Mark of Caine

by Miles Holmes

"You will move through this world as a wraith..." In the aftermath of the Cygnaran civil war, warcaster Allister Caine has become a fugitive, hiding out in a backwater town where little ever happens. Until the bodies start piling up, and Cain is accused of murder. And Caine can't be entirely sure he's innocent. With only a cryptic riddle whispered in his ear, a mysterious rune tattooed on his arm, and an unusual little girl by his side, Caine will need to stay one step ahead of the elite squad of hunters known as the Black 13th. As they close in, bent on bringing him to justice for crimes he might not have committed, Caine must unravel why everyone he's ever known is suddenly marked for death...and keep from becoming his own final victim.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Steampunk

267 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 11, 2016

Reviews

[Deacon Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allister Caine never claimed to be a good guy, but even he had his limits. During an uprising against the Bloody King Vinter, the intelligence service for which he worked handed down the order for him to murder the King's brother, Leto, and his whole family. It was an order the notorious War Caster simply couldn't obey. So, insignia removed, country dismissed, Caine fled.

Now, the war is over, Leto is the new King, but the intelligence service hasn't forgotten, and won't relent. But staying hidden isn't easy, and harder still when drunk, or otherwise impaired. Unfortunately a group of bounty hunters, find him and he is forced to fight and flee, during which a beautiful Magic user helps him escape, and claims she can help him become invisible in to those seeking him.

Caine's drunkenness and confusion soon leads him into a state of unconsciousness, from which he wakes to find himself back at his inn, the only problem is everyone in the inn is dead.

Miles Holmes is a talented writer who can easily stand beside Larry Correia, though he is not quiet as refined, he is interesting to listen to, and his stories certainly do capture my imagination. I am giving him four stars for this one, because he turned me on to the series, but he will have to step up his game to keep getting reviews this good.

I hope to see more of his work outside of the WarMachine worlds.

[Dev Null · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This is, by the way, the 3.1415927th book in a not-series of collected-but-mostly-unconnected universe of novels by different authors, all set in the world of Privateer Press' miniatures game Warmachines.) I expect that it would be very hard to follow without some background in the Warmachine setting, and there doesn't seem to be any definitive order to read the books about it, so I can't say where I'd start. At times you will hear the dice rolling, and expect page references to the unit stats in the rulebook, but this does have a bit of a plot of it's own, unlike (I thought) the previous Way of Caine. I enjoyed the ride, though I got a bit tired of the machoness of the relatively pointless references to heavy drinking and Caine's long trail of women he's left behind.

[Daniel Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Enjoyed it. Probably not the greatest if you don't know the setting.

Privateer Press's fear of allowing characters to die shows itself in full color in this one.

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read (especially for Warmachine fans, and especially if you are a fan of Caine). I will admit that I was not originally a fan of the gunslinging warcaster in the tabletop game but since reading, the Way of Caine and the Blood of Kings, I've actually grown fond of the guy. Initially I thought he was a cliche rake scoundrel kinda guy, but the author did a good job of adding depth to the character that seems to explain the whys of why Caine does what he does. The only flaw I can think of is that I think the initial reason that's given to hunt Caine as a fugitive is a little weak. Knowing what took place in Blood of Kings, and Caine's pivotal role in it, I think it's lacking and wouldn't hold much water if scrutinized by the Cygnar powers that be (i.e. The King and his close associates).

In Warmachine Mk. II I started playing Caine2 and he is now one of my go to top 4 casters in Cygnar. After reading this story (and pre-ordering his Hellslingers caster unit), I'm excited how they are going to incorporate the stuff from the story into the tabletop. I'm definitely interested in reading the next book in the series.