Reviews

Ghostmaker by Dan Abnett

nefilibata's review

2.0

Ghostface starts off in an incredibly confusing manner. There are constant jumps in time that could have been resolved with clever formatting. This led me to believe that this was a prequel. Only when I was 70% through the book I actually understood what was going on. I thought I had been too harsh in my critique of this book as I did enjoy it when j came to understand it. However the ending was rushed and unsatisfying.

I feel this book would have been better off as a series of short stories which told us about Gaunt's past and the founding fields and then came the novel which detailed the assault on Monthax.

woody4595's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ailbhe_ronan's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

alextrev's review

5.0

Dude so good. Multiple short stories and a novella at the end. A great way to get into the backstory for the ghosts. Highlights were Mkoll, Larkin and Bragg's stories. I didn't think I would care what was happening on Monthax but I raced towards the end and couldn't put it down. The introduction of the inquisitor character was a main motivator. Four stars for short stories, five stars for sticking the landing.

altoid's review

3.0

Better than the first in the series, but nothing special. The inclusion on flashbacks were nice and gave the plot a little more weight, but its still just a lot of war and her reprieve with very nebulous stakes

distilledreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

drwilko's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

mautt_d's review

3.0

An interesting, if lopsided attempt to place the short stories that began the Gaunt's Ghosts series in a novel length narrative.

Full review at https://tabletoplair.blogspot.com/2019/01/book-review-ghostmaker.html

branwynnemay's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Excellent narration, and an interesting story. Could use development of female and more diverse characters, and I’m not much into battle but it was a fun haunt.

nb_leftist's review

adventurous dark tense 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? Yes

2.5

The ending was really good, but the short story stuff was just not it. I understand they are short stories from a magazine and it’s important they are included but I almost wish that Abnett didn’t include the overarching story into it and just introduced it as a final short story. I assume it’s important for the overall series so probably worth a grind through (the word “grind” chosen purposefully).