Appreciation for the Abnett-verse - finding the links

[malika666]

So I've been a big fan of the Eisenhorn/Ravenor series by Dan Abnett, and now that the audiobooks for Gaunt's Ghosts are slowly coming out, I'm exploring those as well. 

 

One of the things I'm digging a lot is that Abnett has really created his own little corner of the 40k universe, and of course now that I'm also listening to Gaunt's Ghosts, I'm discovering all these little links with the Eisenhorn series.

 

I was wondering other links / easter eggs are out there. So far I've found these:

 

Lilith Abfequarn - Inquisitor in Ravenor Rogue, was sent in by Lord Rorken to bring Ravenor in when he went rogue. She appeared again in the second Gaunt's Ghost novel, Ghostmaker, investigating Brin Milo and eventually disappearing alongside the Eldar. Oh yeah, she also brought Zeal Effernetti (from the Ravenor novels) to Titan to be turned into a Grey Knight.

 

Zeal Effernetti - teenage boy during the Ravenor novels, a psychic mirror. Afterwards in ADB's The Emperor's Gift he became the Grey Knight known as Hyperion.

 

Golesh Heldane - First appeared in the first Eisenhorn novel Xenos as an Interrogator. In the third novel Hereticus he was a full blown Inquisitor who tried to capture the Malus Codicium (and try to have Eisenhorn killed in the process). In First and Only (the first Gaunt's Ghosts novel) he came back, trying to once again to get some illegal knowledge for political power.

 

Do you guys have more such links between the different novel series? I'd like to collect them here.

 

Thank in advance!

[apologist]

The seminal Adeptus Mechanicus novel Titanicus has a little Easter Egg mention of Ervin Hekate, the Princeps from the Titan comic – in the description of Gearheart:

 

 

 

Pietor Gearhart was an ancient being, by any human standards. His body was sixty-eight per cent bionic, and the rest of the flesh was heavily regrafted. He had been bonded to the mind impulse unit of Invictus Antagonistes for three hundred and thirteen years sidereal, and princeps maximus of the legio for two hundred and eighty-three. Prior to his princepture, he had been moderati on the Augustus Terminatus for eighteen years under Lucius Karing, and prior to that, famulous to the cantankerous engine-master Ervin Hekate for six, aboard the indomitable Imperius Dictatio.

 

My emphasis.

 

I have a nagging feeling that there's a nod in Double Eagle to a couple of characters from Ravenor; but for the life of me I can't put my finger on it. Given that it's part of the Sabbat Crusade, I guess it doesn't really count that Phantine – the world some of the pilots in Double Eagle are drawn from – is the setting for The Guns of Tanith, right?

Edited June 30, 2020 by apologist

[Ramell]

The daemon Samus. Appears first in Horus Rising, possessing Xayver Jubal. It then shows up in Know no Fear, during the Battle of Calth (and got a Forge World model for it). It also appears in the Gaunt's Ghosts novel Blood Pact, possessing one of the Blood Pact kill-team members.

 

The Kinebrach xenos species. Again, first appearance in Horus Rising, as the creators of the Anathame. They are also mentioned in the Ghost novels as one-time inhabitants of Jago, and as the creators of the so-called Eagle Stones.

 

There's even Ravenor himself. His first mention, in real-world chronolgy, was just as an author in the first GG book. Heldane and Lilith also predate the Eisenhorn and Ravenor books in the same way.

[DarkChaplain]

The Cognitae stuff also rears its head in Prospero Burns.

[malika666]

@Ramell: the Kinebrach also developed some sort of device that was used by Orfeo Culzean to pull the truth about Slyth from Kara Swole.

 

@DarkChaplain: I remember that, but it felt a bit weird, considering it was founded by Lilean Chase, who lived around 350.M41.

[RedDragon]

The Cognitae also appear in Know No Fear, albeit briefly.

 

I think it's mentioned there that the Cognitae of that era, and that of 40k, aren't necessarily the same thing.

[Roomsky]

A particular document from Mcneill’s Mechanicum is a central plot point in Abnett’s Titanicus. Didn’t technically start with Abnett but I’d imagine the two collaborated on the idea.

[mc warhammer]

question: i haven't read much abnett outside of HH...just iron snakes and some shorts. what are the elements in his work that define it as distinct from the rest of 40k? what's makes it "abnettverse"? and is he the only one playing in it? i can see above that there is some crossing with other authors...

