Gaunt's Ghosts: The Founding Books
In the Chaos-infested Sabbat system, Imperial Commissar Gaunt must lead his men through as much in-fighting amongst rival regiments as against the forces of Chaos.For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only – better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth. With enemies all around them and no one to trust, Gaunt and his men must find a way to save the warmaster and prevent the Sabbat Worlds Crusade from falling into anarchy – even if it means waging war on their supposed allies.Read by Toby Longworth.
Humanity's front-line defenders, the Imperial Guard, are aware of the risks to their bodies in defending the species, but they did not count on the damage to their souls. Reprint.
Book three in Black Library's longest running Sci-fi series returns For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only – better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. On the world of Verghast, a grinding war between two hive cities – one loyal to the Imperium, the other fallen to the worship of the Dark Gods – is bolstered by the forces of the Imperial Guard. But bitter rivalries and treachery threaten to derail the defence of Vervunhive, and it falls to Gaunt to take command of the Imperial forces and forge victory from an almost certain defeat. This edition includes the epilogue short story ‘In Remembrance’, in which Gaunt’s Ghosts are accompanied into battle by an artist commissioned to create a sculpture in commemoration of a great victory by the Tanith First.
On the world of Amedeo, Chaos fliers appear as if from nowhere, inflicting grievous casualties and disappearing without a trace. Imperial tacticians are convinced that there is a hidden enemy base in friendly territory, but it remains elusive. Outnumbered, outgunned and outmanoeuvred, the Apostles, the Sabbat Worlds Crusade's most elite pilots, must find the enemy stronghold and destroy it before the war on Amedeo is lost. Read it because The elite fighter pilots of the Apostles must discover the location of a hidden enemy base if they are to prevent the disastrous loss of the war on the Sabbat World of Amadeo.
Heritor Asphodel died on Verghast, killed by the heroic Colonel-Commissar Gaunt, but his legacy lives on. In a graveyard of dead technology, agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus search for anything that can be salvaged and live again in service of the Machine God. But not everything in the graveyard is Imperial in origin. Some of Heritor Asphodel's famed and feared Woe Machines lie hidden in the dark, awaiting activation and the chance to wreak havoc in the name of the Dark Gods... Read it because In the Sabbat Worlds, an Adeptus Mechanicus team searches a machine graveyard for salvageable technology to help win the war. But not all the dead machines are Imperial in origin'
On the world of Verghast, the Imperium is triumphant. The forces of the Imperial Guard – aided by the brave men and women of Vervunhive – have defeated the Chaos-tainted soldiers of rival Ferrozoica Hive. The traitor leader is dead, killed in single combat by Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. Now, in the aftermath, a sculptor seeks to commemorate Gaunt’s men, the heroes of Vervunhive – the Tanith First and Only. Read it because It's a bittersweet look at the aftermath of war and how those left behind view the heroes who move on to other battles.
As Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his men – the Tanith First and Only – travel to a new war zone, Gaunt is drawn in to a mysterious conspiracy that could imperil the lives of all his men. Can he decipher the Vermilion level message that will reveal the truth before all is lost? Read it because This story first appeared in issue 30 of Inferno! magazine and is Dan Abnett’s original version of a planned short story that ended up being incorporated into the novel First and Only instead. This is a rare chance to see it as it would have appeared had it been released as originally intended. Read what might have been in this curio from the Black Library archive.
For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. The Space Marines of the Iron Snakes strike against heretic enclaves. Astra Miltarum units such as the Volpone Bluebloods defend worlds from the ruinous hordes. The forces of the enemy – the vicious Blood Pact and Sons of Sek – fight amongst themselves for the honour of facing their foes. And at the forefront of the crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only – better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Read it because Essential reading for any Gaunt's Ghosts fan, this new anthology contains new fiction from Dan Abnett, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Nick Kyme, Matthew Farrer, Nik Vincent, John French and Rob Sanders. The tales are set across the war-torn Sabbat Worlds, and follow on from the events of Salvation's Reach. Many of the stories explore little known corners of the huge war for the Sabbat system, while others focus on well know characters including of course, the Ghosts themselves.
THE STORY One of the earliest victories of the Tanith First was the capture of Sholen Skara, a magister of Chaos and servant of the Great Archon in the Sabbat Worlds. Now, more than a decade later, this dangerous heretic has escaped captivity and fled to the world of Valens 160. Sent to retrieve – or kill – him are warriors of the Iron Snakes Space Marines. As Squad Orpheon hunt their prey, they find that Skara's powers to turn men against the light of the Emperor have been at work on Valens 160 – and to defeat their enemy, they may need to sacrifice an entire world… Written by Rob Sanders This story is also available in the Sabbat Crusade anthology. READ IT BECAUSE A Sabbat Worlds story Tasked with retrieving or killing an escaped heretic, Squad Orpheus of the Iron Snakes find a trail of tragedy and ruin the traitor has left – and face the horrors that Chaos wreaks on the souls of men. It's part all-action Space Marine story showing the superhuman Adeptus Astartes in battle, and part rumination of the ruinous nature of Chaos and the corruption of all it touches.
