Orcslayer (Warhammer Novels)
by Nathan Long
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Book Summary Information
Author: Nathan LongEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-14
ISBN: 1844163911
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Games Workshop
Book Reviews of Orcslayer (Warhammer Novels)
Book Review: Rocked my world!
Summary: 5 Stars
Man it has been a long time since I have read a Felix & Gotrek book. And I was pretty apprehensive when I saw that for this, the 8th entry in the "Slayer" series, a new writer has taken over for William King. But after reading the book I have to say that in my opinion the series is in great hands with author Nathan Long. In fact, I will even go as far as to say that for me this book TIES with my favourite Gotrek & Felix of all time, "Daemonslayer".
Just to give you a quick idea of the plot, author Long wisely chooses to begin his narrative some 20 years after the end of the action in the previous book in the series "Giantslayer" (--to allow William King the freedom to fill us in on the adventures in the intervening years at some later date?) We now find our two heroes returning from years away battling Chaos in the farthest reaches of the Warhammer world. Soon they become embroiled in the struggle to take back a Dwarf hold from the hands of Orcs who have overrun it. They are under pressure, as time is running out for any possible Dwarf survivors trapped inside without much food. But soon they find out that these are no ordinary Orcs.....
So why did I enjoy this book so much, and what makes me rate it so highly? Well for one thing, for what I think is the first time in the ENTIRE history of the series, I felt that the writing was not overly rushed. Although the actual number of pages is about the same, when reading this book it somehow felt like it was about 100 pages longer than the previous Gotrek & Felix books, and I believe that this was due to very satisfying plot development and characterization. And in all of King's books I always felt that the ending was very, very rushed and almost tacked on as an afterthought. Not so here. When this book finally came to an end, I felt very satisfied.
With respect to character development, Long does a great job here too. He makes good use of his previous experience writing multiple characters in his "Blackhearts" series, and really fleshes out the characters of each of the Dwarves who join Gotrek & Felix on their urgent rescue mission to free the hold. Also, under King's helm, I think about the only time we really got a chance to get some deeper characterization for either of our main heroes was way back in "Skavenslayer", the 2nd book in the series, when King seemed to take more time to give the character of Felix some psychological depth. This time out, Nathan Long gives us some intriguing glimpses into the character of Gotrek, and the dwarf he was before he took the Slayer's crest and met up with Felix.
I did miss some of the supporting characters from the previous books like Snorri and Malakai and Ulrike and even the crafty Skaven Thanquol. But Long takes care to weave mention of these characters and previous adventures into his narrative at the appropriate moments, letting me know that he is aware of and respects the story that has gone before, and giving me hope that we may yet see some of these characters turn up again in future installments of the series.
So while this particular story did not quite have the epic scale of Felix & Gotrek's classic venture into the Chaos Wastes in "Daemonslayer", I felt that it made up for this with an excellently-paced plot and a good, solid job on the characterization.
I'm not sure just exactly what happened between the Black Library and William King and why he is no longer writing these books, but I am so glad that they have chosen a writer as capable as Nathan Long to take up the pen (keyboard?) and continue the tale. I recommend to all Gotrek & Felix fans to check this book out. And if you like the dwarves and haven't read them yet, I'd also recommend a couple of other entries in the Warhammer range of books, "Grudgebearer" and "Oathbreaker".
Now I can't wait to get on to the next book in the series, "Manslayer". And its sequel, "Elfslayer" is already scheduled for release in the fall. Lots of good reading to look forward to. Keep it coming, Black Library!
Summary of Orcslayer (Warhammer Novels)
Gotrek and Felix arrive back on the southern coast of the Old World to discover that the orcs are running rampant as the Empire fights off a Chaos invasion futher inland. To honour an ancient pledge, Gotrek agrees to help a dwarf prince reclaim his hold from the greenskin invaders who have siezed it, but our intrepid heroes find more than they bargain for in the cold depths of the mountains.
"A snappy serial in the Tolkein vein draws its heroes and villains from a somewhat tired set of fantasy tropes, but Long's storytelling ability makes it worthwhile?the narrative maintains the momentum throughout. An engaging if derivative fantasy tale."
-Kirkus Discoveries, VNU US Literary Group
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