Only in Death

The men and women of the Tanith First-and-Only, a.k.a. Gaunt's Ghosts, knew that this would not be an easy task, but when are they ever easy? Trouble is what they do. Now they are on Jago, a fortress world built along the trailwards salient of the Cabal System. As others are thrown into areas where the fighting is already intense, Gaunt's Ghosts' objective is Hinzerhaus, a labyrinth house full of hidden passages, surprises, and possibly something supernatural. Though no one has set foot in Hinzerhaus for decades, if not a couple of centuries, the lights are still on. Dim, but on, the lights pulse as if in rhythm to its own heart beat. The Ghosts are to find, secure, and hold it. They are to deny any attempt by the enemy to enter or pass through the area. Each member of the team begins hearing odd sounds. Echoes from people that do not exist. Ghostly footsteps seem to come up from behind them, pass, and then continue on down corridors. Teammates, long dead, show up to offer tactical advice, give a heads up on incoming fire, or leave small gifts. To make matters worse, the enemy seem to know all the hidden passages and use the information to set up ambushes. Lack of water is a major problem. Snipers keep attention to the areas and nowhere seems safe choppers to land and deliver the much needed water or ammo. Commander Ibram Gaunt does his best to keep his people alive as the situation continually worsens. Dalin Criid, the first son of the Ghosts, has Hinzerhaus as his first mission. He has to do more than prove himself. It just may be up to Dalin to save them all. ***** This is probably my favorite of the Gaunt's Ghost series. Not only is this story well planned and executed, but the strange happenings seemed to have no credible explanations. There were scenes that sent cold chills down my spine. The story starts out unnerving and keeps getting worse until the very end. For perfect effects, read during a storm at night. Military warfare meets paranormal in this Ghosts installment. Absolutely wonderful! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Note that I am giving this book 5 stars, so please take all of my comments and criticisms in that context. This is a great book from Dan Abnett. This is the first focused Ghosts entire-unit action story in a few years, since Armour of Contempt was split with some unrelated things. I enjoyed this more than anything since Traitor General, to be sure. Many characters get some screen time, and as always Abnett makes the fortress where most of the story takes place come alive (I am always amazed at how well he can make location/ambiance come alive in the reader's mind). Now for spoilers. Don't read past here if you haven't read the book. SPOILER WARNING - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED LAST CHANCE Detailed comments - bringing back long-dead main characters via Larkin's ghost-seeing and via what is later blamed on Soric is a nice way to see faces long-missed. I am not sure Abnett has been able to create replacement personnel to fill the void left by Bragg, Colbec, and Brin. While puzzled by the supernatural elements in the story and wondering how he would justify it, he pulls the Soric card out - How many of us have wondered at Soric's fate once he was taken aboard the Black Ship? I often wondered how his talent could be ignored as a battlefield asset, and wondered if he would just be fed to the astronomicon, but Abnett writes a doom for him which brings the gross inhumanity of the Empire into clear focus [It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable]. Nevermind that the statistical odds of Soric being on the same planet for the same battle as the ghosts must be extremely low. Trivia - I immediately caught the Soric reference 'Help Me' on the page facing the chapter header, as the related scene from Sabbat Martyr has stuck in my mind ever since, but didn't catch even then that he intended to introduce soric into the story... I am slow sometimes. Gaunt's apparent death - While is was interesting to read how the unit carried on after his death, with Rawne taking command in his own style, I don't think this was fair to the reader. Once it became clear his body wasn't going to be found in upper 16, I started having shades of MkVenner in The Armour of Contempt. Then we are told Gaunt was seen FALLING OFF A VERY HIGH CLIFF, something which was not later explained in terms of justifying his survival. By then the reader is wondering if Abnett will actually kill the headline character in a successful franchise or will cheat at the last minute to keep gaunt alive. My opinion is that you have to play fair with the reader, and throwing out the assumed death card as done here isn't, as there is no reason gaunt should be alive (nor the guy from the Untill who went after him, in my opinion.). I personally think the series could be continued fine with Rawne as unit commander (Gaunt doesn't get much screen time anyway). More generally the strong foreboding of the destruction of the Ghosts in this story does in a way come true (47% casua

Finally. This is the book i've been waiting for. The last book i read was Descent of Angels, and i was really in need of a book that wouldn't make me hate written word. Dan Abnett takes a semi-different approach to the story but, as always, never lets the story lag or in anyway feel like the themes are repeating. After finishing this book i find myself having trouble getting to sleep without my nightly dose of Ghost....."Dose of Ghost" sounds cool...But anyway, even if this story had ended the series i wouldn't have been mad. Because i have no problem going back and reading every book in the series over and over agian.... it is just that good. In conclusion. Long live Dan Abnett and Ibram Gaunt....oh yeah,and the King too.

Wow. I have read most of the 40K novels that have come out thus far, and Abnett's have surpassed all the others in quality. But this book is something else. While there were a few of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels that seemed to drag or end too quickly, this book accomplishes everything that one could want from a novel. As usual, Abnett has the best characterization in his writing from any other contemporary author that I have encountered. Despite the underlying brutality of the overall storyline and the specific plot of this book, Abnett delivers humor, heartwarming moments, illustrating the self-sacrifice that soldiers in certain death situations have for one another, along with his exquisite descriptive abilities of not just battles and combat but the setting in which the characters find themselves. Set in something of an alien haunted house, the Tanith First and Only are tasked with securing and holding a fort far from any friendly forces. From the start, the unit members are demoralized and disturbed by visions, hallucinations, rumors, and fear. Certain that they will meet their ends at this posting, they nevertheless endeavor to make certain to sell themselves dearly. Facing down an enemy they've fought in a number of the prior books in the series, they also have to deal with their own inner conflicts. Amidst all the combat, they are forced to deal with the losses of their comrades, who cannot be replaced as they are the last of their world, as every death is a dear friend. Abnett manages to achieve all the plot points to advance the story for the next book, while whittling down the unit even further amidst the hopeless battle in which he placed them. And still, he moves characters through their own personal demons and completes them. Too often in sf and fantasy writing, characters are flat. While some, as part of their specific nature by intent, are flat, Abnett makes it look so easy to make round characters of the bulk of the cast. It's such a joy to read Abnett's works, but so sad at the same time. The sadness comes from knowing that there will be an interminable wait for the next book in the series. And since his writing is so intense that all his books are page-turners, they go so fast that despite the fulfillment, the reader is left wanting more. This book was easily the best I have read in a long, long time, in any genre.

Dan Abnett does it again! While some of the story is a departure from his normal writing style, there can be no mistake that we've returned for a battle with all the Ghosts intact. If you think about it, this story completes the story arc very well...it's the first time since "Sabbat Martyr" that the Tanith (Verghastite and Belladon) First-and-only is reunited as a regiment with Gaunt and led into a real knock-down drag-out battle. While the books in the meantime have been good, it was very cool to have this happen, as the combat at Cantible in The Armour of Contempt wasn't really the focus. Abnett had me on the edge of my seat for the last half of the book, after the usual great start. This is the last book for a while, apparently, as Abnett is working on other projects this year and next. So I've heard anyway. I really can't wait to find out what direction the storyline goes after this. Mkoll is my frigging hero. That's the only "spoiler" you get. :)