Droga Czaszek

Gotrek & Felix #13

by Joshua Reynolds

„Pytasz mnie czy są niedocenionymi za życia bohaterami Imperium czy tylko pospolitymi złodziejami i mordercami? Cóż, prawda zapewne leży gdzieś pośrodku, między tymi skrajnościami. Sądzę nawet, że wszystko zależy od tego, kogo poprosisz o odpowiedź.”

Gotrek i Felix spieszą do krasnoludzkiej twierdzy Karak Kadrin. Na miejscu odkrywają, że jest ona już oblegana przez jedną z olbrzymich armii Chaosu. Dowodzi nią potężny wódz Garmr Hrodvitnir. Kiedy Król Ungrim Żelazna Pięść mówi im o legendarnej „Drodze Czaszek” oraz o tym, że ich znienawidzony wróg próbuje otworzyć portal do Królestwa Chaosu, Gotrek czuje zew przeznaczenia. Nawet jeśli to nie będzie los, który on sam dla siebie wybrał.

Syn króla prowadzi armię Zabójców, by wypełnili starożytną przepowiednię. Tymczasem wszystko zaczyna wskazywać na to, że Garmr jest już o krok od zwycięstwa…

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Pulp, Dark Fantasy

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Review: http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.c....

Gotrek and Felix race to the dwarf hold at Karak Kadrin, finding it besieged by one of the grand armies of Chaos under the command of Warlord Garmr. When King Ungrim Ironfist speaks of the legendary 'Road of Skulls' and of the hated foe's attempts to open a portal into the Realm of Chaos, Gotrek senses that a great doom awaits him - though it may not be the one he would choose for himself. As the king's own son leads his army of Slayers to fulfil an ancient prophecy, it seems that Garmr's hour of victory may be at hand...

Warhammer Fantasy is an awesome world to return to every now and again with the wealth of stories that Black Library have to offer, even if it’s been shoved to the side as of late in favour of the more popular, sci-fi orientated Warhammer 40,000 Universe. There are still some great offerings to be had from Warhammer Fantasy though, as Road of Skulls, the thirteenth novel in the popular Gotrek and Felix series, which was first written by William King (for the first seven novels) and then Nathan Long (for novels Orcslayer to Zombieslayer). It’s also the first Gotrek and Felix novel not to have ...slayer as the title, with it also being fairly accessible for new or lapsed readers, as I had fallen behind having only read the first Volume of stories and the Anthology.

Any Warhammer Fantasy fan will most likely know the plot of Gotrek and Felix by now – it’s arguably the most popular series in that setting. Gotrek is the dwarf, the slayer – and Felix is the man who chronicles his quest to find his doom. It’s a great partnership that has managed to keep going for over thirteen novels (as well as short stories and audiobooks), and with Road of Skulls, the series manages to keep maintain that fresh and exciting feel that made Gotrek and Felix so enjoyable in the first place as this novel takes the main protagonists to the dwarf hold at Karak Kadrin, where it is under attack from Chaos Warlord Garmr, who attempts to use the Road of Skulls to create a portal to the Realm of Chaos.

The main characters relationship continues to be present and effective. The chemistry between Gotrek and Felix is interesting and the quest for Gotrek to meet his doom continues to be the main focus of the novel. With Reynolds being a new writer on this book fans do not need to be disappointed because this still distinctively feels like the Gotrek and Felix that readers will be familiar with from the William King days. (I can’t comment on the Nathan Long stories as I haven’t read them). The side characters are given various levels of attention as well, which gives readers plenty of time to get to know the dramatis personae. Whilst this book is mainly focused on action, there are plenty of good character moments within and with Reynolds making their stories compelling, the book feels fresh and exciting and not just a boring retread of stories that have come before.

