Gaunt's Ghosts: The Warmaster

[JH79]

Carving out a small island in the sea of B&C discussions to gush over Dan Abnett's latest Gaunt's Ghosts novel, the highly delayed and much anticipated Warmaster! Available as ebook, Hardback, Audiobook and a swanky Limited Edition.

 

Has anyone else already read this / picked it up at the recent BL weekender? I've just nabbed the Audiobook from Audible (Emperor be praised for having a spare Credit!) and cannot wait to get started!

[grailkeeper]

He did say in the recent reading i ts not the last in the series. I had tbought till then it was to be the finale

[Never_born]

I picked it up at the Weekender - read it this week, and very much enjoyed it! I've got a couple of pieces about it on the Track of Words site if anyone fancies a read:

 

A quick interview with Dan: https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/12/01/rapid-fire-dan-abnett-talks-the-warmaster/

 

My review: https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/12/02/the-warmaster-dan-abnett/

 

Now I just can't wait for The Anarch...!

[JH79]

Awesome, thanks for the links and as always the effort you put into your site is an inspiration... I just need to make sure I check it more regularly so I don't miss links like those!

 

So anyway, got the kids off to bed and Emperor be praised (twice in one evening!) the wife gave me leave to head out to the Gym for a few hours (gotta keep up those Astartes gains!) and by the time I got home an hour ago I was 5 chapters into The Warmaster. Now this is my first proper Gaunt's outing, having tried several times and failed badly to get through Salvation's Reach due to the narration by James MacPherson. There are alot of very obvious ties to that novel and I have a renewed drive to listen to it before I go any further.

 

Despite that huge disadvantage and complete lack of character background (I haven't read anything from the series before) the story so far is massively engaging! From the horrendous opening children's poem to the incredible depiction of a devastated ship (quite an important one it turns out!!) floating through real space, to a confused "ghost" realising he's not a ghost and trying to recall his name. Great stuff so far, think I can see why this series is so popular if all of the books are this well written! 

[DukeLeto69]

I picked it up at the Weekender - read it this week, and very much enjoyed it! I've got a couple of pieces about it on the Track of Words site if anyone fancies a read:

 

A quick interview with Dan: https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/12/01/rapid-fire-dan-abnett-talks-the-warmaster/

 

My review: https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/12/02/the-warmaster-dan-abnett/

 

Now I just can't wait for The Anarch...!

Great review that totally whetted my appetite. Cannot wait. Dan has been completely explicit that The Victory arc is more like a single book spread over four volumes so no worries (for me) that it isn't a fully self contained narrative.

[Never_born]

Awesome, thanks for the links and as always the effort you put into your site is an inspiration... I just need to make sure I check it more regularly so I don't miss links like those!

 

 

Thanks so much, man - that means a lot, I appreciate it!

 

Great review that totally whetted my appetite. Cannot wait. Dan has been completely explicit that The Victory arc is more like a single book spread over four volumes so no worries (for me) that it isn't a fully self contained narrative.

 

 

Glad you liked it!

 

I hope you both enjoy/enjoyed the book - I know I did

[cheywood]

Absolutely fantastic read. I might post a review tomorrow, but I wanted to put a few spoiler-free sentences down while it's fresh in my mind.

 

This is the moment a large number of BL readers have been waiting years for. Even having finished the book I'm still a little in shock that it exists.

 

I read most all of the book with a smile on my face, both because it was wonderful to see the Ghosts again and because the prose is shot threw with engaging scenes and vivid imagery. There's a long passage to start Chapter 11 that's one of the most beautiful bits of description I've read in recent memory, for example.

