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Gotrek & Felix Omnibus #2

Gotrek & Felix : The Second Omnibus

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Re-issue of the second omnibus edition of Gotrek & Felix novelsGotrek 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... The Slayer and his poet companion continue their adventures, aided by the Kislevite warrior-princess Ulrika, the wizard Max Schreiber and Gotrek’s old comrade Snorri Nosebiter. Returning from their expedition to the distant north, Gotrek and Felix find themselves under attack by an army of monstrous greenskins – and a terrifying dragon. When an immense Chaos horde besieges Praag, the adventurers hasten to defend the beleaguered city – but the masters of the Chaos host have plans for Gotrek. When Ulrika, is captured by a dread vampire, the race is on to rescue her before she succumbs to the curse of undeath.

900 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

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William King

350 books712 followers
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin.
3,633 reviews11.6k followers
June 18, 2019
My paperback doesn’t look like this, I will have to add a pic later because it gets on my damn nerves!!

This was so good!! I loved that Ulrika was in it more and I got her origin story. I actually read her book before these but it’s all good!



Happy Reading!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Profile Image for Dan.
3,205 reviews10.8k followers
August 25, 2016
Dragonslayer:Upon leaving the Chaos Wastes for Middenheim, The Spirit of Grungni is attacked by a dragon and heavily damaged. The only place to put in for repairs is Slayerkeep, the city of Slayers. Gotrek and six other Slayers swear vengeance on the dragon and brave the Big Mountains, as well as a horde of orcs and an army of bandits, to kill the dragon and take his treasure. Has the doom Felix has sworn to record finally come?

Dragonslayer was action packed. The Slayers, though by definition fairly single-minded, were different enough to be viable characters. William King's writing in once again at a much higher level than other fiction of this type. Felix continues to progress as a character and is the audience's viewpoint character for much of the story. At one point he scolds himself for spending more time worry about his relationshp with Ulricka than about slaying the dragon. Gotrek, as always, is a nigh unstoppable killing machine.

All in all, a quick and enjoyable read.

Beastslayer: Praag is under seige by the Chaos horde with Felix, Gortrek, and their allies trapped inside. Can Felix, Gotrek, and their Slayer companions weed out the evil within before the city falls?

As always, William King delivers a suspenseful fantasy tale. It's amazing how he can achieve an epic scope within a slim story less than 300 pages long, yet another example that 'epic' does not necessarily mean a series of never-ending doorstops.

Beastslayer was tense. Characters from the previous two F&G books were killed, as well as a hell of a lot of other people. Most readers will probably figure out who the traitor is pretty early on but that doesn't ease the tension very much. Felix and Gotrek continue to develop as characters, as do the supporting cast. Well, those that survive...

Vampireslayer: A vampire kills a noble, steals a potent talisman from his collection, and kidnaps Ulrika. Can Felix and Gotrek stop him before he uses the talisman to raise an undead army?

Vampireslayer was the weakest story in the omnibus and a letdown after the first two. Still, it had a good amount of tension. The fate of Ulrika was unexpected, as was Adolphus Krieger's final fate.

All in all, the second Gotrek and Felix omnibus was an enjoyable read. It wasn't as good as the first one but still great fun.
Profile Image for Dirk Grobbelaar.
859 reviews1,229 followers
December 30, 2010
I reviewed each novel in this omnibus individually, so I won't be adding anything to that. All I'll say here is that these Black Library omnibus editions are very good value for money and an excellent introduction to the Warhammer universe.
2 reviews1 follower
July 20, 2024
The stories of Gotrek and Felix are as always just pure fun. Do not expect tales of perfect heroes trying to save the world yet just two characters who happen to find themselves constantly in trouble by the quest of Doom of Gotrek. Both are splendid characters with a nice arc. Other supporting characters like Ulrika and Snorri complete this ragtag bunch of adventures. The main stories are (for me) the best, yet the short stories offer something wholly different! Besides, the psychology of mainly Felix can feel quite deep if read correctly; in my eyes the book is just pure Fantasy fun with a dash of deeper meaning. A perfect cocktail if you ask me!
Profile Image for Ed C.
57 reviews5 followers
January 23, 2010
I think Bill King's "Slayer" series is a great epic. Even if you know nothing about the Warhammer World, I think King paints a great picture of it for you, and you tend to learn as you go along, sometimes with the characters themselves.

