| Title | : | First and Only (Gaunts Ghosts, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1841542687 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781841542683 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1999 |
For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only – better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth. With enemies all around them and no one to trust, Gaunt and his men must find a way to save the warmaster and prevent the Sabbat Worlds Crusade from falling into anarchy – even if it means waging war on their supposed allies.
Read by Toby Longworth.
First and Only (Gaunts Ghosts, #1) Reviews
-
"Give any man the power of a god, and you better hope he's got the wisdom and morals of a god to match. There's nothing feeble about my moral line. I value life. That's why I fight to protect it. I mourn every man I lose and every sacrifice I make. One life or a billion, they're all lives."
I knew nothing going into this book. I have never played Warhammer 40k, I have never watched it being played, I never had a man who was into Warhammer40k – my usual way of brushing my fingertips against the gaming world. I went into this book with NO knowledge, no background and no preconceived notions. I picked this up entirely on a whim. “Let's see what Abnett can do with a rank amateur,” I thought.
We'll cover the good and the bad and the ugly, but first a run-down.
Drayl wasn't dead. Something insidious and appalling was blistering inside the sack of his skin. He rose, first from the hips and then to his feet. By the time he was standing, he was twice human size, his uniform and skin splitting to accommodate the twisting, enlarging skeletal structure that was transmuting within him.
Corbec didn't want to look. He didn't want to see the bony thing which was erupting from Drayl's flesh. Watery blood and fluid spat from Drayl as the Chaos infection grew something within him, something that burst out and stepped free of the shredded carcass that it had once inhabited.
The Emperor is like God. Everyone uses his name as we would use God's. He rules the universe. He is conquering the universe world by world. Our protagonist works for the Emperor, he is Commissar Ibram Gaunt. Gaunt leads a regiment of about 2,000 men from the dead world of Tanith. Tanith was destroyed by “the forces of darkness” - rebels who resist the Emperor.
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."
Obviously, Star Wars, but you get the idea.
The 2,000+ men who were on a ship about to be sent to war wherever the Emperor needed them are the only Tanith survivors. That's why they are called the “ghosts” - once all of them are dead there will be nothing left of Tanith - they are also stealth experts. Gaunt leads them, but he is not Tanith.
The “dark forces” are Chaos-driven and use runes and poison and spells and mind control. They are depicted as crazy, corrupted, evil, and often drive men working for the Emperor to cannibalize each other, go crazy and murder each other, hallucinate, etc. etc. “Psykers” are psychic people working on both sides of the war, they practice the dark arts and can do things like psychically control others and predict the future and read minds.
Okay, that's basically it. Let's break it down.
THE GOOD
Abnett is a skilled writer. I highly enjoyed his writing and his descriptions. His environmental descriptions (especially of alien worlds) and his descriptions of fights are also pretty great.
The night sky was matt and dark, like the material of the fatigues they wore, day after day. The dawn stabbed in, as silent and sudden as a knife-wound, welling up a dull redness through the black cloth of the sky.
Eventually the sun rose, casting raw amber light down over the trench lines. The star was big, heavy and red, like a rotten, roasted fruit. Dawn lighting cracked a thousand kilometres away.
Here's a fight:
Gaunt was dressed now in his full dress uniform and cap, the camo-cloak of his adopted regiment swirling about his shoulders, his face a mask of bellowing rage. In one hand he held his bolt pistol and in the other his chainsword, which whined and sang in the early morning air.
"In the name of Tanith! Now they are on us and we must fight! Hold the line and hold your fire until they come over the mud wall!
Caffran felt a rejoicing in his soul. The commissar was with them and they would succeed, no matter the odds. Then something closed down his world with a vibratory shock that blew mud up into the air and seemed to separate his spirit from his body.
The section of trench had taken a direct hit. Dozens of men were dead. Caffran lay stunned in the broken line of duckboards and splattered mud. A hand grabbed him by the shoulder and hauled him up. Blinking, he looked up to see the face of Gaunt. Gaunt looked at him with a solemn, yet inspiring gaze.
"Sleeping after a good breakfast?" the commissar enquired of the bewildered trooper.
"No sir... I... I..."
The crack of lasguns and needle lasers began to whip around them from the armoured loopholes on the trench head. Gaunt wrenched Caffran back to his feet.
