Customer Reviews

Rebel Winter (Warhammer 40,000 Novels)

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

 

 

Rebel Winter manages what few game-based novels that I've read have achieved, and that is to create a tangible sense of what it would be like to live and die in the game's setting.

The universe of Warhammer 40,000 is one of brutal conflict without end, filled with cultures born to fight and die in a violent war between unfathomable aliens and a human race dominated by centuries of techno-religious indoctrination.

Rebel Winter took me there with its tale of attrition and glory on a frozen backwater planet. The book is grim, highlighting the horror of the milieu's endless war, and contrasting it with the blazing fury and passion of the Vostroyans, one of the table-top game's newest armies. This books marks their fiction debut.

Steve strikes an excellent balance between the blood-and-guts realities of this out-of-control conflict and the spiritual nature of the Vostroyans, and manages to detail their cultural background with careful exposition that sets this novel apart from a technical campaign sourcebook.

As someone who claims only a passing familiarity with the milieu, I can recommend this book as a great introduction to the feel of the Warhammer 40,000 and as a fantastic debut novel from the author.

Please sir, I'd like some more!

The story opens with Captain Grigorius Sebastev on trial for his actions on the ice-encrusted battlefields of Danik's World. The novel ends with verdict and a surprise. The rest tells the tale of what Captain Sebastev (A.K.A. The Pit-Dog, though few would say it to his face) and how he reacted. Captain Sebastev and his men of Fifth Company are in the Korris trench works, in the midst of a brutal battle with greenskins (orks) when the new commissar arrives and jumps into the fray.

Commissar Daridh Ahl Karif had made a powerful enemy (Lord General Breggius) and been redeployed to Danik's World. Yet Karif still took the newest (and only) reenforcement troop under his wing. The commissar instinctively knows that Trooper Danil Stavin would not last long on the front lines. Karif surprised everyone, including himself, when he requested Trooper Stavin be assigned as his adjutant. Trooper Stavin turns out to be a top notch adjutant. The lad is very good at keeping secrets. In fact, he has a few of his own.

The frekk hits the fan when Twelfth Army Command underestimates the Danikkin Independence Army (DIA). The rebels make sure they regret it too. Nhalich is the first to fall. Traitors from within and without crippled the Vostroyan army by poisoning food and saboteurs vehicles, weapons, and supplies. Sebastev and Karif come to quickly realize that Fifth Company may very well be all that remains of the Sixty-Eighth. As the company's number of men slowly drop from the four digits, to the three digits, and to the two digits, the Pit-Dog knows that with numbers such as these, there is no such thing as acceptable losses. Somehow, they must find a way to win the war from behind enemy lines, and get out alive, before all is lost.

**** The trial is an interesting way to begin this book. Not very original, but it works beautifully and adds a deeper meaning to the ending of the story. There are a couple of characters that I hope to see again in the future. Trooper Stavin is one of the most interesting, at least to me. Entering the battle at the young age of eighteen, and being a newbie, this character may have a fascinating future. I say this because not only is the lad toughened up a bit during this battle, but he has wonderful role models in the Pit-Dog, Karif, and the White Boar. It is my hope that the author, Steve Parker, consider giving this secretive lad his own novel or series. Such potential!

As for this story, it begins in battle and stays that way almost constantly. A few memories are added in to break up the continuous skirmishes. This will not be an easy one for readers to put down. Something is going on at all times. Fascinating! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I rarely cry. It is usually at the end of a war movie where a person has given his or her life for the good of the squad and bagpipes are playing. Like at the end of "Gunga Din" or "Wee Willie Winkie," or even "Saving Private Ryan," although there were sadly no pipes.

While reading Steve Parker's first military science fiction novel, "Rebel Winter," I found myself tearing up several times. Each time a well-drawn character sacrifices himself for the unit or a group of men die in a burning Chimera or a beloved colonel runs pell-mell into a mass of orks I felt a tear rolling down my cheek. Consequently, I have to say early in this review that the writing is damn good, the characters are well-drawn, the battle scenes are intense, and Parker's knowledge of Warhammer 40,000 fluff is dead-on accurate.

The novel involves a regiment of Vostroyan Firstborn fighting both rebels and orks on the ice-crusted planet Danik's World. The Vostroyans are similar to Russian Cossacks and their culture is tribal and militaristic. According to their laws, every firstborn son of every household serves in the Vostroyan regiments. Vostroyan soldiers and officers maintain an archaic appearance and their history can be traced back to the Horus Heresy. They pass their weapons down from firstborn to firstborn and are usually worth more than the guardsmen who carry them. They serve ten-year terms but most re-enlist because their persona is based on their identification with the regiment and the company in the regiment in which they serve.

