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my8s's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ratgrrrl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is the first novel outing of some of the most iconic characters in Warhammer 40K eighther on or off the table may no longer be the best thing in the Black Library, but nearly 25 after its publication it's still so fething good and will always be, if not by itself, part of a watershed moment for the quality of stories told in the universes of wargames. In so many ways without Gaunt's Ghosts and Abnett's talent, Black Library wouldn't be as big and we wouldn't have epic sagas that lush the quality of writing to new heights (some of the time) like the Horus Heresy.
This novel, adapted from the short story, Vermillion Level, and following short stories published in Inferno!, introduces Colonel-Commisar Ibram 'Ghostmaker' Gaunt, a rarity in the fact that he holds both a political and military rank, and for being one of the few people with any power on the Dark Millennium who is a total bastard, and the Tanith First and Only Imperial Guard/ Astra Militarum regiment, his Ghosts, named for the fact they are all that is left of their world after it was destroyed by a Chaos fleet. Taking inspiration from Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, with the Napoleonic Wars being replaced with the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the history of Gaunt and his Ghosts and their initial exploits in the campaign to reclaim the Chaos tainted worlds. There's a classic MacGuffin mystery that acts as the throughline tied to a cryptic prophecy Gaunt once heard, various kinds of military actions, political and personal machinations and backstabbing, and just an impressive amount of Warhammer 40K going on in step with a good story and great characters.
Beyond just being a great book about sci-fi magic nightmare Napoleonic wars that's immensely readable and satisfying in both narrative and action, the thing that really impresses me is how recognisable everything is as being from the tabletop wargame without any bland homogeneity. I mentioned this in reviewing James Swallow's Garro stories, but Abnett really channels some of that freaky and unique John Blanche 40K aesthetic that makes the Imperium seem horrible and weird and Chaos utterly bizzare and occult. There's so many little fun and nasty ways things are characterised that Abnett is creating and bequeathing to the galaxy, rather than working straight from existing lore and units. It's building and creating more within the sandbox, which is something that makes books like this stand out as not being a pretty write up of a battle report.
I will say that reading this again didn't blow me away as much as the first time many years ago, but hearing the always brilliant Toby Longworth read the audiobook was a treat. I have really been under the weather, so listening to a great book I was already familiar with and had a knowledge of the setting was just want I needed. Because of being under the weather and my chronic conditions flaring, I've actually been listening to a lot of Warhammer stuff recently, including some of the best and worst I've had the pleasure or otherwise, as well as reading a while bunch of phenemonal sci-fi in the last couple of months, all of which gave me a new perspective on this book. It doesn't have the weight and emotional connection that I generally seek out and it can't be directly compared with the works of Octavia Butler, Greg Egan, or Adrian Tchaikovsky's mind-blowing, Children of Time, but it absolutely does hold its own against anything in the Black Library or your regular library's sci-fi section. It is also by far one of the greatest examples of bringing elements of a wargame to life in a way that is most comparable to real life.
Abnett, Gaunt, Milo, Bran, Larkin, etc. are all absolute legends of Warhammer 40K for a reason and the opening salvo of this classic series already makes it clear why.
This novel, adapted from the short story, Vermillion Level, and following short stories published in Inferno!, introduces Colonel-Commisar Ibram 'Ghostmaker' Gaunt, a rarity in the fact that he holds both a political and military rank, and for being one of the few people with any power on the Dark Millennium who is a total bastard, and the Tanith First and Only Imperial Guard/ Astra Militarum regiment, his Ghosts, named for the fact they are all that is left of their world after it was destroyed by a Chaos fleet. Taking inspiration from Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, with the Napoleonic Wars being replaced with the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the history of Gaunt and his Ghosts and their initial exploits in the campaign to reclaim the Chaos tainted worlds. There's a classic MacGuffin mystery that acts as the throughline tied to a cryptic prophecy Gaunt once heard, various kinds of military actions, political and personal machinations and backstabbing, and just an impressive amount of Warhammer 40K going on in step with a good story and great characters.
