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Gotrek & Felix #2
Skavenslayer
Gotrek & Felix Book 2
Between adventures and desperate for money, Gotrek and Felix work as sewerjacks in Nuln. Little do they know that the villainous skaven lurk in the darkness, planning to tear down the mighty city…
READ IT BECAUSE
It's classic Gotrek & Felix, and introduces a threat that will follow them throughout their heroic careers: the sinister Grey Seer Thanquol.
THE STORY
Gotrek and Felix: unsung heroes of the Empire, or nothing more than common thieves and murderers? The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between, and depends entirely upon whom you ask…
Seeking to undermine the very fabric of the Empire with their arcane warp-sorcery, the skaven, twisted Chaos rat-men, are at large in the reeking sewers beneath the city. Led by Grey Seer Thanquol, the servants of the Horned Rat are determined to overthrow this bastion of humanity. Against such forces, what possible threat can just two hard-bitten adventurers pose?
Between adventures and desperate for money, Gotrek and Felix work as sewerjacks in Nuln. Little do they know that the villainous skaven lurk in the darkness, planning to tear down the mighty city…
READ IT BECAUSE
It's classic Gotrek & Felix, and introduces a threat that will follow them throughout their heroic careers: the sinister Grey Seer Thanquol.
THE STORY
Gotrek and Felix: unsung heroes of the Empire, or nothing more than common thieves and murderers? The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between, and depends entirely upon whom you ask…
Seeking to undermine the very fabric of the Empire with their arcane warp-sorcery, the skaven, twisted Chaos rat-men, are at large in the reeking sewers beneath the city. Led by Grey Seer Thanquol, the servants of the Horned Rat are determined to overthrow this bastion of humanity. Against such forces, what possible threat can just two hard-bitten adventurers pose?
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
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865 people want to read
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William King
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
May 28, 2018
Thud and blunder in the best possible sense of the term.
As in the previous volume (Trollslayer), this is structured as a collection of longish short stories; unlike in Trollslayer, there's a much stronger linkage between the stories.
After the events of the previous book, our heroes Gotrek Gurnisson, trollslayer-at-large, and his traveling companion/amanuensis Felix Jaeger (excerpts from whose book form the headers for each of the chapters) have come to the city of Nuln. Unfortunately, so have the Skaven, Warhammer's race of rapacious, intelligent, chaos-tainted humanoid rats, led by the Grey Seer Thanquol. Needless to say, when our heroes and the Skaven first run into each other (while Gotrek & Felix, in what one hopes to be a career low point, are working as part of an anti-monster patrol in the noisome depths of Nuln's sewers), neither side is too happy about it. Fortunately, the Skaven are, in addition to their other charming qualities, riven by internecine squabbles, and if one clan can use Gotrek's axe & Felix's sword to grind another clan to bloody gobbets, so much the better ...
As in the previous volume (Trollslayer), this is structured as a collection of longish short stories; unlike in Trollslayer, there's a much stronger linkage between the stories.
After the events of the previous book, our heroes Gotrek Gurnisson, trollslayer-at-large, and his traveling companion/amanuensis Felix Jaeger (excerpts from whose book form the headers for each of the chapters) have come to the city of Nuln. Unfortunately, so have the Skaven, Warhammer's race of rapacious, intelligent, chaos-tainted humanoid rats, led by the Grey Seer Thanquol. Needless to say, when our heroes and the Skaven first run into each other (while Gotrek & Felix, in what one hopes to be a career low point, are working as part of an anti-monster patrol in the noisome depths of Nuln's sewers), neither side is too happy about it. Fortunately, the Skaven are, in addition to their other charming qualities, riven by internecine squabbles, and if one clan can use Gotrek's axe & Felix's sword to grind another clan to bloody gobbets, so much the better ...
July 13, 2018
This book is the worst thing I've read in quite a long time. The story is told in a series of episodes (Feels like it may have originally been published in a magazine or something?) in which the nefarious rat-man Skaven try various plots to invade the generic fantasy city of Nuln and are repelled with minimal effort.
I'm told that the heroes are more fun if you read the first book in the series, and I admit, I haven't. Gotrek is a disgraced dwarf who wants to redeem himself with a noble death in combat, but can't, because he's too good at fighting. In fact, almost every conflict in the book is resolved by Gotrek easily showing up at the right place at the right time and killing all of the bad guys without breaking a sweat. His personality mostly comes through in generic one-liners like "let's get kiling."
Meanwhile, his sidekick, and the typical viewpoint character, is Felix. Born into a wealthy merchant family, he's left a guaranteed cushy lifestyle of wealth for adventure. Felix is the blandest character imaginable, and about half the ink in the book is wasted on his banal thought process. Felix gets a letter? We get three paragraphs of him mentally listing all the characters who might want to write him before he bothers to read the return address. Felix decides to buy something in a shop? Get ready for two pages of him looking at every other item in the shop first and deciding not to buy them one-by-one. It seems like every time King wrote a chapter, he came up a few thousand words short, and padded his wordcount with constant dips into Felix's tedious stream of consciousness. This book builds "mystery" by letting Felix speculate ten possible outcomes to every decision he makes before telling you what happens. Felix also has a perfunctory romance plot in this novel, which is a constant source of anxious walls of text for him, and not much else.
The Skaven are backstabbing, selfish, factional, power-hungry manipulators, and what little fun there is to be had in this novel is in seeing their general, Grey Seer Thanquil, habitually rationalize his own duplicity and cowardice while scheming against his political rivals for the exact same traits. In the hands of a better writer, this could have been a blast, but the best scheme he can come up with under William King's pen is to send letters to our flavorless protagonists once per episode, tipping them off to his rivals' invasion plots so that they can foil them again and again without needing to do anything but sluggishly react. The Skaven never feel like anything close to a credible threat to our heroes. Between curbstomp battles between Gotrek and the rat-monster of the week, King makes an effort to describe the Skaven's plots' effect on city's population, but none of it carries the least bit of weight, because nothing bad ever happens to any character who anyone could possibly care about.
Most of the Skaven characters seem to exist for promotional reasons. This book seems to be intended mostly to get the reader interested in playing as the Skaven in the Warhammer Fantasy game by showcasing all the different character units. There's a clan of ninja rats, a clan of rats who spread disease, a clan of steampunk tinkerer rats, and a clan of rat Dr. Frankensteins, who breed different kinds of non-anthropomorphic rats as biological weapons. We also see giant rat-ogres highlighted. At times, Skavenslayer feels like an extended commercial for a Warhammer expansion, like a G.I. Joe episode featuring all the new G.I. Joe toys. Each unit gets a loving look at its special abilities and flavor text before Gotrek steamrolls it and we move on to the next one.