[Petitioner's City]

So I've been a big fan of the Eisenhorn/Ravenor series by Dan Abnett, and now that the audiobooks for Gaunt's Ghosts are slowly coming out, I'm exploring those as well.

 

One of the things I'm digging a lot is that Abnett has really created his own little corner of the 40k universe, and of course now that I'm also listening to Gaunt's Ghosts, I'm discovering all these little links with the Eisenhorn series.

 

I was wondering other links / easter eggs are out there. So far I've found these:

 

Lilith Abfequarn - Inquisitor in Ravenor Rogue, was sent in by Lord Rorken to bring Ravenor in when he went rogue. She appeared again in the second Gaunt's Ghost novel, Ghostmaker, investigating Brin Milo and eventually disappearing alongside the Eldar. Oh yeah, she also brought Zeal Effernetti (from the Ravenor novels) to Titan to be turned into a Grey Knight.

 

Zeal Effernetti - teenage boy during the Ravenor novels, a psychic mirror. Afterwards in ADB's The Emperor's Gift he became the Grey Knight known as Hyperion.

 

Golesh Heldane - First appeared in the first Eisenhorn novel Xenos as an Interrogator. In the third novel Hereticus he was a full blown Inquisitor who tried to capture the Malus Codicium (and try to have Eisenhorn killed in the process). In First and Only (the first Gaunt's Ghosts novel) he came back, trying to once again to get some illegal knowledge for political power.

 

Do you guys have more such links between the different novel series? I'd like to collect them here.

 

Thank in advance!

One thing is perhaps to make these orders in publication order rather than the other way around; it feels weird seeing Haldane came back for F&O, or Lilith back for Ghostmaker, rather than the other way around :D

[malika666]

Fair enough, I kinda went for chronology here rather than publication order. The Eisenhorn/Ravenor series seem to take place years before the Gaunt's Ghosts novels.

[Morovir]

There's also a brief mention in Salvation's Reach about how Ravenor 'died badly', which is a bit ominous for the rest of the Bequin trilogy.

[malika666]

Been checking the Inquisitor Ascendant comic again, Inquisitor Defay attended the Triumph at Tracian.

 

 

 

There's also a brief mention in Salvation's Reach about how Ravenor 'died badly', which is a bit ominous for the rest of the Bequin trilogy.

Oh do tell!

Edited July 1, 2020 by malika666

[Morovir]

There's not really much to tell - it was only brief.

 

‘Ravenor,’ said Chass, indicating the book. ‘I’ve never been particularly taken with his work.’

‘Really?’ said Gaunt.

‘He died badly, didn’t he?’

Gaunt shrugged. ‘What matters is what he did first,’ he said.

 

Seeing as the backdrop of the Bequin trilogy is Ravenor trying to hunt down Eisenhorn, this suggests that it doesn't necessarily end well for him.

[malika666]

There's not really much to tell - it was only brief.

 

‘Ravenor,’ said Chass, indicating the book. ‘I’ve never been particularly taken with his work.’

‘Really?’ said Gaunt.

‘He died badly, didn’t he?’

Gaunt shrugged. ‘What matters is what he did first,’ he said.

 

Seeing as the backdrop of the Bequin trilogy is Ravenor trying to hunt down Eisenhorn, this suggests that it doesn't necessarily end well for him.

 

Hmm, too early to tell. It's possible that Ravenor survives the Bequin trilogy. I mean, there aren't that many Inquisitors out there for who it does end well. ;-)

[Roomsky]

question: i haven't read much abnett outside of HH...just iron snakes and some shorts. what are the elements in his work that define it as distinct from the rest of 40k? what's makes it "abnettverse"? and is he the only one playing in it? i can see above that there is some crossing with other authors...

I’d say it’s defined by Abnett’s tendencies, perceived or otherwise, to bend the setting for the convenience of the story he’s telling. Rather, someone like ADB seems to start with the conceits of 40k then builds a great story out of it, and Abnett starts with the good story then applies elements of 40k.

 

Examples include certain weapons and units having power levels you may not expect, his Space Marines are often more fragile than the norm for instance, his inventing of new procedure and power structure within factions (in the case if his early books, by necessity), and his stories tending to be less grimdark in tone overall.

 

I think he also received the label for inventing xenos, factions, kinds if warp powers, and plot twists rather than using “stock” elements, but honestly I think that’s exactly what you should be doing if writing decent tie-in fiction.

