Realmslayer – David Guymer

After the fateful events of Slayer, and the death of the Old World, it looked for a while as though we’d seen the end of Gotrek and Felix. In David Guymer’s Realmslayer, however, Gotrek steps into the Age of Sigmar, doom unfulfilled, angrier than ever, missing his axe, and wondering what’s going on. Oh, and voiced by Brian Blessed too! Across a four-part audio drama Gotrek battles his way through Aqshy and Shyish in the dubious company of fyreslayers, a Khainite aelf, a necromancer and even a manling or two, searching for his place in this new world…and also Felix.

Brian Blessed was pretty much born to play Gotrek Gurnisson, and with that voice in place you could be forgiven for not worrying too much about the story itself. Thankfully the storytelling in Realmslayer is pacy, entertaining and entirely in keeping with both the character of Gotrek and the Age of Sigmar, in terms of each of the four parts and also the wider overall plot. It’s nothing too complicated, basically a case of Gotrek finding his way to Hammerhal in search of Felix, via various adventures and new companions, and along the way coming to terms with the world around him. Each part introduces new characters and locations for Gotrek to interact with and enemies to fight, with even a familiar face or two popping up, while as a whole it provides a satisfying arc for a character who was essentially unchanged across previous stories.

Brining Gotrek into the Age of Sigmar offers a unique chance to explore the Mortal Realms through the eyes of a character who doesn’t buy into the status quo, and who really doesn’t approve of what’s happened while he’s been away. Blessed turns in a pitch-perfect performance, nailing Gotrek’s bluster and irritation, but he’s much more than just a loud voice. For all the brash irreverence that will have you cackling, there are also a few quiet, touching scenes which remind you that this is a dwarf out of time and on his own, not least a sad (but beautifully judged) moment in part three which calls back to Kinslayer, with the help of the always-excellent John Banks. This is very much the ensemble piece, though, so while Blessed hogs the headlines there’s a wide range of companions, allies and enemies brought to life by a varied and talented cast.

There’s no Felix to provide a human compass for Gotrek, but the various companion characters provide similar, if subtly different, foils for the dwarf’s aggression and grouchiness. David Seddon and Penelope Rawlins get the most to do, as idealistic fyreslayer Broddur and wily aelf Maleneth respectively – both of whom regularly earn Gotrek’s ire – while Andrew Wincott oozes slime and madness as necromancer Uthan and Joe Shire comes closest to a Felix-esque character as human Jordain. Great performances abound, bringing these characters to life in ways you simply wouldn’t get if this had been in prose, while the longer four part structure provides a sense of scale and grandeur to the story, over and above what you usually get in a 60-ish minute audio, that’s befitting of the return of such a well-loved character.

In places it’s a little spoilerific if you’ve not read the final two Gotrek & Felix novels, but there should be enough here to enjoy whether you’re familiar with the concept and characters or not. Assuming you are, it’s a wonderful reintroduction for Gotrek – as well as an intriguing look at the Age of Sigmar – that will have you hearing Blessed’s voice any time you think of the character from now on. It’s wonderful stuff, and yet again a powerful demonstration of Black Library’s ever-growing confidence in their audio productions.

Click here to buy Realmslayer.