Brunner the Bounty Hunter

<b>WHAT THE FUCK COVER IS THAT?</b><br><br>Say, do you remember when Brunner looked halfway decent?<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348904059l/6737766.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Now we have daddy short legs instead:<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1560053690l/44180907.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Were they even trying? He looks like a little kid in his dad's armor going out for trick or treat; and why is he resting the blade on his bare fingers, is he a dumbass too?<br>This is by far the worst Warhammer cover to date, and what pisses me off even more is that they screwed up a C. L. Werner omnibus. <br><i>C. L. Werner out of all people.</i><br>Unforgivable. This is fucking unacceptable.

Thrills! Chills! Kills!<br /><br />I happened upon this book ( as well as a bunch of other Warhammer paperbacks) at a local store's going out of business sale. Fantasy makes up a very small portion of my reading list. In fact, to date I've only read about half a dozen Fantasy novels, three of which belonged to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy..the other belonging to Sean Russel's Swans War Triology..but I digress...<br /><br />In any event I'm glad I decided to pick this one up. I've never read a Warhammer novel before. I've never read any of C L Werner's work. I've never even played warhammer. Count this book as a pleasant surprise.<br /><br />Someone likened Brunner to be the 'Bobba Fett of the Warhammer universe'. I'd have to agree. Brunner is a bounty killer with a heart of stone. He'll use ANY means necessary to see his mission through and deliver his mark to any one of his numerous employers. To him, honor is a fool's notion. A notion that will get you killed. It's these 'principals' coupled with his dogged tenacity that make his name known and feared throughout the the Warhammer world.<br /><br />This novel is an omniubus, a collection of short (and some not so short) stories. I enjoyed this because it gave the author free reign to touch upon a great many adventures. Scoundrels, thieves, undead vampires, ogres, ancient monsters, dragons, werewolves...Each story brings a new and different adventure and set of obstacles for the vengeful bounty killer to encounter...and conquer.<br /><br />Now that I've read this I'm looking forward to delving deeper into the Warhammer novels. It's really a very interesting universe as C L Werner paints it. C L Werner, Warhammer and even the fantasy genre itself are all on my radar now. I'm late to the party but I'm glad I eventually discovered it.<br /><br />Imaginative, well written, brutal, vivid. This book is fantastic.

Ever wondered what Boba Fett would be like in a fantasy setting? Look no further! Warhammer's most notorious bounty hunter is the infamous Brunner, feared by criminals, outlaws and those on the run in the old world for his grim determination, his cunning mind linked to an old lone wolf and his sharp butcher's knife headtaker (alongside the rest of his big arsenal of weapons and tricks). This bundle brings together all of the Brunner stories in one convenient collection and they have even been reprinted of late. <br /><br />the thing is, would you like a movie that had Boba Fett as the protagonist? Because like Boba Fett, Brunner nearly only cares about getting paid, bringing in his contracted target, using any (well nearly any) means necessary and grunts his way to the end of the story. He is the embodiment the neutral alignment and cares little for the woes of the world as long as it does not get in between him and his money. It makes him a genuinely cool and bad ass character (like boba fett is) but makes him a rather poor protagonist with little to no character development throughout all the stories. However, I would have been more harsh on this point were it not for the final and ironically the longest story in the bundle; blood of the dragon. <br /><br />Most of the stories in this bundle are short stories and the most fun about them I would say is the settings (Tilea or Bretonnia), the often simple but pleasurable plot and the side characters or adversaries interaction with Brunner. I particularly liked his unofficial chronicler who sells his stories as cheap pulp novella's( yeah love the meta aspect about that). But Brunner himself?.... he grunts, fires his pistol, throws his knifes, devises simple but brutally effective plans on the spot and that's about it. Unlike the conan the barbarian stories that I immensely enjoy, Brunner does not sit that right with me. Conan offers the reader a joy in life, Conan seems above all to want to wring out some satisfaction and fun out of life, any meaning is gained on the spot, laughter and melancholy walking hand in hand. Brunner on the other hand offers something totally different, this (the author himself acknowledges the influence) clint eastwood vibe from the good the bad and the ugly, all stubble and grunts. Perhaps a better comparison is Brunner and Conan are like a Nihilist and an absurdist, both have little care for the societal myths and norms, both fall back on an inner core, an essential truth about themselves that gets them trough life but their philosophies differ tremendously on the emotional level. Like in real life a nihilist like Brunner can tend to bum you out a little or intimidate you to do his bidding while an energetic absurdist like conan can sweep you up in his energetic spur of the moment that you want to join in. The unmovable object and the unstoppable force image comes to mind and me personally I tend to prefer the unstoppable force personalities a bit more. <br /><br />This is the reason why it took my quite a long time to finish the bundle; it is not that they are bad, I think every short story is good and worthwhile but they are so coated in this I do not care attitude of the main character that I found it hard to read more then three of them in a row without reading something in between. So you can understand why I kept off reading the final story, the longest by far and the only truly book one until this week. But here I found something else. the setting was good, the plot was a bit more complex but not overly so as to break the tone of the bundle up to this point. What was different is that Brunner is not the constant POV, quite a lot of POV is given to adversaries, targets, partners and monsters. To put it bluntly Brunner is a more then ok character but I don't like him in to much quantity. But to be fair in this story we actually do see character development with Brunner, the story references several of the short stories in the bundle thus giving them meaning as more then stories on their own and his change of heart near the end was well prepared and did not feel forced. <br /><br />So should you read Brunner the bounty hunter? Yes I think you should and even those who don't read or know that much about the warhammer lore will find pleasure in this bundle as they are in themselves coherent stories that can be appreciated for what they are. Gritty stories about a man looking for his paycheck.

