Dragonslayer

Gotrek & Felix #4

by William King

Gotrek & Felix Book 4

A journey back to civilisation is interrupted when Gotrek, Felix and their companions encounter a creature of myth – a legendary dragon! Caught between that flying rock and the hard place of an army of orcs, things look bleak…

READ IT BECAUSE
It's Gotrek and Felix vs a dragon, in one of the series most widely acclaimed entries. A dangerous race against time, multiple enemies and uneasy allies make this a true classic.

THE STORY
Gotrek and Felix: unsung heroes of the Empire, or nothing more than common thieves and murderers? The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between, and depends entirely upon whom you ask…

Gotrek and Felix head back towards the Empire aboard the arcane dwarf airship Spirit of Grungni. Tired and wounded from their adventures in the Chaos Wastes, the intrepid duo look forward to seeing friendly lands once more. But darker forces are at work and when a violent storm blows them into the Worlds Edge Mountains they disturb a deadly creature of legend which guards a vast golden hoard. With an army of rampaging orcs behind and a wrathful dragon ahead, things look bleak for Gotrek and Felix!

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

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

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

[Maetco · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guilty pleasure indeed. If you're even reading this review, I'm assuming you have at least a fleeting idea of the Warhammer setting. Here we have the continuing saga of Gotrek the Slayer. Gotrek is a dwarf who has to atone for some vile deed he has committed somewhere in the distant past. Atonement in this case can only be affected by dying a particularly heroic death. Accompanied by the poet (and dangerous swordsman in his own right) Herr Felix Jaeger, who has to record the death for the history books, Gotrek sets off seeking out the greatest foes the Warhammer universe has on offer. Unfortunately for all concerned Gotrek seems to be more than able to look after himself. As a dwarven slayer he has to go down fighting. He is not allowed to just stand there and be killed, as this is, of course, not heroic. He inevitably ends up killing the creature who was supposed to be his doom (and atonement) on every occasion so far.

Why only three stars? Well, even though I enjoyed this book, the premise can become repetitive. In all truth, this often feels like a number of skirmishes connected by a thin thread of plot. Not unlike playing 'connect the dots'. This is not a harsh critique of the novel, since this is Warhammer, after all. So we have war, more than enough, and weapons both blunt and sharp a-plenty. As I write this I'm actually halfway through book 5, which I'm enjoying even more.

A quick summary then. The novel titles are kind of self explanatory. So, in this one, our heroes set off to kill the dragon of the title. Well, to be honest, we already know how it ends, so it's the getting there that matters. The characters are fun as heck. There's a bit of an ensemble cast in this one with a number of dwarven slayers joining up. It seems being killed by a dragon is indeed a mighty enough doom and should be actively sought out. Suffice to say, a number of folk do indeed 'atone' this time round. The writing is kept simple, yet fast paced, and fits the story well. It's a grim world out there after all. Oh, there's also some back story that sets up the next book nicely.

I believe this is Warhammer's longest running series. Read it and find out why. Literary snobs and the anal retentive need not apply.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5, I am sorry to say. There is little much happening beside the dragon slaying, which takes the entire novel to accomplish, but this can't compare to the siege at Nuln or the infiltration of the Chaos Wastes our heroes have been through so far.

Instead, this novel is extremely introspective. At least half the pages are committed to Felix considering his pubertal love issues. It is convincing and technically well done, but if they made any progress in their relationship there was no sign posting I have noticed. Two or three other characters have similar issues without obvious milestones of development, contributing to the impression of the whole tale being one blob of progress, diluted though by too much internal monologueing.

I hope the next one is better, and if there was any information entirely necessary for the coming adventures presented they need yet to reveal themselves to me. I'm fairly sure I could have skipped this book, making all connection from the cover art and title alone.

