The fifteenth (!) Gaunt’s Ghosts novel, and the fourth and final instalment in the long-running The Victory arc, Dan Abnett’s Anarch picks up almost immediately after the conclusion to The Warmaster (so beware spoilers if you’ve not read The Warmaster), on Urdesh. In the aftermath of Sek’s aborted assault on Eltath, most of the Ghosts are still dug in around the Tulkar Batteries, though some are in uneasy residence in makeshift billets beneath the Urdeshic Palace, while Gaunt wrestles with the realities of his new role. Neither Gaunt nor Rawne believe Sek was truly defeated, but nor do they yet understand the parts they have to play in coming events.
Assuming you’ve read The Warmaster (and if you haven’t, why are you reading this?!) then you’ll already know the direction at least some of the plot arcs are going in, as this is very much a continuation of that book and the conclusion of the overarching story that began with Blood Pact. There are a few new faces and locations, not least as Abnett explores a little more of the wider picture on Urdesh, although to be clear this isn’t ‘about’ the battle for Urdesh. That’s taking place in the background – we’re introduced to characters who have been busy elsewhere in the war zone up until now, and we do learn about what Sek was really up to, but for all its widened scope this is still about the ground-level actions of the Ghosts first and foremost. It’s typically character-driven; a remarkably personal story focused on the small-scale (but vital, in the end) actions of key characters as events on Urdesh come to a climax.
As the conclusion to a 4-book arc and not just a standalone story, Anarch has to do a lot – provide an exciting, action-packed story in its own right, sure, but also tie up a whole load of different character arcs and subplots. There’s a lot to cover, and it’s a fairly hefty tome as a result, as the action skips between the different strands which weave in and out of each other before gradually coming (mostly) together for an epic finale. The cast are all present and correct, and while some have a certain air of plot-necessary invincibility – or in some cases fallibility – it’s safe to say that a brutal – and in places genuinely horrifying – time is had by all. While it’s perhaps not the emotional wringer that some previous books have been (although it has its moments), an extended set-piece which takes up a large chunk of the book and revolves around a few crucial characters (specifically for this arc) might just be the darkest place Abnett’s taken the Ghosts to yet.
It’s not just dark in the violent sense either – for all that the series is very much about war stories, it’s also always featured personal dramas and tragedies, both of which are present and correct in this book. While the explosive action is undoubtedly great fun, the real reason you want to keep turning the page – and boy is this a page turner – is to understand where the characters go and what happens to them, and Abnett’s great success here is in seeing through so many characters’ journeys to their logical, (largely) satisfying conclusions…whether that means death or new beginnings. There’s a sense of bittersweet satisfaction reading this and finally learning what happens; it provides a powerful conclusion to the arc, but it feels strange to have got to the end at last. To be clear, it’s not the end for Gaunt and the Ghosts, but it’s an ending, and whatever comes next is going to have to be very different.
Looked for a series to start my foray into Warhammer 40k. Happy that I picked the Gaunt’s Ghosts saga. Finished Anarch.
Where do I go from here?
Good choice – great series!
What sort of stories are you after next? Do you want more boots-on-the-ground Imperial Guard stories/Space Marines/aliens/antiheroes/life away from the battlefields? Lots of options!
If you liked Dan’s writing I’d either go to the Inquisitor Eisenhorn trilogy or start the Horus Heresy.
Thanks I’ll check out the Eisenhorn series. The Horus heresy has so many books and so many authors