steven erikson book tour

Books Reading Order

List of Authors and Books in Order of Publication and Chronology

List Of Steven Erikson Books in Order

Science fiction and epic fantasy novelist Steven Erikson is the author of the bestselling eries titled Malazan Empire. Now, this is a major series with around 30 books, many of which are included in their own miniseries as well. For example, we have the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, and the Kharkanas Trilogy. He wrote the Malazan series in co-operation with Ian C. Esslemont, who wrote additional books in the Malazan Empire.

What not every Malazan reader knows is that the author Steve Erikson has also written a few space opera series, including Willful Child, and the new First Contact series, all of which will be listed in the proper reading order.

So here are the Steve Erikson books in order for his popular fantasy and space opera series.

Latest Steven Erikson Books

Rejoice, A Knife to the Heart , (First Contact #1), 2018

The Search for Spark , (Willful Child #3), 2018

Malazan Book of the Fallen Series in Publication Order

• Gardens of the Moon , 1999
• Deadhouse Gates , 2000
• Memories of Ice , 2001
• House of Chains , 2002
• Midnight Tides , 2004
• The Bonehunters , 2006
• Reaper’s Gale , 2007
• Toll the Hounds , 2008
• Dust of Dreams , 2009
• The Crippled God , 2011

Malazan Book of the Fallen Series in Chronological Order

Bauchelain and korbal broach series.

• Blood Follows , 2002
• The Healthy Dead , 2004
• The Lees of Laughter’s End , 2007
• Crack’d Pot Trail , 2009
• The Wurms of Blearmouth , 2012
• The Fiends of Nightmaria , 2016

Kharkanas Trilogy

• Forge of Darkness , 2012
• Fall of Light , 2016
• Walk in Shadow (TBA)

Willful Child Series

• Willful Child , 2012
• Wrath of Betty , 2016
• The Search for Spark , 2018

First Contact Series

• Rejoice, A Knife to the Heart , 2018

Witness Series

• The God Is Not Willing , 2021

Standalone Steven Erikson Books

• Ruin of Feathers , 1992
• This River Awakens , 1998 (written as Steve Lundin)
• Fishin’ with Grandma Matchie , 2004 (novella)
• The Devil Delivered , 2004 (novella)
• When She’s Gone , 2004 (written as Steve Lundin)
• Revolvo , 2008 (novella)

The Malazan Books Synopsis

Gardens of the Moon – The Malazan series begins with this book, which was published in 1999. We are introduced to the Malazan Empire which is in the middle of heavy discontent and turmoil. The reader is thrown in the middle of battles without any actual explanation, and it’s up to the reader to figure it all out. In fact, this is one of the traits of this author, to avoid spoonfeeding us while reading. In fact, even the many characters have not a big idea on what exactly is going on, why they are fighting and whom. We learn about Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, and of course, Empress Laseen, who rules her Malazan Empire with an iron fist. The empress has just finished a successful siege on Pale, and now her eyes are on Darujhistan, which is the last bastion of freedom, the last Free Cities of Genebackis.

Deadhouse Gates – While this is the sequel to the first book in the series, it actually stands on its own, it can be read as a standalone novel. While the story continues right after the end of the one in the first novel, the characters are new, never seen before, and the continent is different from the first one as well. In this story, we follow the rebellion in the Seven Cities of the same Malazan Empire, started by an uprising called Whirlwind, which claims to free the Seven Cities. Whirlwind is led by the prophetess Sha’ik from the Holy Desert of Raraku.

Memories of Ice – This is the third book in the Malazan series, however, it is the actual sequel to Gardens of the Moon. It takes place around the time with the story in Deadhouse Gates, but it goes back to Genabackis, focusing on the Pannion War. We meet again most of the characters from book 1, Dujek Onearm’s Host, Captain Paran with the Bridgeburners, and Sergeant Whiskeyjack. I found the story quite dark, looking at how much destruction humanity can actually do. Still, I did find Gardens of the Moon somewhat darker in tone.

House of Chains – In the fourth book of the series, we meet Karsa Orlong, a new character added that seems initially quite primitive. The first quarter of the book was following this character’s point of view, which is quite unusual to this author’s style for Malazan. The novel is a direct sequel to Deadhouse Gates, which goes back to Whirlwind, although it also goes back to Memories of Ice.

Midnight Tides – The fifth book takes us again to a new continent and, bar one, entire new characters. The story takes place before the events in Gardens of the Moon, which makes this novel a prequel of sorts. This time the conflict focuses on the Tiste Edur race and the Letherii Empire. While we encountered Tiste Edur so far in the previous stories, this is the first time it is examined in more detail. The story of two families (with the brothers, Sengar and Beddict is explored.

The Bonehunters – We’re continuing our journey several months after the previous book, and this time we get a larger picture of the whole empire and its conflicts. We are in Seven Cities with the Malazan Fourteenth Army going after what remained from the Whirlwind rebellion, and we finally meet almost all previous characters in one book, which is unprecedented for this series so far. Here we get several POVs throughout the novel, which helps with the overview picture of what is actually going on. There are also new characters introduced, but the author doesn’t forget to do proper character development for every important one. Many story arcs converge, and we meet them all:  Seven Cities, Malaz City and the Letherii Empire,  the former Bridgeburners, Whirlwind, and the Fourteenth Army.

Reaper’s Gale – We are finally back to Letherii, which we first saw in Midnight Tides (although now we are several years in the future in this novel), however, once again we have a ton of new characters, including the Awl and the Shake, which are all explored in almost the first half of the book. As usual, there are many threads and story arcs to follow, which is one of the hallmarks of high fantasy.

