Customer Reviews

Last Chancers (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book because I felt that many Warhammer and 40k novels are just too short, and this one was massive. I was pleased to find that the characters are pretty complex and individualized. The plot and characters are enough to captivate your attention making you wonder what happens next late at night. Another great quality is that when supporting characters die or get injured, you feel a sense of loss. The action scenes are vivid and descriptive. There is a gore factor which does add to it. The imaginative mind of Thorpe impresses me, he has matured since his first couple books.

After all these years, I'm still a big fan of Games Workshop and its never ending range of models, games and literature. As someone who's been playing both the tabletop wargames (Fantasy and 40K), I eagerly purchased Last Chancers wanting to experience in my mind the world of the the servants of the Imperium.
Thorpe's first part of the first book, 13th legion, paints a good background for the rest of this omnibus. The characters he creates leave an impression and its the sort of book that keeps you up at night wanting to read on in spite of the wife's or mother's calling you to go to bed.
Thorpe is also good at portraying dialogue between the characters and the style is one of grimy bluntness and pacy plot progression. Unfortunately, all the work in this book show signs of hasty editing with numerous typography errors that can be spotted even by non-copyeditors.
Compared to Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn also set in the 40K universe, Last Chancers seems like a very unpolished literary effort, with numerous descriptions of violent actions that were simply not required. One might think that the ample paragraphs of murder of butchery were just put there to make up for lack of a sophisticated plot or writing style, Thorpe's bluntness being the answer for the lack of wit or finesse.

This compilation is a tale of two halves. The first book is very gruesome. There is so much action and death that it is simply amazing and has a great ending. I could not count the number of times I would start to get attached to a character and then BAM! He is gone. But then it drops off..... afterwards the series really tries to take it self out of the action to develop a more in depth story but kind of falls flat. It turns into a bunch of political turmoil with the Tau that I could care less about and was rather bored with. If you want some decent Imperial Guard WH40k action then just stick with book #1 as I would not recommend any of the others. C+ grade for me.

I got this book not knowing what it was about really except that is had to do with the imperial guard and some kind of task force. i started reading it, and immediately liked it. It is well written and very fun to read. i highly suggest that you read this book even if you don't read imperial guard books.

This omnibus tells the tale of Lieutenant Kage, a penal legionnaire within the Imperial Guard's penal legions, who has survived the harrowing missions to his suicide unit. Unlike most other Warhammer 40k novels, this is a unique story from within one of the lesser known and renown part of the God-Emperor's forces. The three novels were enthralling due to Thorpe's great mastery of storytelling and ability to describe Kage's adventures in detail.

This novel is set in the view of Kage, a lieutenant of the Last Chancers 13th Penal Legion. It's a truly unique opportunity to experience the life of an imperial gaurdsman, for the route that the novel takes eclipses even the Caphias Cain AND the Gaunts Ghosts series. The writing is just better, theres more life to the characters and more depth to the storyline. You actually feel like you ARE Kage, and your thoughts are his thoughts. This is my fav warhammer novel, and considering that i own 30+ of them, that's saying something! :D

These books are very interesting and fun to read. They may lack the complex literature devices of the 'great novels' but are very good reads. By getting the omnibus you get all three books and have the complete story at hand, rather than waiting for the next installment to come out.

These stories take a different approach than most of the Black Library 40k books. Instead of including a broad war/battle with many faceless characters the stories are focused on a few people with many interesting features and facets. The book's insight into the main character and his interaction with the other characters is one of the best parts of the way the author tells the story.

These books follow a group of fugitives who have been given a "Last Chance" to redeem themselves and gain freedom from thier current sentence (death). To earn thier freedom the characters are thrown into the worst fighting on the most dangerous battlefields across the galaxy and face hellish conditions on the worlds they fight.

I would definatly reccomend this book for any fans of sci-fi or 40K, and would still reccomend it to anyone who enjoys a fun adventure story.

The Last Chancers oddly enough was my first chance at the Black Library's *army* type novels. Since I had not read any of the 3 stories as a single Im rating the omnibus as a whole tale. Basically there are two main characters, Kage and Colonel Shaeffer. Shaeffer commands troops of convicted criminals taking them into ever more hostile situations so that their actions and more importantly their deaths will benefit the Emporer.The last man standing gets a pardon and a second chance. Make no mistake, action packed isnt the word, the killing just doesnt end. At times the book is a bit slow and the pure amount of fighting boring. The ending leaves a bit to be desired also but over all dont miss out on Last Chancers.

This massive novel begins with a short story called Deliverance. Lieutenant Kage is battling tyranids "nids". The Battle Sisters, Adepta Sororitas, are mentioned, but traitors are beneath them and not their concern. In this tale, Kage keeps the other "Last Chancers" from going AWOL.

The second title is 13th Legion which is actually the first book in "The Last Chancers" trilogy. The single novel was released in January 2001. The Thirteenth Legion is made up by convict soldiers. They are led and controlled by Colonel Schaeffer. There are times I believed the colonel went out of his way to make the men despise him; especially Lieutenant Kage. In this episode, the men must battle a merciless eldar, orks, and other Chaos minions. If they lose, they die. If they win, they go on to the next suicide mission.

Third title is called Liberty and is a short story. The fourth story will begin where this short tale leaves off. Kage is dropped into a prison to rot until the colonel needs him again. Kage is a mean and smart killer. It shows in his actions while incarcerated here. He can also be incredibly stupid. What ever happened to being aware of your surroundings at all times, even if you've just come back to consciousness? When he was dropped off, Kage should have noticed that there was nowhere to run to if he ever escaped the prison walls. Other Imperial soldiers would NEVER have made this fatal flaw.

Fourth title is called Kill Team and is the second book in the trilogy. The single novel was released in November 2001. It begins with Kage in prison waiting for Schaeffer to come back for him. Once Kage is picked up, it is on to the next suicide mission. This time the mission targets a Tau general. In this huge book, it is worth reading. Be glad you did not purchase the title when it came out as a stand alone novel. This tale gets slow often and sometimes gets very boring.

The last story is called Annihilation Squad and was the third book of the trilogy. The single novel was released in April 2004, almost three years after the others! You must read the previous novels or you will not only be lost, but also never come to really know the characters, such as Kage and Schaeffer. Numerous battles occur with the single objective of letting me, the reader, marvel at the outstanding fights and a few strategical elements. Yet nothing important really happens. (At the risk of sounding like a heretic, I really enjoyed the character of Urkug. He is a massive ork and bit like one of my online role playing orks.) This story wraps up the original trilogy, as well as this omnibus edition. The ending is weak and seems pointless, but not totally bad.

**** All stories together get an average score from me of four stars. The first two tales (one short story and the first title in the trilogy) are the best. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Had I taken the time to look through this book at Borders, I would never have bought it. The writting drags and the final conclusion is an anti-climax. This book will go into the Friends of the Library bin and Gav Thorpe is one author I will not buy again.