The pacing is pretty good and there is never any moment that drags. I kept reading the next chapter after I finished one, even though I told myself that I’d stop reading there. The book reminds us that Gotrek and Felix are not invincible characters and there may be a time when we have to say goodbye to them, with that level of unpredictability always present – even if coming to this book late, I knew that they would not meet their fate in this series due to the fact that there were future novels released. Like most Warhammer stories in both the Fantasy and 40k settings, you can tell that there probably isn’t going to be a happy ending for these two especially when the central premise is focused around Gotrek finding his own doom. He’s not the kind of character who’ll take a ‘happy ever after’ ending – he’ll want to go out fighting the biggest and deadliest creature that the Warhammer Fantasy Universe has to offer. Time will tell if that’s the case, though, as I’m sure that there are plenty of novels left in these two yet.

Even if Road of Skulls may be completely disconnected from the events of the main series, it is still something that should be worth checking out – fans of the series will probably have done so already as I’m a few books late, but for those of you who have fallen behind like myself this is a great place to start reading get back on board – and as a result of this, I can’t imagine that it’ll be very long before I return to the next Gotrek and Felix novel.


VERDICT: 8.75/10

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

We take a pause in our regular storyline to squeeze in some good old flashback episodes. I found this story to be a bit of a slog, partially because it's shoehorned in so uncomfortably into the existing timeline, with it being sometime before the events of Skavenslayer (book 2), but utilizing characters, settings, and devices Felix would later wonder at upon first meeting later on starting with Dragonslayer (book 4), so the timing is hamfisted at best. Furthermore a great deal of the book is devoted to the Chaos horde ranging southward, and a bunch of mooks that just want to kill things and be unpleasant doesn't make for very interesting plot development. That said, I did find Gotrek and Felix to be very well written in this, as if Reynolds realized that Gotrek can be allowed to have more emotions than dour, and can even speak with more than three words at a time. Additionally, it was nice to get a bit more of the sparse backstory for Gotrek filled in, with his relation to the the slayer hold of Karak Kadrin spelled out a bit plainer. Despite these positives, I still feel that the negatives drug the book down too much for it stand very high in relation to the rest of the series.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very odd plot choice. This doesn't follow on from the last book and is something of a prequel. It is left ambiguous when this is supposed to fit in with the timeline of the rest of the books. It's just a confusing choice considering there is no warning or explanation that it's a prequel and the prologue mentions events that have never happened in previous books. Plus, the plot occurs in the place where the heroes were supposed to be headed to last book, making me wonder if this confusion was in someway intentional. It gets an extra star because of the appearance of the dawi-zharr who have never been characters in any of the WF books I've read so far.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

Liked the story, the Chaos champions' infights (Canto was the best one, a real different Khorne worshipper), the hints about Gotrek's past background and the fights, real page turners.
But the idea of the Khorne Chosen keeping alive his cousin, a Chaos Champion of Tzeentch (!!!) to make him read his fortune was just heresy for me... And the Gotrek/Felix relationship, far well developed by other BL authors, seemed just this here:

[Peter Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed to find out this wasn't a continuation from Zombieslayer but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. The focus on the antagonists was reminiscent of the early books by King, such as Skavenslayer and Beastslayer, that I really enjoyed. I found the back and forth between G and F better in this book than by other authors in the series. This made their continued partnership more believable to me. A fun read!

[Adrian Dumitru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great - this is what i expect from this series - i hope more will come!

[Abhinav · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find the full review over at my blog:

https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...

Shadowhawk reviews the latest Gotrek & Felix novel.

“Quite possibly one of the best Gotrek & Felix novels to date, this also cements Josh Reynolds’ place as a solid writer for both the Gotrek & Felix franchise and the Warhammer Fantasy setting.” ~Shadowhawk, The Founding Fields

I’ve been a fan of the Gotrek & Felix series ever since I read Bill King’s Trollslayer in the series’ first omnibus. A collection of short stories, the novel really immersed me in an incredibly rich fantasy world from the point of view of two of the most unlikely heroes ever. Since those early days, around 2007, I’ve always had a great fascination with the series because of how the books approached the source material. Each book focuses on a particular monster or villain, and is themed to show how the unlikely duo of the Dwarf Slayer Gotrek and the warrior-poet Felix win the day, whether it be dragons or daemons or skaven or vampires or any other creatures of darkness.

