Annihilation Squad by Gav ThorpeMy rating: 7
Pages 416
Year 2004
Here we are... The last of a trilogy (he wrote a fourth novel now 15 years later). Damn it!
In this novel we follow some new people and some old people. The book are called last chancers so, basically don't get attached to them well because...
Last Chancers is the 13th penal legion that goes around doing stuff that nobody wants to do. Or are able to do. When you grab a bunch of people with nothing to lose, and when the vast majority are just psychopaths you get a great combination of crappy situation cleaners. Here they have a new mission. this time they will go to Armageddon, where the third war of Armageddon is taking place and is one of the biggest wars happening in the universe, well that GW wants us to know. You've got on one side Orks led by one of the biggest baddest Waagh ever and the other side the Imperials with millionimperial guard Astra Militarum and space marines. In previous wars even Chaos & Grey Knights were there. (nothing about that is told here).
So, as I said the third war is ongoing and the forces of last chancers are tasked to kill Von Staub which was the governor general and the inquisition wanted him eliminated or not. It would depend if he really was in coalition with the ORKS or not. We are told in the perspective of Lt Kage which is also a last chancer (but he enjoys being so) and puts everyone in check on behalf of Colonel Schaeffer.
So what to expect, what's this about and difference between this and previous?
Well, first of all, Kage several times hints of admiring Schaeffer on his unfliching loyalty to the imperium. He even hints that he doesn't fail because in his mind that possibility doesn't even exist. It's like Ronaldo when he was young. Proud, unflinching working method and people follow for it. Here is the same. We've got new fodder to die and some old ones. We've got mayhem on a landscape that does not forgive mistakes. THere are other books set on Armageddon around the same time written by Jonathan Green called Crusade for Armageddon & conquest of Armageddon.
One of t he most enjoyous moment was the travelling in that hellish landscape and the lives within a Hive. He made me imagine how we could create just a vast thing and how people would live within it. The last 100 pages we get a new Kage and it was weird as hell. In the beginning I was confused of what was happening. The book is written in italics that hints Kage is losing his mind - probably possessed by a daemon - who knows. Then the part with Von Straub remind of a twisted carnival and I remembered seeing a movie just like this. This last 50 pages are dark. These are penal legionnaires, damned since t hey entered there. This goes dark a lot. But the ending oh my... I didn't expect that.
A bit of spoilers ++++++++++++++++ so Kage finally understands what means to belong to Last Chancers. and after another daemonic/craziness vibe he finally commits suicide completing the mission... And the story fraking ends. There is nothing more. What? Okay you put GRIM on the grimdark but I didn't felt satisfied by the end...+++++++++++
As I said before this is the third novel in atrilogy tetrology and you should read the previous two ALTHOUGH they are not mandatory. There are plenty of connections to the previous novel(s) but I've read the book several years ago, didn't remember much and nothing was lost. 7/10 due to the ending...
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Here we are... The last of a trilogy (he wrote a fourth novel now 15 years later). Damn it!
In this novel we follow some new people and some old people. The book are called last chancers so, basically don't get attached to them well because...
Last Chancers is the 13th penal legion that goes around doing stuff that nobody wants to do. Or are able to do. When you grab a bunch of people with nothing to lose, and when the vast majority are just psychopaths you get a great combination of crappy situation cleaners. Here they have a new mission. this time they will go to Armageddon, where the third war of Armageddon is taking place and is one of the biggest wars happening in the universe, well that GW wants us to know. You've got on one side Orks led by one of the biggest baddest Waagh ever and the other side the Imperials with million
So, as I said the third war is ongoing and the forces of last chancers are tasked to kill Von Staub which was the governor general and the inquisition wanted him eliminated or not. It would depend if he really was in coalition with the ORKS or not. We are told in the perspective of Lt Kage which is also a last chancer (but he enjoys being so) and puts everyone in check on behalf of Colonel Schaeffer.
So what to expect, what's this about and difference between this and previous?
Well, first of all, Kage several times hints of admiring Schaeffer on his unfliching loyalty to the imperium. He even hints that he doesn't fail because in his mind that possibility doesn't even exist. It's like Ronaldo when he was young. Proud, unflinching working method and people follow for it. Here is the same. We've got new fodder to die and some old ones. We've got mayhem on a landscape that does not forgive mistakes. THere are other books set on Armageddon around the same time written by Jonathan Green called Crusade for Armageddon & conquest of Armageddon.
One of t he most enjoyous moment was the travelling in that hellish landscape and the lives within a Hive. He made me imagine how we could create just a vast thing and how people would live within it. The last 100 pages we get a new Kage and it was weird as hell. In the beginning I was confused of what was happening. The book is written in italics that hints Kage is losing his mind - probably possessed by a daemon - who knows. Then the part with Von Straub remind of a twisted carnival and I remembered seeing a movie just like this. This last 50 pages are dark. These are penal legionnaires, damned since t hey entered there. This goes dark a lot. But the ending oh my... I didn't expect that.
A bit of spoilers ++++++++++++++++ so Kage finally understands what means to belong to Last Chancers. and after another daemonic/craziness vibe he finally commits suicide completing the mission... And the story fraking ends. There is nothing more. What? Okay you put GRIM on the grimdark but I didn't felt satisfied by the end...+++++++++++
As I said before this is the third novel in a
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