Propaganda made him out to be the hero of the imperium circa late m41 although in truth he. The legendary commissar ciaphas cain, lauded as one of the great heroes of the imperium, finds himself thrust onto the battlefield again. In what order should you read the ciaphas cain books 40k. Ciaphas cain is a commissar, a political officer of the imperium of mans troops. But it seems the will of the emperor is against him as time and time again he is thrown into the hellish warzones of the 41st millennium against orks, tyranids, the forces of chaos, and worse. Taking a tongueincheek approach to the normally absurdly grim and dark 40k universe, the series follows. The short stories are in equally random order, with two taking place before book four including cains first act of alleged heroism, one taking place somewhere between books four and seven, one taking place immediately before book seven, and one taking place roughly a decade before book six, and several that have so few reference points that one cannot reliably tell what decade they took place in. Commissars are charged with maintaining the morale and loyalty of imperial troops, an important matter when one considers the horrific odds and staggering casualties of the grim dark future of the wh40k setting. The complete series list for a ciaphas cain novel sandy mitchell.
A collection of the first three books in a series of novels depicting the. Sandy mitchell is the author of a longrunning series of warhammer 40,000 novels about the hero of the imperium, commissar ciaphas cain. As battle approaches, gaunt walks the lines, raising his mens spirits and remembering their most heroic deeds and the tragedies that have dogged gaunts. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading caves of ice ciaphas cain book 2. No cain novel or audio drama have been bad in my experience. Ciaphas cain is about the adventures of a cowardly and scheming military commander that becomes a symbol of hope for many in the acts of accidental heroism hes committed throughout the events of the book. The combination of the next three books in the ciaphas cain series does not disappoint, and is a worthy successor to the first three. Caves of ice ciaphas cain book 2 kindle edition by mitchell, sandy. Commissar ciaphas cain is a man who, despite his more. What makes ciaphas cain different, and in fact what changes the entire tone of the book and the first reason as to why i recommend it is that hes none of these things. Commisar ciaphas cain hero of the imperium and renowned across the sector for his bravery and valour is sent to help maintain order on an outpost world on the. Where gaunts ghosts is sharpe meets 40k, ciaphas cain is something between blackadder and flashman in the gothic sf world of warhammer 40k. Since the books are written from the perspective of inquisitor amberly vail going over the cain archives i think it makes sense to read it in the. Commissar ciaphas cain, hero of the imperium is the protagonist of a series of novels by sandy mitchell, set in the warhammer 40,000 universe.
The ciaphas cain books by sandy mitchell science fiction. Ciaphas cain was a commissar of the officio prefectus who was assigned to service with the astra militarum and who was eventually hailed as one of the greatest heroes of the imperium of man. Taking a tongueincheek approach to the normally absurdly grim and dark 40k universe, the series follows the exploits. Cain wants nothing more than to keep out of trouble and get to the other side of his commission in one. Choose your enemies by sandy mitchell from waterstones today. The ciaphas cain series are dark comedyactionadventure novels written by sandy. In october 2010 defender of the imperium, an omnibus compilation of death or glory, duty calls and cains last stand was released. After all, a great book should be at least as pleasurable to read the second time as it is the first, regardless of knowing the details of the plot. The original audio dramas, dead in the water and the devil you know were released in june, 2011 and april, 2014.
Ciaphas cain is the hero we all need as a great pause from the dramaqueens of wh40k. Where gaunts ghosts is sharpe meets 40k, ciaphas cain is something between blackadder and flashman in the gothic sf world of 40k. Ciaphas cain is a man of questionable origin he is commonly believed to be a hiveworlder, yet no one knows where exactly his birthplace is, maybe not even himself tall, imposing stature, handsome, charming, and a pathological liar. The novel is a part of a set of books by author sandy mitchell. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In fact, as the book explains being a collection of personal memoirs and journal entries from the protagonist cain just went for the position because it afforded him the. While looking, i noticed that the rough chronological order of the book settings given at the lexicanum. The ciaphas cain series in order sandy mitchell fictiondb. Sandy mitchell is the author of a longrunning series of warhammer 40,000 novels about the hero of the imperium, commssar ciaphas cain. On an outpost imperial world on the fringes of tau space, ciaphas cain and his regiment of valhallan guard, find.
He was in active service in the last century of m41, and was over 200 years old when he was recalled into service during the th black crusade of abaddon the despoiler, and it is certain that he survived more than a quarter of a century into m42. In this book cains troops must defend a vital installation from enemy attack. He spent most of his career in active service attached to imperial guard regiments from the ice world of valhalla most notably the. Cain is retired and living on perlia, the planet he defended in death or glory, where he. In april 2007 the first three books in the series and the 3 short stories were collected in a. It does help in understanding some of the comments or wit in the book but mostly it does not effective reading purposes although there is a larger story arc in place. The paper books have the published order printed on the first page, which is not the same as the chronological order. The ciaphas cain series is a collection of science fiction novels set in the warhammer 40,000. The ciaphas cain book series by sandy mitchell includes books for the emperor. They were sequestered by order of the inquisition, and were kept and organised as the cain archive by ordo xenos inquisitor amberley vail with whom cain had many encounters over his career, and shared a close working and personal relationship. Caves of ice is the second ciaphas cain novel of seven so far published and is, once again, a comedic book in the vein of george macdonald frasers flashman novels with an added pinch of blackadder, though mitchell adds enough flourishes to avoid being derivative. Ciaphus cain series, by sandy mitchell this series is not always written in chronological order, but this doesnt matter too much.
This book keeps the same ciaphas and everything we love about him, such as his cynical humor in the face of great danger. The adventures of commissar cain, his malodorous aide jurgen, and the 296th valhallans have proved great favourites among black library fans. Sandy mitchell is the author of a longrunning series of warhammer 40,000. Taking a tongueincheek approach to the normally absurdly grim and dark 40k universe, the series follows the. Hero of the imperium is the first collection of the ciaphas cain stories, bundling together the fist three novels for the emperor, caves of ice and the traitors hand and three short stories, all of which take place within the warhammer 40,000 universe. However, cain wants only a safe little spot and a small workload to live an easy life. Cain is considered to be a hero of the imperium, and is praised for his deeds of courage in the thick of battle.
Ciaphas cain, commissar in the imperial guard, has only ever wanted a quiet life. Since the books are written from the perspective of inquisitor amberly vail going over the cain archives i think it makes sense to read it in the published order. In the first novel, for the emperor, he manages to stop a riot involving guardsmen and women from two different factions of an amalgamated regiment by declaring his outrage over the mess theyve made and. The seventh, eighth, and ninth novels, were collected into a third omnibus entitled ciaphas cain. The complete story ebook bundle found here, and i would like to know what is the optimal order for reading the novels and the short stories. The fact that hes bluffing most of the time generally only serves to polish the crown, so to speak. This would pin the date of composition to some time after his appointment to the.
Defender of the imperium ciaphas cain book 2 ebook. The ciaphas cain series in order sandy mitchell fictiondb sign in. In what order should i read the ciaphas cain novels and. In this omnibus i almost never did that and it took quite a. The fact we know ciaphas cain handles to endure to a ripe old age despite living in the supreme terrible universe and also pass away as a beloved hero needs to draw all tension from the book yet doesnt, since the entire point of the series is analyzing what it suggests to be the one sane mantm in a world driven by blind fanaticism. Hero of the imperium is a hilarious journey through the life of one man in the grimdark depressive universe of warhammer 40k.
Colonelcommissar ibram gaunt and his tanith firstandonly await the order to advance into the sweltering jungle and drive the alien eldar from the world. Ciaphas cain, hero of the imperium, is the titular hero of a series of imperial guard novels by sandy mitchell. See the complete ciaphas cain series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. Despite holding no standard rank and being outside the chain of command, commisars have wide. Hero of the imperium ciaphas cain book 1 and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
Ciaphas cain, accidental hero of the imperium was a famous commissar of the imperium and is the protagonist of the eponymous series of novels by sandy mitchell. Seen here with his trusty bolt pistol, even though he never uses one. Chronological order of ciaphas cain book forum dakkadakka. My favourite book in this omnibus was for the emperor. In the war torn future of the 41st millennium commissar ciaphas cain, hero of the. Contents for the emperor caves of ice the traitors hand fight or flight echoes of the tomb the beguiling.
The story revolves around the rakish commissar ciaphas cain and his trusty sidekick jurgen. Ciaphas cain kaiafass kane was an imperial commissar. Spoilerfree info in the vein of literary blurbs and decontextualized spans i have just now read the latest two novels in the series, the last ditch and the greater good, and i became interested in placing all the novels relative to each other, since they are not sequential episodes. Ciaphas cain seems to get at least one of these per book, despite being. Member of the malleus the paper books have the published order printed on the first page, which is not the same as the chronological order. The books take the form of a series of archives written by cain himself.
What can i read and in what order if i want to delve into. Imperial propaghandists never let anything like facts get in the way, though. The tenth novel, choose your enemies, was released in 2018. The chronological differences arent confusing, and amberley occasionally references previous books instory so doing a readthrough in chronological order may cause a tiny problem. After putting down an uprising on a mining world, he finds evidence that the corruption might have spread to other planets, and the forge world of ironfound could now be at risk. In the early 42nd millennium his memoirs were published amongst the ranks of the inquisition. Commissar ciaphas cain, hero of the imperium is the protagonist of a series of novels by sandy mitchell, set in the warhammer 40000 universe. The book is written as a historical account being investigated by and inquisitor published for instruction within her order. It is the memoirs of the hero of the imperium, commissar ciaphus cain, as edited by the inquisition.
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