Reviews

The Greater Good by Sandy Mitchell

devermismysteris's review

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, War, and Blood

unicorn's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

runestar719's review

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

All in all a pretty typical Cain novel. The Tau theme feels underrepresented; they're reflected in the title of the book but largely disappear about a third of the way into the story.

dobbykroket's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kavinay's review

3.0

Mostly bolter porn but still a cut above thanks to Cain, Jurgen and Vail.

bloodravenlib's review

3.0

Quick impressions: Overall, the novel maintains its formula, but it may feel at times a bit too close to previous works. Pacing is not consistent, which is why it took me a while to read it, but the humor is good. The book is entertaining, but it does not feel memorable, and there was an opportunity or two missed. I liked it, but I feel it could have been better.

(Full review on my blog)

trackofwords's review

4.0

Now into its ninth novel, Sandy Mitchell's Ciaphas Cain series is one of Black Library's longest running and most well loved ranges. Since the publication in 2003 of his first adventure, Cain's memoirs have seen him fighting all sorts of menaces across the galaxy, from orks to tyranids, necrons and the forces of Chaos. In the latest novel, The Greater Good, we see him facing an old foe in the shape of the tau, as he bravely (sort of) defends the world of Quadravidia from the upstart aliens. The situation soon changes however, as the threat of a new tyranid hive fleet forces the Imperium and the tau into an uneasy alliance. Caught in the middle of this, Cain's reputation as a Hero of the Imperium sees him called to act as intermediary between the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the tau.

Read the rest of the review at http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/the-greater-good-sandy-mitchell/

utbw42's review

4.0

A very enjoyable, well-paced Ciaphas Cain novel, this one throws in a curveball as Cain joins forces with the Xenos race Tau to defend Fecundia from a mass tyranid invasion straight from the depths of the the warp itself. Straight up, this novel would have been very readable on its own, but throw in the background comedy and heroic reluctance Cain is so well known for, not to mention a lot of extremely good fortune, and this book really delivers. The plot element that really cemented this book for me was Cain's involvement with the Adeptus Mechanicus on the wasteworld Fecundia. Cain discovers a nefarious plot involving the Mechanicus and the tyranids (trying to avoid spoilers here) and from that point on the novel really sails. I am caught up now with Cain novels and I hope Mitchell pens another one soon.