Book Review: Ghostmaker

                                                                                                                                                      Black Library

Dan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts series defined the direction of Black Library’s Warhammer 40,000 novels. However, it began as a series of short stories in Inferno! magazine, a monthly anthology of Warhammer fiction. Like all anthologies, the magazine's content was something of a mixed bag. The same goes for the Gaunt’s Ghosts stories published there. Ghostmaker, the second novel in the series, collected all these stories, along with a few new ones. It's all brought together with a new, overarching plotline. This framing device had Gaunt preparing to charge Chaos forces gathering in alien ruins and its climax tries to offer some sense of closure for all the disparate plotlines. Ghostmaker diverges a lot from the rest of the series in its content and its resolution is absurd compared to the comparatively more grounded conclusions of its goes before and after it.

While somewhat justified by its climax, the overarching plot has its issues. It mostly consists of Colonel-Commissar Gaunt approaching whatever character the next story focuses on. At times, this will last a little under two pages. While simple and noninvasive, this approach feels almost like an afterthought until the last quarter of the book.
The alien forces that get involved in the climax cause the Ghosts to begin reliving their pasts. Or at least somebody’s past. While it would have been more difficult to implement, this could have been used to introduce the short stories in a more immersive way.

The short stories themselves range in quality and importance. The first, the titular Ghostmaker, recounts the disaster that left the Tanith First and Only without a homeworld. While it has more going on than most full length Warhammer novels, it adequately unfolds in a short number of pages. It shows who Gaunt was before the events of First and Only, the formation of the Tanith First and Only, and the tragic circumstances of their creation. The story fleshes out the cast considerably, as well as the series’ themes as a whole. It also has the most effective example of the characters suffering due to the incompetence and callousness of their leaders. In line with Gaunt’s Ghosts’ broad approach to the setting, the unnamed shock troopers of the Chaos forces are clearly meant to be the setting’s overlooked equivalent of Warhammer Fantasy’s Beastmen. Ghostmaker is the most developed portion of the book and likely could have been expanded to be novel length.

The other stories range in importance and quality. The smaller scale one tend to be the strongest, though the more battle centric ones have their moments. The Angel of Bucephalon, falls into the first category and is easily the best thing to come out of Ghostmaker. Taking place entirely on a church rooftop, sniper Mad Larkin talks with an "angel" after fleeing a battle. The story effectively sums up the series’ themes and complex character dynamics, as Larkin falls victim to his personal problems even in a warzone. It also presents Gaunt in a more complex way, as a man who is just as likely to destroy the Ghosts as he is to save them. In that way it also captures humanity’s dire state in the larger 40K setting. The Imperium prevents humanity from being slaughtered by its countless adversaries. But that ruthless empire also kills billions of people in the process, often needlessly. The Angel of Bucephalon validates Abnett's decision to focus on more humanized characters by using one of the most vulnerable Ghosts to explore the monstrous compromise that forms the basis of Warhammer 40K.

Similarly well written is Witch Hunt, which examines the unnerving abilities of Gaunt’s aide Milo. The teenager ends up attracting the attention of an Inquisitor after one of the Ghosts’ scams go a little too well. The story effectively presents the Imperium’s contradictory, ruthless interactions with psychics. They perceive the powerful beings as a constant threat but their empire could not function without them. Witch Hunt contains some disturbing moments, though they exist entirely within the characters' interactions and the dangers that accompany them. Witch Hunt lacks a large combat setpiece, though its central conflict arguably has far larger stakes. It defines the characters and regiment as a whole more than any warzone does. 

The other stories have their highlights but none of them are as good as Ghostmaker, Witch Hunt, or The Angel of Bucephalon.  The more character driven ones like Blood Oath and Permafrost are interesting but don’t offer anything that isn’t better presented elsewhere in the series. Sound and Fury is one of the most widely derided pieces of Warhammer fiction for its absurd setup, a small group of Ghosts trapped in an alien cactus patch with a blind dreadnought. It reads much better in context and while the characterization is nearly nonexistent, it does offer a unique and at points frightening scenario. The more battle focused pieces tend to be on the weaker side and prone to having obvious twists. They do establish Chaos as a horrific, unnatural adversary whose cruelties rival even those of the Imperium. 

Ghostmaker’s content emphasizes a specific subtext present throughout the Gaunt’s Ghost series. Namely that Chaos is given a foothold due to the unlivable conditions the Imperium creates for the average person, driving them to side with actual daemons. This revolutionary bent is in contrast with Warhammer Fantasy, in which the dark gods found their worshippers in the indulgent ruling classes, exploiting their desire for more power. Nearly all of the Chaos forces in Ghostmaker and the rest of the series were previously the long suffering workers of whatever world they’re fighting on. Gaunt’s Ghosts remembers an important, oft-overlooked aspect of Warhammer 40K’s setting. No matter how monstrous the forces of Chaos might be, their current, empowered state stems from the Imperium’s mistakes. In this way, Gaunt's Ghosts presents the latter faction as the villain they were always meant to be, as the Sabbat World Crusade exist entirely as a consequence of their own actions.

Ghostmaker is put in an unfortunate position due to its own content. The Inferno! stories were obviously when Abnett was still getting a feel for the setting. This is best shown by the inconsistent depiction of Chaos Space Marines and some of the weaker moments of writing. The attempt to properly integrate these short stories into the main series is admirable. However, it can be skipped with little consequence, unless one is a completionist. For fans of the series, Ghostmaker, The Angel of Bucephalon, and Witch Hunt are worth seeking out, even if they aren’t entirely necessary to understanding the series as a whole. They will improve your understanding of the characters and Warhammer 40K as a whole.