In Rebel Winter Parker plays with the Vostroyan "fluff." First, the Vostroyan leadership is picked from the nobility. Our protagonist Captain Grigorius Sebastev is not a noble; instead, he is a sergeant, elevated to leadership on the battlefield. Second, Vostroyans pick the first-born son to serve the Emperor; Stavin, another important character, possesses a secret, which haunts him: he is a second-born son. Third, the Vostroyans are a close-knit tribal unit. The Commissar of Fifth Company is not a Vostroyan but from Delta Radhima. He is dark and tall and obviously a foil for the short and stocky Sebastev.

Parker begins the novel with a framing device: Captain Sebastev is on trial in the Exedra Udiciarum Seddisvarr for some unspecified crime. The story, then, is a remembering rather than an unfolding. In my opinion, a framing device is a two-edged sword. It either creates suspense by engaging the reader with the question: why is this man on trial, or it dissipates suspense because the reader knows the protagonist will survive. In this novel, the framing device accomplishes three things: one, it is simply a sketch and does not explain who any of the bizarre characters in the courtroom are; therefore, it creates an element of suspense and expectation; two, it begs the question of why this captain is on trial; and, three, at the end of the novel it provides the springboard for a sequel (which I suspect is its primary purpose).

Once, we enter the "remembering," we are plunged head-first into the action. The Vostroyans are fighting a battle of attrition against both rebels and orks. Here is where Parker shines. The battle scenes are brutal and beautifully constructed. Very rarely is an author able to manipulate a squad, let alone a company, and Parker does it well and efficiently. Something else that he does well is to describe the strategic elements of a battle. I particularly appreciate the map at the beginning of the book. By referring to it during the reading I was able to see and understand both the strategic and tactical decisions made by the combatants.

In conclusion, I found the novel a brilliant first effort. I enjoyed the mixture of pathos and bravura in the characters and when I say characters I mean many characters, each one is well-drawn and memorable. I have two minor criticisms though: one, the framing device distracts from the strength of the plot and, two, in an attempt to fully handle his "company" of characters, Mr. Parker switches point of view several times, which I found disturbed the smooth progression of the narrative. In that regard,I prefer either a single or at most a double point of view.

As a final word, I would recommend this novel to both Warhammer fans and military science fiction readers. I think Steve Parker now shares the stage with other great military science-fiction writers like Dan Abnett, Andy Remic, Paul Kearney, Chris Roberson, and Steven Pressfield.

I am looking forward to reviewing his latest novel--"Gunheads."

I've read tens of warhammer40k books,and I have to say this was one of their bests!the only problem is...the vostroyan first born army guardsmen act more like Adeptus Astartes space marines!loads of honor,loads of valore,loads of action...and a good storyline i must say.

This is another one of the Imperial Guard books set in the WH40k universe that are not related to one another, in other words a stand alone novel without a series. While one hardly expects a book such as this, especially by a first time author, to be on par with Abnett's Ghosts or some of the better Space Marine tales, there's still a lot to like here.

Parker does a good job establishing the setting--a Vostroyan Army is fighting a separatist group with Orks muddying the waters--and gives us a believable protagonist in Captain Sebastev and interesting characters such as Commissar Karif and the White Boar, the colonel of the Vostroyan regiment that our hero, company commander Sebastev, serves. You get a good sense of what role the company is playing in the overall war when the plot heats up, and some of the battle scenes are good.

This said, it feels like for a war novel, there's a little much down time with quite enough interesting distractions to make it a real page-turner. I'm sure that Parker will improve with his interactions between his characters, as some of the exchanges come off as wooden and the cardboard minor characters give you little reason to care at all if they die. The battle scenes could use a little bit more fleshing out, I suppose, as well.

All and all, a good read and a fine first effort by Parker. I will keep an eye on his work for the black library because what I read in this book suggests to me that he can do better.

NO this is not a women this her son eaiser to use her account than make one.I am a very big imperial guard fan beacuse they r just like u and me, no bio engeried armor or super solider. Just have a pice of armor a lasgun and there brother im arms. Steve parker does a very good job of making u feel as ur behind the gun.There is a ton of action in this book never does it leave u bored cant go 3 chapters without it. There is also a lot of dark, funny humor wich make it moer appealing. But This storty take place on a planet so cold ur lungs would frezze. so not only is capt* Sebastevand & company of voystrans have to watch out for orks and traitors, the weather is also opposeing even affect how battle is fought.Im telling u right now in the end there is a huge suprise and leaves wide open for a number 2 so if this sounds like ur kinda of book get now. i highly recomd this book for any 40k fanr or scifi fan.

For the 68th voystran firstborn and the white boar!!!

This book addresses the imperial guard and I have to admit I am not a fan. The book seems to both throw the lives of the guard away at one minute and the next, they seem impossible to kill. I would not suggest this book unless you are already interested in the guard.

I am a huge fan of the 40k universe and have almost every book out there. This one i couldn't keep in my hands for more than a few minutes at a time. The dialogue is just aweful and it reads like a grade school play. The action sequences while cool are not believable for imperial guardsmen. This is one book that can be skipped. Unfortunatly it seems that the Black Library is allowing just about anyone to write a novel these days.