Bloody Books Review: Ghost Dossier 1 - The Vincula Conspiracy (by Dan Abnett)
Review By Dawfydd Kelly
Not gonna lie, waiting for this to get a regular release after last years nifty looking but out of my budget limited edition was painful, as someone who has been on the Gaunt’s Ghosts train right back to their first appearances in Inferno!, but happily this was well worth the wait. It’s a fascinating read as Abnett takes us back to the early days of the Tanith 1st when Gaunt and the Ghosts were still acclimatising to each other, with none of the easy familiarity and trust so much a part of the relationship between the Colonel-Commissar and his dispossessed regiment. A nice touch is that going back in time means that Abnett gets to go back and revisit Ghosts - both major characters and minor ones - that have long since departed the series and that he perhaps didn’t get to do as much as he would have liked with, or are not as settled yet in their roles (Corbec, Rawne, Varl & Milo especially).
Now I don’t want to spoil things as The Vincula Insurgency is an excellent bit of military SF writing that flips the script somewhat with Gaunt’s Ghosts in the position of the occupying force facing an insurgent uprising, when they normally find themselves in the opposite role. And it’s a genuinely intriguing prospect, which Abnett plays with more by pushing individuals into places we would not normally expect them - Corbec dealing with a Lord-General and the vagueries of High Command; Bragg & Milo in the field; Mkoll and the Scouts tracking fighters whose talents in stealth arguably eclipse their own; Rawne liasing with a Ministorum Adept who has theories on the origins of the populations of the Sabatt Worlds, Sanguinary Stars, and associated systems. And I have to admit this is genuinely fascinating stuff, illustrating that to the average Imperial citizen (even a soldier like Rawne) the idea that all humanity - Loyalist or Traitor - originated on Terra is a mind-boggling concept, and Abnett throws in some neat little bits of lore nuggets for those paying attention.
All in all a great read, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this Ghost Dossier series goes from here. There are a few things that get set up that would have big ramifications for the Ghosts where they stand post-Anarch, or if it’ll all be contained within this sub-series of novellas….