Tag Archives: Dan Abnett

Necropolis – Dan Abnett

Book three in Dan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts series, and the final part of the first The Founding arc, Necropolis is widely cited as many fans’ favourite of the entire series – it’s also the highest-rated on Goodreads. On the Imperial world Verghast, the inhabitants of Vervunhive are stunned when their old-enemy-turned-ally hive Ferrozoica launches an all-out assault. As Imperial Guard reinforcements, including the Ghosts, join in the defence of Vervunhive, it becomes clear that this is much more than a trade war – Ferrozoica has been turned to Chaos.

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Ghostmaker – Dan Abnett

Book two of Dan Abnett’s long-running Gaunt’s Ghosts series, Ghostmaker – not to be confused with the short story of the same name – is an unusual book in that it’s essentially a series of short stories framed by a single loose narrative, rather than a full novel. In a lull between actions on the jungle world of Monthax, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt walks the line sharing a few words with his men, each conversation prompting a new story. Beginning with Gaunt’s recollection of Tanith’s fall, it continues with tales showcasing the exploits of Corbec, Larkin, Rawne, Milo and more.

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Forgotten Texts: First and Only by Dan Abnett

“Men of Tanith! Do you want to live forever?”

Unlike other Forgotten Texts articles, this time I’m taking a look at a book that I’ve reviewed separately – in this case First and Only by Dan Abnett. If you haven’t already, you might want to take a look at that review first, which you can find here. As a quick recap, however, First and Only is book one in the still-running Gaunt’s Ghosts series, first published in 1999 as – I believe – the very first ‘original’ Black Library novel. Nearly twenty years later (as I write this) the fourteenth book in the series is due out imminently, with the fifteenth already in the pipeline!

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First and Only – Dan Abnett

First published in 1999, Dan Abnett’s First and Only is book one in the epic Gaunt’s Ghosts series, following on from several short stories in Inferno! magazine. On the forge world Fortis Binary, the Tanith First and Only are one of many Imperial Guard regiments arrayed against the once-loyal population, now turned to Chaos. As Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and the Ghosts are drawn deeper into the brutal conflict, they’re faced with not just the forces of Chaos but enemies within the ranks of their allies, as a horrifying conspiracy is gradually revealed within the ranks of the Sabbat Crusade itself.

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Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Eight – First and Only by Dan Abnett

The third Dan Abnett novel to be included in the series so far, book eight in the Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection from Hachette and Black Library is First and Only. In 40k terms they don’t come much bigger or popular than Gaunt’s Ghosts, so the first book in the series is another complete no-brainer, the sort of book that long-running fans will enjoy revisiting and brand new fans will love reading for the first time. It’s also, fact fans, the first ever Black Library novel – previous books, including classic novels by the likes of Ian Watson, were published by various imprints before Black Library was launched.

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Horus Rising – Dan Abnett

This is where it all started, back in 2006 – Horus Rising by Dan Abnett, the first novel in Black Library’s ever-growing Horus Heresy series. It’s the start of the 31st millennium, and the Great Crusade is almost complete. A year after the Triumph at Ullanor, after the Emperor returned to Terra, the newly-elevated Warmaster Horus commands the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet and his Luna Wolves in the continuation of the Crusade and the promulgation of the Imperial Truth. Along their path are set two long-lost human civilisations, each wildly different, who react to being reunited with the rest of humanity in contrasting ways. Hope is still preeminent, but change is in the air.

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Forgotten Texts: Dan Abnett Talks Ghostmaker

Regular readers will have seen my recent interview with Dan Abnett, and may also be aware of my Forgotten Texts series, where I look back at stories from the earlier days of Black Library. I recently covered Dan’s short story Ghostmaker for Forgotten Texts – you can find that article here – and while I was chatting to Dan for the main interview I asked a few questions related to that short story to use as an accompanying interview.

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Interview with Dan Abnett (April 2017) – Part Two

In case you missed it, I recently posted the first part of an interview with prolific author Dan Abnett, whose work for Marvel, DC Comics, 2000AD and Black Library (among others) has earned him a (much-deserved) huge fan base. In that first part, we discussed Dan’s early career and influences, and looked at the craft of writing, and the implications of working across multiple mediums.

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Interview with Dan Abnett (April 2017) – Part One

A prolific author of comics and novels, Dan Abnett has been writing in one medium or another since the late ‘80s for publishers including Black Library, Marvel, DC Comics and 2000AD. Since his early work for Inferno! magazine, he has become one of most loved of Black Library’s authors, with the fourteenth novel in his Gaunt’s Ghosts series due to be published later in 2017. That’s not to mention the countless other novels, short stories, audio dramas, comics and so on…

I recently had the chance to chat to Dan and ask some questions about his work over the years. Given that Track of Words is primarily a website dedicated to books (and largely Black Library books) I wanted to focus on that aspect of his writing, but I was keen to talk about his career as a whole and to delve into the craft of writing as he sees it. I didn’t want to focus too much on any one book or series, so while we did chat about things like Eisenhorn, Gaunt’s Ghosts and the Horus Heresy, we covered a wide range of topics that I hope are a little different to the usual interview questions.

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Forgotten Texts: Ghostmaker by Dan Abnett

“You’re Imperial Guard, servants of the Emperor first and nothing else second.”

His second Black Library short story, Dan Abnett’s Ghostmaker introduced the world to Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the proud soldiers of Tanith, who would become Gaunt’s Ghosts. Given the command of three freshly-raised regiments, Gaunt barely has time to reach Tanith before a Chaos splinter fleet forces him to gather whatever fragmentary resources he can and escape to Imperial lines. Haunted by the loss of their world, the Tanith are resentful of not being allowed to stand and fight, but Gaunt is determined to begin the process of putting their unique skills to use on the battlefields of the Sabbat Worlds.

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