Redemption Corps (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard) [Mass Market Paperback]

Rob Sanders (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2010 | Series: Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard

Led by the fearsome Captain Mortensen, the Redemption Corps is a regiment of ultra-tough storm troopers sent to the deadliest warzones on missions of mercy and destruction. But when Mortensen comes to the attention of the deadly sorority of the Battle Sisters, he not only has an ork invasion to contend with but these fearsome warrioress-fanatics too. Caught between the xenos and the fury of the Imperium, can the Redemption Corps fulfil their mission and survive into the bargain?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rob Sanders is a freelance writer, who spends his nights creating dark visions for regular visitors to the 41st millennium to relive in the privacy of their own nightmares. By contrast, as Head of English at a local secondary school, he spends his days beating (not literally) the same creativity out of the next generation in order to cripple any chance of future competition. He lives off the beaten track in the small city of Lincoln, UK. His first fiction was published in Inferno! magazine. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop; 1 edition (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184416361X
• ISBN-13: 978-1844163618
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Redemption Corps - Characters Redeem Mediocre Plot, May 26, 2010

By 

Sean Dooley "wittdooley" (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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

Redemption Corps - Rob Sanders

I'm a Space Marines guy. I have tons of the minis and tons of the books. My experiences with the Black Library have been, until recently, almost entirely devoted to the Astartes. I read Dan Abnett's Titanicus and liked it a lot. Then I thought about Legion and realized how much I appreciated the portrayal of the guardsmen in that. So I began venturing into the world of the Imperial Guard, finding that it is an exciting and fascinatingly diverse world. With that in mind, I picked up Rob Sanders' debut for the Black Library, Redemption Corps.

Redemption Corps, at its heart, is almost like the A-Team of the Imperial Guard. Focusing around Major Zane Mortensen and his group of hardened storm-troopers the Redemption Corps--the creative titling of the guard books continues!--the rag tag bunch is the, for lack of a better phrase, impossible missions squad in their respective sector. We follow them on a campaign--and I use this term loosely as it's really a few missions--that sees them involved in quashing a shipboard mutiny, infiltrating a death world and participating in a prison break. This all sounds really great; however, the construction of the plot is maddening at times, and convoluted with others.

Sanders is clearly a good writer. His characterization--which I'll go into later--is really well done and his prose style is readable and intelligent--he makes some clever references to playwright Christopher Marlowe and philosopher Jeremy Benthem (which are, sadly, probably a fair number of readers) that really flexes his literary acumen--but the pacing and plot direction of Redemption Corps is all over the place. One of the major issues I had was Sanders' decision to tell the story through flashes forward sprinkled within the present-time plot. Lost is one of my favorite television shows ever, so I'm no stranger to time-jumping narration; however, it just doesn't work here. We see things happen early that we have absolutely no build up or precedence for. It left me feeling really confused. Everything sort of meshes together at the end of the novel, but it was really unsatisfying.

Another problem spinning out of the flashes is Sanders' understanding of the Sisters of Battle. I can't really say it's a characterization problem, because the characters are fleshed out relatively well, but the use of the Sororitas in Redemption Corps is questionable. Without revealing plot points, the Sisters are used very poorly and with a seemingly poor understanding of their nature and background.

It is because of this--and again, I think it's a lack of understanding on Sanders' part--that we're left with a novel that finishes in a very contrived, and ultimately unexplained, way. Stuff happens that really left me shaking my head, thinking, "Huh?" It's almost as if Sanders wanted to throw a lot of different flavors from the 40k universe into one book, but didn't know how to effectively do it.

On a more positive note, I absolutely loved Mortensen and his Redemption Corp squad mates. Mortenson's back story is fleshed out really well, and his compatriots are given enough non-generic flavor to keep them interesting. I want to read another story about the Redemption Corps. In addition, the character cadet-commisar Kreig is a nice addition to the novel. He's works well as a foil to Mortensen, and grows really believably as a character throughout the novel. Sanders created a really likeable group of characters that ultimately redeem a lot of the book.

Redemption Corps is a flawed book, but is by no means terrible. Rob Sanders is a very capable writer; he proves this sporadically throughout the novel. However, Redemption Corps is plagued with a myriad of small problems that lead to a read that left me a bit wanting. The questionable choice in plot construction, the poor understanding of the Sisters of Battle, and a contrived ending make Redemption Corps a tough pill to swallow. However, Zane Mortensen and crew prove their namesake and ultimately redeem Rob Sanders' first Black Library effort.

(6.0/10) Cautiously Recommended

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Descriptive Action, May 2, 2010

By 

Sci-fi and history reader (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

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

The author provides very descriptive action scenes and sequences throughout the book. The main character of the story is an Imperial Guard officer, Mortensen, who witnessed the destruction of his planet, but managed to survive. He now leads an elite commando unit and they are responding to an insurrection on a Mechanicus forge planet in the Warhammer 40K universe. One side character, Inquisitorial Agent Krieg, is sent to observe Mortensen, for signs of heresy, as a Commissar-Cadet. Krieg is the only character who evolves throughout the novel in changing from his narrow puritanical view to understanding the needs of the Imperium in having men, regardless of their background, fighting for humanity against the Xenos.

The story starts with Mortensen's team responding to a mutiny against an oppressive Commissar, followed by missions to the Mechanicus planet under insurrection. The fight soon turns from rebels to a coordinated Ork invasion under a more sinister control.

One theme in the novel is the extreme puritanical thought that exists within the Imperium, from the Commissars to the Sister of Battle. The plot of how this extreme thought would weaken sectors to invite the Xenos to attack humanity is somewhat plausible. However, did have difficulty in believing that those planning to allow the invasion would allow entire worlds to fall or be destroyed by the Xenos as it would deny humanity the raw materials to fight.

One negative is how the author has the Orks perfecting teleportation and having massive numbers of the devices. In the Warhammer 40K Universe, teleporters are rare. Another negative is how the novel is written where at the start of each chapter, the reader is given narration of the future or rather, last chapter of the novel. Each chapter of the book brings the reader from the present to the future. This eliminates all sense of tension or suspense, the reader already knows that certain characters will live through the upcoming battles.

Overall, this is a solid story in the W40K universe to borrow from the library. Had the story been written in a more traditional format, would have had more suspense and kept my interest more.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good story from a new author to the genre., May 1, 2010

By 

Detra Fitch "Always hunting good books." (USA) - See all my reviews

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

The Redemption Corps is led by the legendary Major Zane Mortensen. They are a regiment of storm-troopers that never stop until the mission is completed or they are all dead.

Diamanta Santhonax, Canoness Regular of the Order of the Immaculate Flame, has Cadet-Commissar Koulick Krieg transferred to the Redemption Corps. In addition to his duties to Regimental Commissar Udeskee, Krieg is to make regular reports on the actions and behavior of Mortensen to Santhonax. The deadly sorority of Battle Sisters believe Mortensen and his troop to be the equivalent of a heretic cult.

Mortensen and Krieg go head-to-head as they embark on seemingly suicidal missions. It soon becomes apparent that they must deal with an ork invasion. However, these greenskins are a breed apart, intelligent and organized.

**** FOUR STARS! Each chapter begins with a few pages, written in italic font, featuring scenes with the Battle Sisters. These sections mostly foreshadow what is to come when the major and the canoness finally clash. Some of the scenes show past interactions between the canoness and Krieg. A terrific story that kept me riveted until the end, even if it did shine the Battle Sisters in a bad light. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.