"Death or Glory" by Sandy Mitchell

As I have started reading the Ciaphas Cain series, here is the forth installment. 

Summary: This adventure follows our anti-hero Commissar Cain as he is lost and confused behind enemy lines. His unit is sent to a planet infested by an ork invasion. As the transport ships enter the star system, they are attacked by ork vessels. Cain's ship is damaged and in a desperate attempt to avoid death, Cain dives into a lifepod. He and Jurgen spend weeks alone in the tiny craft as the fly toward the battle.

They crash in the middle of a desert with little idea where they are, much less where their unit landed. The first inhabitants they meet are orks on patrol and they work to get their bearings. Cain, eager to regain the protection afforded by his unit, is determined to get out of ork territory. He and Jurgen slowly but surely collect supplies and rally together human survivors in the wasteland so that they can punch through the enemy lines.

We see in this book Cain's skill with civilians more than with soldiers as is typical in the previous books. We also see humans using a lot of ork technology in order to get through it all. 

What I Liked: This is classic Cain, with lots of decisions between Bad and Worse. There is just the right amount of suspense and hope mixed to make it satisfying read.

What I Didn't Like: Of the four Cain books I have read, this was the least exciting. It's a lot of battles and not a lot of investigation. I recall the earlier books having a lot more analysis of the situation, trying to find the traitor and such. In this book the lines are clear, and all that remains is fighting, which I don't find so interesting.

Rating: This is my least favorite book so far in a great series. Hopefully the next books will be better.

Also Read by this Author: Scourge The Heritic, Innocence Proves Nothing, The Traitor's Hand, Caves of Ice, For the Emperor.
A side note, Sandy Mitchell is a pseudonym for Alex Stewart.

Reviewed by: Nick