[Logan B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Dragonslayer” by William King is an entertaining enough bridging chapter in the saga of Gotrek & Felix. King’s lively writing keeps the story engaging; however, you can’t escape the feeling when reading that this is a middle chapter between the climatic events that occurred in “Daemonslayer” and what King sets up to be an epic siege in “Beastslayer.” Indeed, the first almost-half of the books acts as an extended epilogue to the events of “Daemonslayer”, following the heroes on their return journey from the lost Dwarf hold in the Chaos Wastes. The main antagonist of this installment doesn’t come to the foreground until several hours of reading in, and, even then, the Dragon feels more like an objective for the protagonists than an actual villain with motivations. Most of the book’s runtime is occupied with Felix and Ulrika’s relationship repeating the same beats of drama which begins to drag. This is further compounded by the introduction of Max Schreiber as a romantic rival for Felix which bogs the story down in a bit too much melodrama for my tastes. Overall, not a bad novel but far from the best in the series so far and one that exists mainly to bring the characters to what I suspect will be a climatic finale to the Kislev story arc in the next book.

[Hernan Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mejor que el anterior. Lindo final para agarrar con ganas el próximo libro.

[Chris Torno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dwarves, orcs, a dragon, and plenty of great fights.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely my least favorite so far. The romance subplot really made this one drag in some spots, but everything else was great. Keeble per usual bringing the VA heat.

[Anna Robson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but it certainly felt a bit slower at points and not as exciting as some of the others, mainly probably because of the slight reduction in skaven plots! It was still a pretty enjoyable read!!

[Cloak88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine addition to the series.

Review to follow

[Eliška Miklánková · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book was a little slower but the second half, especially the final battle, was amazing.

[Anton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool. This was easily the best structured one of these, and it was very subtle how it turned into a grimdark The Hobbit-homage somewhere in the middle and then a straight up ripoff at the climax. Very cool very swag I like it.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent. I am impressed by how King is able to make the interludes between battles just as interesting as the battles. He truly brings the Warhammer Fantasy world to life. As with other Gotrek and Felix novels, the strength is the characters. Gotrek, Felix, Malakai, Snorri, Bjorni, Ulrika, and many more: the characters are distinctive, vivid, and skillfully rendered. There were several times when I sat down to read “just one chapter” and ended up reading three or four because I was enthralled and driven forward by the plot. If I had any criticism/quibble it would be the almost token incorporation of Thanquol and Lurch (the Skaven enemies from the previous novels). I understand why they are included, which is to set up an overarching narrative to braid together the entire Gotrek and Felix saga. Oh, and the final fight with the dragon was so full of drama.

[Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot I read this one
I liked it, but I still consider "Demonslayer" to be the best of the series, or at least one of the best.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating of 4.5.

Prepare for another epic volume in the incredibly entertaining Gotrek and Felix Warhammer Fantasy series, Dragonslayer, by William King.

After their daring exploits in the Chaos Wastes, dwarf Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson and his rememberer, Felix Jaeger, return to the lands of Kislev in triumph, having rescued the survivors of a lost dwarven stronghold. However, their victory is short lived, as danger begins to assail them the moment they return in the form of the skaven forces of their arch-enemy Grey Seer Thanquol. Worse, their voyage has revealed a giant horde of Chaos warriors advancing towards the lands of Kislev, determined to bring destruction and death to all before them.

To warn the people of Kislev, Gotrek, Felix, and their companions travel by dwarf airship towards the capital. However, their voyage is disrupted by an unnatural storm and an attack from a legendary dragon determined to rip them asunder. Barely escaping with their lives, the adventurers find themselves stuck in the World’s Edge Mountains and forced to pull into the Slayer Keep of Karak Kadrin. There they discover that the dragon that attacked them, Skjalandir, has been terrifying the mountains for months. Determined to finally meet his mighty doom, Gotrek and his fellow Slayers head out to destroy the beast, accompanied by a reluctant Felix and their Kislev allies. Beset on all sides by ravening orcs, desperate bandits, and a massive dragon of immense destructive potential, can even the legendary team of Gotrek and Felix survive, or will Gotrek finally find his longed-for death at the hands of the mightiest beast in the realm?

This was another very fun and intense novel from King, who once again provides the reader with an exciting and compelling dive into the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Dragonslayer was a very good entry in the long-running Gotrek and Felix series, and I deeply enjoyed its cool and fast-paced narrative that sees the protagonists fight all manner of foes and dangers. Filled with impressive monsters, a hilarious sense of humour and all manner of action, Dragonslayer was a fantastic read that I powered through in a few short days.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2021/12/30/...

