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Gotrek & Felix #16
Kinslayer
The 16th novel in Black Library’s longest running fantasy series.
Once heroes and companions on the greatest of adventures, Gotrek Gurnisson and Felix Jaeger have long since gone their separate ways. Felix, married and working for the family business in Altdorf, embarks on a journey north to Kislev when he hears that an old comrade has been captured by the forces of Chaos. Reunited with Gotrek, and other old friends, Felix begins to suspect that he has embarked upon his final adventure and that In the cold north doom awaits him.
Read by Jonathan Keeble.
Once heroes and companions on the greatest of adventures, Gotrek Gurnisson and Felix Jaeger have long since gone their separate ways. Felix, married and working for the family business in Altdorf, embarks on a journey north to Kislev when he hears that an old comrade has been captured by the forces of Chaos. Reunited with Gotrek, and other old friends, Felix begins to suspect that he has embarked upon his final adventure and that In the cold north doom awaits him.
Read by Jonathan Keeble.
Audiobook
First published August 29, 2014
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656 people want to read
About the author
David Guymer
173 books175 followersDavid Guymer is a freelance author, PhD in molecular microbiology (which still comes in more handy than you might think), and tabletop warlord based in the Yorkshire East Riding. He has written for Black Library, Marvel, Aconyte Books, Asmodee, Mantic Games, Cubicle 7, Creative Assembly, and Mongoose Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
September 11, 2020
While I am a fan of Gotrek and Felix, I didn't think this book was all that great. It is ok , but not good. I think it suffers from the turmoil that is the End Times. Though other End Times books like the Fall of Krak Eight Peaks was a well done story.
Gotrek is seeking his doom. So is Snorri. These two dwarves will cross pass with Felix, again. Felix is hanging out with Ulrika, a vampiress, trying to find the wizard Max. Max is held by the Troll King. everybody goes to Praag to kill the Troll King.
Normally, this would be a great adventure. Due to it being in the End Times it is sometimes idiotically confusing as to whom is fighting whom. Vlad Von Carstein is trying to help the Empire? The Troll King hates Chaos? Even the Chaos lords fight each other. The battle of Praag is a clusterfuck of random entities fighting each other.
So all in all? Not that great a story- though it does have some great parts- from Ulrika fighting (she is awesome), to Gotrek and Snorri's story coming to a close and even the machinations of Vlad. But the sheer amount of people fighting each other detracts from the overall picture. I think I'll likely pass on this. Time to go back and read the earlier books instead.
Gotrek is seeking his doom. So is Snorri. These two dwarves will cross pass with Felix, again. Felix is hanging out with Ulrika, a vampiress, trying to find the wizard Max. Max is held by the Troll King. everybody goes to Praag to kill the Troll King.
Normally, this would be a great adventure. Due to it being in the End Times it is sometimes idiotically confusing as to whom is fighting whom. Vlad Von Carstein is trying to help the Empire? The Troll King hates Chaos? Even the Chaos lords fight each other. The battle of Praag is a clusterfuck of random entities fighting each other.
So all in all? Not that great a story- though it does have some great parts- from Ulrika fighting (she is awesome), to Gotrek and Snorri's story coming to a close and even the machinations of Vlad. But the sheer amount of people fighting each other detracts from the overall picture. I think I'll likely pass on this. Time to go back and read the earlier books instead.
November 17, 2018
Who the fuck is this guy who got to destroy everything King and Long had so painstakingly laid down
Kat line: destroyed. first she got ill, because they got married instead of going with Gotrek to the slayer fortress!(despite everything in Zombieslayer!) and lived in a city! (Which she hated!)
Ulrika line: resurrected, since why not
Pilgrimage: basically skipped
How Gotrek became a slayer: callously disclosed
In terms of continuity, basically all the elements that made previous novels so good were discarded: light humour, plain language and direct storytelling. Many characters of the previous novels reappear and were twisted to fit into this Guymer's alternative vision of how the series should be.
I suppose as a standalone novel this may be considered good in BL and mediocre in general. But as the penultimate novel in the Gotrek and Felix series, this is a sacrilege. Loyal readers of the series are better off taking Zombieslayer as the final novel than to suffer the twisted fate this author has in store for our beloved series
Kat line: destroyed. first she got ill, because they got married instead of going with Gotrek to the slayer fortress!(despite everything in Zombieslayer!) and lived in a city! (Which she hated!)
Ulrika line: resurrected, since why not
Pilgrimage: basically skipped
How Gotrek became a slayer: callously disclosed
In terms of continuity, basically all the elements that made previous novels so good were discarded: light humour, plain language and direct storytelling. Many characters of the previous novels reappear and were twisted to fit into this Guymer's alternative vision of how the series should be.
I suppose as a standalone novel this may be considered good in BL and mediocre in general. But as the penultimate novel in the Gotrek and Felix series, this is a sacrilege. Loyal readers of the series are better off taking Zombieslayer as the final novel than to suffer the twisted fate this author has in store for our beloved series
December 18, 2016
Incredible ride!! Possibly the first novel that actually left me emotionally distraught after finishing! Great read!
