Giantslayer

Gotrek & Felix #7

by William King

Separated from their friends during a vicious battle, Gotrek Gurnisson and Felix Jaeger are magically transported to the storm-wracked isle of Albion. Strange and dangerous creatures stalk the island and omens tell of a great evil that is rising - an evil that might destroy the entire world. With the aid of the natives of Albion and the mighty high elf mage Teclis, Gotrek and Felix must stop the secrets of the mysterious Old Ones from falling into the hands of servants of the Dark Gods.

Read it because
A new player enters the series – none other than the infamous high elf mage Teclis! Of course, the bickering between him and Gotrek is a high point, but the exploration of the mysterious island of Albion and the return of some old foes doesn't hurt either.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels, Action, High Fantasy

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Dan Schwent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felix and Gotrek, along with the elven wizard Teclis, find themselves in Albion. Can they close the Twisted Paths and save Ulthaun, the island home of the elves?

Giantslayer is the last of William King's Felix and Gotrek books and likely the last of the saga I'll be reading. I've come far with F&G but it's probably best to say goodbye. Not only because I'm not very eager to see how another author handles them, but also because I'm not as enamored with them as I once was.

Giantslayer is yet another gore-splattered tale of Felix and Gotrek. While that's the attraction, it's also the curse. After six other books, I have no doubt that Gotrek will end up slaying the giant of the title.

Not that Giantslayer isn't enjoyable. Teclis was like Elric-lite, Albion and the Twisted Paths were both great settings. Gotrek was as bad ass as ever. The insight into the elves of the Warhammer world was really cool. Felix, on the other hand, was quite the smarmy whiny bastard in this one. It felt like King was even more weary of the duo than I was by the end.

Giantslayer is worth the few hours it took to read and quite amusing. Just don't expect it to stack up to earlier entries in the series. Although it did have Gotrek ripping the eye out of a giant's head and hang from it like a pendulum as it dangled from the empty socket by its optic nerve...

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finaliza la saga de William King al que la película Warcraft le han copiado la idea principal: Se abre una puerta dimensional para que unos gigantes invadan la tierra de nuestros protagonistas. Ellos dos junto a un elfo mago muy poderosos, harán un viaje hasta llegar al peligro base, cuyo camino será un infierno de obstáculos.

Puede que sea el más intenso y pulp de todos.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giantslayer acts as a great background information novel for the Warhammer world. We see Gotrek and Felix trapped within the Paths of the Old Ones, only to be saved by none other than Teclis, High Elf extraordinaire. The fortuitous rescue by the mage leads to our heroes being conscripted to Teclis' quest to reseal the recently opened Paths before the energies of Chaos unhinges the world and cause the homeland of the elves to fall into the sea. Said quest sees them to the mysterious island of Albion, Warhammer's stand-in for Britain, in order to locate and hopefully repair the damaged node in the Path network.

Overall, I found the story to be quite interesting, as it laid out a great deal of information on parts of the world that are generally glossed over and not as fleshed out, such as Albion. Additionally, it was interesting to get a bit of a crash course on what is more or less the prehistory of the world and the Old Ones. My main complaint was that in running into Teclis, the story felt a bit like an historically based tv show where the main characters would bump into some major historical character. This is a minor complaint though, as it does make for a rather humorous scenario with the blunt and gruff Gotrek being honor bound to help not only a haughty elf, but the greatest living sorcerer of the age.

[Space Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A plot driven story, that combined with the easy to read language from William King and the narrow dramatic personage, makes this an easy and quick read. 🤔
The story is straightforward, so if you do not read that mush, and want a book to be the gateway to either fantasy or Warhamner Fantasy or just want to read a book, this is a good one to choose. 😏
Despite the vast amount of lore, parts of it, is presented, without throwing the reader off. 🤓
As mentioned earlier the language level is easy, I did only had to look upba few words, but sometime a few thin and concepts were hard to fallow or imagine, but it was not something that was in every chapter. 😉
Regarding the characters. If you expect the same character depths as in Dune, A Song of Ice and Fire or Star Trek you are gonna be disappointed.
The Elf Teclic has some personality im being not entirely Lord of the Rings or Eragon Elf like. Felix has some okay reflections scenes about what is going on in the story and that helps, when you follow as generic characters like Gotrek, Kelmain and that other sorcerer. 🤓
Btw what is going with plot chaos. Have read some 40K short stories and the only reason the "god" guys do not loose is due to somebody being possed by lovecrafting madness. 🤔😅😳😹

