The Tranzia Rebellion

The Tranzia Rebellion #1-13

by Christian Z. Dunn (Contributor), George Mann (Contributor), Gav Thorpe (Contributor)

The masters of the Doom Eagles Space Marines Chapter descend upon the world of Tranzia to honour a batch of new recruits who will lead the Chapter into the next generation. As they make planetfall, the world rises up against them in a rebellion organised by the alien Tau. But something else lurks behind the xenos, a horror that has haunted the Imperium since its very beginnings. The Doom Eagles and their Adepta Sororitas allies are thrust into a race against time to discover the true architect of the Tranzia Rebellion before the entire world is consumed by darkness…

It’s the first ever Black Library radio play! Stellar acting and immersive sound effects create the atmosphere of a doomed world and the few brave heroes who fight to avert the catastrophe. The story’s serial structure means it’s packed with twists, turns and cliffhangers, and with treachery at large, everyone is a suspect. And the final revelation of the mind behind the rebellion is a true Black Library classic.

‘The Tranzia Rebellion’ is Black Library’s first ever full-cast radio play. What sets this apart from the rest of our audio dramas and audiobooks is that there is absolutely no narration. The whole story is told through dialogue delivered by a cast of voice actors, coupled with atmospheric sound effects and music. It’s the most immersive Warhammer 40,000 audio experience yet.

The story comes in thirteen episodes. Each is between 8 and 11 minutes in length, for a total running time of 1 hour and 54 minutes.

Spoken by Jayne Collingwood, Martyn Ellis, Chris Fairbanks, Jonathan Keeble, Paul Panting, Jamie Parker, Saul Reichlin & Jane Wymark.

Genres: Science Fiction

2 pages, Audiobook

First published August 14, 2015

About the author

Christian Dunn, sometimes credited as C.Z. Dunn, is a senior editor for Black Library.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple loose thoughts: audio dramas, by their nature, seem to fall into two categories: (1) those that use clunky dialogue to make up for the lack of narration and (2) those that are confusing for the reader at times but don't break immersion with clumsy dialogue. Guymer's Gotrek dramas are good examples of the latter, while, for the most part, The Tranzia Rebellion falls into the former category. I respect and enjoy the latter more, but i see how your mileage may vary.

Also, I'm pretty sure they use "Gue'vesa" wrong here. The T'au characters call all humans "Gue'vesa", a term that should only apply to their allies. For an all-hands-on-deck audio drama like this, that feels like an enormous oversight.

In the end, however, this is a perfectly serviceable, entertaining audio drama -- if nothing to write home about. How can we make it more memorable? A drinking game, of course...

I give you: The Franzia Rebellion (spoilers, but this isn't a clever enough story that you should care). Yes, I used Franzia, which I had never purchased before and hadn't had in about a decade. It was vile. I still think you should use it. For the meme-value.

-"The Tranzia Rebellion" title announcement: raise your glass and take a big ol gulp.
-Every name called out in the credits: take a respectful sip
-A slur based on species supremacy (eg "xenos", "machine wretch", but NOT "T'au" or "Gue'vesa") is used: take an embarrassed swig.
-The Emperor is mentioned: take a reverent swig.
-The Greater Good is mentioned: take a reverent swig.
-Someone dies: take a reverent swig.
-"Exterminatus": mournfully finish your cup/glass in one go.

[Vansh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.6 (this is a high rating for a warhammer book in my eyes). It was very fun and the reveal near the end explained why there’s a femboy magos! It was my first experience with the villain, I expected a bit of a hoarser voice but the story was beautiful (as far as warhammer can be)! I think I’ll put it in my “to give my kids teenagers” list

[Jess Big Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Above average bolter porn, a little intrigue. approx 2hr run time but lots of intermission due to it being serialized
Feat: SM, SoB, Tau???? And of course glory
Group of SM return to an old liberated planet to pick up some new recruits only to be betrayed...

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was pretty clumsy by the standard of modern audio drama...
and some of it even veered into near painful territory...

[Ulzeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun listen.