 

The prose in general fits in perfectly with Abnett's previous works: fast, flowing, and punchy, with just the right amount of humor and abject misery alike. There's satisfying developments in pretty much all the ongoing plot threads introduced in Salvation's Reach or earlier novels, with a good mix of foreseeable moments that still manage to satisfy and a few plot twists that surprise, delight, and sadden in equal measure. I especially love the way Blenner's plot-line parallels aspects of Gaunt's. The way Abnett addresses the long wait between novels is quite fun, if not necessarily all that novel in the lore. There's a mistake or two of the kind Abnett sometimes makes. For instance Gaunt's eyes, described as having a 'flash of green fire' when they caught the light in Blood Pact, are described once as blue towards the end of the book. Abnett's also started using the new GW terms like Astra Militarum, but I found his usage blended in well enough that the change in terminology went down easily.

 

Reading some reviews before release had me a little worried that the book was just a giant prelude to Anarch. That's somewhat true for better or worse. The end of the book is very much setting the stage for another story. However, there's still more than enough progression for the characters and meta-plot for an immensely satisfying read.

 

I also had a sneaking suspicion from reading early reviews that there wasn't going to be enough combat in the book. That's a subjective measure of course, but for me there was more than enough blood and gore. You get both personal and large scale battle scenes from the perspective of multiple Ghosts. The non-combat moments, as is often the case with Abnett, are the most satisfying for me personally.

 

A lot of people seem to have been considering a re-read of the entire series in advance of release. I'd say that's unnecessary if you have a decent recollection of the overall plot, but reading the two books previously released in the Victory arc would be worthwhile.

 

This accidentally turned into something of a review so to conclude: unless you have a severe allergy to cliffhangers this book is a brilliant example of why Gaunt's Ghosts is a beloved series. I'm already more than a little excited for Anarch.

[JH79]

I very much feel like I have missed a trick re Gaunt's Ghosts. I reluctantly decided to stop listening to Warmaster at the end of Chapter 6 and force myself through Salvation's Reach. It became blindingly obvious that I would get more from the book by having the slightest modicum of who everyone was and what in the hell was going on!

 

So here I am, 14 Chapters into Salvations Reach, enjoying the absolute hell out it and wondering why I have never touched this series before... wait, I'm a notoriously slow reader and have very little spare time! Regardless though I have just added The Founding Omnibus to my Christmas wish list, you're never too old for a Christmas list after all! I'm somehow going to make time to get up to speed on this series and hope that the back stories are all given the Audio treatment at some point soon.

 

Anyway, I think i'll be done with Salvation's Reach by tomorrow night and then I'll start Warmaster from the beginning again, already excited to see how those opening chapters compare with a little extra background information! 

[cheywood]

I very much feel like I have missed a trick re Gaunt's Ghosts. I reluctantly decided to stop listening to Warmaster at the end of Chapter 6 and force myself through Salvation's Reach. It became blindingly obvious that I would get more from the book by having the slightest modicum of who everyone was and what in the hell was going on!

 

So here I am, 14 Chapters into Salvations Reach, enjoying the absolute hell out it and wondering why I have never touched this series before... wait, I'm a notoriously slow reader and have very little spare time! Regardless though I have just added The Founding Omnibus to my Christmas wish list, you're never too old for a Christmas list after all! I'm somehow going to make time to get up to speed on this series and hope that the back stories are all given the Audio treatment at some point soon.

 

Anyway, I think i'll be done with Salvation's Reach by tomorrow night and then I'll start Warmaster from the beginning again, already excited to see how those opening chapters compare with a little extra background information!

You might like Blood Pact before Warmaster as well. The first 11 novels in the series, while heavily connected, depict discrete campaigns with some element of closure at the end of each novel. Starting with Blood Pact and ending with the upcoming Anarch Abnett's decided he would tell one story in four books. Blood Pact's the start, Salvation's Reach and The Warmaster are the middle, and Anarch's the conclusion.

[JH79]

 

I very much feel like I have missed a trick re Gaunt's Ghosts. I reluctantly decided to stop listening to Warmaster at the end of Chapter 6 and force myself through Salvation's Reach. It became blindingly obvious that I would get more from the book by having the slightest modicum of who everyone was and what in the hell was going on!

