Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than the first?, 6 Sep 2004
I think that this book has been criticised far too much, for being just short stories with a quick battle in the end for no real reason. I cannot agree, this is all short stories about the most important characters in the regiment, but it climaxes in a massive battle involving characters mentioned within the short stories, the rest of the Tanith, Chaos and a mysteriously powerful alien race.
The best stories in the book I thought were the Larkin one because it wasn't an action story it was an insight into "MAD" Larkins mad mind. But was interestingly handled by Abnett.However the Corbec story caught my imagination most, and the one about the Medic Dorden (I think) was a really good story too, set in an abandoned farm house, a group of outnumbered Tanith volunteers hold out against a massive army of chaos, also featuring the GREAT Col. Corbec! I was however disappointed in the Rawre/Gaunt story, I think the major is a really cool character and could have had a better story with him and the commissar's constant rivalry. Overall, Abnett has really excelled himself again and while I did prefer First and Only his second book in the series is certainly one worth reading!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
mixed bag, 8 May 2002
By A Customer
I have mixed feelings about this book. Comprising a series of stories about the Ghost's and significant figures in the regiment, it is basically a short story compilation and quite a good one at that. The problem is that each story is introduced via the pre-battle reminiscences of Gaunt. Fine, but the link is not strong enough to carry through to the end when there is a huge battle. It feels as if the battle was stuck on the end just for the sake of it. Trying to make it into a book rather than a short story compilation I felt detracted from the quality of the stories in Ghostmaker. If, however you are going to read all the Ghost books it is a must read as it gives you vital character information.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better introduction than 'First And Only'!, 10 Jul 2008
Second book in the series of Abnett's adventures of Ghaunt's Ghosts, and the second book in the series that has later been called the Founding trilogy.
This book finds Commissar Gaunt walking around the battlements and defensive perimeters of the Tanith's `First and Only' encampment, prior to a big push or heavy defence against the Chaos hordes on the planet Monthax. As he journeys round he meets the players in Abnett's series, before the author launches into short stories about each character individually. The last eighty or so pages of the book throw them all together again, teaming up unknowingly with an alien race to defend an ancient ruin from Chaos.
Personally speaking, I found this book better than the first in the series, which to me seemed to introduce the main characters far too fast. Whilst Abnett in my own opinion still seems to introduce far too many one named characters that only last half a page, it is the insight into each of the characters personas that make this book for me. I particularly liked the short story about Mad Larkin talking to the statue of the Angel. Short stories was a great way to introduce the characters in more detail, and give them more depth. I would also say that for people that have not read `First And Only', there is no real reason as to why this book could not be read first.
Like the first book, this one is also filled with the bitter infighting between personalities and regiments, and sometimes I have to wonder in Abnett's version of the 40K universe how the `Imperium' manages to stay together ! Indeed most of the time your more likely to be stabbed in the back by your own side than the opposition.
Things I really did not like about this book ? Well, as I said, too many one named characters losing their heads - literally - too quickly, and though Abnett does introduce us to Orks and Eldar to us, anyone going into a Games Workshop shop (?) will know about the untold masses of boxes and packets of villainous races that Abnett could have included in these short stories. More variety please, Mr. Abnett, as having Chaos as the most consistent enemy in the majority of the story lines may well lose the novelty factor for new readers !!!
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