Zombies in a Fantasy setting? Yes please! The City of the Undead is the newest instalment in the Zombicide Black Plague tie-in series and Werner once again makes an unforgettable thrill ride. I was still reeling from losing my favourite character in the last book but thanks to Werner’s writing style we don’t have time to fully moan those who are dead or undead. The rag tag group, who under normal circumstances would likely not even interact must once again work together to try and survive and stop the zombies and a new growing darkness.

Now we know that other than the blurb I don’t like to spoil the story but it does pretty much tell you what the story is about – what we don’t get is how well this is executed. I’ve always been a fan of Werner’s writing but here they excel. You feel like you are literally there experiencing it all, in all the gory glory. Tying perfectly to the game world and how it feels to try and fight to survive. That said, even if you haven’t played any Zombicide games and you are just a fan of fantasy, horror and or zombies you are bound to love this series. A must read for fans of the genre and Werner.

C. L. Werner takes readers on a harrowing journey through a world plagued by the undead in his novel, City of the Undead. I'm going to cut to the chase a bit on this one; while the premise is intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired. This is a real pity, because I actually really like several of Werner's other books. Novels like Mathias Thulmann: Witch Hunter and Palace of the Plague Lord have been really good. This one's just a bit of a miss.

There are some good points, of course. The book does a decent job of setting an appopriate atmosphere. Werner skillfully paints a grim and eerie landscape. The city streets are clogged with shambling corpses, and the air reeks of decay. The sense of impending doom is palpable. I like that.

The ensemble cast includes a witch hunter, a disgraced knight, a street urchin, and a reclusive alchemist. Their diverse backgrounds and motivations add depth to the story. The witch hunter Helchen is a particularly good, interesting, likeable character.

Unfortunately, the pacing if the story drags in several places. Lengthy descriptions and repetitive action sequences slow down the narrative, making it difficult to maintain interest.

The plot itself follows a predictable trajectory. Heroes face adversity, uncover ancient secrets, and battle hordes of zombies. While this formula can work, it lacks surprises or twists to keep readers engaged. It's just all a bit flat, you know? As genre fiction, it works, but it doesn't stand out.

Despite the diverse cast, character development can be a bit shallow. Helchen, the witch hunter, is haunted by her past, but her internal struggles are never fully explored. I like Helchen, so this feels like a wasted opportunity. Secondary characters feel underdeveloped.

City of the Undead has moments that really work, but they are overshadowed by its shortcomings; chiefly a sense of blandness. If you’re a die-hard zombie fan, and particularly a fan of the board games on which this is based, you might find enjoyment here. However, for those seeking fresh takes on the genre, this novel falls short. Perhaps appropriately for a zombie-based novel, I need to give this a lukewarm review - neither fully alive nor truly dead.

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.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aconyte Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


This is really good. I enjoyed everything from the athosphere to the characters and writing. Sometimes I even forgot I was reading and felt like I was actually a character in the story myself. And that is the best feeling you can get with a book in my opinion.

Now, I've never played Zombicide so I cannot speak on the accuracy to the game, I can only talk about this specific story. And you don't really have to know anything about the game to like this book. If you enjoy classic tropes like quests, band of heroes of different classical fantasy races (dwarfs, orcs...) trying to save the realm, fantasy mixed with horror and zombie apocalypse definitely give this a try you won't regret it. Just a warning there are some gory descriptions of the zombies. Nothing intense, in my opinion it is pretty mild but if you are sensitive to this maybe skip the descriptions.

I also found this premise very unique. I've never heard about a fantasy book with a zombie apocalypse. Usually those happen in our modern world so it was really interesting reading about this event in a world filled with wizards, knights and castles.

Also the characters aren't overpowered. Only few of them have magic but even that does not make them unkillable. In many fantasy books I am not afraid that the characters won't make it because there is always something that saves them - allies coming at the right time, magic or something else. Not in City of the Undead. The characters are alone, no one is going to come and help and you definitely feel that despair and loneliness and you are afraid for them. The atmosphere absolutely aids that. We are in a city called Zanice (yes very much like Venice) filled with canals, narrow streets and houses build so closely together and so high the sun does not even reach some of the streets. We don't anything about this city. Was it overrun with zombies? Are there still survivors? What awaits us behind the next corner? Is it friend or foe? Is your favourite character going to die in this fight or live to see another day?

CL Werner knows how to build atmosphere and I never wanted to put the book down. I was constantly staying up late to read because I needed to know what is going to happen next. I love all the characters, each one is thought out and you understand their motivations and why they behave the way they are. We get multiple POVs - including the villains. Which was very interesting because you get to see how the villains are coming up with their evil plans and setting them into motion.

The characters have banter, sometimes funny remarks but CL Werner is not afraid of the serious or very sad moments that will definitely tuck at your heart strings.

The last third is filled with action our heroes are having one struggle after another. Only the very end seemed abruptly cut off to me. It just suddenly ends without the closure I wanted. But maybe there is going to be another book in this series? I hope so because the ending is kind of left open for more things to come. That's really my only negative. It was just too abrupt.

So in conclusion I highly reccomend this one. It's fast-paced, easy to read and very atmospheric. You won't be dissapointed.

I've never read anything like this and wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately I did DNF it. I just couldn't get into it. It sounds like a lot of fun but I was having a hard time staying interested and keeping track of the characters.

I really enjoyed reading this, it had everything that I enjoyed from the Zombicide series. I was enjoying the horror element to this book and that it worked with the game element. CL Werner always does a great job in writing this type of book and that the characters felt like they were supposed to in this world. The zombie elements worked with the plot and I'm glad I was able to read this. I hope to read more in this series and from the author.

Confesso que custei pra terminar de ler. O livro parecia interminável. Acho que a história é boa para quem gosta desse estilo de estória, porém não agradou tanto o meu gosto.

I have read almost all of C L Werner’s Warhammer AoS books and have yet to read an average story by this author, ergo I had no qualms that this would be good, it is, well worth reading

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary.

Normally I tend to shy away from fantasy related literature, but when it's about zombies, magic, and a bunch of clashing iron - among other things, my attention is caught.

The synopsis is on-point with what the plot is about, so it would be redundant to cover that. However, what the synopsis does not reveal is how well the author pulls you in. Laying the ground work for how personal it was for each character. At times how it felt like I was witnessing the battle/s, or the action first-hand, because of the way it was written. It can be a slow read given all the descriptions, so that's my only hang-up, but it was worth it.

Highly recommend