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eldargal
01-15-2012, 01:43 AM
So has anyone read the Gotrek and Felix novels, and if so, do you think they are worth reading? I think I read the first one or two and while I vaguely recall enjoying them I never felt particularly inspired to read the rest. But having read and loved Bloodborn which is a G&F spinoff I'm wondering if I shouldn't catch up with the whole series.

Artificer
01-15-2012, 03:08 AM
I would say yes. Have read the series up to elfslayer. I thought the first one was the weakest. The reason I kept going was I had originally bought the first omnibus. The series after that was an enjoyable romp through the WFB universe of the Empire. Later novels became slightly formulaic, although given the format and that there are at least 9 in the series it is difficult to see how this could have been completely avoided, but there were new characters, twists to the plots to keep it interesting. A fun read.

eldargal
01-15-2012, 03:31 AM
Thanks, will read them then.:)

isotope99
01-15-2012, 04:14 AM
Book 1: Trollslayer: Collection of short stories, about half are pretty good (the actual troll slaying, a goblin wolf raid and a female champion of chaos on the rampage). the other half not as much, especially the one where gotrek goes nutty after a bonk on the head, which seems especially silly given what happens to them in later books.

Book 2: Skavenslayer: Collection of individual episodes with an underlying theme of a skaven invasion of Nuln. Not as dramatic as later entries, but easily the funniest with its celebratiopn of skaven cowardice and backstabbing. The only one I've re-read more than once.

Book 3: Daemonslayer: First continuous story novel that introduces the other main characters like Max, Ulrika, Snorri etc. They take the dwarf airship, which is really well described, into the chaos wastes to retrieve an ancient dwarf heirloom. Pretty good although it drags a little in some of the middle places.

Book 4: Dragonslayer: They come back from the chaos wastes and have to deal with the skaven who have occupied Ulrika's home and a chaos dragon. Starts off really well but the second half is a bit boring.

Book 5: Beastslayer: Basically about the siege of Praag. There are some good bits in here but not the best of the lot. If you want a good siege book, the last of the Malus Darkblade series is much better.

Book 6: Vampire slayer: Ulrika gets kidnapped by a vampire. Lots of tension when I first read this but a later series you are probably familiar with gives the ending away.

Only got as far as the end of the first two omnibuses. Book 2 to the end of the first half of book 4 are great, the rest are only OK. Stil good by warhammer fiction standards though. As artificer says, the main joke/plot theme wears thin fairly quickly.

eldargal
01-15-2012, 04:42 AM
Thanks for the detailed write up Isotope.:) I didn't realise Ulrika was such a prominent character, I thought she just turned up in Vampire Slayer. That makes Bloodborn a little sadder.:(

Grailkeeper
01-15-2012, 06:59 AM
In my opinion they were written for children, Its only in the last few years that the black librarys works have taken a more "adult" turn. If you can get your hands on any of the Jack Yeovil (Kim Newman) books, they're audlt, despite being older BL works.

Bill King didn't write them all, about half way through someone else came in and replaced him. It's the same with the Ragnar books.

eldargal
01-15-2012, 07:34 AM
Yep, Nathan Long who also writes the Ulrika series took over. I don't mind the less adult nature of some of the early BL stuff really, it is quite in keeping with GWs early humorous take on their IP.

Also, I'm an idiot, I have the Gotrek and Felix warband with diorama base stashed in a drawer somewhere which included an Ulrika model. Managed to forget it existed.:rolleyes:

Brakkart
01-15-2012, 07:36 AM
Continuing from where isotope left off, as I've read the whole series:

Book 7: Giantslayer: A very odd story that has Gotrek & Felix fall through a portal of some sort in Sylvania into a series of extra-planar tunnels that link together places in the world and were apparently built by the Old Ones. The problem is that in places these ancient tunnels have "caved in" allowing all manner of critters entry. Also exploring the tunnels to see what use can be made of them is no less than Teclis himself, who Gotrek dislikes immediately (he is an elf after all) and Felix is in awe of (this is the very same elf who taught humans magic hundreds of years before and Felix knows his history). This is the last of the series written by William King and frankly it's not very good, though it does tie up a loose end from Beastslayer.

Interlude: Death & Dishonor Anthology: A short story by the new author of the series Nathan Long, has the pair on a caravan travelling through the Badlands after Gotrek has become convinced that there is nothing in the Old World that can kill him. A pretty solid story and the rest of the tales in the anthology are fairly good too.

