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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting chapter in the Ghosts storyline..., October 28, 2004
Dan Abnett again provides a wonderful page-turner of a novel in the Gaunt's Ghosts' storyline. The prologue sets the stage quite well, as the commanding officers of the Ghosts are not present at a function they normally would attend, replaced instead by other familiar faces.
The leadership along with a select squad of some of the most able of the Ghosts has been tasked with a very important and secret mission. They have journeyed to a Chaos-held world to seek their quarry, whose identity is kept secret for most of the book but should be known to readers of an earlier book in the series.
The Ghosts are forced to trust people they normally would not, and they are forced to go places and face foes that others would almost certainly avoid. Not only must they face the Chaos forces, they must deal with the insinuation into their very beings of the essence of Chaos. Unity begins to wear among the group as they near their quarry, and the reader must worry whether they will destroy themselves in internecine conflict.
As with the other Ghosts novels, the characters are very well-developed, but it is through the Chaos effects that we see somethings that were only hinted at before. There are of course a number of battles, but not terribly gruesome as some of the earlier books. The body count, perhaps due to the small size of the infiltrating force, is lower than most of the preceding books. The ending, however, is something of a punch in the gut, despite not being entirely unexpected. More great WH40k action, though, at its best.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Abnett comes through again., December 13, 2004
Abnett returns to his Gaunt's Ghosts series with a bit of a departure: instead of the sweeping, epic style engagements that we've come to expect from the Tanith First and Only, Traitor General is the story of a commando mission undertaken by a select contingent of Ghosts. This small unit action not only superbly highlights the Ghost's skills at stealth and infiltration, but its tight focus also provides an excellent opportunity for Abnett to thoroughly examine some of the more colorful members of the Ghosts.
Similar to Abnett's earlier Double Eagle, Traitor General is set on an Imperial world occupied by the forces of chaos. Unlike Double Eagle, however, there is no longer any organized Imperial military presence left to combat the invaders. All that remains to hinder the entrenched chaos forces are small cells of beleaguered, ill-equipped partisans. It is into this bleak setting that Gaunt and his small band of commandos are thrust, charged with an almost certainly suicidal mission of the utmost importance to the Sabbat Worlds campaign.
Traitor General benefits from a rich cast of antagonists who receive almost as much attention from Abnett as do the individual Ghosts themselves. For the first time that I'm aware of, readers are treated to a long look at the inner workings and administrative bureaucracy of the chaos forces. From the lowest street enforcers to elite front line combat troops, from brutal chaos space marines to petty bureaucrats, Abnett reveals all. One chaos minion in particular is placed at the forefront of the story and elicits a great deal of understanding and sympathy, if not approval, from the reader. On the other end of the spectrum, Abnett introduces us to one of the most terrifying, macabre chaos constructs ever envisioned.
If Traitor General has a flaw it's that the ending is rather abrupt and doesn't provide all the closure that most readers will probably crave. That having been said, future installments in this story arch are a certainty and will likely address all unresolved issues. All in all, this is yet another terrific offering from the finest author in the Black Library stable.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Like 13th Legion, but GOOD., November 10, 2004
Dan Abnett brings another well-written story and introduces the first installment of a new arc in the Gaunt's Ghost saga. As I continued to read each page, unable to put the book down, I slowly came to the realization that this is what Gav Thorpe's "Last Chancers" novels should've been like, instead of the lackluster manner in which they were presented and abruptly concluded. For those of you already familiar with signature characters within the Tanith First & Only, you'll be satisfied with how the story begins and with how it develops and concludes. I really appreciated the way the identity of the traitor was deliberately kept hidden and hinted at through subtle references, which, if you remember the details of each of the previous novels, you will quickly deduct who the Imperial turncoat is before the official reveal later in the story.
Like in "Double Eagle", Dan Abnett masterfully lays the ground work by introducing us to the world and its people as they toil under brutal Chaos occupation with remnants of the PDF stoically carrying on an underground resistance through independent cells operating in each city and township. In this manner, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his elite team of Imperial Guard mission specialists enter the story and then, things take off.
Many intriguing new elements are revealed in this story, which undoubtedly will bear fruit in future novels inevitably fated for publication in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future. Other elements left over from the conclusion of "Sabbat Martyr" are referred to, and by their mention, allude to possible inclusion and further development and revelations in subsequent installments in this new story arc, known as "The Lost".
Despite what any other reviewer states in the content of their review or their title/heading, "Traitor General" is topnotch 40k fiction and every bit as good as any of the previous novels created by the masterful storytelling of Mr Abnett.
I received this book in the mail and finished it in less than 2 days and now I ravenously await the publication of the next novel! If you enjoy 40k fiction, enjoy a good story with well-developed characters, and specifically like stories about war, soldiery, and courage - YOU HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK.
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