What do you think?
Rate this book
Darkblade #6
Deathblade
It has taken decades, but Malus Darkblade has finally plotted, schemed and murdered his way to power, as the ruler of the city of Hag Graef and general of the Witch King Malekith's armies. But his position is imperilled when Malekith orders an all-out assault on Ulthuan - with Darkblade in the vanguard. As he wages war on the high elves, Darkblade must decide where his loyalties lie - will he follow Malekith to the death, or will he finally rise up and try to claim the throne of Naggaroth for himself? And either way, will he survive?
- GenresFantasy
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
24 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 27, 2015
I missed Malus - I really am, but the end of times Darkblade is absolutely different beast. Strangely Clint's Malus is more brutal monster, and not the scary, but at the same time interesting character from Mike Lee and Dan Abnett. The story is a long list of treachery, deceit and battles - as expected from druichii and the End of Times. But even with all that - the story is missing something, some old charm of the series. It's like a two absolutely different type of novels are written on the pages. It is a good story for the End of Times, but not so as an end book for the whole Malus series.
Anyway, it was a hard job to finish this cycle, so we must say a big ty to Clint Werner, for the good job been done.
Anyway, it was a hard job to finish this cycle, so we must say a big ty to Clint Werner, for the good job been done.
February 3, 2016
I was so excited for this book when it was announced, which might be why I'm so disappointed. I loved the Abnett and Lee novels and the graphic novels Abnett had written for Darkblade. As for CL Werner, I enjoyed reading his Witch Hunter novels and the rest of his Warhammer collection. Unfortunately, he cannot get the spirit of Malus Darkblade into this novel.
In the novels, Darkblade has been this underdog character, beset on all sides only to find a way to trick his way out. As this novel starts, he is the drachau of Hag Graef, basically one of the top dogs, and of course, he still aspires to be more. He is ordered by Malekith to join him and all the dark elves to leave their home and journey to Ulthuan to conquer. Darkblade sees this as his chance to take more glory for himself and maybe unseat the Witchking as well.
From that alone, we could have a very nice Darkblade novel, full of intrigue, guile and betrayal as Malus strives to overthrow Malekith. Unfortunately, we do not get that. This being an End of Times novel, we need to see that bigger picture of what it will lead to . This means we do not focus of Malus the entire time, but he shares his spotlight with many other characters. Not only that, but the novel fixates on the numerous battles Malus must go through as a leader and rarely as a fighter.
What I am most upset by is how Werner has Malus act. In the earlier novels, Malus would be cruel and ambitious, almost to a fault. Here, Malus crosses that line continuously and for sometimes no real reason. He displays wanton cruelty, which really contradicts how he acted in the previous books. And remember the wit and humor of the earlier novels? The banter between Malus and Hauclir (who is absent in the novel), or the running arguments of Malus and Tz'arkan? That is missing in this novel as well. The banter and dark humor are completely absent, and it leaves the book dry.
This novel as a whole is just a stepping stone for other events. I realize in the Warhammer world that Malus is not a huge figure, but the role he plays here is very unbefitting of him. He seems to have turned into a needlessly evil and cruel tyrant and he has none of the guile of the earlier Malus.
I really wanted to enjoy this and it was an alright read. The action scenes are great but are bogged down by the fact that most of the characters in the battles, well, you just don't care about them. I'm not sure if I sure recommend this to Darkblade fans, because they could share the same feelings I have right now. Just don't go into the book expecting another Daemons Curse or Reaver of Souls.
In the novels, Darkblade has been this underdog character, beset on all sides only to find a way to trick his way out. As this novel starts, he is the drachau of Hag Graef, basically one of the top dogs, and of course, he still aspires to be more. He is ordered by Malekith to join him and all the dark elves to leave their home and journey to Ulthuan to conquer. Darkblade sees this as his chance to take more glory for himself and maybe unseat the Witchking as well.
