Necropolis: Gaunt’s Ghosts, Book 3

I love Dan Abnett’s work. But I never expected to find such a realistic, painful, glorious, heartfelt portrait of war in a sci-fi book. Going from the macro to the micro, this book pulls back the veil on all of what a war looks like. The clueless to the courageous. The good and the greedy. To read this book is to hear the stories of all people who have stood in the ashes of their homes, fighting for every inch of ground. To hear the stories of the soldiers from afar, come to spend their blood on foreign soil in the hopes of giving the locals a chance. Dan Abnett makes you feel the truth of all wars through this tale on a far-flung world 39 thousand years into the future.

An amazing and surprisng work! I was only just introduced to the Warhammer series and I expected easy-reading scifi schlock for preteens. Instead, Abnett's work made me cheer out loud and weep bitter tears and feel genuine invested in the tale. Even through the distant mirror of the jingoistic setting Abnett demonstrates a deep understanding of the motivations and experience of veterans and survivors of war. I cannot recommend this series enough and this novel in particular feels like a masterpiece. I am excited to introduce Abnett's WH40K works to my pompous "literary fiction" -snob friends. For the Emperor!

This book tells the collective story of how humanity can rise up from the deepest depths of despair to grab victory from the closing jaws of defeat, rallying the besieged to acts of heroism, self-sacrifice, and glory.Reading this book reminded me of WWII accounts of cities holding fast against invading armies. The individual tales of courage and devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds, were uplifting and awe-inspiring. It strengthened the respect and gratitude felt towards those realworld veterans of our countries past wars. For those of you familiar with WH40K, you will thoroughly enjoy the battle sequences and the "fluff" included regarding the overall Crusade and the seemingly small part played by the Tanith First-and-Only. The descriptions of the Hive city and its vastness are wondrous, making me wish some ambitious director (Peter *cough* Jackson *cough*) would take this series to their hearts and bring it to the big screen. I would thoroughly enjoy watching this on film. It would be like taking HBO's "Band of Brothers", George Lucas's "Star Wars", and Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" and melding them into a 7-8 part mini-series or a series of movies 2 1/2 to 3 hours long! The way Dan Abnett brings us into the individual experiences of front line soldiers, helps bring to us both the horrible carnage and waste of war, as well as the tremendous courage, fortitude, and devotion of duty and faith that are the heart and soul of every trooper of the Imperial Guard (and PDF of Verghast)! The beginning of the book is wonderfully written, first bringing us into the local politics and what appears like a simple conflict between two rival Hive cities, then accelerating the story along as war breaks out and the stalwart, but horribly outclassed defenders are forced to call for aid from off planet. This whole segment of the book is more like a prologue, as the actual story begins with the arrival of the Imperial Forces. To give us perspective, it is immediately made apparent that the Tanith First-and-Only are perceived as a mere specialist regiment of stealth troops, given low status among the other higher profile regiments of the task force assigned to Verghast. As you might expect, their significance changes dramatically, paralleling the prominence of their commander. Now, if I could just find a way for them to work better on the game table! (But that's for another forum) Whether you enjoy war stories, Sci-Fi, WH40K, or simply a well-written story with well-developed characters and an engaging plot - you WILL enjoy this book.

The first book introduced the Ghost's, the second book fleshed out the troops, now the third book throws them into a fight that once it gets going rarely lets up.A hive city falls under siege and Gaunt's Ghost's are sent to help defend it. The first 40 pages or so are spent giving you the lay of the land with the hive city and its citizens, then it's pretty much bloody knuckles and broken teeth from there on out. Awesome combat and some interesting plot threads create a well paced story that engages all the way to the end.Great stuff for fans of Warhammer 40k's Imperial Guard!

The book was amazing. The only complaint I would have is the cover of the book was starting to come off on the front and spine. However, the book was in great condition when I got it, so it was probably just a random chance rather than the sellers fault. Really good product.

Favorite author. Space ships, space guns and space monthers. A MASTER of beautiful language. Vivid story telling. So hard to read with your eyes closed.

I read the first two books of Gaunts Ghosts and I enjoyed them. But when I began to listen to Necropolis I was just blown away. This is urban war that is raw to the bone. Innocent people die and are massacred, leaders mercilessly kill just to uplift themselves, trench warfare with heroes being killed just midsentence with their friends, kids scavenging just to survive. It is just god damn is this well done.Don’t get twisted though there are still bright spots here that even in the future of Mankind is still grimdark and filled with war but you get scenes of literal humanity from a soldier making sure a woman and two children don’t die of starvation to a father saying goodbye to his daughter for the last time. It’s read and written perfectly with enough ethos that you actually give a damn about these people.Dan Abnet is just a genius when it comes to this universe. I couldnt recommend this book enough.

great book

This Book, like all others I have read from Dan Abnett, is amazing. Especially the last chapter about the artist. Got me really emotional. Thanks for another masterpiece Mr. Abnett!

A truly incredible book and a must read for any 40k fan. Dan Abnett once again delivers an amazing story.

Great book. Recommended.

Dieses Buch ist die Neuauflage von Dan Abnetts Necropolis, dem Dritten Band über Gaunts Geister. Inhaltlich hat sich logischerweise nicht viel geändert, dafür glänzt die Neuauflage mit einem martialischen neuen Cover. Der rote Buchrücken, der die ganze Reihe auszeichnet, macht die Bücher zu einem Higucker in jedem Bücherregal. Must Have in jeder gut sortierten Warhammer-Bibliothek!

If you've read the previous books, be prepared for a whole new experience for Gaunt's ghosts, as they along with other units of the Imperial Guard, are tasked with defending a gigantic city. This book is a full blown siege, all one massive battle which won't stop until the very end when one side is completely annihilated. As always Gaunt must also remain on watch for treachery and deceit within his own allies. It's highly recommended that you read the other two previous books first, otherwise the sheer bulk of characters may get you very lost. This novel could be the best yet that I've read out of the first three in the series, I'm starting to wonder how the author can seemingly raise the standard and surpass my expectations each time and I am eager for more in order to see if this trend continues.