THE STORY The Sons of Sek are the elite warriors of Anakwanar Sek, Archon of the Chaos forces in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. They are a disciplined and regimented force, the equal of the best the Astra Militarum has to offer. But how are they recruited, and what horrors can turn a man from faith in the Emperor to the service of a maniac like Sek? Prepare to find out as one of the Sons of Sek tells his story and reveals his eightfold truth. Written by John French This story originally appeared in the anthology Sabbat Crusade. READ IT BECAUSE A Sabbat Worlds story What can turn a man from faith in the Emperor and make him serve a monster like Anakwanar Sek? Find out as one of the Sons of Sek, the elite Chaos forces of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, tells his story. It's a unique insight into the minds of the servant of the Great Enemy, written by John French, whose thoughtful and intimate writing style is perfectly suited to revealing the dark secrets that lurk within.
A Sabbat Crusade story Mabbon Etogaur doesn't expect trust. he's a three-time traitor, after all, and a prisoner of the Tanith First. But maybe, just maybe, he can experience kindness from his captors… READ IT BECAUSE It's a short and sweet tale, just two characters talking in a cell. But it's packed with insights into the forces of Chaos in the Sabbat Worlds, and the characters are compelling, to say the least. THE STORY There is one among Gaunt's Ghosts who doesn't fit. A traitor three times over, Mabbon Etogaur is a prisoner of the Tanith First. Once a member of the elite Chaos Blood Pact, then the Sons of Sek, he has switched sides once more and now aids the Imperium. He has been vital to the Ghosts in their recent mission – but still he is not liked, and he is not trusted. And yet even in his cell, he can find a strange kinship with one of his captors. This story originally appeared in the anthology Sabbat Crusade.
A Sabbat Crusade story When their latest assault grinds to a halt, the Royal Volpone 50th are given support – by an elite Militarum Tempestus unit. Can these two arrogant forces put aside their differences and win the war? READ IT BECAUSE Any Gaunt's Ghosts fan knows the Volpone are arrogant and elitist – so seeing them butt heads with the true elite of the Astra Militarum is always going to be fun. THE STORY The year is 774.M41, and on the world of Lotun, the Royal Volpone 50th are at war. One of the most storied Astra Militarum regiments fighting in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the Volpone are glory hounds and elitists, believing themselves better than other units… but they're also highly skilled and hard fighters, with a roll of victory to match. As the Crusade grinds acros Lotun, the Volpone are stuck. To aid them in their latest assault, they have allies: the First Sons, a unit of the Militarum Tempestus. How will the Volpone fare when they're alongside the real best of the best? And can their pride survive? Written by Nick Kyme This story originally appeared in the anthology Sabbat Crusade.
The 15th book in the world famous 'Gaunt's Ghost' series Men of Tanith… do you want to live forever?’ On the forge world of Urdesh, the massed forces of the Imperial Crusade engage in a final bloody battle with the Archenemy commander known as the Anarch, and his elite warriors - the barbaric Sons of Sek. A victory for either side will decide more than just the fate of Urdesh… it will determine the outcome of the entire Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Ibram Gaunt - now serving at the right hand of Warmaster Macaroth - finds himself at the very heart of the struggle. His regiment, the Tanith First “Ghosts”, holds the vital key to ultimate success. But as the forces of the Imperium and Chaos square up for the final, large-scale confrontation, Gaunt discovers that the greatest threat of all may come from inside rather than out.
A Sabbat Crusade novella Adept Tey seeks something monstrous on the world of Ashek II – one of Heritor Asphodel's Woe Machines, among the greatest horrors of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. READ IT BECAUSE Matthew Farrer brings his thoughtful style to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and explores the impact of Chaos-corrupted technology and daemon engines on tech-priests. THE STORY Of all the forces of Chaos unleashed on the Sabbat Worlds in the war between the Imperium and the Archenemy, perhaps the most feared are the dread Woe Machines. Created by the warlord and heretek Heritor Asphodel, these fusions of the mechanical and the daemonic bring death and devastation wherever they walk. And even after Asphodel's death, they remain a threat… On the world of Ashek II, Adeptus Mechanicus Adept Tey is on a most dangerous mission – to retrieve one of these horrific devices, at any cost. Written by Matthew Farrer This story originally appeared in the anthology Sabbat Crusade.
Gaunt's Ghosts are back in a fresh new look at the beginning. The war may be over, but duties remain for the brave soldiers of the Astra Militarum. In the ruined border town of Vincula, the newly formed Ghosts of Tanith, along with their commander Ibram Gaunt, find themselves in a thankless police action, trying to establish a permanent peace. But what exactly is stalking them through the shadowed streets, and what dark secrets will the untested, new-founded Ghosts learn about themselves? The Vincula Insurgency is an intense new combat thriller of the Ghosts’ early days, pulled directly from the ultra-classified Ghost Dossier.