Beyond just being a great book about sci-fi magic nightmare Napoleonic wars that's immensely readable and satisfying in both narrative and action, the thing that really impresses me is how recognisable everything is as being from the tabletop wargame without any bland homogeneity. I mentioned this in reviewing James Swallow's Garro stories, but Abnett really channels some of that freaky and unique John Blanche 40K aesthetic that makes the Imperium seem horrible and weird and Chaos utterly bizzare and occult. There's so many little fun and nasty ways things are characterised that Abnett is creating and bequeathing to the galaxy, rather than working straight from existing lore and units. It's building and creating more within the sandbox, which is something that makes books like this stand out as not being a pretty write up of a battle report.
I will say that reading this again didn't blow me away as much as the first time many years ago, but hearing the always brilliant Toby Longworth read the audiobook was a treat. I have really been under the weather, so listening to a great book I was already familiar with and had a knowledge of the setting was just want I needed. Because of being under the weather and my chronic conditions flaring, I've actually been listening to a lot of Warhammer stuff recently, including some of the best and worst I've had the pleasure or otherwise, as well as reading a while bunch of phenemonal sci-fi in the last couple of months, all of which gave me a new perspective on this book. It doesn't have the weight and emotional connection that I generally seek out and it can't be directly compared with the works of Octavia Butler, Greg Egan, or Adrian Tchaikovsky's mind-blowing, Children of Time, but it absolutely does hold its own against anything in the Black Library or your regular library's sci-fi section. It is also by far one of the greatest examples of bringing elements of a wargame to life in a way that is most comparable to real life.
Abnett, Gaunt, Milo, Bran, Larkin, etc. are all absolute legends of Warhammer 40K for a reason and the opening salvo of this classic series already makes it clear why.
woody4595's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jarichan's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
alextrev's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Gaunt is such a likable character and the world building/character development from Abnett is top tier. He expertly drops in flashback chapters amongst action sequences and the payoffs were both surprising and rewarding.
Could see myself reading all of these. Looking forward to the next.
Could see myself reading all of these. Looking forward to the next.
altoid's review against another edition
3.0
A nice first foray into the world of Warhammer 40k. Much less a book and setting about details, and more a general sense of endless war and bleakness. Certainly not the greatest book I've read but entertaining nonetheless and a nice change of pace from more typical sci-fi.
thumbpricker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
miketilford's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I went into First and Only with very minimal knowledge of Warhammer 40,000, I think I read a Wiki article or two in the past, so this is my first foray into that universe. The future is definitely grim if this is where we are heading.
Dan Abnett does not hold your hand as a reader. You are thrust in this world without a life raft. I feel like you need to be an expert on 40k in order to understand half of what is going on in the novel, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This universe is huge, and already well fleshed out. If anything, the lack of hand holding makes you want to dig deeper to understand more about how this universe works.
I was always told that the 40k is as dark, grim, and violent as they come. This is true to a point, but in all honesty, it was less of each of those things than I was expecting. I think a lot of novels have gotten darker in the last decade or so, and this type of setting had less of an impact on me than it would have maybe 10 - 20 years ago.
There is a lot of action, and the story is extremely fast paced. Other than the flashback chapters, the story pretty much speeds forward from start to finish. Other than the titular character of Gaunt, we follow a few other soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Although we are suppose to resonate with Gaunt, as he is heroic and "moral", none of the characters are very likeable, or good. However, in the universe of 40k, I don't know if it is possible to be good.
Dan Abnett does not hold your hand as a reader. You are thrust in this world without a life raft. I feel like you need to be an expert on 40k in order to understand half of what is going on in the novel, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This universe is huge, and already well fleshed out. If anything, the lack of hand holding makes you want to dig deeper to understand more about how this universe works.
I was always told that the 40k is as dark, grim, and violent as they come. This is true to a point, but in all honesty, it was less of each of those things than I was expecting. I think a lot of novels have gotten darker in the last decade or so, and this type of setting had less of an impact on me than it would have maybe 10 - 20 years ago.
There is a lot of action, and the story is extremely fast paced. Other than the flashback chapters, the story pretty much speeds forward from start to finish. Other than the titular character of Gaunt, we follow a few other soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Although we are suppose to resonate with Gaunt, as he is heroic and "moral", none of the characters are very likeable, or good. However, in the universe of 40k, I don't know if it is possible to be good.
mautt_d's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the best licensed fiction ever published, Abnett revolutionized the Warhammer 40,000 setting with the Gaunt's Ghosts series.
Full review at: https://tabletoplair.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-review-first-and-only.html
Full review at: https://tabletoplair.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-review-first-and-only.html