Shade of Khaine

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

by Evan Dicken

A Maleneth Witchblade Novel

Abandoned by her allies and hunted by the Order of Azyr, master assassin Maleneth Witchblade searches for purpose in a place from her Nightcliff, the City of Echoes.

READ IT BECAUSE

Maleneth Witchblade steps out from Gotrek Gurnisson's shadow in her first full-length solo adventure! Of course, she soon finds other shadows as she sneaks around Nightcliff, seeking to avenge her sisters.

THE STORY

Maleneth's return to the City of Echoes is not a happy one – Nightcliff has collapsed into violent, decadent debauchery. Khaine himself is usurped, and her precious coven lies in tatters.

Accompanied by an ogor mercenary and a Kharadron anarchist, Maleneth sets out to avenge her sisters, but soon finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy, the ramifications of which threaten not just the city, but the Realm of Shadow itself. To stop it, she must ascend to the blood-soaked summit of Nightcliff’s Bladed Spire, and face an enemy of sky-cracking power before time itself slips out of reach.

Written by Evan Dicken.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook

300 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2025

Reviews

[Andrew]

The type of movie that doesn't reinvent the wheel but executes all of my favourite tropes exceptionally well, with an array of just truly outstanding characters. I could have read a book about any one of these characters on their own, which is the sign of a great ensemble.

The action is really well drawn and has a great flow.

All Hail Splendid the Ogre and a very enjoyable anarchist dwarf!

[Sarah Beecher]

A very entertaining adventure, full stabby stabby bloodshed but with much more humour than I had expected. Maleneth's a fun protagonist, where her generally merciless demeanour is threaded with a darkly playful tone at times that helps carry the relatively straightforward plot.

But whatever it lacks in narrative ambition it makes up for in its pacing, its characters, and some quite brilliant advice on how to eat a stormcast. Maleneth's companions contrast so well with the Khainite Assassin that it makes for lots of fun bickering between them, where just being around the cast is enjoyable in and of itself.

[Michael]

Fantastic story. While at first I was apprehensive about Maleneth Witchblade carrying a book without Gotrek, she did just that with aplomb. The supporting cast was amazing, from his sister-turned-enemy, to a very different dwarf than Gotrek, to the best ogor ever ("Splendid!"). Each one complimented her perfectly. I really can't wait to see what kind of crazy shenanigans they're going to get up to, assuming there's another book.

[Papi Ojeda]

I have been a Warhammer fan for half a decade now, but I only started reading their books last year. This is my 4th read from the universe and it has actually been my favorite. The events happening outside the stories scope influence the book so it makes the universe feel as massive as it truly is. I only gave the book a 4 star due to the final fight being slightly anticlimactic. But truth be told, my rating is around 4.5 stars :)

[Paul Sparks]

The witchblade
The socialist duardin
The hangry ogor
Bloody brilliant book leaving the door open for more adventures of our motley crew

[Richard Powell]

It's not the best Black Libray book by any stretch of the imagination.

But it gets a bonus point for having a revolutionary anarchist Dwarf.

[Shelbey Clever]

Great storyline and characterization. All the action scenes were well written. I really enjoyed this book!