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Series · science fiction

Dark Imperium

by Guy Haley

The Dark Imperium series by Guy Haley has 3 known books (3 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Dark Imperium (2018). Plague War is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
2018
Status
completed
Shelved under
Science Fiction
Start here: Dark Imperium (2018) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Dark Imperium
Dark Imperium (2018)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Dark Imperium

    Novel
    Dark Imperium (January 2018) opens Guy Haley's trilogy at 432 pages, launched alongside Warhammer 40,000's 8th-edition relaunch to dramatize Roboute Guilliman's return and the debut of the Primaris Space Marines as they retake Iax from Nurgle's forces.
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  2. Plague War

    Novel
    Plague War followed in October 2018, less than a year after Dark Imperium, escalating Guy Haley's campaign as Mortarion commits fully to Iax's ruin, pushing the confrontation between the primarch brothers toward Godblight's climax.
    View book

  3. Godblight

    Novel
    Godblight closes the trilogy in 2021 at 448 pages, three years after Plague War, bringing the confrontation between Guilliman and his estranged brother Mortarion to its climax.
    View book

Key facts about the Dark Imperium series

The Dark Imperium series has 3 books on our list. Since all 3 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with Dark Imperium, since it opens the publication order in 2018. Plague War is book 2, from 2018. Godblight is book 3, from 2021.

Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.

Plague War is the latest book with a full release date, out on 13 October 2018. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2018 and 2021, while their length runs from 432 to 448 pages. That is a run of 3 years.

Guy Haley has 15 books on our list. Additionally, they write Richards & Klein, Dreaming Cities and Belisarius Cawl. We shelve the books under science fiction.

About the Dark Imperium series

Dark Imperium is Guy Haley's flagship Warhammer 40,000 trilogy, launched alongside the tabletop game's 8th-edition relaunch in 2017 to dramatize the single biggest change to the setting in decades: Roboute Guilliman's return from ten thousand years of stasis to lead the Indomitus Crusade against a galaxy shattered by the Great Rift and overrun by Nurgle's Plague Wars. Dark Imperium (2018) follows Guilliman and the newly created Primaris Space Marines as they retake the world of Iax from Nurgle's forces and Guilliman's own estranged, plague-ridden brother Mortarion; Plague War (2018) escalates the campaign as Mortarion commits fully to Iax's ruin; Godblight (2021) brings the trilogy's confrontation between the two primarch brothers to its climax.

As the novel that formally introduced the Primaris Space Marines and the post-Great-Rift "Dark Imperium" era to Warhammer 40,000's ongoing narrative, the trilogy carries outsized weight for the setting's current continuity -- it's less a self-contained side story than the opening chapter of the game's still-unfolding modern era, and Haley was entrusted with writing the primarch-level stakes that came with that role.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in Dark Imperium?

Three: Dark Imperium (2018), Plague War (2018), and Godblight (2021).

What order should I read Dark Imperium in?

Publication order: Dark Imperium, Plague War, Godblight -- they form one continuous campaign, not standalone stories.

Do I need other Warhammer 40,000 books first?

No. Dark Imperium was written as the entry point to the setting's current era, introducing Guilliman's return and the Primaris Space Marines from the ground up.

Is Dark Imperium finished?

Yes, the trilogy is complete with Godblight (2021), though Guilliman's wider Indomitus-era story continues across other Black Library series such as Dawn of Fire.

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