Straight Silver

Gaunt's Ghosts #6

by Dan Abnett

Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First-and-Only are soldiers caught up in the eternal wars of the 41st millennium. Forced to abandon their homeworld to the Dark Powers of Chaos, Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith 'Ghosts' now fight at the forefront of the brutal Sabbat campaign, always hoping that one more victory will win them a new planet to call home.

On the once-proud Imperial world of Aexe Cardinal, a ferocious land war rages as the legions of Chaos stubbornly resist the Imperial Crusade. Into this savage arena of deadly fortifications, harrowing combat and constant bombardment arrives the Tanith First. Perhaps their only chance to survive the meat-grinder of a frontal assault is to volunteer for a mission so dangerous that no one else will attempt it.

Fix bayonets and charge into this tale of courage amid the waste, insanity and confusion of a galaxy at war!

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

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

Reviews

[Simon Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Straight Silver.

Famously one of the novels the 40k community has long disliked, and when I initially read the book I was somewhat inclined to agree. A vastly different setting to the previous entries in the series, a plot that doesn't really go anywhere, and a general sense of, well, futility.

Clearly the book is Abnett's attempt to do World War One.... in spaaaaaaace. There are of course a number of problems doing this in a universe with, oh I don't know: battleships the size of cities, tanks the size of battleships, and the Iron Snakes chapter of Adeptus Astartes. With balls the size of tanks. Any one of these factors would have broken the western front style stalemate in about five minutes, but then that wouldn't be a terribly interesting book to read. So we have a very contrived situation in which a light infantry regiment specialising in stealth is thrown into a Verdun-level meatgrinder.
This, naturally, doesn't make any sense, but you have to ask yourself: what does this achieve from a story perspective? The answer: it slows everything. Right. Down. In the middle of a story arc spanning four action-packed novels Straight Silver is the slow chapter, focusing on character development and advancing the main storyline ahead of the titanic final novel in the sequence, Sabbat Martyr. It introduces Soric's 'gift', allows Gaunt and Beltayn to experience a vision, and twists the knife (pun intended) on Cuu. It develops themes of the saint, of reconciliation of the Tanith and Verghastites, and new leaders like Criid wrestling with the responsibility of command.

The books sins are many and the good doesn't entirely blot out the bad, but I think Straight Silver gets an unnecessarily bad rep - when viewed as part of The Saint series it's a fine addition and should be enjoyed as a 3.5 star entry.

And, as always, feth you Lijah Cuu.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Quieran o no quieran vivir para siempre, no lo harán.-

Género. Ciencia ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Plata pura (publicación original: Straight Silver, 2002), y en el decimoséptimo año de campaña en Los Mundos de Sabbat para expulsar al Caos de la zona, los Fantasmas de Gaunt son destinados a Aexe Cardinal, uno de los pocos planetas en ese sector que resistieron la dominación del enemigo de La Cruzada pero que, por su parte, también ha vivido durante varias décadas la guerra entre las dos facciones dominantes del planeta. Gaunt y sus tropas, junto a otros contingentes de la Guardia Imperial, se unen a las fuerzas de la Alianza Aexegariana que, igual que su enemigo, sigue poniendo en práctica tácticas y operaciones militares anticuadas a ojos del Imperio y con alto coste en vidas humanas. Sexto volumen de la serie Los Fantasmas de Gaunt.

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

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

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing like a change of venue to keep a series fresh. So far, we have seen Gaunt's Ghosts storming cities street to street, air dropping into mountain cities, fighting in woods, ice and snow. Here, Abnett takes the beleaguered Ghosts right into a trench war straight from WWI, and one that has been waged for 40 years!

The war may have started out between rival nations, but one of the nations has been claimed by Chaos, and now, the remaining nations have formed an alliance to stop them. The Sabbat Crusade's Warmaster decided to lend the Alliance a hand and dropped in some troops, including the Ghosts. One thing we know for sure by now is that Gaunt has little tolerance for poor leadership and the Alliance instantly rubs him raw. First, they want him and the Ghosts to serve under a lowly major and manning the front-line trenches to boot; not the best use for the best scouts/infiltrators in the Imperium! They refuse to give him any intelligence, share plans, the works...

Abnett brings the reality of trench warfare home here in perhaps the most grimdark passages of the entire series. Wasted no-mans land, with corpses strewn everywhere, some more than decades old. Walls in the trenches where bodies had been buried yielding their grizzly secrets during heavy rains and bombardment. Gas bombs blistering lungs and skin and toxic puddles of ooze. I mean grim!

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect, however, revolves around Cuu, a new Ghost, who just about everyone knows is a sociopath. Yea, a good killer, but watch your back! In the last installment, Cuu killed Braggs, one of the lead characters in the series. Why? Payback for him 'ratting him out' for looting. What will the guy do next? We get some more inklings here. Good stuff, and off to the next! 4 grim stars.

[Andrew Ziegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to World War 1, set in the universe of Warhammer 40k. Lasguns, Artillery, Trench Warfare, Barbwire, Corpselight, and every horrible thing you can think of from pictures of WW I are in this story. Abnett throws the Ghosts into the demanding meat machine of trench combat to save a planet that has been doing this particular war for 40 years.



Oh and by the way, it is not what he does...it is what he doesn't do! Those are his words. And what he doesn't do, drives you up a wall.



Another great Ghost's tale in my estimation. Furthering the development of a cool regiment, some great characters, and some relationships that begin to fray around the edges.



Abnett writes at a great pace, and fills almost all the pages with gritty, non-stop action.



I enjoyed this story a great deal, and highly recommend it, and the series.



For Tanith!

[Sean McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best in the series to date. Each of these books focuses on a different aspect of war, and this one harkens back to WWI with trench warfare. Abnett's writing brings you into the gritty battle and the war scenes are so much better written than anything previous in the series. Beyond that we have some incredible character development. We finally get more involved into the guard itself and it develops many of the minor characters that we just glazed over in previous books, while driving forward the characters that we already have connected with. Gaunt plays a bit of a background role in this novel, with a small glimpse of his future endeavors. Brilliant novel and I cant wait for the next one.

[Hipster-Noon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I denna boken är det ww1-tema och de slåss i ett skyttegravskrig som pågått i 40 år. Det är i rätt anda helt förjävligt.

Kul sidohistoria om att en del av gruppen hittar ett "övergivet" hus som visar sig bebos av en gammal kvinna som väntar på att hennes döda son ska återvända från kriget. Feygor är ledare för plutonen i Rawnes ställe och visar sig vara sämst på detta- han vill bara slappa, chilla och supa. Caffran visar sin förmåga att vara ledare istället. Cuu är en satans samhällsfara och har ihjäl en bra karaktär- Muril. Känns tyvärr som att Murils karaktär utvecklades i denna boken bara för att hennes död skulle kännas mer.

Aguns krafter börjar bli alltmer påträngande och jag är intresserad av att se vart hans historia tar vägen.

Abnett är kul att läsa just för att han skriver om mer än bara mainstoryn- han låter karaktärer utvecklas och ha egna liv. De är inte statiska.

[Normkompatibel · Rating 4 out of 5]

miserable World War I style trench warfare meets Downton Abbey style upper class dinner social warfare meets a ghost story. Written in a superb way, reads like a high speed train.

[Daniel O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dove into this straight from Guns of Tanith, with only the slightest of breaks to sleep, shower, and do enough work to get paid. Abnett maintains his decent stride in Straight Silver, improving his character work and continuing to nail the action and pacing. The world building was excellent as always. I tore through this one as well and within moments of finishing it, I'd started on Sabbat Martyr, the next in the series.

Again I'll say I'm giving it 4, but with the caveat that this won't make you think and it won't inspire strong emotions. It won't teach you anything about human nature. It'll just give you an afternoon of unadultered action and adventure.

[James Blevins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Abnett for a long time and I think this novel was well written. That being said, this was a trench war wedged into a FAR future universe. The number of conditions that had to be met in order for them to shoehorn this into the novel was beyond silly.

