Gotrek & Felix: The Third Omnibus (Warhammer Novels) [Paperback]

William King (Author), Nathan Long (Author)

Book Description

Series: Warhammer Novels | Publication Date: June 30, 2009

Omnibus edition of books seven to nine in the best-selling Gotrek & Felix series - Giantslayer, Orcslayer and Manslayer - by William King and Nathan Long.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nathan Long has worked as a screenwriter for fifteen years, during which time he has had three movies made a handful of live-action and animated TV episodes produced. He has written four novels, and several award-winning short stories. He lives in Hollywood.

 

William King was born in Stranraer, Scotland, in 1959. His short stories have appeared in The Year’s Best SF, Zenith, White Dwarf and Interzone.  Bill worked for Games Workshop for several years as a game designer and went on to write novels and short stories.  He is the originator of the much-loved Gotrek & Felix adventures and the Space Wolf novels.  He currently lives in Scotland with his wife.

Product Details

• Paperback: 832 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop; Original edition (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184416733X
• ISBN-13: 978-1844167333
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars OK but not as good as King's, November 19, 2009

By 

D. Christianson "Shorty" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gotrek & Felix: The Third Omnibus (Warhammer Novels) (Paperback)

I've really enjoyed the Gotrex and Felix books by William King and was hesitant to buy this when I saw that a new author (Nathan Long) had taken over the series. He has stuck fairly close to the Felix character but has not done so with Gotrex in his first novel of the trilogy Orcslayer. (Giantslayer by Willam King is excellent. I give it five stars). Gotrex is definately not the character you get from the previous books. Not sure what Long is aiming at in Orcslayer but Gotrex is not nearly as tough under Long's pen as he was under King's. Long is also inconsistant at times. For example he has Gotrex recovering from being shot and falling off a cliff in five days but he can't recover from digging for two hours and stays exhausted forever. Long plays extensively on Gotrex exhaustion instead of the power and toughness that King created. Long's Gotrex is not even close to tough enough to kill the Giant, the Daemon or even the Skaven that King created. Long's first book is a major step down from King. Long also completely rewrote the Dwarves as self-centered, greedy and intolerant which is the complete opposite of King's impression of the race. Overall Orcslayer had some good action but was too far off the world that King had created for me to really enjoy the book.

Long does redeem himself somewhat with Manslayer. He get's a lot closer to Gotrex strength and recuperative powers. He also gives some tantalizing hints to Felix not aging in his past twenty years even though he's had a tough time with Gotrex. Overall a much better effort than Orcslayer. My only knock is the cliffhanger ending. I hate authors who will not wrap up the story and leave us hanging. (Spoiler: There is no reason to have Felix blackout with the Gotrex's reliable drifting past in ashes.) This was a great story more true to King's world but ruined by not wrapping things up. Makes me hesitant to continue buying the series. Long has taken away one of the things I liked most. He does not wrap up the episod but has been caught-up in the "leave them hanging" with the never ending story syndrom. Leaves me ticked off and not so interested in pursuing the series any longer. I have not read but have seen reviews that say that the next book is even more of a cliffhanger. If true shame on Nathan Long and please wrap things up like King did. It's one of the things that made the series differnt from so many others. A series where we as fans actually get resolution instead of being dissatisfied because the story never ends (ex:Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time(suddenly another trilogy with a new author); George R.R. Martin who can't get around to writing the next Fire and Ice book even though he has written several others and has been teasing fans for years.)

Overall these are good stories. Not pleased with Long's first effort(Orcslayer) but he does better with Manslayer. Detest the cliffhanger ending of Manslayer. Give Giantslayer*****'s; Orcslayer***'s and Manslayer****'s Overall****'s

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Switching authors doesn't work for this series, January 31, 2010

By 

BrainiacRK "BrainiacRK" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gotrek & Felix: The Third Omnibus (Warhammer Novels) (Paperback)

I have to admit that I didn't read this entire omnibus. I actually stopped reading about twenty or thirty pages into Orcslayer (the second novel), which I will explain below.

As for the first novel, Giantslayer, which is written by original author King... it is pretty good. At the very least, it expands the Warhammer universe appropriately and has a few very epic and interesting scenarios. Unfortunately, it did seem like King was getting a bit bored with the series considering that some of the prose and dialog used throughout the novel is incredibly repetitive (even more so than in his other novels). Based on Giantslayer's ending, I think King either knew for sure that he wasn't going to continue the series himself or he at least had plans to change thing up quite a bit in regard to the setting and supporting characters.

Orcslayer is, of course, the first novel in the series written by a different author (Nathan Long). I have no reason to think Long is a poor writer in his own way, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that he doesn't stay faithful to the Gotrek & Felix characters or Warhammer universe (which very much contradicts his statements in the book's forward). Instead of explaining this in full detail, something that can be found in other reviews of Long's Gotrek & Felix novels, I'll offer an analogy: reading King's Giantslayer and then diving directly into Long's Orcslayer is like watching the DVD version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and then immediately switching to a Hercules: The Legendary Journeys made for TV movie starring Kevin Sorbo. I'll let you figure out what I mean by that.

I plan to return to this series and attempt to continue with Long's novels after I've let this omnibus sit on my shelf for a few months. I'm hoping that some time spent away from the series will allow me to look past the way Long changes Gotrek into a cartoon character and leaps backward with Felix's development as a character.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A non-stop exciting novel., January 7, 2010

By 

Lazaro Velez "Lazaro Velez" (Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gotrek & Felix: The Third Omnibus (Warhammer Novels) (Paperback)

Great novel as well as the other before this one. Very recommended for those who want to understand the bond between these to characters and the fates that follows them. You just can stop or pause. You are compelled to keep reading. Very great work.