Hammer of the Emperor

Imperial Guard

by Steve Parker

This omnibus collects three tales of savage warfare and heroism on the frontline.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Fiction, Anthologies, Fantasy, Military Science Fiction

768 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Steve Parker is a British science writer of children's and adult's books. He has written more than 300 titles and contributed to or edited another 150.

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in 1952, Parker attended Strodes College, Egham and gained a BSc First Class Honours in Zoology at the University of Wales, Bangor. He worked as an exhibition scientist at the Natural History Museum, and as editor and managing editor at Dorling Kindersley Publishers, and commissioning editor at medical periodical GP, before becoming a freelance writer in the late 1980s. He is a Senior Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Parker is based in Suffolk with his family.

Parker's writing career began with 10 early titles in Dorling Kindersley's multi-award-winning Eyewitness series, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. He has since worked for more than a dozen children's book publishers and been shortlisted for, among others, the Rhone-Poulenc Science Book Prize, Times Educational Information Book of the Year, and Blue Peter Book Award.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of military sci fi about a tank corps. that goes across the galaxy fighting aliens despite the best efforts of their superior officers.

Pretty good, if you like this sort of thing.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have rated this five stars, but the stories by Steve Lyons weren't very good, which is a bit disappointing as I like most of his work. Gunheads is the shining story here, offering a remarkably wonderful grinding campaign story that brings tanks to 41st millennium fiction like never before. By the end of this story I almost wiped my brow from the exhaustion and desperation Parker conveys.
Lucian Soulban's Desert Raiders is also a standout story not only providing cultural insight on the classic Tallarn guard regiments, but distinctly brutal in the death department. While not entirely an original plot (tyranids invade!) Everything else that goes into this story deserves kudos, as this was the first real story I've read that shows how grisly dying to tyranid weaponry is.
If not for the Ice Warriors story, which felt like I was reading a 40k story from the 1990's era, I would have finished the book sooner. A shame as I would have liked to read a good Valhallan guard story.
I think the best thing about the two better stories is how wonderfully the depict the massive scale of war with the Imperial Guard. The machinery, the countless soldiers, the damage and attrition that said numbers can take and dish out, and how such acts of bravery, glory or heroics are but an overlooked footnote in an age of endless universal war. Somehow despite the scope of that fact, the stories manage to keep you invested in the multitude of characters that they throw at you and the enemy.

[Andy Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a long book with a number of stories featuring the Imperial Guard from the Warhammer 40,000 universe. At least some of the characters appear in other books. The stories mostly pretty good if you like this sort of thing. They are:

1) 'Mercy Run' by Steve Parker. The Cadian 81st Armoured escort some Adeptus Sororitas to an important rendezvous in the last day before a planet in destroyed. 40 pages.
2) 'Gunheads' by Steve Parker. A mechanised Imperial Guard force search for Yarrick's baneblade tank on a world occupied by orks. 308 pages.
3) 'Ice Guard' by Steve Lyons. Valhallans fight Chaos on a hive world. 168 pages.
4) 'A Blind Eye' by Steve Lyons. Valhallans investigate a secret Adeptus Mechanicus based on the ocean floor. 22 pages.
5) 'Desert Raiders' by Lucien Soulban. Tallarns argue among themselves on a hostile desert planet and eventually fight some Xenos. 188 pages.
6) 'Waiting Death' by Steve Lyons. Catachans encounter a strangle human settlement on a jungle world. 23 pages.

'Gunheads' is probably the best story, and is a book in itself. I thought 'Desert Raiders' was a bit slow going but does get better towards the end.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any anthology there are good and bad stories. I read all except for Desert Raiders, as I got to the third chapter and nothing had happened

[Alexander W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed affair, some of it dull and overstretched other parts choked full of action and grit.

[Ulzeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fun.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love military fiction. Military science fiction can be really great, but throw it into the War Hammer 40k world and its just "fracking cool". The stories are pretty one dimensional characters, though theres room for a few surprises - and those surprises make a lot of difference. The plots are the real gems here. The universe is complex, with magic, science, psychic powers all running in the mix there's almost nothing that cannot be done. A few of the stories are literally like amusement park rides - there are moments where i could not put the book down and 'get off the ride' if i wanted to. If you are into this sort of genre it top-notch. If you like complex plots and space opera, you may also like this.

[Craig Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is three books in one. Gunheads, Ice Guard and Desert Raiders.
Set in the Wrhammer 40k universe they deal with Imperial Guard armies. They were all different books, highlighting the differnces in each of the different regiments and fighting styles of these armies. I am still more of a space marine fan, but these books were really entertaining and they really illucidate the drama of the different armies. I recommend this book who enjoy Imperial Guard and would like to read more about them.

[Tim Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun 40K fluff focused on the legions of the Imperial Guard.

This ominbus collects Gunheads, Ice Guard, Desert Raiders, and three shorter stories by some of the same authors.

[Tanya Kuz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This omnibus is a great introduction to the variety of regiments found within the Astra Militarum of 40k lore. It has a wonderful cross section of stories highlighting how the Imperial Guard work on many levels: from a small kill team to a larger scale, combined arms siege force. Some of the stories focus more on military tactics and some focus on the interpersonal difficulties of forces as they merge together. All in all this is a wonderful collection with great heroes, heart wrenching tragedies, and tales that demonstrate the resiliency of man in the face of overwhelmingly bad odds.

[Alaidra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Collection of the Imperial Guards series by Black Library. Its contains the 3 of the main stories that was published on their own, namely Desert Raider, Ice Warrior, and Gunheads, with short stories for both the Gunheads and Ice Warrior storyline. Was generally unamused in regards to the books story flow though the plots do offer its own twist here and there, but all of which could be guessed easily at the start of the book for readers familiar to the 40k universe.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid series of military sci-fi novels, "Gunheads" in particular, which provides further depth to the background of a large scale event in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, linking old 'fluff' (gaming background) to a current gaming event with a very enjoyable story, with real-feeling characters, is worth the collection on its own.

[Brody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories. The ones by Parker are great, all others are garbage. The Parker stories excel for their demonstration of the thoughtless waste the Imperial Guard subject themselves to all for ... whatever it is they think they are fighting for.

[Larry Kenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, another solid omnibus from BL. Gunheads is the best book in there, although I enjoyed reading them all. It was nice to see things through the eyes of a tank commander.