Scan barcode
phlo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
warrenw448's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting, well written and nicely paced story with a great cast of characters. Follow Larn as his life is uprooted when his Guard conscription papers come though. You will become enthralled in the long and arduous 15 hours Larn must survive to prove himself as you get an insight in to the command structure and attitude of the Imperial Guard. A stark contrast to space marine novels in a great way.
beingshort's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
cookiedoof's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nraptor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bogdanbalostin's review against another edition
4.0
Ugh, such a perfect novel in the Warhammer Universe, and then it ends. Like this. Just end. Dot. This is it.
Let's talk about the worst thing about this book. You'll not see it coming, because you expect the story to have a proper ending right? We follow multiple characters in this trench war against the works, so naturally, you expect some sort of resolution for most of them. But no. It just ends, without any warning.
I get the point the novel is trying to make, but still, it's so unsatisfying.
Now, let's talk about the good things. It's a war story set in the Warhammer 40K Universe, but anyone can read it, it's not so heavy on the lore. And the best part is there are few battle scenes. Yeah, I know, I'm surprised myself. Warhammer 40K and no "bolter porn", but solid character progression and insightful commentaries. This is the best part of Warhammer 40K, discovering the little pieces that make the universe and the lives of the people living in this hell. As you can see, I'm a fan of the lore, but not the battles. The moment someone says "This Warhammer book was pretty boring as the characters just stand around and talk too much", I know it's for me.
It's also tragicomic. I smiled a few times here and there and even though I recognize that all characters are pretty cliche, it's a very fun book, dealing with a lot of things in an engaging way: horrors of war, human ego and stupid mistakes, coming of age.
One more thing. As someone here mentioned, this really feels like a War World I novel, but replace the enemies with orks. It's an interesting comparison. Because the orks are just mindless savage aliens intent on destroying everything they see, it removes the human enemy component in a war novel. This makes it easy to root for the humans, who are fighting for their own survival. It also shows their glaring flaws, because the enemy is pretty stupid, so we cannot lay the blame on the tactical genius of the orks.
Let's talk about the worst thing about this book. You'll not see it coming, because you expect the story to have a proper ending right? We follow multiple characters in this trench war against the works, so naturally, you expect some sort of resolution for most of them. But no. It just ends, without any warning.
I get the point the novel is trying to make, but still, it's so unsatisfying.
Now, let's talk about the good things. It's a war story set in the Warhammer 40K Universe, but anyone can read it, it's not so heavy on the lore. And the best part is there are few battle scenes. Yeah, I know, I'm surprised myself. Warhammer 40K and no "bolter porn", but solid character progression and insightful commentaries. This is the best part of Warhammer 40K, discovering the little pieces that make the universe and the lives of the people living in this hell. As you can see, I'm a fan of the lore, but not the battles. The moment someone says "This Warhammer book was pretty boring as the characters just stand around and talk too much", I know it's for me.
It's also tragicomic. I smiled a few times here and there and even though I recognize that all characters are pretty cliche, it's a very fun book, dealing with a lot of things in an engaging way: horrors of war, human ego and stupid mistakes, coming of age.
One more thing. As someone here mentioned, this really feels like a War World I novel, but replace the enemies with orks. It's an interesting comparison. Because the orks are just mindless savage aliens intent on destroying everything they see, it removes the human enemy component in a war novel. This makes it easy to root for the humans, who are fighting for their own survival. It also shows their glaring flaws, because the enemy is pretty stupid, so we cannot lay the blame on the tactical genius of the orks.
deltabelta's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 5/10
An entertaining book dedicated to parodying the authoritarian incompetence of the Imperium, a reaction to its glorification in other novels. Propaganda is so omnipresent that generals have no idea how their own campaigns are progressing, and the ideology of ‘we literally cannot make mistakes’ makes course correction impossible. However, I felt the incompetence reached cartoonishness and the story fizzled out without resolution to its thematic buildup. It felt like the author realized the book had gone on for too long and decided to just end it.
An entertaining book dedicated to parodying the authoritarian incompetence of the Imperium, a reaction to its glorification in other novels. Propaganda is so omnipresent that generals have no idea how their own campaigns are progressing, and the ideology of ‘we literally cannot make mistakes’ makes course correction impossible. However, I felt the incompetence reached cartoonishness and the story fizzled out without resolution to its thematic buildup. It felt like the author realized the book had gone on for too long and decided to just end it.
corsaer's review against another edition
2.0
This was the first 40k book I read and it was recommended by a friend obsessed with the Warhammer 40k universe. He loved this book.
My opinion was that it was decent. It was a pretty short read, less than 300 pages, so I didn't feel like I really wasted my time with it.
My friend who recommended it said it was the author's first full novel, and if that's the case, it's not a bad breakthrough novel, but the writing just doesn't seem quite up to par with my expectations. Descriptions were kind of bland or not done well; at times I wasn't sure who was talking or where they were, who was who, what exactly was going on.
Overall, if you're a fan of the 40k universe (you've probably read this already), then I would hesitantly recommend this book, because like I rated it, it is an "okay" read and short. But if you're a complete newcomer, or have only read a few books and aren't in love with 40k, then I would say that there are much better books in the universe you could be reading, and not to read this one.
My opinion was that it was decent. It was a pretty short read, less than 300 pages, so I didn't feel like I really wasted my time with it.
My friend who recommended it said it was the author's first full novel, and if that's the case, it's not a bad breakthrough novel, but the writing just doesn't seem quite up to par with my expectations. Descriptions were kind of bland or not done well; at times I wasn't sure who was talking or where they were, who was who, what exactly was going on.
Overall, if you're a fan of the 40k universe (you've probably read this already), then I would hesitantly recommend this book, because like I rated it, it is an "okay" read and short. But if you're a complete newcomer, or have only read a few books and aren't in love with 40k, then I would say that there are much better books in the universe you could be reading, and not to read this one.
dilly_bar's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75