Last Chancers

Last Chancers #1-3

by Gav Thorpe

Omnibus of all three of the popular Last Chancers novels. Hardened criminal Kage and his team are given one last chance to redeem themselves - they must go on a series of desperate missions behind enemy lines, each more dangerous than the last. Last man standing goes free.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Military Fiction, War

768 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2006

About the author

Gav spent 14 years as a developer for Games Workshop, and started writing novels and short stories in the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 when the Black Library imprint was launched in 1997.

He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.

Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.

Reviews

[T.j. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kage was a marine, untell a blackout sends him to the last chancers. now he must fight literally to the death, so he can redeam himself in the fires of battle

[Terrible Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Is Kylo Ren actually based on Kage? No, but maybe!”

I’m going to be honest from the start, as per – this series is a rather a unique story in my opinion. The Last Chancers is basically a cookbook upon how to make mass murder and get away with it – of course, while a galactic war is afoot. The stories in this omnibus are all a bit f**ked up and deranged to read, it’s kind of left me detesting but also loving Kage - think Trooper Cuu from Gaunts Ghost's but with authority.

Anyhoo, The Last Chancers is a series of three novels set against the harsh gothic wars of Wahammer 40,000. We’re introduced to the 13th Penal Legion or otherwise known as The Last Chancers. Led by Colonel Schaffer (what an utter bastard this guy is) the members of the penal legion are made up of convicts and scum of the universe… non-tea drinkers *shock/horror). Lieutenant Kage is the main protagonist, an Imperial Guard reject, murderer. The relationship between himself and the colonel is a particular highlight when reading these stories… they utterly hate one another and I rather enjoyed the choice dark humour between the two of them.

So, the series is set over three novels; Legion introduces Kage, the Colonel and the rest of the outfit to us. Jumping between warzones, were given a taste of the type of suicidal missions the Chancers are sent on. It boils down to a story of survival, one that Kage is determined to live through – even if it means sacrificing team mates. Tyranids and humans… it’s game over man. Book two Kill Team focuses much more on Kage than the penal legion. There really isn’t much of the Chancers left. His job is to train a squad, preparing for a mission to take on Chaos. This novel delves more deeply into the relationship between Kage and Schaffer. The way Kage is slowing slipping into madness is a fun trip down the spiral. Annihilation basically is the second novel, just with a living target this time, not a piece of machinery. For me this was by far the weakest novel for me.

I’ve issue with this novel firstly, if you’re going to write a character like Kage you need to not have him strangle old ladies and kick babies’ heads in… just because he was ordered to. I get that if he refused, he would be shot and this was just another one of the Colonel plays to kill Kage, but sheez, no wonder Kage is going nuts. I’m fairly thick skinned but the strangling of the old woman was poorly written and clumsy at best – possibly a tad to graphic for Warhammer 40K. I feel it came off worse as Kage blamed everything upon the Colonel and having to obey orders. Maybe I’m use to characters within Warhammer to own what they do. Man up, take responsibility for your actions! As the reader, I really wanted to be rooting for Kage as he is in the shittest of shit situations – unfortunately towards the end of the second novel I really couldn’t care less about Kage. I was more interested in the Colonel’s backstory, which I hasten to add came out into on of these weird confessional rants that dot these stories. It was completely out of character with Schaffer’s persona – for example during a major trek through worst-than-Antarctica weather, he decides to unload his thoughts. The same happens in the third novel twice. It’s all over the place.

So, the stories, for me, are poorly written with very weak character development, (yes, this is partially to do with the quick turnover of personal) which is surprising as there’s only two or three characters who are continual throughout the three novels. I’m a big fan of Gav Thorpe’s work with lore from his early Games Workshop stint, but as a writer he seems to struggle with writing interesting characters and even the basics at times. Deliverance a Horus Heresy novel, is a fine example of this, great idea, just really poorly written and for some, lore breaking. The Last Chancers series struggles to really make me feel anything for the characters, other than contempt.

