Customer Reviews

Skavenslayer (A Gotrek & Felix novel)

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

 

 

Gotrek and Felix rock, it's that simple. While Trollslayer was more of an anthology, Skavenslayer winds tighter and closer to an actual novel. Each chapter builds on the previous one, they must be read in order for the whole book to make sense. Not quite as strongly related as Daemonslayer chapters are, but Skavenslayer is a nice bridge between the first and third books in this series, as Daemonslayer is a full-out novel.

I found the Skaven very funny and likeable. They are kind of like stupid pets with an evil, simple intelligence. They do things they aren't suppose to, but it is hard to fault them b/c of their stupidity. I almost found myself cheering for them instead of Gotrek and Felix.

But Gotrek is invincible, and Felix gets tougher as the story continues. I really liked the relationship between him and his brother. It gives some depth to his character. I am tempted to say this is the best of the series, but the final battle of Deamonslayer with the Bloodthirster is simply beyond amazing, so Skavenslayer is second best, but still a great read.

Modern fantasy should be more like this. Like the old Robert E. Howard Conan stuff. Instead of lame, drawn out crap like Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. Boring!!! It's D&D character developement verses Diablo's hack and slash, kill everything in sight. I'll take the latter everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

*** 1/2 Stars

What started over a decade ago in a magazine devoted to the roleplaying and tabletop games by Games Workshop called Warhammer, now sees a surprising resurgence of life after all these years since Games Workshop closed their book publishing division, GW Books. Though the magazine lives on, the great stories from arguably the best fantasy world since Tolkein created Middle Earth (I actually think the world of Warhammer better). Sadly GW has seemingly abandoned even their flagship roleplaying game (and my favorite roleplaying game of all time) and all the world detail that went along with it.

But this is a review about a the second book in a series that is 10 years overdue. While Trollslayer (the first book) was only a collection of short stories (reprinted from the early magazine/anthology days), this one flows much more like a novel in it's own right. I will point out however, that the first chapter is actually a short story published years ago.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it's nicer to read a book with more continuity, yet bad because the stories of Felix and Gotrek worked so well in the short story format. Not that I'm complaining; I've waited over 10 years for a Felix and Gotrek novel and now I have one.

I've rated this book less than I did for Trollslayer, but it's not bad. Above all, William King's writing style and characterization will keep you flipping pages even when story doesn't live up to it's potential. There are many great points to the book, and William gets to really develop the Skaven (ratmen) far beyond what he did long ago in the short story Skavenslayer.

The fun points are watching Felix and Gotrek repeatedly thwart the bumbling machinations of the Skaven, ultimately leading up the the stories climax where the Skaven assault one of the largest human cities in the world (right where our heroes happen to be). As fun as all this is, I was just a bit dissapointed at how the book focused so much on the Skaven and their plots.

One of the great things about the short stories was how you [the reader] got to explore so much of the Warhammer world through the eyes of these two wouldbe heroes. Trollslayer [the book] takes you on a wild ride starting from the first exploits of our heroes to thwart a chaos cultic ritual, to saving a border town from goblin wolfriders, to the deep underground of an ancient dwarven fortress in search of lost treasure only to find something truely horrific. And these only the first three stories of the book. Skavenslayer offers Skaven, then more Skaven, then even more Skaven.

The book is good, though not as dynamic as the first. If you liked Trollslayer, by all means get this book. I can't get enough of Felix and Gotrek.

Being a true warhammer fan, i had quite a lot of experiance with the warhammer world before i read this, i therefore found it an enjoyable and exciting read. Newcomers to the hobby, or indeed fans of the more futuristic versions of warhammer, will not find this as fun as i did. People may find the idea of giant rat men etc. a bit stupid, which may be hard to grasp. Gotrek still fights with supernatural strength and speed, while felix as usual, hangs back from the main fighting and picks on single enemies, but the book offers a few suprises, as felix sometimes gets the best and hardist kills. The book always has a suspicious mood after you find out about the massive skaven army massing around the city, and keeps you reading. William king, the author has perfectly captured the trechurous ways of the skaven, the utter brutality of gotrek and the knight in shining armour quality that felix has. He's even put some romance in the story, as felix get's laid (again) throughout the book. This book focuses more on felix than in trollslayer, and this is much needed in preparation for the next in series, daemonslayer, as felix is also given a tougher look in skavenslayer, as a bouncer in the toughest bar in the huge city. Overall, i enjoyed this book, and would reccommend it to fans of warhammer, but 40k fans, keep clear of this.

