnik. While it is his book, the Humans are the connecting parts and if anything, it's the introduction in the book that lets it down. That said, the latter parts are more of a intermission to Skarsnik's own tale and does work a lot better there (and they're shorter compared to the introduction too).

Again, the book does give some nice insight into Goblins, such as a Goblin can find his name changing as he rises through the ranks or the difference between the intelligent Skarsnik compared to his sadistic minions. It also explains the story behind Gobbla and even Gork and Mork make an appearance, showing that no one can seem to tell which God is which. For the most part, I did enjoy this book. I find that any Goblin (particularly Night Goblin) fans will enjoy it. While it might not be to everyone's taste, I feel Warhammer fans might find it a good read as it is a nice explanation into the origins of the character Skarsnik.