Gav Thorpe’s Ghost Warrior is the first book in the Rise of the Ynnari series detailing the exploits of Yvraine and her Ynnari, whose goal is to bring forth the aeldari god of the dead, Ynnead. When the Iyandeni are confronted with the return of the long-lost craftworld Zaisusthra, spiritseer Iyanna Arienal’s path intersects with Yvraine’s. Iyanden needs allies to survive, while the Ynnari see an opportunity to find and claim the last of the once-lost Croneswords, which they need to bring about the awakening of Ynnead. The question is, what does Zaisuthra want, and why has it returned now?
Set in the here and now of 40k, after the Great Rift, this follows on directly from Gav’s audio drama Hand of Darkness and draws heavily from both the Gathering Storm lore and Guy Haley’s novel Valedor. It does assume a fair bit of previous knowledge so it’s worth being at least vaguely familiar with the recent aeldari timeline, but don’t worry if you can’t quite remember what happened to certain characters as there’s enough to work on here to get the gist. Gav cleverly inserts little bits of exposition here and there through the careful application of a knowing, slightly snarky narrator, contributing to an unusual but highly satisfying tone of voice. A scathing deconstruction of Ahriman’s trials and tribulations early on is almost worth the asking price alone.
It’s always a pleasure reading Gav’s eldar/aeldari stories as there are so many opportunities for eye-opening insights and deep lore, and this is no different; if you want to learn about present-era aeldari, this is the book to check out. The concept of Ynnead still feels very new, so it’s fascinating to learn more about the new realities and possibilities unlocked by the Ynnari, and what those all mean to followers and opponents alike. That’s all pretty dark stuff, not to mention Iyanna’s unusual, haunting relationship with the dead of Iyanden and the unsettling sense of strangeness that surrounds Zaisuthra and its inhabitants. To say much about Zaisuthra would spoil the fun of gradually learning the truth about the returning craftworld, but let’s just say the two craftworlds don’t exactly rush to embrace each other.
The narrative weaves in lots of different viewpoints (including an occasional diversion behind the eyes of Alorynis, Yvraine’s gyrinx) and while the focus is primarily shared between Yvraine and Iyanna, it’s nicely balanced out by various other characters such as the Visarch, and the autarch Meliniel. With lots of characters, and quite a lot of world-building to do for locations and concepts, pacing-wise it’s often relatively slow – but that’s a good thing, as it gives the story room to breathe. The action and excitement when it arrives is characterful and used to good effect and the final third or so of the book gradually ramps up to a brilliantly epic conclusion. This is undoubtedly a real change of pace compared to the usual Imperium-focused 40k novels, and might not be to everyone’s taste. Gav’s writing really suits this sort of story, however, so go with the flow and there’s loads to enjoy in a book that’s packed full of character and depth.