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

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version of this story. Jonathan Keeble continues to deliver a great performance.

(A caveat I'd like to put on this is that this book is 25 years old, and I realize how much has changed over that time.)

One of the wonderful things about Warhammer is the shameless camp and embracing of stereotypes and tropes that contemporary fantasy readers ostensibly dislike: Non-human/Ugly things = Bad. Caricatures of peoples and places from our world (Kislev, in this novel.). Racial determinism. Etc. That's an essential ingredient for pulp sword-and-sorcery books, and the kind of fantasy I can readily escape into. And I appreciate that has (largely) remained unchanged.

Sadly, this book spends much of its time focused on a trope-stuffed romantic relationship that feels bland and uninspired, even for the time it was written (2000). I'm floored by how often these feel like they were written by someone who has never been in a relationship themselves. The love in this book is really juvenile, and, worse yet, boring to read.

I don't think anyone expects a Warhammer-book to pass the Bechdel Test, and that's "the soft bigotry of low expectations" at work. Ulrika is the sole female character, and her place in the story is largely as the object of affection for Felix Jaeger and Max Schreiber. The time we spend in her POV is mostly about how she feels about either man, or how they look at her, until the author reminds us she's on a quest to save Kislev so we accept why she is there, plot-wise.

For so much of this book to be about romance, it should have had something to say about it. Instead we get pages and pages (hours and hours, for the listeners) of surface-level observations about love to fill the time as our characters move about the world pursuing the plot.

A shining moment of characterization, is when Snorri and Gotrek are sitting drinking quietly together. Snorri's self-reflection really touched me, and I could feel the tension in that moment. Snorri wants someone to confide in, and happens to be with a fellow Slayer - one of the few people alive who really understands what his life is like - but can't bring himself to open up about it. So, instead, he does what's familiar and flawed.

I didn't enjoy this book, but I feel like I could talk about it for hours. If you're just (re)reading this to stay abreast of the Gotrek and Felix plot story - skim the Wiki.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotrek and Felix return to face the classic monster of fantasy—an ancient fire-breathing dragon. As if that’s not enough, they also get to battle skaven, orcs and bandits as well. King’s corner of the world of Warhammer is coming to life as the heroes figure out that a new great incursion of chaos monsters from the Chaos Wastes is beginning and it has the potential to crush the Empire. The cast continues to flesh out as well as many characters who looked to be making single book cameos return and look like they may become continuing cast members. Most interesting of these is the magician, Max, who gives King a voice through which he can analyze on a macro level what the forces of chaos are doing.

Favored villains also reappear in the form of Grey Seer Thanquol and Lurk, two skaven from book two who have been dogging our heroes’ trail. I think of them as primarily comic relief, although both pose potentially serious threats.

There are two great battles with the dragon. I thought the first was the more exciting, but both are important. In addition, we meet a kingdom of dwarven slayers and a whole bunch more slayers join the quest. This is particularly useful because they show how strongly Gotrek stands out from this group. He’s a slayer’s slayer, so to speak—almost a force of nature much as Conan was.

One of the most interesting facets of the series to me is Felix’s personality. He still hasn’t quite figured out that he truly is as much a hero as the great heroes of legend. He sees himself as simply surviving their struggles without crediting the fact that at anytime he could break his word and leave Gotrek to his own devices. The dwarves certainly realize this and it’s nice to see Felix getting the respect the reader knows he deserves.

