Road of Skulls

Wow, this was fun! I'm currently in the process of reading / re-reading the Gotrek and Felix series in order of events rather than the publishing order. It's fun and interesting and a wee bit infuriating as I'm trying to place all the short stories in some semblance of order but also the modern novels are not in the 'Slayer' series line. Of course, the world has been ret-conned but I can hand wave that and try and best guess where the newer books should go.

Well 'Road of Skulls' comes immediately after the short story 'Charnel Congress' (available as an ebook and in the 'Lost Tales' anthology) and is definitely after Trollslayer but before Skavenslayer. One of the things I really liked about this book is that it is epic in nature and indeed some of Gotrek's feats in later novels almost seem overshadowed by events in this one. I think this is an important touch. Due to the nature of the first ten books there was a sense that Gotrek was always searching for bigger and nastier stuff to kill, however it's important to consider that by the time Gotrek and Felix meet Gotrek is already an immense killing machine. By having 'Road of Skulls' having such a tremendous set of foes it also shows that Gotrek simply doesn't 'level up' through the books.

The book also foreshadows 'The End Times'. Whilst I think Games Workshop's destruction of 'The Old World' is akin to a child smashing a toy because they wanted no one else to play with it at least it's given Reynolds novel a bit of added depth. I'm not sure if Reynolds was aware of GW's plans in 2012 when writing the book but it sure seems to click into place with what's passed as 'canon' today.

So the basic plot is a horde of Chaos is besieging the Dwarf stronghold of Karak Kadrin just as Gotrek and Felix turn up. The Chaotic horde is well developed. Sure, there are tons of mooks - the Chaos Marauders and Beastmen are there to be wiped out but there is a complexity and depth to the Khornate legion. The army is led by Garmr, the Gorewolf. He's a centuries old Champion of Chaos endeavouring to slaughter as many as possible to open a portal to the Realm of Chaos, traversing a path from the Chaos Wastes and creating a Road of Skulls. His lieutenants Ekaterina, Hrolf and Canto are plotting against him and each other whilst fearing him in order lead the warband and preserve their own skins. Underneath them still are about six other Champions (with requisite mutations) all trying to defeat their superiors and ascend the hierarchy - such is the way of Chaos.

Reading about the nature of the Army and it's loose associations I had a hankering to dig out the Realms of Chaos books from the late 80's and roll up a warband or two for a skirmish (if I had any minatures and someone to play with that is!). The list of evil foes for the Dwarves isn't complete though - Gorewolf has a deamon hound / monstrosity linked to him by it's soul. It makes Chaos Hounds look like puppy dogs. Gorewolf's cousin is a Tzzentch sorcerer held captive and rounding out the wicked are the Chaos Dwarves with their daemon weapons. Personally I've felt the Chaos Dwarves are a minor part of the world and seeing them feature here makes me hanker for more. Reynolds has one twisted imagination as the Chaos Dwarves have rather ingenious and tortuous ways to achieve their goals.

The book is action packed from start to finish and exceptionally violent and gory. The genocidal nature of Chaos isn't flinched away from and this isn't a book to read if you're not found of skulls getting smashed in by hammers on every page.

As someone who has never been a 'give all my money to GW for minatures' kind of guy but someone who is aware of the world on the periphery through roleplaying sometimes the Gotrek and Felix books can be a bit 'here's an army list you can buy - now watch them fight'. That happens here - the first half of the book seems like a giant battle - what saves it is the perspective of the various Chaos champions and also that the action is well put together. The pacing is fast and the siege in particular is nail biting. The use of siege giants is particularly graphic and evocative.

We see a lot more of Dwarf culture in Road of Skulls and it stacks up well with the backstory of Gotrek which we get in Orcslayer. I've never been mad for Dwarves but in the two novels where their culture is explored more fully both authors have presented a dying race of millennia with an unbending culture.

The interaction between Gotrek and Felix is a bit off as other reviewers have commented but I would like to add to this in defence of Reynolds - this is early in Felix's career and is the first time he has engaged a 'world ending' enemy and an 'army'. He isn't yet the swordsman he becomes and can't yet hang in battle. For those who have read much of the series this isn't the Felix we know, but it is probably the Felix you remember after Trolslayer.

This isn't great fiction by any stretch but as a quick fantasy novel it's a lot of fun. It's a page turner and an easy read. Unlike some of the short stories post King and Long this feels like it belongs in the overarching story.