Post by Manius on Apr 14, 2008 8:47:57 GMT
;D
I start with a smile as these books are to be taken in a more light-hearted vein than the usual gritty and grim 40k based offerings.
For the older readers these books remind me of the Flashman series of books and, indeed, films.
Whilst I have only read two of the books (For the Emperor & Caves of Ice) plus some short stories I am currently now reading a third – The Traitor’s Hand and my reviews are based on these.
The books are written on the premise that they are extractions from our “Heros” personal diary/memoirs after a considerable amount of time has passed (in most cases we can safely assume nearly a century has passed). Further to this the extracts are written as if extracted by an Inquisitor who had personal contact with Cain during the Commissars career and as such she has added personal notes (much like appendices) as well as using extracts from other peoples memoirs to provide some background information.
In all this form isn’t too bad, however the constant Appendices do tend to force you to look to the bottom of the page “mid-flow” in order to glean, what usually turns out to be, information not really relevant to the story at hand.
Also, whilst the virtual author attests to extracts being in “chronological order”, and I’m reading from a compilation novel, such a fact is often hard to grasp or follow fully.
Still, I am finding the books a very enjoyable read. Certainly for those more used to Gaunts’ Ghosts novels these are an excellent counterpoint without unduly worrying about the outcome of the novels in the same way. The main character, though well defined is not someone many of us can emphasise with meaning we lack the same un-ending interest in what happens to them as we have in the First and Only/Gaunt series of books. That said though, these are not really intended to be the emotional roller coaster the other books are, as mentioned previously, these are more light hearted.
…and for that, they’re certainly worth purchasing. If you have racks and racks of Gaunt novels but feel that the intensity of them is often at odds with your own mood then the Ciaphas Cain series are an excellent reading experience that will engross you without leaving you emotionally drained and will entertain you without feeling that the background material has been treated too lightly.
I start with a smile as these books are to be taken in a more light-hearted vein than the usual gritty and grim 40k based offerings.
For the older readers these books remind me of the Flashman series of books and, indeed, films.
Whilst I have only read two of the books (For the Emperor & Caves of Ice) plus some short stories I am currently now reading a third – The Traitor’s Hand and my reviews are based on these.
The books are written on the premise that they are extractions from our “Heros” personal diary/memoirs after a considerable amount of time has passed (in most cases we can safely assume nearly a century has passed). Further to this the extracts are written as if extracted by an Inquisitor who had personal contact with Cain during the Commissars career and as such she has added personal notes (much like appendices) as well as using extracts from other peoples memoirs to provide some background information.
In all this form isn’t too bad, however the constant Appendices do tend to force you to look to the bottom of the page “mid-flow” in order to glean, what usually turns out to be, information not really relevant to the story at hand.
Also, whilst the virtual author attests to extracts being in “chronological order”, and I’m reading from a compilation novel, such a fact is often hard to grasp or follow fully.
Still, I am finding the books a very enjoyable read. Certainly for those more used to Gaunts’ Ghosts novels these are an excellent counterpoint without unduly worrying about the outcome of the novels in the same way. The main character, though well defined is not someone many of us can emphasise with meaning we lack the same un-ending interest in what happens to them as we have in the First and Only/Gaunt series of books. That said though, these are not really intended to be the emotional roller coaster the other books are, as mentioned previously, these are more light hearted.
…and for that, they’re certainly worth purchasing. If you have racks and racks of Gaunt novels but feel that the intensity of them is often at odds with your own mood then the Ciaphas Cain series are an excellent reading experience that will engross you without leaving you emotionally drained and will entertain you without feeling that the background material has been treated too lightly.
