Bloody Books Review - WARQUEEN by DARIUS HINKS

Darius Hinks takes a running jump into the ways of Chaos in "Warqueen". Set in the barren plains of Aqshy, we follow Vedra, Warqueen of a great host of Darkoath Wartribes named The Untamed as the skirmish and push back against the Khornate forces that have staked a claim in the Arad Plains. On the eve of the final drive to take back The Unclaimed's lands, Vedra is betrayed, which begins a series of events that lead her into a war eternal in the name of Tzeentch

Vedra is a fantastic character, a follower of Tzeentch only for the power on offer and with little care to any form of faith or praise. We see the superstitious ritual that the Cheiftains below her display, and that she cares for little other than the warmaking and bloodshed. It's surprising that she battles against Khorne rather than with, as she is capable of taking on any man, beast or Deamon that stands before her. Hinks manages to create tension via Vedra's family, as well as her concerns of her own worth as obstacles to pit herself against. 

It's a quick, pacy read that keeps everything moving. The ritualistic beginnings and political movements of the opening chapters are a dream of a sequence, though the big battle does slow to something of a crawl. Thankfully, events take hold and what seems to be a generic action novel opens it;s borders to become something far more interesting.  Every battle from this point forth is one of physical prowess and psychological strength as Vedra's faith is tested to the breaking point

As you’d imagine it’s kept nice and pacy, with short chapters helping keep the plot rattling along. It starts off well, with vivid Tzeentchian rituals and some interesting conflict between Vedra and her chieftains, but gets a little bogged down with a big battle fairly soon; thankfully, while the fighting gets a bit stale at times, it’s never long before events move on and things freshen up. For a time it appears to be turning into a fairly generic all-action story, but it gradually develops into something rather more interesting – there’s still lots of fighting, but with an unusual complexion as Vedra is challenged both physically and psychologically and has her faith tested along the way.  It's something of a shame that this so far is the most we've had of exploring the Darkoath Tribes, as everything hinted at is wonderful, and there definitely is  a lot to be mined.  A lot of that early promise drops very quickly, due to the lack of space in the page count. That restriction aside, it's a  pacey read with some great pulp-level characters and is well worth a read.