The only thing that stopped me giving this book a 5-star rating was some of the repetition and unimaginative wordplay; the story itself is one of the best I've ever read. <br /><br />There are those out there who are hesitant to begin reading a story set in the Warhammer world because they either don't know the lore and background, or they think they won't understand the terminology used in the stories: if you are one of these people, this may be the perfect introductory story for you. There is minimal reference to lore, or even other species such as elves and dwarfs. Where they ARE mentioned, they are described as if seeing them for the first time; so the reader isn't left wondering what this strange being looks like! About 90% of the characters in the book are human, in a time and place that could be compared to medieval Europe. If you know of or are interested in that period of history, you don't need me to describe it to you.<br /><br />As a fan of Star Wars, particularly Boba Fett, I already had a love of stories where the main character is by no means the 'good guy'. There's a perverse pleasure in willing the protagonist to be a b*****d to people they encounter! Throughout his adventures, the reader finds themselves wondering just where Brunner is coming from; does he have a troubled background that leads him to his life of danger, isolation and immorality? Does he do it simply because he can, or because his ruthlessness is in his nature?<br /><br />I WON'T spoil anything for you: but you only find out the answer to this question at the very end of the last book. With that in mind, see if you can figure him out during the course of all three!

Not my usual sort of read but i did really enjoy it.<br />So much so that I got The Space Wolf Omnibus by William King and I'm a good 250 pages into that and liking it. <br />I also managed to find the first Horus book by Dan Abnett (Who is apparently well liked by the 40k readers)<br />So fingers crossed I enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed Brunner and the start of the Space Wolf Omnibus.

C. L. Werner doesn't need to say how horrifying the situations and actions are, you'll be able to tell from just the descriptions. The descriptive wording isn't the only good part, the way the story is written it feels like Brunner is so superior to the reader he doesn't bother explaining why he did something and just shows the results. This book is the edgier fantasy version of The Mandalorian. I recommend this to anybody who can visualize well, but if you have a weak stomach I suggest taking frequent breaks.

Blood Money - Banger<br />Blood and Steel - Certified Banger<br />Blood of the Dragon - Banger

8/10

Brunner is a collection of tales set in the "Grim Dark" world of Warhammer. He's more protagonist than hero and that's okay with me. Merciless, smart, tough as nails and relentless, Brunner is a notorious bounty killer. A bogeyman among the underworld. His name is whispered among thieves as legend. With good reason, Brunner nearly always gets his bounty and no one escapes him alive. Brunner isn't just a stereotypical invincible action character either. He doesn't win because he's the Terminator, he wins because he's wolfishly smart, savagely cunning AND has the skills to back it up. When faced with a tough fight Brunner prefers to shoot his enemies in the back, but if it comes down to it he can hold his own with just about anyone.<br /><br />Brunner knows fear, Brunner meets foes who outmatch him physically, he gets his ass kicked more than once, but in the end he finds a way to trick, distract, exploit and beat anyone he comes against. Orcs, werewolves, dark elves, daemons, cultists of the Dark Gods, the undead and regular old men both the powerful and the resourceful all fall before him.<br /><br />The stories are gritty, blood soaked adventure at it's best.

Brunner, the dark bounter hunter of darkness, is an island of steel will and mercenary attitude. The fun in this story is wondering how and where his humanity is going to surface and alter the story.