Description

First and Only is Dan Abnett's debut Gaunt's Ghosts novel, introducing Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First-and-Only during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade and establishing one of the Black Library's defining Imperial Guard series. Set initially amid the grinding trench warfare of the forge world Fortis Binary, the novel follows the Ghosts as they fight alongside the Vitrian Dragoons to reclaim the world from Chaos, before a period of rest on Pyrites brings Gaunt an unexpected warning of treachery within the Imperial command. The warning draws Gaunt into a wider conspiracy surrounding the crusade and its next major target, Menazoid Epsilon, while rivalry with the Jantine Patricians and the machinations of Inquisitor Heldane leave the Ghosts facing dangers from both their enemies and their supposed allies. Alongside Gaunt, the novel establishes many of the regiment's most important characters, including Colonel Colm Corbec, Major Elim Rawne, sniper Hlaine Larkin and the young Brin Milo, while its combination of military action, inter-regimental rivalry and conspiracy establishes the distinctive character of the series.