From that alone, we could have a very nice Darkblade novel, full of intrigue, guile and betrayal as Malus strives to overthrow Malekith. Unfortunately, we do not get that. This being an End of Times novel, we need to see that bigger picture of what it will lead to . This means we do not focus of Malus the entire time, but he shares his spotlight with many other characters. Not only that, but the novel fixates on the numerous battles Malus must go through as a leader and rarely as a fighter.
What I am most upset by is how Werner has Malus act. In the earlier novels, Malus would be cruel and ambitious, almost to a fault. Here, Malus crosses that line continuously and for sometimes no real reason. He displays wanton cruelty, which really contradicts how he acted in the previous books. And remember the wit and humor of the earlier novels? The banter between Malus and Hauclir (who is absent in the novel), or the running arguments of Malus and Tz'arkan? That is missing in this novel as well. The banter and dark humor are completely absent, and it leaves the book dry.
This novel as a whole is just a stepping stone for other events. I realize in the Warhammer world that Malus is not a huge figure, but the role he plays here is very unbefitting of him. He seems to have turned into a needlessly evil and cruel tyrant and he has none of the guile of the earlier Malus.
I really wanted to enjoy this and it was an alright read. The action scenes are great but are bogged down by the fact that most of the characters in the battles, well, you just don't care about them. I'm not sure if I sure recommend this to Darkblade fans, because they could share the same feelings I have right now. Just don't go into the book expecting another Daemons Curse or Reaver of Souls.
March 7, 2021
As a DH Malus Darkblade fan, I'd want to give this book one star. This book is not about Malus Darkblade at all. Sure the main character is called Malus but he doesn't feel/act at all like the Malus we know and love. Hell they even retconned Spite to be a different animal! Old Malus was a bad guy but this Malus is just your stereotypical cartoon villain, that has to perform some excessive act of cruelty every 5 seconds to remind you of how edgy he is.
The format is also very diffferent. The old Malus books always had this flow going of Malus getting into trouble, suriving against all odds, only to end up in a worse position where it started. Malus was evil and he got everything he deserved, but his sheer resolve and hate always pulled him through. This combined with the dark humor made for a great book series.
This book however throws this entire fomula out of the window. Add some random cruelty, some random bolter porn and call it a day. Lorewise as well this make absolutely zero sense, but that's a common theme amongst these end-of-times books lol.
In the end I'll settle for 2 stars because it's an alright bolter-porno, but absolutely nothing more. If you like Malus Darkblade just don't bother with this book and save yourself the headache.
The format is also very diffferent. The old Malus books always had this flow going of Malus getting into trouble, suriving against all odds, only to end up in a worse position where it started. Malus was evil and he got everything he deserved, but his sheer resolve and hate always pulled him through. This combined with the dark humor made for a great book series.
This book however throws this entire fomula out of the window. Add some random cruelty, some random bolter porn and call it a day. Lorewise as well this make absolutely zero sense, but that's a common theme amongst these end-of-times books lol.
In the end I'll settle for 2 stars because it's an alright bolter-porno, but absolutely nothing more. If you like Malus Darkblade just don't bother with this book and save yourself the headache.
March 13, 2024
#malusdeservedbetter
January 7, 2019
So ends the final chapter for Malus Darkblade. Compared to the rest of the series, this book did not have the same feel as the others. Perhaps it was because the tone of these novels had pretty much been set by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee, and that C.L. Werner's writing style, while not bad, just was not the same. Perhaps it was because the previous novels focused on Malus' rise to power and the struggles he endured, while this one starts off with Malus already the master of Hag Graef and his sadistic depravity now seems more for the sake of it as opposed to working toward a plan of advancement as the other novels had. This was a different Malus.
Additionally, while I actually enjoyed the battle scenes (in true End Times fashion there was a lot of death and vanquishing of named characters of the Warhammer universe), I felt that the end was a little lackluster. I guess I knew what was coming, but I guess I was expecting something more. What could have ended with a bang, instead ended with a barely noticeable pop.