"I think the time has come," Gaunt said, "and I'd like all of my brave men to be in the line of fire with me when we advance."
Spitting out grey mud, Caffran laughed. "I'm with you, sir," he said, "from Tanith to wherever we end up."
Caffran heard the whine of Gaunt's chainsword as the commissar leapt up the scaling ladder nailed into the trench wall above the firestep and yelled to his men.
"Men of Tanith! Do you want to live forever?"
Their reply, loud and raucous, was lost in the barrage of shells. But Ibram Gaunt knew what they had said.
Weapons blazing, Gaunt's Ghosts went over the top and blasted their way towards glory, death or whatever else awaited them in the smoke.
It's very Conan the Barbarian, I understand that. But the fights – even the space fights! - are exciting and fun to read, highly described in an interesting way and very graphic.
Abnett also has great conversations between the characters.
He would not lose face before these walking flesh-worms.
CLASSIC! LOL LOL LOL :D Flesh-worms referring to humans, of course, otherwise it wouldn't be nearly as funny.
Abnett is very slow on the character development, but by the end you are going “awwwwww!” at some of the men's interactions.
“Don't trouble yourself with it, Dorden,” Gaunt said, flexing his arm again against the medic's advice. It stung, ached, throbbed. “You've worked your usual magic. Stay impartial. Don't get drawn in.”
"Impartial? Do you know something, Ibram Gaunt?"
Gaunt blinked as if slapped. No one had spoken to him with such paternal authority since the last time he had been in the company of his Uncle Dercius. No... not the last time...
Dorden turned back, wiping the tools on sheets of white lint. "Forgive me, commissar. I - I'm speaking out of turn."
"Speak anyway, friend."
Awwwww! How about this:
Zoren had ordered his men to set lasweapons for maximum discharge. He hoped colonel-Commissar Gaunt would forgive the extravagance, but the Jantine heavy troops wore notoriously thick armour.
You may be reading this like, “How is that 'awwww'?” but it totally is “awwwww” if you read the book! LOL
But as I said, it takes a while for this to build up. In the beginning you are not going to care about anyone. Abnett isn't as skilled as some other sci-fi authors in this.
Another good point is the story is comprehensible and interesting enough. I was afraid I wouldn't understand any of it and that the endless war would bore me, but I think Abnett does well with plotting.
THE BAD
Endless war and gore and filth. If you do not enjoy reading about battles, people dying in horrible ways all the time, and the filth and stink of battle, this is not going to make you happy. It's not exactly pleasant.
Ibram Gaunt leapt down into the trench and broke the neck of the first Shriven he met with his descending boots. The chainsword screamed in his fist and as he reached the duckboards of the enemy emplacement he swung it left and right to cut two more apart in drizzles of blood. Another charged him, a great curved blade in his hand. Gaunt raised his bolt pistol and blew the masked head into vapour.
This was the thickest fighting Gaunt and his men had encountered on Fortis, caught in the frenzied narrows of the enemy trenches, sweeping this way and that to meet the incessant advance of the Shriven. Pinned behind the commissar, Brin Milo fired his own weapon, a compact automatic handgun that the commissar had given him some months before. He killed one - a bullet between the eyes - then another, winging him first and then putting a bullet into his upturned chin as he flailed backwards. Milo shivered. This was the horror of war that he had always dreamt of, yet never wished to see. Passionate men caught against each other in a dug out hole three metres side and six deep. The Shriven were monsters, almost elephantine with the long, nozzled gas masks sewn into the flesh of their faces. Their body armour was a dull industrial green and rubberised. They had taken the protective garb of their workspace and made it their battle dress, daubing everything with eye-aching symbols.
Slammed against the trench wall by a falling body, Milo looked down at the corpses which gathered around them. He saw for the first time, in detail, the nature of his foe... the twisted, corrupted human forms of the Chaos host, incised with twisted runes and sigils painted on the dull green rubber of their armour or carved into their raw flesh.
THE UGLY
There's no women in this. I don't know, I don't know if this is Abnett or if this is simply the constraints of the game, but there are NO women soldiers. In addition to that sadness, there are NO peripheral women either. No wives, no daughters, no mothers. In addition to THAT, the men don't even seek out the company of women on leave. It's weird. They drink a lot, brawl, and gamble. But they show zero interest in females. There's a part in the book where all the soldiers are on leave and some of them are in a bar where a woman is stripping. They all completely ignore her and don't even give her a second glance.
