Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium (Paperback)

by Sandy Mitchell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The adventures of wily Commissar Cain, his malodorous aide Jurgen, and the 296th Valhallans have proved great favourites among Black Library fans. This omnibus edition is an attractive introduction to a very popular series.

About the Author
Sandy Mitchell is a pseudonym for British author Alex Stewart. He has written science fiction and fantasy, television scripts, comics, and gaming material. His television credits include the BBC's high tech espionage series Bugs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (April 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844164667
• ISBN-13: 978-1844164660
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #160,396 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark humor at its best, May 28, 2007

By	B. A. James "General Paladi" (Topeka, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even thought the WH 40k universe can be a dark and trecherous landscape Sandy Mitchell's character has a way of projecting his own sort of humor on every situation. The book takes place over the first three installments in Commissar Ciaphos Cains adventures along with a few short stories.

The best part of Mitchell's books is that they are humorous but not to the point of absurdity. The author does a good job of interjecting humor into most situations will stil being able to maintain a sense of suspense, adventure, or tension. The characters are well thought out and even though a good portion of the book is written from the point of view of Commissar Cain, the natual and self depricating style and angle from which it is written draw you into Cains world and psyche and make you root for him even though you get the sense that like the rest of us he only ends up in the most heroic of situations only be accident and only claims credit when it is advantagous and his original intentions are misconstrued.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frak This!, April 4, 2009

By	Mark Bondurant (Camarillo, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book far outshines the series. His turn of phrase is practically P.G. Wodehousen. I could wish it had been accomplished outside of the Warhammer franchise because it can only limit his potential audience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cain provides a bit of humor in an otherwise bleak galaxy, February 28, 2008

By	J. Starkey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ciaphas Cain, is one of my favorite characters in all the WH40K that I've read. I think mainly because you can actually get inside his head and really see what he's thinking about. The fact that his luck seems limitless and the fact that no matter how many times he tries to take the safe route away from an otherwise dangerous situation, he gets thrown into something even more perilous. Rather than fighting a bunch of armed rebels on the surface, he ends up going undergroud and fnding a rather large group of Tyranids that have been on the planet for a few generations. Yet everytime this happens he manages to escape with little wear and tear, and the best part is that you can actually see that he's a normal person, he doens't want to die a horible death, he would rather serve somewhere away from the fighting where he can eventually retire with no worse for wear. He also gives a rather interesting side to commissars that is rarely seen, he would prefer to find a solution that doesn't involve shooting his own men and women uner his command rather than go in guns a blaze and shoot anyone who so much as sneezes.

All in all it's great to read about a commissar you actually care about, like Commissar Gaunt, and that actually care about the guardsman who serve under them.