The 2nd Gotrek and Felix omnibus follows on with another 3 books from William King, taking the story forward from the events at the end of Daemonslayer. Further involvement from their nemesis Thanquol, and the introduction of a new character in Ulrika are key inclusions. Questions like what is Gotrek's shame, what was his past life like, and what is the back story regarding Felix's blade are all delved into. A great selection of enemies in their myriad forms are included, and cover areas ranging from Kislev, and the World's Edge Mountains to Sylvania. Also I failed to mention in the earlier review the addition of Snorri Nosebitter (how i could forget is a great shame, in fact I may shave my head and dye it orange). Snorri often fills comic relief in the book, as well as showing another of the slayer cult in a different light. The companions go through their adventures together about the Old Word as the slayers seek their dooms.
Dragonslayer is possibly my second favourite book of the Gotrek Saga. Filled with lots of Dwarfs and their engineering innovations (I'm an engineer by trade, and have a preference for dwarfs if it wasn't obvious, which probably explains my personal bias to some of the novels). Heading back to the Old world after the events of Daemonslayer, the companions return to Karak Kadrin with Malakai Makaisson (another dwarf introduced in Daemonslayer I should have introduced). Unsurprisingly the events involve a dragon, and begin to show a plot line that is woven into the following 3-4 books in the series. The inclusion of a variety of slayers start to delve into dwarven culture a little more, and how various members of that grim society may become slayers. Also present are a nice handful of orcs and bandits for your pleasure. This story along with Skavenslayer probably rank joint second, as it really depends on whether your more in the mood for some comic skaven warfare or a little more dangerous foe for Gotrek and Felix (and Co.) to face.
Dragonslayer: 9/10
Beastslayer brings out group back to the chaos wastes, looking to help save the Empire from a huge Chaos Invasion (not an Archaon one for those who keep track of those things). Going to the citadel/fortress city of Pragg, the first bastion against against the chaos hordes, they seek to help the defenders in repelling the invaders. But Pragg is a bastion which would take months to wear down and, unsurprisingly, the chaos horde is fractious, only held together by its warmaster and leader Arek Daemonclaw, a follower of Tzeentch. So when events seem to undermine the city of Praag's ability to holdout against the invading force, treachery is assumed. What follows is a story that further delves in Gotrek's past, and continues the build suspicion about the grand fate which waits for the Slayer. Beastslayer almost has the feel of a murder/cop drama, with investigate and intrigue rife. Tzeentch is the Weaver of Fate and the Great conspirator, and unsurprisingly the story involves a great deal of intertwining plots. The score for Beastslayer is only 8 due to my (somewhat personal) bias towards Skavenslayer and Dragonslayer, but it is still a great William King novel.
Beastslayer: 8/10
Vampireslayer rounds up the 3rd book in the second omnibus, and like the name implies involves the undead of the warhammer world. Warhammer Fantasy vampires have a certain appeal to them, not only do they come in a variety of forms (Necrarch, Von Carstein, Blood Dragon, Lahmian and Strigoi to name the main few), but represent a force of evil in the warhammer world which isn't a follower of chaos (unlike skaven and dark elves, which in many ways are tools of/or twisted by the dark powers, vampires supposedly are a anathema to the powers of chaos, and both forces reject each other). Thus they often seek to dominate the worlds of men, rather than annihilate them. Often beings of immense age and magical powers, they present a very intriguing character for Gotrek and Felix to face. Unlike Daemons and Dragons, a vampire is or was a man(woman) at some point or another, and often has character features or flaws which are entirely human. This story presents a more Von Carstein vampire (for those that don't know, think standard Dracula style, with a bit of necromancy).Vampireslayer is probably a little bitter-sweet by Gotrek and Felix standards, and whilst gripping, doesn't leave me with that same feeling to grab my axe and go to the pub. For that i give it an 8.
Vampireslayer: 8/10
P.S. I found this whilst double checking i wasn't making any mistakes, someone has gone to the trouble of creating as accurate a timeline for the Gotrek and Felix saga. It's an impressive piece of work, so I thought I'd'd post it here and give full kudos to kalevalahammer, the site it is hosted on, great work :) http://kalevalahammer.webs.com/timelinegotrekfelix.htm
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