The Last Chancers (Warhammer 40,000: Last Chancers) | 
| Author: Gavin Thorpe
Publisher: Black Library
Category: Book
Buy New: £8.99
New (13) Used (9) from £3.41
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 185659
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 768
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 2
ISBN: 1844163008
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781844163007
ASIN: 1844163008
Publication Date: March 16, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews:
 you only get one last chance December 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
i really enjoyed the last chancers, the story of lt. kage's time with the 13th penal leigion. each book is very much differnt to each other, and for 40k addicts it includes considered and informed glimpses of worlds, aliens and regiments that you probably know and love. ok, so it lacks the fluidity of some top end black library stuff, but it has to be the most violent, dangerous, driven and testosterone fueled book ive read. kage himself has, as even the character admits, such two dimensional motives that you cant help but love his simple perspective in a crazy universe. the levels of violence he is capable of become comical in their extremety but he is still very likeable. i enjoyed the action packed plots, and the characters (although not many last very long!) but i was dissapointed by the ending of the third book, its as if it just runs out of steam. all in all, it kept me immeresed in the violent and masculine world of warhammer 40,000 that i know and love for 3 books and heartily reccomend it.
Not as bad as all that. November 4, 2007
As can so often happen when someone breaks the mould within their field, anything else can seem weak by comparison. This is so with Dan Abnett. His hugely successful and (mostly) fantastically written Gaunt's Ghosts series has gone from strength to strength and so any other writer for Games Workshop has a lot to live up to; and Gav Thorpe is one of the writers who tries.
The Last Chancers are not Gaunt's Ghosts. The regiment, along with Thorpe's writing style, is totally different to the Ghosts. A down-and-dirty penal legion that get whittled down pretty sharpish, they're expendable, scum of the Earth. We see all this through the eyes of the present-tense narrative of Lieutenant Kage, pretty much the only constant through this omnibus which takes in their first short story and all three novels.
Thorpe writes well, but is occasionally clumsy and blunt and isn't on Abnett's level, but it would be hard to be on that level for anyone. Taken by his own merits, particularly for younger readers Thorpe's style is enjoyable, but his storylines less so. Apart from its climactic ending, the first Last Chancers novel is decent but world-weary, and the third one just makes very little sense towards the end. The second novel Kill Team, however, is on the level with several of Abnett's books.
Bringing to mind the Larisel teams in Abnett's Guns Of Tanith, Kill Team features an infiltration/assassination mission by the Last Chancers and is a tense, enthralling, absorbing rollercoaster ride. Thorpe truly grows as a writer as the story winds on towards its arresting climax and everything starts to unravel, whilst the character of Colonel Schaffer - the best part of any of the stories - is at his very best here.
All in all, it's not on an Abnett level, no, but that does not mean Thorpe's Last Chancers should be completely disregarded. Well worth a look.
not as bad as Pure Symmetry suggests August 2, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not a great work of fiction but it's no where near as bad as Pure Symmetry suggests. Yes it is a bit OTT but this is part of the genre. This is what you get in the 40K universe.
If you want a really good 40K read try Space Wolves, the First Omnibus. That really is a cracker.
 ABSOLUTELY RUBBISH July 29, 2007
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Oh my god, what a terrible book! I had to read the whole thing before I gave this review - just to give the author the chance to make it good - but my God, I want my life back. The book is sooo badly written, the plot goes from worse to phenomenally worse, my mum could come up with something better! perhaps its because I read a whole load of Dan Abnett stuff before reading this book, or maybe its just pants!! Wanna read about the Imperial Guard? Then read Guants Ghosts or Ciaphas Cain.. but for the love of God, dont read this!
|
|
|