The series is also notable for the fact that it is the only Black Library series (that I can recall) which has spun-off into two separate book series, the Thanquol & Boneripper novels by C. L. Werner, and the Ulrika the Vampire trilogy by Nathan Long, who took over Gotrek & Felix after the departure of King from the publisher. In my estimation, barring Herr Werner, the series could not have been in better hands than it was in Nathan Long’s. He’s delivered some fantastic stories and reading his work has been a great joy.

But then news filtered down last year, when Gotrek & Felix: An Anthology was released, that Nathan too would be stepping down and that the third Ulrika novel, Bloodsworn, would be his last for Black Library for a while. This created quite a void in the ranks of WHF authors since other than Herr Werner and Chris Wraight, who were both already busy with several projects, there didn’t appear to be any other author who could step up to take the reins, given that Dan Abnett was already heavily invested in Warhammer 40,000 along with Gav Thorpe, and Nick Kyme was similarly busy with other projects in addition to his editorial duties. And that’s where Josh Reynolds, a newcomer to the publisher, stepped in with his novella Charnel Congress last year and the first Gotrek & Felix novel in several years: Road of Skulls.

The question was always going to be whether Josh could have written a novel to match what Bill King created and what Nathan Long helped keep alive. As far as I am concerned, based on Josh’s story in the anthology and this novel, the series is in very capable hands and the future looks rather bright. Josh’s first book for Black Library was Knight of the Blazing Sun, and while a good book, it wasn’t all that interesting, overall, and had a fair few flaws. Since then however, and a little bit before then, he’s written several pieces of short fiction for WHF and what little I’ve read, I’ve been impressed with. I went into Road of Skulls with high expectations, tempered with my experience from Knight of the Blazing Sun, and I’m quite happy to say that Josh has surpassed my expectations. Not only did he deliver a story that feels very true to the original vision from Bill King, but he also explores the setting itself in depth, and leaves his own stamp on the series.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a novel that makes Gotrek justice.
First of all it develops Gotrek while not going against the timeline already in place. But we also learn a lot about Gotrek grudge that surprised me. Felix was really interesting character here. More bold. More akin a remembrancer while elfslayer or zombieslayer was more boring duo. It didn't really gone anywhere. Althought here we see battles, we see dwarves, we see history, we see a glimpse of all.

The Chaos part were really interesting as well. We learn more about how a horde of chaos works. the politics, the champions, the mistrust - the lack of honor or good traits.

Enfin, really interesting. Josh Reynolds really surprised me here. Not since William King I enjoy more a Gotrek novel.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really hoping this is the beginning book of the series that will see Gotrek meet his fate. He and Felix are awesome characters, but I'm starting to get tired of this whole "he has a grand fate in front of him" thing. They need to resolve the character's fate.

This book unto itself, was awesome. Joshua does a really good job at characterization, which is a hard thing to accomplish in a high fantasy world. I also enjoyed how the story was built upon established mythology of the universe, and in general he brought about sides of both main characters that hadn't always surfaced very well in the past, including Felix's constant teasing of Gotrek, which Gotrek seems not to hear.

[Peter Noort · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read most of the Gotrek&Felix novels by now, but this is one of the best. Even as I grew bored of the standard formula in previous entries, this book immediately grabbed me and became a real page-turner.

What I liked was the menacing threat and the scenes from the perspective of the bad guys, as well as the details of Dwarf culture and social interaction, shedding some new light on Gotreks past as well.

[Reader73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was many years since I read a better Gotrek & Felix book.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 13 (?) is the Gotrek and Felix series, which tells the story of a dwarf who is looking to find his doom and his chronicler sidekick.

I've only read book one in the series and then this one and I felt that I got a complete story that didn't require any further background knowledge.

The story essentially takes place in a specific place over a short period of time. It feels tight and, quite rightly, one of many epic adventures.

