Gotrek And Felix Books In Order

[Trudi Miranda]

Wowthis was fun! I'm currently in the process of reading / re-reading the Gotrek and Felix series in order of events rather than the publishing order. It's fun and interesting and a wee bit infuriating as I'm trying to place all the short stories in some semblance of order but also the modern novels are not in the 'Slayer' series line. Of course, the world has been ret-conned but I can hand wave that and try and best guess where the newer books should go.

Well 'Road of Skulls' comes immediately after the short story 'Charnel Congress' (available as an ebook and in the 'Lost Tales' anthology) and is definitely after Trollslayer but before Skavenslayer. One of the things I really liked about this book is that it is epic in nature and indeed some of Gotrek's feats in later novels almost seem overshadowed by events in this one. I think this is an important touch. Due to the nature of the first ten books there was a sense that Gotrek was always searching for bigger and nastier stuff to kill, however it's important to consider that by the time Gotrek and Felix meet Gotrek is already an immense killing machine. By having 'Road of Skulls' having such a tremendous set of foes it also shows that Gotrek simply doesn't 'level up' through the books.

The book also foreshadows 'The End Times'. Whilst I think Games Workshop's destruction of 'The Old World' is akin to a child smashing a toy because they wanted no one else to play with it at least it's given Reynolds novel a bit of added depth. I'm not sure if Reynolds was aware of GW's plans in 2012 when writing the book but it sure seems to click into place with what's passed as 'canon' today.

So the basic plot is a horde of Chaos is besieging the Dwarf stronghold of Karak Kadrin just as Gotrek and Felix turn up. The Chaotic horde is well developed. Sure, there are tons of mooks - the Chaos Marauders and Beastmen are there to be wiped out but there is a complexity and depth to the Khornate legion. The army is led by Garmr, the Gorewolf. He's a centuries old Champion of Chaos endeavouring to slaughter as many as possible to open a portal to the Realm of Chaos, traversing a path from the Chaos Wastes and creating a Road of Skulls. His lieutenants Ekaterina, Hrolf and Canto are plotting against him and each other whilst fearing him in order lead the warband and preserve their own skins. Underneath them still are about six other Champions (with requisite mutations) all trying to defeat their superiors and ascend the hierarchy - such is the way of Chaos.

Reading about the nature of the Army and it's loose associations I had a hankering to dig out the Realms of Chaos books from the late 80's and roll up a warband or two for a skirmish (if I had any minatures and someone to play with that is!). The list of evil foes for the Dwarves isn't complete though - Gorewolf has a deamon hound / monstrosity linked to him by it's soul. It makes Chaos Hounds look like puppy dogs. Gorewolf's cousin is a Tzzentch sorcerer held captive and rounding out the wicked are the Chaos Dwarves with their daemon weapons. Personally I've felt the Chaos Dwarves are a minor part of the world and seeing them feature here makes me hanker for more. Reynolds has one twisted imagination as the Chaos Dwarves have rather ingenious and tortuous ways to achieve their goals.

The book is action packed from start to finish and exceptionally violent and gory. The genocidal nature of Chaos isn't flinched away from and this isn't a book to read if you're not found of skulls getting smashed in by hammers on every page.

As someone who has never been a 'give all my money to GW for minatures' kind of guy but someone who is aware of the world on the periphery through roleplaying sometimes the Gotrek and Felix books can be a bit 'here's an army list you can buy - now watch them fight'. That happens here - the first half of the book seems like a giant battle - what saves it is the perspective of the various Chaos champions and also that the action is well put together. The pacing is fast and the siege in particular is nail biting. The use of siege giants is particularly graphic and evocative.

We see a lot more of Dwarf culture in Road of Skulls and it stacks up well with the backstory of Gotrek which we get in Orcslayer. I've never been mad for Dwarves but in the two novels where their culture is explored more fully both authors have presented a dying race of millennia with an unbending culture.

The interaction between Gotrek and Felix is a bit off as other reviewers have commented but I would like to add to this in defence of Reynolds - this is early in Felix's career and is the first time he has engaged a 'world ending' enemy and an 'army'. He isn't yet the swordsman he becomes and can't yet hang in battle. For those who have read much of the series this isn't the Felix we know, but it is probably the Felix you remember after Trolslayer.