[Tomáš Drako · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mocný efský čarodejník je núténý uzavrieť spojenectvo s trpaslíkom Gotrekom a bartom, Felixom aby zastavili veľkú katasrofu.
Nó, vskutku výborný návrat do sveta Warhammeru. Nechýba drsná fantasy atmosféra, výborne napísané bojové scény, a všade chaos, orcovia všelijaká háveď na odstrel.
Sákra ako ma tento svet baví.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll never get tired of Gotrek saying how much he hates elves haha. We get a great elf character to accompany our heroes in this one, the dynamics of the group were very well done and fun. I loved all these Gotrek and Felix books by William King, hoping Nathan Long's hold up as well.

[Joshua Scherer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun high fantasy tale.
The relational dynamic of high elf, dwarf and human is amusing and well done.
King offers an interesting perspective into the mental scope and musings of Teclis too. Sometimes a little long winded, but doubtless intentional.
A nice change of narrative pace for the pair.
A worthy addition to the series.

[Tomáš Šváb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je to další démon? Něco horšího človíčku, je to elf...

[Jordan]

Visions of Bloodstone.

[Domien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Gotrek and Felix, it's one of my favourite book series, and I think William King is an absolutely wonderful author but... This one just wasn't very good. In fact, I think it was the worst one so far and I'm a bit sad that King's run with these characters ended on a low note. I don't blame him, though. The book felt as if it was one he was ordered to write, not one he wanted to write.
So what were the issues? Well, the story is just a mess. Gotrek and Felix is at its best when it's very straightforward: you've got your theme, which is right there in the title (SKAVENslayer, DRAGONslayer, VAMPIREslayer) and a very clear goal for our heroes to pursue (retrieve the treasure, rescue the kidnapped girl, kill the monster before it does this or that). With those building blocks in place, William King manages to weave a compelling yarn every time. In this one, though, there is *almost* no theme. There is just a bunch of stuff happening. First we encounter the High Elves in Ulthuan, and it feels as if this is not a G&F book at all for the first chapter. Only then are we re-introduced to our friends and the plot procedes at a weird, stuttering pace, moving the characters from the snow-clad forests of Sylvania into a confusing extradimensional setting, where they meet all kinds of Lovecraftian horrors, which is fine if you're into that kind of thing, but it left me wondering when we were going to get to the point. Only about halfway through the book, the heroes finally reach Albion, and for a while, it gets really good as we settle into the Scottish atmosphere of that mysterious location. We meet the locals, Gotrek wins an arm-wrestling contest and Felix makes small talk with an attractive woman. They drink whiskey and go boating in the swamp. Oh, and Teclis is with them. Yes, the famous Elf wizard who actually becomes a god in the Age of Sigmar setting is the guest star of this tale, replacing Max Schreiber as the party wizard. I found Teclis to be an interesting character for sure, but I did miss Max. He was so much more human, approachable and humble, and I would have liked to see how his character evolved after the traumatic events of the previous book. We go to a hidden cave with an ancient oracle and her maiden guard, fighting Orcs. All good stuff, but the actual purpose of it all remained a bit vague. It had something to do with avoiding the end of the world because of some ancient magical thingamajigs that were out of balance and needed to be fixed but it was never very clear.
Then the book takes a very strange turn when our characters travel to what is basically Lustria, or fantasy Meso-America in the midst of fantasy Scotland, with a magical jungle and magical Aztec pramids... but on Albion. This was such a clash of styles that I just couldn't get behind it. It concludes with a chaotic fight that involves Orcs, beastmen and a colossal giant. In the midst of this fight is a scene of violence so comically extreme and disgusting that it crossed a line for me. It was a real jump-the-shark moment, involving Gotrek and the giant.
Anyway, the magical mumbo-jumbo is resolved in ways I couldn't understand and the story pretty much wraps up there.
One of my main disappointments at the end of this story was that Felix didn't get to do anything. It felt like he was a low-level player in an MMO raid who was just tagging along, trying not to die.
I did like the amount of lore we got about the Warhammer world's ancient history, but other than that, I'm afraid Giantslayer was a Giant Mess.
Still, William King remains one of my favourite authors and I would love to read more of his stuff. I remain a huge fan of his Gotrek and Felix works.

