Once again I find myself vindicated for being so in love with the world of Warhammer 40,000.
A co-worker is letting me borrow "Ciaphus Cain: Hero of the Imperium," and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite series.
I actually started this post a long while ago, I was so psyked, but I wanted to finish the collection first before singing its praises.
For those of you unfamiliar with Warhammer 40,000, it is one of (if not the) largest Sci-Fi IPs out there. There is an incredible amount of background to the world, and Games Workshop does a great job of maintaining this by asking two questions for every one it answers. It is a grim and gritty pseudofantasy, full of gut-wrenching (and eating) terrors. Life can quickly go from bad to worse, no matter who's side your on. Especially because there's not really a 'good' side and a 'bad' side. There's the "kill them before they kill us" side and the "kill/eat them all" side.
40k's tagline is: "In the vast darkness of the far future, there is only war." Obviously, the galaxy is a serious place, 40,000 years from now. Which is what makes Ciaphas Cain such a delight.
It's hilarious. Dark, sarcastic humor that plays alongside epic Bond-quality action.
Cain is a Commissar in the Imperium of Man. The Imperial Guard army uses the Commisariat to insure that Morale doesn't drop too low. In standard practice, this means putting the fear of the Emporer into soldiers by any means neccessary - which generally ends with an unceremonious on-the-spot execution. As can be expected, most Imperial Guardsman don't like the Commissars attached to their ranks.
However, Cain is a coward. He doesn't plan on dying any time soon and does whatever he can to lesson the danger posed to himself. Amazingly enough, this usually ends up getting him in the worst danger possible, which he generally escapes by the skin of his teeth. Due to this unnatural fortune, he's garnered an incredible reputation for being the best mankind has to offer. Which, of course, gets him into even more trouble.
If anyone is looking for a good sci-fi series to get into, or are new/old fans of Warhammer 40k, or really dig the Dawn of War series, I highly recommend checking out Sandy Mitchell's work. You won't be able to put it down.
I actually started this post a long while ago, I was so psyked, but I wanted to finish the collection first before singing its praises.
For those of you unfamiliar with Warhammer 40,000, it is one of (if not the) largest Sci-Fi IPs out there. There is an incredible amount of background to the world, and Games Workshop does a great job of maintaining this by asking two questions for every one it answers. It is a grim and gritty pseudofantasy, full of gut-wrenching (and eating) terrors. Life can quickly go from bad to worse, no matter who's side your on. Especially because there's not really a 'good' side and a 'bad' side. There's the "kill them before they kill us" side and the "kill/eat them all" side.
40k's tagline is: "In the vast darkness of the far future, there is only war." Obviously, the galaxy is a serious place, 40,000 years from now. Which is what makes Ciaphas Cain such a delight.
It's hilarious. Dark, sarcastic humor that plays alongside epic Bond-quality action.
Cain is a Commissar in the Imperium of Man. The Imperial Guard army uses the Commisariat to insure that Morale doesn't drop too low. In standard practice, this means putting the fear of the Emporer into soldiers by any means neccessary - which generally ends with an unceremonious on-the-spot execution. As can be expected, most Imperial Guardsman don't like the Commissars attached to their ranks.
However, Cain is a coward. He doesn't plan on dying any time soon and does whatever he can to lesson the danger posed to himself. Amazingly enough, this usually ends up getting him in the worst danger possible, which he generally escapes by the skin of his teeth. Due to this unnatural fortune, he's garnered an incredible reputation for being the best mankind has to offer. Which, of course, gets him into even more trouble.
If anyone is looking for a good sci-fi series to get into, or are new/old fans of Warhammer 40k, or really dig the Dawn of War series, I highly recommend checking out Sandy Mitchell's work. You won't be able to put it down.
"Frak this; for my faith is a shield proof against your blandishments!"
ReplyDeleteCiaphas is awesome. \m/ ^_^ \m/
--Sir William Black, Paladin-general