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Az áruló keze
(Ciaphas Cain #3)
by
Hős lesz, akár akarja, akár nem…
Ciaphas Cain komisszár, a Birodalom ünnepelt hőse (legalább is a propaganda ezt akarja elhitetni mindenkivel…) még mindig egy olyan beosztást keres, amiben távol maradhat a harctértől, és biztonságban töltheti le a szolgálati idejét a Birodalmi Gárdában. Legújabb küldetése valhallai ezredével együtt az Adumbria nevű bolygóra viszi, melyet a ...more
Ciaphas Cain komisszár, a Birodalom ünnepelt hőse (legalább is a propaganda ezt akarja elhitetni mindenkivel…) még mindig egy olyan beosztást keres, amiben távol maradhat a harctértől, és biztonságban töltheti le a szolgálati idejét a Birodalmi Gárdában. Legújabb küldetése valhallai ezredével együtt az Adumbria nevű bolygóra viszi, melyet a ...more
Paperback, 334 pages
Published
2020
by Tuan
(first published 2005)
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Start your review of Az áruló keze (Ciaphas Cain, #3)

Oct 08, 2011
Paulo "paper books always" Carvalho
rated it
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Meh. I'm really sad because Sandy Mitchell's awesome Ciaphas Cain series has devolved into a repetitive, dull plod through the 40K universe rather than the fresh, exciting, FUNNY material it started out as.
My problem isn't that Cain keeps getting stuck in situations where he picks what seems like the least dangerous path & of course winds up winning the glory; I bought into that. What frustrates me is that every interaction gets raked through four times. A non-real-but-illustrative example:
---- ...more
My problem isn't that Cain keeps getting stuck in situations where he picks what seems like the least dangerous path & of course winds up winning the glory; I bought into that. What frustrates me is that every interaction gets raked through four times. A non-real-but-illustrative example:
---- ...more

Commissar Ciaphas Cain was again trying to be on the safe side of the war, which lead him to the most dangerous situation known to man and xeno and Chaos creature. It seemed like nice hunting for vile cultist while things started to go from easy to difficult to "nope nope I want out of here".
The things were complicated and commissar Cain proved his heroism over and over, while being modest and thinking about running as far as possible, when the vile enemy struck again this time it was his old c ...more
The things were complicated and commissar Cain proved his heroism over and over, while being modest and thinking about running as far as possible, when the vile enemy struck again this time it was his old c ...more

It seems that I jumped into the series a few books in, luckily the story progresses without requiring too much knowledge of previous events. The story itself is a fairly typical affair with chaos cultists infiltrating an Imperial world. In that respect it's a predictable plot, well written, but nothing special in that respect.
The positive side of the book is the lead character - a commissar with an Imperial Guard regiment. He's an interesting character in that he's a coward in a very dangerous j ...more
The positive side of the book is the lead character - a commissar with an Imperial Guard regiment. He's an interesting character in that he's a coward in a very dangerous j ...more

The Cain series while not uproariously funny does elicit a few chuckles. Fans of Blackadder will find a fair bit to enjoy in Cain and while he's not as cynical as Edmund Blackadder, his matter of fact approach to the Imperial Truth, Chaos and impending doom is remarkably similar.
A fairly fast paced novel though the constant references to Jurgen's stink do get tedious after a while. ...more
A fairly fast paced novel though the constant references to Jurgen's stink do get tedious after a while. ...more

When a Chaos fleet breaks through Imperial lines and heads for Adumbria, the Valhallan 597th (and its increasingly famous commissar, Ciaphas Cain) and several other regiments are rapidly mobilised to intercept them. On Adumbria - a world tidally locked to its star and characterised by burning deserts and freezing icy conditions - Cain and his troops are spread thin, so they must bolster the morale of the native Planetary Defence Force. Cain, as usual, decides to find a nice rear-echelon position
...more

Traitor's Hand is the third instalment in Warhammer 40k's answer to The Flashman Papers and, true to form, it continues to be incredibly easy to pick up and enjoyable to read. I do feel that, of the three read so far, this is probably the weakest. It's by no means a bad book and, those who enjoy the series (myself included) will still enjoy this. Just maybe not as much as the previous two.
My first 'meh' moment is the rivalry between Cain and and the commissar of the Tallarn Desert Raiders, and t ...more
My first 'meh' moment is the rivalry between Cain and and the commissar of the Tallarn Desert Raiders, and t ...more

Just like with Dan Abnett's WK40k series that I've also been reading, Sandy Mitchell's Commissar Cain series seems to have found its real groove with the third installment. This book, "The traitor's hand", follows the routine formula of Ciaphas Cain drinking his tanna tea, trying to stay out of trouble, and committing involuntary acts of epic heroism against any enemies of the Emperor (and Cain's skin) he happens to run into. This time around, it's not one, but two rival Chaos cults, that are tr
...more

Third book of the series of Ciaphas Cain.
This time it is on the planet Adumbria where a Chaos plot is threathening our hero.
It shows more sides of Cain and expands greatly upon his dealings with established Npcs in the story. I really like the new sides of Cain and the people he works with, he shows genuine feaer and resolve at the same time when it comes to his enemy. And while he has chances to weasel out, he sees the need to do the job even if it might cost him his life.
New insights into t ...more
This time it is on the planet Adumbria where a Chaos plot is threathening our hero.
It shows more sides of Cain and expands greatly upon his dealings with established Npcs in the story. I really like the new sides of Cain and the people he works with, he shows genuine feaer and resolve at the same time when it comes to his enemy. And while he has chances to weasel out, he sees the need to do the job even if it might cost him his life.
New insights into t ...more

