‘The One Road’ – David Guymer (Black Library)


Page Count: 38 Pages

It’s like God doesn’t want me to have broadband… Every time I think I’ve got it sorted, something happens and I’m back to square one. Oh well, next time’s the charm, lets see if tomorrow is the day it happens.

Sorry, mini-rant over. Lets talk about ‘The One Road’… ;o)

Out for the count and oblivious to the world around him, Gotrek Gurnisson becomes a prime target for the vengeful Sylvaneth. Can the bold riders of the Freeguild Cavaliers reach the stricken baggage train containing the blacked-out Slayer before the forest warriors do?

So… When is a Gotrek tale not a Gotrek tale (and is, all at the same time)? When it’s ‘The One Road’. I love the fact that Gotrek sleeps through practically the whole thing and only wakes up right at the end… and it’s still a Gotrek tale. Freeguild rider Elsworn may well do all the heavy lifting as far as the plot goes but at the same time, Vogel is more worried about disturbing Gotrek than he is about the Sylvaneth warriors attacking the wagon. That’s the presence Gotrek has in this tale and Guymer is happy to push it, just to see how much he can get away with. He got away with it, I loved this slightly playful approach to Gotrek’s latest misadventure.

I alluded to it already but it’s worth mentioning again. Just because Gotrek is out of it, the story still has plenty of legs in it. I really enjoyed the scene setting although I did wonder why the settlers didn’t just build a city somewhere where they could have more than one road… It’s definitely eye-catching though and that’s the main thing really (that and the frontier vibe that I always enjoy in AoS fiction). And Elsworn’s fight with the Sylvaneth Matriarch was just flat out awesome, full of spectacle and saying loads about the two fighters at the same time. I got a lot out of that and wouldn’t say no to more fiction (hopefully longer next time?) featuring Elsworn.

‘The One Road’ ended up being a bit of a gem then, I wasn’t expecting what I found here but it was so much fun, I’m not complaining. Grab ‘The One Road’ for your Kindle or wait for it to appear as an extra in a future ‘Gotrek’ book. Either way, do give it a go.

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