Dragonslayer is the fourth epic instalment in the death-seeking saga of Gotrek and Felix. After the daring exploits in Daemonslayer, the fearless duo find themselves pursued by the insidious and ruthless skaven-lord, Grey Seer Thanquol. Drogonslayer sees the fearless Trollslayer and his sworn companion back aboard the arcane dwarf airship in search of a golden hoard - and its deadly guardian! New edition with stunning redesigned cover!

Xarior

Jay-mess

Dragonslayer

A guilty pleasure indeed. If you're even reading this review, I'm assuming you have at least a fleeting idea of the Warhammer setting. Here we have the continuing saga of Gotrek the Slayer. Gotrek is a dwarf who has to atone for some vile deed he has committed somewhere in the distant past. Atonement in this case can only be affected by dying a particularly heroic death. Accompanied by the poet (and dangerous swordsman in his own right) Herr Felix Jaeger, who has to record the death for the history books, Gotrek sets off seeking out the greatest foes the Warhammer universe has on offer. Unfortunately for all concerned Gotrek seems to be more than able to look after himself. As a dwarven slayer he has to go down fighting. He is not allowed to just stand there and be killed, as this is, of course, not heroic. He inevitably ends up killing the creature who was supposed to be his doom (and atonement) on every occasion so far.  Why only three stars? Well, even though I enjoyed this book, the premise can become repetitive. In all truth, this often feels like a number of skirmishes connected by a thin thread of plot. Not unlike playing 'connect the dots'. This is not a harsh critique of the novel, since this is Warhammer, after all. So we have war, more than enough, and weapons both blunt and sharp a-plenty. As I write this I'm actually halfway through book 5, which I'm enjoying even more.  A quick summary then. The novel titles are kind of self explanatory. So, in this one, our heroes set off to kill the dragon of the title. Well, to be honest, we already know how it ends, so it's the getting there that matters. The characters are fun as heck. There's a bit of an ensemble cast in this one with a number of dwarven slayers joining up. It seems being killed by a dragon is indeed a mighty enough doom and should be actively sought out. Suffice to say, a number of folk do indeed 'atone' this time round. The writing is kept simple, yet fast paced, and fits the story well. It's a grim world out there after all. Oh, there's also some back story that sets up the next book nicely.  I believe this is Warhammer's longest running series. Read it and find out why. Literary snobs and the anal retentive need not apply.

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