One of several Gotrek & Felix short stories which were bundled together to form Trollslayer, the first in the LONG series of ‘nounslayer’ books, The Mutant Master was first published in issue one of Inferno! magazine all the way back in 1997. After having been waylaid by mutants on the route between Altdorf and Middenheim, Gotrek and Felix take their rest in an inn ominously called The Hanged Man. There they hear tell of an evil sorcerer who’s taken the locals’ children hostage, while talk of the sorcerer’s monster piques the doom-seeking slayer’s interest even further.
It’s typical of King’s early stories, the shadowy forests, disgusting mutants and sinister villagers all contributing to a dark and ominous tone that’s nicely balanced out by the odd-couple camaraderie of Gotrek and Felix and the faintly preposterous nature of the situation they find themselves in. King keeps the narrative largely straightforward and his descriptions fairly simple, focusing on the distinctive, entertaining voices of the two protagonists – the bullish grumpiness of Gotrek and Felix’s resigned witticisms – which really carry the story. The mixture of extreme violence and dry, fatalistic humour probably shouldn’t work, but it all ties together into a short but entirely satisfying story that provides a solid introduction for new readers or an endearing little vignette for existing fans.