The two main characters work excellently together, and across the series Felix (the young idealist) ages and hardens to the world as he is dragged along behind Gotrek (the dour dwarven warrior) who remains as craggy and hardened as he was on the first page, in increasingly epic parts of this saga. The two are linked by a blood oath taken on a drinking session after Gotrek saves Felix's life. Felix is then oath-bound to follow Gotrek on his fated quest for redemption and record his doom (the only way a dwarf can truely seek redemption, of course, is through honourable death!).

The story is mostly told through the eyes of Felix, never Gotrek (for the mind of a dwarf is an alien thing), and the enemies they face and allies they gain. The stories are engrossing and at times humerous and moving, making it a great blend of serious fantasy and laugh-out-loud wit. The world may be grim, but some of the characters are just too odd, and in some cases too stupid, not to make you smile. It is simply a shame that Bill King left the saga after only seven books, as I had hoped he'd see Gotrek through to the doom he's been seeking and end it in the manner it had begun.

The full series by Bill King is Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Deamonslayer (Omnibus 1), Dragonslayer, Beastslayer, Vampyreslayer (Omnibus 2) and Giant Slayer (which can sometimes be found in an omnibus if you're lucky).
117 reviews1 follower
June 22, 2024
As always, I write this without having read any other reviews. My thoughts are subject to change as I gather other opinions later, but for now, this take is entirely my own.

You can see from the titles exactly what this is. It's a fantasy buddy adventure where they tee up the big bad, and then kill it in the end. Move on to the next book in the franchise. There's no real stakes as the title protagonists, the indomitable dwarf Gotrek Gurnisson and his hapless human sidekick Felix Jaeger, have plot armor until the final entry in the saga. They are doomed to succeed, inevitably. We know the end before we read the first line, like a romance novel but for strategic tabletop gamers. But it's not about the end, right? We don't listen to a concerto just to hear the final chord and we don't read a book for the final page; it's about the personalities as they go through the steps, it's about watching this improbable duo's bromance bloom into something hilarious and heartwarming and worth rooting for. So I bought the omnibus.

I wasn't wrong on the broad strokes, and author William King quickly gets readers up to speed on the nuances. Since Gotrek and Felix are literally (literarily? Is that not a word?) invincible, tension is introduced in the form of secondary characters who absolutely do get killed. I 100% support killing characters, it's one of my favorite things. I also appreciate how each of the three entries have a distinct feel to them. Inspired by Tolkien or Bram Stoker, William King does a competent job of plotting through and adding that Games Workshop overlay to the aesthetic. Finally, the climaxes are rock solid, and as a subtle note, King is particularly good at point of view. Novels spring from a single person's mind, and most authors have trouble disguising that fact. Allies and antagonists all seem to stay on the same page, where King has some deft work in exposing different character's knowledge of the plot and their motivations. I want to be clear on how much I appreciate these elements, because it's going to seem like I hated every minute of these three novels and I didn't.

The complaints I have are mostly in characterization. The blossoming bromance I described looking forward to? There isn't one. I wanted an odd couple dynamic, and as I read I easily found what I wanted it to be; Gotrek is neigh invincible on the battlefield but an astonishingly standoffish boor, a barbarian archetype, where the cowardly Felix relies on his silver tongue to charm his way into or out of near any situation he likes. Due to plot reasons readily supplied, the pairs' lots are thrown together, to mutual chagrin; Gotrek must put up with Felix's squeaking and whining if he wants his doom to be properly recorded, while Felix is reluctantly dragged into one deadly predicament after another, just so he can witness the doom and get this mad adventure over with. Hilarity ensues, as over their journeys their respect for one another and their talents grow, their characters arc, and we genuinely don't want to see Gotrek die in the final entry though we know it's inevitable. I want to read that story. I almost want to write that story, because I can see in my minds eye exactly how I would do it. Instead, Gotrek barely engages and Felix is content to leave well enough alone. I'm not mad, I'm disappointed.

Most of my complaints stem from Felix's passivity. Far from being a charismatic yet craven ne'er do well, and despite occasionally telling us how reluctant he is to fight, Felix is quite brave and always holds his own in the fray. In fact, about half the time his heroic feats outshine Gotrek's. Felix also enjoys an intensely sexual relationship with an incredibly attractive warrior princess, despite both characters explicitly acknowledging he has NO ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES. He's Bella from "Twilight," he's the worst sort of GaryStu; a bland reader self-insert who happens to experience amazing events without trying or suffering or earning it in any plausible way. Which really sucks, because his is the perspective we're in more than anyone else. Frankly, the entire series is misnamed. If there was truth in titles it wouldn't be "Gotrek and Felix." It wouldn't even be "Felix and Gotrek." It would be "Felix and Friends," of whom Gotrek would rank maybe fifth in this trilogy, after Ulrika Magdova, Maximilian Schreiber, Snorri Nosebiter, and even Grey Seer Thanquol. I think Malakai Makaisson has more dialogue in the trilogy, and he's not even in "Vampireslayer." Gotrek hardly speaks, hardly impacts the plot, all he does is kind of hang out and drink until it's time to fight, at which time he bloodies his thumb with the edge of his "frightful axe," and promptly chops dozens of bad guys to bits. At least Snorri is sort of amusing while he does the same. We're not given reason to care about either Gotrek or Felix, besides the fact that they are the title characters.

I was hoping, when I purchased this tome, that I would love it so much I'd want to read the first omnibus, and then seek out the... let me count... seveneightnine... eleven other entries in the series to bring it to a nice total of seventeen books... but I'm not going to. Unless I hear that it drastically improves, I'm not down to watch Felix Jaeger bumble his way under skirts and into glory. I have other books to read. And yet, I'm not sad I read these and I'm not sad they exist. The rest of the series isn't for me, and I'm okay with that.
1,089 reviews15 followers
May 1, 2022
I will rate the whole serie as a lot of details of the rating is about different books.

As an outsider of the genre i really didn´t quite know what to expect. The world in which the story takes is grim and depressing. Even Tolkien´s setting of Lord of the Rings is more cheerful. Horror and death lurk behind every corner. Everything seems hopeless and doomed when you think about it. With all this threats without and within it is totally unlikely that any civilisation still exists. The so called good people are just too few and too weak. Chaos, orks, goblins, undead, skaven and civil wars constantly threaten the people of this world. Widespread corruption, autocratic rulers and excessive witch hunts are common. The main victims are of course the common people who try to survive. For me this whole universe is very depressing.

Gotrek is a grumpy dwarf beserk who seeks a glorious death to eradicate his shame and runs head first into every fight half naked. Very much like Conan the barbarian. But even less believable as Gotrek actively seeks for the strongest and deadliest enemies around the world and despises tactical planning or retreat. His side kick and bard is the human Felix. He is the more sensible of the two. Bound by an oath given when he was dead drunk he follows and supports Gotrek and writes down their story. He is also the ladies man which is a good page filler but at least for me was very dull and also quite unbelievable. In the first omnibus i remember three ladies, a farmers daughter, a farmers daughter turned tavern wench and a pampered high aristocrat who i learned to hate and gets the award of being most annoying side character from me. Felix is absolutely nothing in common with the majority of his lovers therefor the relationships are doomed to fail. I really would have prefered if the ladies would have fallen for grumpy Gotrek instead. Then at least it would have been good for a laugh or two...

The stories are written by several authors of varying quality and were collected in Omnibus books. Therefor there are a lot of contradictions: Felix sword, Felix red cloak, Gotreks pal dies in the first omnibus, to be seen around the next ones until he dies again, the Mannfred revival story happens twice but differently....

