Bloodborne: The Veil, Torn Asunder

Bloodborne: The Veil, Torn Asunder is the fourth and (for now) final volume of the Bloodborne comic series. And it's a pretty damn good one, but just like the previous volume, A Song of Crows, it doesn't stand well on its own. The Veil, Torn Asunder actually goes a step further than Eileen the Crow's outing and requires the reader to be familiar with not just the Bloodborne universe but also every Bloodborne comic that precedes it. And even then, with all that, and even if you're well-versed in the available lore, you're still going to have to delve quite a bit in order to figure out what is actually going on here.

A man walks the streets of the city of Yharnam, haunted by a singular moment in his past, a moment where the veil of reality itself tore apart, and where it seemed as if something monstrous stared back through the breach. Convinced that what he saw was real, the man resolves to understand the truth of the shapeless form that once met his gaze, and while the Blood Moon rises he relinquishes his hold on reality in a desperate bid for the truth.

But in this nightmare world, too much truth can very well drive one insane. 

Under the guise of one man's search for the ultimate truth of his world, writer Ales Kot delivers a story that is ostensibly somewhat lacking in plot, but that nonetheless satisfies as it delivers some awesome gothic horror-artwork and an intriguing mystery hidden behind an experimental meta-narrative.

I really quite enjoyed this one, but it was an enjoyment borne rather from trying to figure out what the story was actually doing when the read was over than any kind of immediate gratification during the read itself. Awesome art is great to look at, but if the cohesion and natural progression of the story they depict between them is missing, when you don't know what the hell is actually happening, then the story can be as well thought out as can be, it'll be very hard to give it its due. And this is where that figuring-out comes in, because it is pretty hard to grasp The Veil, Torn Asunder unless one has a lot of knowledge of the things Ales Kot brings into this story.

Which is why I'm going to go into exquisite detail in the next post.

Print-on-Demand Warhammer Collection Completed

 After years and years of looking out for this one I finally, with the help of a friend, was able to add The Incomplete Zavant Konniger to my shelves.

When the Black Library released the Incomplete Zavant in their Print on Demand range back in 2008 I held off on buying it for a while, foolishly believing that Print-on-Demand meant -Print on Demand- and that I could pick up a copy whenever I wished. Besides, I had already read the novel, and all this edition did was add a single extra short story to the package so I figured there was no real need and no rush to make quick work of obtaining it. I did want it though. I mean, look at that cover and tell me you don't think it looks fine as hell.

So when I eventually tried to get the novel I was rather annoyed to find that the book had gone out of print, out of stock and that it wouldn't be reprinted any time soon.

Because of course.

Anyway, I've got it now, and I read that short story I hadn't read before, and as expected it was a fun one. The Case of the Scarlet Cell, or the Reikerbahn Butcher follows Zavant and Vido as they track down a brutal killer in the streets of Altdorf.

I don't have much more to say because even though it is a fun tale, there's not much more to it. There's not really a mystery to solve, as all the clues, and pretty much the answer to the whole thing ends up being practically tossed into Zavant's lap on page 2. Good crime fiction this isn't. But what it is is enjoyable, good, enjoyable Old Warhammer fiction. Back from the days where the setting didn't take itself too serious and where everything felt much more adventurous.

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As a bonus here's the completed collection.

I've read all of these, barring Marks of Chaos and the Fleischer omnibus.

I'm actually looking forward to reading the first as I've only recently learned that the novel uses Valten, the supposed reincarnation of Sigmar, in its story. I was a big fan of the character and I would avidly read the battle reports in the White Dwarf issue that introduced him, so knowing that Marks of Chaos might be the one to actually focus on him, even if it's just a little bit, I have to say, it makes me rather eager to dive back into the Old World.

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For Chris.