Flesh and Iron

I prefer WH40k books about Inquisition and Imperial Guard. Because, they are common people. No super-strong, no super-armour, but those stories abot Brave and Honour. Emperor's Mercy i read in one day. Action, detective, great heroic and interesting characters. I wait Flesh and Iron and think - that book I read in one day too. It's wonderful, that authors WH40k began prefer HUMAN. To be Hero in that Universe almost impossible, but books about Guard say: Anyone can be Hero. Only remember about Honour and Duty.

In the Warhammer 40k pantheon, I find Space Marines tremendously dull. Hyper humans in lobster shells with enough firepower to raze a large city block on a whim isn't anything (or anyone) that I can relate to. But flesh and blood ground pounding grunts- that I get. Henry Zou focus' on the Imperial Guard. This regiment are a light naval unit used for what ends up being an insertion and assault on an asset far from the reach of air or standard naval forces. The leader, Colonel Baeder, is new to the troops. He is far from welcome and though his intentions are well placed, he has yet to earn their respect. Then the assignment comes in. Typical of the rot of the Imperial rule, Baeder and his riverine troops become pawns in a larger game where blind fealty to the Emperor and the absolute contempt of Chaos becomes blurred. All in all, I think Mr. Zou is getting there. The ideas are solid, the moral dilemma's presented are worthy story telling and as in any mission of this nature, death is a coin spent as a drunken sailor on shore leave. The shortcomings, in my opinion, are relatively easy to address. One is a personal observation. I expected the riverine troops to be more of a stealth, insertion and sabotage (sapping) variety. Instead they seemed to be more comfortable in light maritime assault instead of stealth. But the larger problem I had with this book was I simply didn't think the characters were fleshed out enough. And in that, it's a bit of a shame. These troops are pariah's among pariah's. They can't conform to military code, they know their lives are measured in months and each time they survive another fight is another day to drink, cavort and start fights. These troops are fertile ground for developing, for humanizing, but as I finished reading Flesh and Iron, most of the troops seemed to be vehicles for delivering lines instead of the story being developed around them. Overall, Flesh and Iron is a worthy read. I liked the moral ambiguity and the fact that it ended up about as realistically as one can expect in the Warhammer 40k universe.

I very much enjoyed Mr. Zou's viewpoint on the 40k universe. He brings in a more "realistic" environment which by itself can be boring; however his style of writing kept me glued to this thing in the two day period in which I read it. Although I might be mathematically incorrect it felt as though 90% of it was action. By action I do not mean a mere combat sequence but a very engaging "feels like your there" (as an observer) type of experience. I liked his other book to for the same reasons being that it was extremely fast paced and brings a slightly different take on the 40k universe.

Okay so this might be a bit long winded but bear with me please. First off I have to warn you that I will be a bit biased because Mr. Zou wrote a book loaded with things near and dear to me. As a former veteran, U.S. Marines/Sgt., and having served in a boat company as a scout-swimmer and being born and bred "L'Acadiane" in Pointe Coupee Parish in the fine Southern State of Louisana you will soon see what I'm rambling on about. I don't play the table-top game but I do read all the books. Like many, I started with Dan Abnett's Ghosts and read them all while deployed. They were awesome and still are. Most agree that Abnett's characters are original and his "fluff" is the finest. So did I until I read "Flesh and Iron"! Zou to the best of my knowledge has introduced the first 40k brown-water navy and water-borne forces in novel form. F & I follows the 31st Riverine from the bayou infested world of Ouisivia. These guardsmen have cut their teeth fighting swamp orks and and all other manner of mud bugs and critters back home. So I'll break it down here for you: MAIN PLAYERS: the 31st RIVRON (think hardened 40k swamp-rat Cajuns) vs. Solo-Baston insurgents (think Chaos meets Philippine Moros complete with an Eskrima fighting style) MINOR PLAYERS: other IG units (Nautical Infantry) and Chaos (no spoilers) SETTING: Solo-Baston (think the Philippine-American War meets Vietnam) ACTION/DRAMA: A full out heart rending gutter-fight of guerrilla warfare!! Zou writes an awesome story that takes you onto the gunnel of a swift boat or rubberized assault lander as you follow the swamp-rats of the 88th of the 31st as they fight tooth and nail on land and water. The story flows smooth as silk and you really start to develop feelings for certain characters. Zou did a good job of character development for some and fell short on others. I really hope Zou continues with the 31st and goes deeper into their culture and future combat deployments. Their fluff is a little bland in some areas and flare'n hot in others: (Ork skull facial tattoo and my personal favorite snake skin boots)! CONCLUSION: F & I introduces you to a new and awesome Guard unit, just as rough and rowdy as the Ghosts, but completely original. You really get sucked into the story and a feeling of being in the field and on deck with the 31st. I've found my favorite Guard unit now and just maybe a new favorite 40k author! Lache pas la patate mon ami Zou!!!