Cadian Honour

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As the Cadians struggle through sacrifice and brutal attrition, they must come to terms with the loss of their home world and find an answer to the haunting question: what does it mean to be one of the vaunted Cadians in a galaxy without Cadia? It was the fourth world of the Cadian System, and its surface contained a wide variety of terrain types and ecosystems, including frozen tundras, temperate plains, wind-swept moors and the great native axel-tree forests. Thus Cadia had an odd mix of dense urban areas and vast open tundras and other natural landscapes unspoiled by the hand of Humanity. The guard are a wonderful faction to read about. I love to read about all the crazies but it takes a good guard novel to let me see how brutal and truely messed up it all is. We all know humans after all. Seeing the new look Imperium through the eyes of defeated cadians is about as brutal as I can imagine. Cadia Stands was a frantic story,it was total overwhelming defeat, it was humiliation. I want to see how they respond when life moves to a new normal. Other Astra Militarum regiments model their recruitment and training practices on Cadian doctrine, or seek to equip their forces in the Cadian style. All are eager to emulate a world so heavily militarised that it was said its people were taught how to field-strip and shoot a lasgun before they could even read.

Perhaps, just as a veteran can lead lesser men to deeds of great heroism, Cadia had inspired those worlds around it to defend every nation and city to the last bullet. Perhaps Cadia's surviving soldiery lent strength through their hunger for retribution. Perhaps those battered by the storm simply fought for survival. Whatever the reason, the defenders of the Cadian Gate resolved to uphold the virtues of its lost lynchpin world come what may.

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The reason for this — and the following includes light spoilers from 2017’s Fall of Cadia — is that the author avoids all plotlines of consequence. Saint Celestine rises to defend Cadians, Phalanx warps in from Terra, and Belisarius Cawl shows up with an Ark Mechanicus attempting to stop the Cicatrix Maledictum. This is epic stuff. Yet absolutely none of this shows up in the novel. Cadia Stands is a collection of B-Plots that are, by definition, of no consequence. Guardsmen die in their thousands fighting irrelevant battles while the fate of the galaxy is being decided, and the author chooses the former to follow. One of my main problems before was that I couldn’t write fast enough. It was a real struggle to get the books to a place I wanted them to be in time. But I had a bit longer with Cadian Honour and I think that shows. I’m really happy with it.

With the aid of the Necron Lord Trazyn the Infinite, who had been present when the pylons were first constructed, Cawl proved capable of mastering the enigmatic xenos artefacts' internal systems deep in the catacombs beneath the pylon field. But this came just in time for Abaddon to launch his final ground assault against the Elysion Fields, as the Despoiler was determined to assuage his pride by personally ending the Imperial defence. 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. Cadia had a special and honoured place in the history of Mankind. Cadia stood upon the edge of the Eye of Terror within a narrow corridor of stable space called the Cadian Gate. This formed the one and only predictable passage between the Chaos-infested Daemon Worlds of the Eye of Terror and Terra. Note: The Cadian Gate was guarded by the Astartes Praeses but also by elements of 21 other Chapters deployed across the Cadian Sector.

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Those same Traitors who fought on Terra 10,000 standard years ago still fight today in the service of Chaos. They fight against each other to prove their supremacy and against the forces of the Imperium when the Warp Storms calm enough to allow them to emerge into Imperial space. Overall, the description of the imperial society and of the life of the regiment were well executed, and the battles were ok, although I did have trouble sometime following who was who in Minka's squad, as they don't have a lot of character development. While it would be a spoiler to delve into who the book's antagonists are, you might be able to guess who they will be very early on. The story tries to partially disguise it as a secret, but it doesn't quite work. In fact, the book seems to half reveal and half disguise who they are at the start, while also trying to establish their presence as a surprise. It never fully works because of this muddled state, in spite of a few genuinely good scenes which makes it look as if this will all come together in the final few chapters. However, even with this considered, they never appeared to be all that engaging. There's a definite logic as to why they were chosen, but even in chapters intended to flesh them out, I never regarded them as more than an obstacle. Unless they are a force of nature like the Tyranids or (in some cases) the Necrons, this rarely works. The few times it does offer their primary characters a chance to speak also doesn't do much to raise them beyond being a general archetype. Hill does a great job of building on his work in Cadia Stands, continuing to illustrate the character of the Cadians and demonstrating why they deserve their standing within the Imperium’s military, the latter coming across particularly well in the competitive almost-schadenfreude they inspire in other regiments or forces and the way that spurs them onwards. There’s lots to enjoy for Guard fans here, even if those multiple viewpoints mean the expected protagonists aren’t quite as well developed as you’d expect, and the pace occasionally slows down while new characters are introduced into the mix. Overall it’s a valuable, engaging addition to the ever-growing body of Imperial Guard stories, with a tone and feel that’s distinct to Hill’s style and sets it nicely apart from the rest. On the basis of this it should be fascinating to find out whether the Cadians can survive in the long term now that their world is gone and their reputation so badly damaged.

The decision was made to hold orbit over Cadia and for the 1301st Fleet's elements to make planetfall on the unknown world, designated as 1301-12. The landing force was comprised of Imperial Army, Word Bearers, Adeptus Custodes and Legiones Cybernetica elements. The landing party, led by Lorgar, was greeted by a large number of barbaric human tribes, tribes described as "dressed in rags and wielding spears tipped by flint blades...yet they showed little fear." Most notable were the barbarians' purple eyes, which reflected the colour of the Eye of Terror itself in the spectrum of visible light. Despite the Custodian Vendatha's protests and request to execute the heathens, the Word Bearers approached the natives.

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Your right on very little fluff existing on Cadia and the same could have been said of Terra before CW started his vaults books. Read my interview with Guy Haley talking about both Darkness in the Blood and Astorath: Angel of Mercy . JH: Minka Lesk is the Cadian who starts Cadia Stands (‘She is four. It is time to learn….’) now grown up, and still reeling from the fall of the Cadian Gate. She’s the pivotal character, and the face of the book – one of the best BL covers I’ve seen – which is awesome!

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". Amongst them is the indomitable Sergeant Minka Lesk. Sent to the capital world of Potence, Lesk and the Cadian 101st company soon discover that a rot runs through the very heart of the seemingly peaceful world. Lesk knows she must excise this taint of Chaos, for it is not only her life and those of her company at stake, but also the honour of Cadia itself. The fall of Cadia represented a once-unimaginable triumph for the servants of the Dark Gods, and the Eye of Terror began to slowly expand without limit, opening Abaddon the Despoiler's coveted Crimson Path to Terra and creating the Great Rift that soon divided the Imperium in half.

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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.