 

So here I am, 14 Chapters into Salvations Reach, enjoying the absolute hell out it and wondering why I have never touched this series before... wait, I'm a notoriously slow reader and have very little spare time! Regardless though I have just added The Founding Omnibus to my Christmas wish list, you're never too old for a Christmas list after all! I'm somehow going to make time to get up to speed on this series and hope that the back stories are all given the Audio treatment at some point soon.

 

Anyway, I think i'll be done with Salvation's Reach by tomorrow night and then I'll start Warmaster from the beginning again, already excited to see how those opening chapters compare with a little extra background information!

You might like Blood Pact before Warmaster as well. The first 11 novels in the series, while heavily connected, depict discrete campaigns with some element of closure at the end of each novel. Starting with Blood Pact and ending with the upcoming Anarch Abnett's decided he would tell one story in four books. Blood Pact's the start, Salvation's Reach and The Warmaster the middle,and Anarch's the conclusion.

 

Appreciate the heads up there good sir! Interesting to know about the more singular nature of the earlier works. In the case of Salvations Reach you really do get the feeling that you're in the middle of something larger. It makes for a relaxed pace of story telling, something i enjoy a lot. It's clear that there are quite a few threads connecting Blood Pact to Salvations Reach, however I'm not feeling as in the dark as i was with Warmaster.

 

I really do see what all the fuss is about now if the preceding novels are on par with what I've listened to so far!

[Morovir]

The shorts in Sabbat Crusade would also really help, especially the ones by Abnett.

[cheywood]

The shorts in Sabbat Crusade would also really help, especially the ones by Abnett.

They definitely help, but Abnett does a very nice job of summarizing the events they depict in The Warmaster.

[Guest Anakwanar]

 

 

I very much feel like I have missed a trick re Gaunt's Ghosts. I reluctantly decided to stop listening to Warmaster at the end of Chapter 6 and force myself through Salvation's Reach. It became blindingly obvious that I would get more from the book by having the slightest modicum of who everyone was and what in the hell was going on!

 

So here I am, 14 Chapters into Salvations Reach, enjoying the absolute hell out it and wondering why I have never touched this series before... wait, I'm a notoriously slow reader and have very little spare time! Regardless though I have just added The Founding Omnibus to my Christmas wish list, you're never too old for a Christmas list after all! I'm somehow going to make time to get up to speed on this series and hope that the back stories are all given the Audio treatment at some point soon.

 

Anyway, I think i'll be done with Salvation's Reach by tomorrow night and then I'll start Warmaster from the beginning again, already excited to see how those opening chapters compare with a little extra background information!

You might like Blood Pact before Warmaster as well. The first 11 novels in the series, while heavily connected, depict discrete campaigns with some element of closure at the end of each novel. Starting with Blood Pact and ending with the upcoming Anarch Abnett's decided he would tell one story in four books. Blood Pact's the start, Salvation's Reach and The Warmaster the middle,and Anarch's the conclusion.

 

Appreciate the heads up there good sir! Interesting to know about the more singular nature of the earlier works. In the case of Salvations Reach you really do get the feeling that you're in the middle of something larger. It makes for a relaxed pace of story telling, something i enjoy a lot. It's clear that there are quite a few threads connecting Blood Pact to Salvations Reach, however I'm not feeling as in the dark as i was with Warmaster.

 

I really do see what all the fuss is about now if the preceding novels are on par with what I've listened to so far!

 

Warmaster is one of the most amazing Abnett novels. But at the same time - it is horrible. Horrible - because now we need to wait a year at least to read how it will all concluded with 'Anarch'. That's one of the bad sides then novel has 'to be continue' ending, instead of a definite one we usually had with each Gaunt Ghosts novel

[Phoebus]

Let me add this, too: while there are three novels between it and Blood Pact, Traitor General is the novel that sets up the basis for most of what you see in the Victory story ark. Mabbon Etogaur is introduced in that novel, as are the Sons of Sek.

[RedDragon]

Some light spoilers;

 

Do you guys think we've seen the last of Mabbon Etogaur?

[JH79]

Thanks for all of the pointers guys, I really do have quite a bit of catching up to do!! 

 

I'm half way through chapter 21 of Salvations Reach and am so excited for Warmaster now! These latter chapters really do enforce the fact that life is measurable in days, weeks or months in the savage and unforgiving universe of 40k. But so fascinating at the same time, the scale of Salvations Reach for example is nuts, almost like a Space Hulk! It's the sort of thing that justifies short stories dedicated to it's exploration.

 

Anyways, while searching the BL site for some of the GG titles mentioned above I noticed that the opening trilogy is still available as a swanky Box Set... does anyone else on here have this? How's the quality of binding & paper grade? Omnibus's are good but quite cumbersome to hold at around 1k pages *looks over at Ahriman Omnibus*. Regardless of format I'm going to make the time to trawl through everything that's been released so far after I'm done with Warmaster.

 

On a completely separate note, I am a tad anal when it comes to brand consistency (that's part of my real life job taking over!) and I've been fretting over the completely different look of the Audiobook covers to Salvations Reach and Warmaster for a couple of days now. Assuming that Black Library will never re-work the Salvations Reach cover to march Warmaster I decided to do it myself during my lunch break today! If you're a continuity freak like me please feel free to use it to update your own version of the Audiobook too 

 

[cheywood]

Some light spoilers;

 

Do you guys think we've seen the last of Mabbon Etogaur?

In my opinion, no fething way. Domor knows where he's being held, perhaps Bask and Fazekiel as well. Not to mention he's been too important to the arc to disappear to die unseen.

[Phoebus]

I finished Warmaster a few days ago.

 

Though I enjoyed it throughout, it was a rather bittersweet experience: I don’t claim to know all the circumstances behind Dan Abnett’s sabbatical from the Ghosts, but I was left thinking that five years too many passed since we might have realistically expected this novel to be released. I found myself reading through the entire series in anticipation of this novel, wanting to get reacquainted with all the characters, to recall where their destinies were taking them and how they felt about each other and the lives they led together.

 

Warmaster really is a very good book, without necessarily being Abnett’s best work. Having gone back through the catalogue, it’s also a testament to how Abnett has grown as a novelist and a storyteller. The characters are almost universally strong, and the situations they find themselves are, for the most part, compelling. The pacing is breathless; even when the heroes aren’t racing to danger, there is intrigue and scheming enough to keep you hooked and turning pages. The action is very well apportioned and timed throughout the novel, and it has to be said once more how well Abnett portrays war in the 41st millennium. Is it perfect? No, of course not, but while Abnett doesn’t even bother trying to give you a complete picture of the war on Urdesh, what he does provide is riveting. Critics of Abnett’s have long had complained about his heroes overcoming impossible foes and opponents, but I challenge anyone to tell me they weren’t moved by ...

 

... Oan Mkoll’s defiant stand at the very end. CHILLS.

 

And will there be a sequel? Feth yes, there will be. The cliffhanger Abnett leaves us with demands it. Happily, Abnett has confirmed he’s writing Anarch already, but I’m not clear as to whether or not this final entry in the Victory arc will also serve as the series finale.

 

Does Warmaster have flaws? Yes... but they’re just as much a flaw of the series as they are of the novel. Feel free to click on the spoiler, but understand that it will give a way a massive part of the novel. I found out about it by mistake by doing a stupid search for the organizational structure of the regiment, so I would spare anyone the same grief.

 

There is an endgame that Abnett has been hinting at for some time in the series: Gaunt’s ascent to the command of the Sabbat Crusade. On the one hand, Warmaster fails in that Gaunt is lifted into the halls of power in rather cavalier fashion. A posthumous promotion is certainly apropos, especially given the Crusade-wide consequences of the strategy Gaunt proposed in Blood Pact and Salvation’s Reach, but to be made a peer to the Lords Militant? It feels like too much. Point of fact, it feels like a blatant plot device.

