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Imperial Guard
Honour Imperialis
Omnibus of three novels featuring the Imperial Guard - Dead Men Walking , Cadian Blood , and Redemption Corps .
The Imperial known with good reason as ‘the Hammer of the Emperor’, and possibly the single largest military force that the galaxy has ever seen. The tales of heroism and desperate futility surrounding the men and women of the Guard are many – this omnibus contains the exploits of the famous Cadian and ruthless Death Korp of Krieg regiments, as well as the fearsome storm troopers of the Redemption Corps.
The Imperial known with good reason as ‘the Hammer of the Emperor’, and possibly the single largest military force that the galaxy has ever seen. The tales of heroism and desperate futility surrounding the men and women of the Guard are many – this omnibus contains the exploits of the famous Cadian and ruthless Death Korp of Krieg regiments, as well as the fearsome storm troopers of the Redemption Corps.
768 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 29, 2015
What really sets this collection apart from the dozen-some-odd other novels I've read in the same universe is that these stories are NOT about "great men"- the history-makers, the infamous Inquisitors and the many legions of Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines). Instead, these stories are about a few of the millions of regular boot-on-the-ground soldiers fighting and dying in the Imperium's many wars every day. There are Astartes and Inquisitors on the edges of the narrative, and the regular men and women view them as inaccessible, inhuman mutants and lunatics. It's a refreshing perspective on the Warhammer 40k universe. And where almost all novels set in this universe are dark and grim and morose, dripping with gore and despair, these authors are able to use their more human characters to, well, humanize the stories a bit. For example, Cadian Blood is unrelentingly violent, but the vivid action is spattered with a startlingly dark humor that can't help but draw from me a chuckling groan - in a way somewhat reminiscent of a Joe Abercrombie novel.
Not the best starting point if you're unfamiliar with the setting, but recommended for any fans of the games or novels in general.
Not the best starting point if you're unfamiliar with the setting, but recommended for any fans of the games or novels in general.
December 29, 2022
*SPOILERS* This book is enjoyable for those who want to move away from the ‘Herohammer’ eulogisation of humanity. In contrast to other Guard novels, which often depict the protagonists as superhuman heroes (read Commissar Cain and Gaunt’s Ghosts), the stories comprising this text downplay the heroism of the guard. In fact, one of the protagonists is actively targeted by the Inquisition for their perceived threat to the Imperial Cult - a refreshing change from the hero worship within other IG novels.
The writing style is not necessarily as gripping as in other texts - especially in text 2 - but overall it’s a good read which makes a nice change from other Black Library writings.
The writing style is not necessarily as gripping as in other texts - especially in text 2 - but overall it’s a good read which makes a nice change from other Black Library writings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2025
Quick impressions: For me, I did appreciate the variety, even if most of the stories fell short. The good ones made the overall reading experience worth it. Yet in the end, as a package, the volume is just OK.
(A detailed review discussing the individual works in the omnibus available on my blog.)
(A detailed review discussing the individual works in the omnibus available on my blog.)
April 27, 2019
A nice collection of Imperial Guard short stories.
February 20, 2022
A fun read.
January 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this collection. All 3 books brought out the unique style of the different IG groups they are about. Dead Men Walking in particular was great.
June 29, 2024
great mix of stories about those brave souls that serve the Master of mankind. The tales of different groups in the Imperial Guard that hold the line against the xenos, the heretic, and the mutant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2014
A W0K omnibus about the good ol' Imperial Guard. I'm going to review all of the novels one by one.
Dead Men Walking - This is probably the worst Aaron Dembski-Bowden novel I've read yet, meaning it's just good and not great. Honestly, by the time I got to the end of the omnibus, I'd forgotten almost everything that happened in this novel; I do remember there were some great action scenes, and I was also kind of gobsmacked that the book contained literally zero female characters. (The Imperial Guard's omnisex - unlike the setting's popular stars, the Space Marines - so there's really no excuse.) That said, I don't want to be too tough on the book; it's exactly the kind of above-average but not spectacular book that fits perfectly in a omnibus like this.
Cadian Blood - This book's author also wrote one of my all time favorite W40K novels in Atlas Infernal, and he's written probably the best novel in this omnibus. My big issue with Cadian Blood is the same problem I had with Atlas Infernal : The author keeps jumping around the chronology of the story, cutting between our heroes being interrogated in prison and earlier scenes running around fighting Orks. This is annoyingly confusing, all the more so as some characters are introduced in the flash-forwards before we meet them in the earlier parts, which make up the bulk of the book. Still, this is pretty good - it's not quite as bonkers as Atlas Infernal, but this novel is the star of the omnibus.
Redemption Corps - Remember when I said that Cadian Blood was bonkers? This book has Imperial Guard guys charging Necrons on horses. I couldn't imagine this without laughing.
That's pretty much the high point. This is a good-not-great book, unfortunately weighed down by making the focal point of the beginning of the book a frankly boring romance between two goofs I was hard-pressed to care about. After this problem is disposed of, the novel falls into the W40k trap of having too many POV characters, although in fairness it's not nearly as bad as some other books. I'd recommend just skipping all the parts with the two lovers, at least until the second half of the book - once the Necrons warp in the book gets a lot more interesting.
After the main attraction there's four short stories - one really good ADB one, one not so great Steve Lyons one, and two pretty good ones by (cough cough) and (mumble mumble). All in all, this is one of the stronger W40K omnibusses out there; there's not a single miss here, and while none of the novels themselves are superstars, all three of them for $9 is a great deal.
Dead Men Walking - This is probably the worst Aaron Dembski-Bowden novel I've read yet, meaning it's just good and not great. Honestly, by the time I got to the end of the omnibus, I'd forgotten almost everything that happened in this novel; I do remember there were some great action scenes, and I was also kind of gobsmacked that the book contained literally zero female characters. (The Imperial Guard's omnisex - unlike the setting's popular stars, the Space Marines - so there's really no excuse.) That said, I don't want to be too tough on the book; it's exactly the kind of above-average but not spectacular book that fits perfectly in a omnibus like this.
Cadian Blood - This book's author also wrote one of my all time favorite W40K novels in Atlas Infernal, and he's written probably the best novel in this omnibus. My big issue with Cadian Blood is the same problem I had with Atlas Infernal : The author keeps jumping around the chronology of the story, cutting between our heroes being interrogated in prison and earlier scenes running around fighting Orks. This is annoyingly confusing, all the more so as some characters are introduced in the flash-forwards before we meet them in the earlier parts, which make up the bulk of the book. Still, this is pretty good - it's not quite as bonkers as Atlas Infernal, but this novel is the star of the omnibus.
Redemption Corps - Remember when I said that Cadian Blood was bonkers? This book has Imperial Guard guys charging Necrons on horses. I couldn't imagine this without laughing.
That's pretty much the high point. This is a good-not-great book, unfortunately weighed down by making the focal point of the beginning of the book a frankly boring romance between two goofs I was hard-pressed to care about. After this problem is disposed of, the novel falls into the W40k trap of having too many POV characters, although in fairness it's not nearly as bad as some other books. I'd recommend just skipping all the parts with the two lovers, at least until the second half of the book - once the Necrons warp in the book gets a lot more interesting.
After the main attraction there's four short stories - one really good ADB one, one not so great Steve Lyons one, and two pretty good ones by (cough cough) and (mumble mumble). All in all, this is one of the stronger W40K omnibusses out there; there's not a single miss here, and while none of the novels themselves are superstars, all three of them for $9 is a great deal.
January 4, 2015
When I picked the book up I hadn't realised that it was a compendium of other book. All the book within were very good.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews