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Series · fantasy

The Sundering

by Gav Thorpe

The Sundering series by Gav Thorpe has 3 known books (3 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Malekith (2009).

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
2009
Status
completed
Shelved under
Fantasy
Start here: Malekith (2009) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Malekith
Malekith (2009)

Reading order

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

  1. Malekith

    Novel
    Malekith opened The Sundering in 2009 at 412 pages, telling the elf civil war from the side of the passed-over heir whose rage at his mother Morathi and a rival claimant drives him toward becoming the Witch King of Naggaroth.
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  2. Shadow King

    Novel
    Shadow King followed the same year, 2009, as the trilogy's longest volume at 528 pages, running roughly in parallel to Malekith's story to follow Alith Anar's guerrilla war of vengeance.
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  3. Caledor

    Novel
    Caledor closed the trilogy in 2011 at 416 pages, telling the war's final stretch from the High Elf side through mage-smith Caledor Dragontamer's attempt to save what remains of elven civilization.
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Key facts about The Sundering series

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

Start with Malekith, since it opens the publication order in 2009. Shadow King is book 2, from 2009. Caledor is book 3, from 2011.

Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2009 and 2011, while their length runs from 412 to 528 pages. That is a run of 2 years.

Gav Thorpe has 20 books on our list. Additionally, they write The Last Chancers, Path of the Eldar and Legacy of Caliban. We shelve the books under fantasy.

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.

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