Cerebral Sanguinala, dear readers. It is time to continue our seemingly endless journey into the world of Black Library publications.
Christmas is over now, and just before the holidays, I finished reading one of the new Warhammer 40,000 books published this year — Robert Rath’s Fall of Cadia. Rath is a name more than a few of you might have heard before. In addition to writing one of the most popular Black Library novels, 2020's The Infinite and the Divine, Rath is also the head writer for the Extra History YouTube series. This was where I was first introduced to his work, and soon after I got to read The Infinite and the Divine, which is still one of my favorite Warhammer 40,000 novels. I have not read Assassinorum: Kingmaker, because I like to read physical copies of books, I like to support my local store, and you can only get that from Games Workshop’s online store. Maybe someday. I am something of a completeonist after all.
What unites both of these novels (on the surface)is that they are pretty high-concept stories. The Infinite and the Divine is about two immortal robots competing for the possession of an artifact in a story that is told over millenniums. Assassinorum: Kingmaker is about a group of assassins sent to kill the leader of a Knight planet, which means sci-fi-Mission Impossible agents fighting against mecha robot knights. In this regard, Fall of Cadia sounded a pretty conventional tale; the story of the last war on Cadia before its inevitable demise and destruction. Grand designs of the war and events that led to it had already been explored in supplements like the 13th Black Crusade and the Gathering Storm series. But what was missing was character and details, and turns out (huge surprise, I know) that those kinda make the story truly interesting.
On the planet of Cadia, the lynchpin of the Imperium’s defense against the armies released from the Eye of Terror, the 13th Black Crusade has waged for decades. But now, reports are coming in that various traitor forces are being pulled back, or are in full retreat. Many rejoice and declare the 13th Black Crusade over, but the Lord Castellan of Cadia, Ursarkar E. Creed, is doubtful. Over countless battlefields and engagements, no one has seen the architect of this war, the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler. Creed knows that this cannot be over yet. As Abaddon’s full plans for Cadia are revealed, the battle for the planet moves into its final stage, and the fall of Cadia begins.
Fall of Cadia is a big novel. Over 500 pages long with two pages of dramatis personae at the beginning, this novel is a full-blown war epic about different people experiencing the conflict on different fronts. And it feels like a historic epic as well. Rath brings his knowledge of history, especially military history, to the front here in multiple ways. In the beginning, some in Cadia’s leadership raise concerns that Creed, a popular war-time leader bestowed with ultimate leadership during crisis, might not relinquish this power during peace and his secrecy and multitude of plans don’t help to ease these fears. Similarly, Rath examines the difficulties of coalition warfare. Cadia is defended not only by Cadian Shock Troops but by multiple different factions under different mandates; Imperial Navy, the Inquisition, Mechanicus, Space Marines from multiple different Chapters with their leaders, and the Battle-Sisters from the Order of Our Martyred Lady. As Creed tries to create new defense plans after Abaddon’s plans are revealed, he finds that many follow their plans and priorities, which lead to major losses and fragmented battlelines as the Despoiler’s attack begins. These (and many more similar narrative elements) are familiar to us from our history, which makes the novel feel more grounded in the realities of the war it depicts. In places, Fall of Cadia has elements of an epistolary novel, with notes from future popular historians adding context or posthumous opinions on how Creed’s campaign was organized, and on the man himself.
As I said earlier, Fall of Cadia has a veritable cast of hundreds, their stories told either from their point of view or by others observing them. Of these, some are more important than others, and some are more interesting than others as well. Interestingly, Abaddon the Despoiler doesn’t have his point of view until the very end, and he is mostly seen by others — as is Ursarkar E. Creed, whom we experience mainly from the eyes of his attache, color-sergeant Jarran Kell. I don’t want to bog this text down by going through everyone, so here are the ones that remained with me and that I found most interesting:
- “24, in the War!” 24th Interior Guard (which means Cadians that stay on Cadia instead of being redeployed somewhere else) are sent on seemingly dull garrison duty in the Delvian Clave, a narrow path that leads directly to the Kraf Citadel and the Elysion Fields. 24th are a bit of underdogs, as they are not as experienced in the war as some other companies. Delvian Clave turns out to be one of the most vital fronts of the conflict, as the traitorous Volscani Kataphracts attempt to pass the mountains there and attack Kraf Citadel. The command falls to their Major, Marda Hellsker. Hellsker is great; she is stubborn and headstrong, creative and smart. Her conflict is (aside from the army of traitors trying to shoot her) with herself; she fears the Dark Officer inside her, who would no longer recognize the value of human life and who would commit any sacrifice for a planet that doesn’t love her back — yet that same dark side is a method of survival, a necessary demand of the war. One of the key moments for her is when the 24th finally gets a supply run — and it turns out to be green paint, so they can remove the white markers from their helmets and be recognized as full Shock Troopers. Propaganda and meaningless honorifics instead of food or ammunition almost drive Hellsker to public outrage, but that would break the morale, but the Dark Officer knows how to turn this meaningless gesture into a morale boost. Hellsker is a really strong character, and became my favorite very fast.