Very well written, with characters that I really care about... but the trench warfare was too much.

[Hayden Reeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book thinking that trench warfare is a boring and very stagnant sort of battle, boy was I wrong! This book shows how fast paced, violent, and tragic trench warfare is while also displaying amazing acts of heroism and humanness. I loved this book and could barely put it down, the first and only had me captivated the whole time.

[Jack Neighbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing instalment In the ghosts saga! still enjoying each one as much as the last. Characters keep developing as well as meeting others. Fantastic series.

[Space Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than expected.
I liked the character interactions and how it is told in between the lines, what Gaunt thinks about the warfare methods on the planet.
Loved the scenes in the house.

[Thom Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straight Silver is packed with interesting ideas for doing a classic Warhammer 40,000 novel a bit differently. The problem is the execution doesn’t always allow the novel to deliver.

The premise of the book is a case in point. Gaunt and his Ghosts are dropped into the hell of trench warfare as part of an Imperial deployment set to break a 40-year war on a minor planet in the Sabbat system. There are plenty of 40K novels, many of them by Dan Abnett, which hint at disparities in technology levels on different worlds, but this book dives into that idea and runs with it to give us quite a different setting and feel to the usual gothic sci-if. It is nakedly ‘WWI in space’ but that is (in my opinion at least) fundamentally a cool premise. We get to see the locals marvelling at technology like Lasguns and personal comma beads. We see the locals waging war with cavalry mounted on giant killer birds. We see the cut and thrust of trench warfare 40K style with Chaos cultists, prometheum and, of course, more incompetent commanders for Gaunt to contend with, putting the lives of the Tanith at unnecessary risk. This is a great setting for a very different novel to the usual 40k fare. However, we only really get a couple of trench fights, very little in the way of building the world of 40K trench warfare and a couple of sweeping paragraphs to outline the broader war. In the end, the setting feels under-explored.

After some initial skirmishes, the Ghosts prove their worth and are given a crucial scouting mission. This sees the First split into two sections, one led up by Gaunt on a suicide mission into enemy territory and the other off to scout in the woods. This second mission gives what is, for me, the second cool idea in the book. One of the scout groups finds an abandoned house and sets it up as a base. This kicks off a series of strange occurrences culminating in a typically brutal battle scene. The ‘manse’ as it’s called by the troopers, is a brilliant opportunity for a much more atmospheric, eerie and small scale novel. It has the promise of something which is a mix of war novel, haunted house and mystery rolled into one. Unfortunately, again, this setting just isn’t given enough space so we only really get a taste of what could have been.

I think ultimately it is the classic Gaunt’s Ghosts novel structure that lets this book down. All the books in the series, except Necropolis, feel like a series of short stories or novellas stitched together. This is a feature that comes in for a fair bit of flack, normally I’m a defender of it. In this case, I think it is a problem. Dan Abnett's ideas here are great and each one just would have benefited from being given more focus and time, by splitting the book into these distinct parts, nothing is quite given a chance to shine.

This all said the book does succeed in doing some important work for the series in developing characters and plot threads which are set to pay off later. Without giving anything away, some of the most explosive consequences of the previous book in the series are further developed and there are some great new elements that weave the 40K universe’s more fantastical and otherworldly elements into a series that is otherwise very grounded in what we can recognise as ‘real life’ forces.

The book also has some great character development. As in the previous Gaunt’s Ghost novel, The Guns of Tanith, Gaunt himself takes a backseat and Abnett focuses on further developing the ensemble cast. I found in the first two novels, there was such a deluge of names of troopers, many of whom quickly met grizzly ends, that I never quite knew who was who. By now in the series, a defined cast of major and minor characters has emerged and we’ve spent enough time with them that heroes, villains and favourites have all emerged. Straight Silver pushes these characters still further, which helps raise the stakes for future novels in the series and fleshes out the world of the Ghosts.

As a Black Library novel, Straight Silver is probably one of the weaker in the Gaunt’s Ghost series. It isn’t as action-packed and its plot isn’t as compelling as many of the others. It lacks compelling antagonists and as a stand-alone story feels incomplete. However, when seen as part of the longer form story which is the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, I think it does important work.

If you are looking for your first Gaunt’s Ghosts or Imperial Guard novel, definitely don’t start here. But if you are already a devoted fan of the First and Only, this is still a must not be missed addition to one of the best series in the Black Library in my book.

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this it? The best Gaunt’s Ghosts novel? It very well could be. First I want to talk about the weaknesses, because having read six of Abnett’s novels now, I’m starting to notice some patterns.
Every book he painstakingly re-introduces us as the reader to each and every character. It’s as though he has a folder full of character names and underneath each are some stock phrases and characterising events he recycles every book. Maybe this is an unfair criticism. This is a lengthy series, and I suppose he feels he needs to keep readers up to date. But I think if the reader’s stuck with it to book six, we already know that Caffran is young(ish) and met Tona Criid at Verghast, fell in love, and together raise Dalin and Yoncy, who are Gol Kolea’s son and daughter—who, by the way, suffered severe head trauma and is a shadow of his former self.
My problem is that none of this is necessary. A minor gripe, sure, but I think a just one.
It’s nothing compared to Abnett’s other consistent problem though; anti-climactic rushed endings.
This is especially true of Straight Silver. We get a beautiful, tight, fast-paced novel, with some significant character development, especially the emerging death dance between Larkin and Cuu, but also of course with Gaunt himself. But just when it gets going and there’s a memorable last stand by about ten ghosts under Feygor’s command at a manse in a forest, the novel winds things up. A year of fighting left, by Gaunt's estimate, and in a few pages the Ghosts find they’re to be shipped off-world and sent to Herodor. Should that name ring a bell?
Anyway, it’s a habit of Abnett’s, and I think it’s perhaps another symptom of writing such a long series. It’s hard to write an effective ending. Simpler to rush to the end, like a sudden and abrupt deluge of rain in a storm, and then leave all the loose ends for the next book.
This was a great entry in the series. Perhaps Abnett’s tightest, with some truly memorable scenes and encounters—the assault on the manse, the political manoeuvrings of the Aexegerian Alliance, and some minor scenes where Gaunt executes Alliance troops in front of Dorden and Curth. But the loose threads are still hanging, which is okay. There’s 4, 5, maybe 6 more books to go in the series. I just hope Abnett can pull it off. He’s got the room to do it, and the ability too, I think.
Cuu got away with murder yet again, killing Muril, so Larkin’s subplot is what interests me more than anything. To avenge Bragg. I thought it would happen this book, but Larkin’s in a bad way, Cuu’s fine, and their duel will continue.
Bring on the next book! Herodor.
Has that planet been mentioned before? Part of Gaunt’s past?
Only one way to find out.

[Tarl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said it before, and I will say it again. If there's one thing Abnett knows how to do, it's character interaction and conflict.

Straight Silver is no exception. Throughout the entire book, we are treated to the various interpersonal relationships between members of the Tanith First and Only. Out of all of them however, is the continued problem of Cuu and his conflict with Larkin. This is something that we've been watching for awhile now, and in this book it gets amped up to an incredible level. This, coupled by Gaunt's continued issues with Imperial high command, gives this book a higher emotional charge than in previous novels in the series.

Abnett also tackles trench warfare in Straight Silver, and as with all things military fiction, he does it well. Though there are better books out there that talk about the horrors of this kind of warfare, Abnett manages to capture everything that is relevant to his story as well as keeping up the brutality that trench warfare brings. (more so to units that are not prepared for/trained for it)

As far as this novel goes, it's one of the better ones in the Gaunt's Ghost series. I did feel that the trench warfare part of the book was only there to show a different kind of warzone, and thus perhaps wasn't really needed. (though, on the other hand, when doing a series of books about various warzones, Abnett pretty much has to do a variety of warzones to keep things interesting) It's only in the later parts of the book that we start to really see things come to a head in regards to character development and interpersonal relationships changing.

Still, this was a good book and I really enjoyed it.

[Iri · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Jo, mistr Abnett je geniální architekt titěrných detailů, které se odehrají jako nic ve 2... 3 větách nebo vtipných hláškách na dva řádky a jsou to vlastně jen zanedbatelné částečky celého příběhu. Ale dodají mu neuvěřitelné kouzlo a šťávu. Poctivě si buduje začátek každého story, aby mohl rozjet akci ve velkém. Ale do háje... Obraz Ibrama se mu sype jako špatně poskládané puzzle, sotva tu je možnost oblíbit si nějakého Ducha, bam, už není... A ty konce... Ty konce jsou vždycky utažené na minimální možný počet stran a lá Imperium opět vyhrálo, víceméně, hurá a je to. (Ale že to přebije opět nějaký ten geniální detail, to se nechat musí, to je fajn.)

Fethe, ale že mám absťák už 5 minut po dočtení, to se přehlížet nedá už vůbec.

[Christian]

I loved this meatgrinder of a campaign. Abnett is obviously channelling 40K through the horror of WWI trench warfare. Great action and great characters on an epic scale. Loved it.

[Adam Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decades ago the forces of Chaos overran and conquered the Sabbat Worlds, a star cluster of over one hundred inhabited planets which had been won for the Imperium six millennia previously by Saint Sabbat, a formidable general. One of the few worlds not to fall outright was Aexe Cardinal, too marginal for even the endless legions of the Warp to waste time attacking. Instead, a local, ambitious nation was reinforced and induced to attack its neighbours, unleashing a horrendous trench war the likes of which humanity has not seen in thousands of years.

With the Crusade forces now trying to push back a determined Chaos counter-assault, several detachments of Imperial Guard have been dispatched to secure Aexe Cardinal and its resources. Gaunt and the Tanith 1st are sent in to break the stalemate. Unfortunately for Gaunt, he remains unaware that his unit is harbouring a traitor and murderer...

The Gaunt's Ghosts series reaches its sixth volume and shows little sign of running out of speed. Just as we were getting used to the 'rules' of this series, Abnett decided to shake them up in the last two books by introducing some bad apples to the Ghosts and killing off one reasonably major character, as well as varying the war scenes by switching to an airborne drop in The Guns of Tanith and a running road battle in Honour Guard. In Straight Silver he switches to a gruelling trench war reminiscent of WWI with the two sides happy to lob shells at one another and occasionally try a futile trench-rush. By invoking images of the Somme and Passchendaele Abnett does a good job of getting across the horrendous futility of pointless war, with even the battle-weary Ghosts shocked by the state of the conflict and determined to help break the deadlock.

This leads to a two-pronged storyline, as one detachment of Ghosts scouts a forest for signs of enemy infiltration and ends up besieged in a farmhouse whilst another goes on a Dirty Dozen-style trip behind enemy lines to locate and destroy an artillery detachment. It has to be said that compared to the epic, conflict-ending struggles the Tanith has been involved with previously, these feel like sideshows, but this is deliberate. The Tanith aren't always the unit that turns the tide of a war, and after forty years of conflict such an outcome would have been particularly unrealistic here. Instead, Abnett focuses on the characterisation, particularly of the increasingly loathsome Cuu and his feud with the Ghosts' ace sniper Larkin. Whilst also developing the newer Varghast troops he also switches the spotlight on some older Ghosts who have not featured centrally in the past, such as Feygor and Mkvenner, to good effect.

The end of the book is a surprise. The Ghosts are abruptly summoned on a new mission and we are left on a minor cliffhanger, for the first time in the series. The Ghosts have a new mission, one potentially that could win them the entire Crusade, on Herodor...

Straight Silver (****) is another solidly entertaining instalment in a reliably entertaining series. It is available now in the UK and USA as part of The Saint omnibus.

