Deathstrike_Chimera Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 So, for Christmas I received the first omnibus of Gaunt's Ghosts. Im really enjoying it so far. what does everyone think about the series? ive heard nothing but great things about it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conn Eremon Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Generally, that is all you are going to hear. Gaunt's Ghosts series is one of the most well-received series Black Library has to offer, and has some of Abnett's best work. In my opinion, it is one of the few 40k books out there that have aged well. Enjoy the ride, my friend. Enjoy the ride. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3555291 Share on other sites More sharing options...
FragEmAll Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 first 7 books are epic.... i'll be honest and say that after 'Traitor General' it all goes a bit downhill for me, but that's just me. They have been going so long you can see how 40k is evolving with them! Starting off with needle sniper rifles and then becoming long-las rifles. They are brilliant though - enjoy them! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3555292 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marwynn Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 They're great, and I'm looking forward to the next installment next year. You really do start liking the characters. I also suggest some of Dan Abnett's other works, I liked Double Eagle for the perspective of those aerospace pilots. The fact that Dan's lasguns have recoil still irritate me though. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556128 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebus Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I feel the opposite way, FragEmAll. I thought the first eight books were enjoyable and solid reads overall, but felt that the story really got going with The Armour of Contempt. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. A good author can craft likeable characters like Bragg. A very good author will evoke a real emotional response from you when a character like Bragg dies. An author near the top of his game will be able to pull off what Abnett did with Agun Soric, and with one brutal blow show you why there is no "good guy" faction of the traditional sort in the 41st millennium. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556142 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathstrike_Chimera Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that about Bragg Phoebus... Although I'm sure many of the characters I like will die. It's fantastic so far, but I'm not very far in. I've read abnetts ravenor series but haven't picked up pariah yet and haven't found a Eisenhower omnibus :(( Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556447 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqui Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I still have a few books to read in this series, but it is one of the few that I've grown such an attachment to various characters within, that I actually feel a sense of loss when they go One of the true hall marks of a good writer Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556519 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaeron Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 It's superb - one of those series I enjoy re-reading, it is that well-written. Abnett is a genius - can't wait until the Warmaster! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556557 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelPaladin Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I just started reading the first omnibus as well. I finished First and Only last night, it was fantastic. I have no idea why it took me so long to get into this series. Has anyone else noticed that they are out of stock on the Black Library site, and they are going for insane prices on Amazon? Any ideas what's happening? Are they going to release new omnibus editions, or are they going to release them one at a time in the new Classics format? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556811 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conn Eremon Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Probably the latter right now. You can still find them at bookstores that stock 40k. Last time I went to Barnes and Noble, it had a few omnibuses alongside the Classics format. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556814 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Ambroz Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Loved that series (if you can't tell). The best of the books (in my opinion) were definitely the first 8 (up to and including traitor General, I think that was the 8th), then it feels as if the storylines get a bit weaker. Some of the newer books pick it back up (particularly liked the newest one), just not quite to the extent, may be that he just has so many characters now it gets a bit hard to follow. Definitely get them all though, you could do far worse than finishing the Gaunts Ghosts series. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556820 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MordentHex Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 i've been reading them fro mthe start when they came out. im really glad i still have my first editions of them :) They are all good books, and although a character may be dead, that doesn't always mean he or she wont pop up again in the future. Ghosts are Ghosts after all. ;) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556873 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaeron Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I just started reading the first omnibus as well. I finished First and Only last night, it was fantastic. I have no idea why it took me so long to get into this series. Has anyone else noticed that they are out of stock on the Black Library site, and they are going for insane prices on Amazon? Any ideas what's happening? Are they going to release new omnibus editions, or are they going to release them one at a time in the new Classics format? They're coming out slowly in the new Classics format, First and Only has just been released. Think I have them all in both single and Omnibus sets signed now! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556879 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don the Oiler Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I have avoided the series so far. From what i hear it's so good that i'd probably read nothing else but Ghosts for months, and leave all the other books i still haven't read behind. I had the same problem with the Inquisition War and Last Chancers, they're both shorter but by the time i was finished with them i had amassed a huge pile of new books i was barely able to catch up on. Make of my fear what you will. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556885 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zincite Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I've been giving away a lot of my books recently, keeping only the ones I know I really will read again. I'm getting to be quite ruthless - even if I enjoyed a book, I tell myself that I'll just have to be content with the memory of it. It's a little sad, but the new bookshelf space is very freeing. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556901 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathstrike_Chimera Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Zincite you should mail the books you don't want to me ;) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556924 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MordentHex Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Or me. go in halves? lol Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3556970 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zincite Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Actually, I don't have too many 40K novels. I get them out of libraries, and my friend has the Horus Heresy series which I occasionally add to. If I do get rid of what I have I'll know where to throw them... but China's a little far. Anyway. Shoo, you vultures. Let us praise Mr. Abnett more and not violate forum rules. I really enjoyed Necropolis, myself. Something about the 'hopeless siege' setting fits 40K so well. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557022 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Yep. I think that's what I liked about it the series the most. You still have good guys, an tey occasionally, actually win, but he still managed to keep it grimdark. Think about how many battles it was just "they survived and no one else did". Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557099 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Heinrich Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Actually re-reading the whole series right now for the third time. I freaking love it, for a civilian Dan really seems to get fairly close to the mindset and interactions of soldiers. I also love how he cleans up the little things as time goes on, you can tell he does his research or talks to the right people to portray accurate radio communication and military operations. Also when someone dies it hits you like sledgehammer, great stuff. The one quip thats already been stated is lasgun kick, come on Dan lol. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557228 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareddm Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I know people say that the series has been downhill since Traitor General, and while I wasn't blown away by His Last Command or Armour of Contempt, I'd still argue that Only in Death is one of the best and to this day remains in my top three of the series. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557235 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conn Eremon Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Yep. I think that's what I liked about it the series the most. You still have good guys, an tey occasionally, actually win, but he still managed to keep it grimdark. Think about how many battles it was just "they survived and no one else did". That is something I love too. Yeah, his boys by and large survive. By and large, they win. But he doesn't do it in a way to make it feel like plot armor, and it isn't just because of the occasional death, like GRR Martin does. He has a way of retaining a feeling of loss, of the grimdarkness of it all, even when they are beating the odds. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557242 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RolandTHTG Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 the occasional death, like GRR Martin does. Occasional Death.... GRR Martin.... That is not the sentence you normally see.... But on topic, the Ghosts are definitely an awesome series. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557286 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I hope I don't spoil anything for those that have not read the books yet. I don't think the novels go downhill after Traitor General. While the whole behind enemy lines affair of that book is great, the return of the Gereon 12 creates a really interesting dynamic between them and the rest of the regiment and the guard in general. I did not like the ghost story at the end of the Lost story arch as much as the rest of the series. Especially since it meant "losing" Gaunt again. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557482 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaeron Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I hope I don't spoil anything for those that have not read the books yet. I don't think the novels go downhill after Traitor General. While the whole behind enemy lines affair of that book is great, the return of the Gereon 12 creates a really interesting dynamic between them and the rest of the regiment and the guard in general. I did not like the ghost story at the end of the Lost story arch as much as the rest of the series. Especially since it meant "losing" Gaunt again. But, paves the way for the Iron Star, which is superb. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284988-gaunts-ghosts/#findComment-3557559 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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