This isn't great fiction by any stretch but as a quick fantasy novel it's a lot of fun. It's a page turner and an easy read. Unlike some of the short stories post King and Long this feels like it belongs in the overarching story.

Following their arduous and costly battle against the vampires of Sylvania, Gotrek, Felix and their companions attempt to deal with the losses they all have suffered. However, the evils of the Old World are never considerate of grief, and soon the heroes find themselves attacked by a horde of beastmen. Following them to their lair, they discover a mysterious cavern full of tunnels pulsing with unnatural power.

Giantslayer was another great and highly entertaining Gotrek and Felix novel that successfully showcased the outrageous protagonists while further exploring the elaborate Warhammer Fantasy universe. This was another amazing book from William King, and I felt that he ended his run on this series on a great note, especially as Giantslayer contained a fantastic and fast-paced story. Taking place in the immediate aftermath of Vampireslayer, Giantslayer quickly thrusts the protagonists into the midst of the action while simultaneously introducing the reader to the character of Teclis, who serves as a great additional central character. The first few chapters of the book are pretty trippy in places, especially as all the characters find themselves trapped in a mystical realm, and the subsequent escape results in some fantastic sequences. The characters are then transported to Albion and must explore this intriguing new landscape while trying to overcome their many personal issues, namely the animosity between Gotrek and Teclis, which adds a fun edge to the entire narrative.

While the character work around Gotrek and Felix was minimal in Giantslayer, King more than makes up for this with the inclusion of the master mage Teclis, one of the more significant High Elf characters in the game. Teclis is a very fascinating character in the lore, and I deeply enjoyed how King portrayed him throughout Giantslayer. King amped up the arrogant, ethereal and ancient qualities of Teclis in his storytelling, and you can really feel how apart from the various human characters he is, especially in the many scenes that he narrates. Teclis is also, by his nature, a rather darker cynical figure, even compared to other elves, and it was great to see this featured throughout the book, especially when it comes to his dealings with the other characters. Despite this, he is still a good person whose sole concern is the preservation of his homeland and the rest of the world. I think that King utilised him perfectly throughout Giantslayer and he served as a great alternative narrator to Felix. I loved seeing this iconic mage in action, and it was especially fun to see him interact with Gotrek considering how antagonist dwarfs and elves are with each other. The two engage in a petty war of words for most of the book, which proves to be highly amusing, as these usually collected characters end up bickering like children. This makes for an extremely unique dynamic throughout the novel that I found to be highly entertaining. King backs up Teclis with a series of great supporting characters and intriguing villains, all of whom add a certain amount of flair and strength to the story. While King once again fails to include any substantial or distinctive female characters, except for a few minor figures, I enjoyed the excellent character inclusions to the series and you get really invested in some new personal stories in this book.

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. For my latest Throwback Thursday I continue my recent obsession with Warhammer Fantasy fiction by checking out another entry in the iconic Gotrek and Felix series by William King, Vampireslayer.

I have been on a real roll with looking at the cool fiction associated with the now defunct Warhammer Fantasy tabletop game over the last few weeks, including the fantastic novels Runefang and Van Horstman. However, few Warhammer Fantasy books have grabbed my attention or interest more than the Gotrek and Felix series, which serves as one of the central pillars of Warhammer fiction. The Gotrek and Felix books, which were originally written by William King, follow the titular characters, dwarf slayer Gotrek Gurnisson and his sworn human companion Felix Jaeger, as they journey around the Warhammer Fantasy realm, finding monsters to fight and kill, all in the hope of finding a worthy death for Gotrek. This is an awesome and unbelievably exciting fantasy series that take the reader to some of the darkest parts of the Warhammer Fantasy world and sees them face off against all manner of crazy foes.

I have had an absolute blast getting through the Gotrek and Felix books over the last year, as there have been some cracking reads in there. The previous books, Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer, Dragonslayer and Beastslayer, have all had their own unique charm, and all of them have been well written and compelling reads. Vampireslayer is the sixth book in the series, and as the name suggests, it pits Gotrek, Felix and their allies against one of the most dangerous creatures in the Warhammer canon, an ancient and deadly vampire count.

3a8082e126