Additionally, while I actually enjoyed the battle scenes (in true End Times fashion there was a lot of death and vanquishing of named characters of the Warhammer universe), I felt that the end was a little lackluster. I guess I knew what was coming, but I guess I was expecting something more. What could have ended with a bang, instead ended with a barely noticeable pop.
February 2, 2015
Brilliant book, but be wary - extremely downbeat ending. This should come as no suprise to hardcore Warhammer fans, though. The book has it all - hideous black sorcery, gory battles, awesome monsters and chronic backstabbing from all characters.
In short, a must!
In short, a must!
November 2, 2018
Have to say I am very disappointed with this story. A poor quality ending to what had been a good series. Black Library would have been better leaving The Lord of Ruin as the ending and be done with it.
June 14, 2017
It's completely different compared to the previous books in the series before it.
Its all this buildup and this book throws it away. 😖
Its all this buildup and this book throws it away. 😖
January 5, 2022
As an End Times novel, this book is good, but having read and loved the Malus Darkblade series, I was disappointed with his treatment here. This is very much an End Times novel more than it is a Malus Darkblade sequel.
As a grim dark, sword and sorcery adventure, this book has all the violence, deceit, treachery, and tragedy of the dark elves that we love and it's great. If this is all you're here for, have fun. It's good.
Onto my bickering.
Spoilers below for this novel and the Malus Darkblade series.
First off, the romance. Here, Malus is in a relationship with one of his female retainers. This is a break of character. In the main series, Malus, like most elves, is likely bisexual. Some people read him as gay. Personally, I read him as aromantic, bi or asexual. The sudden jump to a strictly heterosexual relationship is not only jarring, but really depreciates the arc of at least one major character from the main series. There's certainly multiple ways to read Malus' romantic interests and the longer I reflect on this book the more I can see his aromantic nature coming through and can, perhaps, conjure nuance by reading between the lines, but, at least on first read, I did not care for how Deathblade addresses this.
I haven't yet encountered him in other novels I've read, so perhaps this is just how he is, but oh my word Tyrion's dialogue is genuinely garbage, absolutely terrible. He has one decent speech at the end, but everything else he has to say is just bad. The Caledorians are written well, as are most of the dark elves. I liked Silar, Malekith, Tullaris, and Drusala. Prince Iktheon is awesome, I love the dialogue between him and Malus. Unfortunately, Tyrion is hardly middle-grade.
The ending is rather hollow. Why do Silar and Tullaris get more narrative attention at their deaths than Malus? Just, how insulting.
This is really indicative of the whole novel; it lacks any personal narrative of Malus. Narratives that were so important to the main series, namely the on-going question of what is self and what is one willing to do for it, really engaging themes that built such personality in the protagonist, are not built upon here. Shame.
There are quite a few editing errors in the last third of the book. Simple misspellings, repeated words, etc.
In sum, if you want a really fun Warhammer novel, this is great, if shallow. It checks most all the boxes for dark elves, but simply lacks the personal narratives found in the protagonist's main series, going so far as to ignore key themes and belittle major characters, not excluding the protagonist himself. Despite all these, I rather enjoyed it.
As a grim dark, sword and sorcery adventure, this book has all the violence, deceit, treachery, and tragedy of the dark elves that we love and it's great. If this is all you're here for, have fun. It's good.
Onto my bickering.
Spoilers below for this novel and the Malus Darkblade series.
First off, the romance. Here, Malus is in a relationship with one of his female retainers. This is a break of character. In the main series, Malus, like most elves, is likely bisexual. Some people read him as gay. Personally, I read him as aromantic, bi or asexual. The sudden jump to a strictly heterosexual relationship is not only jarring, but really depreciates the arc of at least one major character from the main series. There's certainly multiple ways to read Malus' romantic interests and the longer I reflect on this book the more I can see his aromantic nature coming through and can, perhaps, conjure nuance by reading between the lines, but, at least on first read, I did not care for how Deathblade addresses this.
