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Gaunt's Ghosts
The Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett has 16 known books (16 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with First and Only (1999).
- Books
- 16 known books (16 novels)
- Published
- 16
- First published
- 1999
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
- Last checked
Start here: First and Only (1999) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
First and Only
First and Only is the book that opens Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series, published in 1999 at 288 pages. It's the natural place to begin the series, which continues with Ghostmaker and runs to sixteen entries.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of First and Only - Book 2:
Ghostmaker
Ghostmaker is the second book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2000 at 288 pages. It follows First and Only and precedes Necropolis in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ghostmaker - Book 3:
Necropolis
Necropolis is the third entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2000 at 320 pages. It follows Ghostmaker and precedes Honour Guard.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Necropolis - Book 4:
Honour Guard
Honour Guard is the fourth book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2001 at 288 pages. It follows Necropolis and precedes The Guns of Tanith.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Honour Guard - Book 5:
The Guns of Tanith
The Guns of Tanith is the fifth entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2002 at 320 pages. It follows Honour Guard and precedes Straight Silver.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Guns of Tanith - Book 6:
Straight Silver
Straight Silver is the sixth book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2002 at 320 pages. It follows The Guns of Tanith and precedes Sabbat Martyr.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Straight Silver - Book 7:
Sabbat Martyr
Sabbat Martyr is the seventh entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2003 at 320 pages. It follows Straight Silver and precedes Traitor General.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sabbat Martyr - Book 8:
Traitor General
Traitor General is the eighth book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2004 at 416 pages. It follows Sabbat Martyr and precedes His Last Command.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Traitor General - Book 9:
His Last Command
His Last Command is the ninth entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2005 at 416 pages. It follows Traitor General and precedes The Armour of Contempt.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of His Last Command - Book 10:
The Armour of Contempt
The Armour of Contempt is the tenth book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2006 at 320 pages. It follows His Last Command and precedes Only in Death.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Armour of Contempt - Book 11:
Only in Death
Only in Death is the eleventh entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2007 at 320 pages. It follows The Armour of Contempt and precedes Blood Pact.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Only in Death - Book 12:
Blood Pact
Blood Pact is the twelfth book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2009. It follows Only in Death and precedes Salvation's Reach in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Pact - Book 13:
Salvation's Reach
Salvation's Reach is the thirteenth entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2011 at 416 pages. It follows Blood Pact and precedes The Warmaster.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Salvation's Reach - Book 14:
The Warmaster
The Warmaster is the fourteenth book in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2018 at 320 pages. It follows Salvation's Reach, arriving seven years after it, and precedes Anarch.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Warmaster - Book 15:
Anarch
Anarch is the fifteenth entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2019 at 400 pages. It follows The Warmaster and precedes The Vincula Insurgency: Ghost Dossier 1.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Anarch - Book 16:
The Vincula Insurgency: Ghost Dossier 1
The Vincula Insurgency: Ghost Dossier 1 is the sixteenth and, to date, most recent entry in Gaunt's Ghosts, written by Dan Abnett and published in 2022. It's the first of the series' 'Ghost Dossier' interquels, following the numbered novel Anarch in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Vincula Insurgency: Ghost Dossier 1
About the Gaunt's Ghosts series
Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts is grunt's-eye military science fiction set during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the decades-long Imperial campaign to reclaim a whole sector of the galaxy from Chaos in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It follows Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First-and-Only -- a light-infantry regiment recruited from a forest world destroyed on the very night they shipped out, making them the last of their kind with nothing left to go home to. Abnett's first novel, First and Only (1999), was also the very first book published under Games Workshop's Black Library imprint, and it set the template the whole series has followed since: trench-level combat, scarce resources, political infighting above the soldiers' heads, and a command structure that runs on Gaunt's personal, often reckless loyalty to the men and women under him rather than on Imperial doctrine.
What separates the series from most 40K tie-in fiction is its sustained interest in the people doing the fighting rather than in super-soldiers or grand cosmic stakes -- named Ghosts die permanently and often, campaigns drag on for volumes at a time, and Gaunt's authority is constantly undercut by rival officers and Imperial bureaucracy who see the Tanith as expendable. The series is organized into named story arcs -- the Founding, the Saint, the Lost, and the Victory -- each a multi-book campaign within the wider crusade, culminating in Anarch (2019), which closes out the Victory arc and the Sabbat Worlds Crusade's central storyline. In 2022 Abnett returned to the regiment's earlier, pre-fame history with The Vincula Insurgency, the first in a planned line of interquel 'Ghost Dossier' novels filling in gaps between the main-sequence books.
At fifteen novels plus this new prequel-set volume, Gaunt's Ghosts is Dan Abnett's best-known and most acclaimed solo work, widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential series Black Library has published.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Gaunt's Ghosts series?
Fifteen numbered novels (First and Only through Anarch, 1999-2019) plus The Vincula Insurgency (2022), the first entry in a new 'Ghost Dossier' line of interquel novels set earlier in the regiment's history.
What order should I read Gaunt's Ghosts in?
Publication order for the numbered novels: First and Only, Ghostmaker, Necropolis, Honour Guard, The Guns of Tanith, Straight Silver, Sabbat Martyr, Traitor General, His Last Command, The Armour of Contempt, Only in Death, Blood Pact, Salvation's Reach, The Warmaster, Anarch. The Vincula Insurgency is a prequel-set interquel that can be read before book 1 or after Anarch.
What are the Founding, Saint, Lost, and Victory arcs?
They're the four multi-book campaigns the series is organized into: the Founding covers the Tanith's earliest battles, the Saint follows a crusade to recover a lost saint's relics, the Lost sees the regiment stranded behind enemy lines, and the Victory brings the crusade's central conflict to a close in Anarch.
Is Gaunt's Ghosts finished?
The main fifteen-book numbered saga concluded with Anarch (2019). Dan Abnett has since continued the wider Tanith First-and-Only story via the new 'Ghost Dossier' interquel line, starting with The Vincula Insurgency (2022); no second Ghost Dossier volume has been confirmed as of this writing.
Was First and Only really the first Black Library novel?
Yes -- First and Only (1999) was the launch title for Games Workshop's Black Library fiction imprint, making Gaunt's Ghosts the series that started Black Library's entire novel line.
If you like the Gaunt's Ghosts series
Reading order last verified .