A Brief GOTREK & FELIX: ROAD OF SKULLS FAQ
Okay, so Gotrek & Felix: Road of Skulls is now available (at least in e-book format; print will be out in two weeks and counting, unless you go through Amazon), and my e-mail inbox is staggering beneath the weight of an inordinate amount of continuity-related questions.
So, in the name of efficiency, the answers to those questions, for all future reference, in brief, are below.
Q. Why does RoS read as if its taking place after Trollslayer rather than Zombieslayer?
A. Because it is.
More specifically, RoS is ‘continuity-free’ Gotrek & Felix. As I’ve mentioned before, the next few G&F books/audio/novellas/etc. will all be continuity-free, with few if any references to other adventures.
All you need to enjoy them is to have read Trollslayer, or to simply know the gist of the germ of the set-up, i.e. Gotrek Gurnisson is a dwarf Trollslayer, damned to seek an honourable doom in battle in order to make up for some mysterious transgression and Felix Jaeger is his hapless Remembrancer, equal parts sidekick and amanuensis, sworn to accompany Gotrek after the later saved his life.
That’s all you need to know. If we’re talking continuity, then the only book that counts is Trollslayer. And possibly “Charnel Congress”. Gotrek and Felix haven’t even been to Nuln yet, strictly speaking. They have yet to meet the magnificence that is Thanquol and Gotrek hasn’t even killed the first Boneripper.
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Poor old Boneripper. He just wanted love.
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I…I need a minute.
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Okay, I’m fine now. I’m cool. On with the FAQ!
Q. Where’s Kat/Ulrika/Snorri/etc.?
A. Depending on how you read it, they either haven’t met them yet, or they have met them, but just aren’t talking about them.
Again, continuity-free. Basically, RoS fits into continuity wherever you want it to go. Heck, if you want it to take place in one of those alternate universes Felix saw at the end of Giantslayer, that works too.
Q. Hasn’t Felix already met Ungrim Ironfist?
A. No. Also, yes. Again, it depends on you. If you put it into continuity AFTER Dragonslayer, then Felix HAS met King Ironfist, but only briefly, and not under circumstances that lent themselves well to interaction. If you put it before, well, that explains the lack of interaction, don’t it?
Q. I thought Garagrim got squashed by a giant. Why is he still alive?
A. Because this takes place before he got squashed. Perhaps he will never be squashed. Maybe he got better. Gotrek’s probably had half a dozen giants fall on him, and Garagrim’s at least a quarter as tough as Gotrek. Possibly even a third.
Q. Will the REAL series ever continue? Or will we be stuck with this lousy spin-off forever?
A. First? Ouch. Second, yes, but I don’t know when, and I don’t know who by. At this point, I don’t even know if I’m writing another one. Gotrek & Felix is a fairly important series–if not quite Horus Heresy important, it’s still a big deal. And Black Library want to treat it right.
So, for the next year or three, you’re going to get more G&F material, from a variety of writers, but the meta-storyline is going to be on hiatus. It will continue at some point, but as to when–I dunno.
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That’s pretty much that. I did say it was brief. However, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them via the comments section here, Facebook, or Twitter. I will be happy to answer them.
