A tale of the Cadian 101st, what’s left of them at least, Justin D. Hill’s short story The Battle For Markgraaf Hive picks up after the events of Cadia Stands, so beware a few spoilers. Called in to help retake an embattled hive from the heretics besieging its heights, the Cadians make an unorthodox insertion but soon find themselves ground down by waves of devolved enemies. No longer a Whiteshield, Minka fights with all the skill, grit and determination that was bred into her as a Cadian, as her regiment is slowly whittled down around her.
Similarly to Cadia Stands this does a great job of demonstrating why Cadians are renowned as the best of the best, and it’s great to see Minka a little further on in her career having grown nicely into her role. It’s all action from the start, visceral and pacy, with a bleak plot that’s leavened by some interesting glimpses of how the Cadians are coping in the aftermath of Cadia’s loss. There’s a lot to like here, but it ends on a strange note, a sort-of cliffhanger that feels like we’ve reached the midway point of the story and just stopped. It’s good…but where’s the rest?
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