The Gaunt’s Ghosts series is Dan Abnett’s long-running military science fiction saga set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It follows the Tanith First and Only, a light infantry regiment of the Imperial Guard, as they fight to reclaim the Sabbat Worlds from Chaos.
What the series is
At its heart, it’s a war story about soldiers, not Space Marines. The protagonist is Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, one of the rare Imperial commissars given official command of a regiment. His Tanith First are skilled, stubborn, and often overlooked by the wider Imperial war machine.
Abnett drew inspiration from Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels, and you can feel it. The books mix battlefield action with regiment politics, personal grudges, and the slow grind of a crusade that never quite goes to plan.
The perspective shifts regularly. Gaunt is the anchor, but you’ll spend time with other Ghosts, rival officers, and occasionally the antagonists. That wider view is a big part of why the series feels like a lived-in campaign rather than one hero’s highlight reel.
Why it matters
This is one of the Black Library’s most successful lines, and it helped establish the Imperial Guard as a serious subject for novels rather than just background flavour. It also gave 40k fiction a template for long-form, character-driven military storytelling.
Elements from the series later showed up in Abnett’s other work, including the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies. Two spin-off novels, Double Eagle and Titanicus, grew out of the same creative space.
- 16 novels, running from First and Only (1999) to The Vincula Insurgency (2021)
- Three short story anthologies: Sabbat Worlds, Sabbat Crusade, and Sabbat War
- Two spin-off novels: Double Eagle and Titanicus
- Also available in omnibus collections like The Founding, The Saint, and The Lost
How it started
The series began as loosely connected short stories in the Black Library magazine Inferno!, in issues 4, 8, and 30. One of those pieces, Vermilion Level, was expanded into the first novel, First and Only.
That book holds a small piece of Black Library history: it was the imprint’s first original novel, at a time when the line mostly reprinted older material and Inferno! anthologies. The early short stories later reappeared as flashback chapters in the second book, Ghostmaker.
Where to start
If you’re new, start with First and Only. It sets up Gaunt, the regiment, and the Sabbat Worlds Crusade without assuming you know the wider lore.
From there, the novels are usually grouped into arcs. The Founding collects the first three books plus Ghostmaker’s flashbacks, and it’s the cleanest entry point for readers who want a chunk at a time.
| Arc / collection | Books included |
|---|---|
| The Founding | First and Only, Ghostmaker, Necropolis |
| The Saint | Honour Guard, The Guns of Tanith, Straight Silver, Sabbat Martyr |
| The Lost | Later novels in the series |
Key facts
- Written by Dan Abnett and published by Black Library from 1999 onward
- Follows the Tanith First and Only Imperial Guard regiment in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade
- Inspired by Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels
- 16 novels, three anthologies, and two spin-off novels
- First and Only was Black Library’s first original novel
- Spin-off novels include Double Eagle and Titanicus
FAQ
Do I need to read Warhammer 40k novels first?
No. The Gaunt’s Ghosts series is a solid entry point into 40k fiction because it focuses on ordinary Imperial soldiers rather than requiring deep lore knowledge.
How many books are in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series?
There are 16 novels, plus three short story anthologies and two spin-off novels. Omnibus editions collect them in groups.
Who is the main character?
Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt of the Tanith First and Only. The books often shift perspective to other Ghosts and even their enemies.