Welcome back to part two of Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages, in which I’m talking to the four Black Library authors most associated with the enduring character of Gotrek Gurnisson. The first part of this article (check it out here if you haven’t already read it) covered an introduction to Gotrek, an exploration of why he’s proved such an enduringly popular character, and a history of the Nounslayer series from William King’s earliest stories through to Nathan Long’s five novels. That took us up to 2010’s Zombieslayer, Long’s final instalment in the series.

In this second part we’re going to move the timeline on to look at David Guymer taking up the reins, followed by Darius Hinks joining the writing team, before taking a quick look at the future of the character and what we might be able to expect to see next. I’ve also asked the authors to talk a little about the challenges involved in writing such a well-loved character created by another writer entirely. Without further ado, let’s get straight onto the next step in the history of Warhammer’s favourite grumpy dwarf (don’t call him a Duardin)…

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First introduced over 30 years ago, Gotrek Gurnisson – depending on how you look at it either the best or worst dwarf Slayer of all time – has gone on to be one of the most successful and enduring Warhammer characters of all time, featuring in eighteen novels, four audio dramas, one novella and loads of short stories…so far. Three decades after his first appearance, 2019 was a bumper year for him, with a second massive four-hour audio drama (voiced by Brian Blessed, no less) and the first new Gotrek novel since 2015’s Slayer in the shape of Darius Hinks’ Ghoulslayer. Oh, and a new plastic miniature, too.

I thought it was about time I took a look at the grumpy Slayer’s long history, so I enlisted the help of the four Black Library authors most associated with him – William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks. Join me as I look back through the history of this most well-loved of Warhammer characters, drawing upon the memories and thoughts of these four fantastic writers. In this first part, we’re going to talk about who Gotrek is and why he’s so popular, and start to go through a brief history of his adventures – then once you’ve read this, there’s a link at the end for the second part in which we’ll continue the history, look ahead to the future, and talk about what it was like writing this most enduring character.

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