I haven't yet encountered him in other novels I've read, so perhaps this is just how he is, but oh my word Tyrion's dialogue is genuinely garbage, absolutely terrible. He has one decent speech at the end, but everything else he has to say is just bad. The Caledorians are written well, as are most of the dark elves. I liked Silar, Malekith, Tullaris, and Drusala. Prince Iktheon is awesome, I love the dialogue between him and Malus. Unfortunately, Tyrion is hardly middle-grade.
The ending is rather hollow. Why do Silar and Tullaris get more narrative attention at their deaths than Malus? Just, how insulting.
This is really indicative of the whole novel; it lacks any personal narrative of Malus. Narratives that were so important to the main series, namely the on-going question of what is self and what is one willing to do for it, really engaging themes that built such personality in the protagonist, are not built upon here. Shame.
There are quite a few editing errors in the last third of the book. Simple misspellings, repeated words, etc.
In sum, if you want a really fun Warhammer novel, this is great, if shallow. It checks most all the boxes for dark elves, but simply lacks the personal narratives found in the protagonist's main series, going so far as to ignore key themes and belittle major characters, not excluding the protagonist himself. Despite all these, I rather enjoyed it.
January 26, 2018
Well, this is as close as I've come to reading a full book by CL Werner, so I guess that's saying something.
Basically, Malus Darkblade, the druchii who this is about, works really well in short fiction and as a side character, in my opinion (for instance, some of the scenes in this book involving Malekith are repeated in Gav Thorpe's Curse of Khaine, and they're so much more entertaining, when Malus is seen through others' eyes).
I really enjoyed the first third or so of this book, in which there's more political wrangling, and Malus realizing he's being swept away by the tide of destiny. Then there's an awful lot of pointless action through the middle third, then it really does start to feel like an addendum to Curse of Khaine, which ... had I realized that, and read them simultaneously, might have worked, but this is listed before CoK in most End Times chronological read lists, SOOOO I just went ahead & read it first. By the end I was basically just like, 'omg, does he die here or in another book, I'm just curious to see.'
My assumption was that Malus would be taken over by his inner daemon & just be in the background through the other books, but that's not the route taken. I won't spoil it, but ... considering this is the End Times, I don't think anyone will be surprised at how the book ends, except perhaps for the anticlimactic nature of the ending.
Forward to the end of the world!
Basically, Malus Darkblade, the druchii who this is about, works really well in short fiction and as a side character, in my opinion (for instance, some of the scenes in this book involving Malekith are repeated in Gav Thorpe's Curse of Khaine, and they're so much more entertaining, when Malus is seen through others' eyes).
I really enjoyed the first third or so of this book, in which there's more political wrangling, and Malus realizing he's being swept away by the tide of destiny. Then there's an awful lot of pointless action through the middle third, then it really does start to feel like an addendum to Curse of Khaine, which ... had I realized that, and read them simultaneously, might have worked, but this is listed before CoK in most End Times chronological read lists, SOOOO I just went ahead & read it first. By the end I was basically just like, 'omg, does he die here or in another book, I'm just curious to see.'
My assumption was that Malus would be taken over by his inner daemon & just be in the background through the other books, but that's not the route taken. I won't spoil it, but ... considering this is the End Times, I don't think anyone will be surprised at how the book ends, except perhaps for the anticlimactic nature of the ending.
Forward to the end of the world!
July 11, 2021
As a generic Fantasy book this would have been OK - but it has *nothing* to do with Malus or the Warhammer Dark Elves. The author havent even bothered to read the previous Malus books or the Dark Elf lore - this stinking pile of paper even has Malekith’s empty armour (yes, the one that is permanently forged onto his burnt body) magically wandering about on its own...
Worst BL book by far.
Avoid at all cost!
Worst BL book by far.
Avoid at all cost!
November 25, 2021
Have not read any of the previous Malus books. As this was part of The End Times, it was something I wanted to dig into. Thought I might not understand much of what was going on it because it is part 6 in Malus's tales. Though the book is great as a stand alone and really helps fill in some good details in regards to the book Curse of Khaine, even if it is essentially away from much of the events in that book. I enjoyed it.
