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Voidscarred

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An Aeldari Corsairs Novel
Baron Myrin Stormdawn of the Starsplinters Corsairs allies with a craftworld aeldari to deal with rival ork freebooters for plunder and territory. Along the way, he must negotiate a complicated web of connections and the favour of his superiors.

READ IT BECAUSE
It's a glimpse into the mysterious life of the aeldari corsairs, who exist somewhere between the structured craftworld aeldari and the unscrupulous drukhari. It's a life of daring adventure and excitement as well as danger and dirty politics. Plus, they're up against everyone's favourite cunning and brutal pirates – ork freebooters.

THE STORY
The Starsplinters are aeldari corsairs, raiders and reavers of the void, and Baron Myrin Stormdawn is one of their greatest leaders. When his running conflict with the Badskab Bukkaneers of Uzgul da Magnificent escalates in unexpected ways, Myrin is forced into an alliance with Taenar Leotharan, an exiled admiral from his former home – the craftworld Ilmaren.

As Taenar is forced to adapt to the unfettered life of the corsair, whose freedom is a double-edged sword, Myrin faces challenges of his own. When a Starsplinters’ authority rests on the success of their last voyage and the whims of their feared commander, Princess Tishria, Uzgul da Magnificent's freebooters may not be the deadliest threat…

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2025

50 people are currently reading
139 people want to read

About the author

Mike Brooks

79 books550 followers
Mike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish. When not working for a homelessness charity he plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, goes walking in the Peak District or other areas of splendid scenery, and DJs wherever anyone will tolerate him.

And, y’know, writes.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Lindsay.
1,406 reviews264 followers
October 19, 2025
I'm a Warhammer 40K fan from way back, and when I played, my first preference was the Eldar (now referred to as the Aeldari). I have been aware of the tie-in fiction that focused on Aeldari characters, but this is the first time I've acted on the temptation to read one simply on the strength of who's writing it. I was a huge fan of The Black Coast and the rest of that series, so I wanted to see how Brooks would bring his considerable skill to bear here.

The answer is extraordinarily well. The modern depiction of the Aeldari is as a fragmented remnant of a lost empire with rigid space-dwelling Craftworlders, enigmatic Harlequins, savage planetbound Exodites, cruel Drukhari and enigmatic Corsairs. They are a people who value the ability to choose various Paths through their long lives and consider specialization a sad thing; to be "lost to a Path". This book brings out that alien mindset very well, following Baron Myren Stormdawn of the Starsplinters Corsairs as he battles with Orks and allies with Craftworlders from his former home.

As with most fiction set in this universe, it focuses on battle, but there's plenty of interesting relationship stuff here too, including a low-key gay relationship between Myren and the Admiral of the Craftworlder fleet. There's also a lot of background given for the Aeldari in general, and a lot of space given to the ridiculous fun of their Ork enemies.

Recommended.
Profile Image for Sam Pittman.
14 reviews
October 20, 2025
After reading this book I have a much greater appreciation for the Aeldari and the Drukhari, tho I still think the Drukhari are a bunch of bdsm gimps that smell like cheap cologne and cigarettes. The nice thing about this book is that you do not have to know much about the Eldar to know what is going on, as they explain most of what happened to the Eldar and why they are they way they are. The story itself was very good and was action packed almost the entire way throughout. I hope we do get another book with Myrin and Taenar as I really liked their dynamic together.
Profile Image for Bookish Barbarian .
91 reviews
November 16, 2025
Voidscarred by Mike Brooks

My first delve into the world of the Aeldari and Drukhari, and I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible it was. Despite knowing very little of their lore, I never once felt lost—Mike Brooks makes the story welcoming without sacrificing depth.

This is an action-packed ride from start to finish, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and of course some well-timed Ork mayhem to make everything even more entertaining.

A fantastic Warhammer novel and a genuinely fun sci-fi read in its own right.

4.5 ⭐️
Profile Image for Edward Hill.
25 reviews
December 12, 2025
A great book, covers everything from the lore, the realistic view of the different ranks and characters fully embracing cultures of the different paths. It touches a bit on romance but not being overwhelmed by it

This is a great book that isn’t obvious at where it is going, is a nice easy book that flows smoothly, to the point I struggled putting it down as one chapter before bed turned into three or four every time

It covered the enemy and switched perfectly between the two races and made both sides enjoyable to read
3 reviews
October 17, 2025
A really interesting look at the Corsairs! Mike Brooks continues to be able to write Orks and Aeldari/Drukhari in an incredibly detailed way - honestly this book has made me want to turn my burgeoning Aeldari army into a corsair-themed force!

