‘Ghoulslayer’ – Darius Hinks (Black Library)

Just a quick one today as I’m trying to get everything all squared away before I go on leave next week and there’s a fair bit to do… I’m actually wondering whether it would just be easier to stay at work to be honest 😉  Anyway, while I’m here…

I haven’t read all the ‘Gotrek’ books but have always enjoyed the ones that I did manage to pick up. They all work along the same premise (Gotrek seeks a mighty doom but never quite finds it) but that’s ok, sometimes ‘more of the same’ is just what I want from a book. I originally thought that Gotrek died with the rest of the Old World but found out that he somehow made it into the Age of Sigmar’s ‘Mortal Realms’ so it was only a matter of time before I got round to picking up his travels again. Gotrek’s new adventures actually begin in ‘Realmslayer’ but that’s an audiobook, and I’m not so good with them, so I moved onto ‘Ghoulslayer’ instead and went from there…

In the bleak, haunted underworld of Shyish, a vengeful Slayer seeks the Lord of Undeath. Gotrek Gurnisson returns, his oaths now ashes alongside the world-that-was, his fury undiminished. Branded with the Master Rune of Grimnir, the God that betrayed him, and joined by Maleneth Witchblade, a former Daughter of Khaine turned agent of the Order of Azyr, the hunt has taken them far and wide through the Realm of Death. Will Gotrek find a path to the Undying King or will the underworlds claim him as their own?

If you’re a long time reader of Gotrek’s adventures then I think you’re in for a bit of a treat here but that’s not to say that it’s all plain sailing though, far from it. Darius Hinks has a good handle on what Gotrek is all about (and more on that in a bit) but doesn’t quite strike the balance between battle and plot. Don’t get me wrong, both are good but ‘Ghoulslayer’ does tend to fall on the side of ‘slugfest’ rather than story and that can make for a bit of a slog when you want to find out more about our players and what makes them tick. Luckily, the battles are all stirring stuff, so it’s not like they’re not entertaining, they could have done with just being ‘cut back’ a little. Showing bits from the ghoul’s ‘perspective’  

When Hinks does get round to showing us a little of Gotrek, I absolutely loved the way that he stays true to Gotrek’s roots but frames this against a whole new world where literally anything is possible for a old Dwarf in need of a cause to fight for. For the first time in a long time, Gotrek is without a purpose and not only does this drive the plot in some interesting directions but it also hints at some interesting possibilities for future books. Gotrek is a force of nature but one that needs direction. Once he figures out what that is, the Mortal Realms will surely never be the same again… I’m pretty sure I’ll be around to see how that all pans out.

‘Ghoulslayer’ suffers from a little imbalance but still has loads to offer readers either looking for a straight up fight or to catch up on the adventures of one of the Black Library’s most iconic heroes. Either way, this book has you covered 😉