Salvation's Reach

Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 13

By: Dan Abnett

Narrated by: James McPherson

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

The Ghosts of the Tanith First-and-Only have been away from the front line for too long. Listless and hungry for action, they are offered a mission that perfectly suits their talents.

The objective: the mysterious Salvation's Reach, a remote and impenetrable stronghold concealing secrets that could change the course of the Sabbat Worlds campaign. But the proposed raid is so hazardous, it's regarded as a suicide mission, and the Ghosts may have been in reserve for so long they've lost their edge. Haunted by spectres from the past and stalked by the Archenemy, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and his Ghosts embark upon what could be their finest hour...or their final mission.

©2011 Games Workshop Ltd. (P)2011 Games Workshop Limited

True to Form

I love Gaunt's Ghosts. I wait with baited breath for something to go awry. This book doesn't disappoint.

Masterful descriptions

I often am intrigued about life in the future and how the military changes in the context of Warhammer 40k. I always enjoy Gaunt's Ghosts alignment with the modern context.
The descriptions provided are so clear I can smell the environments, walk through the celebrations, stand at attention during inspections, as well as witness firsthand the dramas amongst the unit being authentic and sometimes as draining as they are exciting.

I was fully transported

It's been years since I picked up a Ghost book and I grabbed this one on a whim. I usually don't buy anything under 20 hours, but I made an exception here and I'm glad I did. It was slow to start, but Dan Abnett does it again, and the new action is a refreshing review of what it means to live as a mere Imperial Guardsman in the universe of Warhammer 40k.

That being said, the true gem of this release is James MacPherson, whose accent is a perfect match for the characters, in my opinion. This guy has incredible range and once I settled into his style, I immediately checked to see if he'd done any other Ghost books because now I just can't hear Gaunt's, or Throne save us, Blenner's voices without him. He was excellent and made the entire experience riveting for me.

The voices

Dear god going from the first few books in the series to this… just wow. Not a bad voice performance just some really bad choices for the voices. Do yourself a favor and read this one with like an actual book or something.

Good military science fiction

Fun and action packed, very immersive for the setting as it seems the author knows a lot about it, but nothing really ground breaking.

Different voice actor. Slower story

Slow start, good ending. Mad that they changed the voice actor. I was very used to Toby Longworth’s voices for the characters. This voice actor did a fine job narrating, but it was weird since the characters voices were different. I also had the impression he was unfamiliar with warhammer 40k, so some of the voices he did for the space marines were a bit off in my opinion.

enjoyable story. nice listen

overall I was engaged and interested in the story the whole time. I see a lot of complaining about the narrator, but I think he did a good job. I didnt like some of the voices like larken's and one of the space marines, but overall it didnt bother me too much and some of his voices are very good imo. I think a lot of people had a negative reaction because it wasn't the same narrator as the first ten books.

the VA not being Toby Longworth

is Toby Longworth going to re-record this now that the other audio books have caught up? because, sorry not sorry, he is the voice of Gaunt. going back to back through the entire series, it's jarring AF to not hear the known voices.

Toby Longworth is the GOAT

Why in the name of the Emperor would you change the narrator in BOOK 13? I found this one much more difficult to get through after growing accustomed to certain voices/dialects from the previous 12 books. All due respect to this narrator, who seems to have a much more native “Tanith” accent, but hated his voice for Larkin and Mabbon in particular.

The reader.... nooo....

The story is fantastic but the reader of this book just doesn't compare to the first 12 books. ended up feeling like this was more of a slog to get through and stay focused on trying to absorb the story for what it was without paying too much attention to some of the dreadful voices and the thickness of the accent. Maybe the Black Library will splurge and have this book redone.