Toll the Hounds – And we’re back in Darujhistan, following the story of the Tiste Andii race and its leader, The Son of Darkness, Anomander Rake, which hasn’t been much explored in the previous tales. This is another epic story that began with Gardens of the Moon. Here the pace is slower than in the previous novels, and there is a lot of philosophical musing throughout the chapters. We still have several subplots that are all craftily intertwined and closed at the end.

Dust of Dreams – This novel begins the end of the Malazan story. It is so big, so epic, that it had to be told in two volumes. Even at this very late point in the series, we get a whole new cast of characters introduced, which also includes a race of lizards. We get to experience again the atrocities of war brought mostly forward due to the Wasteland battles with its quite graphic depiction of violence. We meet again the Bonehunters, who have by now settled into the city of Letheras, and Adjunct Tavore Paran wants to drive the Bonehunters to the Wasteland.

The Crippled God – We continue the story started in Dust of Dreams, with the Bonehunters marching toward Kolanse, who are led by Adjunct Tavore Paran. In this last book in the Malazan series, most of the plotlines in the other books come together in the end.

Steven Erikson Biography

Steven grew up in Winnipeg, where he would spend his weekends with his family on trips to the various nearby lakes fishing. These very trips sparked Steve’s imagination which would later prove a great help in him writing fantasy books.

Later on he briefly moved to the UK with his wife (whom he initially met at an archaeological dig) and his son. Eventually, however, he moved back to Winnipeg. Currently, he lives in  Victoria, British Columbia with his family. He is  graduate of the University of Victoria undergraduate Creative Writing program.

In his early twenties, he wrote a fantasy novel which he decided was bad. So next he trained in archaeology and anthropology, with double minors in history and the Classics, as well as finishing two writing courses, being a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. By then he was unemployed and had a pregnant wife. So he decided to start writing to get some income. This is when he completed the first draft of Gardens of the Moon.

Sadly, it took almost ten additional years until the book got published. In the meantime, while living in the UK, he would be trying to get archaeological jobs, which would never appear, so Steven would work for a few years at various office desk jobs, which bored him to death. As he started writing books and his reputation as a great author of fantasy novels got established, after his book This River Awakens , in 1998 he got his pseudonym Steven Erikson, by which name he is known even today.

When he first started his Malazan series, he was working with co-author Ian Cameron Esslemont on a role-playing game which they played together during their student years. The two authors initially met at an archeological dig at the site of Mud Portage, Ontario, Canada.  The first Steven Erikson book in the series, Gardens of the Moon , was initially created as a movie script which eventually was changed into a book when the script didn’t sell.

When in the 1990s the publishing house Transworld (a division of RandomHouse) bought the book’s copyrights, they also asked for additional novels in the series, which Steven Erikson was happy to oblige writing. Since then, the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson includes 10 full-length books, which were followed by additional prequel books that comprised the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach series and some short novellas.

The first book, once published in 1999, was received extremely well by the readers of fantasy novels, and it was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award. In fact, the author’s first book under Steven Erikson propelled him to the status of a great fantasy writer. After writing the 10th book and the series being seemingly over, the fans wanted more, so the new trilogy and prequel books were born. In addition, there are several other books in the Malazan series by Ian Cameron Esslemont that are worth reading as well.

Reading the Steven Erikson books in order for his Malazan series is well worth it for every epic-fantasy lover who doesn’t shy away from some massive books that are not as easy to read as the mainstream fantasy stories they’re accustomed to. The series spans several continents, includes numerous characters, and it all ended with the tenth book, The Crippled God, in 2011.

In his writing, Erikson has been called by his book critics both a poststructuralist and postmodernist. His books don’t follow the traditional epic fantasy construct and conventions, and his characters and not inherently good or evil. They are, in fact, multi-dimensional and are often both good and bad, just like real people are. Also, not all main characters survive to save the world (no further spoilers here).

Often he starts his Malazan books by placing the reader in the middle of a story rather than giving initial background, which is what other authors do. This turns traditional convention on its head as well. The latest Steven Erikson books are mostly focusing on sci-fi with the two sci-fi series he’s recently started, First Contact and Willful Child.

When he’s not writing fantasy or sci-fi books, Steven Erikson enjoys fencing, something that he’s been doing for a long time.

Praise for Steve Erikson

Steven Erikson is an extraordinary writer … His work does something that only the rarest of books can manage: it alters the reader’s perception of reality. (Stephen R. Donaldson) I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high water mark of epic fantasy—accomplished with none of the customary rifs on Tolkien. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today.  (Glen Cook) Rare is the writer who so fluidly combines a sense of mythic power and depth of world with fully realized characters and thrilling action, but Steven Erikson manages it spectacularly. (Michael A. Stackpole) Gripping, fast-moving, delightfully dark, with a masterful and unapologetic brutality reminiscent of George R. R. Martin. Steven Erikson brings a punchy, mesmerizing writing style into the genre of epic fantasy, making an indelible impression. Utterly engrossing. (Elizabeth Haydon) Easily the best fantasy series to appear in the past decade (SF Site) This is true myth in the making, a drawing upon fantasy to recreate histories and legends as rich as any found within our culture. (Interzone)

• Steven Erikson author website
• Owen Williams author interview

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September 15, 2021 at

I’ve/ read the entire book of the fallen series twice… it was even better the second time around. #@$#, if they made a movie trilogy or Amazon original or Netflix original it would kill everything out there so long as it was done right.

April 1, 2019 at

i have read the complete series Malazan Book of the Fallen. i have read the first 2 in the Kharkanas Trilogy.when can i expect the third?

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Steven Erikson Books In Order

Publication order of bauchelain and korbal broach books, publication order of first contact books, publication order of the kharkanas trilogy books, publication order of malazan book of the fallen books, publication order of willful child books, publication order of witness books, publication order of standalone novels, publication order of short stories/novellas, publication order of short story collections, publication order of anthologies, about steven erikson:.

Science fiction and fantasy novels form a thrilling part of literature in a category of their own. This is because they seldom feature stories that already happened or will necessarily happen. The fiction aspect gives the author room for diverse creativity to produce outstanding stories. On the other hand, the science part of the novels add an intellectual dimension which enables the stories develop a plot that engages the mind of the reader in a very interesting way. Well written fantasy novels give the reader an out of this world experience with action packed, fast-paced, mind-boggling stories. Steven Erikson is a prolific author in this genre and his unique style of writing has given him an edge over other writers in the same genre. He describes his works as that which attracts total love for it or total hate. There are no gray areas when it comes to the response of his audience. One of his career influences acknowledges that Erikson’s works are so awesome, they alter the reader’s perception of the reality.

Biography of Erikson

October 17, 1959 is the year Erikson was born in the Canadian city of Toronto. His actual name is Steve Rune Lundin. He was raised up in Winnipeg, Canada where after years of living outside his country he later returned to settle in the same place. In the beginning, writing was never the career path set for Steven Erikson; he got into training in archeology and anthropology. Later on in 1991 is when he began writing novels. He sharpened his acumen for writing by attending Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Erikson carries within him an artistic inclination; apart from his earlier career and writing he also does oil painting. He is married and has one son. For some time, he lived in Cornwall,UK but later returned to Winnipeg.

The works and accomplishments of Steven Erikson

Most writers never have a smooth debut into the writing career. This was also true for Erikson who wrote a number of writings before he could finally get one of his novels published. Notwithstanding, he has managed to set himself apart as a gifted and excellent writer. This he started while still in training at Iowa Writer’s workshop. He wrote a thesis that comprised of a collection of short stories known as A Ruin of Feathers. This piece of work saw him being awarded a grant to enable him complete the work. The book was then published by a Canadian publishing company known as TSAR. Thereafter he participated in a 3 day novel writing contest for the Anvil Press International where he won alongside someone else. He however, gave away the rights to that writing, a move he believes would not have happened if he had experience. Not the one to easily give up, Erikson wrote a third book which was titled, ‘Revolvo and other Canadian Tales.’ The fourth book, This River Awakens’ is considered by Erikson as being the debut of his ‘real’ novels. He wrote this book while still in Winnipeg then moved to the UK and sold it to the publishers, Hodder and Stoughton.

The works of Steven Erikson that have caused the greatest impact among readers is definitely the Malazian Book of the Fallen series. It is a collection of ten books with the first one printed initially in 1999. He has written novels using his real name, Steve Lundin as well as his pseudonym Steven Erikson.

Erikson’s style of writing is undeniably unique. He prefers writing stories with a complex plot and even dares to orchestrate the death of central characters in order to enhance development of the plot. He also loves using a large number of characters and creatively places them in significant roles. He plays around with fantasy in a manner that enables characters in his stories to live outside the stereotypes attributed to their roles. This unique stance his books take has endeared him to readers resulting in him receiving a number of awards. One of his books in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series got to be shortlisted for receiving a World Fantasy Award. In the year 2000, the SF site voted his second book in the series as being among the ten best fantasy novels of that year.

Gardens of the Moon is the first book in the greatly acclaimed Malazan series. Having almost fifty characters, it is an epic fantasy novel that does a great job in introducing the Malazan series. The Story begins in the setting of the Malazan Empire when Emperor Kellanved happens to be in his final year of reign. The real plot unfolds when the story shifts seven years ahead. This dispensation reveals the emperor having been assassinated and his place taken by Empress Laseen and a group of assassins, The Claw, who help her rule the empire. These rulers take to war in order to bring the continent of Genabackis under their dominion. Events unfold displaying a very intense struggle for power and the self-assertion of an empire amongst its victims of rule. The plot is highlighted by a lot of magic and a rather concentrated role-playing by the many characters. As the book ends, it is reported that Seven Cities is planning to rise against the Malazian Empire but the actual action unfolds in the second book in the series.

The second book in this series is titled, ‘Deadhouse Gates’. A rebellion known as the Whirlwind begins in the Seven Cities. As the rebellion and ensuing destruction of cities accelerates, the Malazan armies plan to evacuate over fifty thousand refugees to Aran, the capital of the empire where it is considered safe. These people and the army have to march over fifteen hundred miles, a venture that comes to be known as the Chain of Dogs. As the wind of change blows, slaves make their escape, the Chain of Dogs produces heroes and another rebellion arises against the initial rebellion.

2 Responses to “Steven Erikson”

Never heard of you before I acquired some books from a house I was working on. Wow, wow, wow! Although what I want to write is the other end of the spectrum. You’ve given me insperation to do more research and carry on. Thanks, I’ll be looking for more of your stuff mate. Gary.

I’ve read the first 2 books of the malazan book of the fallen. I’m hooked. Can’t wait to read all ten books.great author.

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Steven Erikson Books In Order | Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series

Steven Erikson Books In Order – The fantasy novel is the first choice of the readers who read and knows about the world of fantasy . People love these fantasies because these fantasy novels give them hope for humanity. All fantasy novels have a story about humanity and its victories, defeat, struggle, and flaws.

Fantasy novels always aim to make the characters real and fight for their world to save humanity. Let’s go through one of these famous fantasy novels, writer Steven Erikson”. He is famous for his novels “Malazan books of the Fallen” , “Willful Child Trilogy” , and “Rejoice, a knife to the heart.” .