Unfortunately, i found the majority of the stories rather sub par and kept putting the books away again and again. Gotrek is just too unkillable and i-took-some-fencing-lessons Felix is just too lucky while everybody around them dies like flies all the time.. My heart bleeded for all the mass murdered people, especially the dwarfs. The serie was just not for me.
Profile Image for Jordy.
37 reviews
August 5, 2019
Once again the stories of the dwarven slayer Gotrek & the human witness Felix remain enjoyable to read. The omnibus contains three short stories: Dragonslayer, Beastslayer and Vampire Slayer, and a couple of short stories from the perspectives of some of the characters who do not have such a large spot in the spotlight as the main characters.

With the addition of some new dwarven slayers some more lore of the slayer cult becomes apparent and you can get a nice view of the diversity of those who take the oath upon them. Not all slayers are as determined and stout hearted as Gotrek, giving them a more rounded view instead of the shallow dwarven prejudices many people have. Along with the introduction of some new main villains, the chaos sorcerers Loigor and Kelmain, Gotrek and Felix gain some more formidable adversaries presenting new challenges and opportunities. This means that the skaven grey seer Thanquol is somewhat left in the dust, but the new antagonists present some fresh prospectives for the stories.

Once again much of the book is dedicated to the doom seeking glory of Gotrek, while some more side-plots are explored at the same time. The relationship between Felix and Ulrika gains a couple of unexpected twists and the magician Max Schreiber gets also more time in the spotlight and gets fleshed out more. Perhaps his intentions may not always remain as pure as what he started with, because there seem to be some hints that he might be tempted to the corruption of chaos. But who knows, thus far he seems to be one of the good guys.

The short stories are a nice continuation and I will definitely continue reading them.
Profile Image for Wren.
216 reviews4 followers
December 7, 2019
The tales of Gotrek and Felix are one of those few book series that can span for over 10+ books and just seem to get better and better. I'll admit that when I first heard of this series and that at the time it was still on going, i knew i had to have at it eventually.

I was a little apprehensive because I just assumed that the books would be very basic and just have the titular characters bounce from one point to the other just stumbling into trouble and having to deal with it, for example I figured that in say...dragon slayer they'd stumble onto a town that's being besieged by a dragon and they just decide to stick around and kill it for them.

But NO! The best thing about this series is that it has a plot that takes a few books in to really establish itself but I love how everything ties into it, we have some recurring characters that I really enjoy, for example Ulrika and what happens to her, we have probably my favourite character Max the wizard who does a real good job of explaining to himself and us the reader that clearly something is going on that has brought them all together for a reason. Dont worry though this isnt poor exposition on the authors part to explain the plot to us it's written as Max wondering If things aren't maybe pre ordained by the gods or maybe something else? Also we have one book including the greatest Elf Mage Teclis, who for those playing along at home will know all about.

And what Gotrek and Felix novel wouldn't be complete without a special guest appearance from the greatest Skaven Grey Seer ever to be blessed by the Horned Rat himself (at least in his own opinion) Thanquol himself! This guy is one of my favourite characters from the entire Warhammer universe full stop. Everything about him just equal parts surprises me at his cunning and just out right makes me laugh out load the way he admonishes his underlings and blames all his failures in them. Honestly just go and read the Gotrek and Felix spin of works about this guy and you'll get what I mean.