I don't know who I could recommend this to. Even if you're obsessively interested in Warhammer lore, the Skaven in your imagination at your game table are almost certainly more interesting than this.
I'm told that the heroes are more fun if you read the first book in the series, and I admit, I haven't. Gotrek is a disgraced dwarf who wants to redeem himself with a noble death in combat, but can't, because he's too good at fighting. In fact, almost every conflict in the book is resolved by Gotrek easily showing up at the right place at the right time and killing all of the bad guys without breaking a sweat. His personality mostly comes through in generic one-liners like "let's get kiling."
Meanwhile, his sidekick, and the typical viewpoint character, is Felix. Born into a wealthy merchant family, he's left a guaranteed cushy lifestyle of wealth for adventure. Felix is the blandest character imaginable, and about half the ink in the book is wasted on his banal thought process. Felix gets a letter? We get three paragraphs of him mentally listing all the characters who might want to write him before he bothers to read the return address. Felix decides to buy something in a shop? Get ready for two pages of him looking at every other item in the shop first and deciding not to buy them one-by-one. It seems like every time King wrote a chapter, he came up a few thousand words short, and padded his wordcount with constant dips into Felix's tedious stream of consciousness. This book builds "mystery" by letting Felix speculate ten possible outcomes to every decision he makes before telling you what happens. Felix also has a perfunctory romance plot in this novel, which is a constant source of anxious walls of text for him, and not much else.
The Skaven are backstabbing, selfish, factional, power-hungry manipulators, and what little fun there is to be had in this novel is in seeing their general, Grey Seer Thanquil, habitually rationalize his own duplicity and cowardice while scheming against his political rivals for the exact same traits. In the hands of a better writer, this could have been a blast, but the best scheme he can come up with under William King's pen is to send letters to our flavorless protagonists once per episode, tipping them off to his rivals' invasion plots so that they can foil them again and again without needing to do anything but sluggishly react. The Skaven never feel like anything close to a credible threat to our heroes. Between curbstomp battles between Gotrek and the rat-monster of the week, King makes an effort to describe the Skaven's plots' effect on city's population, but none of it carries the least bit of weight, because nothing bad ever happens to any character who anyone could possibly care about.
Most of the Skaven characters seem to exist for promotional reasons. This book seems to be intended mostly to get the reader interested in playing as the Skaven in the Warhammer Fantasy game by showcasing all the different character units. There's a clan of ninja rats, a clan of rats who spread disease, a clan of steampunk tinkerer rats, and a clan of rat Dr. Frankensteins, who breed different kinds of non-anthropomorphic rats as biological weapons. We also see giant rat-ogres highlighted. At times, Skavenslayer feels like an extended commercial for a Warhammer expansion, like a G.I. Joe episode featuring all the new G.I. Joe toys. Each unit gets a loving look at its special abilities and flavor text before Gotrek steamrolls it and we move on to the next one.
I don't know who I could recommend this to. Even if you're obsessively interested in Warhammer lore, the Skaven in your imagination at your game table are almost certainly more interesting than this.
February 8, 2019
Book two of the Gotrek and Felix series continues with our heroes trying to eke out a living in the great merchant city of Nuln. Much like the first book, Skavenslayer comprises of a series of short stories. This time, however, each story revolves around a central narrative concerning the titular Skaven, a race of cunning ratmen, and their efforts to conquer the city. I enjoyed Skavenslayer much more than the first book, as it brings out one of the Warhammer universe's more unique aspects, in blending elements of horror with oddly placed humor.
You see, although the Skaven are a very real danger in being a literal plague of rats, they are also extremely paranoid and greedy, and tend to seize defeat from the jaws of victory through their own convoluted attempts to best their peers. In addition to Gotrek and Felix, Skavenslayer is as much about the Skaven Thanquol, a sorcerer who is both the greatest of his kind and the most inept, and his underlings, each representing one of the great clans of Skavendom and who each desire seize all the glory for themselves.
Overall I highly recommend this book, both for its fleshing out of the Warhammer world, as well as the continued development of Felix. My only major qualms are that aside from his usual cracking of heads, Gotrek didn't see much time in the spotlight and remains as much of an enigma as he was in the first book.
December 21, 2024
Segunda entrega de las aventuras de este dúo. Una mejora respecto a su primera aventura, ya que en esta ocasión la trama es más lineal y carece de los confusos saltos temporales del libro anterior.
El relato alterna entre dos puntos de vista: el de Félix y el de Tanquol, un poderoso jefe Skaven. Aunque al principio los capítulos centrados en Tanquol pueden resultar algo pesados, con el tiempo logran enganchar y añadir profundidad al relato.
Se trata de aventuras sin grandes pretensiones. No esperéis aquí las reglas detalladas de Sanderson, la brutal crudeza de Abercrombie o las florituras narrativas de Rothfuss. Más bien, tiene un estilo más cercano a las historias de Conan o a los libros de Reinos Olvidados.
Una lectura para pasar el rato, entretenida en su justa medida. Por ello, le doy tres estrellas y media.
El relato alterna entre dos puntos de vista: el de Félix y el de Tanquol, un poderoso jefe Skaven. Aunque al principio los capítulos centrados en Tanquol pueden resultar algo pesados, con el tiempo logran enganchar y añadir profundidad al relato.
Se trata de aventuras sin grandes pretensiones. No esperéis aquí las reglas detalladas de Sanderson, la brutal crudeza de Abercrombie o las florituras narrativas de Rothfuss. Más bien, tiene un estilo más cercano a las historias de Conan o a los libros de Reinos Olvidados.
Una lectura para pasar el rato, entretenida en su justa medida. Por ello, le doy tres estrellas y media.
June 25, 2020
Gotrek is OP
December 27, 2021
Great pulp!
November 29, 2024
4.5 stars
January 16, 2025
This was just wonderful. There was no nuance just horrible evil little rat men doing things because they’re evil and they want to appease their horrid rat man deity, not because of an emotional backstory.
I loved the horrid little rat men, they made me laugh very much indeed. I listened to the audio book and he did all the voices with great enthusiasm and gurgling. They were always supremely confident in their ability and their status, they could achieve anything because they were just the best little rat man ever. Then as soon as anything goes wrong they immediately run away and claim failure is due to betrayal or someone plotting against them - it couldn’t possibly be their own fault. I empathise very much with the funny little guys.