In retrospect, my ranking of King's G&F books would be:

1. Vampireslayer (book 6)
2. Dragonslayer (book 4)
3. Skavenslayer (book 2)
4. Trollslayer (book 1)
5. Daemonslayer (book 3)
6. Beastslayer (book 5)
7. Giantslayer (book 7)

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating of 4.5.

After having a ton of fun listing my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels last week, I dive back into Warhammer Fantasy in a big way with the seventh epic entry in William King’s Gotrek and Felix series, Giantslayer.

Following their arduous and costly battle against the vampires of Sylvania, Gotrek, Felix and their companions attempt to deal with the losses they all have suffered. However, the evils of the Old World are never considerate of grief, and soon the heroes find themselves attacked by a horde of beastmen. Following them to their lair, they discover a mysterious cavern full of tunnels pulsing with unnatural power.

Separated from their friends and dragged through an unnatural gateway, Gotrek and Felix find themselves transported to the legendary island of Albion, home of ancient tribes, dark forces, and massive giants. Fate brings the two companions into contact with the legendary High Elven mage Teclis, who has journeyed to Albion to uncover the source of dangerous magical energy that threatens to sink the High Elves’ home island of Ulthuan and devastate the rest of the world.

Reluctantly agreeing to work with the elf mage, Gotrek and Felix travel across Albion, attempting to uncover the cause of the latest magical threat facing the world. They soon discover that the island is far from tranquil; instead it is a dark land corrupted by magical power and the dangerous legacy of the Old Ones, the mysterious beings who created the world. Worse, the island has been invaded by the dark forces of Chaos who are determined to harness Albion’s unique magic for themselves. Caught between dark sorcerers, corrupted giants, an army of greenskins and the long-lasting enmity that exists between elves and dwarves, can Gotrek and Felix work with Teclis to save the world, or will the Slayer finally find his doom on Albion?

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2023/03/10/...

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

[Hanz Löwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is basically my general comment on his novels in the Gotrek and Felix series

King is a writer capable of making me lost track of time. Time and time again I found so enchanted by his story telling that I only realise the passage of time until I reached the final.

I think it's because his tells his story with humour and simplicity, and uses the simplest language to describe what he wants to tell. Hence why it never felt boring and the follow was fast.

I find it funny that combat in his works seems rather like that in One Punch Man. Very fast paced, short and brutal. And I quite like it, I think it is quite plausible, especially with a slayer on your side.

King is also quite a love master if I may say so. I think he does an excellent job in depicting all the intrigues of love, perhaps far better than what ought to be in a fantasy novel. The blissful sweet of first love, the insecurity, the resentment and finally the fallout. They are all expertly done in such a plausible way that I couldn't help but to keep referring to my own experience.

I could decided if it was intentional that he left so many plot lines unfollowed. Perhaps he was going to following them up in the later books. But rather regrettably most of those hidden plots are callously exposed and discarded by the latter writers or simply never followed up.

I think while he perhaps could have lengthened the fighting scenes a bit. Because of the solid foundation he laid, in terms of the charter development, he makes it easy for the later writers to pick up the series and continue to span the story, as least as seamlessly as realistically possible at least.

[Steven Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but it might be my least favorite of the William King run of Gotrek & Felix. I really enjoyed the larger Warhammer lore and world that this novel fleshes out but that's also a weak point. In the grand scheme of things this book doesn't feel like another chapter in overarching story of these characters but either a side story or wrapping up of events from two books ago. There is no real antagonist of note compared to most of the other books but merely an event that has occurred (unbeknownst to the duo). Teklis, a high elf mage of renown to oldhammer fans, is along for the ride for at least half the book.

My biggest complaint in this book is Felix. He is incessantly whiny, more so than any other book previously. If this was leading up to something, which maybe it was originally intended to, I would feel differently...like he was reaching a boiling point. From what I understand the following books take place after a time skip so I am unsure what remains or evolves.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

William King ends his run as author of the Gotrek and Felix series by confronting them with a world ending threat and by forcing Gotrek to overcome his dwarven sensibilities and ally with an elf. It’s an exciting adventure in the far north of the Warhammer world and a worthy final novel for King—really upping the ante for the most serious stakes Gotrek and Felix have fought over yet.

