Book Review: Dead Men Walking

Author: Steve Lyons.
40k Focus: Death Korps of Krieg.
Plot: A Imperial mining planet soon realises that their operations have awoken something far worse then anything they have faced before: a Necron tomb.
Legibility/Flow: 8/10.
Depth of story: 6/10.
Reader Engagement: 7/10.
Overall: 7/10

Comments:

Dead Men Walking is the first Death Korps of Krieg novel that I have read. While it is not as engaging as other Imperial Guards novels it most definitely is a great read for those interested in the DKK. Overall I enjoyed it thoroughly but I can definitely see it being slow for Necron lovers. Lyons does an excellent job in portraying three different factions within the story: the Necrons, the DKK and the PDF. The Necrons are of course portrayed as cold, mindless and efficient killers. The trick that Lyons plays perfectly on the reader is the fact that the DKK are portrayed in exactly the same manner. It is only the PDF soldiers who seem to be affected by battle in any sense of an emotional response. The DKK officers even go as far as beginning to indoctrinate PDF soldiers into the Krieg mindset of battle. That in itself is cool at least. I particularly liked the portrayal of how Commisars of non-Krieg birth fit in within the ranks of the DKK. I will let you discover that for yourself but it is interesting to see our favourite black coated officers being put in their place by the greycoats.

I was at times disappointed throughout the book at the occasional lack of detail. I don't know if Lyons was intentionally making the environment of the city a confusing, complex and boggling series of "skyways, "streets" and "floors" but even by the end of the book I had a hard time picturing just what the city would have looked like. Furthermore, in a number of the larger engagements it was difficult to differentiate between the Necron "tanks." Again I am not sure if this was intentionally done in an attempt to show the lack of knowledge the Imperium has on Necrons but it certainly bothered me.

It is definitely worth a read for those interested in how the Imperium operates. Even more so for those interested in the DKK. Overall a good read.

Cheers.