Also they kept threatening to blast or eat eachother. They very much were trying backstab one another any possible opportunity was taken. “Most merciful master please do not blast me”. Also the misunderstandings and spelling mistakes were funny too. Also they keep railing ludicrous quantities of glowing green illegal substances. Comical evil is the best kind.
I loved the horrid little rat men, they made me laugh very much indeed. I listened to the audio book and he did all the voices with great enthusiasm and gurgling. They were always supremely confident in their ability and their status, they could achieve anything because they were just the best little rat man ever. Then as soon as anything goes wrong they immediately run away and claim failure is due to betrayal or someone plotting against them - it couldn’t possibly be their own fault. I empathise very much with the funny little guys.
Also they kept threatening to blast or eat eachother. They very much were trying backstab one another any possible opportunity was taken. “Most merciful master please do not blast me”. Also the misunderstandings and spelling mistakes were funny too. Also they keep railing ludicrous quantities of glowing green illegal substances. Comical evil is the best kind.
October 18, 2011
This was the first Warhammer book I've read. I've heard from most people that play Warhammer that the books are pretty hit or miss, but since this is my first I don't really have a good field of reference. Regardless I enjoyed this, so either this was a hit or the books are better than the picky nerds make them out to be.
The writing style took a bit to get used to. Every few pages, and towards the end of the book every few paragraphs the center of narration shifted. It made the book feel very fast paced, at times too fast passed, there was never really a break from it till the epilogue.
I know this was the second in the series, but it was written so well that I didn't feel like I missed anything, and I'm pretty sure if I had read the first one it wouldn't have felt like they were needlessly re-hashing old information.
Story wise I really enjoyed the way they portrait the shaven as their own worse enemies.
The writing style took a bit to get used to. Every few pages, and towards the end of the book every few paragraphs the center of narration shifted. It made the book feel very fast paced, at times too fast passed, there was never really a break from it till the epilogue.
I know this was the second in the series, but it was written so well that I didn't feel like I missed anything, and I'm pretty sure if I had read the first one it wouldn't have felt like they were needlessly re-hashing old information.
Story wise I really enjoyed the way they portrait the shaven as their own worse enemies.
December 10, 2020
Coming back to this novel as an audiobook after reading the physical book over a decade ago I expected a good read but was surprised by just how brilliant the story and narration are!
The narrator does an exceptional job bringing Gotrex/Felix to life and immersing you into the story. The Skaven voices are perfect and exactly how you expect them to sound, especially Thanquol with his scheming and plotting.
The story too also does a great job keeping you interested in Gotrex + Felix's time in the city of Nuln with the best bits being around the Skaven's schemes and characters.
A brilliant novel and an even better audiobook rendition, a must read for any Warhammer fan!
The narrator does an exceptional job bringing Gotrex/Felix to life and immersing you into the story. The Skaven voices are perfect and exactly how you expect them to sound, especially Thanquol with his scheming and plotting.
The story too also does a great job keeping you interested in Gotrex + Felix's time in the city of Nuln with the best bits being around the Skaven's schemes and characters.
A brilliant novel and an even better audiobook rendition, a must read for any Warhammer fan!
September 26, 2022
Really fun series so far. I think all you really need to know is William King can write the hell out of environments, making it really easy to picture all of the scenes, and that Jonathan Keeble is a S-tier narrator.
July 16, 2021
Rating of 4.5.
Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. The adventures of my two favourite Warhammer Fantasy protagonists, Gotrek and Felix, continues, with the second incredible and extremely fun entry in their series, Skavenslayer.
After their previous escapades throughout the Empire and beyond, wandering adventurer, outlaw, and writer Felix Jaeger is still reluctantly following the Dwarf Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson on his quest to find a glorious death. After travelling to the Imperial city of Nuln, the two heroes attempt to make some money to support their travels. However, danger is always around the corner, as the heroes find themselves thrust into the middle of a vast conspiracy when they take on a menial job. The chittering and evil hordes of the Skaven are amassing beneath Nuln, determined to conquer the city by any means necessary. Led by a dangerous and ambitious leader, the rat-men have several sinister plots to kill all the humans above and appropriate their city and technology for their own glorious purposes. The only chance the city has to survive this chaos appears to be Gotrek and Felix, who are constantly dragged into the middle of the Skavens' plots, thanks to fate, Skaven pettiness or terrible bad luck (both Felix’s and the Skavens'). Can the two heroes save Nuln from the Skaven hordes, or will Gotrek finally find the death he always seeks?
To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2021/07/16/...
For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/
Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. The adventures of my two favourite Warhammer Fantasy protagonists, Gotrek and Felix, continues, with the second incredible and extremely fun entry in their series, Skavenslayer.
After their previous escapades throughout the Empire and beyond, wandering adventurer, outlaw, and writer Felix Jaeger is still reluctantly following the Dwarf Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson on his quest to find a glorious death. After travelling to the Imperial city of Nuln, the two heroes attempt to make some money to support their travels. However, danger is always around the corner, as the heroes find themselves thrust into the middle of a vast conspiracy when they take on a menial job. The chittering and evil hordes of the Skaven are amassing beneath Nuln, determined to conquer the city by any means necessary. Led by a dangerous and ambitious leader, the rat-men have several sinister plots to kill all the humans above and appropriate their city and technology for their own glorious purposes. The only chance the city has to survive this chaos appears to be Gotrek and Felix, who are constantly dragged into the middle of the Skavens' plots, thanks to fate, Skaven pettiness or terrible bad luck (both Felix’s and the Skavens'). Can the two heroes save Nuln from the Skaven hordes, or will Gotrek finally find the death he always seeks?
To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2021/07/16/...
For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/
March 8, 2025
Gotrek and Felix, mohawk-wearing, axe-weilding dwarf and the posh human who tags along to capture the former's heroic death in a poem, return for a second novel-length adventure this time facing off against a society of wicked rat-men living in the city sewers. As with Trollslayer, this reads as a series of interconnected short stories rather than a novel, possibly a result of having been originally published in serialised form in White Dwarf magazine.
As fun as it is to spend time with our eponymous heroes, their character development is thin at best and the rat-like Skaven steal the show here. We spend a surprising amount of time in the villain's point of view and King brings the faction - introduced in the Warhammer table-top game - to vivid life, leaning into some of the more ridiculous aspects of the game designers' creations with affection and playing the whole thing admirably straight.
Delightfully creative and entertaining, even if the resolutions tend towards the repetitive.
