To say that we've been waiting for some time for The Warmaster would be an understatement. It has been delayed Time After Time and I think it's fair to say that until we finally saw the book I wasn't too sure that it would make this publication date either. Thankfully this time I was to be proved wrong.
Dan Abnetts absence from the ranks of the Black Library has been noticeable and it got to the stage where I was actually thinking who could take over the Gaunt's Ghosts series and Abnett's other lines, maybe Aaron Dembski-Bowden? Other authors have risen from the ranks while he has been gone but let's face it. In Abnett we trust, I would hate to see any other than him at the helm of the Gaunt's Ghosts or Eisenhorn books.
Thankfully it doesn't look like that is necessary and we do now finally have The Warmaster, and what book it is! I can't remember the last time that I read a book in this fashion. I quickly put to one side 'Lorgar' the latest Primarch book by Gav Thorpe (which I have now actually finished - review coming soon) and got stuck into Abnett's offering.
I devoured Warmaster in just two sittings, The first night the first 10 chapters fell, and the second night a marathon 15 chapters were devoured to finish the book. I reckon about five hours in all to demolish this tome. I can't remember the last time a book gripped me so totally, I quite literally couldn't put it down. A page turner it is.
The Warmaster picks up right where Salvation Reach left off and I would thoroughly recommend re-reading the previous book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series as it is heavily referred to. Myself, it has been so long waiting for Warmaster that I found that I was somewhat out of touch and couldn't remember some of the things that the characters were talking about in the opening stages. Suffice to say however, by the time I was halfway through the book I was firmly back in among the family that Dan has established with the Tanith First and Only and fully immersed and invested in the characters once again.
So here we go with a mostly spoiler free, (for there are many reveals in the novel which I don't want to give away here) review of The Warmaster.
As I've said the book picks up where Salvation's Reach left off, with the Gaunt's Ghosts returning after their successful mission through the warp. However not all is well and the ship that they are travelling on is suffering, both from its age and the recent action it has seen. Following a bad warp translation they find themselves 10 years ahead in time due to the unpredictable nature of warp travel, and besieged by Chaos Forces. What follows is some rather splendid action scenes such as you would expect from Dan Abnett..
What really stands out is how he depicts the Astartes fighting methods compared to the Ghosts. Dan has, ever since the very early Iron Snakes, (a great novel for which you can read the review HERE) days, been superb at illustrating contrast between Space Marines and humans, making Space Marines seem all that more special. One does wonder how Dan would then approach Primaris Marines given that Space Marines already seem more superhuman enough in his writing.
Eventually The Ghosts make it to Urdesh and some much needed respite. It turns out that the campaign has foundered somewhat in their absence. The last 10 years have seen Warmaster Macaroth become more withdrawn and secretive as his Lords Militant struggled to conduct the campaign for the Sabbat Worlds under his increasingly unorthodox command. This represents an interesting quandary for Gaunt as sense of duty wars with personal feelings over the crusade.
Is it at this stage that the pace slows a little and we get to spend some time with the different characters that make up the Tantith First and Only regiment. It is here then, that the familial collections are established and it's like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes as Dan brings you back into touch with all the characters that we have known grown to know and love over the course of the series.
For over the course of the last 13 or 14 books the cast has changed quite significantly, both having been added to by the Verghastites and troops from Belladon and of course also by attrition and Dan Abnett's well publicized killing lots of characters (though not quite to George RR Martin Standards). Now the ranks of the gaunt's Ghosts include not just soldiers but many Commissars and other political officers and a retinue of hangers on and other staff. Of course not all of these are dealt with in in any detail but the main characters are all covered. I found it was at times that I was waiting for a certain character to pop up and then remember that they've been killed off a few years ago. I really must reread the Gaunt's Ghosts series at some point, it's a fine collection of books.
There are also some major changes in structure within the ranks of the Ghosts regiment and the Tanith will never be the same again after one particularly big change that I can't mention here as it would be a major spoiler. The next 100 pages of so continue with this rather slow paced introspective style and the foundations are laid for future installments with no shortage of reveals and also establishing future plot points and mysteries in particular with some of the younger of the Gaunt's Ghosts contingent. Questions of identity and lineage are raised and at times it kind of seemed like it was taking cues from the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
As is often the case with Dan Abnett much of the action takes place towards the end in a furious finale however in a change to the usual format the climax doesn't really come and we are instead left with a number of cliffhangers as Dan opts to end the book with a number of half resolved plot threads and unanswered fates. It feels like the end of the first part of a Star Trek two parter.
And that appears to be the major bone of contention with people with this book. After waiting so long we effectively get what some people are calling half a book, I don't quite agree with that assessment, I was quite satisfied with The Warmaster and greatly enjoyed it as evidenced by the time that it took me to devour it. However it can't be argued that the book does end on a cliffhanger and given the amount of time it's taken to publish The Warmaster I can only hope it doesn't take as long for the next installment to arrive, which Dan has already confirmed is called the Anark. Fingers crossed Dan has started it already!
Overall The Warmaster is greatly recommended, I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much and devoured it so quickly. If you are a fan of the Gaunt's Ghosts series you've probably already read it, if not, it doesn't represent the best starting point but certainly it is a continuation of the high standard Dan has achieved throughout the series and is a worthy addition. It changes a lot; certainly the regiment will never be the same after the events of this book, as before among the Ghosts there are good, bad and neutral elements as Dan explores the human nature of the regiment and the ramifications of events in this book I suspect will echo for as long as the series continues as threats from within and threats from without present themselves with entirely different impacts. Pick it up as soon as you can, you won't be disappointed.
Legit, nice work. I need to catch up with this series again!
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