Traitor General

Gaunt's Ghosts #8

by Dan Abnett

In this first installment in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, Commissar Gaunt must assemble a squad of his most trusted men and venture deep into enemy territory when a high-ranking Imperial officer is captured by the forces of Chaos. Reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Military Science Fiction, Military Fiction

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Empieza un nuevo arco argumental.-

Género. Ciencia ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro General traidor (publicación original: Traitor General, 2004), y cuando finaliza el decimonoveno año de Cruzada en los Mundos de Sabbat, el comisario coronel Gaunt es desplegado, junto a solo un pequeñísimo grupo de sus hombres, en el planeta Gereon, un mundo que lleva mucho tiempo bajo el dominio del Caos y en el que la resistencia es aplastada poco a poco. Los luchadores por la libertad de Gereon anhelan ser liberados, pero la misión de Gaunt es una muy distinta: eliminar a un individuo muy peligroso, uno al que Gaunt conoce bien. Octavo libro de la serie Los Fantasmas de Gaunt.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Simon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, Abnett really knocks it out of the park in the transition from The Saint to The Lost arcs. The previous book in the series, Sabbat Martyr, was an absolute favourite of mine, combining large scale action with the climaxes of multiple plotlines from across four novels. By contrast, Traitor General is simply a very tight standalone story avoiding several of the problems that have historically dogged the series. Notably the book significantly fleshes out the antagonists, the generically named 'Chaos forces' by a) giving a background of how Chaos-occupied planets function and their populace used, b) linking the reader to the Sons of Sek by showing us their effectiveness from their very founding, and c) FINALLY giving the protagonists a mid-level antagonist to defeat.

The actual story itself makes perfect sense, especially when compared to previous entries in the series such as Straight Silver: the Ghosts finally get to stealth the entire time. Of course it's ridiculous that both Gaunt and Rawne, the two highest ranking members of a regiment, would both go on a suicide mission such as this, but hey. It's 40K. The story is paced and structured wonderfully, with plenty of twists and plot threads introduced that will be returned to in later books. It also features some wonderful feats of imagination, with Abnett substantially adding to the lore surrounding Chaos as well as introducing the small faction of the partisans.

It's a great read, basically. Not perfect (the story still ends about a page before the novel does) but fething enjoyable.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, albeit very grim, installment of the Gaunt's Ghosts series. Traitor General starts a new story arc in the series and for something different (Abnett is excellent in that regard, not falling into a formulaic trap), and the gist here is a hand-picked team of Ghosts needs to infiltrate a Chaos held planet to assassinate a captured Imperial general, one who has turned (hence the title). Gaunt himself lead the picked team, mustering only a dozen Ghosts total.

What makes this so grim concerns the planet itself, with the tormented population, and the rag-tag resistance members, slowly being exterminated. The planet's population has either been murdered or they 'complied', which means they must be infested with a parasite that the forces of Chaos can examine. The 'taint' of Chaos infects the planet and Gaunt and his team slowly feel the effects, causing short tempers, illness and other symptoms. Best guess by the Imperials-- they only have a month or so before they succumb to the taint. Also, Gaunt knows this is probably a one-way mission, as extraction is basically a pipedream. 4 grim stars!

[Andrew Ziegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time Abnett spends the entire novel on one specialized group of the Ghosts for an entire mission. Unlike the first books of the series, the scale is much smaller, more intimate, and therefore the pace is much quicker.

I chewed through this one relatively quicker than the other novels, it was standard fare for the more character driven 40K novels. I found the first 7 books in the series to be much more epic, every book was another planet to take or hold.

This book, as stated in the forward, holds a mission crucial to the entire Crusade of the Sabbat worlds. It was a great piece of writing to let a lot of the major minor characters get their moments in the sun and really develop. The action was as good as Abnett normally delivers. I am a bit hesitant to believe the results of one battle in particular though, I wont give any details, but one engagement smacked of Endor and its end was equally as ridiculous.

On the whole I very much enjoyed this book as part of the larger series. It ends very much on a cliff hanger and I am looking forward to the next installment.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Lost series by Dan Abnett and starts out with Gaunt assembling a team to to go on a top secret mission labeled as Gerond. As soon as that strike force gets there though all they see is hell its a chaos infected world where even the people have given up and there is only small amounts of resistance. this book is good and kept me wondering the whole time if the team was gonna survive.

[Bruce Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible first novel to the continuing Gaunt's Ghosts series. He explores the weird world of Chaos as if he'd been there and met the many varied characters in person. He must have put a hell of a lot of thought into this, and it shows in the quality of the novel.

