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. ( )

Filled with a luscious backstory, First and Only takes us through multiple campaigns in the Warhammer 40K universe, tied together with a twisting plot of political intrigue. It follows Ibram Gaunt, leader of a militia regiment as he inspires his men to do battle against enemies without and within. Abnett's writing is beautifully detailed, although it feels like he tosses in a Warhammer place/name/factoid in every second sentence. This does add to rich tapestry of the universe, although it does disrupt the flow of reading somewhat as you pause to digest each tidbit. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this action packed and suspenseful sci-fi story. ( )

The bleak gothic setting of Warhammer 40k is very appealing to me right now. Enjoyed this introduction to Commissar Gaunt. ( )

Overall it was a good book. Came off in as hastily written in some of the plot points. But that should not let a fan of the genre be discouraged from reading this book. ( )

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Title: First and Only
Series: Warhammer 40K: Gaunt's Ghosts #1
Author: Dan Abnett
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 416
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Ibram Gaunt lost his father at a young age and the data surrounding that loss was classified. This drove young Gaunt to become a Commisar, a military and political appointment where he is able to root out the evil of chaos in the emperor's name.

During his first battle right before becoming Commisar, he is confronted by a prophetess who foretells several things. While everyone else thinks she is just raving, Gaunt keeps all she says in memory and uses it to steer his life.

Once a Commisar, he finds out that his uncle, a highly decorated officer, committed a grave act of cowardice that doomed Gaunt's father to death. Gaunt duels and executes his uncle, thus leading to a schism between Gaunt's new military order, the Ghosts and the order headed by his uncle.

During one battle against Chaos, Gaunt increases his fame. A second battle does the same and marks him as a _target. The third battle is for a world overrun by Chaos that holds a secret that only the Leader of the Expedition knows about, and Gaunt. The Leader wants the power of the artifact for himself so as to become Warleader of the entire Host while Gaunt knows it is truly chaos tainted and something that lead to the downfall of Humanity many millennia ago.

Gaunt wins and with the surviving Ghosts (known because they are trackers and spies) truly begins his career.

My Thoughts:

This is formulaic franchise fiction. So I expect certain things and this didn't disappoint. Another thing is that I'm reading about an already established universe and so my questions might have been answered 14 thousand books ago or simply dismissed. Franchise Fiction never stands up well to scrutiny; it's simply not meant to.

So my questions. If Chaos is so bad that it can infect people, planets, etc out of no where, why the heck doesn't the Imperial Fleet destroy every planet that has Chaos taint? Sure, that seems extreme but if Chaos is worse than the black plague and way more virulent, why is it treated so casually? Why aren't Imperial scientists working on ways to ā€œvaccinateā€ against Chaos? Why all the money on the military and NO money on research? If the Emperor is, in essence, just an undead Lich King, how is he any different from the forces of Chaos he claims to be striving against? These all popped into my head and were never addressed. So I just tossed them aside so I could enjoy the book.

This is a fun ā€œsoldiers kill stuff and fight battlesā€ kind of book. The infighting between Imperials pissed me off, but it was supposed to. Abnett shows just how corrupt Humanity is, even in the face of raw Chaos. Considering this is Ground Pounder action, I am planning on reading all 14 or 15 of these. Wouldn't surprise me if Gaunt dies right at the end though, that's how Warhammer seems to roll.

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜†Ā½ ( )