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Title:
Those Without Mercy
Series: Warhammer 40K:
Astra Militarum
Author: Callum Davis
Rating:
2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages:
20
Words: 6K
Publish: 2025
In
the Empire of Man, the “army” is made up of different kinds of
units. Some of those units are the tyrants, the dominators of
mankind, ie, the eunuchs, the Space Marines. Monstrous beings almost
as evil as the evil they are fighting. Then you have the Mechanized
divisions, which meld man and machine until it’s hard to tell which
is which. Then you have the regular old humans who are the fodder.
But even within the human only part of things, the divisions are as
great as the variety of planets from which they come. One faction
(which I guess you can play in the miniatures game) are the Chem
Dogs. They are prisoners condemned to die but instead of being
executed, are given over to a force that take on suicide missions.
They are given drugs which make them go out of their gourds and they
will do almost whatever they are told while on said drugs.
All of that is pretty much introduced in this short story. I’ve never heard of the Chem Dog faction before and to be honest, I’ll be ok if I never read another story about them. Part of that is because this short story was very obviously just an introduction and a chapter to a full novel. You have the setup happen for a suicide mission and that is where this story ends. I dinged off half a star because of Black Library being such a jerk for doing this.
However,
I am including a full sized cover for this. Man, is it cool and
macabre looking!
★★✬☆☆
From the Publisher:
A commissar investigates the death of a colleague at the hands of the Savlar Chem-Dogs, and finds more than he bargained for.
READ
IT BECAUSE
The Savlar Chem-Dogs are a fascinating example of a
penal legion. This story explores their unsavoury reputation, but
also what makes them such effective soldiers.
THE
STORY
The Savlar Chem-Dogs penal legion are embroiled in a
brutal conflict against the orks. When the ruthless Commissar Hasp
witnesses a squad murdering a fellow commissar, he is determined to
bring them to justice – but is there more to the situation than
meets the eye?