I enjoyed seeing the interaction of the different Aeldari strands coming together throughout particularly interesting, and the relationships felt organic with genuine growth. The pacing was good too, with the action coming at just the right moments!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be recommending it to anyone I can.
Profile Image for Vincent Knotley.
44 reviews8 followers
October 15, 2025
Betrayal, intrigue and a whole lot of Orky gubbinz weave through Voidscarred. The heavier at at times quite emotional elements of it sit perfectly alongside the far less emotional and far more explode-y Orky parts of the book to create a satisfying and powerful tale viewed through the Make-Bigger Tubes of two subsects of long-standing Warhammer 40,000 factions we've rarely seen much of before.

I truly do have to give props where props are due to Mike's deft hand in writing Orks. While not the core focus of the book at all, they make for a well-timed mixture of comic relief and example of the true darkness of the 41st millennium both.

Not to mention presenting what might be the best potential use for lids since the advent of the jam jar.
29 reviews
October 13, 2025
Amazing

Mike Brooks has done it again. Somehow, he continues to make the most entertaining xeno focused books for the Black Library. Simultaneously, he has written one of the best pirate books I have read in quite some time.
Profile Image for Josh Bojarski.
4 reviews
November 18, 2025
GAY SPACE PIRATE ELVES YEAHHH!!!

This is probably one of the best 40k books I've read so far. It's an easy read with really fun and compelling characters. I think this is a really good book of your interested in 40k and want to learn more about the Aeldari and their various different sub factions.

Strong recommend!
Profile Image for Lane Callahan.
120 reviews2 followers
October 29, 2025
wow I actually really liked this! I had moderate hopes for a 280~ page book about a faction that is often written very poorly in wh40k, but i was pleasantly suprised. overall, the book felt extremely eldar-y with plots upon plots, uncertain allegiances, and the manipulaton of fate and schemes stacked on top of each other. it was done in a pretty realistic way with only vague insights into the future guiding the diff group's attempts to control fate which was, again, very immersive and on brand for the eldar - i saw this with ilmaren originally helping the voidsplinters, then the ilmaren farseer revealing he also gave away myrins location at the start, it was all just tricksy goodness

i enjoyed the pretty overt homoeroticism too - it was pleasant to see romance/sexuality in a franchise that is often just straight man army shooting bang bang vibes, and the eldar thematically fit for a race that doesn't really see gender or sexuality. it added a nice dimension to the combat/plotting.

i also enjoyed the adventure influence here - it was fun to go to different locations (like a black market set on top of a dead space whale the size of a small moon or something, as well as to a maiden world and the corsair princess's lair thing) - again not something I've often seen in 40k books but thematically veryyy fitting for a corsairs book. similarly, it was great to have different perspectives on the different ways of eldar life - corsairs not trusting craftworlders, craftworlders thinking corsairs are uncivilized, drukhi joining the corsairs but fighting the craftworlders, exodites existing the whole time lol. great lore dumps

the action was also primarily pretty good - the final climax was excellent with the void battle, boarding sunstompa, then finally rescuing myrin from sunstompa (and then from falling into orbit??) was excellent. i LOVED the ending with quite a few hints at a possible sequel - xela's disappearance into the warp for a few weeks and sudden return (evidently very traumatised) was pretty sick.

particularly favourite characters/arcs: myrin, taenar, xela, the warlock, farseer caman, visiting diff locales, plots within plots, battle for the rule of the corsair faction, final battle vs urguz
Profile Image for AA_Logan.
392 reviews21 followers
October 11, 2025
With the marvellous Brutal Kunning, Mike Brooks ushered in a glorious wave of Ork fiction, and I’m really hoping he will do the same here but for the Aeldari.

There has been Aeldari focused novels before, and whilst the two ‘Path’ trilogies have their strengths I feel that Voidscarred has raised the bar in a way that will surely positively impact future titles.

Like most of Brooks work, Voidscarred is a lot of fun. And, as befits a novel about space elf pirates it is gloriously camp. Brooks depicts those Eldar removed from the strictures of the path system as capricious and mercurial allowing the reader to feel the appeal and freedom of such a life to some, but it also illustrates why the path system is needed to curb and curtail a species so prone to wild fluctuations and impulsiveness. The Eldar is this book are certainly relatable but they are also suitably other and feel like more than humans with pointy ears.

