A tale of Malus Darkblade in the original Warhammer setting, CL Werner’s Bloodwalker was first published in volume two of the 2012 Black Library Weekender anthology before getting the standalone eshort treatment. Set somewhere between the events of the original Abnett/Lee stories and Werner’s own End Times novel Deathblade, it sees Malus and Spite making their way to Hag Graef only to be variously ambushed, betrayed and forced to battle a horrific daemon. Malus has powerful enemies, but some dangers are enough to force unusual alliances…at least temporarily.
A cruel, spiteful, soulless dark elf is a perfect character for Werner to tackle, and he proves to be a worthy successor to Abnett and Lee with a dark and bleakly violent tale of survival against the odds. Werner’s confident prose and bloody sensibilities combine with a simple but effective plot to provide a slightly predictable but still highly enjoyable read overall. You’ll probably get the most out of this story if you’re already familiar with Malus’ backstory, but it does a decent job of demonstrating his character even if you’ve never read a Darkblade story before, and it certainly works as an entertaining, action-packed tale in its own right.
