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Warhammer 40,000
Waiting Death
A legend amongst his own Catachan regiment, Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken is the embodiment of the Imperial Guard hero, so much so that he literally puts his body on the line in the name of the Emperor every time he goes into battle. Borealis Four has fallen under the sway of an insidious Chaos cult and its dense jungle terrain makes it the ideal battlefield for Straken and his platoon. After a particularly fierce firefight, the Catachans find themselves cut off from the rest of the Imperium forces and must seek refuge in a native village. Before long, troopers being to hallucinate and warp-born horrors lay siege to the village. Even Straken himself falls under the sway of the Dark Powers. Can he break the psychic grip in time to save his men or will Borealis Four be Straken's last stand? Running Time :75 Minutes. Read by Toby Longworth Directed by Lisa Bowerman April 2010 ? Audiobook ? ISBN 9781844163625
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Steve Lyons
189 books110 followersSteve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 25, 2019
“Emperor’s teeth… do I have to do everything myself? Yes your arm is ripped off trooper, but it could be worse!”
“Welcome to Borealis Four troopers, I’m Colonel ‘Iron Hand’ Straken. We’ve been tasked with a mission to penetrate Chaos cultists front lines, through a dense jungle, filled with things that want to rip you apart. So, this is going to be an easy run for us Catachan jungle fighters.”
Waiting Death is such a throwback audio drama – it reminds me of those old cheesy 80s action films. Colonel Straken is basically that hard-nosed drill sergeant, who’s been there and done it. This AD focuses upon the Catachan Jungle fighters – know within lore as a hard bunch, famed for close-combat and working within a heavy populated fauna and thick flora environments. Chaos cultists have forced their way upon Borealis Four. Straken, along with his platoon and a high-ranking officer, while attempting to locate these ruinous forces, stumble across a village and some strange individuals who are oblivious to the fact there is actually a war going on.
I really appreciated Toby Longworth’s effort with bringing Colonel Straken to life – for me, he really brings a distinct voice to Straken which is spot on. We get a run down of some background lore to both himself and the Catachan jungles warriors. It’s top-notch, if you like your fluff. Sound productions are excellent, though some of the voices melt into each other after a while, I did feel a few more variations upon accents would have helped.
There are some really unexpected twists and turns within Waiting Death that for me, makes this one of the best audio dramas I’ve listened to from Black Library. This is my 3-4th now. The story is another ‘last stand’ but works so well with the characters and settings – this kind of reminded me of the movie Predator - I mean people are gonna get messed up!
My only real criticism is the antagonist, there really isn’t one – though the ‘threat’ which the Imperial troopers face is rather delicious to listen to in audio format. Other than that, as I’ve mentioned, Steve Lyon writes a thrilling tale, that isn’t setting any records and you could argue over-used within Warhammer 40K – but PLEASE forgive me, it works so well. Give Waiting Death ago, it’s worth your time.
“Welcome to Borealis Four troopers, I’m Colonel ‘Iron Hand’ Straken. We’ve been tasked with a mission to penetrate Chaos cultists front lines, through a dense jungle, filled with things that want to rip you apart. So, this is going to be an easy run for us Catachan jungle fighters.”
Waiting Death is such a throwback audio drama – it reminds me of those old cheesy 80s action films. Colonel Straken is basically that hard-nosed drill sergeant, who’s been there and done it. This AD focuses upon the Catachan Jungle fighters – know within lore as a hard bunch, famed for close-combat and working within a heavy populated fauna and thick flora environments. Chaos cultists have forced their way upon Borealis Four. Straken, along with his platoon and a high-ranking officer, while attempting to locate these ruinous forces, stumble across a village and some strange individuals who are oblivious to the fact there is actually a war going on.
I really appreciated Toby Longworth’s effort with bringing Colonel Straken to life – for me, he really brings a distinct voice to Straken which is spot on. We get a run down of some background lore to both himself and the Catachan jungles warriors. It’s top-notch, if you like your fluff. Sound productions are excellent, though some of the voices melt into each other after a while, I did feel a few more variations upon accents would have helped.
There are some really unexpected twists and turns within Waiting Death that for me, makes this one of the best audio dramas I’ve listened to from Black Library. This is my 3-4th now. The story is another ‘last stand’ but works so well with the characters and settings – this kind of reminded me of the movie Predator - I mean people are gonna get messed up!
My only real criticism is the antagonist, there really isn’t one – though the ‘threat’ which the Imperial troopers face is rather delicious to listen to in audio format. Other than that, as I’ve mentioned, Steve Lyon writes a thrilling tale, that isn’t setting any records and you could argue over-used within Warhammer 40K – but PLEASE forgive me, it works so well. Give Waiting Death ago, it’s worth your time.
November 11, 2011
Just like another Imperial Guard audio drama I listened to (Dead in the Water, the plot can be summarized in one or two sentences: it's alike the latter, but with more plot twists (which is great).
The plot however comes second to the atmosphere, the characters' depth and the whole feeling of dread and loss of control in the universe of Warhammer 40K. Even though the protagonist is a veteran in every sense of the word, he's again lost in a situation no one could prepare him for.
Speaking of the protagonist, when hearing him I immediatly got the vibes of the typical american drill sergeant, which was wonderful.
