The Blood Price

Darkblade #0.1

by Dan Abnett, Mike Lee

Malus Darkblade prequel short story.

http://onlinereadfreenovel.com/dan-ab...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories

50 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Federico DN]

Oh Lhunara!

Malus Darkblade, the evil dark elf, is sent on a raiding party across the seas with the task of obtaining treasures for his lineage. An all likely suicide mission, since his step-father Lurhan, the Vaulkhar of Hag Graef, would rather see him dead than return with riches.

A short prequel story with the beginnings of Malus aboard the Manticore ship, in an attempt to plunder Ulthuan; his first encounter with Silar, and her future comrade in arms, Lhunara.

Entertaining, vicious and gory enough. Interesting to know the origins of Malus Darkblade. Not bad, yet not great either. I wouldn’t recommend it at all to start the series with, but yes if you have already completed it and liked it enough to take it a little further.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[2008] [50p] [Fantasy] [Conditional Recommendable]
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★★★★☆ 1. The Daemon's Curse
★★★☆☆ 2. Bloodstorm [3.5]
★★★★☆ 3. Reaper of Souls
★★★☆☆ 4. Warpsword [3.5]
★★★★★ 5. Lord of Ruin

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¡Oh Lhunara!

Malus Darkblade, el malvado elfo oscuro, es enviado en una expedición pirata a través de los océanos con la tarea de obtener tesoros para su linaje. Muy probablemente una misión suicida, ya que su padrastro Lurhan, el Comandante de Hag Graef, lo preferiría ver muerto antes que verlo volver con riquezas.

Una corta historia precuela con los comienzos de Malus a bordo del barco Manticore, en un intento de saquear Ulthuan; su primer encuentro con Silar, y su futura compañera en armas, Lhunara.

Suficientemente entretenida, viciosa y sangrienta. Interesante para conocer los orígenes de Malus Darkblade. No mala, aunque tampoco genial. No lo recomendaría en absoluto para iniciar la serie, pero sí si ya la completaste y te gustó lo suficiente como para llevarla un poquito más lejos.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[2008] [50p] [Fantasía] [Recomendable Condicional]
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[Kassar Krennic]

The Malus Darkblade series is a great and very old series of books following...well Malus Darkblade, a Dark Elf bastard hated by his family, well hated by most people honestly. It is not unusual to find a short prequel in these sorts of series that is released after the fact. What is rare is for that prequel to be great on its own WITHOUT knowledge of future titles.
The Blood Price is one such story. This short story (about 50 pages) is so fun to read on its own. Its short but does all it needs to telling a tale of a bitter noblemen, pirates and betrayal all you can want or need from a Dark Elf story.
But if you read it through the lens of already reading the Malus Darkblade series you get a few interesting bits of info such as his first raid and where and how he met Lhunara and Silar both recurring characters in the books.
All in all this is a solid read whether you're seeking more about Malus Darkblade or just a fun Dark Elf story to pass some time.

[Gally]

What a bittersweet little short story.

The narrative follows Malus on his Hakseer-Cruise, basically a coming-of-age raiding trip for highborn druchii. The story shows Malus meeting Silar and Lhunara for the first time, which was adorable. Otherwise, it's just a quick, swash-buckling adventure full of the dark elves' usual trickery, back-stabbing, and humor that we love. Possibly some contradictions with the main series, but my memory is too vague to be sure. Either way, this little story made me smile and laugh and exclaim with surprise and it was great to see these three characters together again as friends, or as close to friends as druchii can be. Oddly enough, Harry Potter comes to mind. Just three young friends, thrown together by hardship and adventure, with the world as their prey.

[Todd]

My very first exposure to Malus -- and what a great first impression indeed!

With only one notable exception, Dan Abnett has never let me down in the world of Warhammer:40,000, but I wasn't sure if his fantasy material would work for me.

Spoiler: it works great for me! Ultra-violent, but not too grim (ala Joe Abercrombie), with lots of fun plot twists and turns. Malus is an a__hole, but you have to admire his clverness to get sh_t done. I'm just hoping his crew (Silar and Lhunara) are able to stick around to keep Malus from thinking he's too clever for his own good. Or in his case, his own evil :P

[Robert Wise]

Started off strong and fast and was a great introduction into the darkblade books. I wouldn’t of purchased this as one book but it being part of the chronicles of malus darkblade just sweetens the pot of that book. Definitely worth reading and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

[Annemary Noble]

I wasn't really sure what to expect but I really liked it.
Malus is such a loveable character despite his evilness/edgyness. And he's smart like princes from fairy tales.

[Estevam (Impish Reviews)]

Good introduction to characters, very solid story, would recommend and i will probably read the series.

[Hans Kjenes]

Short and fun, an made me want to pick up the main series again for the first time in years.

[Daniel Izaaks]

A fun and bloody short story for those who are a fan of the setting.

[Sean]

Nice prequel sets the scene for the series

[Justin]

I can't say I like Durchii or their ilk but they have lives like any other and they have to live their lives in the environment they were born in.

[Mike Arrani]

The only reason I finished it was because it's short and I was too tired to get up off the couch. The entire story is just the characters murdering a bunch of people. Sorry for the "spoiler."

[Kenneth]

The beginnings of the adventure for Malus Darkblade.

[Twinksanddilfs]

A really good introduction to the character