[Derek Weese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, damn is this dark...
That was my initial impression after reading the first novel in this omnibus, it changed my impression of Mr. Thorpe.
Initially I had assumed he was like your kindly Uncle, he looks like he could be at least. Then, after reading the first book in this omni, I figure he just might curb stomp you...but politely, because he's British.
Ok, seriously.
The Last Chancers novels are fairly good. This is early in Gav's career and I could tell a definite improvement from book one to two. (Two-Kill Team-was my favorite of the trilogy). Gav Thorpe is, oddly, a 40K writer who tends to polarize folks, I like him and his stories just fine. I bought this omni as part of the new exclusive to Black Library re-print line, and am glad I did.
The overall story is of Kage, a dark, twisted, yet oddly heroic Guardsmen who receives a Last Chance from Colonel Schaeffer as part of a penal legion of criminal Guardsmen/women. (I should note, I like how Gav actually includes ladies in his story, and they seem realistically like actual women rather than objects for the men's sexual attentions.)Schaeffer, who works for the Inquisition, sends Kage and the others on suicide missions, but ones of terrible import.
Lots of action, lots of twists, though there is a bit of lacking of actual character growth till book three, though if you read these you'll see how this makes sense. And did I mention that these are dark?
Worth the time.

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great omnibus. I think that Gav Thorpe did a great job of going grim dark with the setting of Warhammer 40,000. The intrigues of the Inquisition, the brutality of warfare, the dangers of the enemies of the Warp and the Xenos, and the struggle for survival which is harsh, ever-present and only offers death as a way out. I will admit that there were moments in the book where the wanton death inflicted by the protagonist, Lieutenant Kage, on the Imperial forces seemed at times to be excessive and done only to show that he's a bad dude who can take of business (which I suspect was the author's intention) but I started thinking how it seem unfortunate and unfair that a criminal, homicidal maniac that is barely contained is allowed to live while those loyal to the Imperium are allowed to be killed by him. But I guess that's the point. In Warhammer 40,000 humanity is expendable. Kage is good at what he does (killing) so he's allowed to live to be used as a tool and no other reason.

[Ted Henkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Last Chancers," a Warhammer 40K series of omnibus novels by Gav Thorpe, is in short, The Dirty Dozen--IN SPACE!

It's a story about the 13th Penal Legion, or what's left of the unit, told from Lieutenant Kage's point of view. Who after the first story, turns out to be the team's Ax-Crazy "Maggot"--with latent psychic abilities. Oh, and who eventually becomes possessed by a daemon.

Since this is about the most notorious of the Imperium's penal legions, the "...grim darkness of the far future..." is cranked up to 11. Also, in each of the three books, the team ends up drearily slogging through the most inhospitable terrain the dystopian galaxy has to offer.

The narrative ends abruptly, when Kage sacrifices himself on their last mission. So we don't know what happens immediately afterwards.

"The Last Chancers" has an average 4.1 out of 5-star rating on Amazon.com.

But I'm only going to give it a subjective 3-star rating, because there isn't a single character in any of the stories I could identify with. If there was anyone I came close to liking, they either showed their truly depraved colors later in the story, or died a horrible death. More often than not--both.

[Hyann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn't for everybody, especially if don't like stories killing 95% of the character :) So the plot resume mostly how the side characters will die!

Kage, the antagonist is a psychopath, who won't hesitate to kill a friend if he can survived.

Normally I'm not a fan, but Thorpe narrative are perfect for the genre and even if I know the characters will die, I wanted for more. You can't really guess want will happening (accept people dying) a big quality for a book.

Not a fan of the mad ending, probably because I wanted a confrontation Kage vs the Colonnel but I guess Thorpe pull all the juice and chaos from it

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially read this omnibus over a decade ago making it the first piece of W40K literature I ever read. I think it's a great introduction to the grimdark universe of 40k because it doesn't really require much if any background knowledge of the setting. It follows (relatively) normal soldiers doing things that seem (relatively) realistic rather than the fantastical achievements of Space Marines. There are a lot of typos and the writing isn't particularly good by any means, but it is very approachable, easy to read, and flows well.

[Cameron Supak · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always Gav Thorpe does an amazing job within this genre of Warhammer 40K fantasy.

[Tarash_bulba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, dirty dozen style, lasgun porn set in the 40K universe. Definitely worth a read.

[José Liboy]

Este libro me recuerda una serie de televisión con el mismo asunto. La serie era Rat Patrol, sobre un escuadrón de presos.

[Kristopher Godwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starship Troopers meets Suicide Squad. A good view of the warhammer 40k universe from a mor human perspective, and a real good view into the grimdark.

[Robert McCarroll · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I have marked the omnibus as 'read', it is simply because I have no intention of picking it up again. I liked the first book of the three, but there was a marked tonal shift upon going into the second book. Almost as if someone had said "Gav, you made Kage too likeable, fix that". In the second book, the narrator went from someone I was capable of rooting for to someone I didn't want to read about anymore. When the colonel orders him back to the penal colony, I'm not rooting for him to get back on the mission, I'm saying "Good, that's where he belongs". I put down the book during his attempt to take control of the shuttle and haven't picked it up again since. As a result I have not read the third book in the omnibus, the second ruined it for me.

I'm having trouble giving a star rating because the values I'd give the individual works in the omnibus are so wildly different from each other.

[Locked Out · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book from tehe start seems a bit awkward as you learn that the main characters in here are criminals sent to fight on the front lines. Throughout the story I seemed put off by how the main character never really expresses change, or emotions for that matter. Likewise, near the end of the book when Kage becomes corrupted and starts murdering the other characters..well that kidn of did it for me and when I finished the book. It kinda felt like I had wasted my time reading it because of the ending.

[Ben. Newland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in the mood for some military sci-fi and have been curious about the Warhammer 40,000 novels, since I've played the tabletop miniature game by the same name. This book is a collection of three novels and two short stories. I read the first short and the first novel. All I can say is, "meh." It was fine, but not great. Maybe not even good, but solidly OK. Clearly based on a game and not on a great idea for a novel. I returned the book to the library without bothering the second couple novels contained therein.

[John Cahill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of War Hammer 40K novels, unfortunately most of them invariably focus on the life and times of the Space Marines. These 3 novels portray the lives of those who have rebelled from the Imperium, all deserters and traitors who are a hairsbreadth from on the spot execution as they struggle to redeem themselves through forced service in a penal legion unit.

Gav Thorpe puts plenty of life, death and action into his storytelling of the deadly missions and suffering of the Last Chancers as they struggle to live long enough to make it through another day.

[Christopher Porche · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it didn't grab me the way the Gaunt's Ghosts series did I still enjoyed this collection of stories. The omnibus centers around Lt. Kage, a lifer serving a sentence in one of the Imperium's penal legions. He's pretty much a piece of garbage which does make routing for him difficult at best. The final ending was a bit dissatisfying and I would like to see a continuation of the series, perhaps with a different main protagonist.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I am hooked on Warhammer 40K stories, and this collection is not bad for the writing and the story line. I like the dystopian future laid out by the game creators and it gives the stories some real grit to them, there are really no good guys in this universe and there are plenty of bad actors but it is fun to read.

[Wyatt Indermuehle · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best novels I've ever read. The action is intense, and the characters seem real. It's writing is really descriptive and gives you a vivid image of the carnage and settings. The plot is great, with twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Definately woth reading!

[Nicholas Mastrodicasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pick this up as soon as you can. They drew their inspiration from The Dirty Dozen, old movie but awesome idea. This is by far one of my favorite series and the main character (it's in first person) is awesome. I've read this series several times over, something I rarely do.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid military sci-fi centered around the techno-barbaric-religious fundamentalist humans of the far future with a surprisingly good range of depth-adding observations about the Warhammer 40,000 universe's unique take on 'space barbarian' Orks and 'mecha manga' Tau.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the first two novels in the book, but the last one was anticlimactic.

[Larry Kenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't put down the first book in the omnibus. The second book was a good read, and the third I didn't really care for.

[Cocolito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over all, I like this book. I have a video review on each of the stories in this book at blip.tv/choppyreviews if anyone is interested in my opinion.

[Patt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best 40k novel/story i have read to date.
I hope they make a sequel where Cage comes back in the fashion that Shaeffer does.

[Beau Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's The Dirty Dozen meets Star Wars; what's not to like? The stories are grim, dark and gritty. Kage, the lead character, shares a few similarities with Riddick (from Pitch Black).

[Mark Horner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satisfied yet again