Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium Paperback – September 15, 2015

In the grim dark future, there is only black comedy. The word grimdark is a portmanteau created created by 4chan to make fun of the opening crawl of Warhammer 40K's text. This is due to the fact Warhammer 40K was originally created as a parody setting of countless over-the-top dark science fiction elements blended together with what was, essentially, a really dark campaign of Warhammer. Which was, itself, a really dark campaign of Dungeons and Dragons. Eventually, the rise of George R.R. Martin resulted in grimdark being primarily applied as a term to doorstopper "realistic" fantasy stories in the same vein. The connection to Warhammer 40K was de-emphasized and there were actually questions whether dark science fiction qualified as grimdark at all. I strongly disagree with that, part of the reason I created Lucifer's Star, and will now share one of my favorite series from the Warhammer 40K universe. I speak, of course, of Ciaphas Cain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM! The premise for the books is a Colonel Commissar Ciaphas Cain has recently died of natural causes and his occasional lover, Inquisitor Amberly Vail, has decided to assemble his deathbed "confession"/memoirs into historical documents for the Inquisition's archives. The fact we know Ciaphas Cain manages to survive to a ripe old age despite living in the ultimate hellish universe and die as a beloved hero should suck all tension from the book--but doesn't, because the whole point of the series is analyzing what it means to be the One Sane ManTM in a universe driven by blind fanaticism. Ciaphas Cain, you see, died as a legendary war hero but believes himself to be a secret coward and fool who survived myriad encounters with Chaos, Orks, Tyranids, as well Tau (one of these is not like the others) due to an inappropriate desire not to get himself killed in the line of duty. To facilitate this heretical idea, he also has the idea of keeping his fellow soldiers alive to serve as human shields against the enemies trying to kill him. The fiend! Indeed, much of the book is a deconstruction of typical ideas found in fantasy (light or dark) where zeal replaces good tactics as well as prudence. Death is always around Commissar Cain so he does his absolute best to be prepared before things go utterly poing shaped (as he's fond of saying) as they inevitably do. Despite this, this isn't a source of pride to the Commissar but an actual source of shame as the body count inevitably includes friends as well as loved ones but he manages to escape to another day. Cain is ostensibly based on Harry Flashman, at least the George MacDonald Fraser version but actually reminds me a good deal more of the WW1 incarnation of Edmund Blackadder. He is, much like said character, trapped in a situation destined to kill him (or not in Cain's case) so all of his deeds are designed around surviving that inevitable fate. Also, his dapper wit contrasts against the blind stupidity of those around him. I'm actually as fond of the supporting as I am of Cain himself. Colonel Kasteen is a wonderful supporting cast member, serving as Cain's platonic life partner. A wonderful snarky scarlet-haired soldier who would have made an excellent protagonist in her own series. I actually was disappointed the author didn't have them hook up despite that being the embodiment of cliche as well as against regulations. Note: Cain, amusingly, has a quite active love-life despite the fact his primary lover could have the planet he's on bombarded. Cain's Valhallan unit from a Nordic-Russo Ice world is a dark and hilarious gang of killers who are more upset about the fact they have different dining habits than they're all going to die horrifyingly in their next engagement (probably). The fact it's made of two single-sex regiments smashed together is also a source of some intentional hilarity in the early parts of the series. Fans of grimdark may think this isn't a qualifier because Commissar Cain is hilarious. His dry observations, wit, and ability to out-think his enemies aren't very grim. However, the world is still portrayed as a horror show of tyranny, fascism, and various monsters out to eat humanity at every time. The fact it's presented in a jokey off-hand fashion just makes it more fun like how "The Wheels on the Bus" now includes lines about running over heretics in kindergarten. Weirdly, the enemies are also made more terrifying by this approach as the Orks go from being soccer hooligans and working class Londoners to being an implacable force of destruction. Similarly, the Necrons are a mindless unkillable army of Terminators than the somewhat pathetic slaves of their masters which gamers know them to be. Even the Tyranids show themselves to be clever and dangerous conquerors than "mere" animals. The books are annotated, it should be noted, by Inquisitor Vail as she adds a near endless amount of funny details to the story. Commissar Cain is trying to be self-deprecating, after all, while she's more interested in the truth both good and bad. Cain is also a raging egomaniac even when trying not to be so he only talks about events which pertained to him and often misses the larger context--that the annotator corrects. It must have been murder on the Black Library editors to do the books this way but I think it's one of the series' best parts. The first omnibus puts the protagonist against Tau, Tyranids, and Necrons in stories which I completely approve of. If you are a newcomer to Warhammer 40K or a long time fan, I recommend this collection. I note also recommending the collection since Black Library still refuses to release their books on Kindle so it's better to just get the larger volume than try to collect all the smaller ones.9/10