Recommended for anyone that wants to hear his first Imperial Guard audio drama, it's a nice start.
The plot however comes second to the atmosphere, the characters' depth and the whole feeling of dread and loss of control in the universe of Warhammer 40K. Even though the protagonist is a veteran in every sense of the word, he's again lost in a situation no one could prepare him for.
Speaking of the protagonist, when hearing him I immediatly got the vibes of the typical american drill sergeant, which was wonderful.
Recommended for anyone that wants to hear his first Imperial Guard audio drama, it's a nice start.
August 20, 2020
This one we follow a group of Catachans (not the same from the Death World) lead by Colonel Iron Hand Straken as they find a village amidst the battlefield world. These village is untouched by all the war outside and it's people live peacefully. After some problems they relax with the exception of the commander. At night they battle a horde of mutants as they are ambushed but these mutants are somewhat strange because it seems they don't want to kill the Catachans. After some initial skirmishes the Colonel leads the mutants to the villagers where they kill the peasents. After the battle the commander and the catachans start to realize that nothing was what it seem. The villagers were the mutants and the mutants were Catachans. After a final battle between the Colonel and the main leader of the mutants he lays wounded on the battlefield telllings his memoirs and believing that his men are going to save him and we hear some men approaching him...
This was a nice tale but nothing grandeous. It was quick and interesting. I give
This was a nice tale but nothing grandeous. It was quick and interesting. I give
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2018
Another GW Audio Drama - this one about the Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum) Catachans and 'Iron Hand' Straken. If you've listened to any of these before you know what you're getting... atmospheric story telling by Toby Longworth (narrator) explosions, sound affects and a quick story from the world of Warhammer 40k.
Great fun, but the price tag does mean it'll only be listened to by GW completionists.
Great fun, but the price tag does mean it'll only be listened to by GW completionists.
April 6, 2025
A fun, fast read about Catachans and chaos cultists. What’s not to like? Short, violent, and characteristically masculine for the Catachans. Ending was a bit weak for my taste, but it was, again, fitting for our favorite jungle fighters. Easy way to kill an hour and scratch a 40K itch at the same time.
July 13, 2018
Meh - not my favorite.
March 25, 2020
Listened to the audiobook version of this book. Short book but all action.
June 21, 2020
There were situations to which nobody could be prepared even Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken had his share of nasty surprises.
November 11, 2023
Perfectly serviceable. I liked the contrast in the final confrontation.
January 19, 2020
Fun Catachan short story.
Iron Hand Straken of the Catachan imperial guard leads his men through the jungle when, they find an unlikely tranquil village in the middle of Hellish, cultist infested jungle. What is going on and can he really trust this village and it's inhabitants.
Short, fun and Straken is indeed The Quintessential Catachan Jungle Fighter
Iron Hand Straken of the Catachan imperial guard leads his men through the jungle when, they find an unlikely tranquil village in the middle of Hellish, cultist infested jungle. What is going on and can he really trust this village and it's inhabitants.
Short, fun and Straken is indeed The Quintessential Catachan Jungle Fighter
September 20, 2012
First of all, I'm glad I jumped right into this audio drama without reading any background information about it. Only after listening to it did I do the search here on goodreads.com to write my review. The book description easily points out plot points to the point of spoiling the story!
Impressive twists abound in this audio drama as Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken of the Imperial Guard, a hard-ass among his men, discovers a lot more about himself. He's literally a "hard ass" - a tough leader that pushes his men to the limits of disciple and training, and he's been through so many battles that's he's left with several augmentations, most prominent of which is his right, mechanical arm.
Their mission in Borealis Four is to investigate a Chaos cult amongst its dense jungle terrain, and they run into a secluded village, the location of their objective.
Toby Longwood's narration and voice acting is, as always, top-notch. He gives justice to Straken's POV narration, and we're treated to a thorough run-down of how Straken thinks of himself, his men, and the trust that he's formed with them.
As I've mentioned, the twists in this story are excellent, especially since they're revealed from the main character's thoughts and actions. I can't go into any more details without spoiling the entire story, so I'll leave it as that.
This is one of the better war stories about the Imperial Guard that's out there, and I highly recommend this!
Impressive twists abound in this audio drama as Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken of the Imperial Guard, a hard-ass among his men, discovers a lot more about himself. He's literally a "hard ass" - a tough leader that pushes his men to the limits of disciple and training, and he's been through so many battles that's he's left with several augmentations, most prominent of which is his right, mechanical arm.
Their mission in Borealis Four is to investigate a Chaos cult amongst its dense jungle terrain, and they run into a secluded village, the location of their objective.
Toby Longwood's narration and voice acting is, as always, top-notch. He gives justice to Straken's POV narration, and we're treated to a thorough run-down of how Straken thinks of himself, his men, and the trust that he's formed with them.
As I've mentioned, the twists in this story are excellent, especially since they're revealed from the main character's thoughts and actions. I can't go into any more details without spoiling the entire story, so I'll leave it as that.
This is one of the better war stories about the Imperial Guard that's out there, and I highly recommend this!
January 9, 2013
Always good to hear about Catachans but still just a short pointless audio drama from BL.
January 9, 2015
Too short.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews