Demonwar Saga
fantasy
Series · fantasy
The Sundering
The Sundering series by Gav Thorpe has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Malekith (2009).
- Books
- 3 books
- First published
- 2009
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Malekith (2009) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Malekith
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Malekith - Book 2:
Shadow King
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow King - Book 3:
Caledor
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Caledor
About The Sundering
The Sundering is Gav Thorpe's trilogy for Black Library's Time of Legends line, retelling the civil war that split the elves of the Warhammer Fantasy world into the noble High Elves and the cruel, slaving Dark Elves. It centres on Malekith, the passed-over heir to the Phoenix Throne, whose rage at being denied his birthright by his mother Morathi and a rival claimant drives him from ambitious prince to the scarred, undying Witch King of Naggaroth. Malekith (2009) opens the war from his side of the schism; Shadow King (2009) runs largely in parallel, following Alith Anar, the last Prince of Nagarythe, as he wages a guerrilla war of vengeance against the Dark Elves who slaughtered his people; Caledor (2011) closes the trilogy from the High Elf side, following the mage-smith Caledor Dragontamer as he tries to end the war and save what remains of elven civilization.
Thorpe wrote the trilogy drawing on his years developing Warhammer Fantasy's tabletop lore at Games Workshop, and it remains one of Black Library's most highly regarded looks at elf civil-war material predating the tabletop game's own timeline -- tragic, morally shaded, and unafraid to make its eventual villain a genuinely sympathetic figure for most of his own book. The three volumes were later collected as the Sundering omnibus.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in The Sundering?
Three: Malekith (2009), Shadow King (2009), and Caledor (2011).
What order should I read The Sundering in?
Publication order: Malekith, Shadow King, Caledor. Malekith and Shadow King cover overlapping timelines from different characters' perspectives, but this is still the intended reading order.
Is The Sundering connected to the main Warhammer Fantasy game timeline?
Yes -- it dramatizes the ancient War of the Beard-era elf civil war that created the Dark Elves as a distinct faction, a foundational backstory event referenced throughout Warhammer Fantasy's setting material.
Is The Sundering finished?
Yes, it's a complete trilogy with no further volumes planned.
If you like The Sundering
Reading order last verified .