 

The real problem is that while we’ve been told for some time that Slaydo considered Gaunt as a successor, his rank and the lack of any plot action in that direction never made it feel real - at least, not to me. This is something Abnett probably should have started making moves for as far back as his impossible return from Gereon; at that point, Gaunt had been instrumental not only in crucial victories, but in the salvation of an entire Army Group and the return of Saint Sabbat herself. The incorporation of Verghast and Belladon elements to the Tanith First-and-Only was an excellent opportunity for Gaunt to earn a promotion (or promotions), which would’ve made this appointment feel both plausible and apropos.

 

Anyways, that’s too much text for something that ultimately will not detract from enjoyment of this novel. Bottom line? I recommend this novel wholeheartedly!

[Vesper]

I'm a sad little panda no one made a spoiltastic post about the novel :(.

[Donkey Kong]

I finished listening to The Warmaster last night. I solidly enjoyed about a third of it, mostly from the beginning, the end, and the high command politicking in between. But the rest of it really dragged for me and at the moment I think The Victory is the worst Ghosts Arc. After reading Blood Pact and Salvation's Reach, I though Gaunt's Ghosts would have been better ending with Only in Death, which I consider to be the series high note. The Warmaster hasn't changed my opinion. I'm hoping The Anarch proves me wrong, but I'm not holding my breath either.

 

I wouldn't recommend The Warmaster, but if you've read the series this far and can pick it up for cheap, it's okay, and it isn't the worst four dollars I've ever spent.

 

So here I am, 14 Chapters into Salvations Reach, enjoying the absolute hell out it and wondering why I have never touched this series before... wait, I'm a notoriously slow reader and have very little spare time! Regardless though I have just added The Founding Omnibus to my Christmas wish list, you're never too old for a Christmas list after all! I'm somehow going to make time to get up to speed on this series and hope that the back stories are all given the Audio treatment at some point soon.

If you prefer YouTube videos, A Border Prince has an ongoing series on the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. So far he's covered the background books, FIrst and Only, and Ghostmaker. If you want to start from the very beginning, I'd recommend skipping to Necropolis (third book) and working from there. I'll second your wish for getting the rest of the series on audible.

 

I'm a sad little panda no one made a spoiltastic post about the novel .

 

I'll try to oblige.

After the events of Salvation's Reach, a warp translation accident propels the ship forward ten years. The Ghosts's ship is intercepted and boarded by archenemy soldiers attempting to salvage the wreckage. For reasons unknown, the ship the borders launched from is destroyed by another, larger archenemy ship, and the borders retreat. It's speculated later that the larger ship was ordered to destroy the smaller ship so that the relics reclaimed from the reach (principle among them are the so called "Eagle Stones," xenos tablets that most notably fell in an aquila pattern after exiting the warp and attempted to compel Kolea to return them to Sek) wouldn't be destroyed, and the Ghosts's ship is allowed to make its way to Urdesh.

 

On Urdesh, Warmaster Macaroth, Saint Sabbat, and some significant number of generals, are locked in battle with the archenemy warlord Anakwanar Sek. Macaroth declares Urdesh, a forge world, too valuable to simply destroy from orbit, even though a number of generals want to. Characters speculate whether Sek is baiting Macaroth, Macaroth is baiting Sek, if Sek is a genius or insane, or if Macaroth has been driven mad studying Sek's insanity or if he's simply burnt out after acting as Warmaster for the past 26 years.

 

We learn that after Gaunt was presumed deceased after his ship was lost in the warp, he was posthumously promoted to Lord Commander Militant, and is now awarded his new rank and assigned an entourage of tempestus scions that he's not too fond of. Gaunt is welcomed into the high command inner circle, where we learn that Macaroth hasn't been communicating with his generals, and a number of generals want to oust Macaroth through a vote of no confidence. But, they haven't had a candidate to replace him until now, and Gaunt is asked to be their figurehead.