As fun as it is to spend time with our eponymous heroes, their character development is thin at best and the rat-like Skaven steal the show here. We spend a surprising amount of time in the villain's point of view and King brings the faction - introduced in the Warhammer table-top game - to vivid life, leaning into some of the more ridiculous aspects of the game designers' creations with affection and playing the whole thing admirably straight.
Delightfully creative and entertaining, even if the resolutions tend towards the repetitive.
August 16, 2023
Follow this unlikely pair through the siege at Nuln, where the Skaven deliver a new twist to plague and hunger in the course of their battle for supremacy.
In contrast to the first novel, the short stories in this one are more closely connected, giving the impression of topics in a series of chapters, rather than distinguishing between entirely separate stories.
Thrill of adventure and unspeakable horrors, with the only lack of focusing a lot on Felix, narrowing Gotrek down to his given role - though we do get some gratifyingly harsh dwarfish comments from time to time!
In contrast to the first novel, the short stories in this one are more closely connected, giving the impression of topics in a series of chapters, rather than distinguishing between entirely separate stories.
Thrill of adventure and unspeakable horrors, with the only lack of focusing a lot on Felix, narrowing Gotrek down to his given role - though we do get some gratifyingly harsh dwarfish comments from time to time!
September 11, 2023
Finalmente Alanera sta portando in Italia un edizione (si spera stavolta completa) pari all originale black library delle avventire di Gotrek e Felix, coppia iconica del miglior grimdark inglese.
In questo caso i nemici erano gli Skaven, dei topi umanoidi che vivono sottoterra.
Libro come tutta la saga che poco si presta alla masturbazione intellettuale ma molto alle botte di un certo livello,le azioni sono incalzanti avvincenti e quando ci troviamo a leggere i punti di vista degli skaven spesso tragicamente divertenti! Se amate il grimdark questa serie va letta obbligatoriamente!
In questo caso i nemici erano gli Skaven, dei topi umanoidi che vivono sottoterra.
Libro come tutta la saga che poco si presta alla masturbazione intellettuale ma molto alle botte di un certo livello,le azioni sono incalzanti avvincenti e quando ci troviamo a leggere i punti di vista degli skaven spesso tragicamente divertenti! Se amate il grimdark questa serie va letta obbligatoriamente!
September 10, 2022
Under the rather grim but compelling tale of poor old Felix, traumatised and haunted by his terrifying adventures there's a deeply, darkly comic, almost farcical tale of a city threatened by an army of intellignet monsters whose constant plotting against each other results in their fiendish plans being wrecked, usually by the dwarf and human heroes, culminating in an all-out invasion aided by plague, rats, beasts and deadly weapons, only things keep going wrong, usually because they can't stop scheming against each other. Consequently, the episodic nature of this book is punctuated by hilariously bloody catastrophes, more often at the not involving Gotrek's terrifying axe, meaning it's actually rather well-constructed and cleverly executed.
February 28, 2023
Wie erkennt man ein Lieblingsbuch? Indem mensch feststellt, dass mensch nicht will, dass das Buch zu Ende geht und dabei trotzdem will, wie es ausgeht. So erging es mir mit dem zweiten Band der Gotrek & Felix-Reihe. Aber so ging es mir ja auch schon beim ersten Teil.
Hier steht eher Felix im Mittelpunkt, Gotrek haut dafür wie immer schön drauf. Wer also schon Band eins mochte (wie ich), wird mit der Fortsetzung sehr zufrieden sein. Ich auf jeden Fall bekam genau das, was ich wollte. Und dazu ganz viele Ratten...
Hier steht eher Felix im Mittelpunkt, Gotrek haut dafür wie immer schön drauf. Wer also schon Band eins mochte (wie ich), wird mit der Fortsetzung sehr zufrieden sein. Ich auf jeden Fall bekam genau das, was ich wollte. Und dazu ganz viele Ratten...
May 15, 2023
A more connected story then the first volume. The stable setting of Nuln helps to give the action a feeling of place and make the stakes seem more real. Gotrek and Felix are still fun, pulpy characters. The juxtaposition of the skaven scheming sections followed by the actual incomptence of their plans added a nice balance of humor to the grim violence.
April 1, 2025
3.5
KRASNOLUD ZABIŁ SZCZURA TOPOREM WŁEEEB
SZCZUROGRY WALCZYŁY TEEEEŻ
NULN!
SZCZURINWAZJA TU BYŁA TAK!
A PAN FELIX JAEGER PISZE POD PUBLIKE!
A Skavenom zaśpiewom o Skavenblight i spaczeniu xDDDDDDD też bedom myśleli że ich lubimy
~Piotr Balazs, arcypotężny lektor audiobooka tej książki
KRASNOLUD ZABIŁ SZCZURA TOPOREM WŁEEEB
SZCZUROGRY WALCZYŁY TEEEEŻ
NULN!
SZCZURINWAZJA TU BYŁA TAK!
A PAN FELIX JAEGER PISZE POD PUBLIKE!
A Skavenom zaśpiewom o Skavenblight i spaczeniu xDDDDDDD też bedom myśleli że ich lubimy
~Piotr Balazs, arcypotężny lektor audiobooka tej książki
October 28, 2021
The Skaven would be the most powerful race in Warhammer if they'd stop trying to backstab each other at every turn. This book portraits this nature perfectly while showing you all of the major Skaven factions and their quirks in a compact and enjoyable story. This is a must read for role playing fans
February 19, 2024
Way better than the first book since its one long story instead of a compilation of short shorties. This actually felt like it had a beginning and an end as opposed to the first book wilhich wouldn't end but just jump to the next adventure with no transition.
October 1, 2017
Perfektná oddychová fantasy jednohubka. Žiadne zbytočné keci, len akcia akcia a akcia.
September 6, 2020
Ce second tome est supérieur au premier en terme d'intrigue. Il ne rentrera pas dans mes favoris mais il est très correct et parfait pour ceux qui découvrent la lecture ou la fantasy.
April 11, 2021
Once again Top Adventuring!
May 7, 2022
Change my 5-star review of the voice acting in the previous novel to 6 stars now.
February 24, 2023
Hermano libro. En algún momento puede volverse un poco denso ya que la formula se repite a través de toda la historia, pero no deja de ser muy entretenido.
August 20, 2024
Divertidísimo, fácil de leer y hace ver a los skaven de una manera muy divertida y clara, mostrando su forma de pensar y actuar.