August 27, 2019
It's the end of the world, and things just aren't going all that well. The beginning of the end for Gotrek and Felix is very much a mixed bag. We see Felix being a big dope for a good bit of the story as he can't seem to get it through his head that vampires really aren't very trustworthy, even with the one in question having basically left him for dead before, and nearly undeadifying his wife in the opening of this very book. Max is back and acts as the end goal for the plot, having somehow gotten himself captured from behind the previously impenetrable Auric Bastion and taken prisoner by the Troll King Throgg, who has set up base in the now Chaos overrun city of Praag. This sets the scene for much of the book, with Felix acting a bit dim and traveling through what was formerly Kislev, and Max not making any effort to escape despite him being such a fantastic battle wizard.
Despite this, our ever intrepid dwarf slayers Gotrek and Snorri once again come through to save not only the day, but the story. We get what seems to be a final exposition dump on why both dwarves ended up taking their slayer oaths (with a good bit of the book revolving around Snorri finally remembering and facing his inner demons). A few ongoing plots are laid to rest in what I felt to be satisfying, if depressing, ways but such is the way of things during the apocalypse.
Despite this, our ever intrepid dwarf slayers Gotrek and Snorri once again come through to save not only the day, but the story. We get what seems to be a final exposition dump on why both dwarves ended up taking their slayer oaths (with a good bit of the book revolving around Snorri finally remembering and facing his inner demons). A few ongoing plots are laid to rest in what I felt to be satisfying, if depressing, ways but such is the way of things during the apocalypse.
October 30, 2021
DNF.
The first of the David Guymer books..., and I'm not impressed.
The Gotrek & Felix (aka G&F) books have never been light and breezy (hell, what is in the Warhammer and Warhammer:40K universes?). But his take on the G&F line is so very dark and and so very grim, and his style and pacing is so sloggish, that I quickly found myself just not all that excited to keep on cracking this book open.
Kat in previous books was a well-rounded character, with lots of strengths and weaknesses and quirks. But here, old sick Kat has been relegated to a mere plot device: "Felix, go somewhere to fight to heal your wife, or else she dies". A rather hamfisted D&D-style motivation hook, eh?
Ulrika is back, and this time being all vampire'y outside of her usual city haunts. And like clockwork, here comes Felix's standard "I am torn between loving the old Ulrika and the new Kat" humming and hawing that he does every few novels. Felix here is a drunken and somewhat broken old man that I honestly didn't care much about. Him both pining for his younger glory days with Gotrek and his round-robin circle of love interests could have worked -- but here, it doesn't.
Gotrek: aside from introductory snippets (flashbacks?), I didn't even see him before I gave up on this book.
The *only* storyline that I could possibly give two Skaven asses about was Snorri's tale -- forced to stay sober and get healthy for his Slayer quest to finally resolve itself.
Maybe this is a slow burn, and I hit the ejection seat too soon. But no, sorry, my to-read stack is too high for sloggy and unappealing mush.
The first of the David Guymer books..., and I'm not impressed.
The Gotrek & Felix (aka G&F) books have never been light and breezy (hell, what is in the Warhammer and Warhammer:40K universes?). But his take on the G&F line is so very dark and and so very grim, and his style and pacing is so sloggish, that I quickly found myself just not all that excited to keep on cracking this book open.
Kat in previous books was a well-rounded character, with lots of strengths and weaknesses and quirks. But here, old sick Kat has been relegated to a mere plot device: "Felix, go somewhere to fight to heal your wife, or else she dies". A rather hamfisted D&D-style motivation hook, eh?
Ulrika is back, and this time being all vampire'y outside of her usual city haunts. And like clockwork, here comes Felix's standard "I am torn between loving the old Ulrika and the new Kat" humming and hawing that he does every few novels. Felix here is a drunken and somewhat broken old man that I honestly didn't care much about. Him both pining for his younger glory days with Gotrek and his round-robin circle of love interests could have worked -- but here, it doesn't.
Gotrek: aside from introductory snippets (flashbacks?), I didn't even see him before I gave up on this book.
The *only* storyline that I could possibly give two Skaven asses about was Snorri's tale -- forced to stay sober and get healthy for his Slayer quest to finally resolve itself.
Maybe this is a slow burn, and I hit the ejection seat too soon. But no, sorry, my to-read stack is too high for sloggy and unappealing mush.
May 7, 2018
Excellent action and painful depressing end, even worse I need to read a handful of The End of Times books before I can finish the Gotrek's Doom second novel. The upside is there are a bunch of good books on my horizon. Nothing is more uplifting than The End Times! Check it out (after you read the previous books, or you won't be properly depressed) .
September 7, 2020
me pregunto si la persona que escribió esta cosa se había leído antes la saga que la debía preceder y si le tenía cariño a los personajes. Este qué despropósito es! Estos no son mis Gotrek y Felix. El libro no vale ni para envolver un bocadillo malo.
October 8, 2014
Wow.
I, uh... I think I need a hug after that.
I, uh... I think I need a hug after that.
February 24, 2024
This one slapped
RIP Snorri Nosebiter
RIP Snorri Nosebiter
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2020
The beginning of the end for Gotrek and Felix is a slow burner. Starting slow and sadly boring at times, the book progressively gets better and much more interesting as the story heads north. It ends on heartbreak that genuinely tugs on your heartstrings and leaves you wanting to see how the doom of Gotrek finally plays out.
