Justin D. Hill’s Cadian Honour – a sequel to 2017’s Cadia Stands but interestingly billed by Black Library as ‘Book 1 of the Cadian series’ – is an action-packed story of what life is like for the Cadian Shock Troops in the Dark Imperium. Burdened by the loss of Cadia and the disapproval of other Imperial forces, the remnants of the Cadian 101st are posted to Potence, capital world of the Gallows Cluster. As Chaos forces make worrying inroads into the system and peace on Potence is threatened, what should be an easy posting turns into a desperate defence against enemies within and without.
It picks up after the events of Cadia Stands and the short story The Battle for Markgraaf Hive (although that’s not essential to read first), and sees the surviving Cadians at a low ebb as they regroup both physically and emotionally. While it’s labelled as ‘a Minka Lesk novel’ on the cover, the focus within the Cadians is actually split between General Bendikt trying to uphold his people’s honour and Minka just trying to cope with her own private demons and adapt to the new realities of her life. Those two provide the primary Cadian viewpoints, while there are quite a few further viewpoint characters as the narrative moves across various political, religious and military players. Exactly what each faction’s objectives and loyalties are is only gradually revealed over the course of a plot mixing explosive military action with a little political and religious manoeuvring and some interesting takes on classic 40k themes like the risks of blind faith and the value (or otherwise) of tradition.
There’s a murky selection of maybe/maybe not antagonists across that broad spectrum of characters, and the multiple perspectives really help to widen the scope of the story and demonstrate what’s taking place. Having so many viewpoint characters, however, means that the key Cadians don’t get quite as much time in the spotlight as you might expect, and despite what the cover says it’s not always clear whether Bendikt or Minka is really the main protagonist. When she’s on-screen, however, Minka makes for an enjoyable, relatable character with a satisfying blend of youthful naivety and typical Cadian grit. There’s not much chance to get to know her squadmates beyond the basics, but Hill nevertheless captures a great feeling of the camaraderie and tensions between the Cadians in a way which feels unusual for 40k, but familiar in a real-world sense.
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.
Click here to order Cadian Honour, or here for the audiobook edition.