Desert Raiders (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lucien Soulban (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2007 | Series: Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard

When an Imperial listening station receives an enigmatic call for help from a farflung planet, a regiment of Tallarn Desert Raiders is sent to investigate. Pretty soon, the Imperial Guard find themselves locked in a desperate running battle with wave upon wave of tyranids. Is there any way they can ever triumph against such numberless alien hordes?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lucien Soulban has authored and co-written over 90 roleplay supplements, and has helped launch three roleplay games. He wrote the script for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Winter Assault computer games. He currenly works as a script writer for videogame giant Ubisoft Montreal.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844164926
• ISBN-13: 978-1844164929
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It tells it how it really is for the life of the Imperial Guardsmen, July 5, 2008

By 

Arthur Poulos "Imperial Guard Tank Commander" (Terra) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Raiders (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard) (Mass Market Paperback)

As an Imperial Guard Player and fan I highly reconmend this book. You really get a sence of the hopelessness that it is to be an Imperial Guardsman. It was well written and to the point is show that the guard does best and thats die for the emporer. There is one warning after reading this book you may have the urge to get your imperial guard army into combat with some Tyranids!

3.0 out of 5 stars If you can get past all the segregation and bickering in the first half, it picks up., April 2, 2008

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Raiders (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard) (Mass Market Paperback)

An Imperial listening station's psykers laps into death seizures when someone from the planet Khadar sends a mortis-cry. However, intelligence says there is no expedition, no life, no anything on the uninhabited desert planet. Yet there is no mistaking the enigmatic call for help. The 892nd Regiment is sent to investigate.

The 892nd is a new regiment. It is compiled from the Turenag and Banna Alliances. This creates a huge rift between soldiers due to the fact that the two alliances have been enemies for too many centuries to bother counting. Colonel Nisri Dakar (Turenag) and Lieutenant Colonel Turk Iban Salid (Banna) have a hard time keeping their men from killing each other. The two leaders can barely tolerate each other, much less control their people. However, Commissars Rezail and Tyrell keep them all under control or simply execute the ones causing problems.

Trouble multiplies when (later christened) Cavern Balilica is located. Cavern Balilica holds layers of rich, verdant jungle. It is filled with an eco-system unlike any other seen before; and both alliances want permission to colonize Khadar. Most, but not all, hatreds are put aside when a new threat arrives in the form of a Tyranid Horde.

*** Never before have I seen such segregation among W40K soldiers and I hope I never will again. Who needs Chaos when regimental troops will simply assassinate each other? Almost half the book is bickering, accusing, slowly killing each other off. Once the tyranids enter the story, the two alliances begin to work together; however, the hatred still simmers. The story gets much more interesting as the different forms and weaponry within the Tyranids are revealed. Readers will also get the treat of seeing a tyranid psyker, a hive brain. That, alone, would make this book worthwhile. My opinion is that if you can through all the in-fighting and reach the tyranids, this becomes a great story by the end. ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but definitely not the best of 40k, February 18, 2008

By 

Brian Long "Brian" (Ogden, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Desert Raiders (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the last in a loosely grouped set of books detailing life in the Imperial Guard, and focuses on the Desert Raiders(get it?) of Tallarn, who're famed for riding horses around a futuristic battlefield. Remember the horse part, because this is probably the only reference you'll ever hear about it aside from the cover art.

The plot of the book is incredibly two-dimensional. Guard lands looking for the cause of a distress signal, and are subsequently attacked by Tyranids. The book started off promising, with two warring factions being forced to make nice in the middle of a desert wasteland with dwindling supplies. I was under the hope that this would include a lot more subterfuge and political wrangling, but sadly no.

That being said, the authors action sequences are well written, at a decent pace, and are intelligently thought out, almost to a degree unusual for the Guard. This definitely isn't as good a read as 15 Hours, but if you're looking for a simple pulp novel that you can blast through in a day or two, its not bad either. Heres hoping he's given more plot to play with in the future.