Book 8: Orcslayer: This is set some 20 years later after Gotrek & Felix have been all over the Warhammer World seeking Gotrek's doom without any luck. They return to the Old World via the seaport of Barak Varr where they encounter a group of Dwarves heading to re-take a minor hold to which Gotrek owes a debt. This was Nathan Long first story of the pair and it shows, as the characterisation isn't quite there in some parts. That said it's a good story with a nice twist in it.

Book 9: Manslayer: Following on from Orcslayer this sees the duo arrive in Nuln en route to joining the war against Archaon's army at Middenheim. there they run into their old friend Malakai and his airship, who is transporting cannons to the Empire forces. They also run afoul of Chaos cultists who are determined to see to it that the cannons never arrive to aid Middenheim. A very solid story, though I'll admit to a touch of bias as I love Malakai, such a great character, a borderline insane genius engineer Slayer with a scottish accent. Brilliant! Oh yes, they also run into the now vampiric Ulrika!

Book 10: Elfslayer: After the injuries suffered in the climactic battle of Manslayer, this book finds our duo nursing their wounds in Altdorf where they encounter old friend Max Shrieber who enlists them to help him. His colleague Claudia is a prophetess and has had a dire vision of the cities destruction, strangely though the source seems to be far out to sea. Taking a ship out into the ocean the pair have to battle first the skaven (who have a Clan Skyre submarine!) and then the dark elves (who have a Black Ark!). This is easily one of the best novels of the entire series and to say any more would be to spoil it.

Interlude: Slayer of the Storm God audio drama: This takes place immediately after the pairs return to Marienburg, following on from something dreadful that Felix found out from the skaven they fought in Elfslayer. It is pretty good and I'm not usually a fan of audio books, but the sound effects and the voices in this are very well done.

Book 11: Shamanslayer: Hearing that the remnants of Archaon's armies are causing trouble in the north, the pair set off to battle them, accompanied by a old knight and his squire of the same order that Aldred Fellblade (from way back in Book 1) belonged too. Along the way they defend a town from Beastmen and from itself, and meet other old friends, Katrina (also from way back in Book 1) and also the trollslayer Snorri (who has lost his memory, a most serious offense for a Slayer as he can no longer remember his shame that led to him taking the Slayer oath) who joins them as they follow a massive beast herd heading south. This culminates in a huge battle and a terrific cliffhanger.

Book 12: Zombieslayer: This is another of the best entries of the series as Gotrek, Kat and Snorri have to help defend Reiksgard Castle against a massive horde of the undead led by two legends of the Warhammer world: Heinrich Kemmler & Krell! As siege novels go, they don't get much better than this.

Book 13 is another anthology of short stories and will be out later this year (in April I think). Very much looking forward to it. I would reccomend the Gotrek & Felix saga to anyone who likes grim fantasy with a heavy dose of carnage and some black humour thrown in.

eldargal
01-15-2012, 07:45 AM
Thanks Brakkart, didn't realise there were so many books hehe. I had best start reading those anthologies soon.

Brakkart
01-15-2012, 08:04 AM
Heh yeah it is a pretty daunting list of books. I know Nathan Long is working on Book 14 which will be another full novel and pretty sure when that comes out (either later 2012 or early 2013 would be my guess) that a 4th Anthology will come out too.

Ohh and in addition to the spin-off trilogy featuring Ulrika (which rocks and I'm so looking forward to book 3 this summer), there is another spin-off series by C.L. Werner which features Thanquol & Boneripper and is again set in the 20 year period between Giantslayer & Orcslayer. They are:

Book 1: Grey Seer: Thanquol is tasked with going to Under-Altdorf and retreiving from there an artifact that belongs to Clan Pestilens called The Wormstone. Much treachery and typical skaven paranoia ensue, as thanquol has to contend with not only a Grey Wizard and his followers, but also Lord Skrolk!

Book 2: Temple of the Serpent: This sees Thanquol "recruited" by Clan Eshin via a memorable encounter with the Deathmaster, to aid their efforts to assassinate the prophet of Sotek, Tehenhuin. There is a great sequence where the skaven go about getting themselves a ship to sail to Lustria in, and Lustria itself is vividly brought to life as the "green hell" of myth.

Book 3: Thanquol's Doom: Here Thanquol is sent to aid the efforts of Clan Skyre to take a dwarf hold. He has to deal not only with having another Grey Seer along with him, but also with the mad genius of Ikit Claw.

All three books are fun reads, with some great recurring comedy like just how long a particular Boneripper will last for (I think 17 pages is the current record for shortest lifespan), and the delusions of grandeur Thanquol suffers whenever he takes some of the warpstone snuff he is addicted too.

Forrix
01-15-2012, 11:28 AM
all the books by William King are absolutely worth reading. Nothing personal against Nathan Long but his Gotrek and Felix just are not the same. That being said the ones by Nathan are still worth reading you just have to view them as a separate series and not compare them to Bill's work the same goes for the Ragnar books i would say.

Deadlift
01-15-2012, 12:51 PM
I enjoyed them all, but did find them all a bit samey as far as story line and plot. Snorri Nosebiter however deserves his own book.

gcsmith
01-15-2012, 03:52 PM
I liked all the books my sixth form library had.
I particuarly liked the one where felix's finds a lover and she gets killed by undead. To see him go ape. and have gotrex go, Finally my little human is learning is a good moment

isotope99
01-15-2012, 04:01 PM
Is it just me or are the titles becoming less and less ambitious?

Stay tuned for more deat defying adventures in these upcoming books:

Goblinslayer :eek:
Nurglingslayer :eek:

Forrix
01-16-2012, 09:24 AM
I completely agree on two points
1.) Snorri should finally be recognized as the real hero
2.) orc slayer, man slayer and elf slayer seem like a big step back after things like deamon slayer and dragon slayer.

eldargal
01-17-2012, 12:31 AM
Well really it had to happen, or you would run out of things to append 'slayer' to, or it would get really silly and specific. Fimirslayer, KeeperofSecretsslayer, Druchiislayer, GrailKnightSlayer. WitchElflayer.:rolleyes:

Cherub
01-17-2012, 04:55 AM
Well you do have to remember by this point, he has killed pretty much every type of big bad nasty there is in the game. All he has left is lots and lots of little things. Though I would love to see him go kill a named from the chaos books.....Like Crom or any of the old heros that are no longer in the books.

Brakkart
01-17-2012, 06:51 AM
Well you do have to remember by this point, he has killed pretty much every type of big bad nasty there is in the game. All he has left is lots and lots of little things. Though I would love to see him go kill a named from the chaos books.....Like Crom or any of the old heros that are no longer in the books.

Yeah it would be good to see him face off against another of the named characters from the game, like you say one not in use anymore would be ideal, someone like Arbaal the Undefeated, Crom, Aekold Helbrass or the like. According to the Keeper of Secrets he fights in Elfslayer (who recognises and is shared s***less of his axe!), Gotrek's Doom will be found at the hands of one far mightier than even the greater daemon. Assuming there is some end planned for the series eventually, anyone wanna take a guess at what such a creature could be? I'm thinking Nagash, Kholek Suneater, or maybe a greater daemon prince like Azazel. Few others would fit the bill.

Cherub
01-17-2012, 08:22 AM
I do like the story line behind his axe it is pretty amazing. Something about an axe that saw the dawn of the dwarven race being carried by a slayer is totally amazing. If they ever put rules for gotrek and felix back into the game I don't care what army they are in, I'm giving up what I play to game with them again.

Brakkart
01-17-2012, 10:19 AM
Gotrek's Axe is easily one of the coolest magic items in the Warhammer World, given that it is the twin to the High King's axe and thus was the axe carried by one of the Dwarf Gods (unsure of his name, Grugni possibly) into the Chaos Wastes in his effort to close the northern gate. Found by Gotrek many years later on his own trip into the wastes it's power has changed both Gotrek and Felix as Max points out in Elfslayer when he comments that Felix hasn't aged a day, despite it being 20 years since the last time Max had seen him (in which Max visibly has aged). In addition to its age retarding property, both the Slayer and Felix regenerate wounds at a vastly increased rate, and even old wounds vanish over time (such as the duelling scar Felix had before he met the Slayer, which Max notes has vanished), and both are stronger and faster than they ought to be (Gotrek's awesome tunneling in Orcslayer being a case in point).

