Customer Reviews

Duty Calls (Ciaphas Cain Novels)

5 star:		(5)
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Commissar Ciaphas Cain of the 597th Valhallan, our favorite reluctant hero, stumbles into action. Again. Along for the ride is his personal and odorous aide, Feric Jurgen. Jurgen's gift as a blank comes in handy, as does the huge melta weapon he so loves. This time Cain is assisting local forces on Periremunda to quell widespread civil disorder. Things turn out to be worse than Cain could have ever suspected. Inquisitor Amberley Vail is on the planet, though her presence is supposed to be a secret, following a lead to an ancient xenos artifact that Metheius had absconded with earlier. When it becomes apparent that Tyranids ('Nids) are not only already on the planet, but have already called in their Hive fleet, Cain knows that the frak has hit the fan around him again.

Commissar Cain becomes the public face of the Imperial Guard, thanks to the printsheets; something he truly hates to be. As such, assassins begin coming out of seemingly thin air, proving that Cain's troops have even more problems in the forms of genestealer hybrids and Psykers. Since 'Nids are bred for deception and camouflage, the horrors could be anywhere by now. To add to the chaos, The Order of the White Rose (convent of Battle Sisters) is being led by a woman named Enlantine who, to Cain's thinking, is out to prove that they can be psychotic Emperor-bothering harridans of the highest degree. To top it all off, Lieutenant Jenit Sulla is there and still attempting to batter the Gothic language into submissions with her lengthy narrations. How can the wily commissar ever hope to find the easy life he prefers?

**** This is the fifth installment of the Cain series, but all of you FNGs (frekking new guys) to the series will not find yourselves lost one bit. In fact, I have no doubts that you will scramble to locate the back list of Cain's saga. Afterwards, you will be eager for the advent of each new Cain adventure, just as I am.

Author Sandy Mitchell has done an incredible job of creating the main characters, especially of Cain who has become very real to me. Every time I hear his name I find myself smiling in memory of some sort of humorous situation he had managed to find himself within. Mitchell is to be commended for his achievement of bringing his characters to believable life. BRAVO! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

To be honest, I wasn't terribly impressed with the last entry in the Cain archives. Death or Glory felt like a rehash of previous plot elements and storyline and reverted Ciaphas to his "old" state where he wasn't terribly interesting.

But with Duty Calls, we get a better idea of why Vail chose the last entry and we can definitely see how Cain himself is different partly perhaps due to his experiences with the 597th. I'm assuming that Death or Glory, Duty Calls and another book will make up another trilogy of books, a bit akin to how the first three Cain books were anagolous to the original "Founding" trilogy of Gaunt's Ghosts.

Looking forward for more, that's for sure.

As with all the novels that involve Ciaphas they are just a wondeful rollercoaster ride. Some mild comedy at just the right time adds a warmth to the novel as well. Get it, you will love i promise.

I kind of wish I'd waited for the omnibus, but what's done is done. I got into the Ciaphas Cain books only recently (the beginning of the year, actually), and I haven't regretted it since. While critics have a point about the rampant repetition throughout the Ciaphas Cain books, it's not all that bad - if it's not blatant, anyway. And believe me, it's especially flagrant in the first few novels (in the omnibus, Ciaphas Cain - Hero of the Imperium). Still, that does little to detract from the overall entertainment value.

There isn't much else I can say, since everyone else seems to have summed it up pretty nicely (without spoilers, of course).

A rollicking good book, full of fun and fantasy. Once again, Cain slashes his way across the galaxy in search of a cosy, out of the way office only to be rudely disturbed by a hive of Tyranids on the surface and darker evil lurking around the corner. If you are not a gamer, and not in tune with the 40K system, it does not matter. Good guys are good guys, bad guys are bad guys, the techkno-babble flows, and Ciaphas Cain heroes his way across the pages in a desperate attempt to stay alive and comfortable. Comparable to the "Flashman" series with less romance, every chapter does not fail to entertain. A jolly good read indeed; so pull up a chair, put your feet up on the desk, grab a nice hot cup of Tanna, and just relax. Oh, you better keep your laspistol handy, too.

If you are a Warhammer 40K fan this is a fun read. Even if you are just a science fiction fan this is a good book. I like all the books in this Caiphas Cain series.

the latest entry in the ciaphas cain series of 40k books is very good. ciaphas, jurgen, inquisitor veil, and the 597th valhallan regiment are defending another world of the imperium from tyranids. of course, it can't be that straight forward [not with ciaphas' luck]. someone is attempting to kill 'the hero of the imperium' and noone knows why. leaves you wanting more.

A great addition to the Ciaphas Cain series. Filled with action pack fight/battle sequences which, are undoubtedly, the bane and fame of Cain.

This Ciaphus Cain novel was the first I have read, since then I have purchased all the rest. says something about it huh?

Sandy Mitchell's DUTY CALLS returns Warhammer hero to new action as it tells of one Commissioner Cain, who finds himself in the hot seat despite his attempts to escape the war-torn 41st millennium. From rampaging aliens to an uncontrolled populace, ongoing dangers create a fast-paced science fiction thriller hard to put down.