On stage, the girl had just shed her final, tiny garment and was in the process of twirling it around one finger prior to hurling it into the crowd. When she realised no one was watching, she stomped off in a huff.
It's highly bizarre. I mean, as a feminist I want female characters. Even if I was NOT a feminist, as a woman I want female characters, it's boring to only have men. I think Abercrombie or Martinez are better at writing military science fiction because women are allowed to be in the military and allowed to be big players in the books. It's strange to me that you'd want to strip your world of all colors and be plunged into a grey one, but I'm not a man. Perhaps being only around men for the rest of eternity is a rich existence and deeply satisfying, not the reason everyone is insane and constantly killing each other. :p But seriously, books and worlds are a billion times richer and more interesting with women in them. Even if, for some reason, we were in the dark ages on women's abilities to pull a trigger, the book could still have included women as girlfriends, spies, assassins, sisters, mothers, and daughters. This is hugely detrimental to the book.
I kept having hope. “Oh, now they are on leave! Surely they will meet some women on leave,” I thought. Nope! Complete disinterest in females. Then, one night, Gaunt is wandering on the ship alone at night, looking at the engines which are said to drive men mad – but he finds them “soothing,” and
But there was a blade at his throat.
PART TWO
There was no sense of anyone behind him - no shadow, no heat, no sound or smell of breath. It was as if the cold sharpness under his chin had arrived there unaccompanied. He knew at once he was at the mercy of a formidable opponent.
“Oooooh,” I thought. “The assassin is going to be female! I just know it!” WRONG. Another man. How BORING. This book is getting a whole star taken off by me because it insists on handicapping itself by excluding half of the human population!!!! For no discernible reason.
Not to be crass,
Gaunt took the segment, scooping the cluster of seeds and pith out of its core with a finger. In its smile of husky, oil-wet rind, the fruit was salmon-pink, ripe and heavy with water and juice. He bit into it as he strode away, waving his thanks to his men.
It was sweet. Cool. The fresh fruit disintegrated in his hungry mouth and flooded his throat with rich, sugary fluid. Juice dribbled down his chin.
You obviously need a woman badly... no joke.
They don't masturbate either, so the whole thing is very very weird.
On the other hand, this might have something to do with kids reading this? I can't imagine, but perhaps reading about people hacking into each other in graphic detail with chainswords (YES, chainsaw swords! You heard me!) is fine but something like having a female in a book, or swearing, is completely off limits. They don't swear in here, either. Everyone says "feth" instead of fuck (because that's how they say 'fuck' on Tanith, apparently) and they never say any swears. A soldier says 'crap' at one point and I'm like, "Really? Really? I NEVER met a veteran who didn't swear up a storm." It's hard for me to believe male children would be the audience for this, but what do I know? Perhaps the majority of Warhammer 40k players are 12-year-old boys.
P.S. This isn't an all-white novel, Abnett seems to think skin color is determined by planet - everyone from Tanith is white, as is our hero, Gaunt, but the valiant and super-efficient Vidrian troops are all black men and moreover all have names starting with Z for some reason.
Tl;dr - Star Wars meets Conan meets Riddick. Except lesser than any of these movies because there are no females. Sad. This could have really been great, especially with Abnett's fun and descriptive writing.
His face was blank, and his eyes were no longer pleading and trapped. They were gone, in fact. A fierce green light raged inside his skull, making his eyes pupilless slits of lime fire. His mouth lolled open and a similar glow shone out, back-lighting his teeth. With one simple, direct motion, he pulled the Tanith knife out of his chest. There was no more blood, just a shaft of bright green light poking from the wound.
With a sigh of finality, Gaunt knew that the psychic puppetry was continuing. The man, who had been a helpless thrall of the psyker magic when he first attacked, was now reanimated by abominable sorcery.
It would function long enough to win this fight.
It would kill him.
Gaunt battled with his senses to keep awake, to get up, to run. He was blacking out.
The rating swayed towards him, like zumbay from the old myths of the non-dead, eyes shining, expression blank, the Tanith blade that had killed him clutched in his claw of a hand.