November 29, 2017
What a pitiful end to such an awesome series of books...super grim dark and lacks the humor of the first 5 books.bit of a letdown
March 6, 2019
Good end times novel
Essential read for the story of the end times. Definitely a must. Good battles, lots of magic. . . .
Essential read for the story of the end times. Definitely a must. Good battles, lots of magic. . . .
August 14, 2019
Decent but suffers from Druchii being edgelords.
March 19, 2023
The end of Malus Darkblade during the end times.
February 29, 2024
A good end to the series, a few predicable things in it but good overall
November 3, 2025
Slap in the face to the character
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2025
DNF: Got to oage 250. Characters are very one dimensional and the decisions they make don't make sense. Malus puts in a lot of effort to be the least likable character every page.
August 17, 2021
CAUTION THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
First of all I just want to say that this is the second review I've had to write for this book, mainly because I wasn't happy with my first one. And boy am I going to explain why!
The Good Stuff
- First let me start by saying that I think C.L. Werner is one of best authors Black Library has, he written some amazing novels under the Warhammer name, looking at you Mathius Thulman trilogy. And he does a good job picking of where the last guys left of.
- I mean it's a Malus Darkblade book, you can't go wrong writting anything with him in and we finally get a small chance -blink and you'll miss it- where we finally see what happens if Malus let's the demon take over. It was great to read and I think it should have lasted longer and played a bigger part in the book.
- The battle scenes were great, C.L. Wener is great at writting them without making them too long or boring.
The Bad Stuff
- Ok this has been on my mind for months since I read the book and I'm going to tear it a new asshole here. I dont know who's decision it was, either big wigs at Black Library or if it was Werner himself but someone decided that this series needed to end and tieing it into the End Times series had to take precedence. In fact they tied it into the End Times better than they ended his series. IN FACT it didnt tie into the previous 5 books at all! part of me even asks did they even read the previous 5 books before writing this? It seems like nothing more than a quick way to end this great series and also set up events for the End Times. Congratulations, you've turned a great characters into a plot point to help me the other story forward 😠
- I'm sorry but I can't stress enough how annoyed I am at how loosely this book is connected to the Malus Darkblade series. I've not read any of the comics, short stories or E-Books so I dont know if somewhere in any of those there lies an explanation for how at the end of book 5 the demon has stolen his soul and left him out in the wilderness and then in this one the demon is back in his body, he has his soul back and now suddenly he's working for Malekith? I mean as far as I'm concerned those 5 books are the main canon, you cant make leaps and jumps like that with no explanation.
- As a End Times tie in this is a great book, as a chronological story about a character of 5 books previous it's just terrible. To think I waited 7 years to read this? Its insulating.
I wish I could say that this book tied up loose ends and told a great story for Malus but it didn't. Seems like they tried to end it as quickly as possible while moving the End Times series forward. Full of plot holes and gaps. In fact I was only going to give this book 2 stars but for C.L. Weners great writting. I keep telling myself that he was going to write a great Malus Darkblade story but the guys at Black Library wanted it to be this way, that he was hired to write the story they wanted rather than the one he wanted to give us. Maybe, I don't know how things work.
As far as I'm concerned the book series ended with book 5. And that's fine with me despite it being left on a major cliff hanger. For me this is just an End Times tie in novel and as a tie in It was good and that enough for me 🙌🏻🙏🏻
First of all I just want to say that this is the second review I've had to write for this book, mainly because I wasn't happy with my first one. And boy am I going to explain why!
The Good Stuff
- First let me start by saying that I think C.L. Werner is one of best authors Black Library has, he written some amazing novels under the Warhammer name, looking at you Mathius Thulman trilogy. And he does a good job picking of where the last guys left of.
