So, what of the characters themselves? With an Imperial Guard novel authors are typically given the chance to offer a more varied number of figures than other races. The unenhanced human element certainly works in their favour, and Cadian Honour features an ensemble of varied and engaging characters throughout the ranks. Cadian Regiment - Featured in the PC game Dawn of War: Winter Assault where they carried out the Imperial assault against the Chaos Space Marine and Ork forces of the Ice World of Lorn V There’s a murky selection of maybe/maybe not antagonists across that broad spectrum of characters, and the multiple perspectives really help to widen the scope of the story and demonstrate what’s taking place. Having so many viewpoint characters, however, means that the key Cadians don’t get quite as much time in the spotlight as you might expect, and despite what the cover says it’s not always clear whether Bendikt or Minka is really the main protagonist. When she’s on-screen, however, Minka makes for an enjoyable, relatable character with a satisfying blend of youthful naivety and typical Cadian grit. There’s not much chance to get to know her squadmates beyond the basics, but Hill nevertheless captures a great feeling of the camaraderie and tensions between the Cadians in a way which feels unusual for 40k, but familiar in a real-world sense. Read my review of Ghost Warrior or my Rapid Fire interviews with Gav about Ghost Warrior and Wild Rider. What else? After its fall to Chaos, the shattered remains of Cadia have become a new stronghold for the forces of Chaos.

Despite millennia of study, the Adeptus Mechanicus failed to discover the purpose of the pylons. Servitors sent within invariably ceased to function or suffered circuit overload; all attempts to breach the structures' gleaming surfaces met with failure. Any recovered data was fragmentary at best, and contradictory at worst. Even the identity of the pylons' creators was shrouded in mystery. Let's get the obvious one out of the way first - This isn't Gaunt's Ghosts. Don't deny it, just about all of you thought of them at least briefly during that introduction due to the direction and style of Cadian Honour. While there are some general comparisons which can be drawn up between the two series, they more or less begin and end with "Regiments who have lost their homeworld and are dying out". Alas, as the story is recounted by Alpharius himself, can you truly trust everything that comes from the serpent’s mouth? Or is this simply another masterwork in obfuscation from the Lord of the Alpha Legion?

More to Explore

I should be clear: this article expresses my personal opinion…I’m not a Games Workshop spokesperson, nor should this be taken as an expert opinion on 40k lore! Cadian Regiment - The 203rd Cadian Regiment fought beside the 2nd Company of the Ultramarines Chapter that was commanded by Captain Titus during the Imperium's liberation of the Forge World of Graia during the events of Space Marine. The regiment's remaining forces were commanded by 2nd Lieutenant Mira.

Also hitting shelves this weekend is a Minka Lesk: The Last Whiteshield , a massive omnibus collecting all five of the previous Minka Lesk stories in one place, the perfect introduction to this character and her exploits. The whole premise of Cadia’s fall seemed horribly beautiful and appealing to me as a fan of Warhammer 40,000. Unfortunately, I can’t say that my interest was in any way sated after reading Cadian Honour. The book starts relatively well, but then it settles into what I can only describe as mind-numbing tedium for the first 65% or so. That’s not to say that there isn’t some good old-fashioned grim-style violence, but it just felt like it all was more ‘for the sake of putting it in’ rather than for furthering the story. The narrators accent was jarring at first but I got use to it and by the end it sort of grew on me. I wasn't keen on the way she portrayed shouting as a gruff whisper but its probably better than a high pitched howl. Cadian Armoured Regiment, "Rolling Thunder" - The 81st Cadian were also known as the "Gunheads". They fought on the Ork World of Golgatha where they were at first lead by Colonel Kochatkis Vinneman, and later by Lieutenant Gossefried van Droi. It's the follow-up to Cadia Stands and continues the journey of Minka Lesk and her warriors as they seek revenge against the Imperium's enemies for the loss of their world.Because of its short length, the book also abandons many of the descriptive strengths which can further help work toward the strengths of Warhammer as a setting. There are few descriptions of barren wastes, hives or gothic architecture, or elements which fully convey age. It starts promisingly enough with a moment featuring a star fortress being towed into orbit, but it never manages to successfully repeat that moment. This leaves it very reliant upon its characters to keep the story engaging. While it certainly gets that right, it doesn't get it completely on point. Oh, the core cast is fine, but it drops the ball with the villains. It seemed that although many Chaos fleets had ventured out of the Eye, very few Imperial fleets ventured in. No battle fleet of any size could rely upon other stable passages from the Eye of Terror and they were required to pass through the Cadian Gate. Last seen in Cadian Honour , Lesk and her fellow soldiers find themselves embroiled in a bloody stalemate when traitor forces on the planet Malouri retreat to a nigh-impregnable island fortress. JH: The Cadians held the Cadian Gate for thousands of years, and now it has fallen. ON THEIR WATCH. That’s a huge mental wrench. They have failed, and now they have to make it up, and that’s impossible, because the Imperium has been torn into two. NOTE: until such time as BL produces an official resource, I’ll do my best to keep this reading list up to date with new releases as and when they’re published. This version of the article was created in January 2021, but I’ve added books in here and there along the way – the last minor update was in August 2022.