The dead thing raised the knife to strike.
P.P.S. ALSO, you'd think if your entire planet was wiped out and you were the last 2,000 of your kind, you'd show SOME interest in reproducing. Just a thought. Instead they just moan and whine a lot about being the last. -
So begins my epic re-read of the entire Gaunts Ghosts series prior to reading the final part, Anarch. It was strange to return to the very first novel, which I first read about ten years ago. Re-reading it brought home how the series has changed, the prose gradually sharpening up while the structure of the novels have become less ambitious. Later entries in the series, and most of Abnett's writing to be honest, have been extremely linear. While not the 'bolter porn' of lesser Black Library authors, they are certainly less complex in structure than First and Only. This book dances around in time, has twists and turns that sometimes genuinely blindside you, and feels like an author trying to impress. Perhaps Abnett has become a bit too secure in his success? Regardless, this is a fun if slightly cliche-ridden military sci-fi. A very fine novel in its own right, and a promising start to the series.
If you're interested in getting into 40k this is a classic recommendation, but on balance I'd probably recommend Brothers of the Snake -
Don't let the fact that this should be mass produced Warhammer 40k garbage throw you. Dan Abnett has a particular talent for this kind of story and a lot to offer even those of us who are not really into the 40k universe.
First and Only covers a major campaign in the Ghosts' history and is a good introduction to the Imperial Legions or whatever they are and how the various troop interactions work between the different companies that are harvested from different worlds. This book has a lot of interesting political intrigue stuff and really gives you a good idea of how things work in this massive, galactic, theologically driven society.
One of the more interesting parts of this book is the structure. Every other chapter is a flash back to some point in history. Usually it is some time in Gaunt's life before he was in charge of the Tanith First and Only that explains how he got to where he is or why he takes certain actions. It is a very cool way to add back story to Gaunt's character in an interesting way.
At its heart, this is basically just a really hardcore space marine war book. It reminded me a lot of the book Armour, as it is basically just 300 pages of horrifying war against horrifying creatures. One thing that makes it stand out in my mind is the characterization of the various Ghosts. They are all believable and, for the most part, Abnett doesn't have any stereotypical cop-out archetypes, as you might expect. -
I should not like this series, and everyone I know agrees with me. I can't help it! I sometimes indulge in military fiction, but never, never Warhammer. I only dared to read the first book because I had heard that there was more to it than I assumed (and the covers let on). Good characters, messed up plots, and Gaunt is a badass. Sometimes it does get a bit over my head, probably because of my utter Warhammer-ignorance, or maybe because it's getting a bit too military (I like to believe it's the first part there) and sometimes the plot does move a little more quickly than I like. A plot moving too fast for me is a rarity, but I think that it proves that I was enjoying the book and don't want it to go by so fast.
So, whatever, this series is my guilty pleasure. -
THE EMPEROR FUCKING PROTECTS.
-
En el despiadado universo del lejano futuro solo hay guerra, dicen los de GW.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Aventuras del Comisario Imperial Gaunt, uno de los pocos con el permiso para dirigir personalmente un regimiento, y de sus soldados, los Primeros de Tanith (también conocidos como los Fantasmas de Gaunt), que nos lleva atrás en el tiempo para narrarnos los tiempos de cadete del protagonista y otros posteriores, mientras nos cuenta las operaciones de Gaunt y sus hombres en diferentes escenarios. Primer libro de la serie Los Fantasmas de Gaunt.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/... -
Pegas: No hay un solo personaje femenino (bueno sale una vidente medio loca y una bailarina de striptease), la mayor parte de los personajes son un boceto y poco mas (el cachas, el francotirador lacónico, el contrabandista,...), los malos (que son malisimos por supuesto) no son mas que blancos móviles a los que disparar.
Pero a pesar de ello ahí que admitir que la novela es divertida y el ritmo trepidante: emboscadas, peligros ocultos, pequeños flashbacks contando el pasado de algún personaje, traiciones, luchas entre capítulos de la Guardia.
Un 3: Entretenida -
Band of Brothers battles Star Wars' Dark Siths in Lord of The Ring's Mount Doom.
-
Why has it taken me 10 years to finally read this book that one of my good friends told me to read back then? Stubborn I guess, who knows. Anyway, Dan Abnett's first 40K novel is well paced and very intriguing. He is my favorite of the Black Library's current authors and probably the best Marine author they have. Hear he starts the story of Gaunt and his First and Only Ghosts. They are an excellent regiment of imperial guard, and much like Abnett breathed life into the Lunar Wolves, and the Iron Snakes Space Marine chapters, here he delivers really great action and characters that are drawn of the race that makes up the galactic empire the Astartes are bred to protect. These troopers are not genetically modified or psychologically indoctrinated into the Mantra of the Emperor, they are men, fallible, weak, courageous men, and this tale is worth reading.
-
Three and a half stars, I guess?
This was a fun read, quite breezy. The pacing is very well-done, and the sequences move on briskly. The action is also very well-written, especially the massive battle sequence that begins the book proper.
There are a lot of characters, and the book is of modest length. So some of the characters only manage to be quick, rough sketches. Unfortunately the main character, Ibram Gaunt, is pretty much just a square-jawed hero, which makes him somewhat boring. I enjoyed the complexity of the antagonist Flense. Of the good guys, I liked Corbec and Mad Larkin. Corbec, because he's a halfway interesting character, and Larkin because I am fond of the cold sniper archetype.
The intrigue in the book was also a little half-baked and predictable, perhaps the signs of an onrushing deadline. Overall the book was enjoyable, but forgettable. -
This was the second time I've read the novel. The first time was in 2007 (one of the first novels I've read for Black Library) and now. Since I didn't follow with the rest of the series I thought about it and said to myself I would start reading when all finish. We now have all novels so it's a good time to start reading.
This is the first book in 15 novel series plus an anthology. There is also the Double Eagle which is not part of Gaunt BUT it was set on the Sabbat Crusade. IT focus on areal war - highly influenced on Battle of Britain. I believe Titanicus is also set there but I can't confirm for sure.
In this tale we are introduced to Gaunt and his ghosts. One of the most interesting parts is that this is a combination of stories mix with very short stories that connect the dots.
Each story was quite different and I didn't expect that. BUT it was very very entertaining. First of all, I believe this novel set the tone for the coming books (that I have no doubt) but since it was one of the first novels produced by BL it set the tone for Black Library overall.
Dan Abnett it's a great writer, I also have no doubt of it. Gilead's Dead; Double Eagle, Brothers of the Snake and Riders of the Dead are all very good (all 5 stars). (although not totally by him but Darkblade 5 books are a must - Hammers of Ulric is divided for 3 writers and it's really awesome). The only ones I didn't really got into was I am Slaughter and Fell Cargo, and even those are very good. I've read Fell Cargo 10 years ago - more, and I still remember most of the plot.
I have no doubt that he is one of the best of Black Library writers. Unfortunately he is not as prolific as he was in the golden days. Alas...
Imagine a 2 World War setting; now imagine an Commissar (but not one that kills needlessly) and a group of militar personal (around 3000) and the last of their world. When they all died, they world will be just a footnote... Never forget Tanith.
Due to their world geography and fauna they are experts scouts but due to politics they are thrown into the fray and thick of it.
This story begins when a message is intercepted by an astropath and from that moment each story as I said is as different as the last but all with this information in the mix of it. We've got car chases, trenches wars, mystery chase within a massive ship. There are a lot of rivalry inter-regiments and they are more destructive than the proper fight against the cultists and chaos. Have I told you that the baddies are Chaos? They are. Dan Abnett DELIBERATELY don't let us know much of the adversaries because the imperial guard echelons and rivalry are more destructive.
Begin SpoilerI didn't know ao STL template was, and the importance into he great scheme of things.
Of course they talk about it BUT after reading a hundred books plus pages and pages of info dump I finally have a good grasp of the importance of the discovery. I would have no doubt that If the prize for the Sabbat Worlds Campaign was this STL it would very understandable. Killing an entire world would not be so inconceivable so the death of regiment wouldn't even be an issue. -
Surprisingly good..either that or i'm on a four star kick. I approached this thinking it was going to be mindless dribble. I was wrong. Think Band of Brothers but in space battling all kinds of nasty alien forces (this is actually Derek Manus' evaluation of the book, but i find it very apropos). There is also a bunch f infighting which Abnett ties a little too perfectly together.
The writing is solid and the characters are lush, though it's a little confusing at first because a number of them have similar names and you meet about 40 characters during the book. I'm excited to get started on the next one to see where Gaunt takes his regiment of Ghosts next... -
"The series follows the exploits of Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his regiment of scouts and recon specialists, the Tanith First-and-Only (nicknamed Gaunt's Ghosts), as they serve in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Their battles are normally against the forces of Chaos, although they briefly face orks on Typhon Eight. Up until 'Guns of Tanith' the Ghosts are mainly pitted against heretical rebels armies, but on Phantine and in most of the campaigns following it they face the well-trained and elite Blood Pact. By the end of 'Only In Death', the Ghosts have been serving in the Crusade for roughly twelve years. Each novel begins with an extract from a fictional book called 'A History of the Later Imperial Crusades', which briefly explains the situation in which the Ghosts have been deployed. These extracts are written in a past tense, implying that they were written after the Sabbat Worlds Crusade ends, and does not normally refer specifically to the Tanith First.
The first two books are collections of short stories originally printed in the short fiction magazine 'Inferno!', published by the Black Library. They are not sequential; for example, the fall of Tanith in the first chapter of 'Ghostmaker' occurs before the siege on Fortis Binary in 'First and Only', which in turn takes place before the assault on Oskray Hive in 'Ghostmaker' (this latter time-line can be established by the mention of a cybernetic shoulder that was fitted to Sgt. Varl on Fortis Binary, and Sgt. Hasker who died on Menazoid Epsilon, but he is mentioned in this book as a living person). Disregarding the fall of Tanith, during which little fighting took place, the action of the two books is focused on four main theatres of operation:
Voltis City, Voltemond
Voltemond is described in 'Ghostmaker' as a temperate world, similar to Earth, with extensive marshlands around Voltis City, the planetary capital, which was under Chaos control before the events of 'Ghostmaker'. The chapter begins with the Tanith First "Gaunt's Ghosts" saving the Ketzok 17th "Serpents" artillery regiment from an ambush by Chaos Space Marines. The Tanith are then ordered to infiltrate and assault the main water-gate and sanitation outfall of Voltis in order to mine the walls and form a breach for an assault by the Royal Volpone 50th storm troopers, known as the "Bluebloods". The assault on the water-gate is repelled when the traitors open the floodgates and flush the Tanith out; however, Sergeant Cluggan leads a successful attack on the sanitation outfalls, creating a breach for the armoured assault. As the Ghosts withdraw, General Noches Sturm of the Royal Volpone and his adjutant, Major Gilbear, both of whom were disdainful of Gaunt and his "low-born" soldiers, order the Ketzok to bombard the Tanith as they fall back to their base. Two hundred men, including Sergeant Cluggan, are killed and another three hundred wounded. Gaunt almost faces a court-martial when he punches Colonel Ortiz, the Ketzok commander, but is let off when Ortiz claims that his injuries were caused by his Basilisk artillery vehicle's recoil. He proceeds to level a threat at General Sturm.
Fortis Binary
Fortis Binary is described as a forge-world, a planet-wide factory that fell to Chaos. First and Only describes how the Ghosts manage to sabotage a Chaos ritual after Lord Militant General Hechtor Dravere orders them on a suicidal attack on an enemy trench line. This marks the first demonstration of the hatred that Colonel Draker Flense, the commander of the Jantine Patricians who suggested that Dravere give the assault order, has for Colonel-Commissar Gaunt.
Menazoid Epsilon
A death world on the edge of the Menazoid Clasp, Epsilon was the site of three shrines to Chaos, designated Primaris, Secundus and Tertius by Imperial tacticians. Beneath Shrine Target Primaris was a Standard Template Constructor, a relic from over ten millennia before the events of 'First and Only', which made Iron Men, a pattern of robotic warriors; the traitorous General Dravere, assisted by the mutated, radical Inquisitor Heldane, Colonel Draker Flense and his Jantine Patricians attempted to seize power and overturn the commander of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, Warmaster Macaroth, using the Iron Men. However, the machine was corrupted by Chaos and Commissar Gaunt destroyed it, despite the psychic puppetry of the Inquisitor, who died after his "instrument" - Imperial Agent Fereyd, the man into whom Heldane had extended his consciousness - was explosively killed. Colonel Flense also attempted to get his revenge on Gaunt and the Ghosts, as Gaunt had field-executed Flense's father, General Aldo Dercius, many years previously. The Jantine shock troops annihilated the Tanith Seventh platoon commanded by sergeant Blane, but were themselves killed to a man by Gaunt's allies, the Vitrian Dragoons. Gaunt stabbed Flense to death beneath Target Primaris, before escaping along with his men.
