Teaser

Ciaphas Cain has finally done it. He’s been offered a shot at retirement. All he has to do first is determine why a nearby forge world has fallen behind schedule. Surely nothing can go wrong with that . . .

Review

By the eleventh book in a series, readers generally no what they’re going to get. If you’ve made it this far, it’s because you like what the author is doing, but there are unlikely to be many surprises left in store. You’re not her for surprises and twists. You’re here for the comfortingly familiar, especially with a series like Ciaphas Cain. Acin’s adventures have become like Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet, Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson’s Dune, or David Weber’s Honorverse. The novelty has worn a little at the edges, but the sense of joy I get when picking up the book still remains.

Along with the previous entry, Choose Your Enemies, Vainglorious has reinvigorated my joy for the series, and that is solely due to the strength of the audio adaptation. The wry self-deprecation of Cain’s narration works far better spoken aloud than it does in print, and Stephen Perring is perfectly cast. Likewise, Penelope Rawlins’ interjection and asides make for far easier listening than the original footnotes. throw in excerpts of in-universe texts performed by other narrators, and you end up with a winning combination. Oh yes, and whichever genius first thought of replacing ‘reader’ with ‘listener’ in an audio adaptation deserves more praise than they’re getting. It’s the little things, you know?

One aspect of audio books (and audio dramas) that I often have problems with is voice modulation. I love narrators who put on voices. Indeed, it often makes the book for me. Artificial modulation is a pain on the ears, however. Yet it’s a tool science fiction audiobooks often seem to employ for the voicing of inhuman characters, aliens, and robots, for example. In Vainglorious, we spend a great deal of time with tech priests, who are more machine than flesh. Unless Perring has a particularly impressive vocal range, I feel safe saying there is some modulation at work here. Somehow, it works. The high-pitched whine of the cyborg is annoying at first, but soon becomes endearing. As an aside, I was also a particular fan of the Scottish Space Marine. Again, the little things make all the difference.

The plot is deceptively simple, with much of Cain’s investigation consumed by chasing down loose ends. That’s par for the course with an investigation, but it did feel like the actual villain came somewhere out of the left field for the novel’s climax, and I must confess to being a little underwhelmed by the conclusion of it all. At the end of the day, though, I’m not listening to Ciaphas Cain for the tight plotting. I’m here for the witticisms, the dry humour, and the lopsided insights into what makes the grimdark future tick. In that regard, Vainglorious delivers in spades.

Audio Stats

• Narrated by Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins, Christopher Tester, and Andrew James Spooner
• Ciaphas Cain (#11)
• Published in 2023 by Black Library
• Runtime 8hrs 35mins