Gaunt's Ghosts

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This article is about the book series. For information on the Tanith First-and-Only in other aspects of Warhammer 40,000, see Tanith (Warhammer 40,000)

Gaunt's Ghosts is a book series written by Dan Abnett. It is a military science fiction series, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

The series spans eleven novels, in which the efforts of the Tanith First-And-Only during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade are documented. There are dozens of named characters, but the protagonist is Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, one of the few political commissars of the Imperium to be awarded command of a regiment.

Other major characters include Colonel Colm Corbec, Major Elim Rawne, Sniper Hlaine Larkin, Brin Milo, Scout Sergeant Mkoll. The series alludes to other series by Dan Abnett, such as Eisenhorn and Ravenor, and has resulted in two spin-off works.

The series began as a continuing set of loosely connected short stories in the Black Library magazine INFERNO! (issues 4, 8, and 30). Their popularity was such that what was to be the next short piece, entitled "Vermilion Level", was written out to novel length as First and Only and published as the Black Library's first original novel (the book line up until that point consisting of reprints of novels from the pre-Black Library days and anthologies of short fiction taken from INFERNO! magazine). The original short pieces subsequently appeared as flashback-chapters in Ghostmaker, the second book.

The books remain probably the most popular and best-selling of the Black Library's line, with a wide range of other publications (ancillary novels devoted to minor characters in the main series and a mock "historical book" about the war in which the books take place) as well as merchandise such as badges, T-shirts, and special editions of the books themselves.

Contents 1 Books in series 2 Comparison to Cornwell 3 Spin-off titles 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Books in series

The novels fall into a series of three story arcs.

• The Founding
  • First And Only – ISBN 1-84416-164-1
  • Ghostmaker – ISBN 0-671-78410-2
  • Necropolis – ISBN 0-7434-1159-5
• The Saint
  • Honour Guard – ISBN 1-84154-151-6
  • The Guns of Tanith – ISBN 1-84154-232-6
  • Straight Silver – ISBN 1-84154-262-8
  • Sabbat Martyr – ISBN 0-7434-4360-8
• The Lost
  • Traitor General – ISBN 1-84416-113-7
  • His Last Command – ISBN 1-84416-238-9
  • The Armour of Contempt – ISBN 1-84416-400-4
  • Only in Death – Released November 2007 in the U.K. and in December 2007 for the rest of the world(also referred to as Even Unto Death).

After November 2002, the first five novels (First And Only to The Guns of Tanith) were reprinted with new cover art by Adrian Smith, whose cover art was used for all later releases (The cover art for the previous editions had been created by a variety of artists). The Founding and Saint story arcs have been released as hardcover omnibus editions (with paperback editions to be released in February and August 2007).

[edit] Comparison to Cornwell

The Gaunt's Ghosts series of books have been inspired heavily by the Sharpe series of books written by Bernard Cornwell ^[1]. This has been the subject of considerable controversy between fans of the series and those who dislike Abnett’s writings.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Spin-off titles

Dan Abnett has also authored two other titles based during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, one focusing on the Phantine Air Corps (introduced in The Guns of Tanith), the other on the Sabbat Worlds Crusade as a whole:

• (2005) Double Eagle. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-090-4. 
• (2005) The Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-249-4. 

A sequel to Double Eagle, titled Interceptor City, has been planned (ref: http://www.blacklibrary.com/articles/horus-int-dan.asp). A novel focusing on the Iron Snakes Space Marines, scheduled for release in mid-2007, is also likely to be set during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.

[edit] See also

• List of Gaunt's Ghosts characters
• Tanith (Warhammer 40,000)

[edit] References

• Abnett, Dan (2000). First and Only. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-164-1. 
• All other books in the Gaunt's Ghosts series of novels.
• Chambers, Andy; Haines, Pete, and Hoare, Andy (2003). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Imperial Guard, 4th Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-410-8. 

1. ^ Dunn, Christian (December 2000). "An Interview with Dan Abnett". Warhammer Monthly (37). Retrieved on 2006-08-15.