Books like Zombieslayer

I really wanted to like this book. I really did.Heinrich Kemmler and warlord Krell versus Felix and Gotrek, it sounds like the battle of the millenium. Sadly, the result, for me, falls just under average.This book starts right where we left our heroes in Shamanslayer, wounded and exhausted in the middle of a rising undead army. The setting is so desperate that quickly, we feel the author is taking shortcuts to justify the survival of the heroes. Of course, Felix and Gotrek can't die yet, but it felt to me like the author had a good idea for his setup, but couldn't execute it properly. Another concern for me was the lack of characterization of the villains. Kemmler is flat and devoid of any personality except the usual "Evil necromancer" gimmicks. Good thing then that is he is absent from most of the story. This book really made me realized how I missed William King's style, who knew when to switch to the bad guys perspective. As for Krell, he is nothing but the "muscles" of the book : He doesn't speak, he doesn't do anything of consequence, except show up to give Gotrek and Rodi something more menacing to fight than zombies.(SPOILERS AHEAD)What finally broke my will and made me wants to finish this book as quickly as possible was the anticlimatic ending : The last 30-40 pages introduces many new character who don't have time to be properly developed, and see the return of fan-favourite Max Schreiber. But more on him latter. Theses last pages feels like an epilogue, or a follow-up to the story, rather than a proper ending. Like "I have 50 more pages to fill, how the hell am I going to finish this ?"...So, yes, I also have a problem with Max being here. He doesn't add anything to the story. It feels like he's been thrown here as fan service, or to add a bit of excitement to a story that stopped short a few chapters ago. A random Gold wizard could have played the same role in the story, except for a few minor points.I could write about Kat's MORE THAN unlikely survival at the end, about how Snorri's character was demolished in two books, and how the feeling of sheer power was taken out of Gotrek's battle scenes, but i think I made my point about how I feel about this book.(SPOILER ENDS)If I had to mention something I liked, I must say Felix feels really heroic and competent as a leader and as a warrior in this book, far from his whiny persona from earlier entries in the serie.When i first began reading Nathan Long's run on F&G, I felt like the criticism was not deserved. 5 books later, I am exhausted, disappointed and feels the need to write down my first goodreads review. Nathan Long is far from being a bad writer, but I don't think he handled the franchise as it should have been. Good thing then that "Kinslayer" takes place later enough to avoid following the current plotlines and unresolved issues.