As with many series that follow the same protagonist throughout, I felt that the story added small but interesting insights into the main characters. However, the main interest in these sort of novels comes from the personalities and background of the antagonists and other characters. On this occasion I really enjoyed the dip into the dwarf lore and the variety and depth of the antagonists. There were many named side characters and I felt that the majority added something special to the story.

I felt that the action was really well written. A problem I have with Black Library's 40k line is that ''bolter porn'' - long descriptive battle over plot and character - is boring. However, I never felt that was the way here. There are a few battles and skirmishes in the book, but they are very well written and they are they culmination of events rather than just a way to move the story on.

The overall story was enjoyable. I felt that it fit well into the background and it perfectly foretells the End Times.

There were a few negatives. The flow of the novel in the middle felt a bit repetitive, particularly the battles. I felt that the conclusion final climactic scene was a little but to full of events and the conclusion was a touch anti-climactic. I also felt that the tone of the story felt more adventure and cartoon-y(?) in places rather than dark, and I would have preferred it darker. I would also have liked a little more time on the resolution.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

[Jonathan Baughman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new author, which means a new take on the characters and their dynamics. Not sure I like it, from the beginning Gotrek called the shots, but would sometimes listen to Felix's advice. That's gone, and the dynamic has changed to Gotrek goes, and Felix follows, simple as that. The byplay between the two is curtailed. That's either how Reynold's interpreted the characters, or a deliberate decision from Games Workshop, possibly since Felix is going to die sometime prior to the End Times cataclysm.

The book covered a trip to Karak Kadrin, the Slayer Keep, as it's besieged by Khornate cultists, with the ultimate goal of building a Road of Skulls along the same path that Grimnir marched ito the Chaos Wastes. A little bit of sieging, but less than Zombieslayer, and an interesting view of Khorne-worshippers as a little smarter than the mindless savages they're usually portrayed as. Further hints are given to Gotrek's backstory, like how he swore an oath, possibly out of love, to prevent Ungrim Ironfist, the Slayer King, from fulfilling his doom. The ending was fairly solid, with Gotrek being used to destroy what was essentially the Big Bad's horcrux, only for the Big Bad to be slain before he finished his goal of building the Road of Skulls by his cousin, a Tzeentchian sorcerer.

[Wren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man this book was bad. Not just bad but almost painful to read and from Josh Reynolds all of all people!

What was going on here? Apparently it’s set between some of the earlier books which makes no sense as to why it’s set so late on the series?

If they wanted to have a book in between the panels they should have published it back then or at least added it to the previous omnibus.

This book is forgettable and skipable. Nothing of note happens. You can skip this book and not even notice it.

It feels more like it should have been a novella rather than an actual book.

This is the first book in the 5th omnibus and apparently the next one The Serpent Queen is also set in between previous novels. If it’s in the same boring vain as this one I’ll skip it over completely.

2/5 skip and move on 🤷🏼‍♂️

*note to future self. Skip it and move on dude

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

In itself it is a good book but it lacks the fun factor that I come to expect from a gotrek and Felix novel. In hindsight it would seem as if this book and the Gotrek and Felix we get in it are preludes to the Gotrek and Felix we get in the final two books of the series. Gotrek having lost his occasional sarcastic humor and Felix reduced to a melancholic Sancho Panza type desperate to get through the ever tickening clouds around his friend and boss's mind.

So yeah, a decent book but not a very memorable one. Hell Canto the unsworn was by far the most interesting character and if I had had my way this would have been his book and Gotrek and Felix could have swooped in near the end to give it a surprise ending; that would have made a much more interesting read.

[Bartek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gówno jakich mało. Najgorszy tom całej sagi. 1 gwiazdka to i tak o 2 za dużo.

Po pierwsze autor nie za bardzo potrafi osadzić całość w „czasie i przestrzeni”. Ten tom pasuje zarówno na sam początek sagi, jak i gdzieś w środku. Mam wrażenie, że ktoś chciał tu napisać „przerywnik”, ale średnio to wyszło. Z jednej strony mamy wspomniane spotkanie z von Carsteinem, z drugiej mamy krasnoludy chaosu, które są „zaskoczeniem”.
Po drugie, a wynika to z pierwszego zarzutu, całość nie trzyma się kupy. Na tle całej sagi fabuła i postaci są, delikatnie mówiąc, na złych levelach.