[Sean McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Gaunt's Ghost's book. I have mixed feelings about this one, because it's a little bit of a divergence from what these books classically are. We focus on a smaller group of Ghosts, on a very secret mission. It creates closure with some of the previous books, but it doesn't have a specific ending (I have to say that if this weren't a omnibus edition that I'm reading I would be upset because I would have to wait at least a year to get the next story). As always we get more about the Ghosts involved, and as always we get further story about their connections and interactions. The main issues with this story was the narrative flow. There were many times that Abnett seemed to get confused as to whom was with whom, and it confused the flow, because these occasions only happened during battle.

We got some great descriptions, we got some great action, we got some great character development, however there were times that the characters didn't seem honest with whom they were (chaos taint, I know, but even before that took place). Great story, but the continuity errors and the character reliability reduced the rating.

[Gordon Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

After concluding a lengthy sub-series in the previous novel Dan Abnett takes the opportunity keep things fresh things by sending Gaunt and a small team on a stealthy and potentially suicidal mission into enemy territory where previously loyal citizens are forced to serve the arch enemy. Where many Imperial factions might bomb a Chaos-occupied planet into oblivion with scant regard for the fate of resistance fighters, Gaunt is more sympathetic and understanding, more willing to forgive and to protect. And where this might lead to indescision in other characters, a huge part of Gaunt's appeal is his ability to make quick, decisive calls based on his unshakable personal morality.

The sharper focus on a single mission propels the plot forward nicely, but ultimately the story feels a little too functional, perhaps lacking a sufficiently compelling antagonist. We're repeatedly told how vital Gaunt's mission is critical to the fate of the galaxy but in reality the danger feels lesser than it has in previous Ghosts books.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really liked the book because it was different from the previous ones, and the subject matter was actually exciting. It was also nice to get to know some of the characters better, but unfortunately, some others of them were almost completely omitted and only had like five sentences. Sadly, it's very typical of the author to rush the endings, and this time the ending was quite awful, almost illogical, which is why I can only give it four stars, even though I actually quite enjoyed it.

[Colby Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gaunt’s Ghosts books are always solid! This one is even better because it focus on a smaller cast and goes deeper into their characters and motivations then previous entries in the series, as well as setting up the grander arc of the next couple stories! Big fan!

[Jack Neighbour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book and a different feel to the rest of gaunts ghosts as it’s around a stealth mission, so no large battlefield moments and misses some big characters. But still well worth a read and motivated to finish the series.

[Adrian Dumitru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good !

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived the behind enemy lines setting on the chaos world. One of my favorite installments so far.

[Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely everything that a reader like me could have asked for from the exploits of the Tanith Ghosts. Even behind the compelling story, the unmatched descriptions of combat, chaos and fear, and the general building conflict from start to finish, what really made this book stick out from the others was the specialty mission point of view contained in the story. It is about the exploits of some of the twelve best soldiers in the Tanith company on a stealth mission to assassinate a Traitor General with Imperial secrets who is safely held deep in enemy territory (as in the whole world).

This type of story allows for the reader to get real intimate with 12 ghosts vs. the typical roll call of familiar faces in the Tanith books. This change of pace already had me on the edge of my seat because the mission felt so fragile from the onset, until the ghosts got to work, and that's my other BIG excitement for this story. It was EXHILARATING reading how the Ghosts, at home in their set of skills, showed how deadly and trained they are in what they do. Landerson was the perfect camera lens to allow the reader to be just as amazed at how skilled and masterful the Ghosts wreaked death and mayhem behind enemy lines against unbelievable odds (and we as readers have been with the Ghosts along the way and know what they are capable of). Abnett went above and beyond in his ability to write knuckle-whitening fight scenes and near-death experiences (especially with one particular Tanith soldier in mind).

A quarter of the way through the book, I knew this would be my favorite book to date. The easiest five stars I've ever given an Abnett book. There were a dozen scenes I could have picked for my most memorable scene, but I'm a sucker for the initial shock our POV character Landerson gets when he essentially witnesses the Ghosts firsthand for the first time.

Most memorable scene
Excerpt from Traitor General, pg. 28-31:

As his eyes adjusted, Landerson saw Gaunt’s team was all around him, in cover, weapons raised.
“How long before your point men pull out?” Landerson whispered.
“They already have,” said Gaunt. Landerson realised the marksman and the tall, thin scout were
with them. How in the name of Holy Terra had they done that?
They heard the sound of dogs on the night air. Eager, frantic, whining and howling.
Landerson knew that sound.
“They’ve got the scent,” he whispered, his heart sinking.
“Feth!” spat Gaunt.
“Lily of Thrace, I suppose,” said the female medic.
Landerson shook his head. “No. Blood. Blood is the one thing they fix onto more than anything
else.” He held up his hand. His fall had torn the bandage off the bindings, and blood was weeping
again from the bite in his palm.
“I’m sorry, sir.” He rose to his feet. “Get your men away. I’ll draw them off.”
“No,” said Gaunt.
“It’s me they’ve scented. I—”
“No,” Gaunt repeated. “If they’ve got us, they’ll be on us all night, no matter how heroic and
stupid you decide to be. We’ll end this quickly here and get clear before anyone comes looking for a
missing patrol.”
“You’re mad,” said Landerson simply.
“Yes, but I’m also in charge.” He looked round at the mission team. “Straight silver. Let the dogs
come and do them first. Then switch live and take out the rest. Understood?”
A whispered chorus of affirmatives answered him.
“For Tanith. For the Emperor.”
The sound of the dogs grew louder. Down by the agri-complex, an engine revved and a section of
the outer fence stoved out and collapsed, driven down by the front fender of a large half-track. Its
spotlights blazed out across the waste ground. Around it, through the gap, the unleashed hounds
dashed out.
They were big. Some kind of semi-feral mastiff breed sired in the holds of the archenemy fleet. A
dozen of them, each one so thickly muscled it weighed more than an adult human male. They could
hear their paws thumping on the rough ground, hear their slavering growls.
Gaunt slid out a long silver dagger dulled with soot.
“Let them in,” he whispered. “Let them come right in…”
The first bounding animal crashed through the tree-line, heavy and stinking with spittle. Landerson
heard it barking, heard it—
Whine. A meaty thump. An interrupted whimper.
The next came, and then the next. Two more frenzied dog-voices suddenly stilled away in pathetic
squeals.
Then the rest. The other eight. One came in through the tree trunks right for Landerson. He saw its
dull eyes, its gaping, wretched maw, the fleshy, drooling lips bouncing with the impact of its stride.
He gasped out and raised his weapon.
Two metres from Landerson, as it began the pouncing leap that would bring him down, it jerked
sideways in the air. Using his lasrifle like a spear, Mkoll wrestled the hound to the ground on his
bayonet. It howled and writhed. He put a foot on its distended belly to free the blade, and lanced it
twice more.
Around him, Landerson heard a quick series of dull, wet impacts, like ripe fruit being hacked by a
machete. One human cry of pain.
A moment’s pause.
“All done?” Gaunt asked, wiping dog-blood off his warknife.
“Clear. They’re done,” Mkvenner replied from nearby.

...

Landerson looked back across at the fence. Both halftracks had moved out through the collapsed
section and were advancing across the rough ground at a slow lick, searchlights sweeping. He saw a
dozen excubitors dismounted alongside them, walking forward, las-locks raised.
“Looking for their fething pooches,” muttered Varl.
“Noise discipline!” Rawne snapped.
The patrol came closer.
“Not yet….” Gaunt whispered. “Not yet… let the foot troops get into the trees.”
So close now. Searchlight beams washed in through the trees, dappling off the shrubs and low
boughs. Landerson could smell the spice and sweet unguents of the excubitors. There was no way they
could take them all. Two to one, not counting the vehicles.
He raised his autorifle to his shoulder.
He saw the first excubitor enter the hem of the trees, a lanky black shape, las-lock right up to aim.
He could hear the knock and thump of the bastard’s respirator box.
The excubitor disappeared. It had bent down. It had found one of the gutted fetch-hounds.
“Voi shet tgharr!” the excubitor yelled, rising.
“Now,” said Gaunt. His bolt pistol banged and the excubitor flopped backwards violently.
The edge of the woods went wild. Lasfire streamed out between the trees, shredding the low
foliage. It was suddenly so bright it was as if the sun had come up.
The noise was extraordinary. Landerson saw at least four of the excubitors cut down in the
opening salvo. He started to fire, but the air was suddenly thick with smoke wash and water vapour
from the burst foliage.
The patrol began to answer, charging and firing weapons into the hail of fire from the woods. The
halftracks gunned forward. A heavy bolter on the top of the closest vehicle began to flash and chatter.
Small trees in the woodline were decapitated and deep wounds tore the trunks of the more mature
trees.
“Larks! The lights!” Gaunt yelled.
The sniper close to Landerson sat up and fired his long-las, reloading and refiring with amazing
precision. The searchlights on the vehicle rigs exploded one after another like cans on a shooting
gallery wall, spraying out glass chips and stark thorns of shorting electricals. Another sniper round
took the head off one of the excubitors manning the lamps.
Landerson saw Gaunt striding forward, shouting to his men though the roar of the intense combat
drowned him out. He had a compact bolt pistol in each hand and was firing both of them. What
Landerson had taken to be a single chest holster had evidently been a doubled pair.
Shots screamed through the trees. Branches exploded. Landerson could smell wood pulp and sap,
fyceline and blood. He crawled to the nearest trunk and tried to get a better angle.
“Brostin!” Gaunt yelled. “Nail that first track!”
The big, rough-looking man calmly advanced with his massive autocannon cradled like a baby in
his arms. He dropped the long telescope monopod to brace and then let rip, feeding ammo on a belt
from one of two heavy hoppers strung to his hips.
The half-track plating buckled and twisted. This Brostin seemed to be aiming for the main chassis
of the vehicle rather than the upper crew compartment. Why the hell would he be aiming for the most
heavily armoured section, the engine bearing, the—
The half-track ignited like a fuel-soaked rag. Flames gushed out from underneath it and wrapped it
in a cocoon of fire. The steady flow of armour-piercing rounds had ruptured the deep-set fuel tank.
Landerson saw two excubitors, swathed in flame, tumble screaming out of the crew well.
“Holy Throne of Earth…” Landerson mumbled.
“He’s got a thing about fire, our Brostin,” said the man next to him. It was the sniper. Larks.
Larkin. Something like that. He had a face as lined and creased as old saddle leather. “Plus, he’s
ticked off he wasn’t allowed to bring his precious fething flamer. Whoop, ’scuse me.”
Larkin raised his long-las, panned the barrel round and snapped off a shot that destroyed the head
of another excubitor.
Pincer fire suddenly ripped in out of the right-hand quarter. Lasrifles on rapid, but devastatingly
precise. Some of the excubitors tried to turn and were smacked off their feet. Landerson saw a chest
explode, scale-mail pieces flung out. A las-lock was hit as it fired and blew up in a crescent of
torched energy. Another excubitor was hit in the head and stumbled blindly across the wasteland like
a jerking puppet until another shot put him down. Mkoll, Mkvenner and Bonin appeared out of the
dark, coming in from the side, firing from the chest.
The last of the excubitors went down. The second halftrack tried to turn and reverse. A tube-
charge spun in from Rawne — a long, precise throw — and blew it apart.
Landerson lowered his weapon. He was breathing hard and his mind was reeling. How long?
Thirty, forty seconds? Less than a minute. A whole patrol slaughtered in less than a minute. How…
how was that even possible?
“Cease fire!” Gaunt yelled.
The area was bright with the burning wrecks of the vehicles.
“Douse them?” Varl asked Gaunt.
“No, we’re out of here. Now.
“Into the woods!” Rawne shouted. “File of two, double time! That means you too, Varl, feth take
your dog bite! Come on! Keep our new friends with us!”
“Stick with me,” the sniper said to Landerson. He smiled reassuringly. “Stick tight. The
archenemy’s not found a thing yet that can kill Hlaine Larkin.”
“Right,” said Landerson, hurrying after him. For an older man, the sniper could move.
“What’s your name?” Larkin called back over his shoulder.
“L-Landerson.”
“Stick tight, Landerson. The woods await.”
“The woods?”
He heard Larkin laughing. “We’re Tanith, Landerson. We like woods.”

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

I když ve vesmíru existuje jenom válka, Abnett se snaží, aby byla pokaždé trochu jiná. Už jsme měli zákopové bitvy alá první světová, hájení města před nekonečnými útoky nepřátel... teď máme výsadek v srdci nepřítele. Žádné armády, jen malá jednotka, která se snaží nenápadně splnit úkol v týlu nepřítele, ve světě propadlém Chaosu... a stihnout to dřív, než se sami pod vlivem okolního světa promění.
Generálovu zradu zatím beru jako jednu z nejlepších věcí ze světa Warhammeru - možná i tím, jak je tam malá skupina, tak se v ní člověk líp orientuje a líp se rozehrávají jednotlivé postavy. Má to atmosféru, efektní akční scény, ale i dobře vybudovaný konflikt mezi hrdiny a místními odbojáři, kteří doufali, že celá akce, pro kterou se obětovali, má být součástí jejich osvobození... a nějak nechápou, že planeta je dávno odepsaná a že hrdinům jde jen o splnění mise, která s nimi vůbec nesouvisí.
Knížka mi trochu připomněla věci od Alistaira McLeana (Děla z Navarone, Generál nesmí promluvit atd.), díky čemuž jsem byl ve finále trochu zklamaný, že nedošlo na žádné zvraty a překvápka. A stejně tak lehce zamrzel klasický Abnettův hřích, že když dojde k finálnímu střetu a vy čekáte pořádnou masivní akci, je to shrnuté na deseti stránkách. Ale co, předchozích nějakých 370 stran je fajn, tak co si stěžovat.
Rozhodně se těším na další díl. Doufám, že sebou Polaris hodí.

[Chris Bowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a once Imperial Chaos occupied world, we see Gaunt’s Ghosts where they excel going behind enemy lines in order to eliminate a traitor general. They’re not only battling traitor guard but the corrupting powers of Chaos itself which has already taken root within the very soil, water and air of the planet.

The novel has a much narrower scope of characters allowing the reader much more time with each of them. There’s more character development from lesser known Ghosts such as Brostin but longtime favourites such as Mkol and Mkvenner also get some attention. Many of the Ghosts get some incredible additions to their ‘highlight reel’. Dan Abnett also introduces several new characters, each interesting in their own right, which feature quite heavily.

A much greater component of the story is told through Chaos perspectives which really enhance the novel by bringing the enemy to life – the forces of Chaos in Traitor General are not some shambling nonsensical horde but for the most part, understandable. These enemy viewpoints work especially well considering the reduction in amount of imperial characters required to further the plot; the reader is not overloaded.

Dan Abnett continues to take the series in the right direction with Traitor General which just might be the best entry in the series to date.

[Razael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best stealth WH 40k novel.

[Adam Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gereon, a Chaos-held planet in the Sabbat Worlds that has been under total enemy occupation for years. The local resistance forces, their hopes for liberation ebbing, are overjoyed when Ibram Gaunt arrives on Gereon, but less so when it is revealed that he only has a dozen troopers with him, and their mission is not liberation, but the assassination of a traitor...

Over the course of the Gaunt's Ghosts series, Dan Abnett has toyed with and tested the limits of what he can do with these books several times, but has generally remained close to the core line that he must deliver a large-scale war story every time out. In Traitor General, the eighth book in the series and the opening of The Lost story arc (which spans four volumes), he goes for a somewhat different approach.

Gaunt and his team are deep undercover and must employ stealth, misdirection and hiding to achieve what they normally would using force. That wouldn't be so much of a problem except that the world they are operating on has been occupied by Chaos for years, with the result that the entire planet is tainted, a taint that starts seeping into Gaunt and his team. This causes increasingly odd behaviour as their perceptions of reality and what is right and wrong begin to change. This also means that the enemy forces on Gereon have some extremely powerful forces to call upon that normally would be not be able to manifest, such as the formidable and extremely weird wirehounds and glyfs, both concepts that feel like they've dropped out of a China Mieville novel. In short, Traitor General is where Abnett gets his weird freak on and pulls it off well.

Of course, Traitor General has its requisite amount of action, including a memorable sequence where the ten Guardsmen (and two Guardswomen) have to face off against five Chaos Space Marines in a swamp village (very long odds indeed), or a running battle between rebels and occupation forces in a town. Abnett also continues his welcome tendency of using each new book to highlight a hitherto under-developed Ghost and bring some development and focus to them. In this book it's Brostin, the team's resident flamethrower-operator and pyromaniac, who gets his turn in the spotlight, though Gaunt's nemesis Rawne also continues to develop away from the thinly-veiled antagonist of earlier books into a more rounded character in his own right.

We also get a deeper look inside the Chaos camp as well. For many of the preceding volumes Chaos has been equated with pure evil and its ranks shown to consist almost solely of crazed cultists and suicidal warriors, though there have been hints here and there of other things going on (particularly with the Blood Pact, the enemy army's elite troops). In this book we get a much better look at how the Archenemy of Mankind operates and discover some amusing parallels to the Crusade's own political machinations and in-fighting. Abnett also starts embracing the more whimsical and surreal nature of Warhammer 40,000 humour, something he'd previously steered clear of (presumably for tonal reasons), and marries it to the more traditional dark humour of the books very well. I'm hoping Humiliti and his unnecessarily pedantic transcribing ways return in future books.

Traitor General (****½) sees Abnett doing something new, weirder and more interesting with the Gaunt's Ghosts series and pulling it off admirably, resulting in one of the very best books in the series so far. The novel is available now as part of The Lost omnibus in the UK and USA.

