Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt
The GRIMDARK Sharpe to Cain's Flashman.
Stars in the series of books written by the God-Like author Dan Abnett about the Tanith First (And Only) Regiment. The Tanith First and Only are called so because they were the first regiment to be founded from Tanith. However, as the regiment was waiting to be lifted off to fight in naightmare warzones, a splinter Chaos fleet spout out of the warp. Ibram Gaunt then had to make a painful decision: he would take what forces were available and leave the Planet, allowing the destruction of the heavenly, tree-world of Tanith burn under the Chaos invasion.
The books are ok if you, like the author, know bugger-all about canonical 40k fluff.
Gaunts favorite weapon is a powersword that CAN SLICE THROUH ANYTHING!!!!!! Gaunt kills TANKS with IT!!!!!!/ - The weapon is the heirloom sword from the ruling family of a large Hive called Verunhive, the sword is of antique design and probably hails from when the Emperor was alive. Therefore it deserves it AWESOME status.