One of the best

Just wow.. This book is one of the best ive heard this year. Dark and grim in just the right places. Fun and lighthearted where it needs to be. 10/10

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2 people found this helpful

Decent

It was a good story. Although I think there could of been more to the story and less focus on things that were happening behind the battle lines. The voices do get annoying after a while with little variety.

The description and setting of the scenes are great, and it really does give insight into the orks and guard on how they wage war.

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loved it

this was a great 40k story the narrator reminded me of a young Toby longworth! really made each character to life !!
really enjoyed it !!!

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How did this book make me feel so hard?

This year I’ve read many, many Warhammer books but this one hit harder than I expected? Was better than Id hoped and I enjoyed deeply.

If you like trenches, orks and hearing about a noobs first 15hrs on the front line definitely check this out!

Solid guard story for sure.

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40k's All quiet on the western front

Well performed and interesting insight into the life of a guardsman unfortunate enough to be in a regiment without the likes of commissar Cain or Ibram Gaunt to look after the common man

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A pretty solid "It's X, but in the 40k universe"

Many of the Warhammer books ape popular fiction books: Gaunt's Ghosts is the Sharpe novels, but in the 40k universe. Ciaphus Cain is just Harry Flashman/Blackadder. And then there's Fifteen Hours, where I think Mitchell Scanlon chose to do the "War is hell" greatest hits. There's the horrible drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket, the "I'm not supposed to be here" "Well tough you're here" from Catch 22, the interludes from other parts of life from The Things that they Carried, and the sweeping overtones of All Quiet on the Western Front that are scattered throughout the book. Scanlon actually does a pretty good job of this: the generals are incompetent, the admin staff don't understand their roles, the officers are bufoons and it's the poor bloody infantry who suffer. While the writing doesn't match the comedic heights of Catch 22 or the sheer horror and futility of war of AQotWF, but Scanlon does a pretty excellent job of capturing the feel of these books and translating that feel into 40k, even if some of the cynicism of those books is missed. The story is really a series of character moments strung together, but for that they're excellent and capture real people very well, and Tom Allenby does a spectacular job with the performance (although be warned: scouse accents lie ahead), really bringing the characters to life. So good is Allenby's performance, that I was never once confused which character was speaking: a rarity in the 40k universe where there tend to be 400 characters per chapter, and he manages to bring great emotional range to the characters.
It has it's downsides: the plot is thin, but as previously stated this is less of an issue due to the detail of Scanlon's writing, and there's a failure to provide female characters with agency (something that 40k has been getting better at), but i'd reccomend it especially to newcomers who haven't experienced the universe much as it will start you off with references you're familiar with (particularly if you've studied european history and/or read around the first and second world wars). Overall an enjoyable listen that does an excellent job of underlining just how awful it is to be a guardsman in the 40k universe,

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Throughly enjoyed this story.

The first 40k story I’ve listened too and certainly won’t be my last. Great story, strong performance .

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it's down to earth style

real pov of what a life of a guardsmen on the front, no magic or luck

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welcome break

good voice acting. and was a welcome break from the some what heavy HH books

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2 people found this helpful

10/10 guardsmen book

I cannot describe how well this book is written. I've listened to many, many books and this one is up in the top 3. Very well done.

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1 person found this helpful