Description
The Ciaphas Cain series are Dark Comedy/Action-Adventure novels written by Sandy Mitchell that follow the life of Imperial Commissar Ciaphas Cain.
Ciaphas Cain first appeared in the short story Fight or Flight, and the subsequent novels and stories follow his career, through the time of his retirement from active service to teach at a Schola Progenium.
The novels and short stories purport to be extracts from "The Cain Archive," a private memoir written by Cain and subsequently edited by his close associate, Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Amberley Vail, for circulation to her fellow Ordo members, though not to the general public.
Throughout the Imperium, Cain is revered as a hero and always praised for his courage and resourcefulness, but in his private memoirs he expresses another opinion: all he ever wanted was a safe posting with few responsibilities, with little to no chance of being exposed to actual danger. However, despite his efforts (or perhaps because of them) to always be in the safest place possible, somehow Cain always manages to get himself in the most dangerous situations and is forced to save his hide. Unfortunately for Cain, saving his own hide often inadvertently results in him saving the day, which inflates his status even further!
