Runo Knows...Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium
So this omnibus is a bit different than other Warhammer 40,000 materials that revolve around a single commissar (such as The Founding). That's because Ciaphas Cain is, well, a coward.
Well, technically, maybe not: but he is concerned after only his own hide, and the fact that sometimes it's easier to jump into the jaws of death rather than run from them (sort of like Heinlein's "Laziest Man Alive" scenario) is due to the fact that, in the long run, it'd help him.
Or, at least, help his undeserved reputation.
In short terms, though, involving Warhammer 40,000 fiction this is probably some of the funniest. Cain is self-serving and egocentrical; his work is footnoted by an extremely attractive yet deadly Inquisitor; his main aide is bereft of hygiene and has an odor that overwhelms his opponents; the regiment that he's attached to not only hates itself (being made up of half a female company and half a male company) but also comes from an ice world that's uncomfortable in temperatures over zero degrees.
He faces orks, necrons, tau, kroot, tyranids, and Chaos, works with the Space Marines, other Imperial Guard regiments, and even xenos (such as the tau), and, in general, gets into a lot of interesting situations.
In fact, I almost hesitate to say that this was the most fun omnibus yet. Sure, The Founding was good on a lot of levels, and some of the Space Marine ones had some good action, etc., but this one had the best combination of human factors, humor, horror, action, and basically everything else to make it a book that kept me up until 3:17 AM last night reading it.
Is it, perhaps, the best "first" book to read for a 40K aficionado? Maybe not. A lot of the humor is based off knowledge of other 40K knowledge; thus, it might not be as funny otherwise. But it's still well worth the read.
Well, technically, maybe not: but he is concerned after only his own hide, and the fact that sometimes it's easier to jump into the jaws of death rather than run from them (sort of like Heinlein's "Laziest Man Alive" scenario) is due to the fact that, in the long run, it'd help him.
Or, at least, help his undeserved reputation.
In short terms, though, involving Warhammer 40,000 fiction this is probably some of the funniest. Cain is self-serving and egocentrical; his work is footnoted by an extremely attractive yet deadly Inquisitor; his main aide is bereft of hygiene and has an odor that overwhelms his opponents; the regiment that he's attached to not only hates itself (being made up of half a female company and half a male company) but also comes from an ice world that's uncomfortable in temperatures over zero degrees.
He faces orks, necrons, tau, kroot, tyranids, and Chaos, works with the Space Marines, other Imperial Guard regiments, and even xenos (such as the tau), and, in general, gets into a lot of interesting situations.
In fact, I almost hesitate to say that this was the most fun omnibus yet. Sure, The Founding was good on a lot of levels, and some of the Space Marine ones had some good action, etc., but this one had the best combination of human factors, humor, horror, action, and basically everything else to make it a book that kept me up until 3:17 AM last night reading it.
Is it, perhaps, the best "first" book to read for a 40K aficionado? Maybe not. A lot of the humor is based off knowledge of other 40K knowledge; thus, it might not be as funny otherwise. But it's still well worth the read.