El primero me gustó, este me ha encantado
El primero me gustó, este me ha encantado
July 12, 2025
Moja ulubiona choć obiektywnie mniej wprawnie napisana od kolejnej części. Skaveni jednak nadrabiają charakterem i humorem, świetnie napisane szczurki.
August 31, 2021
Dwarf songs for everyone to enjoy at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll44B...)
For me, Trollslayer and Skavenslayer are both excellent collection of short stories which offer up a diverse cast and some rather intriguing tales – the latter helps bring to life an Imperial city (Nuln), with flavours of Bavarian culture and well-to-do English mannerisms mixed in. What’s brilliant about early Warhammer/Boxtree/Black Library novels are the worlds are so fresh and ripe for, well, world-building/lore. The prose of both short-storied collections is tight and the plotline bound with some gorilla glue (just don’t put it on your hair!). I’d implore you to read some of the earlier Vampire novels by Kim Newman and Gaunt Ghost’s by Dan Abnett, Mathias Thulmann Witch Hunter series from C.L.Werner, and let’s not forget Malus Darkblade from Dan Abnett & Mike Lee ooooo… I mean the list isn’t endless, but there’s a lot! I’ve gone off on a tangent…
Skaven’s Claw
Felix and Gotrek travelling back form their adventures around the Border Princes (where Trollslayer finished up), Karak-Eight-Peaks and there run in with Chaos Cultists and more recently, the Wolfs of Ulric find themselves penniless. Upon reaching Nuln (the ‘crown’ of the Empire as it’s described) are forced to take up work less than becoming. They’ve become ‘Sewer-Jacks’ where they patrol below the ‘rich quarter’ of Nuln – the sewers are rife with all sorts of beings, from Goblins to Skaven.
Stinking and depressed, Felix helps to uncover a plot that unravels as they begin to discover a potential infestation of the rat-men and possibly a treasonous plot that will be the cities undoing *shock and horror*.
We are blessed with the amount of characters that were launched throughout the breath of the Trollslayers and humans’ travels. This particular short-story pushes the deviously delicious Grey-Seer Thanquol (I believe for the first time) into the fore and soon becomes their most hated and sworn nemesis.
I particularly enjoyed the bravado between the Sewer-Jacks – the sense that the story built up was one of foreboding (which isn’t uncommon in Warhammer stories let’s be honest) … something terrible is coming and what makes it worse for the duo is that humans are possibly involved.
Gutter Runners
This is one of those short stories that doesn’t actually advance the plot of the heroes… but it does give an insight into their daily lives around Nuln. Some of the best stories from Black Library comes from these anthologies, just take a look at Tales of Heresy which has some wonderful lore. Namely The Last Church which is fantastic. The story doesn’t do anything other than offer a philosophical look on religion, both in the past, present and the future. I know some readers get frustrated when the main plot of a story doesn’t get advanced. There’s actually a lot of hate for the number of short stories that Black Library release. I tend to disagree, as some of the best characters and tales BL have released stem from short stories – chiefly looking at Gotrek & Felix. Just go read some of the old Inferno series from back in the day, which launched many stories and characters.
Anyway… Felix and Gotrek, after getting fired and given a beating by the cities watch find themselves even more desperate for work. Gotrek comes across an old comrade named Heinz, who owns the tavern named the ‘Blind Pig’ the roughest place in the city. The story opens up with Felix throwing out some overzealous drunkard… one too many ales you see. This extra short story following on from Skaven’s Claw which ended with the slaying of Boneripper, Thanqual’s pet rat-ogre. A most vexed Grey-Seer he is too… gnawing on his own tail in frustration while awaiting the Gutter-Runners (Skaven assassin’s) he has summoned to end his vexation of the annoying man and Dwarf-Thing.
The stories a bit of fun and is rather amusing. I do enjoy the way Thanquol chitters away in his own Skaven-way. I found myself laughing at William King’s comedic treatment of the Gutter Runners… what sort of ‘training’ (let’s use that word loosely here) is, well just fun. Stealing coopers from begging blindmen, who turn out to be masters of unarmed combat is a mega laugh-out-loud moment. That’s essentially Gutter Runners a bit of fun.
Night Raid
A full-scale assault is about to sprout from underneath Nuln and the heroic duo. Clan Skyre are after new war-machines, housed in the College of Engineering. Grey Seer Thanquol, finds himself warning Gotrek & Felix, as some pestee-rat-things are ignoring his orders and planning this o’so secret attack. The manner in which Thanquol warns the do-gooders is rather amusing… obviously no one would suspect him of NOT being a human… ever! The most glorious devious plans unravel, in more ways than one.
As I’ve mentioned there’s some comedic relief in Skavenslayer, it’s rather rare these days to get this level of banter in Black Library novels. I personally love it. I always enjoy the way Skaven are portrayed in the earlier Warhammer novels. Obviously being the must cunning-of-cunning-things, they are rather deluded in their ability, but what they lack in the intelligence department they more than make up in numbers. This is where the threat comes from. When the Empire essentially don’t believe in the Skaven, well it’s only a matter of time before they really find out just how deadly and how many the rat-things are!
Very enjoyable short-story that sets up for an even more goofy assault by the Skaven. Make sure to feel sorry for Lurk Snitchtongue and maybe Heskitt a little (something involving a steam engine…)!
Plague Monks of Pestilens
Frends – be warned!! The evil trechrus ratman of Klan Pestilens do plot to spred playgue in yoor city, may the Horned Rat gnaw on their entrails for it. I do not no wher or how they plan to do this. I kan only tell yoo to beware of the Kaldrun of a thousand poxes.
I thought I’d highlight some of the Skaven humour in the Gotrek books – it’s all rather amusing. This message was sent from Thanquol, to warn Gotrek & Felix that Clan Pestilens are going to spread a plague within Nuln. Let’s be honest, nothing would ever give away that this message was from anything other than the most brilliant of minds… but I’d be lying, this is from that buffoon (I mean most potent of potentate…) Grey Seer Thanquol. As you can tell, the Skaven are even more untrusting of their own clan and clan-mates than they are of humans. It’s part of the problem with the Ratmen, they tend to civil war within their own society. This is possibly the only reason they’ve not taken over the Old World, as of yet.
This story is all too familiar, it’s very similar to Night Raid. That’s not a bad thing, as some of the best stories (in my opinion) come from time spent within the city of Nuln. The most heroic duo are still working at the Blind Pig as bouncers, and Felix is still besotted with Elissa. Heinz the tavern owner is still here. Again, one of the clans of Skaven are trying to usurp Grey Seer Thanquol’s authority (hence the letter of warning to the humans) by concocting a literal plague within Nuln. People are already dying and it’s the duo’s task to find out where.