[Rubén Álvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Descubrí las aventuras de Gaunt hace más de 20 años y, de hecho, 'Los primeros de Tanith' fue la primera novela ambientada en Warhammer que leí. En aquel momento, me pareció una novela chulísima, repleta de acción y aventura. Continué con las siguientes (Hacedor de fantasmas y Necrópolis) pero pronto me cansé de la fórmula, que incluía demasiados disparos y poco desarrollo de personajes; así como un estilo demasiado basado en la literatura bélica de Sven Hassel (aunque en su día también me encantó su primer libro 'La legión de los condenados').
Hastiado de tanto 'bolter porn', abandoné la saga de los Fantasmas de Gaunt, aunque seguí con Eisenhorn, Ciaphas Cain, la Herejía de Horus y un largo etcétera.

El caso es que volví a la serie de Gaunt con 'General Traidor', ya que me habían comentado que se distanciaba de la tónica habitual de la saga. Un pequeño grupo de comandos en una misión suicida, en principio, debería dar más espacio al desarrollo de personajes.
Por otro lado, infiltrarse en un planeta gobernado por el Caos puede dar mucho juego para ilustrar cómo es el día a día en la vida de un mundo 'caótico': cómo es su gobierno, cómo es su sociedad... Algo de eso había leído en algunas reseñas, pero me temo que no es lo que encontré.

'General Traidor' se centra en un comando liderado por Gaunt, con la misión de eliminar a un prisionero que sabe demasiado y cuyos secretos podrían poner en un aprieto al Imperio. Esta vez, no hay grandes batallas ni decenas de personajes. Pese a ello, Dan Abnett no aprovecha la oportunidad para profundizar más en el pequeño grupo de protagonistas. Intenta explorar los cambios -más o menos sutiles- que puede provocar la influencia del Caos en la mente de las personas, pero de una manera un tanto errática (incluso infantil). Especialmente sonrojante es el comportamiento de las dos protagonistas femeninas, que literalmente se pelean para que el amado líder les haga casito, todo con la excusa del influjo insidioso del Caos en sus cabezas.

¿Y cómo es la sociedad del mundo ocupado por el Caos? ¿Cómo viven los supervivientes? ¿Cómo es su día a día? Pues hay algunos atisbos aquí y allá, algún pasaje interesante, pero en general no es algo en lo que se profundice, más allá de servir de telón de fondo de la trama principal de la novela.

En cuanto a la trama en sí, no está mal. El grupo de Gaunt se infiltra en el planeta, intentando acercarse a su objetivo mientras evitan que les maten. Buena parte de la novela es una persecución continua por parte de las fuerzas del Caos, intentando eliminar la amenaza que supone el comando de Gaunt. Está bien narrado, con muchas dosis de acción y momentos tensos. Pero peca de ser poco realista, saltándose la coherencia interna del universo de Warhammer 40.000. Como ejemplo, baste decir que un pequeño grupo de guardias imperiales llega a ser capaz de eliminar a varios marines espaciales del Caos, sin sufrir bajas. Además de cargarse a decenas (¿o cientos?) de soldados del Caos, sin apenas recibir algunos rasguños. Por muy geniales que sean los chicos de Gaunt, eso es fliparse mucho.

En resumen, una novela algo diferente al resto de la saga de fantasmas de Gaunt, pero que desaprovecha la oportunidad de desarrollar al limitado número de protagonistas y explorar otros aspectos del universo Warhammer 40.000, en los que merecería la pena indagar un poco más.

[Станислав · Rating 5 out of 5]