I to są chyba główne problemy tej książki. Ktoś chciał rozbudować już istniejącą historię i wpleść w jej linię czasu nowe wydarzenia, ale wyszło bardzo źle.

[Eri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Příjemných 3,5*
Tak nějak mi nedošlo jak moc se mi po téhle dvojce stýskalo. Nečekejte nikdo žádný zázrak, jen klasický nářez jako v předchozích knihách - pořád se někdo honí za bestiemi, jen se to kosí jakoby se klikalo Diablo I, vzpomíná se na minulost PŘED KNIHAMI (tak mi nějak připadá, že odkazovat se k ději v knihách samotných krom té uplně předcházející se prostě viditelně nedělá), nasypte tam podivné bestie, a hlavně, polootevřený konec, aby měla sága kam pokračovat.
Přesně co jsem od knihy čekala: příjemně strávené odpoledne.

[Bartek Maciej · Rating 3 out of 5]

Z jednej strony bardzo fajna książka, taka na 5 gwiazdek nawet, krasnoludy walczą z potężnym wrogiem, już nawet nie samo Imperium ale cały świat jest w niebezpieczeństwie, jest dużo krasnoludów, są krasnoludy chaosu, dużo akcji i walki, wszystko bardzo warhammerowe. Z drugiej strony fabuła nijak ma się do pozostałych części sagi o zabójcy, a sam zabójca jest zupełnie inny niż w pozostałych częściach, nie tylko mówi i rozmawia więcej ale mówi więcej o sobie i swojej przeszłości, nie jest też tak gburowaty. Czasami czułem jakbym czytał o innym Gotreku niż we wcześniejszych książkach.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Josh Reynolds definitely has a different way of writing compared to the other authors who’ve handled Gotrek and Felix, and I’m unsure whether or not I like it. The basic plot of this book is good, and I like the delves into Gotrek’s backstory, but something about the dialogue just feels a little bit off to me. Maybe it just needs to grow on me.

[Ross A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new author for one of my favourite series, but he does a good job. Not much of an ensemble cast, mostly built around showing Gotrek and Felix, or their Khornate rivals.

There are a few tantalising glimpses into Gotrek's back story, and a bit of banter between the two heroes, which is fun to read.

[Nicholas Gallo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine. It being ealier in the series kinda breaks some things, like Felix's sword shouldn't have a name yet but that's not a huge deal. Biggest issue is doesn't sit right with the earlier (or i guess later) adventure in Karak Khadrin from Dragonslayer. Not an absolute mood killer but does noticebly detract from it's ability to stand out.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was fun! I'm currently in the process of reading / re-reading the Gotrek and Felix in order of events rather than the publishing order. It's fun and interesting and a wee bit infuriating as I'm trying to place all the short stories in some semblance of order but also the modern novels are not in the 'Slayer' series line. Of course, the world has been ret-conned but I can hand wave that and try and best guess where the newer books should go.

Well 'Road of Skulls' comes immediately after the short story 'Charnel Congress' (available as an ebook and in the 'Lost Tales' anthology) and is definitely after Trollslayer but before Skavenslayer. One of the things I really liked about this book is that it is epic in nature and indeed some of Gotrek's feats in later novels almost seem overshadowed by events in this one. I think this is an important touch. Due to the nature of the first ten books there was a sense that Gotrek was always searching for bigger and nastier stuff to kill, however it's important to consider that by the time Gotrek and Felix meet Gotrek is already an immense killing machine. By having 'Road of Skulls' having such a tremendous set of foes it also shows that Gotrek simply doesn't 'level up' through the books.

