Book Review: Legion of the Damned by Sven Hassel

Legion of the Damned by Sven Hassel
My rating: 7 of 10 stars

Pages : 256

Year : 1953

Genre : War

Series : Sven Hassel #1

This is not my first or second read by Sven. Don't know if you know but Sven supposedly fought in WW2 on the side of the Germans as a Danish conscript. He was a criminal and went to fight as a penal legion (27th) and went from Russia, to France, to Italy to Germany , fighting everywhere. Of course this is a lie.

The author was a liar, enamoured by the prospect to fight for Germany (and he did enlist) but then he was in prison. In this book, the first he wrote we've got several friends like Porta, Old Un (old man) a couple others. In another books he introduce us Legionnaire, Tiny, Heide among others.

And why do we know it's fake? Well, each book (apart from this one) focus on one campaign , from italy, france, greece, balkans, france again, russia and germany. How could they fight everywhere , sometimes at the same time? Bear in mind that although they are fake, it's a good vision on how cheap lives where back in WW2. People died and sometimes rather pointless deaths and not all glamourous warlike stuff. It's grim and it's dark. This one , basically introduce us to Sven. In later novels we get to know him more. He gives some hints that he will tell about other stuff that happened.

Although as I've said him fighting is not true, the vast majority is either true or based on true stories. He wrote stuff that other people told him about or that he acquired so, this people may be really true people. This is brutal stuff, Geneva convention fuck off of the eastern front. You can read this book as anti-war stuff , anti-nazi or better, as a person who probably was swayed like millions others by Hitler and then it was too late. IF you want a grimdark war story, look no further. I do believe he wrote better (I've read some) and I will read more. 7/10

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Book Review: Morreram pela Patria - Mikhail Sholokhov

Author: Mikhail Sholokhov
Book: Morreram pela Patria
Year: 1969
Pages: 244
Part of Series: Solo
Reading Time: June 2022 (6 days)
Rating: 3 Stars

This book is a Russian propaganda. Germans are mere monsters and Russians perfect people that behave accordingly with the communist agenda. There is a funny part where some Russians are getting attack by the German panzers that one of them start praying and he feels ashamed because of it.

This proves the big theory that exist, all ideologies are cool and self sufficient until someone throws some adversity unto you. In this case panzers and explosions, then the communist manifesto is not that important and we throw ourselves to the gods. IT's very funny this part because 230 pages of propaganda and that page alone destroy all the credo.

Unless you want to read some war novel but focus on the how good communists are then go right ahead. Overall it's skippable.

Book Review: The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1: Deus lo Vult - Carlo Zen

 First of all a brief word on the tile - Youjo Senki was translated as The Saga of Tanya the Evil - but the correct translation would have been - The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl which I bet would not appeal to many people.

This novel was not that "light" to my opinion. With five chapters where each chapter dividied in subchapters of some sorts. Some were in the first person perspective of Tanya while others we followed other characters. The problem was that it was always in first person perspective - which at times got a bit confusing.

Nevertheless, I've watch the anime and it is one of my favourite - Tanya no doubt top 3 favourite characters of all times and I really enjoy the duality in her. Her thoughts being of a salaryman and her words the young 9/10 young girl.

Quite interesting - at times our salaryman told stuff from our world and incorporated in that isekai which gave some "credibility". But in the end it resumes to one sentence - if we would have been born in another time, era, place would we be what we are now? Our thoughts, way of thinking, actions and personality? I think not.

The anime focus a lot on action but the book focus a lot more on the personality of Tanya (from her and other characters perspective) and tactician - almost thesis on how to make war. - in others words what should have Germany done to win the first world war (or second) - and how her views are molding Germany Empire.

There are some other interesting monologues about evil vs evil which to me is gold!

Excellent book - eagerly waiting the second light novel while I wait for the movie thats coming out in 2018 (?).