The nameless dwarf is on a mission to rescue the last of his race after he himself slaughtered so many of them while under the control of the black axe. His journey starts in a small town where he tries to find where the last remnants of them have fled to. Accompanying him is Nils, the son of the guild, who has been hired to help him. Following a brief encounter in an inn, they head for Malfen, the last outpost before the wastelands and ruled over by the Ant-man, Shent, who rules the town absolutely. Along the way they meet Silas Thrall, a scholar, who is looking for knowledge contained in the same wastelands the surviving dwarves have fled to.

This book is probably best described as a prologue for the new adventures of the Nameless Dwarf. Unfortunately, there is a lot of backstory contained within a previous series, that should probably be read to gain an understanding of all the names and places that are thrown out through the course of the story. Without it, it does become a little difficult to follow and several of the references make little sense. The characters are fairly standard stereotypes with little to really make them stand out from fantasy fare and some of their actions make little to no sense. The plot is short and formulaic, it starts in an inn and feels a little empty given that the a lot of the background is missing.

The action scenes are well described and you do get the feeling of violence that takes place, although it appears the nameless dwarf is going to be able to cut his way through everything regardless of what he faces. Also, what is saddening is the huge Dramatis Personae appendix which has a large cast list, of which only a few actually appear in this short tale and some who are not even mentioned at all.

Overall, this is not a great start to the series requiring reading from a different series for background and only lasting a few scenes before it ends.