As for adding them back into the game, I would think if this rumour of a Warhammer Allies book turns out to be true, they (along with Snorri, Katrina and maybe Max too) would make for a great mini warband that an Empire, Kislev, Dwarf or Bretonnian army could recruit. They don't truly belong to any of those lists, but as mercenaries that join a good cause they'd be perfect... and powerful to have on your side!

gcsmith
01-17-2012, 05:47 PM
Gotrex and Felix would be a great SOM unit :)

eldargal
02-16-2012, 07:45 AM
I've almost finished Skavenslayer in the First Omnibus, I've really enjoyed it so far. The characterisation of the Skaven is particularly good, they almost make me interested in them as an army. Only almost though.:rolleyes:

I enjoyed Trollslayer, too, especially the female champion of Khorne and I actually liked the one where Gotrek was bumped on the head except the bit about him being bumped on the head. Having Felix going off on his own to fix things was nifty, the reason why he had too not so much.

I'm up to the bit where Felix gets an invitation to Elector Countess Emannuelles' palace. I'm hoping we get to meet her at some point.

Brakkart
02-16-2012, 05:04 PM
The female champion of Khorne is definately one of the cooler villains they've faced, and her daughter Katrina reappears in the series much later on (in Shamanslayer in fact, which when it is compiled, will be the middle book of Omnibus 4!).

And yeah the Skaven are very fun to read (Thanquol in particular), as their scheming and paranoia is so funny at times. They are their own worst enemies.

eldargal
02-17-2012, 12:02 AM
I finished Skavenslayer before bed last night, enjoyed it a great deal. Looking forward to Daemonslayer, though I'm going to miss Nuln. It really is well written, there was a line in the Clan Pestilens chapter about the plaguie monks rolling around in their own pus and excrement accompanied by the sounds of coughing and 'fruity farts' which was just to revolting it was humorous.:rolleyes:

Tenbears
03-08-2012, 02:00 PM
I love the Bill King books, the other guy just wasn't the same. The series has gotten stale after Vampire Slayer, which itself was a little bit of a let-down. I really enjoy the portrayal of Dwarfish culture and the changes that Felix undergoes along the way.

Marshal_Wilhelm
03-08-2012, 04:12 PM
I have just read the first Omnibus. I really liked it :D

Gotrek and Felix were my first Fantasy miniatures, iIrc....
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/thumb/e/e1/Gotrek%26Felix4E.JPG/250px-Gotrek%26Felix4E.JPG

I have long felt that William King pretty much wrote the same series twice - once for G&F and once for Ragnar and the SW. To me, Ragnar is far too human and maudlin, and his thoughts don't match how I feel Astartes 'should' operate - Abnett's Loken would be my 'most human' version of an Astartes, typically.

But for a human being, such thoughts and progression are A+
So I like the G&F books much more. And SW are quite Dwarfen too....

Anway, all good stuff.

How do others pronounce Gotrek?

Go•trek
But not Go like 'go and get some milk' but the Go part of got. Without the t, obviously :P
A short o.

eldargal
03-31-2012, 07:38 AM
So I just finished the First Omnibus, really enjoyed it. Moving onto the second now. Took a lot longer to get the last 60 pages of Daemonslayer read on account of Mass Effect 3 and whatnot.:rolleyes:

The last battle was very well written I thought, suitably nasty and brutish but with excellent pacing, no gratuitous lingering on details.

Seeing Ulrika introduced earlier was nice, a little cliched though. 'I'll sleep with you, soldier I only just met, because you're going to go on a suicide mission and you bested me in single combat, take off your trousers now'.

Brakkart
03-31-2012, 08:41 AM
Seeing Ulrika introduced earlier was nice, a little cliched though. 'I'll sleep with you, soldier I only just met, because you're going to go on a suicide mission and you bested me in single combat, take off your trousers now'.

Well he did best her in single combat, to the victor go the spoils and all that! ;)

Also gotta bear in mind that the Black Library was in its infancy back then and their standards have come a long way since.

eldargal
03-31-2012, 09:25 AM
Oh I know, it isn't as if it was a huge issue or anything, it didn't even bother me I just thought 'that's been done'.

Samules
03-31-2012, 10:32 AM
I gotta say that after nine books I got a little tired of the series. After facing down daemon lord and a massive invasion and surviving relatively unscathed it loses the sense of mortality and becomes a bit dull and repetitive. (Oh, another inescapable doom, *yawn*)

Diagnosis Ninja
04-01-2012, 09:17 AM
I've read the whole series, minus the anthology which I might pick up this week.

