Dark elves are feared and revered for their evil and treacherous natures. Malus Darkblade is one of the more infamous ones. The ancient daemon Tz'arkan still resides within Malus. It has been ten months since the curse. Malus has one last artifact of power to locate, the Amulet of Vaurog. It is said that any warrior wearing the amulet cannot be harmed by weapons. The wearer is almost invincible. Malus must seek out the amulet in the lightless halls of the Fortress of Iron, the Witch King's own fortress. Sweet irony has the Endless, the Witch King's personal bodyguards and agents, capturing Malus and escorting him to the king's presence. Malus figures, correctly, that if Malekith, the Witch King, wanted him dead then the Endless would not have gone to so much trouble to capture him and escort him to the fortress.
Once Malus has honestly told all about the daemon within him and why he killed his father, Malekith decides to use the various talents Malus seems to possess. Thusly, the king commands Malus to go to the Black Tower of Ghrond, take command of the forces there, and lead them against the invaders until he arrives with the army of Naggoroth. All Malus must do is hold the invaders and not let them move any further into the realm.
The highborn leaders within the Black Tower are all for killing Malus immediately, until they learn he has the backing of their Dread Majesty. Malus knows that his half-sister, Nagaira, is the sorceress and leader of the invaders. She has entered a pact with the Chaos Gods, receiving unimaginable powers in exchange for her services. Worse yet, the amulet graces the neck of one of her Chaos Champions.
**** Malus must battle between the daemon, the Witch King, his own kinsmen, a sorceress with Chaos magic, and two-hundred thousand beastmen in this episode. Unlike the previous novels, this story does not start out with Malus and let the reader follow his adventures as they happen. Instead, the book begins after all the synopsis above is over and Malus is (unwillingly) freeing the daemon. The prophecy is being fulfilled. Then the story jumps back ten months. The ceremony Malus must perform to free the daemon is jumped forward to two or three times during the book. It is my personal belief that the story would have flowed smoother if all the time jumping had not been written in. However, the story does work the way it is written.
Word has it that this is the conclusion to the Malus Darkblade series. Yet the way the ending is written leaves the reader wondering. The authors can add another book or start an entire new series featuring Malus and the daemon. I hope the authors do not leave me hanging as to what happens with Malus next. (Personally, I would like to see more of Pockets as well.) ****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
