Following on from where David Guymer left off with Realmslayer, Robbie MacNiven’s novella The Bone Desert follows Gotrek Gurnisson and his reluctant companion Maleneth as they weather assassination attempts, the elements and each other’s company. Having learned of an inscription hinting at the location of Gotrek’s axe, the unlikely pair are travelling through the arid Bone Desert, heading for the distant city of the Eight Pillars. Despite Maleneth’s attempts to steer them towards an outpost of her Order, Gotrek single-mindedly sets his sights on the city, however it seems there are others who don’t want them to reach their goal.
It’s a familiar type of story for Gotrek & Felix fans – an eventful journey through a bleak landscape, populated with plenty of enemies to battle and lots of opportunities for Gotrek to grumble about treacherous aelfs and hapless manlings. As usual Gotrek is shown from a remove, observed through the eyes of his companion, and it’s as entertaining and satisfying as ever to watch the grouchy slayer bludgeon his way through life. The plot takes a few twists and turns, but Gotrek always takes the direct route – which is just as it should be! Maleneth makes for an enjoyable viewpoint character, a little more confident in her abilities and a fair bit less trusted than Felix ever was, and it’s interesting to learn more about her past and dig a little into what she’s really thinking.
MacNiven gets the feel of the characters just right, and in particular Gotrek is definitely Gotrek…just with an added pinch of Age of Sigmar-esque flair. He’s gradually starting to get his head around the Mortal Realms, but is still as mistrustful as ever and furious at the state of his people – we meet some Kharadrons here and suffice to say Gotrek isn’t impressed – while we also find out a little bit more of how he really feels about the world(s), his role and his relationship with the gods. It’s interesting to expand on the obsessions he’s carried over from the Old World – Felix, his axe, and his nemesis; in particular he’s accepted (at least on the surface) that Felix is gone, but the threat posed by Thanquol is still in the forefront of his mind.
Where it differs from most of the old Gotrek and Felix stories is in the absence of a single major enemy to fight, as it’s more about the journey than one big battle, although there are still some entertaining obstacles to be overcome. It’s probably best to read this having already listened to Realmslayer, as there would otherwise be a few spoilers – not too many, but significant nonetheless – but that being said there’s a good balance here between it working as a standalone story, and also feeling like part of the ongoing Gotrek saga. It’s nice to see the forward motion of this arc continuing, and while this doesn’t push things forward too far it’s another enjoyable step along the path.
The Bone Desert is book 9 in the Black Library Novella Series 1. You can read reviews of the rest of this series by following this link.
Check out the main Age of Sigmar reviews page on Track of Words.
