Scan barcode
A review by miketilford
First and Only by Dan Abnett
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.