n-slayer books by William King

[Desdichado]

I just read Skavenslayer by Bill King. I know Trollslayer is the first book, but that's just a collection of former White Dwarf short stories, and the store didn't have any copies to boot, so I figured I could skip it and jump right into the first of the actual novels.

William King is great in many respects. He really nailed the setting; the kinda dark grimness of it, mixed with the somewhat wild swashbuckling action. His writing and descriptions were top notch, and his characters and their development (at least of Felix, the narrator character) were competent if not brilliant. He really didn't hit the horror aspect of the setting very well at all, though. Gotrek in particular seemed completely invulnerable to anything that came along, and the skaven came across as bungling incompetents rather than truly a credible and horrifying threat.

So, although I enjoyed the book well enough, I think that would start to annoy me if those same flaws carry through to the other books. What experiences have others had with this series? I know it's fairly popular, and seems to be fairly well-written for game fiction, but that's not necessarily saying very much at all.

 

[your father is]

^I've read a couple and, yeah, they both seemed fairly similar. If you're in the mood for what King does well, though, nobody does it better. I own all the Gotrek books, and read a bit whenever the mood strikes me. I don't really feel the need to read the books from cover to cover, since I pretty much know how the plot will turn out.

They're fun and pretty well-written, and that's mostly good enough for me

 

[JoeGKushner]

For me, it's a complete no-brainer.

Step one: Take out brain.

Step two: Pick up book.

There are some hairy scenes, especially in Daemon Slayer but for the most part, it's like watching an early Steven Segaul movie where you just know someone is going to get whacked and it isn't going to be the one going, "Get out of the way manling!"

 

[paulewaug]

I haven't read the Felix & Gotrek Books although I have read one of his stories from an Old GW anthology book I picked up, and I have greatly enjoyed his Space Wolf Novels.
(If only Space Wolf Space Marines were as cool as they are in his books imo of course.)

But one problem is that it should pretty much be a foregone conclusion that Gotrek Won't Die, at least for a long time (= Never! w/GW) because he is an GW Iconic character.) And by default Felix won't die either because iirc their fates are intertwined.

The sad thing is that Gotrek is a slayer so he has a death wish right?
So far he is the best and worst slayer in that he kills all his enemies but has not yet found death...

I've been thinking of picking these up for some time now so I am interested in how the series is as a whole also.

 

[Warmaster_Horus]

I suggest the Konrad trilogy (Konrad, Warblade, Shadowbreed) for the better insight into the grim darkness of the Old World of Warhammer and the ever present threat of Chaos.

Also if you like the Warhammer 40,000 setting as well, try the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett (Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus) followed by Ravenor(again by Dan Abnett). I think those 4 are the best books ever written in that setting.

 

[Hand of Evil]

There is some character building in the other stores but not too much, you also learn more about Gotrek. While the books will never be great works they are entertaining reads and better than some stuff on the shelves.

The Skaven issue you talk about brothered me but I came to like those NIMH characters as they progressed in the books.

Horror is just not in the books, combat and action.

 

[Desdichado]

I suggest the Konrad trilogy (Konrad, Warblade, Shadowbreed) for the better insight into the grim darkness of the Old World of Warhammer and the ever present threat of Chaos.

Are those the ones about the minstrel? I almost picked those up instead (or at least the first one) but the store manager called them "great stories with bad writing." At the end, I thought the -slayer books seemed like a safer risk.

Also if you like the Warhammer 40,000 setting as well, try the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett (Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus) followed by Ravenor(again by Dan Abnett). I think those 4 are the best books ever written in that setting.

I do like the settings. Both are simultaneously very intriguing and very frustrating. Intriguing in that their original elements are the best ones, frustrating in that they threw in every fantasy (or sci fi in the case of 40k) cliche they chould think of along the way.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Are those the ones about the minstrel? I almost picked those up instead (or at least the first one) but the store manager called them "great stories with bad writing." At the end, I thought the -slayer books seemed like a safer risk.

That is the thing about the WFRP Novels, they are hit and miss.

 

[Krug]

You might wanna try the Gaunt's Ghost series as well. Abnett's a very good writer.

 

[Warmaster_Horus]

Are those the ones about the minstrel? I almost picked those up instead (or at least the first one) but the store manager called them "great stories with bad writing." At the end, I thought the -slayer books seemed like a safer risk.

The ones about the minstrel are the Tales of Orfeo trilogy consisting of Zaragos, Plague Daemon, and Storm Warriors. I've read the first two, and to be honest I thought that the writing was choppy and not as good as well. The Konrad novels are about an orphan from the lands of the Empire, and I think they do a better job of portraying some of the more interesting details of life in the Warhammer world.

As for the Gotrek & Felix books, for some reason I liked the first one, Trollslayer, the most. It has all these nifty details like the superstitions of the villagers, some weird chaos cults and such.