Monthax
The jungle world of Monthax is the setting for the end of Ghostmaker, when Gaunt and his men encounter the alien Eldar as they struggle to wipe out a Chaos infestation. The Ghosts have to cooperate once again with the Royal Volpone 50th, and with an inquisitor who had accused Brin Milo of witchcraft. They discover an ancient portal leading to one of the Eldar's craftworlds, self-sustaining cities in space, which the inquisitor, Lilith Abferquan, closes after the alien Farseer guarding the portal dies. At the end of this battle, the Ghosts lost an excellent leader, Serg. Lerod.
Aside from these battles, 'Ghostmaker' is interspersed with short stories (originally published in Inferno!) in other war zones such as Blackshard, Caligula and Oskray Hive which are used to develop individual characters; for example, the character and leadership qualities of Dermon Caffran are displayed in his actions at Oskray Hive, where he commands an infiltration force which causes the fall of the enemy stronghold, and continue to be exhibited upon his promotion to Sergeant in 'His Last Command'. -
I'll be honest, I don't follow the Warhammer 40K world at all. I don't read the books, and I don't play the games. I read the book because it was free.
One thing that threw me out of the book continually was the language. It wasn't vulgar or anything but the usage of semi-archaic terms and knowledge of... I needed more backstory to support the book or a glossary... I guess the more I read the more I'll learn; but I'm not sure I want to learn about the world too much.
I liked the book and I've found that there are a lot more than I thought. I'm not sure I'll venture into it too far but I'll probably look for some more Dan Abnett books in the series. -
I am military fiction lover and believe me this is trash. Leo Kessler is far more better in description of military action then this piece of mass produced Warhammer stuff. On the other hand it was enjoyable to read, but not as Sandy Mitchell's books. I was counting the death toll on the First and only regiment trough the books and seriously they would not make it trough the one book.
The evil general, even more evil inquisitor plus evil rival regiment tried to kill our hero, who uncovered the whole conspiracy, which destroyed itself without our hero doing. -
3.5 - 4*
Nemůžu říct, že by to bylo špatné čtení. To rozhodně ne. Ibram je sympaťák a jeho charakterové vlastnosti drží celý příběh pokupě, protože člověk chce vědět, jaký Gaunt je a co všechno skrývá. Na druhou stranu, ač přes bohatě popsaný děj, skoky mezi postavami a ještě občas do minulosti, z knihy dělaly trochu guláš. Ale i tak musím říct... dejte sem další díl, u Fetha! -
If you like Warhammer, even if you don't, regardless, this book kicks off one of the best action/adventure series I have ever read. Massive battles, intrigue, honor and brotherhood under fire make this book, much like the rest of the series, outstanding.
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Dan Abnett did a great job really bringing the grit and dark world of Warhammer 40k to life. I didn't instantly start reading the second book, Ghostmaker, only because it wasn't available in ePUB format yet.
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Fantastic. Nothing more needs to be said, except that Abnett truly brings the Warhammer 40k universe to life.
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Gaunt und seine Geisterkrieger haben sich in Null-Komma-Nichts zu einem meiner Lieblingsbücher aus dem Warhammer-Universum hochgearbeitet. Dafür mussten sich die Jungs nicht einmal gross Mühe geben, denn dieser Titel vereint typische Warhammer 40K-Elemente mit neuen Eindrücken und einer gekonnt aufgebauten Handlung.
Dan Abnett ist nicht umsonst einer der ganz grossen Schreiberlinge der Warhammer-Welt. Mit Gaunt hat er einen Helden geschaffen, wie ihn das Militär mag: pflichtbewusst, treu, aufrichtig. Er ist seinen Geistern treu ergeben und tut alles, um seine Gruppe möglichst sicher durch eine todbringende Welt zu führen.
