Dead Men Walking (DMW) is next in the long line of Imperial Guard novels. The range has seen quite a few famous regiments pass and while most are a bit of a miss, there are some shining gems tucked in between. Why hit and miss? To me, the novel should be about the regiment and letting them do what they do best. Instead, we get infighting, super-secret special missions that require a break from regular operations or other silly s**t like that. Others are too predictable or just plain bad. There are some exceptions to this: Fifteen Hours and Cadian Blood. Sadly DMW isn't to be added to these two.
We all know about the Death Korps of Krieg and their faceless badass looks. So how neat would it be to have a novel about them and the brutal trench warfare they often find their selves embroiled in? Oops, you're better off reading Imperial Armour five, which goes into great detail describing the men of Krieg doing just that. Instead they are mostly absent from the story, with a few bits and bobs here to give a glimpse into what they are and where they come from. This all to further reinforce that the Krieg are not human, but instead the product of penance and only good for one thing: dying in service to the Emperor.
So, for humanity and 90% of the actual story and whatnot we're looking at several locals and the regimental commissar, with the Krieg being out there in the background for the most part. In one corner we have a mining director who is in love with the niece of the governor. In the other we have the niece of the governor who happens to be in the city while the Necrons fully awaken. There's also the governor himself and the commissar attached to the Krieg, who is more human than most written in their stereotypical mannerism.
The story itself is simple enough: Miners dig a hole, find a black rock with alien language, somehow activate it and poof! Necrons appear! The Krieg happen to be around and deploy en-masse, grinding down the city the Necrons are in as they attempt to stem the tide and try to win a war against an enemy they know little about. Also, the story has some of the most depressing moments in recent history, I didn't think it possible, but this novel is even more depressing than the sad ending of Wulfrik.
In the end it was an okay story, but I could've gone with a bit more Krieg in there instead of the locals. DMW is a novel about the locals, with the Krieg being secondary characters. While I understand that it is done in an attempt to make the Krieg even more inhuman and remote, I am finding that it works against itself.
Score:
out of five ossuaries of the dead. 
