Chem Dog by Callum Davis - Review - Spolier Free
Overall this was an enjoyable read. I rate it as an 8/10.
The story follows a disgraced Commissar attached to a squad of Savlar Chem Dog penal troops (So called because they are 'forced to use 'chems' to enhance combat aggression and performance). The novel itself follows on from the short story Those without Mercy, also by Callum Davies, which I highly rate 9/10.
An Imperial bastion/fortress is overrun by an Orc invasion of the planet Kruxx. The stories protaganist Commissar Hasp, adjunct ogryn Grukkur and a Chem Dog squad led by Rastus are assigned a suicide mission to infiltrate the fallen bastion and retrieve top secret information, in the midst of an Imperial offensive to retake it.
As a brief summary the story starts off at the Imperial Headquarters and then the squad have to traverse a war torn no-mans-land occupied by deserters and marauding bands of orcs, to rendevous with the Imperial assault positions of the Mordian 2201st to whom they will be attached in the upcoming assault.
In the novel we see and learn about what a hard, ruthless and driven man Commissar Hasp is. Struggling to maintain control of his band of merry killers whilst contemplating his own flaws and worth in the eyes of the Emperor, for he has a vice and one of the Chem Dogs finds out. Hasp has a lot of reflection as to everyone's purpose and there is a lot of character development here. Really he is quite philosophical and by the end of the novel I was endeared towards him.
"God Emperor, all I can imagine is that this is a test. And if it is I am sorry. I am sorry for whichever sin I have commited to need it"
The Savlar Chem Dogs themselves are an interesting bunch. Just as happy to kill and thieve off each other as to steal off the enemy. Rastus has to keep control of his squad to prevent them and himself from being executed by Hasp or incurring the Commissars wrath. Here too there is a lot of character development between the squad as they struggle with moral choices and practical options as how to survive. Often Rastus has to subtley try to advise Hasp as to the best course of action without actually telling him for fear of reprisal. This leads to some interesting exchanges.
Grukkur plays a star role as the simple and obidient, yet devout adjunct to Hasp. He helps watch Hasp's back and keep order and is 100% loyal. He has his own catch phrase "Yes! Commissar! Sir!!!!" His simplicity and single mindedness sometimes adds some light humour to the story. He is also fearsome in battle and the main anchor/rally point for the kill team.
Along the way we meet the Mordian's and see the stark contrast between the spotless well drilled, disciplined and highly trained 'Cobalt Blue' troops of the Mordian 2201st/2202nd and elite Mordian Paragons.
For half of the story the Mordians and Chem Dogs fight together. The distrust and hatred of each other, I thought, was really well written. Even the Mordian Commissar Raiffe has a hatred and disdain for Hasp equal to his dislike of the Chem Dogs.
"For what a poor Commissar you must be to have been assigned to such Filth".
The orcs and grots themselves were for the most part, pretty generic. There were some interesting aspects too, such as siege squigs, which I had not encountered before. Also the whole end of the novel was awesome and I very much enjoyed the final battles, events and atmosphere of the Commissars tower in Bastion Ajaxus.
The protrayal of the siege and assault of the Bastion was also really well done I thought. One of my favourite aspects of the book were the litanies and catchecisms Hasp constantly used to motivate both himself and his troops.
"Emperor! Steel our souls! Emperor! Give us the strength to end this abomination!"
My main dislikes in the novel were that the orcs forces mostly came across as mindless cannon fodder and were not very varied. Also I felt there was an overuse of 'mercy killings'. The pacing of the story dropped off a little bit in two places I felt. A section navigating the wastes and a section navigating inside the bastion felt a bit too long and drawn out to me. A bit "samey"
There was a lot to like in the novel and it was a good adventure. It had good musings as to the workings of the Imperium, especially at the end making jokes about the story itself. At the end the survivors are recovered by Valkyrie and Hasp muses, "Why could they have not just sent us by Valkyrie in the first place? Nevermind that is beyond my station and we all know that both the Emperor and the Imperium work in mysterious ways"
Callum totally nailed the ending. So many books I read start strong and fall apart at the end but Callum held it together. Everything that happened was logical and full of the 40k asthetic that I like. The story has given me a lot to think about. People like Hive for it's look at the difference across Imperial society. In a similar way this story shows the societal differences between different aspects of the Imperial Guard. By the end Hasp learns that he is just as much a 'mongrel' and just as 'expendable' and helpless as the troops under his command in relation to his own supieriors.
I hope this book gets a special edition and very much look forward to reading Callum's next novel.