One of the best novel series I ever read to date and I can not wait to see how the series will end 🤩🙌🏻🙏🏻
Profile Image for Jota Houses.
1,557 reviews11 followers
November 19, 2022
En las novelas que integran este omnibus, se ha abandonado ya el caracter episódico que sufrían las primeras de la serie y pasamos a una cierta continuidad en la que los acontecimientos que se desarrollan en el mundo de Warhammer influyen en las aventuras de Felix y Gotrek. Esto les da un caracter más épico aun cuando la miga de cada libro no deje de ser matar al monstruo que le da título al volumen. Felix y Gotrek no crecen como personajes y esto obliga al autor a introducir secundarios que le permitan desarrollar la acción más allá del típico argumento de llegan los héroes al pueblo, se enfrentan al malo y se marchan hacia el sol poniente cantando « I'm a poor lonesome cowboy...»
Para audiolibro sde siesta no va mal. Ahora que se me han acabado las narraciones y tendría que seguir leyendo en el kindle no se si me va a motivar con todo lo que tengo pendiente. Igual con un resumencito si puedo hacerme con él...
Profile Image for Viel Nast.
Author 7 books6 followers
May 18, 2018
the second omnibus is more epic and pompous than the first! the chaos war continues and now our heroes face a near invincible army of chaotic mutants and beastmen. of course they prevail and became vampire hunters! the amazing about these books is that despite they repeat themselves and all in all they narrate the adventures of an extremely tough and stubborn dwarf that wants to die in battle but cannot since he kills all his enemies (!) they are interesting and fascinating. the world of Warhammer is incredibly detailed and the constant battle with chaos is the base for truly epic adventures. what else can you wish from a sword and sorcery tale of epic proportions with nearly eight hundred pages of violence and bloodshed!
Profile Image for Wolf.
82 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2020
First half of this book was great. I can never get enough of Gotrek and Felix. That said, the second half had me forcibly dragging my eyes from word to word. Felix has had a string of romances throughout the series, all of whom fell into the classic “damsel” trope which annoyed me to no end. Enter Ulrika, finally a woman that’s more than a match both in sword and intellect for Felix. Unfortunately, after a couple hundred pages of the constant back and forth of their relationship, I just got fed up.
Profile Image for Peter De Kinder.
214 reviews2 followers
August 16, 2023
The second slew of stories about the iconic duo doesn't disappoint. The writer really comes into his own with the characters during these stories. the only downside for me is the quality of the enemies. I really like Thanquol as an enemy. And even if Adolphus Krieger is a worthy replacement, the chaos champion and the dragon fall a bit short. But that is only a minor gripe in view of the awesome fantasy adventures in this book.
Profile Image for Bryan H Wilson.
3 reviews
May 28, 2020
The style and pacing of King's writing really started to solidify for me, in the first omnibus it seemed strange to me because it felt like chunks of time were missing. By this point I understood more about how the short stories (which are after the main titles) filled out the timeline. Recommended!
Profile Image for Tony.
247 reviews5 followers
January 18, 2022
Really enjoyed this second Omnibus, just wanted to go straight into 3rd, but try and vary what I read?

Such great characters and adventures. The baddies are so good, and he puts are heroes in impossible to win situations.

The Chaos hoards and Undead where so scary and led by such evil characters. with the constant history and background of the Warhammer world.
29 reviews
February 7, 2022
solid, fun reading, not a lot of depth.

If you want an easy read set in an interesting fantasy setting, this is not a bad choice. If you are looking for a great depth of character and rich storytelling, look elsewhere.

This is a fun read in the way an action movie is fun to watch. It’s not gonna win any Oscars, but you’ll probably have a good time.
Profile Image for Michael Eklund.
313 reviews8 followers
August 12, 2024
Really very exciting, especially Beastslayer. I love the interaction between the different characters. I do miss the humour of Skavenslayer, even if Thanquol do appear sometimes. Snorri Nosebiter is the real funny character in this book and I often laugh at his comments.

I'm really sad William King stopped writing this book series (Giantslayer is the 7th book but it is more of a rush job.
Profile Image for Andreas.
168 reviews5 followers
June 24, 2024
Tre korte bøker og 5 noveller samlet i en bok. Alle er skrevet over samme lest og ingen store overraskelser mellom de. Helt ok fantasy som egentlig bare skiller seg ut ved å være satt til warhammeruniverset.
30 reviews2 followers
August 30, 2024
4.5

Grim and lengthy and with its usual moderate prose, but surprisingly moving at times— incredible moments of sacrifice and restraint against all odds. I’m not sure if its the same author, but the Felixiad has really hit its stride, sorry gotrek.

rating system on this site sucks
6 reviews
June 5, 2018
If you are looking for William Falkner, turn back. If you are in the mood for well-paced, entertaining fantasy, give these books a try. My guilty pleasure, for sure.
Profile Image for Alejandro Montero.
513 reviews10 followers
April 26, 2020
Las aventuras de Gotrek y Félix nunca decepcionan. Un libro genial de aventuras lleno de monstruos y batallas épicas!
Profile Image for Elijah Allensworth.
107 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2021
Pretty good, although they have mostly ditched the string of short stories to weave a large narrative.
57 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2013
Collecting books 4-6 in the Saga of Gotrek the doom-seeking dwarven Slayer and his Human companion and chronicler Felix.

