In the grimdark world of Warhammer 40,000, comedy and gratuitous violence go hand in hand like white on rice. As a matter of fact, it was that combination of humor and gothic enthused action that first attract me to the franchise: the laughable orks and their accents, the self-aware and over-the-top ridiculousness of terminator space marines, and oh so much more.
Standing atop the many, many great characters fans of 40k know and love is the great rascal himself Commissar Ciaphas Cain. For those not in the know, Cain is a perfect representative of the 41st millennium’s humorous side. Despite being only out for himself and eager to survive the dangerous battlefields he’s assigned; Cain frequently emerges as a hero no matter the odds that are stacked against him.
What keeps the formula fresh are the wealth of mad situations Cain finds himself in as well as the expert writing of series’ steward Sandy Mitchell. Hero of the Imperium is the ideal way to begin your journey into Cain’s legendary career as it collects the first three novels and a number of short stories. But one might ask, how does Cain stack up against other great speculative fiction characters?
In answer, suffice to say Cain’s popularity as a character has only grown over the years with good reason. Each book is full of classic space opera action, hilarious moments, and Cain’s brilliantly written internal monologues. The book is helped by a strong, complex structure that helps tie in different story threads that might not otherwise make sense.
To top it off, the book is chock full of great characters besides our eponymous hero. Amberly Vail, Lord General Zyvan, the indomitable Jurgen, and the other members of the Valhallan 597th Cain is attached to.
While the writing is top class, it occasionally suffers from repetitiveness as Cain reiterates or restates things multiple times. It can feel like a real drag holding back the high quality writing but thankfully these instances are mercifully few and far between.
Fancy hilarious tales full of aliens, space battles, and grimdark daring do that are hard to put down? You can’t do much better than this collection which will leave you ready to jump into the second one: Defender of the Imperium.
Ismael David Mujahid,
Managing Editor.