Like the title says it’s all good but shipping took awhile. And the book is actually protected unlike how Amazon sends there books off in a little envelope just waiting to get crushed.

My son is a huge fan of this series. It made him happy to receive this book for Christmas

Ciaphas Cain:Hero of the Imperium is a collection of novels and short stories written by Sandy Mitchell (real name: Alex Stewart), and set in the dark science fiction universe of Warhammer 40 000. It contains three novels (For the Emperor, Caves of Ice, and The Traitor's Hand) and three short stories (Fight or Flight, Echoes of the Tomb, and The Beguiling).The protagonist of these tales is Ciaphas Cain, a cowardly commissar. The novels and stories are presented as excerpts from his secret memoirs, written long after his retirement. Cain explains how his many heroic deeds were either lucky coincidences, products of Imperial propaganda, or were meant to insure his own survival. In truth, all he ever wanted was to lead a peaceful life - as far from the front lines as possible.This creates a lot of subtle humor, as we watch Cain do all sorts of things that everyone except him thinks are the feats of heroism, while in truth they're motivated by selfishness and cowardice (exactly the opposite of what an Imperial commissar is supposed to be). Sandy Mitchell is an expert when it comes to finding hilarity in the outwardly serious. For example, we get a lot of excerpts from imaginary books, and although all of these are written in humorless tones, they're invariably funny because of their innate irony, purple prose, or the sheer idiocy of the writer.Despite all this, the stories never degenerate into outright comedy. The atmosphere remains serious and realistic, although the books are still nowhere near as grimdark as Warhammer 40k novels should be (but we can blame that on Cain's own Blackadderesque writing style, which, given his sardonic personality, isn't out of place in the story).Sadly, Sandy Mitchell's technical skills are far from perfect. His need to repeat what we already know gets annoying very fast. We're told a thousand times how Jurgen smells bad, how Cain was born on a hive world and hence feels at home in enclosed spaces, how he prefers a salamander to a chimera, etc. Even worse are the really long, really convoluted sentences - some of which I had to read four or five times before I understood what the writer was trying to say. There are also some writing conventions that are funny the first couple of times, but get old fast and end up making the story predictable. For example; whenever Cain says something along the lines of "so far so good", it's a sure sign that all hell is going to break lose in the following paragraph.Despite the subpar writing, Ciaphas Cain:Hero of the Imperium is a very enjoyable collection. If you're a fan of the 41st millennium, then you absolutely mustn't pass on this book. If, on the other hand, you had no prior experience with Warhammer 40 000, I recommend you read other novels (Soul Drinkers or Ultramarines omnibuses, as well as the 5th edition rulebook and army codexes, are great places to get familiar with the universe) before you buy Hero of the Imperium.

Unique and interesting perspective in 40k. Cain is a witty and very likeable protagonist, a good set of adventures with various factions.

Came on time and as expected. This is becoming my favorite series and character out of the Warhammer franchise. The stories are well written and funny; great read

Note: I bought this on Kindle and had no issue with the printing or readability of the e-bookI couldn't put this omnibus down once I started on it! This has a much lighter tone than the any of the other BL novels I've read and the back-and-forth at times between the main character (Ciaphas) and the "editor" (another character from the Inquisition) is positively delightful. It's almost like a riff on the traditional 40k tropes and is greatly refreshing. Although the writing at times can have its issues (if you read it all in one go you'll notice that the narrator's internal monologue can become tiring toward the end), it's still among the best prose you'll find from the BL catalog and overall is still quite well-written.Because of it's light tone and it's decent survey of 40k archetypes (to varying degrees it covers Commissars, Guards, Astartes, Necrons, Chaos, Tyranids, Genestealers, Tau and Orks) it also represents a great introduction to the 40k universe for anyone wanting a first step into the lore. Worth a read for new and old fans alike

The genius of this collection is that they’re deadly serious about the setting while at the same time aware of and constantly hinting at the absurdity within.

