Dan Abnett wraps up the 'Saint' story arc he began with Honour Guard with real aplomb, while also setting the stage for the rest of the ongoing series. In Honour Guard, Abnett introduced Saint Sabbat, who—some 6,000 years prior—helped clear out the forces of Chaos from what became known as the Sabbat Worlds. In the last few installments, several of the main Ghost characters have had strange and bizarre experiences. Are these messages from the Saint herself? Abnett leaves the door open for the re...

When will poor Dan ever learn how to write a proper ending? 😂😭😭 Three characters written out of the story in like, two pages! So, what happened in this one? Sabbat has returned, kinda. It’s all a bit back and forth with that whole situation. There’s just as much combat as in the previous books in the series. Kolea finally gets his memory back and Tona Criid sees—and reflects on—the pictures of his children (who are hers now). Naturally, they barely talk about it. Cuu's final moments could hav...

The Tanith First and Only continue to bring their signature brand of boots-on-the-ground, lasgun-toting warfare to a galaxy infested with Daemons, aliens, and superhumans in Sabbat Martyr. Diving into a new Dan Abnett novel is always a treat; by now, the series is well-established for its gritty realism, its long-suffering soldiers, and a refreshing willingness to kill off prominent characters. It’s a welcome change of pace from the colorful sensationalism found in most Warhammer 40,000 tales.Wh...

I hope readers don't accuse Dan Abnett of slow pacing in Sabbat Martyr. If anything, I found the pacing to be almost frantic at times. There were a few scenes I would have loved to savor a bit longer, but don't take that as a negative review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and my brain is just doing that classic thing where it hyper-focuses on a minor flaw because everything else was so stellar. The religious themes in this installment were a surprise at first, but ultimately felt like a refres...

A definitive turning point in the storyline, and one that will leave a lasting mark. Genre: Science Fiction. What it's about: In the novel Sabbat Martyr (originally published in 2003), after eighteen years of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and his men are deployed to the planet Herodor, where rumors swirl that the Saint has been reincarnated. Whether it's true or not, word has reached the Chaos leaders in that sector of space, leading them to intensify their assault on the re...

Oh boy, this was a fantastic read. This book really highlights the difference between reading novels in isolation versus experiencing them as part of an epic long-running series. On its own, Sabbat Martyr by Dan Abnett is a solid Warhammer 40k novel that actually overcomes the series' long-standing struggle with a lack of compelling mid-level antagonists. It has its flaws, for sure—the ending feels a bit rushed, and the resolution leans a little too heavily on a deus ex machina.But the reason I ...

I've been working hard at my desk these past couple of months, and nothing pairs better with late-night writing sessions than a heavy dose of blood and carnage in the 41st millennium. Honestly, no one does it better than Dan the Man. The way he manages to invent new variations on death is nothing short of miraculous—which, fittingly, is also a central theme in Sabbat Martyr. It’s an aspect of the Warhammer 40k universe that I truly love: who would expect a tabletop wargame to take humanity’s old...

What an incredible series. Sabbat Martyr pivots toward the more spiritual and supernatural side of the saga, which is a fantastic addition; characters like Soric and the Sabbat Beati bring a sense of profound gravity to what has been, up until now, a gritty war drama. The narrative has been steadily building, evolving far beyond the short-story format that defined the first two entries in the series. Dan Abnett manages to bring these characters to life in a truly unique way—a massive feat consid...

NOTE: If you see a new name in this book, you can be 99% sure that you’ll never hear about them again in a few pages...This felt like an absolute showcase of everything the author is capable of. All of his linguistic flair, architectural plotting, and action-packed storytelling skills were hung out for the reader to see like laundry drying on a line. Perhaps it was meant to be the end of a Warhammer 40k saga. Because with such a massacre and such grand, climactic chapters... he must have been sa...

As the final installment in the Saint series, Sabbat Martyr by Dan Abnett should not be confused with the conclusion of the Founding series, which also culminated in a brutal, desperate defense of a hopelessly overwhelmed city. "One hand gives and the other takes away"—a quote from Warmaster Slaydo featured at the start of one of Abnett's chapters—perfectly encapsulates the experience of reading Sabbat Martyr. For every moment of triumph, two more devastating setbacks follow in its wake. Through...