Dwarf WOW! This is definitely a great read for those interested in a primer on Dwarf lore in the Warhammer fantasy universe. The artwork and stories are excellent, and the history is fascinating. The only drawback to it that I found was that it was a short read. For the price though I found it well worth it.
Good book, but could have been better! This book was not in any way bad, low quality, lacking in skillful writing, or otherwise not good enough, but it lacked anything to make it really stand out. Where as most of the recent books of this type have been smaller, pocket hardbound editions, this one seemed to me to be made to be put in a stack with the WHFRP books and hauled around. Personally, I prefer the smaller "prop" like books that carry a more authentic feel to them. While they may lack pictures, they make up for it in authenticity and fun. Refering to your Witchunters Handbook during a role-play session is always fun.
That being said, the content here really does do an amazing job of more or less condensing many thousands of years of dwarfish history in what feels to be a scant number of pages. It lacks a central story or narrative to pull the reader through, unlike other similar books. The content could have been fleshed out more with a few lengthier short stories in my opinion, and that would have added considerably to its bulk and entrainment value. The illustrations in the book range from amusing (Dwarven Womenfolk) to downright amazing (The Slayer Vs. Dragon) with none of them being bad or out of place. The number of different art styles thrown onto a page is sometimes disconcerting, as is the layout of the text in places.
Three out of five is all this gets from me, where as the Witchunters Handbook scores an easy five... if you only have the money to spend on one neat gaming prop, I recommend that one unless you are an absolute Dwarf fanatic.
Nice format as usual, but not as good as the previous books of this type published by Black Library. The format of the book is nice. It display beautiful pictures and it is very pleasant for the eye overall, like all the book published by Black Library and Game Workshop in general.
However, I found the content of this book less interesting than the previous publication of this type such as Liber Chaotica and Libris Necris to name only two of them. While it cover the many wars and adversairies the dwarfs had to face in their history, I found each of these stories a bit redundant. In some way, I guess the idea of creating a tale about the dwarf centred on their Grudges was presenting this risk. At first, it was interesting to dive into the Dwarf culture through this aspect. It does succeed, at first, at creating something unique and immersive about the dwarf culture or point of view. Unfortunatly, I don't feel the writers have completely succeed to build each episode as something very different and original in their essence and dynamisme. Then, after the first chapter, the other sections leave an after taste of "déjà vu".
While it is not a total failure, the book present some qualities and interests, but the overall doesn't allow me to give it more than 3 stars.
High quality low quantity Anyone even looking at this book probably likes dwarfs. If you're a fan of Warhammer fantasy dwarf lore this is a great read, with everything from dwarf-style anecdotes to maps to language. My only complaint is that it is short :( ... but I guess you cannot hardcode too much history in an environment intended for player creativity.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
