Cadian Blood

This book had the feeling of a series in the making in the vein of the Gaunt’s Ghosts line of books. Unfortunately over a decade after its release a second book hasn’t been forthcoming.

I didn't quite know what to expect, this being my first Imperial Guard novel, but I was quite pleased. The first half of the book is your basic military vs zombie operation. You've got your small force fighting valiantly against legions of undead enemies. If you like that kind of story, then you'll immediately get pulled into it like I was. The book changes pace around the half-way point. I found it rather interesting that the author chooses to tell you ahead of time that the fleet will fall. He also tells you which characters won't make it to the end of the story, yet still manages to make it interesting how events transpire. In small doses this mixed things up, sort of like a magician telling you exactly what he was going to do, then pulling off the trick right in front of your eyes. As you'd expect from a military story, there are the usual moments of sacrifice, the lost comrades, and an ending reminiscent of events in Salamander (Tome of Fire Trilogy). I give the author credit because he manages to be a bit playful at times, giving bits of comic relief feel; the simple interactions between the commander and his driver were subtly amusing. While the author does a pretty good job of explaining what things are, if you're completely new to the Warhammer 40k universe, there's a fair number of terms you won't know. This is especially true in regards to mentally picturing the military vehicles. You'll still get the general idea what things are, but they often aren't described in great detail. This doesn't really detract from the story. The book is very enjoyable. Some have said you need to read several books to gain understanding and properly appreciate Warhammer 40k. If you want a crash course in Warhammer though, I couldn't more highly recommend the real time strategy game Warhammer Dawn Of War Platinum for PC. I've played it on both XP and Vista. It's a three game pack and the story/characters are what got me interested in Warhammer books in the first place. I can honestly say I have no regrets choosing this book. It isn't great literature, but it's a really cool story told very well.

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.