This is the second book in the first Slayer trilogy (Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer) and is probably the best one in the series. What distinguishes it from the other instalments is the light-hearted descriptions of the rat warriors. Warhammer fans will find lots of fun in this book.

I loved this book. Felix and Gortek are at top form, battleing a force of Skaven below the streets of Nuln. While the antics of Felix and Gortek are excellent, the fiendish and backstabbing actions of the rat-men are brilliantly funny. If you love Felix and Gortek, or if you are a fan of the Skaven, then get this one. Cheers!

Truthfully, Shamanslayer, was the first Gotrek & Felix novel that I had read (before that, it was all Warhammer 40K books for me). I immediately ordered all the previous adventures from the series, and caught up. Skavenslayer is one of my favorites because I find the skaven clans more interesting than any other non-humans in the Warhammer fantasies.

In this second part of the doom-seeking saga of Gotrek Gurnisson, as chronicled by Felix Jeager, the two main characters are in the city of Nuln. They take the jobs of sewerjacks to support themselves, and stumble upon a secret meeting between a human high offical and a skaven named Skrequal, in the process of scouring the underground tunnels for mutants. While Gotrek and Felix investigate the human conspirator, Grey Seer Thanquol assumes command of Clan Skab, and continues with plans to overthrow Nuln, at any cost.

Soon, it becomes obvious that the various skaven clans have different plans they hide from one another, trying to gain the upperhand, much to the growing frustration of Thanquol. Not only does he have to deal with Gotrek & Felix, but he has to protect himself from the traitorous plotting of the other skaven clan leaders. Despite these obstacles, the Grey Seer is bound and determined to impress the Council of Thirteen in Skavenblight.

During this adventure, Felix is also struggling to adjust to his new life with Gotrek, and entertains thoughts of breaking his oath. "the promise had been made when he was drunk; surely it didn't count?"

Being so early on in their series of battles, Gotrek has yet to realize that his honorable doom will not come easily. As much as his enemies would like to see him dead, even they can't help but wonder what it will take to defeat the dwarf warrior.

If Skavenslayer was one of your favorites in this series, or you simply want to kow more about Thanquol and the skaven clans, I strongly recommend Grey Seer -- the first of a new Warhammer series.

Skavenslayer is actually six adventures during the travels of Gotrek & Felix. Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson is a dwarf on a death quest. He roams the land searching for the mightiest of evils to fight and slay until he is finally rewarded with a glorious death that will long be remembered and talked about for generations to come. Felix Jaegor is sworn to accompany the Slayer, however long it takes, even though it could end in his own death. Should he survive, it will be Felix's job to record and report the heroic dwarf's many battles, as well as how Gotrek fell in combat. Here are the adventures within this book:

Skaven's Claw
Felix and Gotrek are temporarily working in the sewers of Nuln, hunting goblins. Otto, Felix's older brother, runs the family business in Nuln now. It is during a routine shift in the sewer that they (and the others on the shift) come across someone conspiring with the skaven.

**** This story picks up where "Ulric's Children" (in book titled "Trollslayer") leaves off. Grey Seer Thanquol and his giant hybrid rat-ogre are involved in it all as well. ****

Gutter Runners
Felix and Gotrek are working as bouncers at The Blind Pig, the roughest bar in Nuln, and skaven assassins are being sent to kill them.

*** This is an extremely short story. It adds nothing to the duo's destiny, but the battles sure are fun. ***

Night Raid
Believe it or not, Grey Seer Thanquol actually warns our two heroes about an attack on the College of Engineering. Of course, in doing so he is also helping himself.

**** Grey Seer is getting more devious in this tale. Perhaps he will actually take over the surface world some day. (And perhaps my mother is an elf.) ****

Plague Monks of Pestilens
Skaven Clan Pestilens goes to the surface with the Cauldron of a Thousand Poxes. It is an artifact stolen from the temple of the Plague God, Nurgle, long ago, when the world was still young. This worries Grey Seer because plans by Clan Pestilens tends to get out of control and decimate skavens in addition to humans. Again our two heroes will be mysteriously warned so they may deal with the problem.

**** This one is much like the last. Lots of fun. ****

Beasts of Moulder
Clan Moulder plans to starve the human city by releasing furry, rat-like monsters into the city. These creatures could eat the entire city dry within only a few days. Each creature has a hundred babies every day. The furry monsters are to arrive under cover of night via a black grain barge. Another mysterious message and our duo rush to keep the barge from docking.