[DarkChaplain]

 

question: i haven't read much abnett outside of HH...just iron snakes and some shorts. what are the elements in his work that define it as distinct from the rest of 40k? what's makes it "abnettverse"? and is he the only one playing in it? i can see above that there is some crossing with other authors...

 

Examples include certain weapons and units having power levels you may not expect, his Space Marines are often more fragile than the norm for instance, his inventing of new procedure and power structure within factions (in the case if his early books, by necessity), and his stories tending to be less grimdark in tone overall.

 

 

 

Are they really, though? Because as far as I recall, his Iron Snakes were supposedly really overpowered for general 40k at the time. Just going by that Kill Hill short story, they had one bloke dispatched to an ork-infested world for 15 years and he was getting by just dandy, racking up innumerable kills.

[BluejayJunior]

question: i haven't read much abnett outside of HH...just iron snakes and some shorts. what are the elements in his work that define it as distinct from the rest of 40k? what's makes it "abnettverse"? and is he the only one playing in it? i can see above that there is some crossing with other authors...

Additionally, the Gaunt's Ghost series (and some others) take place in the Sabbat Worlds, which is a large, very detailed area that he has created. It's like a giant sandbox he created to tell stories in. Check out the Sabbat Worlds Crusade book, it is an incredibly detailed history of the setting. 

Not sure if anyone else has written anything in the Sabbat Worlds. 

[DukeLeto69]

 

 

question: i haven't read much abnett outside of HH...just iron snakes and some shorts. what are the elements in his work that define it as distinct from the rest of 40k? what's makes it "abnettverse"? and is he the only one playing in it? i can see above that there is some crossing with other authors...

Additionally, the Gaunt's Ghost series (and some others) take place in the Sabbat Worlds, which is a large, very detailed area that he has created. It's like a giant sandbox he created to tell stories in. Check out the Sabbat Worlds Crusade book, it is an incredibly detailed history of the setting.

Not sure if anyone else has written anything in the Sabbat Worlds.

Two anthologies of short stories by different authors

+

Forthcoming “Urdesh” by Matthew Farrer

 

Both Titanicus and Double Eagle take place during Sabbat Worlds Crusade but are not GG novels.

 

Also the Iron Snakes were invented by Abnett right? Well as well as their own novel they appear in two GG novels.

Edited July 2, 2020 by DukeLeto69

[RedDragon]

Is Urdesh still a thing? I feel like it's been in development hell for ever.

[DukeLeto69]

Matt Farrer confirmed it was finished a little while back on Twitter. It was delivered late and then it got delayed by Covid.

 

My bet is it will be released end of this year if Covid doesn’t scupper things further.

[malika666]

Titanicus is part of the Sabbat Wars?

Also...is there any more info about Urdesh?

[Petitioner's City]

Matt Farrer confirmed it was finished a little while back on Twitter. It was delivered late and then it got delayed by Covid.

 

My bet is it will be released end of this year if Covid doesn’t scupper things further.

 

Wonderful!

 

Also his Twitter feed is pretty brilliant, but I couldn't find this post - do you have a link?

[Xisor]

In terms of defining the Abnett-verse, a lot of it comes from the early distance from 'core lore'.

 

Like in Xenos where the Marines - if I recall right - think of their Primarch as if they're still up and about, just over...there.

 

The Eisenhorn books were chief-most tie-in novels to the Inquisitor game, but were not always looked on strongly by fans of the =][= game, because Eisenhorn is much more of a super-hero detective spy than the stylistic approach of the game.

 

That's not the best description, I find it difficult to articulate, but if you look at the sort of grimy, messy impression (almost Blanchihtsu) that the =][= game had, gelling that alongside Abnett's more breezy style is tough. 

Eisenhorn travels through space on a ship the size of a jumbo-jet, or smaller. But Space Marines can't do that, the Ad Mech don't do that. Even Navigators seemed to travel on cathedral-space ships, not rickety junkers that any goon and his henchmen could (gun)cut about on.

 

Where's the tech-priest? Where's the astropaths? The navigators?

 

All the sort of essential touchstones weren't 'just out of sight', they were replaced with a detective institution made of... Pariahs.

 

It feels absurdly pedantic to pick at these, in this day and age - especially given how superior (for my tastes) Abnett's writing, characters, story, scene-setting... the whole kit and kaboodle is over the of-the-day much-ballyhood Inquisition War trilogy.