Dabei erfahren wir immer mehr über seine Vergangenheit und auch sonst warten noch ein paar interessante zwischenmenschliche Twists auf uns. Genau diese machen die Warhammer-Bücher zu etwas Speziellem: es geht um Krieg, Tod und möglichst viel Blut. Aber mittendrin zeichnen die Autoren, allen voran auch Dan Abnett, starke und unvergessliche Charaktere, von denen man eben nicht will, dass ihnen ein Arm abgesäbelt wird oder dass sie als Matsch an der Wand enden.
Die Handlung wird Stück für Stück aufgebaut, wobei sich Kampfszenen mit Episoden der Charakterentwicklung und den Beziehungen untereinander abwechseln. Dies tut dem Titel enorm gut; persönlich mag ich die Bücher mit einem solchen Aufbau am liebsten. Das ist fast schon wie bei Nimm2 - man bekommt beides und muss auf nichts verzichten.
Die Mischung aus durchdachter Handlung, blutiger Action und detailliert gezeichneten Charakteren macht dieses Buch zu einem meiner Lieblinge und ich werde in meinen Gedanken wohl noch oft zu Gaunt zu Besuch gehen. -
Musím sa priznať, že relatívne dlho sa mi do sveta WH40K vôbec nechcelo. Trochu ma odrádzal ten rozsah. Avšak nedávno som práve niečo takéto hľadal a keď som sa rozhodoval medzi fantasy a 40K líniou, vyhrala military odnož, keďže som chcel od fantasy na chvíľu pauzu. A túto voľbu neľutujem.
Prvá zhruba tretina je krásne čistokrvné military sci-fi. Zákopová vojna, delostrelecké manévre, neutíchajúca streľba, taktické výpady a rôzne prekvapenia ma vtiahli tak, že som úvod doslova zožral. Následne sa dianie trochu upokojilo, ale bolo to len na oko. Rozpútala sa totiž vojna politická a tá je niekedy zákernejšia ako tá na bojisku. V záverečnej časti som už ani nedýchal, a aj keď sa tu občas vyskytlo nejaké to klišé, knihu som si naozaj užil.
Je to odľahčené a zábavné, zároveň osudové, plné boja, ale aj politiky. Nie je to len sci-fi, ale narazíte tu aj na hororové pasáže a miestami aj na trochu ponurú fantasy. Skrátka, je to koktejl, ktorý mi naozaj sadol a ak chcete tento svet skúsiť, určite neváhajte. Gaunt a jeho duchovia sú skvelí sprievodcovia. -
I was truly amazed by how much I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am only passably familiar with the universe, I've read and watched videos about it but I've never read a book or played the tabletop game.
With all of those caveats I was expecting a fun albeit trashy experience. What I got was a well constructed treatise on living in a world that's constantly at war. Gaunt was a truly compelling character with a rich backstory and I felt invested in his story.
Characters and genuinely compelling plot aside, this book still delivered on the action that I wanted.
I will definitely be checking out more books in this series. -
Had read some good things about this series although I wasn't sold on an Imperial Guard story beforehand. Yet I took my chances and I didn't regret it.
However, as this was a story of war & betrayal, it involved a lot of named squad members which at first were hard to remember through different reading sessions. I did like the differences in personalities that they had but in the end I don't think war stories like this are really my things.
4 stars because it was a good story, interesting characters and an impressive protagonist, and I'm curious to what happens in the following books. But in the end I don't think I will read another in the series because the war genre is less to my liking. -
The "Band of Brothers" of Warhammer 40K. A beleaguered group of space soldiers take on impossible odds and come out scarred but on top. It's neither deep nor complex, and there are no unexpected twists or developments. The characters are familiar stereotypes and the plot unfolds as You expect. The good guys fight the bad guys and do cool space army things. Along the way, You grow to like them, You cheer for them, and, after a few hours of pleasant reading, You say goodbye and move on to another book.
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This starts badly, with a scrappy plot, far too many poorly distinguished characters and no trace of Abnett's trademark mysteries to unravel. The first world war comparisons are also unsubtle and overworked. It does hit its stride eventually though, once you've spent some time with the characters and it has found its own voice and niche to carve by the end.
