Bookworm Speaks!
Warhammer 40k
Rebel Winter
by Steve Parker
****
Acquired: Half-Price Books
Series: Warhammer 40,000 Novels
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Black Library (July 31, 2007)
Language: English
****
The Story: On the brutal battlefields of the 41st Millennium, the life of an Imperial Guardsman is harsh and short. On the snowy wastes of Danik's World, a regiment of Vostroyans is ordered to hold their ground to protect the retreat of other Imperial forces. When their own orders come to move back, they discover they have been stranded behind enemy lines. Cold, hungry and running out of supplies, trapped between rebel forces and hordes of orks, can the Guardsmen ever fight their way back to safety?
The Review: Bookworm is a member of many fandoms across the creative hemisphere. Star Trek, Star Wars, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Fallout and a few others. Warhammer 40k stands out among all of them. For one thing, Bookworm owns more books about the 41st Millennium than all the others combined. Also because of something a little more esoteric. Warhammer 40k is one of the most fantastical and one of the most visceral human franchises he has ever seen.
Star Wars and Star Trek have one thing in common: They represent idealism. Pure and Noble heroes out to save the day in a rich universe ripe for exploration. Warhammer 40k on the other hand, is the complete inverse. It may be a rich universe, but it is a universe of darkness. The stars are filled with monsters and madmen that want nothing better than to bite your face off among other terrible things.
Life for the majority is a merciless grind and the ‘heroes’ of such a universe are monstrous beings crafted to freakish proportions by half-forgotten sciences and oftentimes the product of entire cultures whose only purpose is to battle. Literally…the entire industrial and social output of the planet Vostroya is to produce soldiers and weapons for the never-ending Imperial war effort.
One such culture is the Planet Vostroya and the Vostroyan First Born. There is no going home for them. Maybe one or two of them may live long enough to go back and train the next generation of Vostroyans, the rest will die unsung.
This immediately makes the characters, not so much relatable, but appealing. They already have a gripping narrative. The inklings of the larger Vostroyan culture that filter through the narrative are very fascinating. The history of previous campaigns also add an interesting context to explain the Vostroyan’s what they are and also highlighting the brutal nature of the galaxy they live in.
What was really one facet of the story that kept Bookworm going was the same thing that kept the regiment going: They never gave up. That is true for a great many stories in Warhammer 40k. No matter how hopeless it became. No matter how many died. No matter how much the enemy outnumbered them, the Vostroyan’s never stopped fighting. To do otherwise would spit on their homeworld and their Emperor, to which to both they dedicated their lives. The whole text could be seen as one, long, last stand, which are always a great sell.
One scene that exemplifies this where the regiment is forced to drive through a firestorm and when they make it, they realize that the driver has died. He was being burned alive throughout the ordeal and never stopped or even cried out. As said by the leader, “he died a true Vostroyan.” That scene really grips at the heartstrings. There are several more in the book and instead of bringing them down, it only pushes them forward.
Final Verdict: In spite of its fantastical surroundings, Rebel Winter and indeed many of the tomes about the Imperial Guard are probably the most realistic depictions of war there are. There is little glory, just a long grind. It involves soldiers that are tired and hungry and not feeling particularly brave. When victory is achieved, it often feels hollow, but is not much else to do but square their soldiers and go on to whatever comes next. That is Warhmmer 40k is so addicting. It is so relatable on so many levels. Even in a culture as corrupt and oppressive as the Imperium of Man, noble traits like duty, honor, loyalty, self-sacrifice still have not died.
Four Snowflakes out of Five
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