Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 30 November 2010)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 10 hours and 42 minutes

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Two relentless foes face off in the intense Warhammer 40,000 novel, Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons.

Dead Men Walking was an epic novel released back in 2010, that featured a brutal and compelling story I really fell in love with.  This novel follows the trend of books that highlight the adventures of specific regiments or units of Imperial Guard, such as Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley, Kasrkin by Edoardo Albert, Steel Tread by Andy Clark, and the Gaunt’s Ghosts books by Dan Abnett, which has been very fun.  Dead Men Walking was the author’s first look at the legendary Death Korps of Krieg, one of the most distinctive and dark regiments of Imperial Guard soldiers, who he covered again back in 2022 with Krieg.  This new novel sets the Death Korps onto a whole new battlefield with deadly results.

Hieronymous Theta is a small and relatively young world in the Imperium of Man.  Populated by nearly nine billion people, it is slowly becoming an important industrial hub, as its cities and massive spires build up.  But as the inhabitants of the capital, Hieronymous City, expand their mining operations deeper they encounter something unexpected and terrifying, the Necrons.  Unfeeling and inhuman ancient xenos encased in living metal, the Necrons are an unrelenting force determined to exterminate the human pests they find inhabiting their world by any means necessary.

As the citizens of Hieronymous City begin to panic, unable to stand against the encroaching Necrons and their deadly technology, their apparent salvation lands on the planet in the most unlikely of forms, the Death Korps of Krieg.  One of the most feared and mysterious regiments of the Astra Millitarum, the Death Korps of Krieg come from a world destroyed by civil war which seeks to redeem itself by producing soldiers solely dedicated to the Emperor and his victory.

As the Death Korps land on Hieronymous, they take the war to the Necrons and begin a determined siege to retake Hieronymous City from the outside.  But as the Krieg regiments push forward, the people of the planet soon begin to realise that the Death Korps might not be the salvation they hoped for.  The soldiers of Krieg’s only goal is to defeat the Emperor’s foes, and they are willing to sacrifice anything to achieve victory, including the citizens of Hieronymous.  With battle joined, the fate of Hieronymous hangs in the balance.  But does anyone truly win when two implacable and unrelenting armies go to war?

This was an extremely interesting, intense and dark novel from Steve Lyons, who follows up his previous Krieg novel in a big way with this outstanding read.  Featuring a moving, action-packed and highly cynical story, Dead Men Walking was probably one of the better Warhammer 40,000 books from last year, and I had an exceptional time getting through it.

I really liked the fantastic story that Lyons came up with for Dead Men Walking, especially as it successfully showcased both opposing armies, the Death Korps and the Necrons, without actually featuring any perspective characters from either side.  Instead, the focus is reserved for the other humans caught in the middle of the conflict, including the Imperial Commissar attached to the Death Korps, the governor of the planet, and several citizens who find themselves caught in the crossfire of the war and are forced to adapt to survive.  I love how Lyons set the early narrative out, with the perspective characters slowly becoming aware of the dangers beneath them.  The slow build introduction of the Necrons, a force the humans don’t know but the reader is very aware of, was handled perfectly, and there is a lot of great anticipation that pays of well when they finally attack.  The scenes of carnage and utter terror that emerge for the characters stuck in the city really hit home with their realism and intensity.  Indeed, there is a bit of a horror vibe to the story at this point, and Hieronymous City turns into an excellent wasteland setting for the characters to subsequently attempt to navigate.

Once the city is in ruins, the book turns towards the landing Death Korps, who begin prosecuting a deadly war against the Necrons.  This moves the story into a fascinating new zone, as you get some fantastic battles while also witnessing several characters soon caught up in the city as everything changes around them.  I loved the various unique, personal stories that emerged, and the focus on characters watching both the Krieg and Necron forces battle it out proves very powerful.  As the story continues, each of the main characters suffer in various ways, especially as they begin to realise that the unrelenting, victory-focused Krieg are just as dangerous as the Necrons, and there are some deeply powerful moments as they lose their humanity in the carnage of war.  All of these mostly independent character narratives go in some dark directions, especially as the background war gets even darker, and not everyone survives the various conflicts to come.  These storylines either end or coalesce together as the book comes to a head, and you really appreciate the impressive narrative that Lyons weaves together.  I loved how grim and cynical the story got at the end, and Lyons provides a particularly memorable conclusion that really highlights just how unfair the Warhammer 40,000 universe can be.

Lyons really came up with a brilliant story for Dead Men Walking, as he balanced the need to highlight two interesting Warhammer 40,000 factions, while also telling his own unique narrative.  Telling the story of the Krieg and Necrons from the perspective of the third-party characters caught in the middle of their war was such as clever move, especially as it provided some fascinating contrast between the two factions.  The author provided such a dark vibe for Dead Men Walking, and the terrified civilians, the crumbling city and the relentless troops waging war without a care for those around them were all handled brilliantly.  I think the narrative split between the various characters caught up in the fray was done well, and you get to see all sides of the conflict, and the darkest actions of both opposing foes.  I also loved how well Lyons showcased the main city setting throughout the book, as the collapse of the once proud city mirrors the loss of humanity for the various protagonists.  Dead Men Walking can easily be read as a standalone novel, and new readers can just fall into its dark and unique story.  Indeed, this might be a pretty good entry point, as the views of the confused and horrified civilians provide some good opening observations about two key factions.  Naturally, established fans of the franchise will get a lot more out of Dead Men Walking, especially as Lyons really showcases both iconic groups in some fantastic ways.

