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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ghosts and shadows in a blizzard... Abnett reinvents himself again, 20 Oct 2009
Before I discuss this review, I should point out that there might be spoilers. I should also point out that I'm a shameless Abnett fan and am therefore likely to praise his successes too far and equally whine too much about weka spots.
'Blood Pact' is a very strong novel, for a number of reasons, but first of all, I'd like to mention the previous installment of Gaunt's Ghosts, 'Only In Death'. OID had a decent story and the 'haunted house' element was great, but I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Gaunt's supposed death, hyped beyond all sane level before the release was an easily detectable bait-and-switch. The reactions of the Ghosts to their supposedly immortal commander was well played, but too much time was wasted on a see-through plot device. After that, I wasn't too sure how Abnett was going to play things.
Obviously, Abnett himself must have come to the same conclusion. A dozen books later, how does one freshen the concept? A lot of the characters are so well rounded that they don't need work, so they'll pretty much look after themselves, but how to give the reader something new and interesting? Well, after two years work, Abnett rises to the occasion.
The Sabbat Worlds Crusade is in deadlock, the Tanith have been retired from the front and are stewing in their own juices on Balhaut, a world we've heard so much about but never seen. But the commissariat have caught an archenemy officer. The Blood Pact aren't impressed and have sent a kill team to silence him. And that's not all that Gaunt has to worry about...
This is a book about power struggles and politics, which is fantastic. The Inquisition and the commissariat continually attempt to strongarm each other. Gaunt and Prisoner B are playing a game of trust and struggle. Once again the distant power struggle between Gaur and Sek, first mentioned in 'Traitor General' is an important element. All of this happens on the backdrop of a frightened, muted city gripped by a whirling snow-storm. The overrall effect is of total isolation and the illusion of safety being dispelled. Characters are strong too: Gaunt hesitantly second-guesses himself several times, vaguely wondering if he's going mad, whilst Tona Criid battles obsessive compulsion and Rawne reverts to bad habits. The only character who seems as fully hinged as he once was is Viktor Hark, who is bone-exhausted from attempting to coral the regiment.
The book is less about the thick of fighting and more about gnawing battles fought in the shadows. The blizzard conditions of the story help to accentuate this nicely. I suppose in composition it's most similar to 'Traitor General' but at least in TG Gaunt was sure who the enemy were. In this case, he has to contend with Prisoner B, a Blood Pact Commander, the mysterious Commissar Edur and the decidedly sinister Inquisitor Rime.
The only falldown is, much like TG or OID, the end is remarkably abrupt, and one wonders how Gaunt got away with his final confront with Rime so easily. But then, since Abnett will undoubtedly have another volume for us (maybe not as quickly, he's been ill, sadly), this question will likely to addressed then.
Top stuff, all in all.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quaternity in the Novels of Dan Abnett, 19 Nov 2009
He is bounden to beleue in ye trinite. And ye felowe beleueth in a quaternitie: Sir Thomas More
Dan Abnett's "Blood Pact"" is the twelfth novel in his Gaunt's Ghost series and, in my mind, his most intimate investigation into the psyche of Gaunt. For the nervous, superstitious, conspiratorial among you, let's add another "Double Eagle," to make the series contain thirteen.
So there are thirteen novels in the series to date. However, Mr. Abnett tends to write quaternities with a single over-arching arc, so that brings us to two completed quaternities, a trilogy, and two extras--"Blood Pact," and "Double Eagle." Of these two, one is hors série--"Double Eagle"--and the other, "Blood Pact" is the beginning of a new quarternity.
The last quaternity began with the novel,"Traitor General" and ended with "Only in Death." In "Traitor General" an Imperial General, who is condemned to death, is captured (rescued)by the Chaos equivalent of the Imperial Guard--the Blood Pact--and taken to the planet Gereon. Gaunt and a select team travel to Gereon to assassinate the general.
Gereon is one of Abnett's greatest creations. It is here that Abnett begins to show what happens to a planet that is conquered by Chaos. Of course, we have seen the images of conquered planets before through the battles but we have not seen the day-to-day existence of those who live under the rule of Chaos before nor have we seen the chain of command of Chaos or its administrative echelons to the degree that we now do.
