I couldn’t help myself. It was already in my Audible library, I didn’t have a lot of brain power to read actual books (currently on my third heavy cold for the season), and I really wanted to try and wipe the disappointment from The Traitor’s Hand away.

Death or Glory goes further back in Commissar Ciaphas Cain’s career, back to when he earned a major boon for his reputation as a hero (despite trying to do anything but). His regiment of Valhallan Imperial Guard troops gets deployed Ork world only to be attacked in transit, and through luck (and a strong desire to be anywhere but in the line of fire), he ends up on an escape pod with his trusty aide, Jurgen.

Together they end up separated from their regiment and the fleet, crashing into the planet where they spend the book trying to get back to the safety of their own lines with the aim of doing so in the easiest way possible. Course, it being a Cain book, that ends up attracting as much attention as possible and ends with him killing the biggest Ork Warboss in the sector in a single combat.

This one was definitely better than The Traitor’s Hand. Still not as good as books one or two, but much more enjoyable to read. To start with, it was funnier hearing him recount the tales of the earlier version of him; not quite Cain the Hero of the Imperium yet, but still doing everything in his power to look impressive whilst trying to avoid getting shot at. Not quite a rookie Commissar, he’s still trying to find his sure footing in his role and authority, for example trying to deal with his suspicious company commander, or the rather too enthusiastic engineseer his finds planet side. Having to use his charisma and political skills to try and unite a mistrustful and stubborn local forces, whilst also integrating rescued civilians and emaciated refugees makes for a much more interesting read that inter-regimental politics and waiting.

Death or Glory also benefited from constant, clear and present danger. From having to try to authenticate himself amongst the local forces whilst also uniting them under a common purpose (i.e. keep him alive) without having to overuse his authority (i.e. shoot people till he gets his way), to keeping a convoy of looted vehicles going across desert, hoping that the hidden supply dumps are both fully stocked and not under Ork threat.

Plus, Mitchell just seems to write Orks better than Chaos. I think Chaos is a difficult enemy to write in this kind of setting; unlike the more serious Gaunt’s Ghosts anthology or any of the Inquisitor novels, there’s more of an expectation of humour in the Cain series. Like I said before, the end scene of Traitor’s Hand was great; the confrontation with a resurrected daemon from Cain’s past, and his subsequent victory was a major payoff.

Similarly, Chaos was the big bad in the first book, but the majority of it was detective work, the introduction of Inquisitor Amberley Veil (who continues to be a highlight of the audiobooks, acting as the editorial notes), and the inter-species diplomacy between the Imperium and the T’au Empire who both lay claim to that world.

Orks don’t require sub-plots or subterfuge, and they don’t require build up to a big bad. They’re comically brutal and huge monsters, and the big bad is just a bigger and badder one. They’re dangerous enough to be taken seriously, but thick enough to be taken at face value. Exactly what’s needed.

I’ll be taking a break from the series for now, but at least my faith has been restored.

7/10