Defender of the Imperium

Ciaphas Cain #4-6

by Sandy Mitchell

The legendary Commissar Ciaphas Cain, lauded as one of the great heroes of the Imperium, finds himself thrust onto the battlefield again. Cain wants nothing more than to keep out of trouble and get to the other side of his commission in one piece, but the war-torn 41st millennium has other ideas. Confronted with the powers of Chaos and hordes of alien foes, our intrepid Commissar seeks to sidestep danger and talk his way out of trouble. Yet each time he survives his legend only grows, and his life is in ever-greater jeopardy… Defender of the Imperium contains the novels Death or Glory, Duty Calls and Cain’s Last Stand, plus the short story Traitor’s Gambit and a new introduction from author Sandy Mitchell.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Science Fiction

768 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2010

About the author

Sandy 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.

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciaphas Cain was rather interesting. Instead of the usual grimdark, we are introduced to grimdark humor. It's dry and witty and, strangely enough, it works well for this environment. Do not assume that this is YA or some such shit. It isn't. Cain is defined by his rather droll wit and the internal thoughts he has are quite amusing.

Cain is a Commissar. Charged with keeping up morale and punishing malcontents, most Commissars are objects of fear. Then there is Cain. Cain can best be summed up as a very proficient version of Han Solo. He is a rouge and not as fanatical as his counterparts. While no coward, neither is he the type to run at a Chaos Marine Squad whilst screeching "For the Emperor!"

But, for all his non-conformist views, the situations that have occurred, and do occur during this volume, have turned him into a legend. He is the Defender of the Imperium.

This volume collects the following stories:
Sector Thirteen- Cain finds a genestealer nest

Death or Glory- Cain fights Orks

Duty Calls- More tyranid issues for Cain

Traitor's Gambit- Cain deals with an assassination attempt

Cain's Last Stand- Cain must defend a mysterious object from falling into the hands of a Chaos army.

All the stories are slightly interrelated and all of them have the trademark dry humor I really enjoyed. Cain was something different than the usual. I enjoyed reading it and will likely pick up some more Cain books later.

[Jay Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've almost given up on the 40K universe with its immensely purple prose and steroid-driven fatalism. More than a couple of novels I've tried have left me wanting to mount my own Waaaaaagh! in frustration with the thickly lathered on scifi angst but the Ciapahas Cain books reeled me back in. Quite happily too. Smart and funny.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an omnibus of Death or Glory, Duty Calls, and Cain's Last Stand, with two additional short stories. The second omnibus. They feature an adventure early in his career, one in the middle of it, and one after he had left active duty for teaching at a schola in retirement. Though there is a thread pulling them together, it's not the main plot line.

Cain is himself throughout. Whatever you conclude him to be: a self-absorbed dirty coward with fantastical luck, good and bad, and an exceedingly enlightened self-interest, or a hero with a perverse streak of modesty.

In Death and Glory, he is part of the forces going to deliver a planet from an invasion of orks. Mischance lands him (and his aide Jurgen) the middle of the continent thoroughly infested with orks, with a scattered handful of tattered Imperial forces and enslaved civilians. The only way out would be to rally them and fight back to Imperial-held territories.

In Duty Calls, his regiment is summoned to a planet on the verge of rebellion. Arrival reveals that, undercover, the forces of genestealers, human infected and controlled by alien forces, which naturally leads to the conclusion that the aliens themselves, the tyrannids, are coming to drain the planet dry. And there are still stranger forces, and they appear to have Cain in their sights.

Cain's Last Stand takes place after Cain's retirement, when the planet where he teaches is menaced by forces of Chaos. And the most effective forces are the retirees at the school, and the students being taught there.

Action, adventure, comedy -- and great fun. Reading the first omnibus first might be wise, but there are no major spoilers.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Defender of the Imperium is a epic humour filled exploits and trips from the start filled with, daring and do, seat of the pants tactics, MRE's, cunning, shenanigans, Orks, Tyranids, Chaos, rib breaking situations, witty observations, epic world building, unintentional heroics, adventures and action! Crisp high five! Brilliant and highly recommended! Get it when you can!

[Sarah ♥ dog crazy ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fun read. Cain is one of my fave characters ever and let's not forget Jurgen. It was also great to get another glimpse of the necrons who are my fave species in the WH 40K universe.

[Talitha Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following in the footsteps of Hero of the Imperium, this collection has all the adventure one could want. The supporting characters Cols. Kasteen and Broklaw are given a real opportunity to shine when Comissar Cain is embroiled in an Inquisitorial mission and is therefore less involved in the ordinary tasks of managing their Guard campaign. Also, Inquisitor Vail and her personal entorage are a lot of fun and its interesting to see how they interact with each other and with 'outsiders'.
While the soul-searching of the previous book is undiminished, greater familiarity with the characters and their jobs allows for a little more societal exploration: considering how a person's place effects their relationship to the questions of conscience and bravery.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciaphas Cain is definitely one of my favorite characters. I liked this omnibus less than the first one mostly because the middle novel dragged a bit. I prefer Cain out on his own, forced to be the hero everyone thinks he is rather than when Amberly is pulling the strings. The first book in the trio was probably one of my favorites as Cain cobbles together an army to fight orks while trying to flee to safety. The short stories were both fun and the last novel more or less tied it all neatly together.

