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Tales of Mhurghast #2
Briardark
A Warhammer Horror Novel
An evil entity stalks the forest of Briardark, and the revered beasthunter Samuel Helmgaart must recover from tragedy to protect his village.
READ IT BECAUSE
Continue exploring the tale of Mhurghast and find out what life looks like in Shyish, the Realm of Death, as nightmares become reality.
THE STORY
Evil stirs in Briardark, an ancient forest that looms over the Shyishan village of Felstein, where whispers abound of the spectres and brutes that lurk amongst the trees.
One man keeps these perils at bay – Samuel Helmgaart, the revered beasthunter of Felstein – but when tragedy strikes his family, an unknowable foe is unleashed, one that stalks the villagers and turns neighbour against neighbour.
Soon, a witch hunt ensues, and in the midst of his own sorrow Samuel’s daughter, Cicely, struggles with grief that has twisted into something dark. To save her, the beasthunter must track down the entity in the forest, and the evil that beckons to his daughter from beyond a most hostile grave.
An evil entity stalks the forest of Briardark, and the revered beasthunter Samuel Helmgaart must recover from tragedy to protect his village.
READ IT BECAUSE
Continue exploring the tale of Mhurghast and find out what life looks like in Shyish, the Realm of Death, as nightmares become reality.
THE STORY
Evil stirs in Briardark, an ancient forest that looms over the Shyishan village of Felstein, where whispers abound of the spectres and brutes that lurk amongst the trees.
One man keeps these perils at bay – Samuel Helmgaart, the revered beasthunter of Felstein – but when tragedy strikes his family, an unknowable foe is unleashed, one that stalks the villagers and turns neighbour against neighbour.
Soon, a witch hunt ensues, and in the midst of his own sorrow Samuel’s daughter, Cicely, struggles with grief that has twisted into something dark. To save her, the beasthunter must track down the entity in the forest, and the evil that beckons to his daughter from beyond a most hostile grave.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2022
24 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 22, 2023
Briardark disappointed me. Not only did it fail to live up to the expectations set by its predecessor in the Mhurghast saga, Gothghul Hollow, but it also narratively didn't manage to draw me in and keep me interested.
As part of the Mhurghast series, it's at times feeling disjointed in how it presents its shared character(s), to the point where I couldn't even tell whether it actually is a sequel, until a certain point. I would not be at all surprised to find out that Werner did not actually get to read Gothghul Hollow before he wrote Briardark - that's how little connection there is between the two, and how little an established character who appears here references earlier events (read: almost not at all), while acting in a way that didn't feel in tune with his prior depiction.
As of now, connections are tenuous at best. The mystery of Mhurghast isn't noticeably progressing, rather than sidestepped and broadened slightly. Aside from a nebulous antagonist, who is barely in the book (and seemingly also forgotten about and never actually questioned by the protagonist for the bulk of the novel), I'm hard-pressed to find things that'd carry over to book three; as such, at least as of now, it feels somewhat... skippable, for how self-contained it seems on the surface.
Now, it being self-contained, or rather, self-sufficient, is not a bad thing on its own. However, if it doesn't play with or advance the ongoing plot noticeably, and barely leans on what was established previously, it has to bring enough to the table to be interesting by its own strength.
Sadly, I think that Briardark is narratively weak. It's repetitive to a point where I almost shouted at the pages because nobody noticed the obvious "horror" happening, or for repeatedly making the same terrible decisions without ever stopping to ask what the endgame actually is to them.
Characters end up set in their ways very quickly and move on the same paths until almost the very end. And when they depart from their routes, I found them to act in ways that didn't quite match their early setup.
In other words: Characters act like idiots far too much in this novel to maintain the horror atmosphere. Instead it quickly turns into an exercise in frustration as you watch characters never learning from their actions, their mistakes, or even warnings.
The horror-twist at the end, too, felt like it came out of left field. I'm not sure if I missed some very early foreshadowing, but it seemed unearned the way it was revealed. On the flipside, there were elements that I believed would play a bigger role later down, but never did.
When well over half the book is having your characters doing the same bad things over and over, still being surprised by the lackluster results, and instead of realizing that it's not working they just double down and repeat those things... I'm sorry, but things have to be either contextualized in a clever way to stay interesting. You have to shake it up in engaging ways.
Briardark didn't do that. It felt both far too obvious as to what was actually happening, while also being extremely frustrating due to the characters' consistent idiocy. And even when somebody smart finally came along and figured out what was going on.... characters simply doubled down on being stupid and refused to listen anyway.
In a way, it seems like the novel was either too long for what it had to offer or badly planned as part of its series, leaving it to fill shoes that hadn't been put out yet. Out of all Warhammer Horror novels so far, this one had me the most disappointed; while I didn't particularly care for Sepulturum, at least it moved along at a brisk pace, from setpiece to setpiece. Briardark, in contrast, is stagnating within its narrow, repetitive confines.
As part of the Mhurghast series, it's at times feeling disjointed in how it presents its shared character(s), to the point where I couldn't even tell whether it actually is a sequel, until a certain point. I would not be at all surprised to find out that Werner did not actually get to read Gothghul Hollow before he wrote Briardark - that's how little connection there is between the two, and how little an established character who appears here references earlier events (read: almost not at all), while acting in a way that didn't feel in tune with his prior depiction.
As of now, connections are tenuous at best. The mystery of Mhurghast isn't noticeably progressing, rather than sidestepped and broadened slightly. Aside from a nebulous antagonist, who is barely in the book (and seemingly also forgotten about and never actually questioned by the protagonist for the bulk of the novel), I'm hard-pressed to find things that'd carry over to book three; as such, at least as of now, it feels somewhat... skippable, for how self-contained it seems on the surface.
Now, it being self-contained, or rather, self-sufficient, is not a bad thing on its own. However, if it doesn't play with or advance the ongoing plot noticeably, and barely leans on what was established previously, it has to bring enough to the table to be interesting by its own strength.
Sadly, I think that Briardark is narratively weak. It's repetitive to a point where I almost shouted at the pages because nobody noticed the obvious "horror" happening, or for repeatedly making the same terrible decisions without ever stopping to ask what the endgame actually is to them.
Characters end up set in their ways very quickly and move on the same paths until almost the very end. And when they depart from their routes, I found them to act in ways that didn't quite match their early setup.
In other words: Characters act like idiots far too much in this novel to maintain the horror atmosphere. Instead it quickly turns into an exercise in frustration as you watch characters never learning from their actions, their mistakes, or even warnings.
The horror-twist at the end, too, felt like it came out of left field. I'm not sure if I missed some very early foreshadowing, but it seemed unearned the way it was revealed. On the flipside, there were elements that I believed would play a bigger role later down, but never did.
When well over half the book is having your characters doing the same bad things over and over, still being surprised by the lackluster results, and instead of realizing that it's not working they just double down and repeat those things... I'm sorry, but things have to be either contextualized in a clever way to stay interesting. You have to shake it up in engaging ways.
Briardark didn't do that. It felt both far too obvious as to what was actually happening, while also being extremely frustrating due to the characters' consistent idiocy. And even when somebody smart finally came along and figured out what was going on.... characters simply doubled down on being stupid and refused to listen anyway.
In a way, it seems like the novel was either too long for what it had to offer or badly planned as part of its series, leaving it to fill shoes that hadn't been put out yet. Out of all Warhammer Horror novels so far, this one had me the most disappointed; while I didn't particularly care for Sepulturum, at least it moved along at a brisk pace, from setpiece to setpiece. Briardark, in contrast, is stagnating within its narrow, repetitive confines.
August 13, 2023
A good, descent book. Very Ravenloftish vibes.
October 26, 2022
While a little upset that the book did not leave off where the first one did, the story was interesting enough to pull me in.
I found the characters interesting and well rounded. Aaric does not come into play until towards the end. Most of the book is surrounding this new family (relatives if his). Cicely was an interesting character that I wanted to both despise and pity at the same time. The revelation that she has been undead this whole time without realizing it and the neverborn angle were a satisfying explanation to her condition. I thought the ending conveyed both the love and desire to protect a father has for his daughter and was overall very satisfying. I hope we will read about Samuel in the future despite the "falling out" him an Aaric had over his daughter's death.
The story did not shed any new insight into who/what Mhurghast is but deepened the mystery and my desire to learn more about it. I hope that the physician/necromancer
Verderghast shows up in the next book as I am intrigued about who he is.
This story along with the first are clearly moving the series towards the same goal and mesh well together even though they are written by separate authors. This still remains my favorite Warhammer series so far and I look forward to the next book in the installment.
I found the characters interesting and well rounded. Aaric does not come into play until towards the end. Most of the book is surrounding this new family (relatives if his). Cicely was an interesting character that I wanted to both despise and pity at the same time. The revelation that she has been undead this whole time without realizing it and the neverborn angle were a satisfying explanation to her condition. I thought the ending conveyed both the love and desire to protect a father has for his daughter and was overall very satisfying. I hope we will read about Samuel in the future despite the "falling out" him an Aaric had over his daughter's death.
The story did not shed any new insight into who/what Mhurghast is but deepened the mystery and my desire to learn more about it. I hope that the physician/necromancer
Verderghast shows up in the next book as I am intrigued about who he is.
This story along with the first are clearly moving the series towards the same goal and mesh well together even though they are written by separate authors. This still remains my favorite Warhammer series so far and I look forward to the next book in the installment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2023
This is the third CL Werner book I've read this year. This wasn't intentional; I just seem to have bought a few of his books recently. CL Werner definitely has a wide range in his fantasy writing styles (grim fantasy, fun fantasy, dark fantasy), and all are extremely well written.
The atmosphere at the beginning was top-notch and reminded me of Gothghul Hollow by Anna Stephens (so I was grinning when I saw Gothghul Hollow mentioned!; please note I am only just becoming familiar with this whole realm/genre of Warhammer so what might be obvious to some is nicely surprising for me!).
The story gets quite dark and you could easily see this becoming a horror film where the tension ratchets up with each death, and the reader/viewer may struggle with how to feel for a certain character. Pity? Anger?
The arrival towards the end of two was a cool moment, and brings more of the lore of Shyish to the story. The climax was exciting and perhaps unusual, in that it was not just two foes facing off.
As with Gothghul Hollow, though, part of me would like to more of the atmosphere in the set-up. Fog, forests, a "hound", getting lost, oppressive surroundings, etc. I grew up with Hammer Horror and really miss the spooky, creepy tales.
Suffice to say, I am enjoying the Black Library.
The atmosphere at the beginning was top-notch and reminded me of Gothghul Hollow by Anna Stephens (so I was grinning when I saw Gothghul Hollow mentioned!; please note I am only just becoming familiar with this whole realm/genre of Warhammer so what might be obvious to some is nicely surprising for me!).
The story gets quite dark and you could easily see this becoming a horror film where the tension ratchets up with each death, and the reader/viewer may struggle with how to feel for a certain character. Pity? Anger?
The arrival towards the end of two was a cool moment, and brings more of the lore of Shyish to the story. The climax was exciting and perhaps unusual, in that it was not just two foes facing off.
As with Gothghul Hollow, though, part of me would like to more of the atmosphere in the set-up. Fog, forests, a "hound", getting lost, oppressive surroundings, etc. I grew up with Hammer Horror and really miss the spooky, creepy tales.
Suffice to say, I am enjoying the Black Library.
June 24, 2023
Partway through the book I stopped, looked up, and realized I was reading an actually solid horror book. The first 90% of the book feels similar in atmosphere to movies like The Witch and Salem's Lot. Dark and brooding, with mysticism tightly laced in. If it wasn't for the climax and some name-drops, I wouldn't even have known it was a Warhammer novel (that's a good thing in this case).
The story took a very different turn from what the blurb on the back of the book let on. It seemed as if the story would be about the beast hunter hunting down the evil of the story. Instead, it is heavily focused on the daughter as she falls into darkness. Which is good, because she makes a great horror protagonist. Her flaws make her a perfect character for the story, and one easily relatable to for most people.
Now, the caveat to all of this is that Briardark is the second part of the Mhurgast series (preceded by Gothgul Hollow). There's no easy way to tell this, either on the book or in marketing. I didn't feel like I missed much by not reading Gothgul Hollow, but I would recommend checking out that one first if possible.
The story took a very different turn from what the blurb on the back of the book let on. It seemed as if the story would be about the beast hunter hunting down the evil of the story. Instead, it is heavily focused on the daughter as she falls into darkness. Which is good, because she makes a great horror protagonist. Her flaws make her a perfect character for the story, and one easily relatable to for most people.
Now, the caveat to all of this is that Briardark is the second part of the Mhurgast series (preceded by Gothgul Hollow). There's no easy way to tell this, either on the book or in marketing. I didn't feel like I missed much by not reading Gothgul Hollow, but I would recommend checking out that one first if possible.