I enjoyed it all really, but Elfslayer was a little bit too over the top by my count. You might agree with me when you reach that point, and you'll know why lol.

Still, Felix is one of my favourite characters from a series, even though he isn't the best or most famous.

I'm just hoping that the series doesn't fizzle out before it ends, and that Gotrek doesn't end up dying to some random goblin, or the plague or whatever. Or Khorne, because the way the series is going whatever does kill him is probably going to be on par with that.

Evz
10-13-2012, 10:44 PM
Been reading these books since 2001 at least. I love them and intend on following them to their end. The models was the second citadel blister pack I had ever bought.

Wildeybeast
10-14-2012, 05:02 AM
Welcome to the forum!

bfmusashi
10-15-2012, 08:42 AM
The omnibuses are solid and by the time you're tired of Gotrek and Felix never developing as a partnership you get a time jump and a new author. Haven't gotten past the third omnibus though so I don't know how the series has gone after that.

Evz
10-15-2012, 05:09 PM
Thanks for the welcome!

Oh, keep reading. Nathan Long makes the series even better. There is honestly no way this could be bad ever imo.

bfmusashi
10-16-2012, 12:33 PM
I am cheap when it comes to my fiction so I'm waiting on omnibus 4 on G&F and omnibus 3 for Cain :)

Mr Mystery
01-25-2013, 04:05 PM
Currently about three quarters through Road of Skulls.

First things first... This is NOT a follow up to Zombieslayer. Make of that what you will.

Second things second.... Josh Reynold's prose takes a bit of getting used to, but is well worth perservering.

A worthy addition, if the lack of chronological setting is jarring/disappointing. Took me a bit, but I've pushed past the downsides, and what I am reading is a thoroughly enjoyable tale! Now in terms of chronology.... Hard to place this. It could fall between Troll and Skaven, but also be between Giant and Orc. I've not checked my library yet, but it's from 'My travels with Gotrek, Vol II' so those who are fussed can likely slot it into established continuity!

Buy it. Read it. Enjoy it. I have done the first two, and am in the midst of the third Commandment!

Myu
03-12-2015, 01:36 AM
What books comes before Kinslayer? Felix is married apparently and separated from Gotrek but despite reading at least most of the novels and short stories, I don't remember it at all. Also googling doesn't help much as other people aren't sure either :P

I've enjoyed most of the series myself, primarily the william king ones but liked some of the others.

Mr Mystery
03-12-2015, 03:46 AM
Righty dokey! Established chronology coming right up!

Trollslayer
Skavenslayer
Daemonslayer
Dragonslayer
Beastslayer
Vampireslayer
Giantslayer (aka Gorek and Felix - The Contractural Obligation)
Orcslayer
Manslayer
Elfslayer
Shamanslayer
Zombieslayer
Kinslayer

Those are the books that form a single, more or less coherent narrative of their adventures.

The other ones - Road of Skulls, City of the Damned and Serpent Queen are harder to place - particularly Road of Skulls as I don't recall Felix moping about over Ulrika in that one?

And if you've enjoyed Nathan Long's take - do check out the Ulrika series.

And everyone should check out the Thanquol books, because it's Thanquol.

Myu
03-12-2015, 06:13 AM
Thanks very much, I have the Thanqol books, I shall try the Ulrika ones :)

Does Felix get married and leave Gotrek in Zombieslayer? Because I don't remember that. Maybe those event happened off camera as it were. Then again, maybe my memory is terrible :P

Mr Mystery
03-12-2015, 06:29 AM
Zombieslayer ends with Snorri being taken to regain his memory in the Slayer Shrine of Karak Kadrin.

Felix is with Kat at that point - and there's no mention of Kat at all in the intervening books.

Myu
03-13-2015, 04:58 AM
Cheers

eldargal
08-09-2015, 09:14 AM
Read that interview with David Guymer on the front page, whoever did the interview forgot to ask him why the hack thought having Felix murder Ulrika for the most contrived, nonsensical reasons that shat all over her character development in her own novel series was a good thing and why the scene focused entirely on his manpain and not the fact he just murdered his ex girlfriend for no reason.

Haven't been able to muster any lasting enthusiasm for WFB since then, screw Age of Sigmar Kinslayer killed WFB for me.