The Last Chancers

This novel is set in the view of Kage, a lieutenant of the Last Chancers 13th Penal Legion. It's a truly unique opportunity to experience the life of an imperial gaurdsman, for the route that the novel takes eclipses even the Caphias Cain AND the Gaunts Ghosts series. The writing is just better, theres more life to the characters and more depth to the storyline. You actually feel like you ARE Kage, and your thoughts are his thoughts. This is my fav warhammer novel, and considering that i own 30+ of them, that's saying something! :D

These books are very interesting and fun to read. They may lack the complex literature devices of the 'great novels' but are very good reads. By getting the omnibus you get all three books and have the complete story at hand, rather than waiting for the next installment to come out. These stories take a different approach than most of the Black Library 40k books. Instead of including a broad war/battle with many faceless characters the stories are focused on a few people with many interesting features and facets. The book's insight into the main character and his interaction with the other characters is one of the best parts of the way the author tells the story. These books follow a group of fugitives who have been given a "Last Chance" to redeem themselves and gain freedom from thier current sentence (death). To earn thier freedom the characters are thrown into the worst fighting on the most dangerous battlefields across the galaxy and face hellish conditions on the worlds they fight. I would definatly reccomend this book for any fans of sci-fi or 40K, and would still reccomend it to anyone who enjoys a fun adventure story.

This massive novel begins with a short story called Deliverance. Lieutenant Kage is battling tyranids "nids". The Battle Sisters, Adepta Sororitas, are mentioned, but traitors are beneath them and not their concern. In this tale, Kage keeps the other "Last Chancers" from going AWOL. The second title is 13th Legion which is actually the first book in "The Last Chancers" trilogy. The single novel was released in January 2001. The Thirteenth Legion is made up by convict soldiers. They are led and controlled by Colonel Schaeffer. There are times I believed the colonel went out of his way to make the men despise him; especially Lieutenant Kage. In this episode, the men must battle a merciless eldar, orks, and other Chaos minions. If they lose, they die. If they win, they go on to the next suicide mission. Third title is called Liberty and is a short story. The fourth story will begin where this short tale leaves off. Kage is dropped into a prison to rot until the colonel needs him again. Kage is a mean and smart killer. It shows in his actions while incarcerated here. He can also be incredibly stupid. What ever happened to being aware of your surroundings at all times, even if you've just come back to consciousness? When he was dropped off, Kage should have noticed that there was nowhere to run to if he ever escaped the prison walls. Other Imperial soldiers would NEVER have made this fatal flaw. Fourth title is called Kill Team and is the second book in the trilogy. The single novel was released in November 2001. It begins with Kage in prison waiting for Schaeffer to come back for him. Once Kage is picked up, it is on to the next suicide mission. This time the mission targets a Tau general. In this huge book, it is worth reading. Be glad you did not purchase the title when it came out as a stand alone novel. This tale gets slow often and sometimes gets very boring. The last story is called Annihilation Squad and was the third book of the trilogy. The single novel was released in April 2004, almost three years after the others! You must read the previous novels or you will not only be lost, but also never come to really know the characters, such as Kage and Schaeffer. Numerous battles occur with the single objective of letting me, the reader, marvel at the outstanding fights and a few strategical elements. Yet nothing important really happens. (At the risk of sounding like a heretic, I really enjoyed the character of Urkug. He is a massive ork and bit like one of my online role playing orks.) This story wraps up the original trilogy, as well as this omnibus edition. The ending is weak and seems pointless, but not totally bad. **** All stories together get an average score from me of four stars. The first two tales (one short story and the first title in the trilogy) are the best. **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I purchased this book because I felt that many Warhammer and 40k novels are just too short, and this one was massive. I was pleased to find that the characters are pretty complex and individualized. The plot and characters are enough to captivate your attention making you wonder what happens next late at night. Another great quality is that when supporting characters die or get injured, you feel a sense of loss. The action scenes are vivid and descriptive. There is a gore factor which does add to it. The imaginative mind of Thorpe impresses me, he has matured since his first couple books.