March 19, 2025
Started kind of hard but the second half i liked it ... was what i wanted but i did not want their deaths ... Snory i miss you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2014
You can read the full review over at my blog:
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
A few days ago I brought to you a review of City of The Damned by David Guymer. Alongside last year’s Road of Skulls by Josh Reynolds, this novel was kind of a fresh breath of air in that there hadn’t been novel-length tales about one of Warhammer Fantasy’s greatest duos and biggest success in several long years. While, for me, Josh Reynolds’ two novels have done much to capture the feel of the original books by William King and the follow-ups by Nathan Long, City of The Damned didn’t really work for me, although it was a decent enough read I suppose.
About three weeks back Black Library launched Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer, which is said to be the first book in the Doom of Gotrek Gurnisson Saga, ostensibly marking the beginning of the end for Warhammer’s greatest Dwarf Slayer. The new novel takes some plot-threads from City of The Damned and carries them on, but for the most part Kinslayer is a stand-alone, and is also a part of the greater End Times saga as well that is currently running through Warhammer Fantasy, akin to some of the events that Wizards of the Coast has done with Forgotten Realms previously. Unfortunately, while Kinslayer had lots of great moments and even revealed the shames of Gotrek and his friend Snorri, it also carries over several mistakes and negatives that can be found in City of The Damned.
September has seen the big launch of the End Times event. The status quo in Warhammer Fantasy is changing big time here, with the good guys of all factions under attack from everywhere and Chaos in the ascendance, and things are looking very, very bleak for the setting entire. This is the background for Kinslayer, in which we learn that mighty Kislev has already fallen to the hordes of Chaos, that the Border Princes are struggling desperately to hold on, that dissent and rebellion are beginning to tear the Empire apart but the soldiery stands firm. Going in, I expected great things from the novel given the entire scope of it, but I came away largely disappointed, if truth be told.
For one, like I said, the random jumps in the narrative that were some of my biggest irritations in City of the Damned could be found here as well. Given that this novel has a much bigger cast than the previous one, this was even more irritating. Characters will be thinking one thing at one point and then suddenly their thought processes change, or there is a sudden change in a scene that doesn’t really make sense, and so on. It made for a frustrating read, same as City of the Damned.
And another thing is that certain members of the cast, such as the Kislevite who follows Gotrek around, just felt totally superfluous. They didn’t have anything important to do and just padded out the novel, giving it unnecessary bloat. This too was frustrating to a great degree because I expected much better here, especially given how important a novel this is. Furthermore, the entire mystery surrounding Gotrek in the first third of the book too was superfluous. We already know who it is, who it is meant to be, so the deliberate obfuscation was maddening.
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
A few days ago I brought to you a review of City of The Damned by David Guymer. Alongside last year’s Road of Skulls by Josh Reynolds, this novel was kind of a fresh breath of air in that there hadn’t been novel-length tales about one of Warhammer Fantasy’s greatest duos and biggest success in several long years. While, for me, Josh Reynolds’ two novels have done much to capture the feel of the original books by William King and the follow-ups by Nathan Long, City of The Damned didn’t really work for me, although it was a decent enough read I suppose.
About three weeks back Black Library launched Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer, which is said to be the first book in the Doom of Gotrek Gurnisson Saga, ostensibly marking the beginning of the end for Warhammer’s greatest Dwarf Slayer. The new novel takes some plot-threads from City of The Damned and carries them on, but for the most part Kinslayer is a stand-alone, and is also a part of the greater End Times saga as well that is currently running through Warhammer Fantasy, akin to some of the events that Wizards of the Coast has done with Forgotten Realms previously. Unfortunately, while Kinslayer had lots of great moments and even revealed the shames of Gotrek and his friend Snorri, it also carries over several mistakes and negatives that can be found in City of The Damned.
September has seen the big launch of the End Times event. The status quo in Warhammer Fantasy is changing big time here, with the good guys of all factions under attack from everywhere and Chaos in the ascendance, and things are looking very, very bleak for the setting entire. This is the background for Kinslayer, in which we learn that mighty Kislev has already fallen to the hordes of Chaos, that the Border Princes are struggling desperately to hold on, that dissent and rebellion are beginning to tear the Empire apart but the soldiery stands firm. Going in, I expected great things from the novel given the entire scope of it, but I came away largely disappointed, if truth be told.
For one, like I said, the random jumps in the narrative that were some of my biggest irritations in City of the Damned could be found here as well. Given that this novel has a much bigger cast than the previous one, this was even more irritating. Characters will be thinking one thing at one point and then suddenly their thought processes change, or there is a sudden change in a scene that doesn’t really make sense, and so on. It made for a frustrating read, same as City of the Damned.
And another thing is that certain members of the cast, such as the Kislevite who follows Gotrek around, just felt totally superfluous. They didn’t have anything important to do and just padded out the novel, giving it unnecessary bloat. This too was frustrating to a great degree because I expected much better here, especially given how important a novel this is. Furthermore, the entire mystery surrounding Gotrek in the first third of the book too was superfluous. We already know who it is, who it is meant to be, so the deliberate obfuscation was maddening.
March 25, 2022
This is NOT Gotrek and Felix book. This is alternative version, in which Gotrek and Felix go Bold and the Beautiful.
This was worst book of the series this far (I stopped reading after this point because this book flushed the whole series down toilet). Everything we loved about characters in earlier books is removed, and they are purely subordinate to plot, which is incoherent and inconsistent and without any sense. Guymer takes existing character and instead of using their personality established in earlier books, he simplifies them to boring stereotypes, which is kind of accomplishment as characters already were stereotypical. Guymer removes all the personality from main characters, and practically makes them useless making his favorite characters solve all the problems in very Mary Sueish matter. Largest problem of the book is that characters are so bland, that reader either doesn't care what happens to them, or just wants them to die so this book would end.
So, good and bad:
+ This may be good description of the world at war, as nothing makes sense anymore.
- Incoherent and inconsistent narrative
- Boring and bland plot
- Bland one dimensional characters which are simplified to stereotypes
- It is obvious that transferring the series from Nathan Long wasn't successful. None of the strengths of earlier books are used.
- There are too many new characters with their only purpose just to die
- There is no more any reason to care about what happens to characters
- Earlier books had some attitude. This one has none.
I guess part of the problem was GW, which was already planning the killing of the Warhammer Fantasy world, so literary quality of this book was irrelevant. Or maybe Guymer just tried to modernize the series, but failed totally.
This was worst book of the series this far (I stopped reading after this point because this book flushed the whole series down toilet). Everything we loved about characters in earlier books is removed, and they are purely subordinate to plot, which is incoherent and inconsistent and without any sense. Guymer takes existing character and instead of using their personality established in earlier books, he simplifies them to boring stereotypes, which is kind of accomplishment as characters already were stereotypical. Guymer removes all the personality from main characters, and practically makes them useless making his favorite characters solve all the problems in very Mary Sueish matter. Largest problem of the book is that characters are so bland, that reader either doesn't care what happens to them, or just wants them to die so this book would end.
So, good and bad:
+ This may be good description of the world at war, as nothing makes sense anymore.
- Incoherent and inconsistent narrative
- Boring and bland plot
- Bland one dimensional characters which are simplified to stereotypes
- It is obvious that transferring the series from Nathan Long wasn't successful. None of the strengths of earlier books are used.
- There are too many new characters with their only purpose just to die
- There is no more any reason to care about what happens to characters
- Earlier books had some attitude. This one has none.
I guess part of the problem was GW, which was already planning the killing of the Warhammer Fantasy world, so literary quality of this book was irrelevant. Or maybe Guymer just tried to modernize the series, but failed totally.
February 10, 2016
Edit. I have now read all Gotrek & Felix books. Here is my order of preference:
Rank Book # Writer
1 Skavenslayer 2 William King
2 Daemonslayer 3 William King
3 Shamanslayer 11 Nathan Long
4 Manslayer 9 Nathan Long
5 Beastslayer 5 William King
5 Elfslayer 10 Nathan Long
7 Orcslayer 8 Nathan Long
8 Slayer 14 David Guymer
9 Kinslayer 13 David Guymer
10 Zombieslayer 12 Nathan Long
11 Giantslayer 7 William King
12 Dragonslayer 4 William King
13 Vampireslayer 6 William King
14 Trollslayer 1 William King
Rank Book # Writer
1 Skavenslayer 2 William King
2 Daemonslayer 3 William King
3 Shamanslayer 11 Nathan Long
4 Manslayer 9 Nathan Long
5 Beastslayer 5 William King
5 Elfslayer 10 Nathan Long
7 Orcslayer 8 Nathan Long
8 Slayer 14 David Guymer
9 Kinslayer 13 David Guymer
10 Zombieslayer 12 Nathan Long
11 Giantslayer 7 William King
12 Dragonslayer 4 William King
13 Vampireslayer 6 William King
14 Trollslayer 1 William King
June 20, 2021
Longtime fan of this series and was really looking forward to reading the final books.
Very mixed feelings.
Really struggled to get into this. Not sure if it was the author’s writing style or the fact I have built up my anticipation too high.
Snorri is, by far, the most interesting character and finding out about his past was highly rewarding, but otherwise - meh!
3 1/2 stars.
Very mixed feelings.
Really struggled to get into this. Not sure if it was the author’s writing style or the fact I have built up my anticipation too high.
Snorri is, by far, the most interesting character and finding out about his past was highly rewarding, but otherwise - meh!
3 1/2 stars.
February 9, 2023
Not bad on it's own, but not comparable to the William King books. The other reviews say it's darker, but I think the characters come off as moodier and more antagonistic toward one another. The last few books really lost that buddy comedy Felix and Gotrek had going on that made me feel like I was slaughtering with the fellas.
January 7, 2025
First novel in Slayer series not from King or Long and the first letdown. I am truly heartbroken, the series had ups and downs of course but it was always an amazing Warhammer pulp. This is neither true Slayer entry nor is it true to the series characters. The End Times suck once again.
April 8, 2015
5 stars. 10 stars! 100 Stars!!!!
June 3, 2025
Honestly, I was pretty fearful about reading this book. The End of times are well known for destroying characters with poor and inconsistent writting and to straight up purposely make them dumbs or throw them into ridiculous situations to justify their deaths.
Contrary to what I expected this was a solid Felix and Gotrek book , the story was great, the fights epics, the dynamic between characters respected. All the writting of the characters and their evolution was consistent with their previous apparitions with the exception of Ulrika and Max.
Ulrika was introducted back in this book as a Von Castein, actively working for Vlad. She is an ambitious and cold-hearted vampire lord who almost totally rejected her former views of morals and ethics with only shreds of her human compassion remaining. Straight up nonsense.
Ulrika whole triology of books was about her coming to terms with the personal struggle between her new nature and humanity. She REJECTED the Von Castein just like she rejected her Mistress Gabriella kin of vampires and their way and vision of the world. Yet , all the sudden she appears to have totally forgotten her character arc, totally changing her moral views on things which were a cornerstone for her character (such as refusing to use her vampire bite to create slaves) . While the way she bevaved toward Felix was somewhat consistent her whole character and motivations in this book was not.
Her death was well written (killed by Felix and Max the two men she loved the most in life with her father unbuckling, always struggling to choose between them) but mostly everything leading to that was not.
On the other hand the death of Snorri and finally him recovering his memory along the book(and finding the reason of his shame and oath) were very well within character and emotional.
In this book we find out both about Gotrek and Snorri reasons of becoming slayers which is linked and ultimately result in a very emotional fight to the death between the two in which Gotrek ends up killing Snorri . News deepths were given for both character's in a well put manner.
The book develop Gotrek character like never before and Felix get the same thing. The later have to struggle between his new responsibilities as a husband and now soon to be father which push him towards retirement and his deep hidden regret of having abandonned the slayer-life and Gotrek. Felix finally his honest with himself and his profound nature, he really in a sense enjoyed the life of constant battle and danger. He was deep down always immersed within it. His relationship with his nephew who is basically a blunt version of a younger Felix without all the inner struggle and deep-thinking/philosofical take on life was refreshing.
I found Max attitude very weird and his submission towards the Troll King with too little ressistance considering what was at stakes and his persona.
Good book overall.
Contrary to what I expected this was a solid Felix and Gotrek book , the story was great, the fights epics, the dynamic between characters respected. All the writting of the characters and their evolution was consistent with their previous apparitions with the exception of Ulrika and Max.
Ulrika was introducted back in this book as a Von Castein, actively working for Vlad. She is an ambitious and cold-hearted vampire lord who almost totally rejected her former views of morals and ethics with only shreds of her human compassion remaining. Straight up nonsense.
Ulrika whole triology of books was about her coming to terms with the personal struggle between her new nature and humanity. She REJECTED the Von Castein just like she rejected her Mistress Gabriella kin of vampires and their way and vision of the world. Yet , all the sudden she appears to have totally forgotten her character arc, totally changing her moral views on things which were a cornerstone for her character (such as refusing to use her vampire bite to create slaves) . While the way she bevaved toward Felix was somewhat consistent her whole character and motivations in this book was not.
Her death was well written (killed by Felix and Max the two men she loved the most in life with her father unbuckling, always struggling to choose between them) but mostly everything leading to that was not.
On the other hand the death of Snorri and finally him recovering his memory along the book(and finding the reason of his shame and oath) were very well within character and emotional.
In this book we find out both about Gotrek and Snorri reasons of becoming slayers which is linked and ultimately result in a very emotional fight to the death between the two in which Gotrek ends up killing Snorri . News deepths were given for both character's in a well put manner.
The book develop Gotrek character like never before and Felix get the same thing. The later have to struggle between his new responsibilities as a husband and now soon to be father which push him towards retirement and his deep hidden regret of having abandonned the slayer-life and Gotrek. Felix finally his honest with himself and his profound nature, he really in a sense enjoyed the life of constant battle and danger. He was deep down always immersed within it. His relationship with his nephew who is basically a blunt version of a younger Felix without all the inner struggle and deep-thinking/philosofical take on life was refreshing.
I found Max attitude very weird and his submission towards the Troll King with too little ressistance considering what was at stakes and his persona.
Good book overall.
April 13, 2018
I'll admit, I approached this book with GREAT trepidation. I mostly enjoyed King's Gotrek & Felix stories, and I thought Nathan Long stumbled at first, but quickly became a much stronger writer while handling the novels after that. Then they kind of ... languished & the main story wasn't followed at all, so Guymer's & Reynolds's novels felt ... OKAY, but kind of filler, I guess. In any case, David Guymer at this point hadn't written MUCH for Warhammer, and I was pretty lukewarm on what I HAD read, so ... I was nervous, to say the least, that the heroes' last, great adventure would be written by someone who, sure, could pump out a novel quickly, but whose quality control seemed much lower than my own.
Man, was I glad to be proven wrong. This story starts out bleak, and just keeps getting bleaker. Felix and Gotrek have gone their separate ways, and Felix has the life he's always wanted ... and of course he's miserable. Not in a funny, cutesy, overly ironic way. In a self-sabotaging, becoming what he hates sort of way. It's difficult reading the first third of this book.
Then Ulrika enters his life again, and everything gets upended! The war is coming closer! The End Times are here! Max has been taken prisoner! Gotrek is probably dead! The Vampires are back as a force, and they're helping the Empire!
What's weird is the first third of this book is a bit of a slog, a lot of self-hating navel-gazing from Felix, and I loved it. I just felt like Guymer really "got" the character (or at least how I understand him) and put him through the grinder, as should be the case.
As I'm sure most guessed from the title, we finally find out what caused Gotrek to become a Slayer, but more importantly, we find out Snorri's sin. This really, in so many ways, is Snorri's book more than anyone else.