By now Brooks is an old hand at writing orks, and the chapters from their perspective run smoothly and add to the story- the Freebooters are far from faceless goons, and there are characters I hope pop up somehow alongside the TekWagggh in future books.

Brooks has written Aeldari before, both of the Craftworld and Commoraghan variety before. I strongly suspect that he is responsible for the shift in ork epithet to ‘Scrawny’, which I really appreciate. Alongside great storytelling, Brooks’ novels are notable for their representation of queerness and Voidscarred delivers on that front too. Sexual attraction is a rarely seen motive in 40k, but is an entirely appropriate factor in this book here. After all, what self-respecting leader of a space pirate fleet wouldn’t risk it all for a pretty boy and what small town escapee wouldn’t fall head over heels for a dashing older man the minute he’s freed from the constraints of his previous life? I know that in either set of circumstances I’d do exactly the same.

Everything is set up nicely for more adventures with the members of the Starsplinters so if the BL commissioning editors are reading- MORE HORNY GAY SPACE ELF PIRATES NOW PLEASE.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jackson Handley.
53 reviews1 follower
November 27, 2025
Mike Brooks has written some fantastic Warhammer books and both their orks and inclusivity continue to be extremely welcome. Having said that...

This book sucks, badly. These Aeldari aren't alien, in any way, they're just awful human teenagers and not in the mournful didn't fully develop way of a primarch like Perturabo, they're just straight to streaming children. Every line is snarky, no character demonstrates any intelligent planning or skill expression at all.

They constantly mention humans, despite humanity being a tertiary race at best in this book, whether as an insulting way of trying to ground this melodrama in the 40k universe, or because Mike Brooks doesn't get Aeldari and needs the imperial comparison.

A very disappointing entry for a race that desperately needs good books after being leashed to Gav Thorpe for decades. I'd love more Orks or Humans from Mr Brooks, I would not like another Aeldari book.
1 review
December 19, 2025
The best Eldar novel yet. Mike Brooks has done a wonderful job writing a book from this species perspective. He delivers a captivating story with good character development, while also providing enough background lore and exposition to make this a suitable first foray into Eldar lore and novels.

Also, it has to be said. There is some controversy about the fact that two of the male Eldar characters in this book have a love affair. I'm a straight man and this didn't bother me at all, Mike Brooks doesn't "shove it in your face" or "cater to the wokes". It's mostly an emotional bond and at no point does it enter smut territory. So if for some reason you want to hate this book because "muh hobby is being destroyed by gay tourists", you're wrong. These characters are aliens that live for millennia and experience life entirely differently from us. Does it really matter that much?
Profile Image for Remembrancer S Stone.
33 reviews2 followers
November 15, 2025
an epic pirate adventure!
The swashbuckling elves versus the brutal yet cunning orcs!

honestly I really like this one.
You get a small glimpse into the Corsair life.

It felt like it could be a bit longer like they rushed a few of the ideas. but it was overall solid.

The orcs were an absolute delight! Don't get me wrong I love the elves... but every time they cut back to the orcs I was just like, THE BOYS ARE BACK!

now there was some controversy with this book having some LGBT themes.
All I say on that is it shouldn't be a controversy. And it's actually a very little part of the story, not the main focus.

their needs to be a second and possibly third book!! I need closure with these characters XD
Profile Image for Andrew.
1,014 reviews42 followers
October 27, 2025
GAY SPACE ELF PIRATESSSSSSS, LETS GOOOOOOOOO!

I could read this series of books forever, so I hope it gets a sequel. This is one of those rare 40K books that I really do recommend to everyone, there's a bit you'll need to know but I feel like everything is setup pretty well to welcome newcomers.

I was already planning on reading this as Mike Brooks is like the premiere 40K writer for capturing the satirical nature whilst simultaneously telling a great story, but the fact that this book made a bunch of manchildren mad, made me add it to my TBR asap. I'm glad I did because this book was magnificent.
Profile Image for Richard Balmer.
77 reviews5 followers
November 17, 2025
I admire the way this novel is able to switch so adroitly between overwrought space elf nonsense (subtle intrigue, florid philosophy of self, fraught homoeroticism) and the most goofy grin-inducing space ork wotsitz (GUNCANO) on a chapter by chapter basis.