I absolutely loved the portrayal of the Krieg soldiers in Dead Men Walking, and they really are some of the most entertaining figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon.  Unlike his other novel, Krieg, where Lyons spent a great deal of time focusing on the origins of the Krieg soldiers with flashback sequences, Dead Men Walking showcases them purely through the eyes of other human inhabitants of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  To the common soldier or citizen of the Imperium of Man, the Death Korp are unnaturally dedicated, unwavering and heartless, focussing on the battle to the exclusion of all others.  Thanks to their harsh training, indoctrination, and history, they have a very black-and-white view of the universe and will stop at nothing to win, even if that means sacrificing their comrades or allies for a strategy.  Lyons really highlights their near-inhuman mentalities throughout the course of Dead Men Walking, and thanks to the perspectives of the non-Krieg soldiers, you see them in a much more sinister light.  There is something very concerning about the simple mathematic they put behind their strategies, and I loved how well Lyons captured how similar they are to the Necrons.  Thanks in great deal to the actions of the Krieg soldiers, this ended up being a particularly bleak book, which really hammered home how there are no good guys in this universe.

In addition to the Krieg soldiers, Dead Men Walking also featured the Necrons as the antagonists, who served as worthy opponents to the Krieg.  As with the Krieg soldiers, you don’t get a Necron perspective in Dead Men Walking, which honestly enhanced the unique story Lyons was going for.  Unlike books like other more recent Necron focussed novels like Ruin, Reign or The Infinite and the Divine, you only see these characters through the eyes of normal humans, who have no idea who or what they are.  This makes for some particularly terrifying scenes as the humans encounter overwhelming attacks from unkillable metal monsters, and Lyons really captures how the unknown is just as bad as the devastation around them.  Even when the Krieg soldiers arrive, there is very little knowledge about the Necrons, due to the secrecy of their origins, and the only intelligence about them comes from rumours of prior encounters (which includes a cheeky reference to the Ciaphas Cain novel, Caves of Ice).  I really appreciated this shrouded look at the Necrons, and it proved to be interesting to see the how a normal person would view them.

I really liked the characters in Dead Men Walking, especially as Lyons focuses the story on several normal humans who suddenly get thrust into hell and find everything they thought they knew completely upturned.  Much of this upheaval is due to the interactions with the Krieg soldiers, whose unreasonable actions cause even the most stoic soldier or commander to falter in different ways.  Watching each of these characters slowly change for the worse makes for some gripping reading, and you end up feeling great sympathy for all the point of view characters.

These great characters include Gunthar Soreson, a mine supervisor who loses everything in a single night and tries to find redemption as a soldier fighting for the Krieg.  It was absolutely fascinating to see Gunthar, who starts the book as a relatively normal and nice character, slowly lose his humanity in a similar manner to the Krieg soldiers, and his story hits particularly hard at times.  I also must highlight the character of Commissar Costellin, one of the commissars attached to the Krieg regiments, and one of the few non-Krieg soldiers featured in the book.  Commissars are fantastic figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, mainly because they serve as implacable disciplinarians charged with maintaining order and morale through lethal means and ensuring that the soldiers due their duty.  However, due to the unnatural discipline of the Death Korp soldiers, Costellin finds himself acting more in the role of a liaison between the Krieg and the citizens of Hieronymous.  Lyons writes some intriguing storylines around Costellin, and it was fascinating to see a commissar character who fears the resolve of his own troops, as the Death Korp leaders go too far even for him.  Finally, I really enjoyed the inclusion of the governor of Hieronymous, Hanrik, who finds both his planet under attack and his authority taken away from him when the Death Korp takes over.  I felt the storyline around Hanrik was very clever, and you had to feel for him at times, especially when he finds his loyalties tested.  All these character arcs and more are really well written and hit hard emotionally, especially with their resulting dark ends.

It should come as no surprise whatsoever that I grabbed Dead Men Walking on audiobook, as frankly no other format does Warhammer 40,000 fiction justice.  The resulting audiobook was extremely awesome, as the intensity, action, and darker elements of Dead Men Walking’s story came through in this format.  Coming in with a run time just short of 11 hours, Dead Men Walking was an easy Warhammer 40,000 audiobook to power through quickly, especially once you get stuck into its awesome narrative.  It helped that they brought back talented narrator Timothy Watson for this audiobook adaptation.  Watson, who did a great job narrating Krieg and The Lion: Son of the Forest, was in rare form again in Dead Men Walking, especially as he has the perfect voice for this darker and exciting story.  His voice work really captures the chaos and desperation of the story, and I loved the unique tones he comes up with for the various characters.  The featured Krieg soldiers all have the typical German-esque accent, which matches the regiment’s World War I aesthetic, and I liked how Watson worked to enhance these figures relentless and unwavering nature through his voice work.  The other characters of the plot, who are allowed to have emotions, are also portrayed extremely well, and Watson provides them with excellent and fitting voices that captures their feelings on the situation, especially as their encounters with both the Krieg and the Necron, wear them down.  This audiobook version of Dead Men Walking was so damn good, and it is easily the best way to enjoy this epic novel.

Steve Lyons continues to showcase why the Death Korp of Krieg are some of the most memorable figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon with the brilliant and dark read Dead Men Walking.  Presenting a grim scenario of war and sacrifice that only gets worse when the ‘good guys’ arrive, Dead Men Walking was a particularly harrowing piece of Warhammer fiction, that I still cannot stop thinking about.  Clever, intense and a little traumatising, Dead Men Walking comes highly recommended, and I cannot wait to see what great tale Lyons comes up with next.

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