There are so many great moments here ... Felix getting jealous of his, what was it, nephew? when Ulrika flirts with him ... Max's little sections with the Troll King ... there's a huge fake-out that turns into a spoiler, and I won't say anything more than that, but I cried at the fake-out & gasped at the twist that came from it ...
A lot of people seemed kind of miffed that this book was so dark. I guess, considering Warhammer is known for being grimdark, and literally the world is ending ... what did you expect?
I'm very curious to see how this all ends.
Man, was I glad to be proven wrong. This story starts out bleak, and just keeps getting bleaker. Felix and Gotrek have gone their separate ways, and Felix has the life he's always wanted ... and of course he's miserable. Not in a funny, cutesy, overly ironic way. In a self-sabotaging, becoming what he hates sort of way. It's difficult reading the first third of this book.
Then Ulrika enters his life again, and everything gets upended! The war is coming closer! The End Times are here! Max has been taken prisoner! Gotrek is probably dead! The Vampires are back as a force, and they're helping the Empire!
What's weird is the first third of this book is a bit of a slog, a lot of self-hating navel-gazing from Felix, and I loved it. I just felt like Guymer really "got" the character (or at least how I understand him) and put him through the grinder, as should be the case.
As I'm sure most guessed from the title, we finally find out what caused Gotrek to become a Slayer, but more importantly, we find out Snorri's sin. This really, in so many ways, is Snorri's book more than anyone else.
There are so many great moments here ... Felix getting jealous of his, what was it, nephew? when Ulrika flirts with him ... Max's little sections with the Troll King ... there's a huge fake-out that turns into a spoiler, and I won't say anything more than that, but I cried at the fake-out & gasped at the twist that came from it ...
A lot of people seemed kind of miffed that this book was so dark. I guess, considering Warhammer is known for being grimdark, and literally the world is ending ... what did you expect?
I'm very curious to see how this all ends.
July 19, 2025
What a terrible way to end my run of this series. This books awful. Changing the author for the finale was an idiotic choice. This author is more in love with his desire to compose flowery sentences that actually moving the plot forward or having anything interesting happen.
The good? Nothing. I mean it, almost nothing at all. The author has a fine grasp on how to detail how a character or scene looks and goes at pain to exercise this at EVERY. SINGLE. TURN.
The Bad? It's boring. Nothing of interest happened aside from a moment when you think Ulrika is going to turn Kat into a vampire. But it lasts two pages and in the 140 I read before DNF'ing the book, that was it.
Gotrek doesn't show up for over a hundred pages and when he does he is a random psychotic slayer and not the character we know and love. He pops up early in a dream sequence (yes really) that is irritating because you think you are now back into the thick of things but nope, fooled ya.
There are two other storylines with new characters that are given a ton of page time and they don't deserve it. It's all clearly building up to the second book of the Doom, but it's all so vague that none of it is interesting.
The author is more interested in telling you the embroidery of a characters clothes than clearly explaing what is going on. Multiple times I had to reread things to clarify events because the author was trying to be both fancy and vague in order to please himself with his fancy sentence work.
Pages and pages are wasted on nothing at all. A scene is set in detail on a docks, we then leave the docks instantly and it's never seen again. Dear author, after 13 books in the series, I know what the Old World looks like.
Once I knew I was done with the book I went to the end to see how it ended. The last couple of pages were so poorly conceived that it vowed never to finish the series. Fan favourite Snorri is killed by Gotrek after remembering that he was the one who accidentally killed Gotreks wife. Yes. This is Snorri's end. No glorious doom. No heroic end. He dies, crying and in pain at the realisation and is murdered by his best friend.
I had hopes to see a glorious adventure with Gotrek and Felix for the finale but this is a horrible book. I will reread the entire series up until this book. As for the book? Getting rid of it today.
The good? Nothing. I mean it, almost nothing at all. The author has a fine grasp on how to detail how a character or scene looks and goes at pain to exercise this at EVERY. SINGLE. TURN.
The Bad? It's boring. Nothing of interest happened aside from a moment when you think Ulrika is going to turn Kat into a vampire. But it lasts two pages and in the 140 I read before DNF'ing the book, that was it.
Gotrek doesn't show up for over a hundred pages and when he does he is a random psychotic slayer and not the character we know and love. He pops up early in a dream sequence (yes really) that is irritating because you think you are now back into the thick of things but nope, fooled ya.
There are two other storylines with new characters that are given a ton of page time and they don't deserve it. It's all clearly building up to the second book of the Doom, but it's all so vague that none of it is interesting.
The author is more interested in telling you the embroidery of a characters clothes than clearly explaing what is going on. Multiple times I had to reread things to clarify events because the author was trying to be both fancy and vague in order to please himself with his fancy sentence work.
Pages and pages are wasted on nothing at all. A scene is set in detail on a docks, we then leave the docks instantly and it's never seen again. Dear author, after 13 books in the series, I know what the Old World looks like.
Once I knew I was done with the book I went to the end to see how it ended. The last couple of pages were so poorly conceived that it vowed never to finish the series. Fan favourite Snorri is killed by Gotrek after remembering that he was the one who accidentally killed Gotreks wife. Yes. This is Snorri's end. No glorious doom. No heroic end. He dies, crying and in pain at the realisation and is murdered by his best friend.
