Customer Reviews

Cadian Blood (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Imperial Guard)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm adding a Warhammer 40K overview to this review to help newcomers get a sense for the Universe. (Warhammer 40K pros, go easy on me - I'm also somewhat of a newcomer to the Universe, hope I got the broad brushstrokes right). Review for book at bottom.

HOW I GOT HOOKED
I got this through vine and put it directly on my nightstand. Although I've never gamed Warhammer (Warhammer 40k Space Marines Combat Squad) or any of their many other games, I became a fan of Warhammer 40,000 after a friend in college introduced me to the Warhammer 40k universe back in 1990 I want to say. While browsing through Amazon, I came across Eisenhorn probably the best "starter" novel to get anyone started into the Warhammer Universe. I have to admit, I've gotten hooked on the stories.


THE BLACK LIBRARY
From a company standpoint there is a British company called the Black Library that owns and manages Warhammer 40K. They have some great writers on staff like Dan Abnett and Graham McNiell who write many of the stories. The common thread of the writers is that in my opinion they are very literary people who manage the capture the dark, dystopian, almost opressing vision of this far future. Many of their stories have foundations and parallels in real world history...for example The Flight of the Eisenstein (Horus Heresy) is very similar in my opinion to The Battleship Potemkin. I think the company was founded in 1989 to provide advanced hobbyist game pieces (Games Workshop Space Marine Devastator Squad Box Set) that gamers could paint and decorate and then play in competition based on some rule books called codexes (Warhammer 40K (40,000) Codex Space Marines) very similar to dungeons and dragons.


THE SERIES
Warhammer 40K takes place about 40,000 years in the future in a neogothic dystopian Universe where the entire galaxy has been colonized. During the 40,000 year history humanity discovers that hyperspace (the mechanism they use to travel faster than light) is filled with ghostly demons and other lifeforms that will not hesitate to invade and infest the real universe. Add to that alien Elves, Orks, intergalactic insectoid invaders, parasites and every other conceivable menace, this makes for a tormented universe that only knows War and suffering for its untold trillions or quadrillions of denizens.

In this Universe there is an Empire based on Earth with an Emperor and and a gigantic bureaucracy that manages the Imperium. I'll outline some of the story lines to help you make sense of this (if you're not a pro already):


SPACE MARINES - Genetically and Cybernetically augmented warrior monks that form the front line of defense for the Empire. Space Marine novels generally build on the mythology of the space marines and generally describe a chapter of space marines (a monastery) and tell some story of how they fight for the Empire or how they fell from grace. Space Marines are almost not human, they've been augmented genetically stand at 8 to 12 feet tall and wear giant powered armour. They fight in space and in some horrible conditions. For this reason, you don't get much of a feel for the denizens of the Empire (generally) in these novels. Space Marines are Monks and celibate (I think) so you don't get any flavor for interpersonal relationships. Although in a few stories you do get some political intrigue and in one space wolf novel, you even get to see Earth. Expect lots of fighting with these novels in very novel settings.
The Ultramarines Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus)


TITANS - The giant Mechwarriors (giant walking two legged tanks) that form the heaviest of assault machines of the empire. Titanicus is the only Warhammer 40K novel that I know of that is based on Titans. Because Titans stand at 40 stories and are crewed by a very select group of very religious people, you don't get much of the flavor for the citizens of the Empire although you do get dazzling descriptions of the cities, planets, and how the war machines fight. Expect lots of fighting with these novels.
Titanicus (Warhammer 40,000)

IMPERIAL GUARD - The Army of the Empire (untold billions serve and die regularly) -- CADIAN BLOOD is an Imperial guard novel. Expect down and dirty grunt fighting and warfare in these novels with a healthy does of intrigue and plot machinations. Because Imperial Guard are human, you get more of a sense for the Empire than you do with Titan or Space Marine novels.
Cadian Blood (Imperial Guard)

INQUISITORS - The Emperor's inquisition carries the Empire's complete support as they go out and seek out evil in any form (Einsenhorn, Ravenor, and Innocence Proves Nothing are Inquisition novels). Expect more intrigue and deceipt in these novels and expect to see some of the more opulent aspects of the Empire because many times Inquisitors walk among the citizens of the Empire. I find that I get a better flavor for the Warhammer Universe from Inquisitor Novels. They are my personal favorites.
Eisenhorn (A Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus)
Ravenor: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40000)
Innocence Proves Nothing (Warhammer 40000)

MECHANICUM - The Mechanicum is almost like a pseudoreligion based on Mars who has a very close alliance with the Emperor (although sometimes you wonder). The Mechanicum makes most of the technology for the Empire. So many things have been invented and forgotten in the 40K universe that technology is more of technomagic and technology use is almost ritual-like.
Mechanicum (Horus Heresy)

HORUS HERESY NOVELS - When the Warhammer 40K Universe was invented (mostly for gaming purposes), a backstory was developed that tells how the Galaxy was brought under the Emperor. It used to be a fairly short story but has been expanded broadly now that Warhammer 40K is so popular. Here are some Heresy books in no particular order but there is an order (there are too many of them for me to track and I haven't read them all).
Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy)
The Flight of the Eisenstein (Horus Heresy)
False Gods: The Heresy Takes Root (The Horus Heresy)



CADIAN BLOOD
Cadian blood, this book, follows a group of Imperial Guard who are sent to a shrine world planet that has been hit by disease. I always worry about reading something from a new author from the Black Library. I was pretty impressed in the first few pages, the writer got the entirely opressing feel to the whole universe. Part of the appeal to this is that after spending an hour with a novel like this, I walk away feeling that my life and circumstances are just plain fantastic compared to how these people live in this Universe.