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

[Gally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed by the third book in this series and, as such, took a very long break, but I have finally returned and am glad for it. This is classic, fun fantasy adventure.
The early chapters were wonderful and really highlighted the best this series has shown so far: heroism, adventure, and cheesy romance, with a heavy dose of grim-dark. Love it. Thanquol and Lurk are really great villains throughout, they made me laugh so much.
After the dragon attack, a great scene about halfway through as I recall, the book leans much more into the grim-dark. The heroes visit Karak Kadrin and it’s very cool to explore the city of the Slayer King. Felix notes that he’s only really encountered the more adventurous of dwarfs thus far, and the narrative does make an effort to explore this while in one of their cities.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of wheel-spinning here. The romance arc stutters to a halt and there is just a lot of narrative dedicated to Felix loitering around Karak Kadrin, followed by more of his internal monologues on their journey to the dragon’s lair.
The dragon hunt itself is really fun, though surprisingly short, with a lot of narrative given to other events surrounding them. It was great when the narrative switched to the dragon’s perspective earlier in the story, but unfortunately this never happens during the hunt. Instead, we get several paragraphs dedicated to an orc warboss’ point of view. Why? Really a missed opportunity.
The story ends rather abruptly after briskly reminding the reader of events that will unfold in the next book in the series.
While I had issues with the second-half of the volume, the first-half was really excellent.
Given how much I love Warhammer Fantasy, I will certainly be reading the next volume sooner than later.

[Luis Sparklefury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst all the strengths of the previous title are present, namely a strong supporting cast, quick-paced action, and a balancing of humour and violence, there's also less to tie things together. A dragon shows up. They fight. Now they're off to kill it for good! Along the way, some other things happen.
I enjoyed the time at Karak Kadrin, the brief forays into the nature of the Slayer cult and seeing other slayers and their myriad, extreme personalities is always fun. But Sigmar be praised the endless touting of the pseudo-love triangle with Felix, Ulrica, and Max pining along behind them was a bit tedious by the end. The scenes of Felix' introspection and examination of his character growth, and the complex dichotomies of human nature, can actually be quite interesting and enjoyable - but the 13th time he bemoaned why his girlfriend is angry at him for no reason was a bit much.

Thanquol and Lurk continue to delight at every possible instance.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admiring more and more the rock-solid craft that goes into these, from the handling of the plotting-for-the-novel-and-for-the-series, to the characterisation, the just-enough-detail worldbuilding, the carefully constructed epic action scenes. This volume has the contrasting highlights of opening with a huge dragon versus a dwarf airship, and a pleasingly prickly and difficult adult relationship developing between two people in uncertain circumstances who aren't always their best selves towards each other. Also, every time the Skaven are onstage there's invariably a reference to their fear musk-glands, which feels like a reference to a billionaire currently spraying his glands all over a social media platform.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

+ Exploring the home of the Slayer Cult is interesting. The book takes time to go into a little more detail on the lore surrounding the Cult, and that gives us more insight into Gotrek as a character. The introduction of other Slayers, and their personalities, shows us how powerful and unique Gotrek really is.

-Basic and fairly unoriginal dragon slaying story. Their are hints of a slight twist with the dragon being corrupted by Chaos, but its never developed into anything.

-Orc and Bandit side plot is bare bones and does not have a satisfying ending.

-Thanquol scenes feel tacked on and are a poor way to include this popular character, even slightly, in the ongoing tale. It would have been better to have him fade away for a few books until he has a relevant contribution to make.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great, not bad. What stick out most was the weirdly abrupt ending. Story had me invested in Felix’s bizarre childish romance. Apparently one night hookups are no thing but any further and suddenly grown adults become incapable of simple communication. Suppose that’s not that uncommon even in our world. The more I think about it the more it becomes clear that author needed SOMETHING to be going on other than fuckin dragon slayin. So he went with the “I love you so much that I hate you and must ruin all opportunities that may prove otherwise!!!”

Gonna read the next book. Maybe Gotrex will get fed up and behead manlings troublesome female. Fingers crossed!

[Gordon Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrious Grey Seer Thanquol returns for another novel devoted to his great intellect and general brilliance, also featuring Gotrek, Felix and a dragon.

Our great hero rightly graces many a page with details of his excessive potency and the tremendous ill fortune that temporarily stands between him and the power and glory for which he is unquestionably destined due to his countless staggering feats of triumph and wonder. It's all very funny and cleverly done, just like it was in the previous books, but the absence of new ideas leaves this entry in the series feeling derivative and unnecessary (albeit very good fun).

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a really long time since I have read a Gotrek and Felix novel. This one largely didn't disappoint, there is a variety of interesting action sequences, including a fun air battle, and some GREAT descriptions.

However, Felix and his love interests bickering back and forth, while the wizard Max is viewed as a rival, got tiring.