In "Traitor General,' Abnett begins a descent into detail and world-building that he carries through to the last book in the quaternity--"Only in Death." The third quaternity now called the "The Lost," contains some of Abnett's best writing. Not only does he envision several remarkable worlds but he creates languages and cultures in way that would make Ursula K. LeGuin smile. He also begins to transform Gaunt.
To be true to the Aristotelian verities Gaunt must grow and change. In that Abnett has an almost limitless space in which to develop his story arc, the changes are slow. At book eleven, we reach the tale-tell sign of conversion--blindness. Book eleven is the pivot; the book of changes. The story must change and in "Blood Pact" it does.
"Blood Pact" is a different type of book than the others. Of course, it contains all the usual suspects; however, it is smaller in scope. This novel begins two years after the horrendous battles on Jago. The Ghosts are on Balhaut, an important location for Gaunt. This is where it all began, where things went bad for Gaunt. In fact, the people of Balhaut celebrate the bravery of the "dead" hero Gaunt. So, in effect, Gaunt is a ghost of sorts. Abnett is telling us that before "Blood Pact" Gaunt was a ghost, lost in the campaigns and blind to his greater role. Now, in this new quaternity, things are changing; Gaunt can see again; and, as is usually the case, in this most literary of tropes, Gaunt can see what other men cannot. He has a second sight. He sees the future and he sees into others.
The plot of "Blood Pact," revolves around a "pheguth," a traitor, just as "Traitor General" revolved around a "pheguth." This time, however, the "pheguth" is a member of the Blood Pact, and unlike Sturm, the traitor general, Mabbon is a good man or at least that is what we are told.
A Blood Pact unit, along with a warp witch, is sent to Balhaut, like Gaunt was sent to Gereon, to assassinate the pheguth. So the plot focuses on a battle between a small specialized force of Chaos assassins and Gaunt. Because the battle field is small and intimate, the novel feels different; and it is different in some fundamental ways. It does not have the sweeping battles of "The Lost Quaternity;" however, it does set the ground for the next arc and it continues to enflesh the series with new themes and revealed characteristics of the major characters. It also foreshadows the death of several characters and points to a Gaunt reborn with an enhanced reputation among his commanders.
The series has always been dialectical: good versus evil; light verses dark; twins--Rawne verses Gaunt; Blood Pact versus Ghosts--and Chaos versus Order. However, Abnett is the most material of the Black Library writers; he does not go easily into the horrible wastes of the warp. However, with Blood Pact he seems to be saying--all right--there is something supernatural out there and now I see it. With Maggs and his visions of the old Hagg and Gaunt's pre-conscious sight, Abnett is leaving his material universe and stepping over into the world of Chaos. Is he tainted or is he able to mediate between the forces of good and evil? And, of course, there is always that ultimate question: what is the good?
So, in conclusion, "Blood Pact," is an intimate transitional novel, focusing on Gaunt, his past, and his present. It also further develops the character and humanity of the forces of Chaos and through this enfleshment ennobles them to an extent not seen before in Abnett's work. This ennoblement then deepens the themes and enriches the texts that have preceded the novel. For instance, when we read "Double Eagle," and we read of the dog fights between the Blood Pact pilots and the Imperial pilots, we can now imagine them as corrupt but human, both brave and ruthless.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Abnett bang on target, 31 Oct 2009
When the Common Man is out there fighting for the Emperor and Planet you know that things are going to go one way. It's going to be tough, the body count high and that targets are going to be paid for inch by bloody inch. Add Abnett to the mix along with whats thought of as the cream of the Emperors Imperial Guard Units (The Tanith First and Only) and you know that its going to be all that much tougher.
What you get as usual is high octane, or rather promethium in this case, the First and Only whilst having lost firm friends (character wise) in the previous instalments is still wending their way in the service of the Emperor doing what comes naturally pulling the proverbial target out of the ground inch by inch as friends alongside enemies fall. Abnett really is a cracker of an author and whilst I'm still wanting the next novel in his Titanicus series (its an absolute corker, so if you haven't tried it yet trust me, its something really special) this title is a great offering to keep you sated in your Khorne worthy bloodlust. Add to the mix the back catalogue of the series (with most in compendium format now) and you've got something that's going to keep you happy over the forthcoming busy period.
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