Let’s see Steven Erikson Books In Order and a glimpse of his life, achievements, and career.

What's in this post?

Steven Erikson Early Life And Careers

Steven Erikson is an archaeologist and anthropologist born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada . His academic life was good as he graduated from the Lowa writer’s workshop and gained his writing skills here. He has lived in the UK with his wife and son since he returned to Canada. 

His short writing, known as “Ruins of a feather” , was written for the archaeologist of Central America. He received a grant to complete the work, which was published by TSAR and a small Canadian publishing house. He received an award for co-winning the Anvil Press International 3-Day Novel Contest.

Steven Erikson Books In Order

As an author, Steven Erikson has written three fantasy novel series which were loved by the people very much. The best fantasy novel series are “Malazan books of the Fallen”, “Willful Child Trilogy”, and “Rejoice, a knife to the heart.” . Let’s have a look at these fantasy series written by Steven Erikson.

Publication Order of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Books

Publication order of first contact books, publication order of the kharkanas trilogy books, publication order of malazan book of the fallen books, publication order of willful child books, publication order of witness books, publication order of standalone novels, publication order of short stories/novellas, publication order of short story collections, publication order of anthologies, 1] malazan books of the fallen.

“Malazan Books of the Fallen” is a series of ten novels showing the resistance faced by the Malazan empire to conquer the world. The first Steven Erikson Books In Order of this series came in the year 1999. Steven Erikson and his fellow writer completed the first part of his novel in the year 1992 and tried to make a movie with this script, but the script failed to sell. 

Steven Erikson continued his works on this script and converted the script into a fantasy novel. The first part of the Malazan series “Garden of the Moon” is sold to the trans world, a division of Random House. 

The novel “Garden of the Moons” gained huge popularity and love from the people, and the publisher pleased Steven Erikson to write the other part of the novel.

In this Malazan series , Steven Erikson features vast legions of gods, mages, humans, and dragons battling for the destiny of the Malazan Empire. The novel series shows the seven-year war series by Malazan to conquer the continent of Malazan genebanks. The story starts with the assassination of the emperor and his ally by the chief of the assassination corps.

To know about the rest, you have to read all the ten parts of the series “Malazan Books of Fallen” .

A List of “Malazan Books of the fallen” are as follows :

• Garden of the Moon 
• Deadhouse Gates 
• The Bonehunter
• Memories of the Ice 
• House of Chains
• Dust of Dreams 
• Reaper’s Gale
• Toll the Hounds
• The Crippled God
• Crack the Pot Trail 

2] Willful Child Trilogy

Steven Erikson was a huge fan of star trek, and in this science fiction, Steven Erikson narrates a journey to the planets in search of a new world. The Willful Child Trilogy in the list of Steven Erikson Books In Order is the story of captain kirk and his team in search of a new world and a new life form for all species. Willful Child contained three books in the series and was published in the year 2014.

Books of the Willful Child Series

• Willful child
• Willful Child: Wrath of Betty
• Willful Child: The Search for spark  

3] Rejoice, The Knife To The Heart

Rejoice, The Knife to the Heart is a combination of science fiction and fantasy. It tells the story of the Intervention, when Samantha August, the science fiction writer, disappeared into the beams of light while walking along a busy street in Victoria, Canada. While the incident got viral, and when she woke up, she found herself in the world of aliens. The stories of this novel revolve around Samantha and how she deals with this situation.

Different Works Of Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson has written many novels apart from the above novel series. Some of the novels are “Ruins of feathers” , a short story released in 1991. The Healthy dead, The lees of the laughter End, and Blood follows are the best novels in the series of The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach . “The God is not willing” is the best novel in the series of the Witness Trilogy .

To Sum Up – Steven Erikson

In the above article, we have discussed the works of Steven Erikson and his life as a writer. The heart-stopping fantasy stories narrated by Steven can take a few days to months to read everything. If you want to read the best collection of Steven Erikson Books In Order , then just go and grab it online or from your nearby bookstall.

Top FAQ on Steven Erikson

How many books are there in “ malazan book of the fallen ” series.

There are a total of 10 books in the “ Malazan Book Of The Fallen ” series. We have listed all in this article.

Which is the latest book by Steven Erikson?

“The God is Not Willing” is the latest book by Steven Erikson . It was released in 2021.

Have you read Steven Erikson books and novels? Leave your thoughts and comments below.

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Order of Steven Erikson Books

Steven Erikson became a published author in 1991 with A Ruin of Feathers , writing under his real name of Steven Lundin. His debut under his current pen name was This River Awakens , published in 1998. Below is a list of Steven Erikson’s books in order of when they were originally released:

Get notified when Steven Erikson releases a new book at BookNotification.com .

Publication Order of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Books

Publication order of first contact books, publication order of the kharkanas trilogy books, publication order of malazan book of the fallen books, publication order of willful child books, publication order of witness books, publication order of standalone novels, publication order of short stories/novellas, publication order of short story collections, publication order of anthologies.

Notes: This River Awakens , Fishin’ with Grandma Matchie , When She’s Gone , A Ruin of Feathers , Stolen Voices and Revolvo and Other Canadian Tales were written as Steven Lundin.

If You Like Steven Erikson Books, You’ll Love…

• Robert Jordan
• Joe Abercrombie

Steven Erikson Synopses: The Devil Delivered and Other Tales is a short story collection by Steven Erikson. The collection includes The Devil Delivered , Revolvo and Fishin’ with Grandma Matchie . The title story, The Devil Delivered , is set in the near future where Lakota land is engulfed by an gigantic ozone hole. The natural world begins the crumble, the scientific world scrambles to understand it and a single anthropologist wanders the deadlands to record observations of a disaster that could destroy the planet.

