Malus Darkblade

Another foray into the world of Warhammer tie-in novels, this time the omnibus edition of the first three novels in the Chronicles of Malus Darkblade series.

The titular protagonist – one hesitates to call him a hero – is a dark elf, a minor nobleman of an evil race. Malus himself is thoroughly evil, indulging in countless acts of vengeance, murder, rape and torture, most of it thankfully off-stage. He has only two saving graces; his indomitable tenacity, and the fact that all the other characters are even more debased and corrupt than he is.

The central plotline involves Malus being possessed by a demon, who strikes a deal with him: Recover five powerful artefacts within a year, or lose his soul forever. And by the time this happens, towards the end of the first novel, you just know that both parties are just waiting for a chance to betray each other.

Hmm. Reminds me of some contracts I’ve worked on. But I digress.

The books look like novelisations of comic book stories – I think Malus originally appeared in the Warhammer Monthly comic – and are set in Games Workshop’s Old World, the setting for their renaissance fantasy wargames and RPGs. For this reason, the tone is dark, pulp fiction, heavy on action, especially combat; and that means that I can only read them in short bursts, because the fights come thick and fast, and there are only so many ways you can describe one character killing another with a sword.

I preferred the Gotrek and Felix stories, especially the early ones, which are laden with black humour. I will probably return to Malus later, largely because I want to see how the authors explain a society in which everyone is constantly trying to betray each other; I don’t yet see how that could be stable. However, these yarns are going to be library loans for me, not ones I would buy and keep on my shelves to reread in later years.