Anarch by Dan Abnett

I just finished reading Anarch, the 15^th and latest book in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series by Dan Abnett, and it blew me away! Seriously, this book is the payoff for so much that has gone before. While officially it completes a four book arc, many of the plots it covers and brings to a close reach much farther back in the series.

This book really takes off about 100 pages in, and from there, the poor Ghosts are sent running in every direction. At one point, there are no less than 4 major incidents going on simultaneously. It is gloriously unrelenting.

For me, Dan Abnett is at his best when combining military science-fiction with horror, and this book contains perhaps his best example.

Heroes rise and fall. Old faces return, while familiar friends are lost. It is, at times, gut-wrenching and tremendously sad, but for every loss there is a gain, and for every villain there is a hero.

After being just slightly disappointed in the previous book in the series, Warmaster, this book brings the series right back to its greatest heights. Were it to be the last Gaunt’s Ghosts book written (and I certainly hope that it not the case), I would be satisfied.