One of the more interesting characters to be introduced to the story is Doctor Drexler – a most curious doctor (would be branded as a heretic for just owning forbidden texts and practicing none-standard Imperial medicines). One who has travelled and learned far and wide. There’s mention of Araby, he mentions ‘bleeding’ as an improper way of healing people, he mentions forbidden texts (which he owns) and beyond that, there is a rather interesting backstory that unwinds directly from him. He is criminally underused.
While this story is fun, it’s almost a carbon copy of Night Raid in regards to the layout. Vilebroth Null (the Clan Pestilens leader) eventually gets caught. No one in the city is none the wiser to who the Skaven are and that thlley even exist. The Empire, blinkered, tend to ignore the real threats and focus on persecuting the innocent and less well-to-do members of the Empire’s society. The Cauldron of a Thousand Poxes is interesting relic – it’s a stolen artifact from a temple of the Plague God, Nurgle.
On reflection, as I’ve said, this is a fun story and very familiar with regards to characters and settings – this isn’t a bad thing. What I found difficult was the mirror similarities to the last story, in humour and intrigue. It’s a short-story, so it didn’t bother me as much. It’s all good though as the truth is Gotrek & Felix tales can be hit and miss; this one is somewhere in-between.
Beasts of Moulder
Frends and reeders of books - be warned! Only evil man-things of the trecherus surface world -- may they be poxed furever -- will say-speak that yoo shud not eye-read this akounting of most doo-bee-is deeds comited against yoor frends the Skaven! Yoo shud bee quik-quik too see for yoorself! Too not eye-read this werk will meen bad things wil hapen too yoo! Go QUIK! Yoo do not hav much time!
-Yoor frend
Ratmen didn’t write that letter… no-no.
This story opens up with Felix attending to a lot of ‘life’ admin. While catching up with Elissa and Heinz at the Blind Pig, he receives an invite to attend the ruler of Nuln, Countess Emmanuelle von Leibwitz. Fear rakes at Felix’s nerves, believing someone has found him out and is about to experience the noose (or something like that). Common sense takes over the wealthy son. Realizing that he cannot turn up in his battle-worn clothing he turns to his wealthy family (Otto his brother works and lives in Nuln it seems) and is soon being dressed in the finest raiment the Empire has to offer. As an opening, it’s rather ponderous but again, does give some insight into the duo’s daily lives – something I find fascinating if I’m honest as it adds that human element that a lot of fantasy stories lack.
The story picks up once he arrives at the ruler’s residence and is ushered in to see Heironymous Ostwald, personal secretary to Countess Emmanuelle. Ostwald has replaced von Halstadlt whom Felix despatched earlier in the book and appears to have some knowledge of Felix and what he has been up to lately – though Mr. Jaeger soon realizes that Ostwald knows hardly anything about his or Gotrek’s exploits. A desperate Ostwald enlists Felix’s help in stopping the now recognised (only took a plague and an Imperial engineering college destroyed to spur them into action) Skaven are a real threat to Nuln (as is that terrible plague concorted by Vilebroth in the last story).
At the same time, the Skaven army living below the city is fractured and disintegrating due to the previous plague ravaging there ranks. It doesn’t help that Clan Moulder’s leader Izak Grottle is breeding a new brood that eats everything, from grain to waste. By Sigmar, that would cause no end of problems within the city if those… rat-things were released. Luckily (as like the past two short stories) Thanquol warns Felix and Gotrek of this plot.
For me, Beasts of Moulder while amusing, doesn’t do much for it. It’s not a bad story on the whole, the dialogue is sharp, which is to be expected of William King. The problem stems from a really rushed ending. Once Felix receives the warning from Grey Seer Thanquol (yes via Snitchtongue, his informant) there’s something like four and a bit pages left. The fight, on the whole is rather dull and never has a chance to get off the ground. Much like this story in general.
The Battle of Nuln
The climax of Skavenslayer is upon us. As touched on in the previous story, both the human city of Nuln and the Skaven living underneath have been decimated by a plague (and a surprising lack of food – nothing to do with Clan Moulder or their insatiable rats, honest!). The city is under siege, from hunger, disease, despair. Word is that local nobles have quarantined the city. Anyone caught attempting to leave the city get an arrow. Those looking to leave via the docks are sunk by the Imperial navy.
The clans of Pestilens, Moulder and Eshin have united, after their humiliating defeats at the hands of Felix & Gotrek. Lurk Snitchtongue (Thanquol’s informant) revealed all after a grilling from Vilebroth, Grottle and Heskitt. He tells them that Thanquol is a traitor and made him give those messages to the dastardliest Trollslayer and human – warning them of their endeavours that resulted in the destruction of their various plans. The trio ‘convince’ Snitchtongue to deliver a message of their own to the city dwellers – revealing Grey Seer’s Thanqoul’s plans to them – that being, he is about to assault the city at its heart. The most potent of potentates has devised a plan, where he is set to interrupt a banquet being held by Countess Emmanuelle. Half his force has fallen prey to the plague, though he still has five thousand warriors left. More than enough to take over the city. Surely?
I’ve always been disappointed with this story as the scope promised so much more, especially after 3-4 stories prior that built up to this. The whole side-story involving Lurk Snitchtongue and, well, his snitching is found out by the clan leaders. This doesn’t amount to anything in the end and Null, Izak and Heskit do nothing. Those Skaven leaders have had a lot of page-time, it just didn’t balance right for me. Beyond that, I felt the ending was rushed and really could have done with a few more strands tied off at the end. The resulting battle at the end is a weird conflation of crowd surfing from The Blind Pig tavern to Countess Emmanuelle residents in the rich quarter of Nuln. Maybe I’m being a little harsh, this is my third or fourth re-read of the Gotrek & Felix novels, so I’ve got a fairly good idea what to expect. As I’ve said, I’ve always come away feeling a little dissatisfied with the ending of Skavenslayer.
On the whole though, Skavenslayer is an excellent collection of short stories. Sometimes witty, sometimes dire, it’s what you come to expect from a grimdark world. The writing is punchy, it just works for me. The variety and mix of characters are diverse, however I did find some personalities getting way too much page-time for their input in regards to the stories. The good news is that future stories are full length novels after Trollslayer and Skavenslayer so woop for that. In the meantime, I’ll be in the Blind Pig knocking a few ciders back while we’re waiting for this virus to calm down. We can probably blame the Skaven unleashing that one as well. How on, a far more important question comes to mind… they do have cider in the Old World, right… RIGHT?