 

So it's not like Abnett's setting is bad, but when you're intrigued by the =][= setup and the people, it's difficult to sustain enthusiasm for it when someone's turned it all on its head and made it a bit thoroughly sci-fi with laser-swords and hover-cars and consequence-less magic powers of little relation to 40k's style of psychic powers and selling-souls and things.

 

Put that alongside Colonel-Commissars who might as well have just been a Colonel, as he did flip-all Commissar-ing. Y'know.

 

---

 

The Magos and Pariah were worth it, given this sort of foolish complaint I'd be on about. Even as far back as Titanicus I was starting to feel that Dan wasn't just writing awesome stories adjacent to 40k, but really diving into the heart of it and being an almost seamless, deep addition to the setting.

 

And the likes of the Ravenor trilogy really starts to get away from the "problems", by making the Abnett-verse much more explored and mad and detailed, and really brushing past any discrepancies by just not looking at them very much. There's much fewer occurences of discrepancies, and when they're there, they're forgivable, or earnt, or so cool they feel like they were considered and chosen as deliberate transgressions.

 

It's good stuff.

 

---

 

By contrast, consider Peter Fehervari's work as an almost similar pocket universe. It's not quite so strongly discrepant, but it is so distinctive and strange and intricate and isolated from the wider world.

 

(See also also Henry Zhou's pocket universe. Well, I say Zhou's - obviously there's that non-trivial, deeply dodgy detail of some of it not even being his contribution in the first place.)

 

Most other authors tend to be a bit more connected and immersed in wider things - not necessarily between authors (as others have said: McNeill & Abnett have collaborated a lot [Titanicus/Mechanicum being the forerunner for Prospero Burns/A Thousand Sons - both authors - if I recall rightly - noted that the collaboration was invigorating and stimulating, and for my tastes between the two authors, I think it also led to some of their most distinctive and memorable works!]), but in a more sort of 'using known things', where Dan's much more keen to...

 

Re-invent the wheel?

 

It's usually used as a dismissive thing, but in such a thing as creative writing & fiction, I could have the wheel re-invented time and again, seeing how well done they can be.

 

I guess it's just jarring when you want to read about a specific iteration of the wheel, and the author keeps introducing Colonel-Commissars and highly bureaucratic "City Hall are giving us hell, the Space Mayor'll have your badge and your gun!"  Inquisitorial Conclaves... :D

[DukeLeto69]

 

 

Matt Farrer confirmed it was finished a little while back on Twitter. It was delivered late and then it got delayed by Covid.

 

My bet is it will be released end of this year if Covid doesn’t scupper things further.

Wonderful!

 

Also his Twitter feed is pretty brilliant, but I couldn't find this post - do you have a link?

I asked him directly. It might still be in my timeline but there’s been a lot of posts since then.

 

What is clear from talking to several of the authors is there really isn’t a correlation between when a book is finished and when published. The authors hand it in and then BL decides when to release and all sorts of factors play in.

 

Most ppl know that originally Urdesh was supposed to be published alongside Warmaster and/or Anarch and covers other aspects of that planet wide battle focused on what the Iron Snakes were doing.

 

A lot of work went on to get the world building and coordination with Abnett’s books to ensure alignment. But I think Farrer struggled and the book took twice as long to write as normal (plus there were the fires in Oz etc)

 

So me saying end of this year is pure speculation on my part.

[DukeLeto69]

@xisor that is a really good explanation. I agree that Abnett has got better at not breaking the lore of 40k (and indeed he has actually set/designed many things that have become lore in 40k).

 

The Eisenhorn books do jar for lore junkies but they are so damn good they are forgivable.

 

You also pick up on my one huge bugbear that Swallow and Haley are also “guilty” of in HH series...

 

“Small” ships travelling through the warp.

 

I hate it. For me that is the antithesis of the 40k universe. It is Star Wars where an X-Wing has hyperdrive. For me 40k is about over the top ridiculousness with huge HUGE ships needed simply because of the size of the warp drives and geller field generators.

 

At least Abnett rectified that in Ravenor! Can’t remember the skippers name but liked how Ravenor and his Cadre “rented” space on his big merchant vessel (becoming a regular arrangement).

 

I prefer the idea that warp travel is comparatively rare and very expensive and that the vast majority of the multi quadrillions of humans never do it - even though billions still do that is still like only 1% of the population.