Beasts in Velvet cover art

Beasts in Velvet

Warhammer Horror

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Beasts in Velvet

By: Kim Newman
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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About this listen

A Warhammer Horror novel

On the mean streets of Altdorf, Guard Captain 'Filthy Harald' Kleindeist investigates a series of gruesome murders that take him into the upper echelons of Imperial society and expose horrors beyond imagining.

Listen to it because

It's a classic Warhammer murder mystery that delves into the darkness behind the Imperial aristocracy as well as the horrors to be found in the poorest districts of Altdorf.

The story

In the Imperial capital of Altdorf, a killer stalks the streets. Nicknamed 'The Beast' by those who have seen the remains of his victims, all evidence points to the haughty members of the Imperial court, the wealthy and privileged who are a law unto themselves.

Written by Kim Newman. Narrated by Antonia Beamish.

©2020 Games Workshop Limited (P)2020 Games Workshop Limited Crime Dark Fantasy Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction Scary Murder Mythology

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All stars
Most relevant
It was a bit dark for my taste and sometimes it was difficult to understand what was going on because there were so many characters, but it all made sense by the end of the book which left me absolutely flabbergasted! Therefore, I might listen to the second book in the series just to find out what will happen to some of the characters.

Interesting story

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In this book, we enjoy a taste of conflict between socio-economic classes, of gritty and mature themes, and a curiosity to fuel one's drive to finish the story. I must make clear that Genevieve is more of a cameo in this novel, than an impactful character to this story. This story also takes place "before" the events of the preceeding novel.

A marvellous mystery

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It's a bit slow to start with but stick with it, you won't be disappointed!

Dark, disturbing, gory and incredibly thrilling.

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I’ve given this book 4’s across the board but I will cover that later.

This story is a lot more Grim Dark than anything I’ve read or listened too in a fair while from Black Library. It settles the story into a more adult and believable / realistic version of the Warhammer fantasy world in a way that mirrors our own world in the most terrible of ways but with a fantasy flair.

Some people’s sensibilities may be upset as there is causal murder, strong suggestions of child abuse / sexual abuse, rape, murder of women “but nobody cares about men being killed but that’s another topic for another day”.
Misogynistic behaviour and various other deplorable behaviours and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.

The author handles the dark subjects and tone without apologising or flinching away, there is no tones of modern wokeism just a true reflection of the Warhammer world would truly be like, full of complex characters with complex motivations.

Now the reason for the 4’s across the board is the performance was pretty good but at parts it blurred together for me and lost my attention.

The story was excellent in most ways as it was simple but with elements of complexity but at parts a little convoluted and some parts could have been cut out or expanded.
Anyway, this is very much worth a credit and I’ll personally be looking for more books the author has in their collection.

Reason for the 4 stars is I sometimes got confused by

Not what I expected

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Warhammer fantasy at one of its best tellings! Builds a beautifully rich and vivid world; perfect if you want a read of something that has more than just sword-porn

Beautifully Grimdark!

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