The book also foreshadows 'The End Times'. Whilst I think Games Workshop's destruction of 'The Old World' is akin to a child smashing a toy because they wanted no one else to play with it at least it's given Reynolds novel a bit of added depth. I'm not sure if Reynolds was aware of GW's plans in 2012 when writing the book but it sure seems to click into place with what's passed as 'canon' today.

So the basic plot is a horde of Chaos is besieging the Dwarf stronghold of Karak Kadrin just as Gotrek and Felix turn up. The Chaotic horde is well developed. Sure, there are tons of mooks - the Chaos Marauders and Beastmen are there to be wiped out but there is a complexity and depth to the Khornate legion. The army is led by Garmr, the Gorewolf. He's a centuries old Champion of Chaos endeavouring to slaughter as many as possible to open a portal to the Realm of Chaos, traversing a path from the Chaos Wastes and creating a Road of Skulls. His lieutenants Ekaterina, Hrolf and Canto are plotting against him and each other whilst fearing him in order lead the warband and preserve their own skins. Underneath them still are about six other Champions (with requisite mutations) all trying to defeat their superiors and ascend the hierarchy - such is the way of Chaos.

Reading about the nature of the Army and it's loose associations I had a hankering to dig out the Realms of Chaos books from the late 80's and roll up a warband or two for a skirmish (if I had any minatures and someone to play with that is!). The list of evil foes for the Dwarves isn't complete though - Gorewolf has a deamon hound / monstrosity linked to him by it's soul. It makes Chaos Hounds look like puppy dogs. Gorewolf's cousin is a Tzzentch sorcerer held captive and rounding out the wicked are the Chaos Dwarves with their daemon weapons. Personally I've felt the Chaos Dwarves are a minor part of the world and seeing them feature here makes me hanker for more. Reynolds has one twisted imagination as the Chaos Dwarves have rather ingenious and tortuous ways to achieve their goals.

The book is action packed from start to finish and exceptionally violent and gory. The genocidal nature of Chaos isn't flinched away from and this isn't a book to read if you're not found of skulls getting smashed in by hammers on every page.

As someone who has never been a 'give all my money to GW for minatures' kind of guy but someone who is aware of the world on the periphery through roleplaying sometimes the Gotrek and Felix books can be a bit 'here's an army list you can buy - now watch them fight'. That happens here - the first half of the book seems like a giant battle - what saves it is the perspective of the various Chaos champions and also that the action is well put together. The pacing is fast and the siege in particular is nail biting. The use of siege giants is particularly graphic and evocative.

We see a lot more of Dwarf culture in Road of Skulls and it stacks up well with the backstory of Gotrek which we get in Orcslayer. I've never been mad for Dwarves but in the two novels where their culture is explored more fully both authors have presented a dying race of millennia with an unbending culture.

The interaction between Gotrek and Felix is a bit off as other reviewers have commented but I would like to add to this in defence of Reynolds - this is early in Felix's career and is the first time he has engaged a 'world ending' enemy and an 'army'. He isn't yet the swordsman he becomes and can't yet hang in battle. For those who have read much of the series this isn't the Felix we know, but it is probably the Felix you remember after Trolslayer.

This isn't great fiction by any stretch but as a quick fantasy novel it's a lot of fun. It's a page turner and an easy read. Unlike some of the short stories post King and Long this feels like it belongs.

[Vojta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great return to the adventures of the two of the most iconic heroes of the Warhammer old world. Great writing with an exciting new adventure, with a few reveals of Gotrek's past.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotrek has to fulfil an oath while looking for his next doom.

[Tomáš Šváb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boooriiiing

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was ok, not the best not the worse. The thing that annoyed me was the relationship between Gotrek and Felix didn’t seem to flow to me compared to other books

[N0tter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really nice addition, with ton's of Dwarf and Slayer lore revealed, and maybe the most Gotrek back story in the series yet.

[Deryk Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stand alone novel, even although it's #13 in the series, another cracking read, this time written by Josh Reynolds.

[Aleksejs Miščuks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was alright, although I was a bit disappointed that it is not a continuation of Zombieslayer.

[Alexandre · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of battles but very enjoyable