Fantastic book. I was dubious about buying this omnibus as it’s written in the first person, however I was running out of reading material and I decided to take a chance. So glad I did. Perfect mix of action with a little bit of comedy thrown in for good measure. If this review has helped you, then please hit the helpful button. Thanks

This is the 1st collected omnibus in the Chapais Cain series, collecting the 1st, 2nd & 3rd novels as well as a few selected short stories.Without giving away any of the plot details, this collection of stories starts off Cain's often bizarre knack of getting into trouble by being in the wrong place at the right time, often aided and abetted by an assortment of colourful characters and the 1st novel in this collection introduced two major characters who continue to have a great impact on Cain throughout the later books.The books are unusual in the Warhammer 40k large repository of books, as they are surprisingly full of humour and dry wit, and are annotated In Character, by an Inquisitor who we met in the very first novel and who's influence is laced throughout all further volumes in the series, through their annotations, if not direct appearances or mentions.Whenever I recommend any Black Library 40k novels, this series is always one of my top two recommendations.

My first warhammer 40k book. Watching warrior tier on youtube got me try the universe. Mentioning blackadder like humour in the synposis got me to start reading here.I'm glad I did. It is of course not a carbon copy of blackadder. But, it has that strain of dark humour. Getting in awful situations and getting out by wit and the loyalty of your stalward friend.Overall, a funny and fun read. More drama and action than humour. But the humour is there and I appreicate it.A great introduction to 40k books as well. A little lighter than the more depressing books. Cain at least in thr books I have read so far always wins. How he wins is often the fun part. Part luck and part skill driven by his unique personality.40k is dark. More dark than I sometimes realasied with the signifance and horror of sevitors passing me by for imstance. Late stage I feel like some of the horror and satire of thr imperium is lost when we are supposed to root for Cain.He is great, but also awful. Of that makes sense. As is the imperium.Anyway Cain's impostors syndrom is reltable. Nothing like facing the worst horrors on your first day, running them becoming a hero. Grow into that hero image becoming a living legend only to be dogged down by guilt and doubt. So, human. Just well written.

I have never played the table top game of Warhammer 40k (too expensive and time consuming for me), but I have always loved the setting, the story and the characters that make up the universe of Warhammer 40,000.This was the first book I have read on 40K and I loved every part of it. The story follows Ciaphas Cain (both names are biblical references), a character who is very similar to Edmund Blackadder, complete with his own Baldrick, in the guise of gunner Jurgen. Cain is a Commisar serving with the Valhallan imperial guard. He is a selfish, yet likeable character, who spends his time trying to avoid combat and keep himself save.Through out the course of him avoiding danger he always ends up deep in the heart of the trouble and, despite his self proclaimed selfishness, he ends up saving the day on many occasions. This in turn begins to build his reputation as a hero of the imperium, which then leads to him been placed in more danger as he tries to keep himself and this reputation intact.There are many references to places, people, races, vehicles and weapons in the book that were lost on someone who does not play the game (like me), a quick search online of the terms though filled me in in what they were and actually led me to sites that had a wealth of information on the background of the races, weapons etc. The writing style is superb, with a good mix of action, suspense and a welcome addition of humour, something I gather many Warhammer novels lack.I loved this book and bought the next lot of books in the series as well as other Warhammer novels based on the quality of this omnibus. A very good read for anyone interested in the game, its rich story or for a good military/comedy/Sci-Fi novel in general.

If you want an introduction to the from darkness of the 40k universe in a more light-hearted manner then this is the book for you. Ciaphus Cain and his trusty aide will have you chuckling to yourself throughout, all whilst trying to go the opposite direction to the sounds of shooting and carnage in the most discrete manner possible.