April 16, 2023
Good book, feels more like a fairytale tale from HC Andersen or Grimm than warhammer at times, but it manages to mix a nice bit of grimdark and horror into it. I think the only real faults are how naive some of the characters seem to be about their situation, and the author didn’t convince me that it was because they were too distressed. It doesn’t matter too much, but you’ll like find yourself going “you think?” as the obvious slowly dawns on the characters. I’m not quite sure how to put it without sound like an idiot myself, but I would’ve liked if the characters state of minds didn’t go from perfectly reasonable to completely naive quite so rapidly, to make their failure to draw the right conclusions more believable.
Samuel is about the only one of the characters where I really got how his emotions were clouding his judgement, which is a shame.
It’s a very good Warhammer book though. Especially if you like to keep up with happens on the small scale, and the story is interesting and well told.
Samuel is about the only one of the characters where I really got how his emotions were clouding his judgement, which is a shame.
It’s a very good Warhammer book though. Especially if you like to keep up with happens on the small scale, and the story is interesting and well told.
November 28, 2022
I love CL Werner. Most of the time. And I loved the first book in the Warhammer horror series Gothgul Hollow but this one... there was something about it. The stakes didn't feel communicated strongly enough. The emotion feels just a little short of being powerful.
Cicely is the daughter of the towns beasthunter. When he fails to catch the werewolf thats haunting the woods, his son goes out on his own to kill. When Cicely follows her brother into the woods to stop him, they are attacked. Her brother dies and a mysterious wizard in the woods saves cicely's life. But she must take a life to save herself. But one life isn't enough.
The premise is fine. but something about this story fell flat. It felt heartless. Its too bad because I love Werner. Lady of Sorrows and his Black Plague books are some of my favorites. This just doesn't compare.
Cicely is the daughter of the towns beasthunter. When he fails to catch the werewolf thats haunting the woods, his son goes out on his own to kill. When Cicely follows her brother into the woods to stop him, they are attacked. Her brother dies and a mysterious wizard in the woods saves cicely's life. But she must take a life to save herself. But one life isn't enough.
The premise is fine. but something about this story fell flat. It felt heartless. Its too bad because I love Werner. Lady of Sorrows and his Black Plague books are some of my favorites. This just doesn't compare.
August 30, 2023
Briardark is a horror novel set in the Warhammer universe. Although one does not need to know anything prior to reading this, knowledge of the land, its people, and history will add to ones experience. Author CL Werner immediately begins to build this awesome story by adding constant dread, atmosphere, and a real sense of impending doom. This dark world building was great and one of the main compliments I can say about the writer. Weaving some rather shocking death scenes in what feels like an adult Grimm's fairy tale, Briardark takes many twists and turns with a great story gimmick that kept me reading late into the night. While some of the character decisions might seem naive at times, the intensity of the narrative overcame any minor criticisms I had. I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author and seeking out more stories in the Warhammer horror universe.
August 8, 2025
The second volume of the Tales of Mhurghast, the first being Gothghul Hollow, is now penned by C. L. Werner, and what an impressive horror story it is.
Werner masterfully builds a sense of true anguish, showing how seemingly small and “innocent” desires or spells can spiral into ever more dramatic and catastrophic consequences. The emotional impact hits harder because you genuinely come to care for the characters (especially Samuel Helmgaart, Felstein’s respected beasthunter, and his daughter Cicely) whose lives are caught in this tightening web of dread.
The novel offers subtle tie-ins to the previous volume, particularly in its second half, before launching into a crescendo of horror and action. Set in the village of Felstein, on the edge of the ancient and foreboding Briardark forest, this is a tale where you must be careful with what you wish for, and what you weave.
Werner masterfully builds a sense of true anguish, showing how seemingly small and “innocent” desires or spells can spiral into ever more dramatic and catastrophic consequences. The emotional impact hits harder because you genuinely come to care for the characters (especially Samuel Helmgaart, Felstein’s respected beasthunter, and his daughter Cicely) whose lives are caught in this tightening web of dread.
The novel offers subtle tie-ins to the previous volume, particularly in its second half, before launching into a crescendo of horror and action. Set in the village of Felstein, on the edge of the ancient and foreboding Briardark forest, this is a tale where you must be careful with what you wish for, and what you weave.
January 31, 2023
This was the first Black Library novel I've read and I was pleasantly surprised. It's nothing extraordinary story wise but I was still engaged enough to keep reading. This novel's forte, however, lies in the world building: it really adds a sense of mortality to the universe of the age of Sigmar, which can sometimes feel a bit too "Immortal". The fact that the characters are just regular people, up against powers too great for themselves, and the feeling of hopelessness that permeates from it reminded me of the Old World. Overall, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I will definitely check out more from the Horror series and from C.L. Werner.
