More Warhammer 40K reading
CIAPHAS CAIN: Hero of the Imperium by Sandy Mitchell
I found the three books of the Caiphas Cain series to be a worthwhile read as light entertainment. The sort of thing you read at night while waiting for sleep to shut down your brain - breezy, amusing, and coherent enough to keep you turning the pages, but the sort of book that you can be content to put down at any point, secure in the knowledge that you will not have forgotten any of the major plot points by morning and that none of the beloved and cherished characters are in imminent danger of death.
The Ciaphas Cain series is unique as far as I know in Warhammer 40K literature, in that it has a somewhat tongue-in-cheek view of the Imperium. Cain himself is a Commissar, but not the sort of Commissar you expect to find in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium (tm). He's a very Harry Flashman sort of character (though thankfully not, in fact, as contemptible a human being as Flashman) - mostly he is looking for somewhere safe where he can while away his time of service without being shot at, but circumstances continually intervene.
As a mine for Dark Heresy games, the books have little to offer except perhaps for those looking to run an off-beat Dark Heresy game with some humor to it. There are certainly a few memorable characters, and some of the plots, stripped of their somewhat comical overtones, might make for the basic framework of an adventure or two, but really this isn't the sort of book GMs will get a lot out of in terms of story ideas. Still, as a fun read they are worthwhile, and make a welcome break from the unrelenting gloom of most 40K novels.
Emperor's Mercy by Henry Zou
I picked this book up for three reasons. First, it deals with the Inquisition; second it was listed in the "If You Enjoyed This Book" section with Eisenhorn and Ravenor, both of which I did indeed enjoy; third there was what seemed to be a ringing endorsement from Dan Abnett on the front cover.
If anyone ever tries to get you to read this book,
IMMEDIATELY DRAW YOUR BOLT PISTOL AND SHOOT THEM ON THE SPOT!
This book is not a Warhammer 40k novel. This is an extremely mediocre military fiction novel with certain components covered over in badly stapled naugahyde and with a sticker saying "WARHAMMER 40K" slapped inelegantly over the seams in the hope that no one will notice.
The main characters are, on the whole, unlikeable - and worse, uninteresting. With the exception of Obodiah Roth, you get the feeling that they were all added to the plot on the same point buy system that one uses to select a 40K army. "Lets see - I have an Inquisitor, I need a female character to fill my gender requirement slot, a member of the Guard to fill the 'get into the miniatures game' slot, and a noble to fill the noble slot. If I make the noble a Xenoarchaeologist I can also fill the 'futuristic made-up profession slot. That leaves me with just enough points to buy an elite character to get captured thus showing you what the enemy is doing!"
As military fiction it has it's moments. The scenes with the doomed Imperial Guard unit cut off behind enemy lines is good, for example. But you can't help but wonder all throughout the book why the main character, an Inquisitor, keeps winding up in charge of Guard units, or fighting in pitched battles with Guard units, or just generally acting like a tabletop miniatures battle figure.
Then there's the scene that convinced me that the book was doomed.
About 1/3 of the way through the book, it is discovered that Inquisitor Roth's team has (*GASP*) a mole hidden in it! The two Inquisitors - the tough and taciturn Roth and the newly minted Inquisitor Celemine (the requisite party babe) are discussing this fact, and going through the roster of the team to try to figure out who the mole might be. After going through the possibilities, Celemine looks at Roth and says coyly "You know, we never discussed the possibility that it might be me."
WTF??? First of all, in the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium you NEVER SUGGEST YOU MIGHT BE GUILTY OF SOMETHING, PARTICULARLY NOT TO AN INQUISITOR!!!!! Because having done so, the only reasonably in-genre thing for Inquisitor Roth to do at that point is draw his plasma pistol, shoot you three or four times, and then say to your steaming remains "You're right". Second, from a literary perspective, NEVER, EVER, EVER HAVE THE TRAITOR SAY "YOU KNOW, I MIGHT BE THE TRAITOR!" Particularly when there are no obvious suspects. It's OK to have SOMEONE ELSE say "I might be the traitor" because they aren't. It's OK to have someone else say "Celemine might be the traitor" because that's just speculation. But for the person who IS the traitor to say "I might be the traitor" is just lame.
In any event, kill any supposed friend of yours who recommends this work to you. It is a tome of the Ruinous Powers.
Next up I will be tackling Gav Thorpe's classic Last Chancers novels, and Dan Abnett's The Rise of Horus
· Only the insane have strength enough to prosper. Only those who prosper may judge what is sane!