Gaunt’s Ghosts – 6 – By Dan Abnett

Continuing my re-reading of the Dan Abnett series – Gaunts Ghosts – next up is book 6, Straight Silver

‘Commissar Gaunt and his men undertake a seemingly suicidal mission in the blood-soaked trenches of the 41st Millennium.

On the battlefields of Aexe Cardinal, the struggling forces of the Imperial Guard are locked in a deadly stalemate with the dark armies of Chaos. Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his regiment, the Tanith First and Only, are thrown headlong into this living hell of trench warfare, where death from lethal artillery is always just a moment away. The only chance for Gaunt and his lightly armed scouts to survive is to volunteer for a mission so dangerous that no one else dares accept it.’

The Ghosts are stealth and infiltration specialists, but when they are assigned to the wars on Aexe Cardinal they quickly find themselves in the middle of trench warfare… and to make matters worse the enemy has brought some very big siege guns into the war… and the trenches are under intense attack.

After repelling the first attack against their lines, Gaunt convinces the local command to use his troops in a more suitable location… but there is a catch; the Ghosts are split in two. One half is working their way through a forest – still miraculously standing after decades of war – and the other must hold the trenches… and find the location of the big guns.

Unfortunately neither mission is as it seems and the Ghosts have to explore the wood, where their own need for R&R may cause them to forget the basics, whilst those left behind in the trenches must find the guns, so they can be silenced.

Straight Silver is back to classic Ghosts (although it never went far), and I loved it. The descriptions of the battles, unlikely survival of the troopers, and death of some, whilst they infiltrate and fight their own boredom … often at the same time.

This is another novel set in the 40k universe that I was able to relate to, in a way that I sometimes struggle with Space Marines. The Imperial Guard / Astra Militarum remain just men and women… with guns and a little armour… dying in droves to keep the enemy at bay or making small progress. Straight Silver delivers on this promise.

Another great novel and a good read.

— Declan

Previous Gaunt’s Ghosts Book Reviews on Woehammer:

First & Only
Ghostmaker
Necropolis
Honour Guard
Guns of Tanith

Check out the Woehammer Book Review Archive for more reviews!