I had hopes to see a glorious adventure with Gotrek and Felix for the finale but this is a horrible book. I will reread the entire series up until this book. As for the book? Getting rid of it today.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2025
A real turn from the disjointed mess that was City of the Damned. Hard to believe they're from the same author, even. This one has Felix coming out of retirement at the behest of the vampire Ulrica to travel to Praag to find Gotrek. It's blacker, grittier, and narratively clearer than City of the Damned, and the Gotrek and Felix byplay is limited because Gotrek feels betrayed that Felix left him to be married to Kar, even though he gave his leave for Felix to do so. Notably taciturn Gotrek never says any of this aloud, of course.
The book is also heavy on Snorri Nosebiter who, with the aid of a few Slayer priests, is able to regain his memory. Turns out he had a reason to forget, he'd drunkenly mistaken his friend Gotrek's daughter as a goblin and killed her, in a raid that he should have prevented.
They really drove the overall plot forward with this one - Gotrek kills Snorri, Felix kills Ulrika, Praag and the frontier falls to Chaos, and Max Schreiber gets the Dr. Manhattan treatment (a massive powerup at the cost of becoming increasingly different from the rest of humanity). The villain was also a treat, Throgg, a smart troll. Mutated by magic, he was smarter than most men, and actually came off that way. It's hard to write smart characters, and Guymer pulled it off well. Could really have used a monologue though to drive home how Throgg laments being alone. They do justice to his vicous mind in that he's taking wizards prisoner to make other trolls as smart as he is. Show, don't tell, I guess. Max Schreiber is the one who succeeds here by blending different winds of magic, which is an enormous no-o for human sorcerers. Throgg's empire collapses when Max succeeds, but reverts the trolls to the intelligence of a human baby, effectively wiping their slates clean while eliminating their fighting ability.
The book is also heavy on Snorri Nosebiter who, with the aid of a few Slayer priests, is able to regain his memory. Turns out he had a reason to forget, he'd drunkenly mistaken his friend Gotrek's daughter as a goblin and killed her, in a raid that he should have prevented.
They really drove the overall plot forward with this one - Gotrek kills Snorri, Felix kills Ulrika, Praag and the frontier falls to Chaos, and Max Schreiber gets the Dr. Manhattan treatment (a massive powerup at the cost of becoming increasingly different from the rest of humanity). The villain was also a treat, Throgg, a smart troll. Mutated by magic, he was smarter than most men, and actually came off that way. It's hard to write smart characters, and Guymer pulled it off well. Could really have used a monologue though to drive home how Throgg laments being alone. They do justice to his vicous mind in that he's taking wizards prisoner to make other trolls as smart as he is. Show, don't tell, I guess. Max Schreiber is the one who succeeds here by blending different winds of magic, which is an enormous no-o for human sorcerers. Throgg's empire collapses when Max succeeds, but reverts the trolls to the intelligence of a human baby, effectively wiping their slates clean while eliminating their fighting ability.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2025
Es la segunda vez que leo Matahermanos y, para mi sorpresa, me ha gustado más que la primera. Conociendo ya el desenlace, he podido disfrutar mejor de los matices y del desarrollo de los personajes, especialmente de Félix, que aquí se muestra más maduro, tanto mental como físicamente.
Mi mayor crítica al libro es el cambio de tono respecto a las novelas anteriores de Gotrek y Félix. Se nota que el autor no es el mismo, y aunque la esencia de los personajes sigue ahí, hay algo distinto en el estilo que puede chocar si vienes de leer toda la saga. Aun así, no me ha resultado negativo del todo: solo distinto.
Lo que sí me ha encantado ha sido acompañar a los protagonistas en lo que son claramente sus últimas aventuras. Sentir el peso del tiempo, de las decisiones, y del escenario apocalíptico del Fin de los Tiempos añade una capa emocional que no tenían otros libros. También es interesante cómo se va cerrando el arco de ciertos personajes que llevamos siguiendo durante tanto tiempo.
En definitiva, Matahermanos es un libro que gana en una segunda lectura, sobre todo si has seguido a Gotrek y Félix desde el principio. No es perfecto, pero sí un cierre digno para dos personajes legendarios del Viejo Mundo.
Mi mayor crítica al libro es el cambio de tono respecto a las novelas anteriores de Gotrek y Félix. Se nota que el autor no es el mismo, y aunque la esencia de los personajes sigue ahí, hay algo distinto en el estilo que puede chocar si vienes de leer toda la saga. Aun así, no me ha resultado negativo del todo: solo distinto.
Lo que sí me ha encantado ha sido acompañar a los protagonistas en lo que son claramente sus últimas aventuras. Sentir el peso del tiempo, de las decisiones, y del escenario apocalíptico del Fin de los Tiempos añade una capa emocional que no tenían otros libros. También es interesante cómo se va cerrando el arco de ciertos personajes que llevamos siguiendo durante tanto tiempo.
En definitiva, Matahermanos es un libro que gana en una segunda lectura, sobre todo si has seguido a Gotrek y Félix desde el principio. No es perfecto, pero sí un cierre digno para dos personajes legendarios del Viejo Mundo.
January 10, 2021
As a Warhammer book, is really great. The End Times are closer and closer and it gets grimmer, building up events for the Chaos forces to go South. As a Gotrek and Felix book is very good but somewhat felt a little weird, but not that much as City of the Damned.
