Reviews for Traitor General (Gaunt's Ghost Series)

The average rating for Traitor General (Gaunt's Ghost Series) based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-08-12 00:00:00 Patrick Concilio Man, Abnett really knocks it out of the park in the transition from The Saint to The Lost arcs. The previous book in the series, Sabbat Martyr, was an absolute favourite of mine, combining large scale action with the climaxes of multiple plotlines from across four novels. By contrast, Traitor General is simply a very tight standalone story avoiding several of the problems that have historically dogged the series. Notably the book significantly fleshes out the antagonists, the generically named 'Chaos forces' by a) giving a background of how Chaos-occupied planets function and their populace used, b) linking the reader to the Sons of Sek by showing us their effectiveness from their very founding, and c) FINALLY giving the protagonists a mid-level antagonist to defeat. The actual story itself makes perfect sense, especially when compared to previous entries in the series such as Straight Silver: the Ghosts finally get to stealth the entire time. Of course it's ridiculous that both Gaunt and Rawne, the two highest ranking members of a regiment, would both go on a suicide mission such as this, but hey. It's 40K. The story is paced and structured wonderfully, with plenty of twists and plot threads introduced that will be returned to in later books. It also features some wonderful feats of imagination, with Abnett substantially adding to the lore surrounding Chaos as well as introducing the small faction of the partisans. It's a great read, basically. Not perfect (the story still ends about a page before the novel does) but fething enjoyable.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-08-04 00:00:00 Nicholas Samson This is the first time Abnett spends the entire novel on one specialized group of the Ghosts for an entire mission. Unlike the first books of the series, the scale is much smaller, more intimate, and therefore the pace is much quicker. I chewed through this one relatively quicker than the other novels, it was standard fare for the more character driven 40K novels. I found the first 7 books in the series to be much more epic, every book was another planet to take or hold. This book, as stated in the forward, holds a mission crucial to the entire Crusade of the Sabbat worlds. It was a great piece of writing to let a lot of the major minor characters get their moments in the sun and really develop. The action was as good as Abnett normally delivers. I am a bit hesitant to believe the results of one battle in particular though, I wont give any details, but one engagement smacked of Endor and its end was equally as ridiculous. On the whole I very much enjoyed this book as part of the larger series. It ends very much on a cliff hanger and I am looking forward to the next installment.