Book review 85 // Lord of Ruin by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee

I failed so terribly at completing my Malus Darkblade story reviews. I had a lofty goal of reading these in order and blogging in a timely fashion. The first tale The Daemon's Curse was posted way back in Feb 2019, this was followed by Bloodstorm in March 2019, then Reaper of Souls in March 2019 and finally Warpsword also in March 2019. Then I got distracted for fifteen months and finally remembered during my Thousand Sons month that I had this unread book on my to-read shelf still. I couldn't believe it, I had completely forgotten about this book. I even searched the blog as there was no way I would have not posted about it. Well, I was wrong, I had forgotten so I curled up and read the story and delved back into the Malus Darkblade timeline and what an adventure.

Book Details

Title: Lord of Ruin

Author: Dan Abnett & Mike Lee

Publisher: Black Library

Type: Paperback

Page Count: 413

Commercial Fluff: In the world of Warhammer, no race is as cruel and treacherous as the dark elves, and no member of this race is more infamous than Malus Darkblade. Now that he has retrieved the five missing artefacts, Darkblade must return them to the daemon before the year is up. But can Tz'arkan be trusted to honour his part of the bargain or will he try to trick Darkblade one last time?

Review

And here we hit the final epic tale of Malus (not counting Deathblade written by a different author). Malus is once again in the middle of trouble. He finds himself in the court of Malekith the Witch King and is appointed commander of his armies. Now Malus has to face his first true test as a commander and defeat his sister Nagaira now a full devotee to Slaanesh and her chaos hoard of beastmen and barbarians. All this whilst attempting to regain his soul from Tz'arkan!

This book took Warpsword and ramped up the action even more. We are treated to almost over the top bloody battles and otherworldly dark magic. Into this backdrop, we have surprising plot twists and unsurprising twists. This is the perfect Warhammer story and truly had me gripped to the end and sad this series had to end. Is this the true reason I hadn't read this book?

Do yourselves a favour and pick up the collection and have an enjoyable read.

Book Review 44 // Reaper of Souls by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee

Coming in fast from last weeks Bloodstorm review comes Book three of the Malus Series. I can't believe how quickly I am devouring these books. They are so different and fun, maybe I should try reading more anti-hero books. Here is the review for Reaper of Souls.

Book Details

Title: Reaper of Souls
Author: Dan Abnett & Mike Lee
Publisher: Black Library
Type: Paperback
Page Count: 416
Commercial Fluff: A member of the dark elf race, Darkblade's reputation as a warrior is beyond compare and his cruelty is legendary - even by the standards of the dark elves. Having been possessed by the foul daemon Tz'arkan, Malus undertakes a perilous quest to regain five magical artefacts that will free his soul or damn him forever!

Review

We join Malus as he is heading home to the port of Kar Karond, here in the flesh houses Malus uncovers the location in the third relic. The Dagger of Torxus is located in the city's necropolis, this long black dagger is meant to have been forged from the Outer Darkness itself and seems to absorb a victims souls! The crypt of bearer is known as Eleuril the Damned - kin killer (sounds a bit like Malus).

Upon reaching the resting place Malus is shocked to discover another group of Elves plundering the tomb. Here everything starts going wrong and an evil spirit is awoken almost killing Malus! When Malus regains his wits he discovers the guardian dead and the dagger gone. Here the novel becomes a chase as Malus must discover who has taken the dagger and get it back before it enters the city of Hag Graef. Finally catching up Malus sneaks into the camp and confronts the enemies warlord. As plan commences Malus realises it is Lurhan his father!

Having slain his father and recovered the dagger Malus is now on the run for committing patricide. Being chased by Lurhan retainers Malus has to race to the Black Ark of Naggor and hope his Uncle Balneth Bale will protect him. As always nothing really goes to plan. Heavily wounded and weaken Malus is almost sold into slavery, before it is finally revealed who he is. Seemingly accepted into the Naggor court Malus is given a military title and joins an army headed to claim Hag Graef. Here we see more sibling rivalry and the return of Nigaira.

The rest of the book is one big military action, that sees Malus ultimately leading the army in a failed action to take the city. Malus also disrupts Nigaira's plans along with pissing off two cities (Hag Graef and Naggor) and has started blood fued with the Witch King. Surrounded by enemies and dangers Malus has to sneak off into the wildness in order to survive. This is a complete flip on how the last book ended. 

This is by far my favorite book of the series so far. I'm excited to see how Malus can regain his status from such a low standard. I'm also amazed how much Malus sucks at killing his siblings, so far only one has died and every time they reappear they seem stronger every time whilst Malus seems weaker. I am excited for the next book.

I am going to take a small break from the series and read Gav Thorpes Jain Zar story. Then I will go back to the series.

Book Review 43 // Bloodstorm by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee

Technically as I write this it is now March, but in truth this book falls under the February reading bracket. I've fallen slightly behind on blogging but not too far luckily. As mentioned in the last review (Daemon's Curse) I am working through Volume one of the Malus Darkblade the opening three books

I have to say I am loving the series. Malus is such a badass character and it is making me want to build a Druchii force; like I really need another army ha. With this in mind let's jump into the review.

Book Details

Title: Bloodstorm
Author: Dan Abnett & Mike Lee
Publisher: Black Library
Type: Paperback
Page Count: 413
Commercial Fluff: Possessed by the foul daemon Tz'arkan, the ruthless dark elf anti-hero Malus Darkblade is forced to seek a number of magic artefacts or his soul will be forfeit. He will have to call on all his cunning and dark wits to survive a magic labyrinth and defeat its fearsome guardian.

Review

The story unsurprisingly picks up straight from book one. With Malus returning to Hag Graef. For crimes against his own household, Malus is captured, beaten and tortured by his father. Taken almost to the brink death Malus with the help of the daemon manages to hold out, adding extra shame on his father. Released into his step sisters Nagaira care, Malus undergoes weeks off healing to recover from his ordeal. During this time Nagaira also manipulates Malus into joining her secret coven, though enjoyable at first Malus soon comes to realise all is not what it seems.

Soon Malus is doing what Malus does best and starts betraying his siblings in twisting plots worthy of a master villain. Malus uses his siblings hatred of each other to slowly bring about all their downfalls, starting with step sister Nagaira.

Fearing the Slaanesh cult and not wanting to be a puppet to a cult, Malus turns to his crippled brother Urial and his temple allies to destroy the cult (which is a hard task considering Malus stole from him in book one). During this action Malus discovers the location of the next artifact the Idol of Kolkuth. Teaming up with Urial once more; Malus somehow manages to blackmail the Drachau of Hag Graef in order to gain the power and forces needed to search for the idol. With the writ of Iron and an ability to raise an army, Malus heads off back to sea once more.

Now trapped aboard a boat and stuck with three of his siblings, the backstabbing and political power plays increase to a murderous level. Throughout this part of the book it is hard to tell who will kill whom, sibling versus sibling versus Skinriders (Nurgle Pirates). This was also my favourite part of the book, I loved the plague ridden pirates and their secret base full of treasure and death. I can't help but imagine the Plague Lords GW has been creating of late. Full of maggots and loose skin hanging off bloated organs. Gross but so awe inspiring. Here on this island Malus discovers the relic, kills off one sibling and angers two other (who I can only assume will be back). With a ship full of treasure and an ego just as big, Malus is sitting pretty as we head into book three.

I was glad to see the introduction of the character Hauclir. An ex-city guard captain, Hauclir has seen an opportunity and is taking it. Rising from the military into Highborn society, now he just has to survive it. He enjoys mocking Malus and added some comically relief throughout the story. I just like him and hope we see more of him. I also enjoyed the Slaanesh Cult and how the the elven society reacts to it being hidden among so many of the highborn.

I am very excited to start Reaper of Souls. As it promises to add even more drama.

Book Review 42 // The Daemon's Curse by Dan Anett and Mike Lee

Welcome back to the bookshelf, here we are at book five of 2019. If you have been a follower of mine over my blogging attempts either on here, Instagram or Facebook, you would know I love Sci-fi, but especially 40k Sci-fi. Most of my readings have been in this dark, grim future so I have a treat for you all. This time we get to hangout in the World that was, Warhammer fantasy.

But were to start? The answer for me seemed quite simple in the end. I love Dan Abnett, I love Elves and I love an anti-hero. Here proudly steps in Malus Darkblade - the most infamous of the Dark Elves of the World that was. With about six titles to his name this will definitely become a series of reviews. I managed to pick the main books and so we will begin with Book 1- The Daemon's Curse.

Book Details

Title: The Daemon's Curse
Author: Dan Abnett & Mike Lee
Publisher: Black Library
Type: Paperback
Page Count: 414
Commercial Fluff: Ambitious dark elf warrior Malus Darkblade learns the location of a powerful relic and decides he wants it for himself. Malus leads an expedition into the dangerous Chaos Wastes in search of it but finds far more than he had bargained for. Possessed by a powerful daemon, he must undertake an epic quest to save his very soul.

Review

First up I remember the tale from my teenage years reading the short lived comic series. I remember an anti hero, processed by a Daemon and having to collect artifacts to free himself. I remember loving the artwork and having an evil character to enjoy in my comic reading. With such fond memories it is quite shocking it has took me this long to adventure into this series.

Let's cut to the chase this book involves the Druchii (aka Dark Elves), it is also set in the Warhammer Fantasy era. These are going to be dark, very dark books. This darkness is portrayed perfectly in this opening title as we follow the ruling highborns of the Hag through ambitious political plots, treacherous ploys and just plain torture!

The opening scene shows how yearly all the Highborns of the Hag must present the Lord of the Hag some form of gift. If they ultimately fail to prove loyalty or are lacking in the right gift, the Lord is allowed to torture them or in some cases kill them. Unlucky for Malus he has neither loyalty or gifts and is tortured to the extreme. The only thing saving him is the fact that he is a bastard son of the lord.

The character of Malus is a fun one to follow and is extremely easy to like, which is weird as he is an evil villain. Born as a bastard into the ruling household Malus got the nickname Darkblade as he is seen as a flaw. Barely viewed as a Highborn, Malus has struggled throughout life. Everytime something seems to be going well one of his older siblings betray him and take the glory for themselves or revel in Malus' failures.

Soon Malus is left with very few options socially and has to team up with one of his older siblings to raid one of his other siblings (Family intrigue). After a daring raid on one of his brothers towers, Malus is on the run and being chased by warriors filled with mystical powers. His goal lays in the Chaos Wastes, here Malus will search for treasure and unknown power. From here on it becomes a book of betrayal, brutal warfare, challenges and ultimately failure and the loss of his soul to a deamon.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm a big fan of Elves in general and haven't really explored Dark Elves or Wood Elves or any Elves outside of the 40k setting (something I will try to fix). A highlight of this book is feeling the conflict within Malus. His need to take big risks in attempt to gain bigger rewards and his pure stubbornness born for the hatred for his siblings. You can't help but wish Malus would succeed for once and when he does it still seems to go wrong for him. This makes Malus a very likeable character and you end up forgiving his faults as you end up hating those around him more.

I highly recommend reading this tale. As you read this I am now starting the second book so come and check back in a week or two for an update.