Customer Reviews

Redemption Corps (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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.

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.

This book wasn't bad. The characters are pretty engaging; Colonel Mortensen, Cadet-Commissar Krieg, and Flight Lieutenant Rosenkrantz are stand-outs. Everyone else is pretty ancillary fading in and out of the background for some deus ex machina solutions or horrible deaths. On multiple occasions I had to stop and think back to who a character was but that seems to be normal for the few Imperial Guard novels I've read since most of the characters are just there to get killed spectacularly.

The main complaint I had about this book was that the plot is kind of all over the place. There isn't a cohesive antagonist to drive the action forward. The author tries to bring in twists and intrigue to make things more engaging but it just kind of falls flat. It smacks of poor pacing and plotting on the part of the author.

Another flaw is that he tries to pull in too much of the 40K universe all at once. The Imperial Guard, commissars, orks, titans, Adeptus Mechanicus, inquisitors, Sisters of Battle, assassins, and more all make appearances. By the halfway point, it is a cluttered mess with plot threads introduced and then dropped as quickly as they appear. He also assumes more than a passing familiarity with the 40K universe. For instance, there is a space battle at one point and the author describes the various ships involved by their class names but I have no idea what any of those ships look like. I shouldn't have to research to make a mental picture of what is going on.

Despite all of that, the action scenes are well-written, vivid and tense. The author did manage to bring a degree of suspense to the proceedings. As I said at the beginning of the review, the main characters were engaging and I would be interested to see what is next for Mortensen, Krieg, and Rosenkrantz. If there are further adventures of the Redemption Corps to be written, I hope they will be a little more focused than this effort.

This book was full of generic fluff and did a diservice to the already-struggling Imperial Guard books. The characters were one dimensional and the events, if not predictable, were unimaginitive. There were a few decent sections, but most of the book consists of death, destruction and overwhelming odds that gradually whittle the characters away. The Orks are little more than mindless violent killers, potentially interesting sub-plots are left undeveloped and blah blah blah. Don't waste your time, however, your mileage may vary.

Very nice character development for one book. Takes on an area of 40k that I wasn't really familiar with before other than minor comments in other 40k books, Imperial Guard Stormtroopers. For that reason alone I loved this book. This is a must have for 40k fans because it does explore an area of 40k that has really not had very much previous documentation.

My sons enjoy many fantasy books and games (like World of Warcraft). They have never played Warhammer but still enjoyed this book very much.

Very well written with a style that works fantastically . The characters are excellent and the story pacing is spot on for a WH40K book. The dystopia of the WH40K universe isn't as fleshed out as much as some of authors do which might bother hard core readers of the genera but that's about the only issue that I can see.
Not a book to jump into the WH40K universe with, but a good one to read.

An easy recommendation.

Rob Sanders' "Redemption Corps" adds a wonderful character to Warhammer 40K's Imperial Guard Novel series in Major Zane Mortensen. Having read a number of the Warhammer books, I can honestly say that few characters have been as fleshed out in one tale as much as Mortensen.

"Redemption Corps" centers on Mortensen and his loyally lethal band of storm-troopers as they take on one suicidal mission after another. The Redemption Corps open the book by taking on a Volscian uprising aboard the "Deliverance." From there, they take on a planet seemingly hungry for rebellion and then tackle a rescue mission on a deathworld. These missions eventually culminate in a final face-off with a surprising enemy on a world literally facing complete destruction.

As the Redemption Corps cuts their way through each mission (losing many of their own along the way), it becomes obvious to Mortensen that these missions all have one point to them: to have him killed.

Preceding every chapter of the book is a glimpse into future events that does somewhat throw off the flow of the book. While these drop a number of clues and introduce numerous characters that do not appear until later in the tale, they don't ruin the enjoyment of the story at all.

Fans of Warhammer might not like the treatment of a particular group of warriors in this book, but their portrayal isn't that big of a stretch. You can find a similar portrayal of this particular group in one of the short stories in "Legends of the Space Marines."

As already stated, Mortensen is a fully developed character. Coming in with almost as much growth and description is Cadet-Commissar Koulick Krieg. He plays a very important role in this tale. Sanders develops this particular character slower, but it's this slow development that allows the reader to appreciate Krieg that much more.

A few members of the Redemption Corps (as well as a few strays they pick up along the way) do get some development. Vedette and Sarakota are two very interesting characters who I'd love to see in their own adventures down the road. I hope that Mortensen and Krieg return in more stories as well.

If you enjoy other Black Library titles that feature the Imperial Guard like "Cadian Blood" or even titles featuring the Astartes, you'll probably enjoy "Redemption Corps." It's an action-packed adventure full of page after page of violence, adventure, and suspense. Highly recommended.

Redemption Corps follows the titular company of storm troopers and their nigh-unkillable leader Major Mortensen. The only survivor of the death of his entire world, the ecclesiarchy and the Adeptus Sororitas are unsettled by the cult of personality seemingly forming around the leader. Following the death of the company commissar during a shipboard mutiny, the Sisters of Battle take the opportunity to insert their catspaw, to ultimately execute the major for his heretical beliefs.

The characters of redemption corps are actual characters, whose outlook and personality give them a palpable uniqueness among the sea of talking heads that surround them. The main problem of the story is the delivery, which cuts between the past and present, and manages to only confuse both. Why they thought this necessary is unclear, as it doesn't help to foreshadow or explain anything, but only serves to add another layer of plot, including characters and actions that are difficult to describe or understand, and only serves to draw out a storyline that otherwise would've carried well on its own.

Overall, the novel is worthwhile, if oddly put together. Ironically, it's almost better if you skip the italicized portions of future text and read it sequentially at the end. Nothing is lost in this delivery and the normal plot line works better than what they currently have anyways.