After three rather mediocre books that leaned a bit too heavily into the combat, I was finally treated to some real insight into the characters' inner lives in Straight Silver by Dan Abnett. There were plenty of exciting moments and genuine character growth, even if the plot armor felt a little too thick once again. The death of one specific character left me deeply saddened, but I think I understand the narrative necessity behind it—even if it’s a shame that their arc was sacrificed primarily t...

There is nothing like a change of scenery to keep a series feeling fresh. So far, we have seen Gaunt's Ghosts storming cities street by street, air-dropping into mountain strongholds, and fighting through woods, ice, and snow. In Straight Silver, Dan Abnett takes the beleaguered Ghosts right into a trench war straight out of WWI—a conflict that has been raging for 40 years! The war might have started between rival nations, but one has since been claimed by Chaos, forcing the remaining nations to...

Imagine miserable, World War I-style trench warfare colliding with the high-stakes social maneuvering of a Downton Abbey dinner party, all wrapped up in a chilling ghost story. Straight Silver by Dan Abnett is written with such superb craft that it reads like a high-speed train. If you are looking for a gripping historical fantasy book review, this is a must-read that refuses to let you put it down.

Straight Silver by Dan Abnett captures the true, gritty horror of a trench warfare setting that has dragged on for 40 years. It’s bleak, brutal, and captures the perfect atmosphere for this kind of military sci-fi story.There’s a compelling subplot where part of the squad discovers an 'abandoned' house, only to find it’s inhabited by an elderly woman waiting for her dead son to return from the front. Meanwhile, Feygor takes over as platoon leader in Rawne’s absence, and he proves to be completel...

"Whether they want to live forever or not, they won't."Genre: Science Fiction.What it's about: In Straight Silver (originally published in 2002), we find ourselves in the seventeenth year of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, a brutal campaign to purge Chaos from the sector. Gaunt's Ghosts are deployed to Aexe Cardinal, one of the few planets in the region that successfully resisted enemy occupation. However, the world has been locked in a grinding, decades-long war between its own two dominant factions...

Oh, Straight Silver. Famously one of the novels the Warhammer 40k community has long disliked, and when I initially read the book, I was somewhat inclined to agree. It features a vastly different setting compared to previous entries in the series, a plot that doesn't really go anywhere, and a general sense of, well, futility. Clearly, this book is Dan Abnett's attempt to do World War One... in spaaaaaaace. There are, of course, a number of problems with doing this in a universe featuring battles...

I dove into this straight from Guns of Tanith, with only the briefest of breaks to sleep, shower, and do just enough work to get by. Dan Abnett maintains a fantastic stride in Straight Silver, further sharpening his character work while continuing to nail the high-octane action and pacing. The world-building was, as always, top-tier. I tore through this book, and within moments of finishing it, I had already started Sabbat Martyr, the next installment in the series.I’m giving it a solid 4-star r...

I’ve been a massive fan of Dan Abnett for years, and I truly believe Straight Silver is a well-written novel. That said, it felt like a gritty World War I trench drama forced into a far-future setting. The sheer number of plot contrivances required to make this premise fit into the universe felt beyond silly. It is written with real skill, and the characters are ones I genuinely care about... but the focus on trench warfare was just too much for me. If you are looking for a deep dive into milita...

Straight Silver by Dan Abnett is, without a doubt, the best entry in the series so far. While each book in the saga explores a different facet of warfare, this installment takes us back to the grim, muddy reality of WWI-style trench combat. Abnett’s writing pulls you right into the thick of the action; the battle scenes are visceral and far more polished than anything we've seen in the series previously. Beyond the combat, we get some truly incredible character development. We finally get a deep...

Welcome to World War I, but set in the brutal universe of Warhammer 40k. Lasguns, artillery, trench warfare, barbed wire, corpse-light, and every nightmare you’ve seen in historical photos of the Great War are packed into this story. Dan Abnett throws the Tanith First and Only into the relentless meat grinder of trench combat to save a planet that has been trapped in this miserable conflict for 40 years. Oh, and by the way, it’s not what he does... it’s what he doesn't do! Those are his words. ...