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A review by ratgrrrl
First and Only by Dan Abnett
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.