Teaser

The Death Korps of Krieg are peerless warriors, fanatic in their devotion to the God-Emperor, and as much terror to their allies as their enemies. What could make a people into such a terrifying weapon? And how far will they go to achieve their goals . . ?

Review

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war, so it’s only natural that a planet of warriors would emerge sooner or later. The Death Korps of Krieg are among the most haunting images to stem from the Warhammer universe. With their emphasis on trench warfare, their iconic gas masks, and the name of their home world, they’re clearly playing on motifs of the First World War. Even more so than the rest of the semi-dieselpunk aesthetic the Imperium has going on. That’s powerful imagery to be drawing on, make no bones about it, but does Krieg live up to that legacy and actually say something about conflict? Or is it just aping the aesthetic for the sake of it?

Well, the truth is that, like most franchises, Warhammer frequently goes for the easy option and employs historical themes for immediate connection readers (and players) will make. That’s why we have Witch Hunters and warrior nuns in the setting. But, like the very best of tie-in fiction, Krieg goes deeper than the aesthetic, and asks what it might be like to be a human in such a desperate world.

Krieg is split into two acts. One takes place in the present day of the setting, as the Death Korps assault an ork-infested city. The other delves into the history of Krieg itself, exploring how the world came to be the militaristic, irradiated wasteland that fans recognise. As usual, I found myself frustrated by the lack of connection between the two halves of the novel. The present day is largely by-he-numbers, though very well-written. The flashback sequences are the core of the novel, though probably don’t make sense if you’re not already familiar with the setting.

Author Steve Lyons has already tackled the Death Korps in Dead Men Walking and short stories, but what he does here is a deeper study of the people behind the masks. It’s an intense examination of the dehumanisation of soldiers during wartime, while also looking at the lengths those soldiers will go in the name of redemption, whether they will be able to achieve that state or not. The men of Krieg are simultaneously the greatest soldiers the Imperium has, and also mere tools to be thrown at the enemy until none are left alive. The climax of the book also dives into the cost of victory, and argues that, even in the grim dark future, some weapons may yet be too horrible to even contemplate using.

Coming in at the more serious end of the spectrum, Krieg is a heavy novel for all its brevity. Thoroughly recommended for those who like their grim darkness with a little less humour.

Deeper Dive: Characters Without Names

With one notable (and spoilerific) exception, the modern day Death Korps do not have names. For a book, this is an absolute nightmare situation. We meet such memorable characters as ‘the colonel’ but there is nothing to differentiate one Korpsman from another except for rank. This further emphasises their disconnect from humanity as a whole, but also poses a problem for the writer. generally speaking, people are aware of their names, so to have nameless characters is difficult.

Lyons sidesteps this issue by having the present day Korps seen only from the outside. While the Cadians have names and tell jokes, the Death Korps are staunchly enigmatic figures. While a true dive into their psychology would require an interior perspective, removing these viewpoints from the narrative is one more tool in Lyons’ narrative arsenal. We don’t know their names. We don’t see their faces. We don’t know how they thinks. It all adds up to a regiment that comes across as less than fully human.

Book Stats

• A Standalone Novel
• Focuses on the Astra Militarum
• First published in 2022
• Published by Black Library
• Military SF
• 296 Pages