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the Sabbat Worlds crusade grinds on, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and his regiment, the Tanith First and Only (aka Ghosts), are dumped into the fighting on Aexe Cardinale, a world where it's always 1916 on the Somme and never Christmas. In fact, the local Imperial Loyalists (called the Alliance) have been fighting a trench war with their archenemy, the Chaos-alligned Republic, for a good 40 years, long enough that the fighting has killed the equivalent of the population of one of the Alliance's member states nine times over. So when the Imperial Guard is able to send a number of regiments to intervene in the conflict, it seems to offer the chance to finally end the war, or it would if the locals weren't led by a covey of arrogant hidebound noble idiots who insist on frittering away the Guard's strengths because they don't even want to imagine that there's a better way to fight than what they've always known. For the Ghosts, this is particularly bad, as their particular set of skills are stealth and maneuver, not sitting in trenches and repelling mass-charges. In a desperate bid to prevent the Tanith regiment from being decimated in this side-show conflict, Gaunt accepts a perilous mission to penetrate enemy lines and deal with some new super-heavy railroad artillery they've recently introduced. At the same time, within the ranks of the Tanith is a cold-blooded snake, Lijah Cuu, whose psychotic tendencies are becoming more and more pronounced, and having already secretly killed the only man in the regiment who dared stand up to him, his presence is a lingering poison. Worst of all, there's only one man in the regiment who even suspects what Cuu has done, the rather unhinged sniper Larkin.

SO, on the one hand, another very enjoyable Gaunt's Ghosts novel: interesting scenario, exciting action, likeable-but-flawed characters, and intriguing twists... all the things I've come to expect from the series. However, on the other hand, Lijah Cuu is the absolute worst, and Abnett exacerbated the frustration of having such a loathsome character picking off good and likeable characters by having him get away with it largely because he's ridiculously lucky. Every time it seems like someone is about to blow the whistle on his monstrous actions, some random event occurs which serendipitously hides his crimes, and it just keeps happening. Come on, Abnett, doing that once is okay, war is crazy, random things happen, but it happens like three times, and that's just stupid. Yes, we're talking Warhammer 40k, there's crazy magic stuff going on behind the scenes, so you could say that there's fate or chaos sorcery involved, but it just feels cheap. Also, I just want Cuu dead. He killed one of the best characters in the series, and he got away with it. That's some never forgive action. It's not enough to ruin the book, but... good grief, man, just because you're making Sharpe in space, you didn't have to have an Obadiah Hakeswill too... eugh... it's a good thing I know he dies in the next book, or I might stop reading here.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having a blast reading and reviewing The Traitor’s Hand, my desire for more things Warhammer 40,000 needed to be sated, so I dove into the exceptional and gritty Gaunt’s Ghost book by Dan Abnett, Straight Silver.

As the massive Sabbat World Crusades gain traction against humanity’s enemies, the Imperial forces finally have the capacity to send aid to the long-isolated planet of Aexe Cardinal. There the loyalist nations of the Aexe Alliances have been locked in a gruelling 40-year war against the Chaos corrupted Shadik Republic. Amongst the Imperial reinforcements sent to Aexe Cardinal are the veteran Ghosts of the Tanith First-and-Only, who are ready to make a dent in a new foe.

However, upon arriving on Aexe Cardinal, the Ghosts are surprised to find themselves under the command of the Aexe Alliance rather than their own generals. Forced to serve the whims of their new allies for political reasons, the Ghosts are soon thrust into the archaic way of fighting that have led the war to linger for decades. Worse, their new commanders refuse to use the Ghosts to their full potential, and the lightly armoured scouts find themselves fighting in bloody trench warfare.

Forced to endure confined conflict in ill-maintained trenches, the Ghosts find death constantly on the horizon as raids, bombardments, gas weaponry, and their own shattered morale begin to take their toll. To keep his regiment alive and sane, Gaunt volunteers his troops for the most dangerous missions where the Ghost’s scouting skills can be best utilised. However, the resulting campaigns will test Gaunt and his troops to the utter limit as the relentless forces of Chaos come crashing down upon them.

Straight Silver proved to be an exceptional entry to this amazing Warhammer 40,000 series. Featuring some powerful and gritty action that took its protagonists to dark places, this sixth entry in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series was so damn good that I managed to power through it in no time at all.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2024/04/26/...

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

[Kelly Charmaine Marie Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to the Warhammer 40K Universe while shuffling through the Fantasy and science fiction shelves, glum again as they had yet to transfer books and bring a few new ones in to freshen the stacks. A small pocket book caught my eye as it had not been there before. In fact, staff must have just stocked it. The front cover displayed a crowd of fully armored men fighting with chainswords and las-rifles. At the back one soldier was endowed with wings of flames. He stood looking as if to win the planet alone. I believe it was "Angels of Flames, or along those lines. I was instantly hooked! When I realised just how big the shelf of books for W.H.40K was, I surely drooled in ecstasy. I'm addicted to books and reading. The best gift I can get is a huge, almost never ending series or groups of series that span the same universe. I started the 'Horus Heresy books, but I wanted to know more about their 'present' time. Approximately 40-41K years into our future.
So here I am busting through Gaunt's Ghosts and loving it! It's a perfect series to cut your teeth on. Because the time just before the first book is not relevant beyond what you learn of it along the way, and the only main character that has a history in the Emperor's Army was Guant himself, you don't have that " I'm missing points or hints" feeling. 'Straight Silver' is one of the more 'tense' battles. The term Straight Silver refers to the Ghosts use of their Silver and Nalwood knives that attach to their rifles as bayonets. In close combat whether as a bayonet or knife, it's straight silver every time.
If I blab more I'll probably give away parts that'll wreck it, so go read them all. If you dare! hehehehe

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight Silver is where it all began for me not only with Gaunt's Ghosts, but with Warhammer 40K in general. I picked it up at the bookstore in the same mall that hosted a Games Workshop for a brief time and was absolutely taken with it. It became often re-read, I had such strong opinions about certain characters that I literally wrote an alternate ending for it (Spoilers Lijiah fething Cuu got his in this ending. Since this was the most up to date book at the time I'd have to wait a while for a canon ending for the bastard...), and it remained a favorite long after I'd read more books in the series.

At the point of this reread, however, it's been a long time since I last read it and I didn't remember anything beyond the basic story structure. Going in reasonably fresh, I was pleasantly surprised by just how good Straight Silver still is. It still has the hallmarks of what came before, but is probably the first book that just works all the way through. The brutality of the war on Aexe Cardinal echoes the trench warfare of the first and there is just enough political nonsense to show that the Ghosts are as much in conflict with their own command as the enemy even still.

The split story line part way through is excellent and the portions following the squad at the Manse are brilliant. There is also plenty setting up future story lines with plenty of ominous supernatural events sprinkled throughout. I was a bit surprised, at first, how Gaunt was portrayed given how his character is built prior to this book, though I think it's as much the fatigue of the constant abuse the Ghosts take wearing on him as the trials of this campaign as well. It also echoes his struggles on Hagia and I think that's important given the overall connections these stories all have regarding the Saint.

Straight Silver, at least at this point in my re-read, is probably my favorite of the 6 books thus far. I'd rank this probably around 4.5 if Goodreads would give us the partial star option. Sabbat Martyr was always a favorite as well, back in the day, so I'm excited to get on with it.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much WW1 in the 40k universe here, and while well portrayed, the book doesn't reach the heights of other books in the series for me.
Back to a bit of external politics being a nuisance again, but it is a bit more underplayed here, quickly becoming just a background nuisance rather than a threat to the regiment as such.
Likewise, while plenty of action, some tense scenes and certainly a bit of carnage as one would expect in a WW1 based story, it never quite gave a feeling of a threat to everyone, or that anyone could die, just more only certain characters with knowledge that the regiment would go on, when in other books it is more like the whole regiment is in danger, so the scope is a bit narrowed. Not necessarily a bad thing of course, as hard to maintain believably that level of threat, it just means it isn't quite as emotionally charged as other books.
Cuu continues to be a fether in this novel, a character I certainly hate, and don't think is one I love to hate either, but still shows the strength of the writing I think.
Certainly some interesting scenes in here as well that are building towards the final book in the Saint arc, to certainly keep readers interested and wanting to read the next book.
Overall a pretty strong book, just not at same level as some of his others :)

