What do you think?
Rate this book
Ciaphas Cain #1-3
Ciaphas Cain Trilogy Box Set
In the 41st millennium Commissar Ciaphas Cain, hero of the Imperium, is an inspiration to his men – at least that’s what the propaganda would have you believe…
Recruited in their millions from planets all over the Imperium, the human soldiers of the Astra Militarum fight tirelessly to protect mankind from its many enemies. To back up the command structure of the massive regiments, commissars ere employed to maintain discipline and inspire faith. Brave, ferocious and determined, they are true heroes of the Imperium. The roll call of famous commissars is long, but few have achieved the notoriety of Ciaphas Cain. Whether faced with orks, tyranids, or the forces of Chaos, he always somehow manages to emerge triumphant and covered in glory.
This stunning slipcase boxed set contains the first three volumes in the eternally popular Ciaphas Cain series – For the Emperor, Caves of Ice and The Traitor’s Hand, together with extra content in the form of additional short stories and editorial introductions.
Words from the Author
The funny thing about Cain is that I never expected anyone else to like him. Way back in the dim and distant past, so long ago that Black Library published short stories on chunks of dead tree instead of ecologically sound pixels, I was invited to pitch some ideas for Inferno!, the magazine of stories and comic strips set in the Games Workshop universes. And the standard was intimidatingly high. Gotrek and Felix had adventures there. Gaunt’s Ghosts, too.
So, rather hesitantly, I suggested this idea I’d had, about a Commissar who, in complete contrast to the archetype, was concerned entirely with his own safety. Only to be told, in no uncertain terms, that humour just didn’t work in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, and to come up with something else. But by that time it was too late. Cain, and his narrative voice, had become embedded in my head, and the only way I could get it out was by writing the story. And, once written, I sent it in anyway, expecting an instant rejection. To my surprise, though, the story sold. And the readers loved it. Almost as soon as the issue hit the shops, the fan mail started coming in. They wanted more. So did the editors. More short stories followed, during which I really began to get to know Cain. Jurgen, too, was beginning to become a character in his own right, more than just the comedy sidekick.
Inevitably, the next request was for a novel, which presented a whole new set of challenges. The short stories worked because of Cain’s first person narration, but a Warhammer 40,000 novel is, by definition, a widescreen blockbuster, crammed with incident and really cool explosions. Clearly, I couldn’t keep the focus entirely on Cain, because a lot of the story elements would depend on a much wider context he really wouldn’t care about. The solution was to interpolate an editorial voice, adding footnotes and additional material to fill in the gaps in the narrative. Which, in turn, went a long way towards making the books distinctive. And here I am, a decade and a half later, introducing the first hardcover edition of For the Emperor! and the two books which followed it. Looking back on them, I can see myself developing as a writer from volume to volume, growing in confidence with the longer medium, to the point where, after nine Cain books and a handful of others, I now consider myself primarily a novelist.
Which probably accounts for my fondness for a body of work of which I continue to be proud. Without the redoubtable Commissar, and the characters who surround him, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. Working for Black Library, and with its exceptionally fine editors, developed my craft and my confidence in a way all authors should experience, and which far too few do. I’m getting the itch to return to his adventures, and looking forward to hearing what he’s got to say for himself when he starts to dictate the next portion of his memoirs.
Recruited in their millions from planets all over the Imperium, the human soldiers of the Astra Militarum fight tirelessly to protect mankind from its many enemies. To back up the command structure of the massive regiments, commissars ere employed to maintain discipline and inspire faith. Brave, ferocious and determined, they are true heroes of the Imperium. The roll call of famous commissars is long, but few have achieved the notoriety of Ciaphas Cain. Whether faced with orks, tyranids, or the forces of Chaos, he always somehow manages to emerge triumphant and covered in glory.
This stunning slipcase boxed set contains the first three volumes in the eternally popular Ciaphas Cain series – For the Emperor, Caves of Ice and The Traitor’s Hand, together with extra content in the form of additional short stories and editorial introductions.
Words from the Author
The funny thing about Cain is that I never expected anyone else to like him. Way back in the dim and distant past, so long ago that Black Library published short stories on chunks of dead tree instead of ecologically sound pixels, I was invited to pitch some ideas for Inferno!, the magazine of stories and comic strips set in the Games Workshop universes. And the standard was intimidatingly high. Gotrek and Felix had adventures there. Gaunt’s Ghosts, too.
So, rather hesitantly, I suggested this idea I’d had, about a Commissar who, in complete contrast to the archetype, was concerned entirely with his own safety. Only to be told, in no uncertain terms, that humour just didn’t work in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, and to come up with something else. But by that time it was too late. Cain, and his narrative voice, had become embedded in my head, and the only way I could get it out was by writing the story. And, once written, I sent it in anyway, expecting an instant rejection. To my surprise, though, the story sold. And the readers loved it. Almost as soon as the issue hit the shops, the fan mail started coming in. They wanted more. So did the editors. More short stories followed, during which I really began to get to know Cain. Jurgen, too, was beginning to become a character in his own right, more than just the comedy sidekick.