So, the third Ciaphas Cain. This is again great fun.
The plot is once again interesting and Mitchell has the talent of writing about these characters and troops without it seeming like an add for the miniatures they are based on. These stories would be great even without the connection to the game. The only negative thing I have to say about these books after reading three short stories and three novels is that too often the solution to the problems is Cains aides special aura. The plots are vari ...more
The plot is once again interesting and Mitchell has the talent of writing about these characters and troops without it seeming like an add for the miniatures they are based on. These stories would be great even without the connection to the game. The only negative thing I have to say about these books after reading three short stories and three novels is that too often the solution to the problems is Cains aides special aura. The plots are vari ...more

This book remains my favourite book from all the Cain novels. The mystery was woven well into the story and had that detective feel to it. I also enjoyed the humour employed using the warhammer 40k lore was quite a nice touch. "All right calling Jurgen a bit untidy was rather like calling Abaddon the Despoiler gets a bit cranky in the morning." I found all the characters from the 596th Valhallan regiment quite interesting. This is a book which I keep revisiting and enjoy reading. Overall a fast
...more

As one drinks their tanna tea, they have to ask themselves: When the rear-echelon is no longer safe, what is life coming to?
Cain has a pile of different opponents in this one. Chaos agents, traitors, an old commissar school chum, and a void creature. Other than that, things are going fine...
A fun book. The author is doing a great job of adding more and more of the Warhammer 40,0000 universe into the novels. It is adding depth and making each book more and more interesting.
Well worth reading!
Cain has a pile of different opponents in this one. Chaos agents, traitors, an old commissar school chum, and a void creature. Other than that, things are going fine...
A fun book. The author is doing a great job of adding more and more of the Warhammer 40,0000 universe into the novels. It is adding depth and making each book more and more interesting.
Well worth reading!

Another good story, but didn't enjoy this one as much as the prior two. Probably mainly due to a particular character in the book, who is of a sort I always get annoyed with in books, and though it built to a satisfying conclusion, the mere presence of said character meant I wanted to get through this book a lot faster than the prior ones. We get to see another enemy of the Imperium here, showing the multi-faceted approach that Chaos takes in 40k.
...more

Excellent again, showcasing Cain at his best and the author's grasp of action and pacing to build a solid story with a excellent climax near the end.
...more

The third and last novel in the Ciaphas Cain Hero of the Imperium omnibus. Which also contains the short story you should probably read first.
Cain is still with the 597th Valhallan, and this time, they are going up against the forces of Chaos. In fact, they are dragged off their latest assignment before the mop-up work is done, which tells them that it's crucial. Much to Cain's displeasure, their travel ship also carries a regiment whose commissar is an annoyingly by-the-book and pious classmate ...more
Cain is still with the 597th Valhallan, and this time, they are going up against the forces of Chaos. In fact, they are dragged off their latest assignment before the mop-up work is done, which tells them that it's crucial. Much to Cain's displeasure, their travel ship also carries a regiment whose commissar is an annoyingly by-the-book and pious classmate ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Thus far, my favorite Ciaphas Cain book! The commissar is once again thrown into a situation that could mean his demise. Accompanied as always by his aide, Jurgen, and the 57th Valhallan infatry, Cain is sent to a planet that does not rotate (one half always being cold, the other always hot) to defend against a fleet of the forces of chaos headed toward the planet.
This book was filled with pleasant twist and turns. As always, the author brought plenty of hilarity to the "grim darkness of the fa ...more
This book was filled with pleasant twist and turns. As always, the author brought plenty of hilarity to the "grim darkness of the fa ...more

The traitor's hand, this novel was much the same as the previous books in the series. Mitchell's books lean towards the humorous side of the Warhammer 40k universe.
The traitor's hand follows the adventures of commissar Cain as he is sent along with his regiment to help defend an imperial world from a chaos invasion fleet which is on the way. While preparing for the enemy to arrive Cain begins to discover that the enemy may already be on the planet. Written in the same format as the previous two ...more
The traitor's hand follows the adventures of commissar Cain as he is sent along with his regiment to help defend an imperial world from a chaos invasion fleet which is on the way. While preparing for the enemy to arrive Cain begins to discover that the enemy may already be on the planet. Written in the same format as the previous two ...more

Outstanding entry in the Ciaphas Cain saga....Mitchell has truly mastered presenting Cain as a self-serving, opportunistic and reluctant hero to the men and women of the Imperial Guard that he presides over in action on the battlefront. In this one, Cain and his fellow Valhallans are sent to put down heretics in an uprising on Adumbria. While there, he gets more than he bargains for, again, and humorously yet thrillingly comes out as a grand hero, all the while looking for the easiest and safest
...more

i think this one has been my favorite in the series so far. I loved the overly-religious Commissar Beiji as a foil for Cain, and despite Cain once again doing his best to avoid any real fighting, he's easily at his most awkwardly heroic here. He may be very hobbit-like in a lot of regards, but he genuinely cares for the men and women in his infantry unit, and wants to do the right thing... even if the right thing isn't always the safest or most self-serving (although he does do his best to spin
...more

Ciaphas Cain is too awesome for words, and the format the author uses (Cain's memoirs, edited by an Inquisitor with a sense of humor) is simply outstanding. Mitchell's wit is as spectacular as his action and character development (anyone who could come up with both Commissar Cain and Gunner Jurgen and put them in the same series deserves a pat on the back, and maybe a statue somewhere)
...more
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Sandy Mitchell is a pseudonym of Alex Stewart, who has been a full-time writer since the mid nineteen eighties. The majority of his work as Sandy has been tie-in fiction for Games Workshop's Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 science fiction lines. The exceptions have been a novelisation of episodes from the high tech thriller series Bugs, for which he also worked as a scriptwriter under his o
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