I will not give any spoilers to the book but I will say that I was very impressed that the author got the flavor of the Warhammer 40k universe and the battles. I was also impressed at the number of battles and their detail in the story which, I must admit, is not the reason that I read Warhammer 40k (more of an inquisitor kindof fan) but I know that the core of Warhammer revolves around the battles and this aspect is treated very nicely in these novels. Also, because the imperial guard are humans you get much more believable situations (although these guys are armed to the teeth and would make short work of any modern world fighting force)...Imperial Guard novels tend to be grittier with a feel for what human battle would be like vs the superhuman space marine battles.

There's a lot of fighting, some intrigue as they try to figure out what's going on with the disease front, and some space naval stuff as the Imperial Space Armada works to keep people from fleeing the planet (they worry any displaced people might take the plague offworld). Overall a solid installment from a new writer and frankly amazed at the detail. Don't get me wrong, Dan Abnett is still my favorite but Aaron is climbing nicely as a solid writer here.

I really wanted to like this book, but it needs more work. The plot lines are messy at best. The character development is not up to par with most of the other Warhammer books that I have read. There are some good characters in the novel but they are left unfinished and shallow. There were some good action scenes, but unfortunately these are offset by too many poorly developed ones. I also did not like how the zombie idea was presented and developed. It seems like an unfinished first draft of a novel. I wish that a good editor would have spent more time helping the author develop the novel better.

I do not recommend this book unless you are a diehard Warhammer fan.

Aaron Dembski-Bowden's CADIAN BLOOD is an excellent addition to the Warhammer 40K world.

The Chaos plague had already ravaged countless worlds, but when it began to appear on the shrineworld of Kathur, far from the center of the war on the Archenemy, Imperial forces were at a lost. Within weeks, the entire population was dead or dying, and an Imperial force was sent to reclaim the world in the name of the Emperor. But as the Imperial forces, led by the crack 88th Cadian Mechanized infantry, begin battling plague-slain by the tens of thousands, it is soon evident that there is something even more sinister going on. And when the Death Guard arrive, with the Raven Guard on their heals seeking vengeance, the stage is set for a slaughter that even the battle-hardened Cadians can't fathom.

Dembski-Bowden does an excellent job of blending the combat raging over an entire world with the small-unit aspects of a firefight involving squads, giving both a strategic perspective and a tactical one. His Cadian characters are stoic, professional, and memorable, evoking similar emotions from the reader as the Spartans in THE GATES OF FIRE. His Archenemy characters are profoundly evil, and the class between the two sides, especially between Astartes and Traitor Astartes, is truly enjoyable.

Full of the all the blood, gore, heroism and sacrifice that 40K readers look for, this is a fine addition to any 40K fan's library, and will also be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in military science fiction.

Cadian Blood deals with what is probably the most under appreciated part of the 40k universe, the Imperial Guard. When you read an Imperial Guard novel you get the proper feeling of awe when the guard encounter the Astartes or the Inquisition. The Imperial Guard are the grunts, the everyman in 40k.

This novel is a great debut and hopefully there will be more. If you are new to the 40k universe then you probably should start with some other books, the Dawn Of War Omnibus is a great intro into 40k.

As with every 40k novel there is always a little bit of information that adds to the bigger 40k picture. Cadian Blood is a great 40k addition but would probably be better appreciated with a more extensive knowledge of 40k.

I love the warhammer 40k books. I specially loved the inquisitor series.
In this book a new Inquisition Ordos is introduced. But what makes the book is reading the story of the Cadian Imperial Guard. Always the Space Marines take the spot light away from the regular armed forces of the Imperium. Here you get a chance to follow the exploits of regular troops facing the arch enemy.
With the twist of mixing zombies in it.

This is my first Warhammer 40 K novel and I absolutely loved it. The story and characters, heroes and villains, were great and fleshed out. I can't wait to read more about the Imperial Guard.

The battles are intense, the story is well written. The ending is excellent. But I am nonetheless disappointed. the Majority of the enemies the Guard faces are zombies and traitor PDF. I wanted a massive and fierce struggle against a chaos army, which isn't what happened.

One of the best written books of the WH40K universe. With character development even bettern than that of the Gaunt series, this book has it all. It is well written and pay homage to the every figurehead in that universe, mechanicum, the guards, chaos forces and perhaps one unsung hero of the Chaos, Typhon. ( I always think Death Guard needs better attention )

This book is so well written, it deserves a sequel, I want to know what happened to the 88th after this, or perhaps a prequel - about that battle in Cadia.

Honestly, I did not care for this book and would have given it 3 stars. However, my son, who is 19 also read it and throughly enjoyed it. He said if he was writing the review he would have given it 5 stars. I generally science fiction books, but this was just not my cup of tea, so to speak. I just could not get into the book and so it seemed to take forever to read. I finished it and my son asked to read and he had it done in 3 days tops. He also likes the video game WarHammer 40,000 so he probably understood it more than I did. I guess, looking at it from a technical stand point, the book was fairly well written and the characters were interesting. It was really the storyline that I just didn't care for. From my son's point of view anything with zombies is good. I am sure there will be many people out there that will enjoy this book, I am just not one of them.

As a newcomer to the Warhammer 40000 series, I did not find the incessant gore and zombie killing satisifying. The protagonists were fighting and dying for a dictator, but the demonic alternative was even worse. There is a valid metaphor for our current state of war and the nation's leadership at the time this book was written, and for fans of Warhammer, this may well be just up their alley.

The later half of the book improved with good character development and plot twists, but I believe I will stick with more uplifting authors in the future.