Ulrika the Vampire

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A spinoff series from the Gotrek & Felix series, it follows a Kislevite Boyaress who was turned into a Vampire by an evil Von Carstein Lahmian male (a rarity) who was killed by the former protagonists and the Vampire Villain's former Master Vampire. They leave her with Master Vamp, despite intense reservations (particularly from the Dwarfs present). This series takes place over three books, which are all generally well-received by fans. Nathan Long does a pretty decent job of including interesting sequences and adding some fun lore tidbits, especially for Vampire Counts fans. Readers have also praised his illustration of the cities of the Empire, and inclusion of interesting side characters. Probably the biggest critique of the series is it's protagonist. His portrayal of Ulrika isn't bad by any means, in fact she's quite likeable at many points in the story. Her presence is also certainly more engaging than her appearance in the Gotrek and Felix novels (which isn't saying much, since she was thrust in the middle of a pretty uninteresting story arc and had a lame ambivalent romance with Felix before just hanging out with Max most of the time she was present), but Ulrika never progresses much as a character, and some of the decisions she makes throughout the series really test the line between "brave/honorable" and "straight up retarded".

Summary

Bloodborn

The novel starts with Ulrika, overtaken by her blood craving, running naked through a forest on all fours, much the same way a /tg anon might run to his local convenience store at 3am. As it turns out, Ulrika is having a hell of a time adjusting to her new dietary preferences as a vampire, and is taken back to the castle by Gabriella, her teacher and new mentor in the ways of the vampire. Gabriella attempts to teach her to control her cravings, and induct her into the Lahmian fold. We are told she would have spent quite a long time on training Ulrika before loosing her, but since this book needs to have an actual plot, Gabriella is called by the Silver Tower to investigate some strange goings-on in Nuln, and reluctantly takes Ulrika with her.

When they get to Nuln, they meet up with Hermione, another Lahmian vampire who is in the process of getting interviewed by some Witch Hunters. Hermione is making a complete ass of herself, making us wonder how she's survived this long as a vampire. Luckily Gabriella steps in and diffuses the situation. Afterwards, we are informed that two of the undercover Lahmians in Nuln have been brutally attacked, with their shattered corpses staked through and left on display for all to see, fueling a general vampire panic in the city and humiliating the Lahmians. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that internal politics will hamper the investigation greatly. Hermione has little interest in working with Gabriella, fearing Neferata sent her to supplant Hermione's position. Ulrika also meets Famke, a young shy vampiress who hates men. The two become instant friends.

Gabriella sends Ulrika to look for clues as she gets set up in the city. In the process, Ulrika runs into a Witch Hunter named Holzman or Holman or something who is also determined to get to the bottom of the attacks, though he doesn't recognize Ulrika as a vampire (as if the fangs and walking around the pitch black dark without a light wasn't a dead giveaway. I guess the Witch Hunters aren't as well trained as they'd like us to believe we have taken in the abomination who wrote that comment for holy Sigmar. Now, go about your day, citizen). They agree to hunt together, further complicating things for Ulrika.

Then some other stuff happens, but it's been a while since I've read the book, so I'll get back to this in a couple days.