World Famous Comics: Giantslayer (Warhammer: Gotrek & Felix)
Giantslayer (Warhammer: Gotrek & Felix)
By: William King Publisher: Games Workshop Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Games Workshop Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 288 Publication Date: May 20, 2003 Reading Level: Young Adult
Gotrek and Felix Book Seven The magical energy needed to maintain Ulthuan is being bled off. If something is not done soon, it will be destroyed. Gotrek Gurnisson does not see anything wrong with that. After all, the dwarfish people still hold an ancient grudge against all elves. But the legendary high elf mage, Teclis, informs Gotrek that unless they find the source of the trouble and eliminate it, he could kiss his dwarfish kin in the mountains goodbye too.
Felix and Gotrek (with much grumbling from the latter) must aid the elf wizard on a quest to destroy a mutual enemy that would threaten the world. They must travel through the Paths of the Old Ones, battle many malignant evils, and even deal with a bubble reality. Yet their ultimate goal is much worse. Gotrek just may find his noble doom.
***** With the title of Giantslayer I think there should have been more giants. This happened once before, that I recall, in this series. The creatures, in the title, being slain are seldom mentioned (if ever) during most of the story and only toward the tales' endings are they seen or mentioned. (Bummer.) Still, this story has a solid foundation. I, as the reader, learned a bit more about the ancient grudge between the dwarfish people and the elves. I am very impressed with Teclis. I love it whenever I notice Warhammer books cross over into other series. (Be sure to watch out for that. There is a mention about von Carstein herein.) One thing is certain, author William King KNOWS Slayers! Superior! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
A great read! Another solid sword & sorcery novel from William King. The introduction of the elven archmage Teclis provides a rare glimpse into the culture of an interesting Old World race that this series had largely ignored.
Gotrek at his best as he slays Giants and slaughters Orcs, Goblins, Beastmen and Wizards I've been reading the Felix and Gotrek series as I come across them, and not in any particular order, enjoying them as I get the chance. I actually came across them purely by chance and offhand, I think the Warhammer series by William King are a superb collection of game-based literature, bringing the game's atmosphere to life quite credibly.
The series is written in chronological order, following the adventures of Felix Jaeger and the Dwarven Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson, ostensibly told in a series of volumes by Felix Jaeger entitled "My Travels with Gotrek." It's definitely not a series for the faint at heart who dislike blood, gore and mindless violence. On the other hand, if you enjoy a well-written tale involving the afore-mentioned subjects, this series is for you.....
This particular book, #7 in the series and currently the last, takes up where Vampireslayer leaves off, with Felix, Gotrek Gurnnison, Snorri Nosebiter (another Dwarven Slayer and compatriot of Gotrek's) and Max the wizard in Sylvania where they have just finished off a rather nasty vampire. There's a bit of a continuity issue between Vampireslayer and this book if you're picky - in Vampireslayer all the Kislevian spearchuckers were slaughtered and all that were left were our trusty heroes, Gotrek and Felix, along with Snorri, Max, the Countess and Ulrika (now, sadly, a vampire). But at the start of Giantslayer, all of a sudden there are surviving Kislevian spearchuckers. A bit disconcerting to those of us to whom continuity is not just a pretty word. But a mere minor flaw in the greater scheme of things.
A new character, the High-Elf mage Teclis, is introduced near the start, along with portents of doom which set him off on a mission to bring an end to a Chaos attack on the magic that holds the World together. The book the notches up the action as our 4 heroes are (in the best of traditions) attacked by hordes of beastmen lead by a fearsome chaos warrior (slaughtered by Gotrek of course). Felix and Gotrek stray into magical pathways in the course of the fight and encounter Teclis, with whom they team up. At this stage, Snorrri and MAx exit, stage right, never to reappear in this novel.
There are some unforgettable and hilarious exchanges between Gotrek and the High-Elf Teclis (no love lost between elves and dwarves here) as they are thrown together thru force of circumstances. They emerge in the land of Albion and, with new companions, who of course, are all sluaghtered in battles against the hordes of evil, battle their way through the massed forces of evil and chaos to a climatic final battle where Gotrek slays a Giant (surprise, that....) and assists Teclis in slaying the evil mage twins, Kelmain and Lhoigor. The final battle is Felix and Gotrek at their best, Gotrek slaying hordes with abandon. The High-Elf Mage, Teclis, has a few tricks of his own and a particularly nasty laugh that's beautifully described. Felix, of course, survives.
All in all, one of the better books on the series, with a lot more hack and slash gore and violence and a bit less in the way of scene setting and character development than Vampireslayer. For readers that have enjoyed the previous books in the series and want action, action and more action, this will definitely not be a disappointment. Unfortunately, as of January 2007, this is the last in the series.
Best Felix & Gotrek since "Daemonslayer". King strong again! After a rather dull and disappointing showing in the previous book "Vampireslayer", in this, the 7th book in the Felix & Gotrek series (--after "Trollslayer", "Skavenslayer", "Daemonslayer", "Dragonslayer", "Beastslayer" and "Vampireslayer"--) William King bounces back and gives us one of the strongest entries in the series so far.
The book introduces an interesting new character, ages-old High Elf mage Teclis. In the midst of the ongoing Chaos onslaught on the Old World, Teclis becomes aware of a plot to harness powers which could hold dire consequences for the entire Warhammer world. Can he stop it in time?
Naturally along the way he runs into our intrepid twosome, and they proceed to have an unforgettable adventure which takes them from the very edges of reality (eat your heart out, Dr.Strange!) to the midst of an epic battle between massed rival forces of evil.
As much of the book's action takes place on the isle of Albion, the counterpart in the Warhammer world to William King's native Scotland, King must have especially enjoyed writing this part. He also makes very effective use of playing off the tensions between Elves and Dwarves in the often strained relationship between Gotrek and Teclis.
I was happy to see my favourite Felix & Gotrek villains of all, evil twin albino mages Kelmain & Lhoigor back again. But I was a bit disappointed that we did not spend much time with them this time out compared to their previous appearance in "Beastslayer". I think they are truly worthy and most importantly INTERESTING adversaries and I hope William King will bring them back again sometime in the future (--hey, any writer truly worth his salt can always figure out a cool way to bring back a beloved villain everyone thought defeated for good ;) ). I LOVED their backstory in "Beastslayer" and want to hear MORE! (--Or how about giving them their own book?!)
Overall, I think I would rate this installment as my #2 favourite in the series after "Daemonslayer". While I did love the siege of Praag seen in "Beastslayer", I think this book was even more enjoyable because our heroes were on the move again, taking them through some very interesting and mysterious places. And the build-up of tension in the book kept me eagerly turning the pages as they continued on their quest. It's a wild ride that takes us to some fantastic places we've never seen before, and my only minor criticism is that the ending could have been a bit stronger.
For those new to the series, I'd probably recommend "Daemonslayer" first. But for those who have already read that great work and are hungry for more of the same calibre, this book is just what the manling ordered!
But now that I've read this, the most recent installment, I find myself with no more fresh Felix & Gotrek left. :( It's been a year and a half already. Where is the next book??? Come on William King, don't keep the fans waiting! We need MORE. I can't get enough of these guys!
Oh well, guess I'll go sharpen my battle-axe or something... You never know when the forces of Chaos will strike again next!
Great Story, but enough already Great story. Fun read. But Gotrek has been trying to get himself killed through 6 books now, and still hasnt managed to do it. Now he travels with a powerful elf mage to kill more bad guys.
There is more foreshadowing of Gotreks' eventual fate, but he still manages to survive the novel. So, lets bring this series to an end before we rename it 'Wheel of Time 2'
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