Rebel Winter (Warhammer 40,000 Novels)

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Steve Parker

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 story opens with Captain Grigorius Sebastev on trial for his actions on the ice-encrusted battlefields of Danik's World. The novel ends with verdict and a surprise. The rest tells the tale of what Captain Sebastev (A.K.A. The Pit-Dog, though few would say it to his face) and how he reacted. Captain Sebastev and his men of Fifth Company are in the Korris trench works, in the midst of a brutal battle with greenskins (orks) when the new commissar arrives and jumps into the fray.

Commissar Daridh Ahl Karif had made a powerful enemy (Lord General Breggius) and been redeployed to Danik's World. Yet Karif still took the newest (and only) reenforcement troop under his wing. The commissar instinctively knows that Trooper Danil Stavin would not last long on the front lines. Karif surprised everyone, including himself, when he requested Trooper Stavin be assigned as his adjutant. Trooper Stavin turns out to be a top notch adjutant. The lad is very good at keeping secrets. In fact, he has a few of his own.

The frekk hits the fan when Twelfth Army Command underestimates the Danikkin Independence Army (DIA). The rebels make sure they regret it too. Nhalich is the first to fall. Traitors from within and without crippled the Vostroyan army by poisoning food and saboteurs vehicles, weapons, and supplies. Sebastev and Karif come to quickly realize that Fifth Company may very well be all that remains of the Sixty-Eighth. As the company's number of men slowly drop from the four digits, to the three digits, and to the two digits, the Pit-Dog knows that with numbers such as these, there is no such thing as acceptable losses. Somehow, they must find a way to win the war from behind enemy lines, and get out alive, before all is lost.

**** The trial is an interesting way to begin this book. Not very original, but it works beautifully and adds a deeper meaning to the ending of the story. There are a couple of characters that I hope to see again in the future. Trooper Stavin is one of the most interesting, at least to me. Entering the battle at the young age of eighteen, and being a newbie, this character may have a fascinating future. I say this because not only is the lad toughened up a bit during this battle, but he has wonderful role models in the Pit-Dog, Karif, and the White Boar. It is my hope that the author, Steve Parker, consider giving this secretive lad his own novel or series. Such potential!

As for this story, it begins in battle and stays that way almost constantly. A few memories are added in to break up the continuous skirmishes. This will not be an easy one for readers to put down. Something is going on at all times. Fascinating! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.