Заслужил.
Гаунт за линией фронта, партизаны, диверсии, спецоперация. Идиллический мир под властью хаоса. Отлично передано ощущение, когда солнечный яркий день, красивая природа, но в воздухе чувствуется неясная скверна, как дымка. Вроде бы всё в порядке, но что-то мешает. Отлично передано болото с вечно-партизанами, которые партизанят не против хаоса, а против Империума. Вот эти человеки-мотыльки, которые там живут: красиво и жутко. Здесь вообще много странного.
Обычно хаоситы это Астартес-предатели, которые ведут свою долгую войну и смертный скот культистов, который у них в виде пушечного мяса. Вот скажем, когда Несущие Слово занимают мир, то население там превращается в рабов и частью отправляется строить зиккураты тёмным богам, частью на корм демонам, а "святых воинов Лоргара" им даже не дают смотреть и всех кладут мордой в пол, когда проходят астартес. Чуть в лучшем положении мутанты-надсмотрщики, но не сильно. В лучшем случае: ревущая, слюнявая толпа бессмысленно погибающая под огнём империумских войск.
Здесь же целая цивилизация людей-хаоситов! И черти их всех не сожрали. Своя культура, свой язык, кстати прикольный: "Вой шэд!" И живут же, где-то женятся, рожают детей, умирают. Это не бессмертные космодесантники хаоса, которые живут войной. Есть свои правители, свои учёные, чиновники. Так по жёсткости их оккупация, видимо, не сильно отличается от стандартных империумских практик. Меня, правда, удивляет, что у них там целые учёные, которые занимаются культурой Империума, типа они не в курсе - любят ли в Империуме яичницу. Это странно. Они как бы мятежный регион, но это же не на столько была изоляция, чтобы они совсем отдалились от остального человечества. При ближайшем знакомстве оказалось: хаоситы-то бывают неплохие ребята. Какого телохранителя дали, Диссолейна. Ну с рогами, копытцами, коленки вывернуты (как будто в официо ассасинорум таких нет), зато говорит женским голосом, такой весь андрогинный, модно одевается, ответственный, любит своего фегата. Астартес-хаоситы там работают кризисными менеджерами, терпеливые такие, бегают у смертных на побегушках. Поля вон засеяли ксено-культурой, как будто Империум экологию блюдёт. В общем очень всё интересно у этих хаосюнь.
Даже два языка изобрёл. Один - хаоситам, назовём "войшед", второй партизано-мотылькам, старо-готический. Я даже не понял, вроде за высокий готик там отвечает квази-латынь, предполагаю они должны говорит на ломаной латыни. Но Дэн приспособил, что-то непонятное вроде ломанного английского. Взял бы тогда старо-английский. Или это он и был? В любом случае - прикольно.
Призраки откормились - режут космодесов хаоса как свиней. Но будем считать, что это были низкокачественные астартес из вторичного гено-семени, а не ветераны штурма Дворца Императора.
Гаунт. Как всех хаос будоражит! Мало ему одной ВПЖ (военно-полевой жены, как говорят военные) из медперсонала, так там ещё слегка захаосевшая маор-партизанка. И кого именно Ибрам кроет - непонятно. Но смачно. К этому бы комиссару, да приставить Комиссара. А то они там посидят на мирке Хаоса и пойдут скользкой дорожкой Эйзенхорна.
Молодец Дэн, впечатлил.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine novel with a good look at a 'suicide mission' to a Chaos-controlled planet and its small resistance faction. The main focus of the novel is split in two: Gaunt and his special squad of Ghosts and their mission to kill a high priority prisoner vs the prisoner they are tasked to kill who slowly regains his sense of self and why, exactly, he turned traitor.

The high points of the novel are the 'Feguth's' POV and how they try to survive the harsh world of living with Chaos daemons and why exactly they turned against Humanity. It's set up as a mystery to this individual's identity and the slow reveal of who exactly they are plays out through point viewpoints in the book.

Gaunt's crew is more of a mixed bag. It's a fun look a special OPs force trying to make their way through unknown enemy territory all while trying to survive. The Wirewolves and Chaos Marines are definite highlights of this side of the story as they are very intimidating villains to play up against.

My biggest negatives of this book are its' poor female characters and how the ending is rather abrupt and takes all the tension out of what is going on. The latter also happened in Abnett's other book I read so it may just be his style - which I'm not the biggest fan of. I understand it would be tough to explain how the Ghosts, wounded and exhausted, make it out of the enemy fortress but having them just 'appear' outside as the wrap up is rather poor.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traitor General really surprised me. I don't think this is one I revisited too often and while I had strong memories of the wirewolves and a few of the bigger scenes (Brostin's diversion and the fight in the Sleepwalker village, for example) I'd largely forgotten everything except the basic premise of "Ghosts go to Chaos planet. Things get bad for a while".

So, I went into this largely fresh and off the back of the previous 7 books and I really dug it. It's a tight narrative, really distilling the Ghosts down to their essence, and building parts of the universe rarely seen on such a detailed level. Seeing the Chaos forces operate more or less like any normal occupying forces, but with the magical cruelty dialed way up, was interesting and does a lot in giving the enemy more nuance. The story itself is simple, but the toll it takes on the Ghosts is obvious from the beginning and the book really kicks off the new arc while organically developing off the back of the Saint arc before it.

Again, the Lost arc is a murky one mostly because it was most published right around the time I dropped reading all 40K except for the Ghosts and was rarely revisiting them. Traitor General does quite a bit to make me excited for what is to come.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a different book to most of the Gaunt's Ghosts series, but a very good book. Closest is some of the action in the Guns of Tanith, with an insertion behind enemy lines, but this comprises the whole book, rather than being one subplot as such.
A lot of tension throughout the novel, and we get a really good look at what Chaos occupation of a world looks like, especially in the earlier days of occupation as the occupation forces are exerting a tight fist on the world.
Many great scenes in here, from good action, to tension, to some great pictures of Chaos in action, all combining together well to make a great story.
We get to see more of particular characters of the Ghosts here as well, as well as seeing more of the Chaos forces, and unusually for the series, one or two of the Chaos forces actually come across quite sympathetic too.

[Iri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mám takový nenechavý pocit. Ať už se na to dívám, jak chci, ten český překlad není vlastně špatný, ale nějak mi v něm umřela ta typická hořkosladká atmosféra příběhů Duchů.

Abnett má prostě svůj specifický styl, u kterého buďto brečíte smíchy nebo steskem nebo jste napjatí jak kšandy. Nebo jste nasraní až na půdu. Překlad byl prostě trochu méně... řízný.

Mimochodem, protogótština jako staroslověnština nebo co to bylo za slovanský jazyk, docela odvážný a logický překladatelský počin. Jen ten niht a lá night je v tom případě jako pěst na oko. Ale nejsem překladatel a hádám, že to bylo jediné schůdné řešení.

A když nad tím tak přemýšlím, asi bych měla splašit origoše u starších dílů. U Fetha, skvělý nápad.

[Tanweer Dar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant Gaunt's Ghosts outing from Dan Abnett!

'Traitor General' sees Commissar-Colonel Ibram Gaunt lead a small unit of familiar faces (and some new ones) on a perilous, one-way mission.

As always with Abnett, the writing is tight, the characters larger-than-life, and the plot well-paced and laced with enough intrigue and twists to keep you turning the pages.

Abnett does an especially good job of world-building here, with the Chaos-occupied world of Gereon being far more than just a convenient backdrop for this surgical mission. The attention to detail, particularly with regards to the occupation forces and the partisans, is particularly impressive.

A real barn-stormer of a Warhammer 40,000 novel, with very little to criticise. Outstanding.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling to the last page.

Once I recognised Dan's ability to write stories that read like Batman comics, it became nearly un-put-downable, except when I was sweating with adrenaline after the more furious battles. As a reviewer said, you experience the story more than you read it. I've seen Dan having his occasional misstep and poor performances across the series so far, but none of that in here. Even the trade-mark typos have been much less frequent.

Originally, Dan intended to write Gaunt's Ghosts as independent episodes. While Traitor General neatly sits in the overall story arc created thus far, it happens to be in perfectly stand-alone quality. So if there are people who'd like to get just the juiciest bits out of this series, I'd say here's one of them. Go grab it!

[Magicswordz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I found fascinating about this book was Dan Abnett's writing about 1- Chaos; and 2- Memory.

Without getting into spoilers, how the Traitor General's personality evolves as he gets memories back, with the accumulation at the end was great.

Then there's the insight into chaos. It's not just a bunch of cultist running around but there is administers and politicking as well. In addition, more of a look at chaos and it's effect on people, though I feel that perhaps this happened too quickly given the circumstances.

There is a level of plot armor here that is perhaps a bit worse than some of the other books, and it is not my favorite Gaunt's Ghost book, but I enjoyed it a lot.

[Rosalie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot of fan fiction about Gereon online and I'd read a lot of it before I read Traitor General. It's a weird one because it revolves around a handful of people rather than the unit as a whole and I'm still deciding if I like the direction it took with some characters personalities, but generally it was fascinating. As a fan of Elim Rawne, I enjoyed his character development a lot, but the decision to leave Curth and Mkvenner behind was not pleasing to me. I'm also still waiting to find out where Cirk pops up again.

[Ronan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to come back to one of the best series set in my favourite fictional thing, and one of the best ones I've read out the set, since the Saint arc prior to this did seem to drag. A good change-up from the previous formula (either Gaunt and Friends take hive world or Gaunt and Friends defend hive world) with lots of stealth and tension, fleshing out Gaunt and Rawne's relationship as well as giving Dr Curth some much needed screen time. Fun to see the Blood Pact baddies as actual people (well, in this series anyway) for the first time, too.

[Aaron Zelaski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m rounding down from 4 and a half stars here. This is one of the better books in the series so far, right up there with Necropolis in my book.
Dan Abnett has a real talent for writing the hairiest situations, and things absolutely get hairy in this book. That said, I think the chaos space marines are written weakly whenever they show up in these books, and they simply should not be a problem that a scrappy team of guardsmen could handle.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable story, and I wish Games Workshop would make killteams of the human elements of all of these books.