Tag Archives: Warhammer

QUICK REVIEW: The Tilean’s Talisman – David Guymer

Long before tackling the Doom of Gotrek Gurnisson in Kinslayer and Slayer, David Guymer’s first contribution to the saga of Gotrek and Felix was the short story The Tilean’s Talisman. First published in Hammer & Bolter Issue 14, and then in Gotrek & Felix: The Anthology, it sees devious skaven Siskritt attempting to steal a magical item of great power – the titular talisman – from a Tilean merchant, while the tavern around him burns. It’s a plan of typical skaven brilliance, using a bigger assault on the human city as cover for Siskritt’s own agenda, but the one thing he didn’t plan for was the presence of a certain belligerent dwarf Slayer and his human companion.

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Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages (Part Two) with William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks

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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Nounslayer: Gotrek Through the Ages (Part One) with William King, Nathan Long, David Guymer and Darius Hinks

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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RAPID FIRE: Darius Hinks Talks The Orion Trilogy

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

For this instalment I spoke to Darius Hinks about the latest Warhammer Chronicles release, The Orion Trilogy, which collects together his novels The Vaults of Winter, Tears of Isha and The Council of Beasts. Read on to delve back into the history of the Wood Elves in the Warhammer Old World, then check the book out – it’s available to order right now.

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RAPID FIRE: William King Talks The Tyrion and Teclis Omnibus

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

For this instalment I spoke to legendary Black Library author William King about the latest Warhammer Chronicles release, The Tyrion and Teclis Omnibus – which collects together his classic novels Blood of Aenarion, Sword of Caledor and Bane of Malekith. Read on to delve back into the earlier days of the High Elves in the Warhammer Old World, and then don’t forget to go out and grab your copy of the book, as it’s available to order right now.

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RAPID FIRE: Mike Lee Talks The Rise of Nagash

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases – or in this case, a slightly older release from the Warhammer Chronicles series. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to Mike Lee about his classic Warhammer Time of Legends series, The Rise of Nagash, which is available as a single-volume omnibus in the Warhammer Chronicles series. With Nagash playing a big role in the Age of Sigmar at the moment, there’s never been a better time to look back to the Great Necromancer’s earliest days!

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Upcoming Black Library Titles (as of November 2018)

Every so often I’ll trawl the internet to put together a roundup of all the information I can find about upcoming Black Library releases. It’s been a while since I last did one of these posts, so I thought it was about time for another – this time I’m looking at releases from the middle of November onwards, and I’ve pulled information from the Coming Soon section of the Black Library website, information provided at the Black Library Weekender (and the Warhammer Community post covering that), and elsewhere online.

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QUICK REVIEW: How Vido Learned the Trick – Josh Reynolds

The second of two Warhammer Chronicles short stories written before the End Times happened and eventually featured in Inferno! Volume 1, Josh Reynolds’ How Vido Learned the Trick is a Zavant Konniger story featuring characters originally created by Gordon Rennie. Returning from an errand for his master, the halfling Vido finds an assassin in Zavant’s study, but no sign of the sage himself. With his own life on the line, Vido must put into practice everything he’s learned from working with Zavant and figure out where his master can be found. All without allowing the assassin to complete his mission.

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Gotrek & Felix: Slayer – David Guymer

The seventeenth Gotrek & Felix novel, David Guymer’s Slayer completes the two-part Doom of Gotrek Gurnisson arc within the wider Warhammer End Times series. Following on from the events of Kinslayer it sees Gotrek and Felix heading south with a ragtag force of men to try and reach Altdorf and Felix’s young family. In the way are whole armies of marauding northmen, while the shadowy presence of Be’lakor works to fulfil a prophecy and at last bring Gotrek’s doom down upon him. Despite their badly damaged friendship, the two adventurers fight side by side for what might be the last time.

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QUICK REVIEW: Waking the Dragon – Josh Reynolds

Billed as a Warhammer Chronicles story, Josh Reynolds’ Waking the Dragon is a previously unreleased tale of the World-That-Was, and which was originally written as part of the End Times series. The once-powerful Heinrich Kemmler, otherwise known as the Lichemaster, is in dire need of allies. Harried at every turn by the tenacious Duke Tancred, and accompanied only by the ancient wight Krell, Kemmler turns in desperation to the cursed Blood Keep where he hopes to raise an army and gather his strength. The ancient fortress is no longer abandoned, however, and Kemmler’s destiny might not be what he expected.

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