Reading order
Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Daemon’s Curse | 2005 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 2 | Bloodstorm | 2005 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 3 | Reaper of Souls | 2006 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 4 | Warpsword | 2007 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 5 | Lord of Ruin | 2007 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 6 | The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade Volume One | 2008 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 7 | The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade Volume Two | 2009 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
Malus Darkblade began as a comic strip in White Dwarf magazine before Dan Abnett and Mike Lee adapted and expanded the character’s story into a five-novel series for Black Library. The books follow Malus Darkblade, a Dark Elf highborn of Hag Graef who is possessed by a daemon called Tz’arkan after a reckless expedition. To free himself, Malus must collect five artefacts scattered across the world, driving the plot of the first five novels.
The series opens with The Daemon’s Curse and follows Malus through Bloodstorm, Reaper of Souls, Warpsword, and Lord of Ruin, each book sending him to a different hostile region of the Warhammer world in search of the next artefact. The writing presents Malus as an antihero at best, greedy and ruthless, which gives the series a distinctive dark tone uncommon in the Black Library catalogue. His internal conflict with the daemon Tz’arkan provides psychological depth alongside the action.
The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade Volume One and Volume Two, published in 2008 and 2009, are omnibus editions collecting the five original novels in two books. Readers new to the series can start with The Daemon’s Curse and read through in order, or pick up the omnibus editions for a more economical option.