Book Review // Rebel Winter by Steve Parker
Well, that didn't take long! Now, I want you to discover if I read this quickly because it was an epic book or a short read. We need to look at the stats first:
Title: Rebel Winter
Author: Steve Parker
Publisher: Black Library
Format: Paperback
Fluff: 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?
Review
I discovered this book at my mum's house and brought it back to Canada. I remember buying it way back in the day because I wanted a Vostroyan army for 40k. For those unfamiliar with 40k, Vostroyans are an Imperial Guard force from the setting of Warhammer 40k. They hail from a factory world (imagine no grass, just factory after factory), specialize in urban warfare, and have a lot of qualities similar to Eastern Europe and Russian culture. Now lift all those qualities and throw them on a world suffering from a never-ending winter due to volcano eruptions. This means that these guys are not in their comfort zone.
The story begins in a courtroom, and the main character is on trial following his latest military campaign. Through this character's memories, we are transported back to the campaign to experience it firsthand. We learn how this once populous world suffered a natural disaster that plunged it into the never-ending winter. We also find out that due to a lack of aid, there was a military coup that led to this war. Here enters the Vostroyans, believing themselves to be superior, they land planetside to crush the coup. The only problem is the rebels retreat north, forcing the Vostroyans to begin a war of occupation. Slowly, as the war grinds on, the Vostroyans spread further out, securing abandoned towns and looking after refugees. Now, a new foe enters the war: mankind's oldest enemy, Orks. Throughout the book, it is hinted whether the Orks arrived by chance or whether the rebels invited them. Either way, it doesn't matter as the Orks become more of a background occupational hazard as the story progresses. The Vostroyans themselves are well-rounded characters, but with a whole company, it is hard to care for them genuinely, and you ultimately end up worrying about only three or four of them.
In a classic war/action adventure, the Vostroyan Company is cut off and must fight across an unforgiving landscape hounded by Orks and rebels. We meet characters and then watch them die. We experience heroic levels of bravery on one page and never hear of a character again. Overall a few negatives but I did enjoy this book, hence why I finished it so fast. Ultimately, it felt like an intro novel, and the ending left the tale unfinished. How does the war end? Why are the Orks there? Why is the (REDACTED) so creepy? What happened next to the survivors?
Unfortunately, we never find out, as eleven years have passed with no follow-up. This book is the perfect train read, and I recommend it to fans of 40k, especially Vostroyan fans. As always, thanks for reading this.
