Ask.... DAVID GUYMER

[Lord of the Night]

Hey David,

I'm currently reading Kinslayer and quite enjoying it, especially with the whole End Times going on. I just have a question based on one or two lines in the early chapters, i'm at Chapter 5 atm. It's probably a stupid question and likely i'm just misunderstanding or reading waay too far into that misunderstanding but;

"Ah, I see," said Felix, returning his attention to the letter and reading through narrowed eyes as Kat slid a consoling arm around Otto's elbow and hugged him to her.

That line, when Otto leads Kat out of the room by her arm and the fact that she wears one of Otto's wife's robes made me wonder for a moment. Is it possible that the child she carries isn't Felix's?? It seems like a stupid question because I don't think Felix would miss adultery and because Kat in no way seems like the type to cheat, especially with that very nice POV of her's before Ulrika showed up (It made me go awww.) But... I don't know, something about that quoted passage just seemed off.

(And yes I do believe her when she's says pregnant for two reasons. 1; Parts of her sickness do seem like pregnancy, and 2; Vampires lie every single time they open their mouths so I don't believe Ulrika.)

Also just a personal observation on Felix's comparison of Ulrika and Kat; He's an utter moron.


LotN

[WarlordGuymer]

I wouldn't say Felix is a moron exactly, just a guy - I tried to put myself in his shoes and imagine what it would be like to meet a high school or university girlfriend and find myself ten-twenty years older while she looks exactly the same. Also, my re-reading of the King books in particular leads me to conclude that Felix can be a bit of a tool at times. He's fallible though, and that's why he's such an engaging character.

Hehe, I hadn't intended for Kat to be running around behind Felix's back, but hey, layers of subtext, man. No, Kat's just a nice person that feels her brother-in-law's pain and can't afford a night robe of her own

[Lord of the Night]

I wouldn't say Felix is a moron exactly, just a guy - I tried to put myself in his shoes and imagine what it would be like to meet a high school or university girlfriend and find myself ten-twenty years older while she looks exactly the same. Also, my re-reading of the King books in particular leads me to conclude that Felix can be a bit of a tool at times. He's fallible though, and that's why he's such an engaging character.

Hehe, I hadn't intended for Kat to be running around behind Felix's back, but hey, layers of subtext, man. No, Kat's just a nice person that feels her brother-in-law's pain and can't afford a night robe of her own

True, Felix is a great character but he's far from flawless. Though as Ulrika notes he has that edge to back up the unwitting condecension he used to have. I think that ultimately Felix Jaeger is a hero, one with flaws yes, but he makes up for those flaws by being a genuinely loyal and brave person.

Yeah, after her POV in the Shallyan Hospice I leaned more towards that.

Currently i'm at Chapter 11 and so far the absolute best/most awesome part of this book has been;

Spoiler: Aekold Helbrass!! I never thought we'd ever see him again, and he's just as badass as he used to be in the old Chaos army books. Biggest surprise though was that it was Felix freaking Jaeger who killed him, granted with some help and some luck but when you fight an opponent like Helbrass, you need all the luck you can get.

What made you choose to bring Helbrass in the story?? And what was it like being responsible for the death of a formerly major character in the Chaos roster??

Edit: Finished Kinslayer. My eyes were watering by the end, for poor Gotrek, for Felix and for poor poor Snorri Nosebiter. I even felt a little bad for Ulrika, and surprisingly even Throgg was a sympathetic character. I think that Kinslayer is, without a doubt, one of the best G&F novels of the entire series up there with Daemonslayer and Road of Skulls. And with that epilogue, I think that Slayer could be the best of them all.

I do have a few questions now, stuff i'd love to know;

1. Is Throgg the Winter King dea?? Trolls seem near impervious to everything and yet a fall from that height could smash him without any hope of regeneration.

2. Was it your decision to have Snorri be responsible for what befell Gotrek's family or was it something that was planned earlier in the series??

3. By the end it felt, to me, that Max had taken a step towards being a Nagash/Teclis level sorcerer. Was that intentional or am I off the mark??

4. Is Gustav free of Ulrika's influence now that she's dead or is he still a thrall??

5. What does it feel like to have written the G&F book where Gotrek's shame has finally been revealed?? We all guessed at what it was but the exact circumstances were still shocking, especially the final reveal that led to that final heartbreaking scene.

6. Is Kat actually getting stronger or is it just her wishful thinking?? Also will Kat be more prominent in Slayer??

Thanks in advance for what you can answer. I am now both anticipating and dreading reading Slayer, anticipating because I can't wait to see Gotrek and Felix face what will be the greatest and final challenge of their lives, and dreading because I really want this story to have a good ending for at least Felix and Kat and my inner cynic tells me that Slayer will be an even sadder story than Kinslayer. But I think back over all the other books when G&F have triumphed over impossible odds, and part of me thinks that Be'lakor doesn't quite grasp what he's going to face soon.


LotN

[WarlordGuymer]

Glad you enjoyed it, I'm rather pleased by the positive feedback I've been getting but it's also made me mightily nervous about how well Slayer is going to measure up! I just finished that and sent it to the editor today, so fingers crossed

The rest, I'll answer in here...

Spoiler: Aekold Helbrass - the editors gave me a list of three or four old school Chaos characters to bring back, originally for a giant battle around Praag to show what an anarchic state the world's in, but it ended up with just Helbrass. He and my imagination just hit it off and he was a good foil for the abilities of Ulrika and Roch. And fuck yeah, having him rip down the Auric Bastion and turn Vlad into a cloud of bats is probably the most awesome sequence of events I'll ever get to write

1. Is Throgg the Winter King dead??
Someone else asked me this question. For me he's dead, and I was going to have a scene showing him getting set upon by the conquerers of his city, but by that point it was Gotrek and Snorri time and I couldn't cut into that. Of course, if anyone wants to bring him back at a later date, they'd have every right to say he could've survived.

2. Was it your decision to have Snorri be responsible for what befell Gotrek's family or was it something that was planned earlier in the series??
All me, I'm afraid. There was one scene in Dragonslayer that shows Snorri's doom is something to do with a woman and a child, but that's it. I'm not sure if he'd had plans to expand on that at all. It fit neatly though, which is easier said than done in a 20 book series!

3. By the end it felt, to me, that Max had taken a step towards being a Nagash/Teclis level sorcerer. Was that intentional or am I off the mark??
Intentional. The wierding up of the Winds of Magic by Nagash and others have 'done things' to the poor fellow. He'll be kicking ass and taking names in Slayer, have no doubt.

4. Is Gustav free of Ulrika's influence now that she's dead or is he still a thrall??
Yes and no, you'll have to wait and see

5. What does it feel like to have written the G&F book where Gotrek's shame has finally been revealed?? We all guessed at what it was but the exact circumstances were still shocking, especially the final reveal that led to that final heartbreaking scene.
It was so well planned out to make sure nothing contradicted what had already been written by King or Long or any of the short stories (a lot also comes from Ben McCallum's Prophecy in the anthology) that I didn't think too much about that. A lot of the information was out there in various places it just hadn't been pulled together and spelled out. I was more worried that people would be violently upset about Snorri and Ulrika

6. Is Kat actually getting stronger or is it just her wishful thinking?? Also will Kat be more prominent in Slayer?
I think she is, though her role in Slayer will again have to come under the 'wait and see' category

[Lord of the Night]

Hey David,

http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-at-bl/s ... -20th.html

Love the interview. It's very anticipation-raising and ominous, it does raise one question from me though. When exactly is this set?? For reference Karaz-a-Karak falls in 2227 according to End Times: Thanquol, prior to that Middenheim fell to Archaon and the Skaven. And leaks on the internet have shown that Be'lakor is present in End Times: Archaon, so is this book set before, during or after the final End Times sourcebook??

I agree with you on the best villains there. Arek Daemonclaw was a great enemy, and the Bloodthirster of Karag Dum was the first truly epic villain that G&F fought (I still think their battle with him was one of the greatest in the entire series) and Thanquol is Thanquol; undiluted awesomeness on every page even when he's being a paranoia-fuelled failure (to me at least).

Also it does feel like a long ride is coming to an end. I'm not one of the people who was there for the very first G&F novel but I have read the majority of the series, some still need reading, and I for one can't wait to find out what doom could possibly be worthy of Gotrek Gurnisson. And I really hope that Felix and Kat manage to get somewhere safe and ride out the apocalypse like Gotrek wanted them to. *Fingers crossed*


LotN

[WarlordGuymer]

Like in Kinslayer, Slayer comes with dates in it, but I can probably say that it's set in 2527 prior to the fall of Karaz-a-Karak.

And I'm glad you liked the interview, it's always nice to be asked and they tend to be quite fun to do. What's better than getting to talk about your book?

Which books have you missed out on?

[Lord of the Night]

I have all of the G&F books, but I have not yet read Orcslayer and onwards to Zombieslayer. I'll get around to them eventually.

Also after reading BL's article on the Top 5 G&F Villains (Thanquol is number 5?! Thanquol should be number 1!) I am worried about Slayer now, because of this line; "We won’t spoil the tragic events of the new novel." I hope they are talking about Felix and Gotrek's relationship and not foreshadowing a sad ending to the series.

I really want Felix and Kat to make it, and if Gotrek has to die let it be a doom worthy of the greatest Slayer since Grimnir.


LotN

[WarlordGuymer]

Orcslayer has its moments, but Nathan really hits his stride in Manslayer. And Elfslayer is up there with the very best of Bill King's.

I just looked at the list. Very good of them to put Be'lakor first. Naturally I have no complaints

[Lord of the Night]

And Elfslayer is up there with the very best of Bill King's.

I just looked at the list. Very good of them to put Be'lakor first. Naturally I have no complaints

In no small part due to a certain fearsome and mighty sorcerer's presence in it, i'm sure.

Ah yes, him. In Archaon's words "Always the crowner, never the crowned." At least Seerlord Thanquol is planning to Starscream Skreech Verminking, only he'll you know... succeed where Starscream always failed.


LotN