Wednesday 14 October 2009

Blood Pact by Dan Abnett


If you have been involved or ever been involved in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame by Games Workshop for any significant period of time you are likely to have heard of two things when it comes to the novels. Dan Abnett and Gaunt's Ghosts.

The Gaunt's Ghosts series is one of the Black Librarys flagship series and follows a unit of Imperial Guard ( mankinds bulk fighting force of the 41st millenium) the Tanith 1st and Only so called as their planet was wiped out shortly after their founding. They will be no more Tanith regiments, all the Tanith can do is go on and fight in the hope that one day they will gain a new planet of their own which they can setttle. They are nicknamed Gaunt's ghosts after their leader Commisar Gaunt.

Blood pact is the start of the fourth arc in the series and begins sometime after the event's of the previous novel. The Ghosts have been pulled out of the frontline of the war and are slowly going stir crazy with nothing to do but train. Discipline is starting to break down and everyone hopes for a return to the front.

However they don't have to return to the front to see action as a high ranking prisoner will only speak to Gaunt and the information he holds could win the war for the Imperials. Assuming Gaunt can keep him alive long enough!

Blood Pact is a very fast paced novel which benefits from a tight focus. The Ghosts series did seem to be running out of steam but Blood Pact has revitalised the series nicely and set a high bar for the rest of the arc to follow.

Four stars out of Five

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