I've now read three of Mike Brooks' 40k novels - two of them in the last three days! - and all of them have passed in the blink of an eye. I can't think of many writers who are so compulsively readable.

(on the other hand it made me really want to buy a box of Voidscarred miniatures. Whether this is proof that the novel was a success on its own terms, or a warning to stay away for the sake of your wallet, is up to you...)
66 reviews2 followers
November 29, 2025
The book is surprisingly amazing. I never start a Black Library book with high expectations. I am there for the Lore and the immersion. I do recommend this one.

It explores the Aeldari outcast society in a way that makes me want to read much more. Brooks can write Orks very well and they help him to conduct the counterpart story with an amazing grace.

The characterization of the Aeldari is just spot on. I want Black Library to pick up on the Phoenix Lords. Can Mike Brooks be the chosen writer?

This is the second novel of his I read where the main characters are Aeldari and I am so glad I have done it.
1 review
November 14, 2025
This was a really fun read. As a newer Eldar fan, this gave brilliant insight into the different factions and how the differing societies define their out look on the galaxy, and within smaller social scenarios. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Eldar lore, or someone who wants a fun, action packed adventure to read. Like many, I too hope the story of the Starsplinters carries on.
1 review
November 28, 2025
This book was absolutely amazing. Right now, I don't think anyone in the Black Library writes Xenos better than Mike Brooks, and I think this is one of the first times I've really read an Aeldari-focused book that felt "right." The characters were vibrant, emotional, and complex. The society he built was fascinating and so different from the usual doom and gloom of Warhammer 40,000. I finished the book in four days, and I totally recommend it to everyone.
2 reviews1 follower
October 14, 2025
A new high point in xenos lore, definitely the best Aeldari book so far (although competition is not stiff), rivals The Infinite and the Divine but with much brisker pacing. The setup feels like standard pulp, then becomes far more interesting while staying exciting. Can't recommend it enough! Gonna fish for the limited edition.
5 reviews
January 1, 2026
A great dive into Aeldari! Love the characters. I think the author does a great job of introducing the corsairs, craftworld, and Drukhari characters. He really shows the differences between all of their cultures and how they all interact with the world and eachother.

Mike brooks is one of the best modern black library authors and I can’t wait to see what he does next!

(More Aeldari please!)
58 reviews
October 22, 2025
Mike Brooks manages to make the aeldari an engaging faction and I’m not really a fan of them. Plus we get him writing orks again, which is always a delight. Engaging characters and a fun story full of twists and turns.
Profile Image for Robert Furlong.
115 reviews1 follower
November 6, 2025
I'm so glad they gave the revival of Eldar books to Mike Brooks. The author rarely misses, and even when he does the book is just average. I hope he considers to flesh out the various Eldar factions like he has with the Corsairs and the Drukhari.
Profile Image for Christian.
716 reviews
December 7, 2025
So SO FUN! This is what Black Library needs more of. I hope they get authors of this caliber to write the blurbs in the rulebooks and to help shape the narrative of 40K like the way Marvel plans ahead.
Profile Image for Jenny T.
1,012 reviews45 followers
December 26, 2025
Oh, this was fun. Mike Brooks is quickly becoming my favorite Warhammer author. This one explores the various Aeldari (think 'Elves in Space') cultures and has some surprising LGBTQ rep AND well-written Orks. Fantastic!
Profile Image for Eva Tiltman.
4 reviews
October 8, 2025
Mike Brooks continues to be my favourite Black Library author. I was shocked at how much I came to really love the Aeldari (particularly the corsairs) after this book.
Profile Image for Joseph Dolan.
135 reviews2 followers
October 23, 2025
Common Mike Brooks W. Channeling Adams and Pratchett deeply and beautifully.
Profile Image for Jason Spencer.
31 reviews
October 27, 2025
An absolutely fantastic story! It had really interesting characters that I was rooting for the entire story. Definitely worth a read if you are interested in Aeldari Corsairs.
15 reviews
November 21, 2025
Mike Brooks does it again, the tension in this book is palpable in every way.
Profile Image for Astrid.
19 reviews
November 26, 2025
I can't believe there's now a book that makes me kinda like the eldar
5 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2025
Interesting to get a book from the perspective of Corsairs, but moved a bit too quickly in developing relationships.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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