'Witch Hunter Helchen mourns her dear friend, one of many heroes The Black Plague has sent to their grave as it consumes the kingdom. Yet she is determined to save what remains of humanity. Helchen and her companions travel to the labyrinthine canals of Zanice to obtain magical resources that would change the course of the zombie plague. Horrendous swaths of the undead mark their journey, and the companions are pursued relentlessly by necromantic forces of evil. When they discover a friend turned foe, Helchen must decide if all zombies are monsters… or if a new darkness is taking shape across the land.'
The Black Plague novels have been one of my favourite reads in the Zombicide line. I've always had a liking for fantasy, and as an avid D&D player I can't help but view a story like this through the lens of what would make for a good game. And that's perhaps one of the things I like most about this series, it doesn't do epic fantasy, its not worried about political dealings, kingdoms at war, or world altering quests. For the most part its a group of people who'd never normally talk to each other, let alone be friends and allies, fighting just to survive. It's a very small kind of story, even if this group of heroes are fighting to save a city.
Having travelled to the island lair of a wizard in the last volume, Isle of the Undead, our heroes have recovered an ancient artefact that can destroy the undead in vast swathes. However, the victory was bittersweet as they lost their friend Alaric von Merts, who gave his life killing the dragon that had been plaguing them across the island. Their mission was a success, though, and it seems not a moment too soon as the group arrive at Korbara, one of the last holdouts against the zombie plague, as a zombie assault is about to overwhelm the defences. Using the artefact to destroy the zombies, the monastery is saved; but the artefacts power is running out.
With it being their only real defence against the armies of the infected, a solution needs to be found. Helchen and the rest of her team are asked to travel to the city of Zanice, where an archive may hold the information that will allow them to recharge the weapon. Accompanied by some new allies, including a sorcerer, and an untrustworthy ranger, the group heads to the canalled city in hopes of finding answers. However, little do they know that the evil necromancer Gogol is still on their trail, and that he has not only resurrected the dragon Flamefang to his cause, but has also turned their friend Alaric into a new kind of zombie, one who can think, who is aware of who he is, but is doomed to obey his master. Set on making the group suffer, Gogol sets out after them with revenge in mind.
The third volume in the Black Plague series might be my favourite in the set so far, but at the same time do I have some bones to pick with author CL Werner. By now I've come to really care for the core group of survivors that make up Helchen's team (her having become the de facto leader with the loss of Alaric). The characters that have been around since the first book are some of my favourites, and whilst I like the new characters that become part of the group along their journey it's these book one characters that I love the most. So seeing them suffer as much as they do this book really upsets me; even if it is good storytelling.
A big part of the suffering that they go through this book is thanks to the new condition that Alaric finds himself in. Brought back from the dead, able to think and feel as he once did, but forced to follow the orders of his most hated enemy, it's easy to say that Alaric suffers a lot this time round. However, his mere presence also brings pain to his friends. Gaiseric, a character who began the series with an antagonistic relationship with Alaric, is one of the characters to seems to take his friends reappearance the worst. Their bond had become so strong, their friendship so important to him, that Gaiseric experiences a trauma reaction to Alaric's return. It's incredibly sad at times, and makes for some of the best interpersonal drama in the series to date.
Zanice also makes for an interesting new location. As the name might suggest, it's based upon Venice, and the confined walkways, the canals that make up most of the streets, and the tightly packed buildings make for some interesting and tense moments as the team must deal with the shuffling undead. There are a number of set-pieces that stand out as some of the more interesting fights and locations in the series yet, and much of the fun of these moments comes down to the city limiting what the heroes can do, or forcing them into a tough situation.
Whilst the story is incredibly simple when boiled down to its base elements (it's a fetch quest) the journey along the way makes for a truly engaging read. And slight spoilers, the loss of much loved characters also helps to make this a book that you don't want to put down. There were times reading that I was begging the book not to do what it was doing, where I was left feeling sad, where the despair that the characters were feeling was shared by me. It's perhaps the bloodiest book in the series, with the highest body count for the living. If you love this series you're going to love this book, but it's also going to hurt you.
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