Caves of Ice - Sandy Mitchell

Continuing our journey through franchises, this week we're in the universe of Warhammer: 40,000. And what a universe it is. a grimdark-before-we-had-the-word galaxy largely composed of different species of alien and humanity, all focused on trying to kill each other. Back in the eighties and early 90's, the lore largely served as an excuse to sell different model armies and rulesets, so that you could blow up your friends Space Marine (giant genetically and surgically altered human warriors) with your Orks (green, hordes, argumentative, cockney accents). Somewhere in the intervening decades, however, the lore has become rather popular in itself, with near-numberless video game adaptions, book series, and even the occasional TV episode. The sheer volume of stories now available for 40K, as it's known, mean that they can be of..variable..quality, and that there's plenty of sub-genres available, from political thrillers, through war stories, to comedy. Because if there's one thing 40K is known for, it's not taking itself too seriously, especially when it's taking itself too seriously. That whimsy and sense of humour can sometimes be hard to find in a world of stoic warrior-monks, demon-possessed monstrosities, and elegant robotic killers, but it is, I think, what makes that world so successful. After all, you have to laugh, don't you. 

Which brings us, by a rather roundabout route, to Caves of Ice. This is the second novel in a looooong sequence of stories starring Commissar Ciaphas Cain. A Comissar has the job of maintaining the morale of the hordes of humanity impressed or indentured into the Imperial Guard, whose role is usually to serve as a bit of light cannon fodder for the enemy before the more expensive models show up. Commissar's usually maintain morale by shooting anyone who tries to run away. Cain is a bit different in this regard, intuiting that if he keeps morale high by less lethal, more collaborative means, his troops are less likely to leave him to get eaten by the next alien monstrosity that they come across. Cain is also, since we're treated to his internal monologue, a pragmatic, self-serving individual, one who only goes into a fight if he thinks it's necessary for his survival, or that he can win, or ideally both.He's possibly the only sane man in a legion of religious fanatics, hardened killers, fanatics keen to die for their Emperor and other such reprobates. He wants to win, and he also wants to live, and his efforts to do the latter often seem to end up with him performing bouts of accidental heroism, ensuring he'll be the first choice of the top brass next time they need someone to throw at a problem. 

In a world that seems to be completely off the scale ridiculous with its conflicts, with po-faced space-elves declaiming their tragic destiny and murderous space swarms obliterating entire planets, looking over the shoulder of someone who would be quite happy to be left alone so they could go for a quick pint down the pub is, frankly, refreshing. And Caves of Ice does lean into that, letting us see Cain fail upward into more and more dangerous situations. I mean, I say fail, he succeeds in surviving, but never at actually getting out of the way. He does, however, get to fight all kinds of aliens, while trying to keep all of his limbs attached. And he does this with a self-awareness to his internal monologue which is searing and clever. Cain, as a character, is one we can empathise with and sympathise with, because who among us wouldn't want to run all the way away from some sort of teleporting murderous robot or giant with an axe which is also a chainsaw? And yet, he still manages to stand up when it matters, and be a hero. And he's human enough to build friendships with those he works with, and to tweak the noses of authority when that authority doesn't have their (or his) best interests at heart. Cain is funny, thoughtful, sometimes kind, and occasionally ruthless, and in a universe determined to take itself seriously, he's the one on the outside pointing out how ridiculous it all is, before barging in the doors and getting a round in. 

 This is a fun book, entertaining, silly, sometimes a little emotional, and enough of an adventure to keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. As for Cain...well, I'm sure we'll see more of him, and I'll certainly be reading more of his stories in the near future.