I had the guilty pleasure of reading a rare,
autographed copy of Elfslayer by
Nathan Long (Black Library Publications, 2008). The book is currently out of print but may be found on ebay
or in used bookstores for various prices (some quite high).
Nathan Long took over the helm of writing the Felix
and Gotrek novels from William King, the original creator of the grim dwarf
Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson and his hapless human companion poet warrior Felix
Jaeger, somewhere in the middle of the Third Omnibus edition containing Giantslayer, Orcslayer, and Manslayer. I was skeptical that Long could be true
to King’s legacy but must admit that the transition was all but seamless.
Another thing that worried me (needlessly as it turned
out) is the whole idea of slaying elves.
Having grown up with Tolkien’s version of the elder race, the thought of
slaying an elf was anathema.
However, in the world of Felix and Gotrek, there are two distinct kinds
of elves--light and dark. The dark
elves of Long’s world are akin to the anti-paladins of Dungeons &
Dragons--unspeakably beautiful and unspeakably cruel and decadent. These elves could use a bit o’ slayin’!
The duo forays into the dark world of the dark elves
in order to recover a stolen magic harp, which in the wrong hands could be used
to destroy the world. Dogging (or
ratting) their every move is their secret nemesis, the rat man Grey Seer
Thanquol of the skaven and his mutant companion Boneripper.
Elfslayer is
formulaic, derivative, and melodramatic, but somehow original and just a plain
old great read at the same time. I
wish I knew how King and now Long accomplished this, but their Felix and Gotrek
stories have always sung to me, and Elfslayer
was no exception.
