‘The Beast of Grey Gardens’ – David Guymer (Black Library)


Page Count: 32 Pages

I actually got a fair bit done this weekend, ranging from putting my new bed together to being told to move along by the police in Greenwich; turns out that the only place you could actually see the marathon runners was the one place where you weren’t allowed to stand and watch them… Oh well ;o) One thing I didn’t get much (if any time) for was reading but I did briefly conquer my fear of maths just enough to help my eldest do her homework so… it all balanced out. I did want to read something though (I get all fidgety if I don’t) so went straight to my Kindle and an ‘Age of Sigmar’ short story that I’d left there, just for a situation like this. I absolutely loved how David Guymer approached Gotrek in ‘The One Road’ so when I saw ‘The Beast of Grey Gardens’, it was an easy purchase. Let me tell you a bit about it (quick thoughts as I have quite the day ahead of me)…

Tun and the Loose Cannons take their new recruit, Gotrek, on a routine patrol of the sewers, only to get dragged into an adventure way beyond their abilities with a hunt for the mythical 'Cyclestone Cockatrice' and a glorious doom.

If you’re looking for another read like ‘The One Road’ then I’ll be honest, you won’t find it here. Having said that though, don’t let that stop you from picking up ‘The Beast of Grey Gardens’. While ‘The One Road’ adopted an experimental approach to tacking Gotrek, ‘The Beast of Grey Gardens’ is a more straightforward ‘find the monster and kill it’ tale and that is just as much fun.

Guymer clearly knows what he’s about as far as setting out a fight, on the page, goes. The outcome is never in doubt (Gotrek is far too good at what he does, does that make him the worst Troll Slayer ever?) but Guymer gives us just enough moments where we think that it could be and that is the hook that keeps you reading. Could we be reading the final Gotrek story? Maybe… That on it’s own is cool enough, Guymer’s eye for spectacle is a welcome bonus, he just knows how to keep you reading. I’m looking at you, ‘moment where they realise that the Cockatrice was there the whole time’… Add zombies to the mix and I was a very happy reader.

There’s more to it than that though. We kind of know what will happen with Gotrek so Guymer works hard to give us a supporting cast that we can get behind in the meantime, and fair play to him for getting so much detail into such a small space. I came out of it feeling like I really knew Tun and his Loose Cannons, and a little bit sad for the one who didn’t make it.

Definitely worth a read then. I don’t know how these things work. I suspect that Darius Hinks is the man to look to for more ‘Gotrek’ novels but I’d be more than happy to see David Guymer try his hand at a novel length tale. Fingers crossed.

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