February 9, 2023
This was another great insight into the lives of "regular" people in the worlds of Warhammer. While it built toward a shared mythos with the other 'Murghast' books, it was a deeply personal story and shows the kind of agony and grief that results from the commonplace threats of the Warhammer worlds. What I found most interesting about it was how it showed entities like Nagash, typically always a villain, being a source of comfort and guidance for his worshippers alongside the other gods, and how his agents aren't just simple monsters but could be a force for good.
November 6, 2022
I finished briardark all in all I think it's a fitting sequel to gothgul and exceeded the first in every way. There is good callbacks to the first further growing the mystery of murghast and the story while some bits can be a touch generic kept me on the edge of my seat with great suspenseful chapters. If the setting of horror in shyish appeals I would highly recommend this I'm greatly looking forward to black eyed saint.
April 19, 2024
MEH. This is a good example why Warhammer series can be so annoying. They keep switching writers .why didn't they let the first writer finish this > The first story was well written and ended with a good cliffhanger. Not only has this sequel very little to do with the first part, it's a completely different story. Also there is far too much foreshadowing. For some reason the mysterious villain let's the reader know he's up to no good trough some unnecessary monologue .
November 28, 2024
The cast of characters had potential but quickly become idiotic caricatures of themselves so you quickly lose respect and stop caring about them.
A lot of time is wasted on tedious repetition and the thin plot become fairly non-sensical. A lot of the Age of Sigmar setting seem crowbarred in as an afterthought or as a jarring mandatory stamp.
A shame, I suspect it could have been a good short story
A lot of time is wasted on tedious repetition and the thin plot become fairly non-sensical. A lot of the Age of Sigmar setting seem crowbarred in as an afterthought or as a jarring mandatory stamp.
A shame, I suspect it could have been a good short story
April 5, 2023
This is one of the most 3 star books. There are about 5 moments of character development. The entire plot is “then it got worse.” It hits so many horror stereotypes. The characters are wooden and unchanging. But you can’t stop reading because you want to know what happens next, even though you suspect you already know. It is light and easy, and reading it is a very fun time.
April 13, 2023
Una grata sorpresa, especialmente porque está relacionado con Gothgull Hollow. Los giros de la historia son trepidantes y los personajes muy creíbles. realmente es un buen exponente del género grim dark y trae todos los elementos que debe traer. Muy recomendado
October 25, 2023
This was awesome. I liked the first part of the trilogy the best, but this was awesome all by itself as well.
It starts with different set of characters in a village nerby.
Loved reading about lands of the dead.
It starts with different set of characters in a village nerby.
Loved reading about lands of the dead.
October 23, 2022
This is the stupidest story I have ever read! You suck C.L. Werner!
May 16, 2023
An enjoyable, pulp fantasy novel for those who are a fan of the setting.
May 28, 2023
Great Warhammer Horror read as always and fantastic characters and story. A little predictable in places but overall a good atmospheric read with gothic vibes and supernatural undertones.
June 21, 2023
A good, dark, horror story, but I wish it was longer!
Seems like we're being drip fed the ominous Murghast too. I just want to know more!
Seems like we're being drip fed the ominous Murghast too. I just want to know more!
November 11, 2023
Drags at times.
December 7, 2023
New author for me. LOOOOVED THIS! Dark, gritty, messed up... so messed up, and eep! Don't want to spoil it, but this was good!
March 1, 2024
Ending kind of rushed which always seems like an issue with Warhammer Fantasy books. And of course an attempt to sell miniatures.
April 11, 2024
Great plot, I had a hard time with the names and some of the language, but that’s why I don’t like reading fantasy. 🙃
May 28, 2024
Slow start, fun middle, middling ending.
May 5, 2025
bumping to 4 stars, lots of fun, good horror novel. I haven't read much Warhammer but this was intriguing !!
October 21, 2025
Another delightfully creepy entry into Warhammer horror. What is nice about this whole line is that almost every book has that distinctive British horror feel of an old Hammer film.
December 20, 2025
That's p sad
September 14, 2025
Briardark was good, another cheesy easy read that felt fast to finish and great to devour. But didn't feel as solid as its predecessor. I was expecting more explanation around the curses and some development of the vagueness that was left in 1. Instead we had another vague hanging of that stuff. Maybe 3rd book will bring it together?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews