Customer Reviews

The Armour of Contempt (Gaunt's Ghosts Novels)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dan Abnett has, since the first Gaunt's Ghosts book, been a good writer with a gift for creating compelling characters and perhaps an even greater gift (which surely comes from his background as a comicbook writer) of telling stories paced, framed, and laden with the kind of potent imagery that normally comes only from film or graphic novels.

He began climbing the list of my favorite authors with the second Eisenhorn book, the Ravenor books, Double Eagle and the fantasy novel Riders of the Dead. With The Armour of Contempt, Abnett completes the ascent, and -- though my degree is in English and I'm supposed to live for the Carvers and O'Conners of the world -- he has become my favorite writer.

Why? Because he delivers the escapist fare I prefer, but has matured to a level where that's no longer all he is doing. This book, more than any other he has written, is more than just a story to be enjoyed on the surface level. There's an underlying message, and dare I say commentary here that shows that Dan Abnett hasn't removed himself from the grim darkness of the contemporary world he lives in.

He's always done exceptionally well in conveying the unforgiving, brutal nature of war. This book continues that, in better crafted, more visceral fashion than any attempt so far. But nestled in the tale, there are nuggets like this that seem to powerfully reflect events in our own war-scarred world:

"[Cirk] stared at her boots. 'It's such a bloody mess, isn't it, Ibram?

'It's not exactly as a I imagined it. I thought I'd be proud. I'm not proud of this. High Command didn't initiate this operation for the benefit of the people of Gereon. They're only bothering with Gereon because they think there's something valuable here.' "

With this book Dan Abnett has graduated from merely being an author who weaves a good tale wrapped around richly drawn characters. There's something real and important being conveyed here, and I don't think it's a preachy message. It simply adds a deep resonance to an already enjoyable story.

Well done. I shall look forward to his next effort.

Simply Awesome. Dan Abnett does it again with Armour of Contempt in the Gaunt's Ghost series. I have really enjoyed following the character of Dalin "Holy" Criid as he goes through training to become an Imperial Guardsman and tries to join the Tanith First and Only.

The writing is still riveting, compelling and descriptive and the plot moves along at a rapid pace. I thought following two of Tanith's own in a "regular" battalion compared to the elite of the Tanith was a wonderful plot.

Dan Abnett continues to impress me in his creativity and writing. Each of his books are very unique and tends to compliment the entire series as a whole. There is a tendency for authors to emit a similar echo in plot (see Sharpe's series by Cornwell, or the Patrick O'Brien series). Not the case with Mr. Abnett.

From heroic last stands, to trench warfare, to urban warfare, to frontal assaults, to airborne assaults, to assassin missions, to suicide missions. He has brought it all to the Gaunt series.

Armour of Contempt is no exception and is just another marvelous addition to the Gaunt Series.

Pro- unique look at the underside of Imperial Guard Life and training, normal guard units, and the return to Gereon.

Con- Too short... I would have loved another 100 pages to fill out the ending...but I nitpick...and will just have to wait for the next book.

I enjoy almost everything dan abnett writes, and while I enjoyed this novel I did feel there was a notable lack of overall plot development or focus. Spoilers follow in this review.

spoilers follow. read at your own risk.

The general gist is that gaunt's unit is part of a large-scale invasion of Gereon, the location of the excellent Traitor General novel. A major side-plot is the enlistment of Dalin Criid, the son of Gol Kolea and adopted son of caffran and tonia Criid. Dalin ends up getting sent into a major engagement in the initial landing which ends up being a major storyline in the plot.

The Ghosts are used to take a small village and make contact with the resistance, who are then captured by the inquisition as part of a search for whatever might give them resistance against Taint. despite the billing of the novel as gaunt being against the orders he is given or whatever, he in fact follows his orders, even if he doesn't like them. We learn that MkVenner is dead, then learn 'well we didn't find a body' and finally that he is in fact alive. the ghosts leave, end of story, literally.

I think 300 pages was simply not enough to develop the dalin storyline and leave enough to build a primary storyline involving the unit. While a couple of new chaos-inspired enemies are introduced, you don't get the sense of drama or impact that Glyfs and Wirewolves gave. As usual, when long-running characters die, they do so in a dramatic and symbolic fashion rather than typical battlefield deaths like everyone else gets.

I am looking forward to Abnett's forthcoming Ravenor novel, but hope/wish he would be given more page allowance - 300 pages is simply not enough for this sort of work.

When Commissar Ibram Gaunt left the planet Gereon, he promised he'd return with help to liberate the Chaos-held world. He expected the son of team member (Criid) to graduate RIP, become a Ghost, and go with them. Instead, Dalin Criid finished RIP (academy) only to be activated and thrown into war as a grunt soldier.

They all end up on Gereon, but in totally different sections. Dalin must fend for himself. Dalin must not only survive the hostile world and the Emperor's enemies, but also his own superior who seems to be very trigger happy (with rifle, gun, and whip) toward his own men!

*** NOT the best installment of the Gaunt's Ghost series. The battle scenes are realistically done and extremely intense. However, once RIP is over, there seemed to be more mundane "filler" pages than anything else. This is still a good read, but wait for the paperback version. ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This latest installment in the Gaunt's Ghost series is just as good as I've come to expect from Dan Abnett. If you are like me and you have followed the development of each of the signature characters, you will not be disappointed. I look forward to the next installment with just as much anticipation as I did this one. The only regret I have is that I finished too quickly!

This represents the 10th novel in Dan Abbett's popular 'Gaunt's Ghosts' series: as such familiarity with the prior books will lend appreciation and quick understanding of the ongoing saga. Gaunt and Tanith discover the liberation's brutality is pitting them against their own commanders who believe victory is worth cruelty. Gaunt and his men thus find themselves on no side, fighting with all. Fans of military science fiction will appreciate the fast-paced drama and highly-charged energy here.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I happen to be an avid reader and fan of the 40k novels, Mr. Abnett is one of the best writers in the genre. I am a solid follower of his work, here is the big BUT....I was expecting a story/novel that would revolve around the well known character Gaunt. In fact the story revolves around a minor character, yes there is a continued story arc, which is good, but to dedicate the bulk of the book to this new face should have been done in a separate series, I wanted more of the Tanith, more Gaunt, this book seemed to be a generic 'formatted' story that had potential to be another top rate novel like many of the others in the past, this one does not come close to the established legacy. I was very disappointed. If your a fan of Gaunt and the 40k story line, you will be compelled to buy the book, if you can wait for the paperback, the price of the hard back vs. the content/entertainment factor does not pay off. If it was a movie, I would tell you all to wait for the dvd release.
I agree with other reviewers that if the novel were longer I'm sure the magic that Mr. Abnett usually produces would have had time to mature.
It pained me to write these words, I hope the Ravenor series does NOT take on a similar cookie cutter format and is allowed to go the distance, the fans are not afraid to commit to a thick or long book so long as its good. My Humble Opinion.

1 star because its a 40k story, another star because it keeps my favorite character alive [although he gets minor face time in this book], and finally one star because its readable, although predictable. Decent book, but not a great work.

The 12 are different, they are back, almost.
How well are they the same as those left on Gereon 18 months ago for a missionextremely risky / suicide that was not to exceed one month?!
In addition with two new "recruits" : the impressive and quiet Eszrah Night and the mysterious and poisonous Sabbatine Cirk.
The world has changed too, the second front of the crusade arrived on Ancreon Sextus is facing fierce darkspawn Chaos, as frightening than stealth. While a steady stream of soldiers of Blood Pact are (at best) in check the forces of theLord General Van inexperienced Voytz.
The First and Only is also changed, merged with other regiments, also amputated from a portion of their forces, the Ghosts are a mere shadow of themselves under the command of the respected advised Colonel Wilder.
The reunification of the Ghosts and the First and Only could be jeopardize, if it is ...
rejoin the Gaunt's Ghosts until the Last Command, which ended the ninth opus with great style and honor.

For the Emperor!

The Armour of Contempt has the Ghosts, all of them this time, heading to Gereon to thwart the Chaos threat. The story gets split up between Gaunt with the Tanith regiment and a young member of the Ghosts who ends up being conscripted into another unit. While the stuff with Gaunt is excellent as is par for the course, it was the the story of the young and inexperienced Ghost in an unfamiliar unit that shined a new light on the grim war of the future.
It is this kind of thing that makes the series so strong. Dan Abnett continues to try something new with each book in the series and whether you like it or not it is quite often what makes the highs so high and the lows so low.
If you are a fan of the Warhammer 40k universe the Gaunt's Ghosts books will not disappoint.

Two years after his harrowing mission behind enemy lines Gaunt returns to the Chaos-held world of Gereon on a long-awaited mission of liberation. But is there still a world to save?

In Armour of Contempt Dan Abnett takes his heroes back to the scene of one of their most taxing missions, this time at the head of a liberating army. The scenes of the veteran members of Gaunt's Ghosts are mixed with the story of a squad of raw recruits thrown into the meatgrinder of war. Throughout the book there is a feeling of sadness, that 'liberation' is just lip-service, that the world is already lost.

In many ways this is the most mature of the Gaunt's Ghosts books. There is little triumph or heroism. The story of the RIP platoon (Re-training, Indoctrination and Punishment) is truly tragic as characters are cut down like ripe wheat.

But when it comes to the Ghost's story Abnett still has a problem balancing his desire for realistic battle scenes with his desire for larger-than-life heroes. In one scene two Ghosts are outnumbered, surrounded and out of ammo, but I felt no fear, only a vague curiosity of which of them would get a flesh wound, and what miracle would save them.

Still it is a fine read and one of the best of the series.