For Felix, the feeling I got was that on the City of the Damned he was just a weakling scared human, this time around he is as badass as Gotrek with just the same endurance. Gotrek character has gotten darker and never look up for a Doom so much or shout/complain about it, but I guess is quite normal after 1 year roaming Kislev with beastman or worse as the peak of social interaction.
I fell pity for Snorri during all of the book.
The jumps during the story, even numerous, were more palatable than with the last book. I was aware that there will be a lot of those and in this time I got the feeling of a more cinematic feeling with the jumps.
Combat was greatly detailed, fast, furious, dangerous and very enjoyable.
For Felix, the feeling I got was that on the City of the Damned he was just a weakling scared human, this time around he is as badass as Gotrek with just the same endurance. Gotrek character has gotten darker and never look up for a Doom so much or shout/complain about it, but I guess is quite normal after 1 year roaming Kislev with beastman or worse as the peak of social interaction.
I fell pity for Snorri during all of the book.
The jumps during the story, even numerous, were more palatable than with the last book. I was aware that there will be a lot of those and in this time I got the feeling of a more cinematic feeling with the jumps.
Combat was greatly detailed, fast, furious, dangerous and very enjoyable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2019
All things must end, and the Old World is going out with a very tragic bang.
It's been fun to read a first hand account of "The End Times" in this book, and to see the resolution of so many characters that have had staring or supporting roles through one of Black Library's longest running series.
I have complex feelings about Ulrika the Vampire. Trying to avoid spoilers, but what happens toward the end of the book felt at once totally appropriate, and also sadly anti-climatic. I've had to retype/delete anything to follow that up with, three times now. I guess i really can't say anything more without spoiling it. It was an interesting moment, to be sure.
but... but... Oh Snorri, you poor bastard.
Very exciting, but very grim and desperate book. Looking forward to the final novel soon.
It's been fun to read a first hand account of "The End Times" in this book, and to see the resolution of so many characters that have had staring or supporting roles through one of Black Library's longest running series.
I have complex feelings about Ulrika the Vampire. Trying to avoid spoilers, but what happens toward the end of the book felt at once totally appropriate, and also sadly anti-climatic. I've had to retype/delete anything to follow that up with, three times now. I guess i really can't say anything more without spoiling it. It was an interesting moment, to be sure.
but... but... Oh Snorri, you poor bastard.
Very exciting, but very grim and desperate book. Looking forward to the final novel soon.
June 9, 2017
Action Adventure Fantasy, Ongoing Series Novel
Join Gotrek on his fantastical aim of a heroic death with Felix's oath of chronicling Gotrek's death.
Most of the gang from the series is seen in this read. Besides the duo, Ulrika, Max, Snorri, Kat, and even Felix's nephew Gustav make an appearance.
Within this novel the pair fight beastmen, minotaurs, trolls, a dragon ogre, and then climaxing to a mutated warpstone encrusted boss troll.
Discussion
The first part of this novel was a bore. The author tries to make everything so grand due to the ramping up of the end times, but everything just doesn't seem relevant to the major plot itself. Characters are introduced and then discarded in haste, and for a good chunk of time the major characters are separated. The second half was alright.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Join Gotrek on his fantastical aim of a heroic death with Felix's oath of chronicling Gotrek's death.
Most of the gang from the series is seen in this read. Besides the duo, Ulrika, Max, Snorri, Kat, and even Felix's nephew Gustav make an appearance.
Within this novel the pair fight beastmen, minotaurs, trolls, a dragon ogre, and then climaxing to a mutated warpstone encrusted boss troll.
Discussion
The first part of this novel was a bore. The author tries to make everything so grand due to the ramping up of the end times, but everything just doesn't seem relevant to the major plot itself. Characters are introduced and then discarded in haste, and for a good chunk of time the major characters are separated. The second half was alright.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
July 27, 2017
dear lord...this one tied so many loose ends together that I'm flabbergasted. The only downside is that it's clear its not the original author(s). language used is different and the tone is much darker. also for the love of god if I never see the word halberd again it will be too soon...literally never mentioned in the previous 12books and this guys throwing it out like every other word. In any case if you've read the previous twelve you owe it to yourself to read this...poor snorri nosebiter.
July 4, 2025
*Spoiler* kinda, mostly just me being dyslexic
Read the title as Kingslayer, since the bad guy on the front cover is the Troll King.
Was not emotionaly prepared at all for how this book ends, didn't realise the title was a there to warn me.
Such a good book and who knew a warhammer book could make you so sad
Read the title as Kingslayer, since the bad guy on the front cover is the Troll King.
Was not emotionaly prepared at all for how this book ends, didn't realise the title was a there to warn me.
Such a good book and who knew a warhammer book could make you so sad
December 26, 2018
Vale, este autor me gusta, David Guymer ha sabido cómo hacer para que Gotrek y Felix diesen un giro a una trama más dura y compleja. Yo encantado, porque la carga emocional que hay para TODOS los personajes ha hecho que estuviese mucho más enganchado que con otras entregas del matador.
September 27, 2019
It was a very dark novel that tore apart the beloved characters that we as readers had come to love and care for as they battle the Trolls of Throgg the Troll King, and the treachery that tore them apart, i believe tore apart readers hearts as well.
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