That’s not to say that it is all praiseworthy. King separates Gotrek and Felix from their remaining companions of the past four books and that really was sad. Dwarven Slayer Snori brought a lot of laughs and the Mage Max has been a solid companion as well. I was sorry to see them go, but ultimately it didn’t detract too much from the novel.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good job. Really reining in the out-of-control reading there, Nige. Are audio books crack? I think they may be crack. Anyway, the lads finally meet an Elf and go to Albion which is obviously some version of England, drenched in rain and fog, and the source of terrible threats to the entire world. Don't want to give too much away, but there might even be a giant. Gotrek may run his thumb along the edge of his axe until a drop of blood shows a few times. Felix may ponder the many strange turns his life has taken since he met the dwarf. There may even be some slaying. *Wink.*

[Richard Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

A race against time and darkness to save their friend from vampire plans. I really enjoyed the expansion of vampires within the old world. I liked how it differed from the usual depiction of vampires kidnapping and trying to turn the world to darkness. The vampires in this setting are fractured like humans with differing views and goals. We also saw the history of vampires within the old world and of course so lore about the ancient Nagash.

I very much enjoyed reading these books and hope to read even more of Gortrek and Felixs adeventures

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly better than the last book, but you can really feel King’s fatigue with the series. The prose is at a series low and I found myself laughing or in awe less than 1-4. This is the last Gotrek and Felix book I’ll read (unless Im miraculously convinced otherwise) and I did enjoy Teclis’ appearance and the disaster on Albion more than the plot of the last book.
The series was a lot of fun while it lasted, but if I could do it again I would have stopped at book 4.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pair end up plunging through an ancient teleporter network to Albion, where they must stop the world from ending alongside its natives and a certain elf. Introduces a lot of concepts (for my reading them, anyway), including the lizardmen and high elves. Really enjoyed it, even if the escalation of stakes felt a bit sudden.

[Landan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great tale of Gotrek and Felix but I felt the ending of this one was rushed. It seemed as if King didn't have a solid idea of how he wanted things to end in this book and as such it ends rather abruptly in my opinion

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of expositional material on the Slaan, if you're interested in them. I thought maybe it was written around the same time the Lizardmen army was revealed in 5th edition, but there's 6 years separating them.

[Peter Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the last installment with the two titular characters getting back to their usual antics. This book loses points due to the villains. Some of the best installments of the series focus on the villains really well this was missing that and Teclis was a little boring as a character inmo.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favourite of the series, especially with the inclusion of "named" character Teclis. I kind of wish Max Schreiber was here instead. BUT, still a pretty decent book. I ended up liking more than I thought I would.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teclis, my Favourite Elf, we all see the darkness in the heart of every elf. I adore him and although he makes many a mistake, he is after-all just a lesser race to the old ones. Just teasing, giving the elves some humility some-days.

[N0tter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't care for this one. The dialogue between Gotrek and the elf is very enjoyable at time, but I overall felt this was the most lacking plot wise to date. Just didn't grab me or interest me, despite some bold plot developments.

[David B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

To any who might wonder why I keep giving two stars to the books and yet keep reading the series: Look, it's like popcorn. It's not very nutritious, it doesn't even taste great and yet it gets you through the movie we call life

[Roger L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story once again my Mr. King. The inclusion of Teclis added an excellent intro to Elves for me.

Other positives include:
- more world building
- a satisfying conclusion to multi-novel foes
- excellent magical action by Teclis

[Deryk Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another big 5 stars from me, this time the odd couple, along with other Dwarves, some humans, and an exceptionally gifted mage elf, find themselves in Albion (Britain, kinda) and battle dark mages, giants, and all sorts of bad beasties, great read, great fun.

[Jakub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, very komplex story with good twist. Colorful characters and grumpy Gotrek.

[Antonio Meridda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Altro capitolo degli avventurosi viaggi di Gotrek e Felix nelle terre del cupo mondo fantasy di Warhammer, questa volta contro i quasi invincibili giganti.

[Michal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit meh, but that giant battle at the end was hilarious.