Continuing on the arc Started in DemonSlayer :- the continuing journey of the pair accompanied by mad dwarven inventors, sorcerors, lovers and fellow slayers.

The distinguishing feature of the second omnibus is that though it collects 3 books together - the narrative arc is at this point far better developed than in the first series. The books flow naturally from one to the other and the supporting cast is by this point fully delevloped and in many places far more interesting and compelling than the main characters. Which from a dramatic point is far more interesting. Obviously the main characters won't die - but the supporting characters can and do die - lending emotional depth and some suspense the series needs to continue to compell.

The main point of view characters continue to be Felix, Ulrika and Max - a trend started in Demonslayer. Their romantic triangle continues to be a major plot device which continues to drive the main arc over these three books. So much so that though the battles are dominated by the slayers - this omnibus could be retitled as the tragic love story of those three characters.

The characters of Max Schreiber Imperial mage and Ulrika Magdova - Kislevite noblewoman play as much of a role in these books as Gotrek and Felix. Also of note are Malakai Makaisson - mad dwarf inventor, Snorri Nosebiter - another mad dwarven slayer, Bjorni Bjornisson - an insatiable sex obsessed dwarven slayer and numerous others of note - all of whom add depth , humor and much needed distraction from the one dimensional Gotrek - who is by far the least interesting character in the series.


DragonSlayer - returning from their quest into the chaos wastes their airship is attacked by a dragon and one of their number is slain - the group seeks vengance - the beast must pay.

BeastSlayer - The second great Chaos war has begun! The city of Praag is under siege from an immense army of chaos warriors and beastmen. Trapped in the city they must hold out or perish. In concept this is similar to Skaven slayer - since both books deal with a city under siege , but the format of the two books is entirely different and the presence of the larger character group adds more depth to the book.

VampireSlayer - Ulrika is kidnapped by a vampire seeking an ancient artifact and Max and Felix - dragging the slayers with them race to rescue her. Can they rescue her or will their tangled love triangle end with a vampires bite.

Well worth reading - and again derserves a far wider audience than just those interested in Warhammer.
9 reviews1 follower
April 24, 2014
William King's Gotrek and Felix: The Second Omnibus is the second journey into the story of Felix Jaeger and Gotrek Gurnisson. Accounting for three books, Dragon slayer, Beast slayer, and Vampire slayer, William King manages to have all of the adventure, action, and drama that readers have come to love.

Felix Jaeger is a poet, following the dwarf Gotrek Gurnisson after a drunken promise to follow him and record his doom in an epic saga so his name will not be forgotten. Gotrek is a slayer, a dwarf whom has lost his honor and has brought shame to his family, he has sworn to find his doom fighting only the strongest of opponents. While grim, and often times violent, Gotrek is the stories main driving point. If not for Gotrek, Felix would still be sitting in his home city as a wealthy merchant with his family.

William King has, once again, painted an amazing setting. While not entirely his, the world belongs to the Warhammer universe. King manages to put it into a light that few other novels have. From the spanning Empire of man, to the desolate Chaos Wastes, King's use of description can only make one feel as if they are really there.

While the Plot is mostly driven by Gotrek's lust for a glorious death in combat, it seems simple and overly violent. However the story can in fact get somewhat dramatic at times. The main brunt of the story is the hunting and slaying of these epic beasts. Beast slayer takes a much more story driven role for the most part though. Instead of hunting for an epic beast, Gotrek and Felix along with their rag tag retinue are trapped in a city under siege by the Daemonic forces of Chaos.

If you're the kind of reader who enjoys fantasy stories with fight scenes, epic one-liners, and dramatic scenes, I feel that ANY Gotrek and Felix novel will make you feel right at home. However if you shy away from the more violent side of things, Gotrek and Felix might just be a gore-soaked saga you may wish to stay away from.
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