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• No Life Forsaken

From Steven Erikson comes No Life Forsaken the second part of Tale of Witness trilogy.

No Life Forsaken is the second book in a planned sequel trilogy that began with the June 2021 release of The God Is Not Willing . The sequel series — called Tale of Witness — picks up five years after the end of Malazan Book of the Fallen, and revolves heavily around Karsa Orlong, a Teblor warrior who played a prominent role in the original books. 

• Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson is a pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin. He was born in Canada and recently returned there to live after spending several years in the UK. He is a qualified archaeologist and anthropologist and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

• Tale of Witness

The Tale of Witness   is a three volume epic fantasy trilogy by Steven Erikson that serves as a sequel to the Malazan Book of the Fallen .

Tale of Witness consists of one book, and the series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

Main series Malazan World

• Risingshadow

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Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1) Mass Market Paperback – January 10, 2005

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Vast legions of gods, mages, humans, dragons and all manner of creatures play out the fate of the Malazan Empire in this first book in a major epic fantasy series from Steven Erikson. The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze. However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand... Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order--an enthralling adventure by an outstanding new voice.

• Book 1 of 10 Malazan Book of the Fallen
• Print length 666 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Tor Fantasy
• Publication date January 10, 2005
• Dimensions 4.15 x 1 x 6.75 inches
• ISBN-10 0765348780
• ISBN-13 978-0765348784
• See all details

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“Erikson is an extraordinary writer. My advice to anyone who might listen to me is, Treat yourself to Gardens of the Moon . And my entirely selfish advice to Steven Erikson is, write faster.” ― Stephen R. Donaldson “I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high water mark of epic fantasy. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny's Amber, Vance's Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon's hoard.” ― Glen Cook

From the Back Cover

"Give me the evocation of a rich, complex and yet ultimately unknowable other world, with a compelling suggestion of intricate history and mythology and lore. Give me mystery amid the grand narrative. Give me a world in which every sea hides a crumbled Atlantis, every ruin has a tale to tell, every mattock blade is a silent legacy of struggles unknown. Give me, in other words, the fantasy work of Steven Erikson. Erikson is a master of lost and forgotten epochs, a weaver of ancient epics on a scale that would approach absurdity if it wasn't so much fun."--Andrew Leonard, Salon.com "Steven Erikson is an extraordinary writer. My advice to anyone who might listen to me: Treat yourself to Gardens of the Moon. And my entirely selfish advice to Steven Erikson: Write faster."-Stephen R. Donaldson "The author is working so far beyond genre convention you need to measure the distance in light years. We'd sooner attempt to reduce the history of China to a logline than try a plot synopsis in this limited space. Enter Malazan and find a fully-realized universe complete with history, mythology, sociology, and thaumatology. It is peopled with characters who are neither black nor white but patterned of gritty grey and shadows and wade through oceans of blood. There's nothing safe about fantasy like this: intriguing, complex, thought provoking, exceedingly well-written, and, for the intelligent reader, exhilaratingly satisfying."--Paula Guran, Cinemafantastique "An astounding debut...has the potential to become a defining work."--SF Site "Gripping, fast-moving, delightfully dark, with a masterful and unapologetic brutality reminiscent of George R. R. Martin. Steven Erikson brings a punchy, mesmerizing writing style into the genre of epic fantasy, making an indelible impression. Utterly engrossing."--Elizabeth Haydon "The experience of reading Gardens of the Moon is akin to being plunged into a full-immersion course in a heretofore undiscovered realm. Erikson's world is richly envisioned, dense and gritty, rife with magic and filled with complex political and military intrigue."--Jacqueline Carey "A brilliant book! Exciting, inventive, intelligent--frequently funny. A wonderful book to read and to recommend to others."--David Drake "I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high water mark of epic fantasy---accomplished with none of the customary rifs on Tolkien. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny's Amber, Vance's Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon's hoard."--Glen Cook "Complex, challenging...Erikson's strengths are his grown-up characters and his ability to create a world every bit as intricate and messy as our own."--J. V. Jones, SFX

About the Author

Excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., gardens of the moon, tor fantasy, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Fantasy; First Edition (January 10, 2005)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 666 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765348780
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765348784
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.15 x 1 x 6.75 inches
• #455 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
• #776 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
• #1,213 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

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Steven erikson.

Steven Erikson is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author internationally renowned for writing The Malazan Book of the Fallen, a ten-volume multi-million-copy-selling series that is recognized as number two of the top 10 fantasies by Fantasy Book Review and one of 30 best fantasy book series of all time by Paste magazine. He is a trained archaeologist and anthropologist who has published over twenty books, most of which explore notions of privilege, power hierarchies, and the rise and fall of civilizations, or take the piss out of the same. Erikson has been nominated for the Locus Award four times and the World Fantasy Award twice. He lives in Canada, in Victoria, B.C. To find out more visit www.steven-erikson.org

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Interview: Steven Erikson

by The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy

Published in Feb. 2013 (Issue 33) | 3475 words

Steven Erikson is an archaeologist and anthropologist and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His previous novels in The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, including The Crippled God, Dust of Dreams, Toll the Hounds and Reaper’s Gale , have met with widespread international acclaim and established him as a major voice in the world of fantasy fiction. The first book in the series, Gardens of the Moon , was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award. The second novel, Deadhouse Gates , was voted one of the ten best fantasy novels of 2000 by SF Site. He previously lived in the United Kingdom, but has recently returned to his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada.