***** Null (skaven from last story) is seeking information about Grey Seer and soon will be after revenge. I thoroughly enjoyed the ironic ending of this story. *****

The Battle for Nuln
The city of Nuln is under siege. Hunger, disease, despair, and the skaven are everywhere. Word is that local nobles had quarantined the city and that archers were shooting those who tried to depart by road and that Imperial naval ships on the river were singing any vessel which tried to pass them.

Grey Seer Thanquol is making plans to take the palace during the masked ball to be held by the Elector Countess. Unknown to Grey Seer is the fact that Null, Grottle and Heskit (skaven leaders from previous tales in the book) have learned of his messages to Felix and Gotrek which resulted in their plans being ruined. The trio are making their own plans to assassinate him.

**** All the stories finally merge for a wonderful ending. A short epilogue follows. I am amazed at how well this all comes together. Other than a couple of filler stories that had no real contribution except to add an extra battle or two, this entire book is extremely well done. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is the 2nd book in the Felix & Gotrek series, but the 5th one I've read. I started with the 3rd book in the series, "Daemonslayer", and read the two after it before deciding to go back and read the first two volumes in the series that I'd missed.

Out of the five, I'd have to say that this is by far the most comical, and also seems to have the greatest amount of character development for our hero Felix Jaeger.

William King seems to be having a real ball writing the scheming, often silly and always back-stabbing rat-men called the Skaven, and I get the impression that in fact they may very well be his favourite Warhammer race of all to write. After reading and enjoying this book so much I feel I gained a whole new appreciation for them, and understand more why he even decided to carry some Skaven characters on into subsequent books in the series.

Briefly, this book finds our fearless adventuring pair in the city of Nuln, in the heart of the Empire, where they are reduced to eking out a humble living in the most menial of duties in the sewers below. But in the course of this humiliating work, they uncover a deadly plan by the devious rat-men to take over the city. -- Can our heroes save the day???

The plot takes lots of twists and turns and brings lots of laughs along the way. The characters of crafty Skaven sorceror Thanquol and especially his poor, bedraggled lackey Lurk Snitchtongue (love that name!), who seems to be barely escaping from one tight situation with his masters after another, are especially memorable.

Lurk goes on to get further "development" in the next book! So while I wouldn't say this book is essential in the series and is actually one of the lighter entries, I think it would definitely enhance your enjoyment of its unforgettable sequel if you read this one first.

I enjoyed this so don't let the stars fool you. My problem comes from the invincibility of characters. Of course we want them to succeeded and to overcome obstacles but serious setbacks and occasional hard losses would make these books more gripping (this is not just the problem of Skavenslayer). We find Gotrek portrayed as a manic slayer but rarely does he face anything and we are lead to believe something bad could potentially befall him. Felix is always caught up in small tragedies and indignities which helps to make his character at least a little bit more identifiable.

As someone who loves Grey Seer Thanquol and the Skaven i was caught up in the scheming and intrigue provided, but that quickly grew stale as the result was always the same. Gotrek and Felix stab, cut, slash, stab some more and murder to solve their problems. Felix is painted as an intellectual, but the only problem he ever has to solve is where the next place to start stabbing is. It makes all of the plots and machinations of the Skaven seem brilliant by comparison but we soon learn and realize they are just gross generalizations of the four major clans with out much thought put into their actions. Aside from Thanquol and his great internal monologue's, we are treated to a great scene of comedy when a Skaven assassin invades a custom party and hides amongst the masses. Very entertaining and a great break in the constant dicing and slicing.

The plot is broken up into short stories that would have been better served being placed in a monthly serialization rather then combined into one novel. If i had one recommendation that might enhance the reading of this book would be to read a chapter a week. Though with it's writing style and the speed of which you go through the pages one can find it hard to put down as you figure on a few more pages.

It's a good fantasy read and if you like the Skaven it's probably closer to four stars, but a fan of the Warhammer universe in general would probably find it more in line with a three star review. If you enjoy Gotrek and Felix novels then you've already bought this book and found it quite enjoyable, and if you haven't and you place yourself in this category what are you waiting for?

I believe that this was more action packed and more interesting than the first one. I was very impressed and I also liked the Skaven rivalry as well, which makes it even more interesting.