James Knox

On Monthax, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his Tanith First-and-Only await the order to advance into the sweltering jungle and drive the alien eldar from the world. As battle approaches, Gaunt walks the lines, raising his men's spirits and remembering their most heroic deeds - and the tragedies that have dogged Gaunt's Ghosts from the day of their founding on lost Tanith. The day that Gaunt became known as the Ghostmaker.

It is said that all who live belong ultimately to the Undying King. In the shadowy lands of Shyish, Nagash, God of Death, calls forth his soulless legions to reassert his dominion. His dread advance begins with the free city of Glymmsforge, bastion of Azyr in the Realm of Death. Standing between Nagash and his prize are the brooding Anvils of the Heldenhammer, an ancient host of Stormcast Eternals, and Lord-Castellant Pharus Thaum, guardian of the Ten Thousand Tombs. As battles between the living and the dead rage throughout the Mortal Realms, the War of Heaven and Death begins anew.

After a disastrous mission leaves their ranks decimated, Sergeant Zachariah must rapidly train a fresh batch of recruits to restore the 158th Elysian. The regime is harsh, lethal, and only the best will survive to become full-fledged drop troopers. But when a savage feud with a high-ranking officer threatens the 158th and Zachariah and a handful of men barely out of training are sent on a deadly reconnaissance mission, he begins to wonder if his life might also be in jeopardy.