 

Gaunt goes to speak to Macaroth before accepting his role in replacing him. Gaunt finds Macaroth and explains why the generals are upset with him and their plans to replace him. Macaroth is convinced to come and speak with the general staff and dedicates himself to winning the war on Urdesh instead of burying himself in a library of military history. Macaroth names Gaunt his vice Warmaster, to succeed the Warmaster if he dies and to serve as an emissary between Macaroth and his generals.

 

I'd call that the core plot. Side plots are more concerned with the Ghosts setting up camp on Urdesh in territory where enemy combatants can infiltrate snipers and attack soldiers and retinue. Tona Criid is promoted to captain. Yoncy Criid has episodes of precognition. Felyx Chass's bodyguard and Gaunt's mistress Maddalena is killed in one of those attacks and Felyx arranges for her funeral service. Dalin learns that Felyx is a woman in disguise and that she's pretending to be a boy so that her mother can rule Vervunhive in "his" stead. Merrin, Wilder, Blenner, and a Verghastite I can't remember come up with a new scheme to extort money from Felyx after they learn how expensive the funeral service was. They attempt to corner Felyx in a shower, everything goes wrong, Felyx gets knocked out, Ezra intervenes to save Felyx, Merrin shoots Ezra in the back, Blenner executes Wilder and the Verghastite to cover for Merrin and himself, and now everyone knows Felyx's secret. Inquisitors take Gol Kolea in for questioning after his experience hearing voices from the Eagle Stones. Rawne is promoted to colonel and leads the Tanith into battle. Mkoll discovered where the enemy is attempting to flank from through the ruins of old ships and is implied to die in a glorious last stand that ends with the enemy in full retreat. This also isn't the first time that Mkoll has been presumed dead, so if he comes back in The Anarch I won't be surprised.

 

Things I liked.

• Space Marines. The space marines were my favorite part of Salvation's Reach as well, with the exception of needing to be ordered to retreat. I'm still not sure what their plan was then, but it was dumb. Their counter bordering action in The Warmaster was fun.
• Descriptions of the ship in disrepair with twisted hallways and shoddy gravity were evocative and inspired.
• The Inquisition gets portrayed competently. They're professional instead of thuggish. They're always a step ahead (Mabbon, the Eagle Stones, and Kolea).
• High Command Politicking. With the exception of Van Voytz throwing a punch at Gaunt, at the end, it's all professional and well conducted. There's no surprise coup or betrayal or sabotage. I'm glad this makes up the core plot. Macaroth, for what little we saw of him, is a fun character.

Things I didn't like

• Low ammunition. This isn't the first time that Abnett's used this in the Ghosts series to raise tension. In The Guns of Tanith at least we got a joke out of it. It didn't add anything then, it doesn't add anything now, and nothing changes because of it. There's no foolhardy, heroic, "we're out of ammo, fix straight silver." The only character that picks up an enemy weapon is Ezra after he busts his crossbow over a boarder's head. All we get are filler lines about not wasting rounds. This is besides the point that one of the key reasons we're told the guard uses lasguns is because rechargeable batteries are infinitely easier on logistics than bullets. But, the ghosts also use .30 cal machine guns, so what do I know?
• Time skip. Why is this here? Best case scenario, if nothing else were changed, the time skip would have been a cute little wink and nod acknowledging that it's been six years since Salvation's Reach was published. Instead we get a ten year time skip that changes nothing for no reason. If the regimental retinue hadn't come along to Salvation's Reach, there could have been a heartfelt reunion. If we'd met Sabbat and Milo again, that could have been interesting too. There is no payoff here.
• Felyx Chass. Felyx is a terrible character, and the Mulan conspiracy to hide her gender so that Merity Chass can rule Vervunhive in her "son's" stead makes Felyx even worse, because now she makes even less sense. Felyx knows that her only path to ruling Vervunhive is by becoming a war hero. She should have been introduced as a fit, capable, charismatic glory hound in Salvation's Reach. She should want to be in the vanguard. Instead, she's kept away from the war, coddled, weak, petulant, and incompetent.
• Gaunt hasn't demonstrated that he's capable of high command. Phoebus already said it, but if this is the direction Abnett wanted to take with Gaunt, then Gaunt should have been promoted to general as far back as His Last Command or The Armour of Contempt. Moving him from Colonel to Lord Commander Militant feels like a massive leap. The rank Colonel-Commissar has been dumb since First and Only and it's been a point of contention in multiple books. I don't know why Lord Commander Militant-Commissar isn't also a big deal.