Overall, if you are a Cain fan definitely pick the second omnibus up. It will not disappoint.

[Ross Coulbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of Cain novels that display everything we love about the character. The short stories tease the following books well, and each novel stands up solidly on it's own. There is an overarching story that crosses all three novels, and you'll especially get the most out of Cain's Last Stand if you've read the other two, but it doesn't take away from the other novels in any way.

If you enjoy 40k but want something a bit more fun to read, I highly recommend. Fans of Blackadder or Harry Flashman will enjoy.

[Luke Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second collection of the Ciaphas Cain series collecting the 4th, 5th and 6th novels (Death or Glory, Duty Calls and Cain's Last Stand) along with several associated short stories is probably my favourite of the series, particularly given the Shadowlight story arc running through the three novels and some of my favourite supporting characters making their appearances here, along with the usual mix of action and sarcastic wit skillfully interwoven into the grim dark setting of the Warhammer 40,000 universe...

[Oliver Eike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orks, Tyrnids and Necrons! Oh my!

This omnibus felt a bit less interesting than the previous one, however while it was not bad, it lacked a lot of the style that first made me love Ciaphas Cain.

Though this omnibus has a thread that runs through it and ties the 3 books together in a way the previous did not. Which makes it easier to invest in the story.

Can recommend it though if you enjoyed the previous. It is still good Warhammer 40K.

[Wouter Dhondt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love reading Ciaphas Cain books and fly through them when I do read them. But after reading one, I can easily go a year without Cain as it might get repetitive in certain areas. There is only so much "if I had known then what I know now" and "Jurgen foul body odor description" you can take.

Loved this omnibus. Especially the first story. The middle one is the least of the three but still liked it a lot. And the last novel ties back to the previous two which I enjoyed.

[Cioran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come for the humor. Stay for the simple but hard to follow message that just because the world is a shitty place it doesn't excuse you to be a piece of shit of a human. Cain lives in a world of shit. But his sense of humor and love for another human being, and also some good luck and ability to improvise results in his corner of shit becoming a lot less shitty and the lives he touched more liveable.

[BAD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these books! Ciaphas Cain is a really likable, sympathetic character on top of being a complete and utter badass and Jurgen is a great side-kick. Every book is highly entertaining and fun, really fun. My one complaint is that the ending of the last book felt very quite rushed, but that didn't diminish it at all.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally care for reoccurring characters in Warhammer fiction - because having a cast of untouchables lessens the grimdark - but Ciaphas Cain is enjoyable. His Mister Magoo bad luck is aptly applied to a series based on narratives rather than 300 pages of murder porn, a mistake too many Black Library books make. All in all, another enjoyable experience delivered by Sandy Mitchell.

[Sebastiaan Vanbesien · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ever, Sandy Mitchell again delivers the perfect combination of fast paced action, humor, gripping but not overly convoluted stories and enough winks and nods to keep you on your toes and desperate to keep on reading. Another great omnibus of what is fast turning out to be one of my favorite Blackadder inspired duo’s in sci-fi. Cain and his trusty aid Jurgen are tremendously well written, be it reluctant heroes and well deserve your time and attention.

[sean luehmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glued to your hand good

I've been reading warhammer 40k books since I was a kid ( probably why I'm so weird ) , and the ciaphas cain books are a just a masterpiece of good and fun reading. Enjoy the escapades of cain and jurgen

[Jason Romero · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are entertaining for sure. It enjoyable in the shut your brain down and just immerse yourself kind of way. If you are looking for light reading that is fast paced, this works well. Great to mix in with heavier subjects to give yourself a fun rest.

[Tzurky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyable. Even better than the last compendium.

[Jamieson Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic collections of stories starring our favourite Commisar

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

[Stiubhart MacChoille · Rating 5 out of 5]

See what I said about the first omnibus? Yeah, that. Cubed.

[Sam Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't read it fast enough!

The first Cain omnibus was great and this one was just as good, if not better. If you love 40k fiction, this entire series is a must!

[John He · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repetitive at this point, but FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!!

[Adam Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual the Hero of the Imperium stands up to the enemies of Humanity and comes out the victor!

A great series of books about Cain, full of action, adventure and comedy.

[Ulzeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[Nav · Rating 5 out of 5]

The books following Cain are fairly "second verse, same as the first" but I'm not mad at it. It's fun.

[Richard Normington · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, simple, fun sci-fi shoot 'em up and (for the protagonist) run away.

[Chris rodger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining as always to read about my favourite commissar and guardsman duo

[Mayonez Sidorovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still funny. The last book in the omnibus, "The Traitor's Hand" felt rushed. After so many references to the necrons, having them appear only for a few pages at the very end was disappointing.

[David Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Love these books the story arc is always intresting. See how Cain will scrape out of the next galaxy threatening event.