For me, Trollslayer and Skavenslayer are both excellent collection of short stories which offer up a diverse cast and some rather intriguing tales – the latter helps bring to life an Imperial city (Nuln), with flavours of Bavarian culture and well-to-do English mannerisms mixed in. What’s brilliant about early Warhammer/Boxtree/Black Library novels are the worlds are so fresh and ripe for, well, world-building/lore. The prose of both short-storied collections is tight and the plotline bound with some gorilla glue (just don’t put it on your hair!). I’d implore you to read some of the earlier Vampire novels by Kim Newman and Gaunt Ghost’s by Dan Abnett, Mathias Thulmann Witch Hunter series from C.L.Werner, and let’s not forget Malus Darkblade from Dan Abnett & Mike Lee ooooo… I mean the list isn’t endless, but there’s a lot! I’ve gone off on a tangent…
Skaven’s Claw
Felix and Gotrek travelling back form their adventures around the Border Princes (where Trollslayer finished up), Karak-Eight-Peaks and there run in with Chaos Cultists and more recently, the Wolfs of Ulric find themselves penniless. Upon reaching Nuln (the ‘crown’ of the Empire as it’s described) are forced to take up work less than becoming. They’ve become ‘Sewer-Jacks’ where they patrol below the ‘rich quarter’ of Nuln – the sewers are rife with all sorts of beings, from Goblins to Skaven.
Stinking and depressed, Felix helps to uncover a plot that unravels as they begin to discover a potential infestation of the rat-men and possibly a treasonous plot that will be the cities undoing *shock and horror*.
We are blessed with the amount of characters that were launched throughout the breath of the Trollslayers and humans’ travels. This particular short-story pushes the deviously delicious Grey-Seer Thanquol (I believe for the first time) into the fore and soon becomes their most hated and sworn nemesis.
I particularly enjoyed the bravado between the Sewer-Jacks – the sense that the story built up was one of foreboding (which isn’t uncommon in Warhammer stories let’s be honest) … something terrible is coming and what makes it worse for the duo is that humans are possibly involved.
Gutter Runners
This is one of those short stories that doesn’t actually advance the plot of the heroes… but it does give an insight into their daily lives around Nuln. Some of the best stories from Black Library comes from these anthologies, just take a look at Tales of Heresy which has some wonderful lore. Namely The Last Church which is fantastic. The story doesn’t do anything other than offer a philosophical look on religion, both in the past, present and the future. I know some readers get frustrated when the main plot of a story doesn’t get advanced. There’s actually a lot of hate for the number of short stories that Black Library release. I tend to disagree, as some of the best characters and tales BL have released stem from short stories – chiefly looking at Gotrek & Felix. Just go read some of the old Inferno series from back in the day, which launched many stories and characters.
Anyway… Felix and Gotrek, after getting fired and given a beating by the cities watch find themselves even more desperate for work. Gotrek comes across an old comrade named Heinz, who owns the tavern named the ‘Blind Pig’ the roughest place in the city. The story opens up with Felix throwing out some overzealous drunkard… one too many ales you see. This extra short story following on from Skaven’s Claw which ended with the slaying of Boneripper, Thanqual’s pet rat-ogre. A most vexed Grey-Seer he is too… gnawing on his own tail in frustration while awaiting the Gutter-Runners (Skaven assassin’s) he has summoned to end his vexation of the annoying man and Dwarf-Thing.
The stories a bit of fun and is rather amusing. I do enjoy the way Thanquol chitters away in his own Skaven-way. I found myself laughing at William King’s comedic treatment of the Gutter Runners… what sort of ‘training’ (let’s use that word loosely here) is, well just fun. Stealing coopers from begging blindmen, who turn out to be masters of unarmed combat is a mega laugh-out-loud moment. That’s essentially Gutter Runners a bit of fun.
Night Raid
A full-scale assault is about to sprout from underneath Nuln and the heroic duo. Clan Skyre are after new war-machines, housed in the College of Engineering. Grey Seer Thanquol, finds himself warning Gotrek & Felix, as some pestee-rat-things are ignoring his orders and planning this o’so secret attack. The manner in which Thanquol warns the do-gooders is rather amusing… obviously no one would suspect him of NOT being a human… ever! The most glorious devious plans unravel, in more ways than one.
As I’ve mentioned there’s some comedic relief in Skavenslayer, it’s rather rare these days to get this level of banter in Black Library novels. I personally love it. I always enjoy the way Skaven are portrayed in the earlier Warhammer novels. Obviously being the must cunning-of-cunning-things, they are rather deluded in their ability, but what they lack in the intelligence department they more than make up in numbers. This is where the threat comes from. When the Empire essentially don’t believe in the Skaven, well it’s only a matter of time before they really find out just how deadly and how many the rat-things are!
Very enjoyable short-story that sets up for an even more goofy assault by the Skaven. Make sure to feel sorry for Lurk Snitchtongue and maybe Heskitt a little (something involving a steam engine…)!
Plague Monks of Pestilens
Frends – be warned!! The evil trechrus ratman of Klan Pestilens do plot to spred playgue in yoor city, may the Horned Rat gnaw on their entrails for it. I do not no wher or how they plan to do this. I kan only tell yoo to beware of the Kaldrun of a thousand poxes.
I thought I’d highlight some of the Skaven humour in the Gotrek books – it’s all rather amusing. This message was sent from Thanquol, to warn Gotrek & Felix that Clan Pestilens are going to spread a plague within Nuln. Let’s be honest, nothing would ever give away that this message was from anything other than the most brilliant of minds… but I’d be lying, this is from that buffoon (I mean most potent of potentate…) Grey Seer Thanquol. As you can tell, the Skaven are even more untrusting of their own clan and clan-mates than they are of humans. It’s part of the problem with the Ratmen, they tend to civil war within their own society. This is possibly the only reason they’ve not taken over the Old World, as of yet.
This story is all too familiar, it’s very similar to Night Raid. That’s not a bad thing, as some of the best stories (in my opinion) come from time spent within the city of Nuln. The most heroic duo are still working at the Blind Pig as bouncers, and Felix is still besotted with Elissa. Heinz the tavern owner is still here. Again, one of the clans of Skaven are trying to usurp Grey Seer Thanquol’s authority (hence the letter of warning to the humans) by concocting a literal plague within Nuln. People are already dying and it’s the duo’s task to find out where.
One of the more interesting characters to be introduced to the story is Doctor Drexler – a most curious doctor (would be branded as a heretic for just owning forbidden texts and practicing none-standard Imperial medicines). One who has travelled and learned far and wide. There’s mention of Araby, he mentions ‘bleeding’ as an improper way of healing people, he mentions forbidden texts (which he owns) and beyond that, there is a rather interesting backstory that unwinds directly from him. He is criminally underused.
While this story is fun, it’s almost a carbon copy of Night Raid in regards to the layout. Vilebroth Null (the Clan Pestilens leader) eventually gets caught. No one in the city is none the wiser to who the Skaven are and that thlley even exist. The Empire, blinkered, tend to ignore the real threats and focus on persecuting the innocent and less well-to-do members of the Empire’s society. The Cauldron of a Thousand Poxes is interesting relic – it’s a stolen artifact from a temple of the Plague God, Nurgle.
On reflection, as I’ve said, this is a fun story and very familiar with regards to characters and settings – this isn’t a bad thing. What I found difficult was the mirror similarities to the last story, in humour and intrigue. It’s a short-story, so it didn’t bother me as much. It’s all good though as the truth is Gotrek & Felix tales can be hit and miss; this one is somewhere in-between.
Beasts of Moulder
Frends and reeders of books - be warned! Only evil man-things of the trecherus surface world -- may they be poxed furever -- will say-speak that yoo shud not eye-read this akounting of most doo-bee-is deeds comited against yoor frends the Skaven! Yoo shud bee quik-quik too see for yoorself! Too not eye-read this werk will meen bad things wil hapen too yoo! Go QUIK! Yoo do not hav much time!
-Yoor frend
Ratmen didn’t write that letter… no-no.
This story opens up with Felix attending to a lot of ‘life’ admin. While catching up with Elissa and Heinz at the Blind Pig, he receives an invite to attend the ruler of Nuln, Countess Emmanuelle von Leibwitz. Fear rakes at Felix’s nerves, believing someone has found him out and is about to experience the noose (or something like that). Common sense takes over the wealthy son. Realizing that he cannot turn up in his battle-worn clothing he turns to his wealthy family (Otto his brother works and lives in Nuln it seems) and is soon being dressed in the finest raiment the Empire has to offer. As an opening, it’s rather ponderous but again, does give some insight into the duo’s daily lives – something I find fascinating if I’m honest as it adds that human element that a lot of fantasy stories lack.
The story picks up once he arrives at the ruler’s residence and is ushered in to see Heironymous Ostwald, personal secretary to Countess Emmanuelle. Ostwald has replaced von Halstadlt whom Felix despatched earlier in the book and appears to have some knowledge of Felix and what he has been up to lately – though Mr. Jaeger soon realizes that Ostwald knows hardly anything about his or Gotrek’s exploits. A desperate Ostwald enlists Felix’s help in stopping the now recognised (only took a plague and an Imperial engineering college destroyed to spur them into action) Skaven are a real threat to Nuln (as is that terrible plague concorted by Vilebroth in the last story).
At the same time, the Skaven army living below the city is fractured and disintegrating due to the previous plague ravaging there ranks. It doesn’t help that Clan Moulder’s leader Izak Grottle is breeding a new brood that eats everything, from grain to waste. By Sigmar, that would cause no end of problems within the city if those… rat-things were released. Luckily (as like the past two short stories) Thanquol warns Felix and Gotrek of this plot.
For me, Beasts of Moulder while amusing, doesn’t do much for it. It’s not a bad story on the whole, the dialogue is sharp, which is to be expected of William King. The problem stems from a really rushed ending. Once Felix receives the warning from Grey Seer Thanquol (yes via Snitchtongue, his informant) there’s something like four and a bit pages left. The fight, on the whole is rather dull and never has a chance to get off the ground. Much like this story in general.
The Battle of Nuln
The climax of Skavenslayer is upon us. As touched on in the previous story, both the human city of Nuln and the Skaven living underneath have been decimated by a plague (and a surprising lack of food – nothing to do with Clan Moulder or their insatiable rats, honest!). The city is under siege, from hunger, disease, despair. Word is that local nobles have quarantined the city. Anyone caught attempting to leave the city get an arrow. Those looking to leave via the docks are sunk by the Imperial navy.
The clans of Pestilens, Moulder and Eshin have united, after their humiliating defeats at the hands of Felix & Gotrek. Lurk Snitchtongue (Thanquol’s informant) revealed all after a grilling from Vilebroth, Grottle and Heskitt. He tells them that Thanquol is a traitor and made him give those messages to the dastardliest Trollslayer and human – warning them of their endeavours that resulted in the destruction of their various plans. The trio ‘convince’ Snitchtongue to deliver a message of their own to the city dwellers – revealing Grey Seer’s Thanqoul’s plans to them – that being, he is about to assault the city at its heart. The most potent of potentates has devised a plan, where he is set to interrupt a banquet being held by Countess Emmanuelle. Half his force has fallen prey to the plague, though he still has five thousand warriors left. More than enough to take over the city. Surely?
I’ve always been disappointed with this story as the scope promised so much more, especially after 3-4 stories prior that built up to this. The whole side-story involving Lurk Snitchtongue and, well, his snitching is found out by the clan leaders. This doesn’t amount to anything in the end and Null, Izak and Heskit do nothing. Those Skaven leaders have had a lot of page-time, it just didn’t balance right for me. Beyond that, I felt the ending was rushed and really could have done with a few more strands tied off at the end. The resulting battle at the end is a weird conflation of crowd surfing from The Blind Pig tavern to Countess Emmanuelle residents in the rich quarter of Nuln. Maybe I’m being a little harsh, this is my third or fourth re-read of the Gotrek & Felix novels, so I’ve got a fairly good idea what to expect. As I’ve said, I’ve always come away feeling a little dissatisfied with the ending of Skavenslayer.
On the whole though, Skavenslayer is an excellent collection of short stories. Sometimes witty, sometimes dire, it’s what you come to expect from a grimdark world. The writing is punchy, it just works for me. The variety and mix of characters are diverse, however I did find some personalities getting way too much page-time for their input in regards to the stories. The good news is that future stories are full length novels after Trollslayer and Skavenslayer so woop for that. In the meantime, I’ll be in the Blind Pig knocking a few ciders back while we’re waiting for this virus to calm down. We can probably blame the Skaven unleashing that one as well. How on, a far more important question comes to mind… they do have cider in the Old World, right… RIGHT?
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