Customer Reviews

Shamanslayer (Gotrek & Felix Novels)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dwarf Gotrek Gurnisson and his human companion Felix Jaeger return for another adventure. Felix returns home to learn his father is dead. Felix vows vengeance upon the skaven sorcerer who had ordered his father's death. But Felix's revenge must be put on hold. Sir Teobalt von Dreschler is the templar and librarian of the Order of the Fiery Heart. The knight gives Felix the task of locating his missing comrades and recovering the order's regalia. So Gotrek and Felix travel north to seek the remaining members of the Order of the Fiery Heart. The pair soon find themselves crossing paths with some people from their past.

Gotrek is not the only slayer seeking his doom in the area. Three more slayers join Gotrek in this quest. One of those slayers is Snorri Nosebiter. It is a bittersweet reunion because it is obvious that something strange has happened to Gotrek's slayer friend.

It has been many years since Felix rescued a seven-year-old girl and left her in the care of the Messner family. Now Kat is all grown up. (Something Felix is trying hard not to notice.) The young woman is an exceptional tracker and lethal with her weapons. She has made a vow to rid Drakwald of beastmen. Recently a massive herd of beastmen have been traveling to a certain patch of sacred ground with their shaman and herdstone (the huge stone totem of the tribe). Once there, the shaman plans to unleash the herdstone's full power against mankind and change the Empire forever.

**** FOUR STARS! Be forewarned that this time the story ends with a major cliffhanger! Fans of this series may want to wait until the next title is released and read them both at once. Those that wait will not feel the disgusting frustration I currently am. In my opinion, a book cannot end in a worse way and I have done my duty in warning you.

On the plus side, it is wonderful to finally see Gotrek get his spark back. No longer does the slayer sulk in taverns and down kegs of beer to dull his misery. (Though beer is still the main staple in the dwarf's diet, of course.) Nathan Long has remained true to the Slayer Code and is slowly making the series his own. These stories of the duo's dangerous adventure have yet to slow down or start to become boring. This tale is a worthy addition to the Gotrek and Felix legend. But, hopefully, future books will not end with our heroes staring death in the face. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is another in the Black Library Warhammer Series, and the first I have read of the Gotrek (a one-eyed dwarf "slayer" who has been dishonored and taken an oath to his god to meet his fate) and Felix (his human friend and sworn chronicler) series. This is about the 4th in the series dealing with these two characters, who were created and written by another author before Nathan Long has taken over the adventures of the pair. Prior volumes included three adventures each.
Nathan Long is a very good storyteller, keeping the yarn moving with healthy doses of danger and humor while blending unpleasant realities of travel in a lawless frontier -- cold, deprevation, poor sleep, and bad food.
These are two interesting and enjoyable characters -- Gotrek is taciturn and possessed of a rather singleminded determination to "meet his doom" in a particularly flamboyant fashion, and it is this desire for glory which led him to seek a writer-adventurer as a companion, but also keeps him from following the "slayer" path of throwing his or her life away upon the first "impossible" fight encountered. Felix, a formidable fighter in his own right, does most of the non-violent communication for the pair, as well as finding times to have published volumes chronicling their adventures. Encountering readers along the way is something of a risk, when it entails an expectation the pair will live up to their more outrageous exploits.
In this installment, the pair have traveled together for about 20 years. Felix has just discovered his merchant father has been slain by a lingering villain from a prior adventure, but after an unpleasant confrontation with his merchant brother, he is acosted by a Templar because of the ensorciled sword he carries. In a past adventure, Felix had acquired the sword from an owner who no longer had a use for it. Felix reluctantly returns the sword, but is given loan of it back on the condition he assist the old Templar's quest in finding the remains of his order and the order's regalia which seems lost in the fighting in the Northern forests. The enemy of this campaign (and there are lots of enemies of the Empire in this dark age) are the Beastmen, who are semi-humanoid mutants combining beast-like strength and determination with large numbers, nasty disposition, but lacking in human cunning. To keep Felix's sword, the quest is accepted.
The trip north is dangerous, uncomfortable, and highly risky, as there has been fighting the previous season and many of the settlements have been destroyed. Trade is uncertain at best, and the inhabitants are damaged and demoralized, with many of the less-reputable returning soldiers filling vaccuums left by vacant lords and authorities.
Felix is saved again by a girl he had saved (apparently from a sorceress mother) and last seen at the age of seven sometime near the beginning of his travels with Gotrek. Kat, the woman-adventurer, because her kind foster-family was wiped out by the Beastmen, has vowed an unwaivering quest to exterminate them all. To that end, she has become a scout-ranger who travels the dark woods in search of the enemy and calling down on them human authorities.
Felix's fondness for the memory of the small girl and his admiration of her lethality and forest cunning cause him to drift into conflicted feelings about her due to his circumstances and their disperate ages as they travel together. While each of these characters is of a "recognizable type" for this fixture, Nathan Long makes each of them interesting individuals, and punctuates bordom, adventure, and combat with humor, tactical choices, and romance.
The group ultimately discovers a powerful shaman of the Beastmen has wielded together a terrible monolithic vehicle for sorcery which can turn any human into a Beastman, and they see it happen to some of their unlucky companions. The novitiate who accompanies the Templar is one such unfortunate, as are the various military forces and villagers who have encountered this swarm as it moves through the forest towing the magic monolith toward an uncertan destination and for a mysterious purpose. The novitiate gathers his remaining humanity and reveals the terrible and appocalyptic purpose of the shaman and the Beastmen, but how can this small band thwart such overwhelming odds.
While this main plot nicely resolves, Long deftly provides a cliffhanger ending which will keep us awaiting the next installment.
RECOMMENDED.

Gotrek Gurnisson is a dwarf slayer seeking his doom (glorious death) to redeem himself for past wrongdoings. Felix Jaeger is his human companion, writing about the deeds/adventures of the slayer. Gotrek saved Felix's life, long ago, and Felix swore a blood-oath to record Gotrek's doom, to restore honor to his name. Unfortunately, Gotrek is so skilled in fighting that he is still alive.

In Shamanslayer, Felix returns to his home to confirm his father's death at the hands of skavens. Before Felix can carry out his revenge, a knight from the Order of the Fiery Heart demands that the rune sword, Karaghul, be returned to the templars. However, Felix -- desperate to keep the sword he has grown attached to -- manages to make a deal with the old knight: discover the fate of the missing knights of the Order, and recover the holy regalia.

After Felix and Gotrek set out on their new mission, they cross paths with two old friends: Snorri Nosebiter and Kat. Even though Felix was originally a poet before becoming an experienced swordsman, it was still strange to see him turn into a nervous wreck around Kat. The backstory with Snorri and his memory loss was also disturbing. Shamanslayer portrayed Gotrek and Felix in a slightly different way from previous Warhammer books.

Their group discovers that the missing templar knights were overtaken by beastmen; as they follow the trail of the herd, they realize that these beastmen belong to a herd numbering in the thousands. Urslak Cripplehorn (the shaman) and Gorgorath the God-Touched (a warlord) have found a way to increase their herd, and destroy their enemies at the same time. They are also planning to conquer the forests of the Empire through an elaborate ritual.

Gotrek figures he can either stop the ritual, or finally meet his doom. Felix feels he has no choice, due to his oath, but he wishes he was free to pursue a relationship with Kat. Snorri tags along, hoping to get his memory back. It was not the ending I was expecting, but I loved this book.

If you are a fan of the Gotrek & Felix series, you might like Grey Seer (Warhammer), which features the skaven Thanquol. I loved reading his view of his past with Gotrek and "his pet human."

In this Gotrek and Felix adventure, the formidable duo travel north to discover the fate of missing Knights of the Fiery Heart. Along the way, they discover some friends, but also some powerful enemies. Someone is leading the beastmen on a new path...a frightening path indeed!

This is another good Warhammer book. It has lots of great action and adventure, and I automatically love any story that has a dwarf as a main character. My one and only problem with this book is its ending. It can be very irritating waiting and waiting for a sequel to come out and continue the story.

But, that said, it is another great Warhammer book, and if you like that series, then you will like this book.

After reading this book i ended up buying the whole series and dipping into other Warhammer books as well. It was an excellent read for any fantasy fans...especially those that like dwarfs.

"Shamanslayer" is the eleventh recorded adventure of Warhammer's popular duo, Gotrek and Felix. Personally, this was my first "Gotrek & Felix" novel, and my second foray into the "Warhammer" series of books. Much like the other book that I read, "Grey Seer," it is filled with violent, gory action, dark magic, and dripping with testosterone.

Despite having no previous knowledge of Gotrek and Felix, I found no problem with understanding this book. I was immediately comfortable with the duo and became particularly fond of the Gotrek, a dwarf who's looking for his final doom. While some parts of the story are related to past adventures of the pair, author Nathan Long gives just enough of a description of the past events so that new readers like myself aren't entirely lost and longtime fans don't feel slowed down with the current adventure.

In this particular quest, Felix finds himself without his prized sword, Karaghul, when a knight claims that it rightfully belongs to the Order of the Fiery Heart. Soon enough, though, Felix finds himself reunited with his sword and allowed to carry it and, perhaps, keep it if he proves himself worthy of owning it. In order to do this, he and Gotrek must accompany the knight, Sir Teobalt, and his squire, Ortwin, on a journey to recover the regalia of the Order of the Fiery Heart, as well as to discover the fate of the Order's few remaining knights.

Along the way, the group come into contact with a number of characters from Felix and Gotrek's past. These include Kat, a girl whom Gotrek and Felix saved twenty years before, and more slayers like Gotrek. Of particular interest is Snorri Nosebiter, a slayer with a terrible secret.