This interview first appeared on Wired.com’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, which is hosted by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley. Visit geeksguideshow.com to listen to the entire interview and the rest of the show, in which the hosts discuss various geeky topics.

So you recently wrapped up your ten-book epic fantasy series The Malazan Book of the Fallen, and you’ve just written a new book called Forge of Darkness . You want to tell us about that?

Well, I guess by about book eight—or maybe book seven—I was starting to throw in some flashbacks to a very early period in the history of one of my imaginary cultures. And that started to intrigue me, and obviously I was looking past the completion of the series and thinking about what I was going to do next. And so when I finally finished the series, I had a fair idea of wanting to go back to almost the creation myths or the cosmology of the Malazan world.

Some people on the Malazan Empire fan site were sort of saying, why go for something where we know what’s happened? My response would be you only think you know what’s happened. One of the things I’m pushing for is the notion that history is not an accurate portrayal of anything at all. Certainly for characters who are long-lived—and I mean “long-lived” in the sense of hundreds of thousands of years—one has to assume their memories will be distorted by time. I mean, our memories are distorted by time, so I just extend that in an exponential fashion—this sense that how the past seems to these characters may be quite different from the reality, and so I wanted to sort of play those two off each other.

Obviously a large number of readers that pick up Forge of Darkness will have read the previous books, but is it something that you think newcomers could start with as well?

Well, I certainly hope so. I’ve not really heard back from anyone who’s not read the Malazan series, but I would certainly hope that somebody could use this as another gateway into the Malazan world. It was written with both audiences in mind.

This book has a large number of POV characters. How’d you decide which characters to make POV characters?

Well, primarily I wanted to avoid most of the main players in the Malazan series. I wanted voices that were witness to these characters as opposed to the characters themselves. I suspect a lot of people wanted points of view of Anomander Rake and various others, but if I revealed too much about these characters that are viewed quite heroically in the Malazan series, it sort of removes the magic out of them, and I didn’t want to do that.

In interviews, you’ve said that you’re glad that people are talking about your work as an example of postmodernism. What sorts of conversations have been going on around that?

Well, basically I’m having an argument with a scholar who’s studied my stuff. Whereas I’m calling it postmodern, he’s calling it post-structural. We sort of acknowledge each other’s points, but neither of us budge. [laughs]

I mean, there’s a strong postmodern element to a lot of the narrators within the Malazan series. In other words, they’re aware that they’re telling a story, and they’re also aware that they have the option of manipulating that story. Kruppe, I think, is one of the best examples of that. He narrates within the story, including applying the third person viewpoint to himself, and so you can sort of sense that he’s messing with everyone’s heads. And they may be the characters’ heads, but they’re also the readers’ heads. And that’s a reflection of how I’m approaching it as a writer as well, that one is aware that there is manipulation running all the way through this.

So why does that critic think your work is post-structuralist?

You’d have to ask him. [laughs] The thing with scholars is that they don’t really want the authors around. It sounds weird, but it certainly seems to be the case. We’re far better off, as far as the scholars are concerned, if we’ve been dead for twenty years. It makes it easier to build up a thesis without having it contradicted—potentially—by the person whose work it is. And I think there’s also sometimes this assumption that the author is entirely unaware of what they’re up to, and that’s certainly not the case with me.

Are there particular fan sites or message boards that are best for reading analysis of your work?

Not that I’m aware of. I’d love to see a lot more. But with the fantasy genre in general it’s pretty hard to find people who are approaching it in a serious fashion. And then there’s sort of an internal ghettoization where fantasy series are given less regard than fantasy standalones. So, yeah, we’re fighting against a fairly consistent tide.

I heard you were on a panel at ICFA—the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts—with Stephen R. Donaldson, and he was talking about how fantasy is actually the spine of Western literature.

We both were, yeah. He used “spine” and I used “tree” as metaphors. Epic fantasy is the core of literature. You can reach back to Gilgamesh or the Iliad or all these things, and they are all epic fantasies. There’s a tendency to step out on the branches and crawl onto the twigs, and get really excited by innovations you see on those twigs, and the argument that I was making—and I’m sure Steve was as well—is that actually those aren’t innovations at all, if you actually knew what the tree—or the spine—was all about, you’d see that that’s been covered some time ago.

I guess it’s a perfectly natural desire, if you’re going to specialize as a scholar in something, to find something that’s manageable. A six-book series or a ten-book series or whatever is a hefty thing to invest yourself into. But we were speaking very much on behalf of the idea of at least getting somebody looking back at those who never left the trunk of the tree and are continuing to write epic fantasy, which has been going on for three thousand years now, four thousand years.

It seems like the success of HBO’s Game of Thrones has brought a large new group of readers to epic fantasy. Have you witnessed any shift lately in the popularity of the genre?

Well, it’s funny because people sort of predicted that with the Lord of the Rings films, and then with Harry Potter and all the rest. I think what tends to happen is what I’ve called “exceptionalism,” and that is where an individual is sort of extracted from the genre in which they’re writing, and the popularity of the genre itself actually becomes less relevant than the individual.

I think if anything is going to have that kind of effect, it’s probably going to be computer games and console games. And for myself, I’m constantly frustrated by most fantasy computer games, for the simple reason that the stories are just lacking. I’ve dealt with some companies that wanted to do Malazan stuff, and become aware that, from their point of view, they want 80 percent action and 20 percent story, and I guess in many respects I want it the other way around.

Are there any fantasy videogames that you do like and would recommend?

Um . . . no. [laughs] Yeah, I guess that’s just the answer. I did play a bit of Skyrim , and visually it’s fantastic, and it does have a storyline that one follows. But for me it ends up becoming too trope-driven—sort of the medieval, northern European kind of approach to things. Elves, dwarves, all that is stuff I’ve been actively writing against—well, not against, but that I’ve been ignoring, put it that way. And so when I look at the games, they tend to fall back on those tropes and clichés very quickly.

It seems like epic fantasy readers are some of the most outspoken fans, in terms of both loving and hating certain authors—we’ve seen this a lot lately with George R. R. Martin. What do you think it is about epic fantasy that inspires such vehemence?

I don’t know. One of the things I suppose is it’s probably one of the most immersive of fictional forms, where you as the reader are investing over a span of years in a particular fictional world and the characters within it. And I think it’s part of “geek cool” to love something and then hate something else, and then that can sort of be raised up to indicate difference or uniqueness.

I remember talking to George a few times now. Both of us are kind of baffled at the vehemence between our fan bases. We don’t see ourselves in competition . . . which is probably a good thing, since he’s done so well. But I was a reader long before I was a writer, and a reader of fantasy, so as far as I’m concerned it’s almost as if there is no competition, because fantasy readers will read everything. They’re the most voracious readers that I know of. I mean, I’ve been to people’s places—just various people I know who read this stuff—and I’ll look on their bookshelves and there’ll be Martin, there’ll be Erikson, there’ll be Robin Hobb, you name it. They’re all up there on their bookshelves.

I don’t know if you noticed, but on the dust jacket for Forge of Darkness it says this book “should appeal to fans of George R.R. Martin for its characters and intrigue, but goes leaps further in the realm of imagination.” That kind of seems like fighting words. I assume you had nothing to do with that?

[laughs] No, I had nothing to do with it. I think actually when somebody pointed it out to me—that’s the Tor edition, isn’t it?—yeah, I probably sent off an email saying, “Can you pull that comment?”, but it was probably too late.

One of the ideas of yours I really like is the idea that magic swords start screaming the first time you take hold of them. How’d you come up with that?

I’ve often said that fantasy is the one genre where you can take a metaphor and make it real. Well, if you consider the trauma and the horror and the mayhem of battle, then if I were to take that metaphor and place it in a weapon, then of course the weapon will scream. But it would also be driven to madness through repetition of these violent scenes, so the laughter is there as well.

I know there are many novels and stories where swords have a voice—and quite often a seductive one. Or they have a will of their own. I like the notion of the will being completely mysterious and unknowable to the wielder of the weapon. It’s almost more horrifying to not explain the mind that’s in the weapon, and to just sort of have to react to it.

I was reading some discussion of your books online, and I thought it was interesting how a couple people mentioned that a lot of your characters—even commoners—have these long philosophical discussions, and some people were questioning how realistic that was.

Well, some of the smartest, wisest people I’ve met . . . here, I’ll give you an example—there was this guy who was hired with his shotgun to take care of our camp in Belize on an archaeology dig. No education. No teeth. And yet if you would sit and talk with him, this guy thought about everything. He kept himself informed about world events and had read a whole series of books on philosophy. I think the assumption—I’ve been fighting against it for a long time in terms of creating characters—is that one assumes a level of intelligence or lack thereof on the basis of class, and I don’t see it. I’ve never experienced it.

Quite often you won’t get those heavy conversations with somebody who’s struggling to stay alive, but at the same time if you were to somehow sit down on a park bench and start talking, you might be surprised. It’s easy—especially as a fiction writer—to fall into that kind of class-based thinking, where you pigeonhole people and create characters who are minor characters with very little social standing and you give them no brains. I suppose it would be easy to do it that way, but I’m definitely not into that. And I have talked to soldiers—veterans—who think a lot about what they’re up to. So I don’t find it in any respect unusual.

One character in Forge of Darkness is a painter, and I know that you’re a painter yourself. Did your interest in painting inspire that character at all?

To some extent, sure. But also, there are themes that are running through the trilogy which relate to how civilizations destroy themselves, and one of the themes I’m advancing is that the various forms of art have to be destroyed first—the meaning of art, if you will. So this first novel is very much tied into that painter character. And fortunately I had a character who showed up originally in the eighth book, I think, of Malazan Book of the Fallen, that was the ideal character for approaching things as a painter. It did help that I have been a painter and started as an illustrator and all the rest, so it might be more challenging when I move on to some other art forms in the next books. We’ll see.

Could you elaborate a bit on the idea of art being the first step in civilization collapsing? You’re saying that’s the first symptom?

Certainly. I think when art ceases to oppose—or to stand outside—the desires of the power bloc of a particular civilization, it gets into trouble. I’m really generalizing here, but you often see how art in the past is a reflection of the health of a particular civilization. There was a strong period of high propaganda, say, in Roman art, especially the sculptures, elevating the emperors to god-like or demigod status. You have paintings like that of royalty in Europe as well—oversized compared to the horse, and looking fit in their armor, even though they never were. All of these things are basically intended to reinforce the status quo of whatever element is in power at the time.

And then you see the contrast sometimes when art moves in the other direction. There was a Grotesque period for Roman art as well as Greek art that removed the idealization of the human form. And it was probably a reflection of the slow collapse—or quick collapse, if you will—of the civilization at hand. And so art is definitely a reflection of society, and if it gets co-opted—and let’s face it, advertising is the greatest co-opting of art you can think of—it sort of removes the social function, I think, the purpose of art.

I’ve also heard you say that as a result of fencing injuries you have sort of an ever-growing exoskeleton on your arm?