- I mean it's a Malus Darkblade book, you can't go wrong writting anything with him in and we finally get a small chance -blink and you'll miss it- where we finally see what happens if Malus let's the demon take over. It was great to read and I think it should have lasted longer and played a bigger part in the book.
- The battle scenes were great, C.L. Wener is great at writting them without making them too long or boring.
The Bad Stuff
- Ok this has been on my mind for months since I read the book and I'm going to tear it a new asshole here. I dont know who's decision it was, either big wigs at Black Library or if it was Werner himself but someone decided that this series needed to end and tieing it into the End Times series had to take precedence. In fact they tied it into the End Times better than they ended his series. IN FACT it didnt tie into the previous 5 books at all! part of me even asks did they even read the previous 5 books before writing this? It seems like nothing more than a quick way to end this great series and also set up events for the End Times. Congratulations, you've turned a great characters into a plot point to help me the other story forward 😠
- I'm sorry but I can't stress enough how annoyed I am at how loosely this book is connected to the Malus Darkblade series. I've not read any of the comics, short stories or E-Books so I dont know if somewhere in any of those there lies an explanation for how at the end of book 5 the demon has stolen his soul and left him out in the wilderness and then in this one the demon is back in his body, he has his soul back and now suddenly he's working for Malekith? I mean as far as I'm concerned those 5 books are the main canon, you cant make leaps and jumps like that with no explanation.
- As a End Times tie in this is a great book, as a chronological story about a character of 5 books previous it's just terrible. To think I waited 7 years to read this? Its insulating.
I wish I could say that this book tied up loose ends and told a great story for Malus but it didn't. Seems like they tried to end it as quickly as possible while moving the End Times series forward. Full of plot holes and gaps. In fact I was only going to give this book 2 stars but for C.L. Weners great writting. I keep telling myself that he was going to write a great Malus Darkblade story but the guys at Black Library wanted it to be this way, that he was hired to write the story they wanted rather than the one he wanted to give us. Maybe, I don't know how things work.
As far as I'm concerned the book series ended with book 5. And that's fine with me despite it being left on a major cliff hanger. For me this is just an End Times tie in novel and as a tie in It was good and that enough for me 🙌🏻🙏🏻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2015
Auch dunkle Helden wie Malus Darkblade verdienen einen würdigen Abtritt innerhalb der End Times Serie. "Deathblade - A Tale of Malus Darkblade" erzählt uns, wie Malus auf Geheiss des Königs Malekith einen Teil der Dunkelelfen-Armee nach Ulthuan führt. Doch was bezweckt Malekith? Und was macht Drusala an seiner Seite? Und wie wird sich Malus seinem inneren Dämon stellen?
C.L. Werner ist wohl einer der besten Autoren aus der Black Library Brigade. Ich habe die Malus Darkblade Bücher nicht gelesen, aber in Deathblade habe ich alles an Hintergrundinformationen bekommen. Es gibt warhammer-typisch grosse Schlachten, Einzelkämpfe; Dunkelelfen-typisch Mord und Intrigen. Alles drin, alles dran, und den Leser wird es freuen.
C.L. Werner ist wohl einer der besten Autoren aus der Black Library Brigade. Ich habe die Malus Darkblade Bücher nicht gelesen, aber in Deathblade habe ich alles an Hintergrundinformationen bekommen. Es gibt warhammer-typisch grosse Schlachten, Einzelkämpfe; Dunkelelfen-typisch Mord und Intrigen. Alles drin, alles dran, und den Leser wird es freuen.
Want to read
July 31, 2014Ya hay anunciadas tres nuevas novelas de Warhammer Fantasy para 2015: http://www.laespadaenlatinta.com/2014/07/warhammer-nuevas-novelas-malus-gotrek-2015.html
August 3, 2015
Excellent book. Look it doesn't matter what book it is you're gonna get fanboys and idiots slating it in some way. Even 1984 isn't immune to criticism. Ignore them all - this book is one of the best warhammer novels to date.
September 24, 2015
Very dark fantasy!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews