Fifteen Hours (Warhammer 40,000)

From the first sentence: "The sky was dark, and he knew he was dying" Mitchel Scanlon's first Black Library novel, Fifteen Hours, sweeps the reader up in a darkly evocative and almost sublimely grim tale of the recently conscripted Imperial Guardsmen Arvin Larn. It is clear that due to his attention to detail and the novel's seamless transition from the pastoral agri-planet of Jumal IV to the war-torn streets and trenches of the city of Broucheroc that Scanlon has a firm grasp of both the facts and the nuance of the bleak and violent future of humanity. He shows this knowledge in both in the far-distant future universe of Warhammer 40,000 in general and it's foremost military machine, the Imperium of Mankind's Imperial Guard in particular.

Scanlon further punctuates the first person experiences of Trooper Larn with the occasional interlude where we are presented with insights into the characters and personalities of the Imperium that caused Trooper Larn to come to be at this hell-hole of a planet where he doesn't belong and in a war he has no part. We see through eyes and hear the thoughts everything from an Administratum Scribe to the Grand Marshall of a planetary army. Through these interludes we gain a further insight and the very real sense of an ominous future.

This is not a novel for the feint of heart. Mitchel Scanlon is almost aggressive in his realistic portrayal of the dark and at times hopeless life of a lowly infantryman of the Imperial Guard. He is, without a doubt, the first author of the Warhammer 40k universe that may actually present the universe as too grim, if such a thing can be said and it is clear he is no fan of the officer ranks. At times, this reality he confronts you with is so surprising that it will hit you in face and leave you jarred for a chapter or two. However, there is a method to Scanlon's madness, his sensuously morbid portrayal of the universe makes those rare moments of Pyrrhic victory, of laugh-out-loud levity, and even of hope feel all the more powerful and moving. I don't mind telling you, its one hell of an experience.

As a active duty soldier in the Army, having served in Afghanistan, and deploying to Iraq within the next week, and a military history buff, I was very impressed with this story. Very true to form with regard to aspects of trench/urban combat, the personalities of the characters/soldiers (I was reminded of several guys I have known), the behaviors and rank structure with regard to heavy casualties, and the knowing belief that "higher" has no idea on what the situation really is, the difference between doctrine & reality, etc.

The story itself goes quick given the title, the ineptness of command, and several other factors. The slight touch of how an individual's actions have 2nd & 3rd order effects on others, and how long, or short, a time you've been in a combat situation, death waits for you. Patiently.

Left me wanting more, especially what happens to the various minor/major players and the objective that is trying to be held/taken, even though it is obvious what the eventual outcome will be.

from the first sentince this book pulls you in and you do not want to put it down. it feels like you are there in the trench with them.

I could not put this book down i read it in two days. it would have been less but work got in the way.

This book is a must for a new reader of warhammer 40,000 or loyal fan.

I love junkfood. That's why I read the WH novels. They're really good junk food for your brain. That being said I was really disappointed with how boring and completely unoriginal this book turned out to be. Don't waste your time with this one lads move on to the Ultra-marine Omnibus.

In the 40K world with Terminators, Space Marines, Daemons, it's easy to forget about what a "normal" Imperial Guard soldier goes through. Fifteen Hours is an excellent story of one such soldier. Despite being human, and a raw recruit, there is lots of heroics in this book, and cuts through the "cannon fodder" stereotype of the Imperial Guard.

I won't go into the story at all, but if you want to read a great story about the 40k world through eyes of a regular soldier, this is the book to get.

Want realism in you sci fi?

Can you handle it?

No, it's not always "fun", but it seems very close to the truth in a war of attrition. Read "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque and then read "Fifteen Hours". Or read "Fifteen Hours" first, but read them both. Then you'll understand Scanlon's achievement.

I wait in rapt anticipation for his next book.

I can't believe some of these reviews. Some people thought this was good reading? I'm shocked.

The language is overly simplistic. If it were written by a junior high student I might be impressed. But it isn't. It is written by a professional, his first novel admittedly and it shows.

Everything is obvious. The characters are thin and not the least bit interesting. The main character has no depth whatsoever. What does he care about? What motivates him? Just staying alive? He is scared about everything, shocked about everything. Even mundane simple things make him freak out and over react.

His basic training is the most lame attempt at tension and difficulty I have ever seen. He complains about the drill instructor and all the guy does is yell at him and make them march. Big deal! So he yells at him, wow, that is so harsh and shocking, take me away. I can't handle it, please no (insert severe sarcasm here).

We are supposed to be appalled by the loss of his friends after they land on the planet but guess what? His "friends" are nothing but faceless, underdeveloped names typed on a page. I didn't get to know a single one of them. So what if they die? I don't care.

If this is supposed to be an action novel, where is the action? There are two battles in this entire novel (which is gratefully only 254 pages). And the last battle which was built up to be this gigantic struggle and nothing happens. It is over and done with in like five pages.

And how many times must he say "new fish"? How many?!? He repeats that phrase at least one thousand times, I am not kidding. It happens about an average of four times per page so 4X254 is a little over a 1000 times. It is insane, annoying and frustrating to read. If you think that is an exaggeration, go back and read it again and look.

This is book has a great concept. The idea of the training, fighting and developement of an IG trooper is awesome. I expected so much from this so don't think I don't like the genre. The problem is, you don't see anything of interest, there is nothing there, no character, no depth and virtually no action. This book is poorly executed, thinly developed and actually kind of pathetic really.

If you want a good sci-fi action story/series, get Gaunt's Ghosts. Those novels rock and if they set the standard, Fifteen Hours falls far short.

I tend to read 40k fiction like a voracious predator patroling a feeding ground resplendent with a variety of prey.

I had just finished reading the Blood Angels duology and the most recent Ciaphas Cain novel, when I started this one. It required an immediate change in gears from the action-packed, high-energy style and pace of those novels to the slower, more reflective nature of this bleak, but poignantly realistic portrayal of life in the trenches.

You KNOW the ending of the story immediately, but proceed to read anyways. It's obvious from the beginning that this will be a story that illustrates the journey of an individual and the experiences that, in the end, bring things full circle to where we began.

For those of you with any real-life experience in the military or in life-or-death conflicts, this will have a much more powerful impact on you. Refer to the previous reviews and you will see what I mean.

As a simple connoisseur of 40k fiction, I enjoyed this tale. I may not have had the same level of appreciation for it as others, based on my own perspective; but I do acknowledge the talent and craft displayed in this piece of work.

It is well worth the read.

After reading Ben Counter's opus "Grey Knights," I surmised that a foray into the Imperial Guard's fan-generated fiction would be suitable to see the other side of the Imperium's war force. Unfortunately, Mitchel (or Michael?) Scanlon (or Scanton? Nobody seems to agree on this) has burned the nickname "New Fish" into the back interior of my skull for the rest of my living days. Repetitive, lacking in description, and generally dull, the storyline focuses on an equally-dull character whose intelligence with a rifle or a water pump is worse than doubtful. Tired cliches of being thrust into war, ripped from one's peaceful homestead, and the horrors and fears of war are ground into the pages like so much chalk dust, and all the while we have the pleasure of reading our harebrained character's observations... which total up to the veteran IG troops insulting him. With that, I think I'll go back to reading Mr. Counter's novels, and leave Mr. Scanlon (or Scanton, depending on what part of the book you read!) to his... "Hot new talent." Yes, that quoted part IS written in the book. I beg to differ.

Quite by accident, Arvin Larn newly inducted to the guard and just 17, finds himself the sole survivor of his troop on a planet they werent supposed to be on. The average lifespan on this planet... 15 hours.

While it could have benefited from better editing, I still find the story compelling. War doesnt paint a pretty picture and neither does this novel.