Inevitably, the next request was for a novel, which presented a whole new set of challenges. The short stories worked because of Cain’s first person narration, but a Warhammer 40,000 novel is, by definition, a widescreen blockbuster, crammed with incident and really cool explosions. Clearly, I couldn’t keep the focus entirely on Cain, because a lot of the story elements would depend on a much wider context he really wouldn’t care about. The solution was to interpolate an editorial voice, adding footnotes and additional material to fill in the gaps in the narrative. Which, in turn, went a long way towards making the books distinctive. And here I am, a decade and a half later, introducing the first hardcover edition of For the Emperor! and the two books which followed it. Looking back on them, I can see myself developing as a writer from volume to volume, growing in confidence with the longer medium, to the point where, after nine Cain books and a handful of others, I now consider myself primarily a novelist.
Which probably accounts for my fondness for a body of work of which I continue to be proud. Without the redoubtable Commissar, and the characters who surround him, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. Working for Black Library, and with its exceptionally fine editors, developed my craft and my confidence in a way all authors should experience, and which far too few do. I’m getting the itch to return to his adventures, and looking forward to hearing what he’s got to say for himself when he starts to dictate the next portion of his memoirs.
897 pages, Hardcover
Published May 11, 2016
54 people want to read
About the author
Sandy Mitchell
103 books419 followersSandy Mitchell is a pseudonym of Alex Stewart, who has been a full-time writer since the mid nineteen eighties. The majority of his work as Sandy has been tie-in fiction for Games Workshop's Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 science fiction lines. The exceptions have been a novelisation of episodes from the high tech thriller series Bugs, for which he also worked as a scriptwriter under his own name, some Warhammer roleplaying game material, and a scattering of short stories and magazine articles.
His hobbies include the martial arts of Aikido and Iaido, miniature wargaming, role-playing games, and pottering about on the family allotment.
He lives in the North Essex village of Earls Colne, with his wife Judith and daughter Hester.
His hobbies include the martial arts of Aikido and Iaido, miniature wargaming, role-playing games, and pottering about on the family allotment.
He lives in the North Essex village of Earls Colne, with his wife Judith and daughter Hester.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 20, 2016
I hate writing reviews where I can't decide whether to concentrate on the book (art, design, cover and such) or the story.
In this case I want to give a full five stars for the story. I've read them all before (as a matter of fact it was the first novels that got me hooked on warhammer 40K-litterature!) and I still hold them as some of my all time favourites. Yes. None of the stories are nobel-material by a long shot, but they are easy to read with memorable characters, exiting stories and lots of black humour.
But.
This is a special boxed set edition. with only 500 copies printed.
We get some awesome cover images... but they are just the old covers, and so dark it's hard to make out anything.
We get some new introductions from the editor... but all three books have almost the same one. And a couple of very glaring spelling errors...
Why not include some nifty bound in bookmarks? New art? The web shop had a pretty interesting comment from the author. Why not include that one?
But more than anything:
Why the flying F is there advertisement for other novels in the back of two of the books? Novels not even written by the same author as this series.
I want to give 5 stars for the excellent stories. I want to give 2 or maybe even 1 for the boxed set.
I'll settle for 3 and see if I modify it in the (grim dark) future.
In this case I want to give a full five stars for the story. I've read them all before (as a matter of fact it was the first novels that got me hooked on warhammer 40K-litterature!) and I still hold them as some of my all time favourites. Yes. None of the stories are nobel-material by a long shot, but they are easy to read with memorable characters, exiting stories and lots of black humour.
But.
This is a special boxed set edition. with only 500 copies printed.
We get some awesome cover images... but they are just the old covers, and so dark it's hard to make out anything.
We get some new introductions from the editor... but all three books have almost the same one. And a couple of very glaring spelling errors...
Why not include some nifty bound in bookmarks? New art? The web shop had a pretty interesting comment from the author. Why not include that one?
But more than anything:
Why the flying F is there advertisement for other novels in the back of two of the books? Novels not even written by the same author as this series.
I want to give 5 stars for the excellent stories. I want to give 2 or maybe even 1 for the boxed set.
I'll settle for 3 and see if I modify it in the (grim dark) future.
April 10, 2017
Very much enjoyed this (first) trilogy of stories about Ciaphas Cain.
It manages to capture the Grimdark of the 41st millennium, however, it is rather humourous at parts as well both due to Cain's commentary or actions and often the footnotes provided by the narrator Inquisitor Amberly Vail on Cain's actions.
Long story short is Cain's goal at life is to live it and not die in one of the multitude of ways available to one in the grim darkness of the far future. However, despite his best efforts, events and people conspire (often unwittingly) against him to put him back into harms way. In the process of trying to avoid trouble Cain often finds himself drawn right into the heart of it.
The first part\story sets the tone as it talks about Cain's first deployment and his attempts to stay as far from the action as possible and from there his story of becoming a hero of the Imperium.
It manages to capture the Grimdark of the 41st millennium, however, it is rather humourous at parts as well both due to Cain's commentary or actions and often the footnotes provided by the narrator Inquisitor Amberly Vail on Cain's actions.
Long story short is Cain's goal at life is to live it and not die in one of the multitude of ways available to one in the grim darkness of the far future. However, despite his best efforts, events and people conspire (often unwittingly) against him to put him back into harms way. In the process of trying to avoid trouble Cain often finds himself drawn right into the heart of it.
The first part\story sets the tone as it talks about Cain's first deployment and his attempts to stay as far from the action as possible and from there his story of becoming a hero of the Imperium.
December 9, 2018
Awesome trash.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews