I've seen some novels in the GW shop I visit that are based in the Warhammer world...does anyone know if there are novels involving the Lizardmen? Most especially from their point of view?
There are none from their point of view. Sorry to disappoint. There was one that involved people going into Lustria and subsequently being chased out, but it's almost impossible to find. It's called The Burning Shore. If you find it, let me know, because I wants it!
I have the burning shore. Not from the lizzies POV but still a cool book. As with all the GW books it was not a scholors book but it was a nice light read.
Blah, that is disappointing... We should make a massive online petition (yeah I know those things work ever so well *sarcasm*) to get them to produce some books! I mean, there's enough there to make one I would think...and it wouldn't even have to be with the current times, it could recount the battles fought at the coming of Chaos into the world!
It would be challenging to write from the point of view of a Lizardman, but I think if done correctly it could result in an excellent story. The reason it is challenging is not because it is too hard for an author to jump into the scaley skin, but it is hard for readers to grasp the completely alien nature of the Lizardmen without the aid of some "external observer" to give the human perspective and to address the questions of the reader. The problem is that characters who are obvious plot devices are hard to accept as real, and take away from the genuine Lizardman experience.
If you don't mind a more comedic take on them, the fourth Blood Bowl (Rumble in the Jungle) book has a fair old segment of lizardmen involvement. Not specifically from their point of view, but well worth reading, especially if you fancy a chuckle.
I think that to a certian extent, writing from a LM point of view would be somewhat boring. The LM culture and species are largely created/spawned for specific purposes. They are emotionless and much of their actions are based on predetermined instincts that they spawn with. This doesn't lend itself to a good story at all in my mind. Most novels that I've read rely somewhat on emotional issuses to create a believable story. Everything about the LM is cold, calculating and instinctual making them predictable (from a certian point of view). Still, I would love to see a talented author create a novel based on the LM culture in its purest form.
Perhaps it could be a recount of a skink scribe. He would be keeping a record of the events that occur. A bit challenging to effectively carry out but if done correctly I think that it could work well. That being said, it is highly improbable that we will ever eventually see this. Also, I find recounts from humans going to lustria being rather interesting and they further bring out the mysterious nature of the children of the old ones.
I think a fascinating and very approachable story would be that of Lord Ulha'up (although I despise the name. What the heck is with a name like Hoola Hoop anyway? And for that matter, why do we have Tic Tac Toe in our army? /slap creators). He's the 'quite mad' Slann who left the sublime communion to spread the word of the Old Ones. Following his tale would provide both action, interesting locations, contact with other races, and a character archetype that has been done enough to be relatable - ie that of the religious zealot. I also think that a story told by a gifted Skink Priest could be relatable as well. They are the smartest and most mentally diverse of the Lizardmen (after the Slann of course). They run the entire cities, direct building and advancement, resource gathering, spawning, etc. and they are mentally developed enough to spend their entire lives debating the words that the Slann occasionally speak, then put them to action. While definitely different than a warm-blood, I think a skink priest would be very doable in literature format.
Another idea might be the narration of the great catastrophe through the perspective of an elf under the tutelage of a slann. I also have an idea which I intend to use as the fluff of my army... more on that when I have the time to start writing (anybody watch stargate?? )
Actually, I'm in the process of writing a book that I plan on submitting to Black Library on the story of Oxoyotl.
If you can write a novel about Space Marines, you can most definitely write a novel about the Lizardmen.