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The Guns of Tanith

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The Guns of Tanith is the fifth Gaunt's Ghosts book from Dan Abnett and the second of The Saint series. It was first published in April 2002. It chronicles the efforts of the Crusade army, including the Tanith 1st, to retake the crucial skyborne vapour mills of Phantine through ambitious drop assaults, with the very reputation they have fought to earn putting them in great danger.

• 1.1 Prologue
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Epilogue
• 2.1 Main Characters
• 2.2 Narrative Structure
• 2.3 Title Meaning
• 4 Unanswered Questions

Plot Summary [ ]

Prologue [ ].

The regiment trains for night time rope drop attacks in a storage hanger, using low level energy lasguns to simulate gunfire. The attackers, led by Hark, are woefully cut down by Gaunt's defenders, leading to a re-try. During the initial exercise, Cuu grabs Larkin in a choke hold...

Act One [ ]

Act two [ ], act three [ ], act four [ ], act five [ ], epilogue [ ], analysis & extras [ ], main characters [ ], narrative structure [ ].

The Guns of Tanith follows a chronilogically linear narrative that mainly focusses initially on the drop training the regiment undertakes, the multi-pronged assault on Cirenholm and the battle that follows, and then Gaunt's efforts to free Caffran of wrongful charges against Imperial law, the training and prep for Operation Larisel , and then the mission itself. The main focus is given to Gaunt, Bonin, Milo and Mkoll.

Title Meaning [ ]

By way of title, The Guns of Tanith seems to follow the same approach as a number of others in the series (i.e. First and Only, Straight Silver) in that it doesn't seem to directly specify to something in the plot, rather using an old military term. The few, rather thin arguments towards it regarding something in the plot would be either the ammunition situation at the beginning of the story or the use of high gauge assault rifles during Operation Larisel, neither of which are particularly significant.

The title in all likelihood is based on an honourable soundbite, one mentioned in the epilogue of the book itself both as used by Van Voytz and as a narrative phrase, that also makes a nod to another theme throughout, the Tanith-Verghastite divide and the feeling within the regiment that the Verghasts are not considered to be on a level footing with the Tanith troops.

• The Great Divide (the Veghast recruits)
• Justice for one (The Caffran/Cuu trial)
• One Last Stand (Backs to the wall at Cirenholm, Operation Larisel)
• Changing character (Meryn)
• Moral event horizon (Cuu)
• The first time that Bonin's survival at Vervunhive has been explained, and the first time his character has been given any narrative focus. He would go on to become a recurring character, the regiment's second most effective scout, and a member of the Gereon 12.
• First death of a major Ghost character in the series (although the series has already seen the deaths of various characters major to the plot)
• The book features two instances of a popular and senior officer being grievously wounded while carrying a female trooper to safety: Corbec and Kolea.
• Dan Abnett's decision to kill off Bragg was to prove a point about the series, due to the main characters previously having gone unscathed despite their grim and dangerous surroundings.

Unanswered Questions [ ]

The Guns of Tanith Theories >

• Why does Sanian play such a big part in Milo's mind?
• Why was Gaunt so ignorant to the consequences of not fighting for Cuu?
• How did Soric know about Corbec's blood infection?
• 1 Sergeant Soric
• 2 Only in Death
• 3 Sergeant Caffran

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The Guns of Tanith (5) (Gaunt's Ghosts) Paperback – December 8, 2015

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• Paperback $60.00 1 Used from $60.00
• Print length 416 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Games Workshop
• Publication date December 8, 2015
• Dimensions 5.25 x 1 x 8 inches
• ISBN-10 1784960411
• ISBN-13 978-1784960414
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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Games Workshop; Reissue edition (December 8, 2015)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1784960411
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784960414
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1 x 8 inches
• #23,011 in Military Science Fiction (Books)
• #46,616 in Science Fiction Adventures

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About the author

Dan Abnett is a novelsit and award-winnig comic book writer. He has written twenty-five novels for the Black Library, including the acclaimed Gaunt's Ghosts series and the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies, and with Mike Lee, the Darkblade cycle. His Black Library novel Horus Rising and his Torchwood novel Border Princes (for the BBC) were both bestsellers. He lives and works in Maidstone, Kent.

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The guns of tanith - softcover.

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• Publisher Black Library
• Publication date 2003
• ISBN 10  1844160300
• ISBN 13  9781844160303
• Binding Paperback
• Edition number 2
• Number of pages 320
• Rating 4.25 avg rating • ( 3,222 ratings by Goodreads )

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Book Review – The Guns of Tanith

Gaunt’s Ghosts – 5 – By Dan Abnett

Continuing my re-reading of the Dan Abnett series – Gaunts Ghosts – next up is book 5, The Guns of Tanith.

‘The heretical forces of Chaos fight back in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, cutting off Imperial forces. Gaunt and his men must recapture the key world Phantine, in order to save the Emperor’s beleaguered forces. ‘

Tanith have been joined by Hivers from Verghast – and it’s rapidly becoming a noun for the new soldiers. In The Guns of Tanith Gaunt and his ghosts find themselves fighting on another planet, and being picked for a dangerous mission. They must infiltrate the chaos defenders, find their leader and kill him.

Four teams of Ghosts are assembled to take on the task, whilst the rest of the regiment stay fighting the arch enemy and preparing for the assault. Meanwhile Caffran is accused of killing a civilian and Gaunt and Hawk must try to get him free… but will they treat the Verghastites differently? The Regiment must be as one, but is that possible?

If you’re this far into the series, it’s safe to say you already enjoy the style – and it is unashamedly page turning pulp fiction – and will be eager to read Guns of Tanith… and you definitely should. Dan Abnett’s great idea to bring in new blood in the form of the Verghastites allows new stories (rivalry, and integration) that wouldn’t have been possible with just the Ghosts, but it also answers the question on many readers minds — what happens when they all die? This is the Imperial Guard after all.

The side plot involving Caffran is well done, and a welcome relief from the bullets, lasguns, and explosions — although they are included aplenty in the main plot. Meanwhile the plot races forward, with stories of daring from the infiltrators but just enough gaps in their stories that you are left wondering how exactly they proceed – a technique I really enjoyed and could be very useful as a plot hook if you like RPGs in Warhammer 40k

Another great novel and a good read.

— Declan

Previous Gaunt’s Ghosts Book Reviews on Woehammer:

First & Only Ghostmaker Necropolis Honour Guard

Check out the Woehammer Book Review Archive for more reviews!

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Woeful wargaming.

The Wertzone

SF&F In Print & On Screen

Friday, 6 August 2010

Gaunt's ghosts: the guns of tanith by dan abnett.

2 comments:

Hi, I've noticed you've read alot of the Warhammer novels, or at least, a few. Anyways, I've always liked the idea of Warhammer, but, I've never played the game, other than the one on my PC. Do you need any sort of background to enjoy these books?? Are you a fan of the game itself?? Just curious if I need to know Warhammer before grabbing a novel..

I've played the miniatures game very briefly but am not a huge fan. I do like the Dawn of War games, but other than that I had very little contact with the WH40K universe before reading the first GAUNT'S GHOST book, and had no trouble with it. The books tend to self-contained novels or series and let you know what you need to know about the wider setting as it comes up.

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