In very short order, the group find themselves in the thick of a massive herd of beastmen moving south and carrying a huge herdstone with them. Leading the group is a shaman called Urslak and a seemingly immortal warrior called Gargorath the God-Touched. The beastmen have great and terrible plans for the herdstone, and it is up to Gotrek, Felix, Kat, and a small army to stop the massive herd before they unleash the power of the herdstone.

Will they succeed? Read "Shamanslayer" and find out.

As I've already stated, this fantasy is dripping with gore and violence. However, Long manages to squeak in quite a bit of character development (and a little romance) into this adventure. It's a wonderful quest told at a swift pace and will satisfy even the most demanding of fantasy and adventure fans.

I highly recommend "Shamanslayer" and now have plans to pick up the three omnibuses and "Elfslayer" that precede this adventure. I hope they are just as wonderful as the tale was.

Having taken over one of the most popular series from one of the most popular Black Library authors(King) must have been pretty daunting for Long, but he holds up the adventures admirably. You are not getting too much new, lots of fun and lots of hack and slash fighting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has been following the Gotrek and Felix series, prehaps not the best of the series but still a very good read. If you have never read any of the Gotrek and Felix books, I would say to go back to the first book and read them in order as this chapter does introduce characters from their past which might be confusing if you are a Gotrek and Felix newbie.

All in all a very solid book continuing the saga.

This is a fine entry in the series, once more pulling characters back in from earlier volumes to good effect(though thankfully not Thanquol for once).

When a series goes on this long, there is a possibility it can become tired, but so far I see no real sign of that.

Resting the 'Thanquol' plots for a couple of books however is a good thing, I have so far avoided the 'Thanquol' spin off book 'Grey Seer'

I am looking forward to the other Gotrek and Felix spin off 'Ulrika the Vampire', which is due early in the new year, there should be a great deal of plot possibilities with that book.

I would Imagine it's becoming a problem to find more 'named' creatures to slay.

Apparently, in the universe of Warhammer, the Gotrek & Felix (G&F) series seems to be highly successful. I am not a Warhammer follower yet, having only read two books from both Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. However, the other Warhammer book I've read was Grey Seer (and I enjoyed that one--see my other review), and that book was based on the G&F series, so maybe the critics are right.

The central characters are Gotrex Gurnisson and Felix Jaeger. I have no previous knowledge of the two, but that didn't seem to hamper the reading. Basically, you find out that Gotrex is a "Slayer"--usually a trollslayer (according to Wikipedia, slayer is en entire anthology of G&F adventures), but now (drumroll please) a shamanslayer. In a nutshell, he's a dwarf bent on going out in a blaze of glory (which dwarf in any literature isn't?) because of some really bad thing he did in the past. Felix, on the other hand is a human poet (who now fights with a huge broadsword) who at some point in the past swore a blood-oath to Gotrex to document his blaze of glory into the annals of Warhammer history.

The plot in this story is again pretty simple (four Warhammer books I've read essentially all the same with different characters): G&F adventure to find this group called Order of the Fiery Heart, G&F run into beastmen (the bad guys), slicing and dicing ensues, and (another drumroll please) it ends setting up for the next book.

If you like Warhammer, and have enjoyed the previous G&F books, you'll probably like this. It's chock full of the G&F killing EVERYTHING in spite of ridiculous odds (seriously, how exciting can the book be when you know the main characters can't die?). I specifically enjoyed how, different from the other Warhammer books I've been reading, the author respectfully develops the main characters, Gotrex and Felix and their relationship together. If the plot had more complexity, I'd recommend this book completely. Perhaps, this will come together in the next book?

I should preface this review by mentioning that this is my first Warhammer book. While I'm well acquainted with the fantasy heroic genre, I've never been really attracted to the war gaming universe, and so I simply ignored the accompanying novels. Put it down to blind prejudice, but I simply assumed that books that arise from marching painted figure around wouldn't be very good.

So here I am, having read the 10th book in a long series, and I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. While the book has it's share of marching armies, it is really about individuals - Gotrek, a doom-seeking dwarf, and his friend Felix who is sworn to witness his doom. The two go from adventure to adventure and, for the most part, fight the good fight.

This time it's all about beastmen, who have grouped together in order to march a sacred stone into human territory, there to set it up in a sacred ring and bring the end of humanity as we know it. While the story has few twists it starts out as a quest to regain Felix's sword when it is reclaimed by the sacred order that originally lost it. But cut leads to slash and it takes them very little time to be up to their buckles in disaster. In the meantime Felix falls in love and Gotrek figures out what to do with a badly forgetful dwarf.

Keep in mind that Shamanslayer was never intended to be more than a heroic tale where almost everything is dangerous. So there is much more conflict than there is dialogue. I found Felix a bit irritating since he is prone to dithering morality at awkward moments. Bit still, my overall impression was favorable and I expect that regular consumers of Warhammer lit will be delighted.