In many ways also, this book feels like a "filler" book in between a massive Chaos invasion they just sort of get distracted and hunt down a dragon.

Enjoyable and fun, while still flawed.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting back into these because Total War Warhammer 1 and 2. The games are a blast and leave me wanting more. The grander scale of the novels contained in omnibus number two definitely hit the spot.

I like that these stories and novels are picking up from almost the last one ended. The continuous story makes it feel more episodic and enjoyable.

They are anything fantastic, but they are a fun little fantasy romp and quick to read. This one features a chaos tainted dragon, bandits, orcs, and a slew of new and fun characters.

Not my favorite so far, but not my least favorite either.

[Peter Rybarczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good tale from Warhammer world, really skips it if you are not a fan of Warhammer. But if you are, yeah Gotrek books are a perfect guilty pleasure. Chaos, Dragons, Orcs, Dwarfs, Skaven & Kislevites all fighting and dying neverending wars. So all that Warhammer is about, grim, dark fantasy world.
Still, this book is not such good as Deamonslayer or even Skaven slayer, but really worth f reading. I'm really impressed how King, writing a book about games, was able to add some romance & depth to the characters.
reading this series is like playing a good RPG campaign.

[Domien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly William King read The Hobbit before he wrote Dragonslayer.
And Peter Jackson must have read Dragonslayer before he made the Hobbit films.
This volume is one of the best in the series so far. It has a huge amount of things in common with The Hobbit, particularly the films, actually, but it's *pure* Warhammer. That combination makes for awesomeness².

I would have liked a bit more Gotrek in this, but I understand why the author chose to focus a bit more on the romance between Felix & Ulrika instead.

This is tied with Skavenslayer for best Gotrek & Felix book so far, IMHO.

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining adventure as usual being a Gotrek and Felix novel but just is missing that spark the previous books in the series had.

Considering it's primary plot is about slaying a Dragon it should be a lot more exciting but the main chunk of the story is mostly a relatively boring trek through the mountains. The characters are also in a generally sad, unmotivated and distant mood through most of the book which just makes it drag.

Looking forward to the next book in the series and hopefully takes a few more ques from the early books.

[Yszky the Goblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

W wielkim skrócie, ta książka wydana przez Copernicus Corporation jest najgorszą którą czytałem... pod względem wydawniczym. Mnóstwo literówek, źle postawionych przecinków. No mocno raziło to w oczy.

Od strony historii, raczej nie zaspoiluję, że mega ciekawie czytało się nt. Smoka. Opis jak wielkim jest stworzeniem, jak mocno bije od niego aura zniszczenia.

Ogólnie, Warhammer pełną gębą. Mamy tutaj i Kislevczyków, Krasnoludy, Orki i Gobliny, Skaveny i nieco Chaosu. Im dłużej czytam tę serię tym mocniej klimat się zagęszcza.

[Richard Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very interesting fun book to read I enjoyed the story of the slayer king the wars who due to various circumstances have turned to a slayer I enjoy the world story time of orcs and human bandits in how it's just not chaos that is dangerous it is everything around the world

The side plot with the romance between some of the characters gave a more personal level to the story because sometimes I forget that it is people with emotions who are living through these dark times in the fantasy world

[Brent Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing on directly from the Skaven raid that ended Daemon Slayer, this book delves further into dwarf society with an expanded view of the culture around Slayers, showing that even amongst the most disconnected of dwarves, Gotrek doesn't really fit in.

The titular dragon is the "mcguffin" of the story for better or worse, mostly absent from the story, even though the weight of existence can be felt throughout.

This book shows how even a more subtle disconnected chaos plot (as subtle as waking up a dragon is) can have a follow-on effect across an entire country.

There is a lot of relationship drama here, at times it can feel a bit forced with Felix, Ulrika or Max stopping mid thought to think about the way one of the other two characters interacted with them. When you are actively fighting a giant spider, generally, the last thing I would think you should be worried about is why is my girlfriend mad at me? Still though, I enjoy Ulrika, I enjoy Max and I enjoy Felix.

On to the penultimate book in the "trilogy"