Links: Review of U.K edition by John Berlyne / Show Article /

On a remote dangerous desert planet, sergeant Sven Tveskoeg is whipped for insubordination and removed of his rank, and kicked out of the military for insubordination; a sentence that never occurs even for murder in the deadly outposts. Not long after he is left to die from the flogging, the native ferox attack the military encampment; none of the purebred human outsiders survive. Sven lives, but then again 1.8 percent of his body is composed of non-human DNA that enables him to heal rather quickly even from the brink of death and to communicate with the native aliens by telepathy.

From back of book: Sven Tveskoeg, an ex-sergeant demoted for insubordination,is a vicious killer, stubborn but with a streak of loyalty. Sven possesses a genetic makeup that is 98.2% human and 1.8%... something else. Perhaps that "something else" explains his ability to quickly heal from even the worst injuries and to communicate telepathically with the ferox, fearsome alien savages whose natural fighting abilities outperform the advanced technology of their human enemies.

Drafted into the Death's Head -- the elite enforcers of imperial will -- Sven is sent to a bleak faraway planet, the latest battleground of the nefarious powers that rule the universe. There he finds himself in the midst of a military disaster, one that will take all his courage and firepower to survive. But an even deadlier struggle is taking place, one in which Sven knows he is a pawn. Pawns have a habit of being sacrificed, but Sven is nobody's sacrifice. And even a pawn can checkmate a king.

(Source: Del Rey)