[Sam Dodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The criticism of this instalment in the series is warranted, the idea that a WWI-esque war could still be fought with all the horrors beyond comprehension is a bit of a stretch, but Dan Abnett is able to explain and write strong enough reasoning that, for me, allowed me to suspend my disbelief and focus on the excellent writing and storytelling in this novel. The pace is far slower, but characters are given room to grow and develop superbly. The whole Feygor, Mkvenner and Caffran debacle is superbly written, highlighting some of the more stereotypical issues within the Guard that I found lacking in previous instalments, and Gaunt and Dorden’s scene had me re-reading each paragraph with a grin at just how good Abnett is at writing emotional conflict in such a dark universe. My favourite of the series so far!

[Krzysztof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Abnett continues to amaze me with how he remixes different kinds of scenarios and puts the Ghosts in interesting situations while also still keeping in line with the oppressive atmosphere of W40K. These books might not be anything more than idiotically masculine pulpy trash, but they are really well written and just a joy to read. Even if it's pretty much business as usual / more of the same each time after Book #2 or #3.

That said, the Polish translation for this part is pretty bad. The dodgy translation itself is one thing, but the book needed an editor badly, and while there is a credited proofreader they either a) did a poor job or b) did the best they could with an absolutely atrocious source text. Typos and bad grammar abound.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na dovolenou jsem potřeboval něco malého, tak jsem sáhl po dalším Warhammmeru od Abnetta. A nezklamal. Žádná velká literatura, ale dobře napsaná akční komerce. S důrazem na masivnost a jatkovitost. Už se začínám i pomalu orientovat v postavách, i když se mezi nimi hodně skáče. Každá kniha v podstatě zachycuje jednu bitvu - v téhle se podíváme do zákopů evokujících masakry první světové války. Jediná spojující linka jsou osudy postav, kdy některé získávají schopnosti, někteří jsou pěkní parchanti a vůbec jste zvědaví, jak to s nimi dopadne. Patrně umřou. Warhammer se netváří že by hrdinové měli velkou životnost.

[Andrew Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s interesting how many of the ideas from this book appear later in The Siege of Terra series. The forces of Chaos have always thrown millions if not billions of followers to conquer worlds rather than rely on technology. Twice Terra has had to rely on drafting citizenry to defend the home world from invasion in a trench warfare like situation in the Warhammer Universe - The Horus Heresy and later in the Ork Waggh Invasion of The Beast Arises. So the idea that in the far future humanity would be above trench warfare and sieges is in my view wrong. The book is a good look at the horrors of trench and gas warfare plus develops key characters.

[Vojtech Sroub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much, much better than the previous part. We get to a planet where war has been raging for over 40 years in the style of World War I. So Gaunt and his ghosts have to deal with all the great things that go with it...no man's land, gas attacks, constant bomb barrages, etc., well, literal paradise and a verdun meat grinder. Then there's the line on a quiet front, where it was supposed to be a reward for some of the ghosts..., and some hints for future installements will appear. To complete the atmosphere, I recommend watching Kubricks Path of Glory or Jackson's excellent documentary They Shall Not Grow Old.

[Sean Goh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gaunt's Ghosts do trench warfare, complete with rebreather hoods, incessant artillery shelling, and bayonet fights in the trenches.
Really interesting what-if: if the imperium is so big isn't it possible that there are worlds stuck in the past fighting with last century's warfighting methods? Enter Aexe Cardinale, where cavalry is still mounted (rather than armour), and everyone is grist for the mill. The military bureaucracy sees Gaunt try to maneuver with both hand tied, and it is a treat to read.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before starting, I read a review that stated this book is hated by the majority of 40k fans.

I could not disagree more. I loved this book.

The word war one-esque trench warfare was so well-written and for me, the storyline made sense. Yes, any massive ship or even a few space marines would have ended the battle, however, with the world at the arse-end of the war, the Tanith were sent in.

Loved it.