[laughs] Only when I fence. I’ve broken my right index finger—the knuckle—a couple of times, once fencing and another time on a hand-pumped well at a farm. So I’ve picked up a lot of injuries that weakened the vertical strength of my forearm—or my hand, specifically. And in fencing you hold the weapon in such a way that a lot of the weight is actually sitting on your index finger. All another fencer would have to do is basically push down on my weapon and I couldn’t resist it. So I went to a hand clinic, and I got this molded plastic thing that slides over the upper part of my right hand, and that actually allows me to continue fencing. So that’s the only exoskeletal element that I can think of. [laughs]

I recently watched the documentary Reclaiming the Blade , which was about how ancient medieval swordfighting techniques were more effective than modern fencing. What do you think about that?

Here in Victoria many years ago, I was invited to a Society for Creative Anachronism event, and there was period fencing. And I showed up with my épée, and was invited to a number of duels, including people with two weapons, and it may have just been that they weren’t particularly good, but I toasted them all using an Olympic style of fencing. I went away from that and thought, well, I suspect one of the reasons was that Olympic-style fencing is almost a perfection of the form, over centuries now, that moves away from some of the earlier styles of fencing that actually are probably not particularly useful. In Olympic-style fencing, the whole point of your positioning—you’re standing sideways to your target—is to reduce your own target area and also to reduce the amount of movement you need to defend that target area with your weapon.

Now, in fencing in the round—especially with two weapons, at least with people I’ve faced—opponents are mostly facing you head on, which means that their backward and forward movement is severely limited. I could lunge forward—or even step forward—much faster than they could back up, because they don’t have a back leg and a front leg, they have two legs sort of sitting side by side. And so I’m always a bit dubious when people say, “Well, this is the old style and it’s far more practical and efficient than the modern Olympic style.” I’m having trouble being convinced by it.

Are there any other new or upcoming projects you’d like to mention?

Well, I’m writing Fall of Light , which is the second in the Kharkanas trilogy. And while I was on a book tour these past few months, I did mess around with something that I think is going to show up this week on Tor.com. I did a Q&A for their Reaper’s Gale re-read, and at the end of my answers I added a Chapter 1 of something I’ve been working on. It’s more just having fun. I just had to let off some steam, and I’ll probably continue it. It’s a shorter science fiction novel.

And is there anything you can tell us about the Karsa Orlong trilogy that you’ll be writing after this one?

Not yet. I need to get the next two books out of the way in the Kharkanas trilogy, and then probably toward the end of writing the third one, I’ll start really putting my thoughts into the next trilogy.

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The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction/fantasy talk show podcast. It is produced by John Joseph Adams and hosted by: David Barr Kirtley , who is the author of thirty short stories, which have appeared in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales, and Lightspeed, in books such as Armored, The Living Dead, Other Worlds Than These, and Fantasy: The Best of the Year, and on podcasts such as Escape Pod and Pseudopod. He lives in New York.

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Monday, March 21, 2016

We rank 'em: malazan book of the fallen.

Steven Erikson is working on a new Malazan novel

By daniel roman | dec 21, 2021.

A Song of Ice and Fire .  The Wheel of Time .  The Stormlight Archive .

Even among epic fantasy series, there are some which stand out as such pillars of the doorstopper-tome style of storytelling. These books are legendary…or legendarily dense, depending on who you ask. One series which has long been in that camp is  Malazan Book of the Fallen  by Steven Erikson, an epic fantasy series with tons of characters spanning thousands of years, all the books tracing the ups and downs of the mighty Malazan Empire. And now, we know that another installment is on the way.

Erikson took to social media over the weekend to tease fans with a glimpse of his newest work set in the Malazan world:  No Life Forsaken .

pic.twitter.com/DmiGq6rver — Steven Erikson (@erikson_steven) December 19, 2021

A new  Malazan  sequel book is on the way

The original  Malazan  series spanned 10 novels that added up to over 11,000 pages. They were famous for having such dense worldbuilding that it could be difficult for new readers to get into the story…but once people made it past that initial barrier, many became fervent devotees. Malazan  is a tale full of magic and political intrigue, creatures and world-spanning quests. It’s easy to see why Erikson’s books have amassed such a loyal fanbase.

No Life Forsaken  is the second book in a planned sequel trilogy that began with the June 2021 release of  The God Is Not Willing . The sequel series — called  Tale of Witness —  picks up five years after the end of  Malazan Book of the Fallen , and revolves heavily around Karsa Orlong, a Teblor warrior who played a prominent role in the original books.

As this update from Erikson is the very first time he’s teased anything about  No Life Forsaken , no release date has been announced.  The God is Not Willing  is currently available from Tor Books in hardcover, paperback, and ebook, with a mass market paperback release scheduled for September 27, 2022.

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Malazan Empire: U.S. Signing Tour - Malazan Empire

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U.S. Signing Tour

#1   mataglap  .

• Group: Malaz Regular
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Posted 13 November 2005 - 06:37 PM

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#2   werewolfv2  

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Posted 13 November 2005 - 06:53 PM

#3   Mataglap  

Posted 13 November 2005 - 07:07 PM

#4   werewolfv2  

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#5   werewolfv2  

Posted 13 November 2005 - 07:30 PM

#6 Guest_Kramer_*

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Posted 14 November 2005 - 07:42 AM

#7   werewolfv2  

Posted 14 November 2005 - 04:33 PM

Kramer said:

#8   Abyss  

• abyssus abyssum invocat

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• Location: The call is coming from inside the house!!!!
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Posted 14 November 2005 - 05:18 PM

#9   Lather  

• Joined: 28-August 05
• Location: san francisco

Posted 08 January 2006 - 07:41 PM

#10   Tsundoku  

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Posted 09 January 2006 - 07:41 AM

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