[Chiwie]

I'm a sad little panda no one made a spoiltastic post about the novel .

What do you want to know?

 

The book was pretty great, not the best Ghosts book but it's up there. It's main failing in my eyes is that it's so there to setup The Anarch. Totally understandable though and I reckon the novel will seem even better when the last book in the arc plays out some of the juicer plot lines teased in this book.

 

Pretty heavy spoilers from here on in.

 

 

As soon as I read kill box, which is beyond excellent btw, I knew Mkoll was a gonner. I really hope that he managed to escape the inescapable once again and will totally pop up to save the day in The Anarch. But this Abnett and 40k.

 

The way Abnett dealt with the time between books, the gender error with Kolea's kid is genius. The subplot with Gaunt's 'son' is also equally on par with setting up drama and intrigue that's on par or if not better than the book's action. It wouldn't surprise me that if Chass survives her time in the regiment that there is a spin off book about her return to Verghast.

[Phoebus]

The only thing I would qualify about KingHongKong's post is this:

Oan Mkoll is, indeed, alluded to having a last stand against the Sons of Sek. I sincerely doubt he's dead (his body isn't found, just his broken dagger), but more importantly his action didn't force the enemy to retreat. I thought it was understood that the enemy came to get something, that they succeeded in doing so, and that the attack was ended once this was done.

[cheywood]

The only thing I would qualify about KingHongKong's post is this:

 

Oan Mkoll is, indeed, alluded to having a last stand against the Sons of Sek. I sincerely doubt he's dead (his body isn't found, just his broken dagger), but more importantly his action didn't force the enemy to retreat. I thought it was understood that the enemy came to get something, that they succeeded in doing so, and that the attack was ended once this was done.

Any thoughts on what they obtained? The Eagle Stones are secure so it doesn't seem like Sek was after them. I can't see the point of the attack being to capture Mkoll, since he's had no special significance to the Archenemy before now. Could the point of the attack have been to force non-combatants, specifically Yoncy and the rest of the Tanith retinue, into the fortress? Yoncy certainly seems to view their arrival as a portent of some future event, telling her shadow: 'Bad shadow... Naughty shadow. Not yet.'

[Chiwie]

 

The only thing I would qualify about KingHongKong's post is this:

 

Oan Mkoll is, indeed, alluded to having a last stand against the Sons of Sek. I sincerely doubt he's dead (his body isn't found, just his broken dagger), but more importantly his action didn't force the enemy to retreat. I thought it was understood that the enemy came to get something, that they succeeded in doing so, and that the attack was ended once this was done.

Any thoughts on what they obtained? The Eagle Stones are secure so it doesn't seem like Sek was after them. I can't see the point of the attack being to capture Mkoll, since he's had no special significance to the Archenemy before now. Could the point of the attack have been to force non-combatants, specifically Yoncy and the rest of the Tanith retinue, into the fortress? Yoncy certainly seems to view their arrival as a portent of some future event, telling her shadow: 'Bad shadow... Naughty shadow. Not yet.'

 

My bet is Yoncy is a going to bring some seriously nasty stuff though the warp. Like greater deamon levels of bad. Now she is in the fortress Sek has a weapon of mass destruction pointed directly at 90% the crusade's leadership.

[Vesper]

Any Sons of Sek screentime ? How are they portrayed ?

 

Do we also get some new info on Sek himself ?

 

How goes the war on Urdesh ?