Tras el éxito de su desesperada misión en Salvation’s Reach, el coronel comisario Gaunt y el Primero de Tanith se dirigen al mundo forja de Urdesh, de una importancia estratégica vital y que se halla asediado por los brutales ejércitos del Anarca Sek. Sin embargo, puede que esté en juego algo más que el propio planeta. Las fuerzas imperiales han intentado dividir y vencer al enemigo, pero con el propio señor de la guerra Macaroth en persona al mando de la campaña de Urdesh, es posible que el ataque del Archienemigo tenga un propósito diferente: decapitar la estructura de mando imperial de un solo tajo. ¿Acaso el señor de la guerra se ha convertido por descuido en un objetivo? ¿Y podrán los Fantasmas de Gaunt defenderlo frente a la fuerza de asesinos y máquinas de guerra del Caos allí concentrada?

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Title: The Warmaster
Series: WH40K: Gaunt's Ghosts #14
Author: Dan Abnett
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 287
Words: 103K

Synopsis:

From Warhmmer40k.fandom.com & Me

After the success of their desperate mission to Salvation's Reach, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First-and-Only race to the strategically vital Forge World of Urdesh, besieged by the brutal armies of Anarch Sek.

A bad warp jump takes them away from the universe for 10 years.

However, there may be more at stake than just a planet. The Imperial forces have made an attempt to divide and conquer their enemy, but with Warmaster Macaroth himself commanding the Urdesh campaign, it is possible that the Archenemy assault has a different purpose -- to decapitate the Imperial command structure with a single blow. It is also possible that Sek is after the Eagle Stones rescued from Salvation's Reach.

Has the Warmaster allowed himself to become an unwitting target? And can Gaunt's Ghosts possibly defend him against the assembled killers and war machines of Chaos?

My Thoughts:

This book exemplified everything about why I don't read much Warhmmer40k. It was dark, brutal, gory, filled with despair and in the end hopeless.

I probably would have dnf'd this if this series was going to keep on going. However, I'm pretty sure that the next book, Anarch, wraps up the series. So I kept telling myself “Ok, you've enjoyed the series to date, so one bad book shouldn't derail the whole thing”. It was a close thing though!

I did not enjoy this. Many people are plotting against the Warmaster Macaroth because he's not doing things how they want. Gaunt has to deal with this. The Ghosts are being torn apart by evil scum like Merin and pathetic drugged out losers like Commisar Blenner. Saint Sabat has possessed one of her followers and is leading the charge personally against Anarch Sek.

Which leads me off down another rabbit trail. The whole Human Empire is based on the idea that anything supernatural comes from the warp and is therefore tainted by chaos and therefore evil. And yet they have Saints left and right and mystics and nobody bats an eye when a girl claims to be possessed by a dead saint. The inconsistancy is what annoys me.

The biggest issue that got me down was the fact that it appears that one of the children (the Ghosts have a whole retinue along with them, their families, etc) might be an agent of chaos without even knowing it. I'm really hoping I'm wrong, but WH40K books aren't known for their deep and intricate plottings. I hate when children are used in stories like this, even potentially.

The story itself was good, the fighting was FANTASTIC and Abnett's writing was up to snuff. That being said, I am looking forward to this series ending. I am wondering about pushing up my rotation and reading Anarch sooner than I normally would just to get over the goal line.

★★★☆☆ ( )