- Ursarkar E. Creed: The Platonic Idea of the Dark Officer: Lord-Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed is a famous character in 40K, to the point of being very memetic. His cigar-chomping model is reminiscent of Winston Churchill and George S. Patton in an equal manner, and stories of Creed outsmarting any foe and creating unbelievable plans have created a meme culture around Creed. In Fall of Cadia, Creed is the most famous man from Cadia, whose words stoke the flames of courage in the hearts of Cadians, and soldiers revere him. But through the eyes of Jarran Kell, less flattering parts are examined. Creed’s bullishness, his lack of interest concerning pomp and ceremony, his tendency to keep his plans to himself, and self-harming habits like alcoholism and addiction to his work are creating actual rifts between him and other defenders. Creed is a great commander and inspiring leader, but also a total mess of a person who needs Jarran Kell to be inspiring instead of off-putting and brutal. In the future, this sort of more nuanced viewing of the man is more common, when the weight of his military power and influence are no longer as pressing as they were on Cadia. It’s a great and more interesting view of this famous character, making him as well more interesting than before.
- Trazyn the Infinite Comedy Hour: When I started to read this book, I was in no way surprised that Trazyn the Infinite, a Necron Overlord of Solemnance, was featured in the book. Not only was Trazyn part of this story in Gathering Storm, but Trazyn seems to be Rath’s favorite, having featured him as the protagonist in one book and written at least one short story about his exploits. Trazyn is an odd character in Warhammer 40,000, as he is one of the few characters (aside from Orks) who seems to be having fun in the galaxy. Trazyn collects things, objects, people, and moments in his colossal museum world, and he arrives at Cadia as he realizes the scale of the conflict and the opportunities it would provide him. These offer brief respites from the war and conflict and work as darkly comical interludes in the narrative. This switches into high gear when Trazyn meets Belisarius Cawl, Archmagos Dominus of the Mechanicum, and these two apparent geniuses start to work together to activate the Cadian pylons. This cooperation involved discussions of the etymology of the word “abomination”, Cawl admitting to having read Necrontyr dramas, and Trazyn explaining Imperium to Cawl. What I’m saying is that I would read a 10-book series about Cawl, Trazyn, and Fabius Bile fucking around.
- Child of Noctilith: Next to Abaddon stands a psyker, Dravura Morkath, Despoiler’s “cupbearer”. Dravura is not a regular psyker, but a child of the Blackstone Fortress, and its mistress, who can command the noctilith structures and read the minds of those onboard. Her teeth and left eye are made of noctilith, and she carries unique power as the only non-astartes in Abaddon’s inner circle. Dravura sees herself not only as the creation of the Blackstone Fortress but also as an adopted daughter of Abaddon, the child of the Warmaster. Though she has not yet heard her father call her as such, she is sure that the day will come when she will stand recognized next to her father in the ruins of Terra.
Yeah, I just think she’s neat.
Fall of Cadia is an amazing read. While the overall events were familiar to me and the result of the war well known, the important stuff works extremely well; there are multiple interesting characters that you either want to see pull through (Hellsker)or you want them to die soon (Urkanthos). Fall of Cadia does not glorify war in any way; as I mentioned before, the coalition warfare of the Imperium is in shambles, and the meaningless bravado of characters like Glave is just that, meaningless. Cadia Stands, but not without uniting first. Robert Rath has done a momentous work here, taking an event that many in the hobby remember well, and adding character, new stakes, and poetry into the proceedings that are often just summarized as “Cadia was blown up”.
The title of this book report comes from a poem featured in the book, written by Colone Barathus. This is not a foxhole, this is the rich earth of my home world. The poem speaks of what is at stake here, how Cadians are not just defending the Cadian Gate and Imperium at large, but the only home some of them have ever known, the brutal planet that has brought them up. This is not a foxhole, it is my fortress. Cadians are committed to defending their home to the last man, there are no evacuation fields or rally points outside the system. There is nowhere to fall back. For this is not a foxhole — this is a grave.
And while the poem is beautiful in its bleakness, and in the story it is very inspiring for the Cadians, the man who wrote it is more jaded. In one of my favorite pieces of the dialogue, Barathus talks to Hellsker about his experiences in the military on Cadia:
“War isn’t natural. Nothing second nature about standing in a hole, holding it as the las-fire screams. People aren’t built for it mentally. It rips us up. So to survive, to do what needs to be done, and stop them, we have to become someone else. High Command does most of the work for us. They put us in uniforms and regulate our haircuts.…Tell us how we’re part of a great institution full of traditions and bravery. Fill our eyes with films of great deeds. To bury that person we are, and make us into the tools we need to be…Who will manipulate people who trust her to take actions that will end in bloody ruin, and call it leadership.”
She stared at him, mind reeling. This was recidivist talk. Discussing Cadia as if its culture and traditions were some grand conspiracy to dupe its population into giving up their lives. But…it was true, wasn’t it? She could feel it.
This is the good one, y’all.
Aasa T
