Stonewielder
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' () is a series of
epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...
novels written by the Canadian author
Steven Erikson Steve Rune Lundin (born October 7, 1959), known by his pseudonym Steven Erikson, is a Canadian author, novelist who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. He is best known for his ten-volume spanning epic fantasy s ...
. The series, published by
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...
in the U.K. and
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...
in the U.S., consists of ten volumes, beginning with ''
Gardens of the Moon ''Gardens of the Moon'' is a high fantasy novel by Canadians, Canadian author Steven Erikson. Published on April 1, 1999, it is the first of ten novels in the series the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen''. The novel details the various struggles fo ...
'' (1999) and concluding with '' The Crippled God'' (2011). Erikson's series presents the narratives of a large cast of characters spanning thousands of years across multiple continents. His stories present complicated series of events in the world upon which the Malazan Empire is located. Each of the first five novels is relatively self-contained, in that each resolves its respective primary conflict; however, many underlying characters and events are interwoven throughout the works of the series, binding it together. The Malazan world was co-created by Steven Erikson and
Ian Cameron Esslemont Ian Cameron Esslemont (born 1962) is a Canadian writer. He was trained and has worked as an archaeologist. He is best known for his series ''Novels of the Malazan Empire'', which is set in the same world as the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' epi ...
in the early 1980s as a backdrop to their
GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...
roleplaying campaign. In 2004, Esslemont began publishing his own series of six novels set in the same world, beginning with ''
Night of Knives ''Night of Knives'' is the first novel of the Novels of the Malazan Empire series by Canadian author Ian Esslemont, set after the prologue, but before the main body of ''Gardens of the Moon'', the first novel in the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen ...
''. Although Esslemont's books are published under a different series title – ''Novels of the Malazan Empire'' – Esslemont and Erikson collaborated on the storyline for the entire sixteen-book project and Esslemont's novels are considered to be as canonical and integral to the series' mythos as Erikson's own. The series has received widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the epic scope, plot complexity and characterizations, and fellow authors such as
Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for '' The Black Company'' and '' Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.The Black Company'') and Stephen R. Donaldson (''
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is a series of ten high fantasy novels written by American author Stephen R. Donaldson. The series began as a trilogy, entitled ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever''. This was followed by ano ...
'') hailing it as a masterwork of the imagination, and comparing Erikson to the likes of
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...
,
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
,
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...
, and
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...
.


Books


List

Erikson and Esslemont recommend reading the books in order of publication. ''
Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...
'' published a reading order based on the approximate chronological order of events in the series, which the authors did not consider suitable as a reading order for a first-time reader.


Malazan Book of the Fallen

This is the main series, written by Steven Erikson, and commenced, in terms of publication order, before any of the other series. This first novel, ''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. See the
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
section below for more information.


The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach

The first three novellas were published together as ''The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, Volume 1''. ''The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, Volume 2'' includes the second three novellas. * ''
Blood Follows ''Blood Follows'' is a novella by Steven Erikson set in the world of the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen''. The events of this book take place prior to those in the main series, and do not necessarily concern the main story plot line. Originally pub ...
'' (2002) * ''
The Healthy Dead ''The Healthy Dead'' is a novella by Canadian author Steven Erikson, set in the world of his ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' epic fantasy series. It continues the story line of Bauchelain, Korbal Broach and Emancipor Reese, three characters wh ...
'' (2004) * ''
The Lees of Laughter's End ''The Lees Of Laughter's End'' is a novella by Canadian author Steven Erikson, set in the world of his ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' epic fantasy series. It continues the storyline of Bauchelain, Korbal Broach and Emancipor Reese, three characte ...
'' (2007) *''
Crack'd Pot Trail ''Crack'd Pot Trail'' is the fourth novella by Canadian author Steven Erikson in his ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' series. It is preceded by ''The Lees of Laughter's End'', and will be followed by another two novellas. The novella was released ...
'' (2009) *''
The Wurms of Blearmouth ''The Wurms of Blearmouth'' is the fifth novella written by Canadian author Steven Erikson, set in the world of the Malazan Book of the Fallen The ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' () is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the Canadian aut ...
'' (2012) *''The Fiends of Nightmaria'' (2016) *''Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords'' (2020) *''Time's Cursed Cartwheel'' (TBA)


Novels of the Malazan Empire

Novels of the Malazan Empire is a six-part novel series written by
Ian Cameron Esslemont Ian Cameron Esslemont (born 1962) is a Canadian writer. He was trained and has worked as an archaeologist. He is best known for his series ''Novels of the Malazan Empire'', which is set in the same world as the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' epi ...
. The novels cover events simultaneous with the Book of the Fallen, like the mystery of the Crimson Guard, the succession of the Malazan Empire, the situation on Korel and Jacuruku and the mystery of Assail.


The Kharkanas Trilogy

The Kharkanas Trilogy is a prequel series written by Steven Erikson after the completion of the main series. The series deals with the Tiste before their split into darkness, light and shadow. It sheds light on the events that are often hinted at in the background of ''Malazan Book of the Fallen''. Many of the important Tiste characters from the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' make an appearance like Anomander Rake, Draconus, Spinnock Durav and Andarist.


Path to Ascendancy

The Path to Ascendancy is a prequel series set in the world of Malazan, written by Ian Cameron Esslemont. The stories deal with the early adventures of Dancer and Kellanved (Dorin and Wu, in this series) and their eventual rise to power on Quon Tali.


The Tales of Witness

The Tales of Witness is a series written by Steven Erikson as a sequel to the main series featuring Karsa Orlong and his quest to destroy civilization. In July 2024, Erikson stated that the series would now be four novels instead of the planned trilogy, as the second novel needed to be split in two. *'' The God is Not Willing'' (2021) *''No Life Forsaken'' (2025) *''Legacies of Betrayal'' (TBA)


Conception

The Malazan world was originally created by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont in 1982 as a backdrop for role-playing games using a modified version of
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...
.Introduction to Gardens of the Moon, Special Edition By 1986, when the
GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...
system had been adopted by Erikson and Esslemont, the world had become much larger and more complex, approaching its current scope. It was then developed into a movie script entitled ''Gardens of the Moon''. When this was not successful in finding interest, the two writers agreed to each write a series set in their shared world. Steven Erikson wrote ''Gardens of the Moon'' as a novel in the period 1991-92 but it was not published until 1999. In the meantime, he wrote several non-fantasy novels. When he sold ''Gardens of the Moon'', he agreed to a contract for an additional nine volumes in the series. The contract with Bantam UK was worth £675,000 making it "among the largest fees ever paid for a fantasy series". Ian Cameron Esslemont wrote the Novels series from 2004 to 2014. After finishing the two main series, Erikson and Esslemont continued on to further projects in the Malazan universe. While writing the last novels in ''The Malazan Book of the Fallen'', Erikson decided that his next project, ''The Kharkanas Trilogy'', would be a "trilogy traditional in form," saying the following: "If the Malazan series emphasized a postmodern critique of the subgenre of epic fantasy, paying subtle homage all the while, the Kharkanas Trilogy subsumes the critical aspects and focuses instead on the homage." At one point, Steven Erikson indicated that the two authors would collaborate on ''The Encyclopedia Malaz'', an extensive guide to the series, which was to be published following the last novel in the main sequence. In an interview on a later date, however, he mentioned talks underway with an RPG 20D group to produce a game adapted from the Malazan universe, in which case the maps and notes created by Erikson and Esslemont would be released through installments or expansions rather than through the publishing of an encyclopedia. The Malazan world has no official unified name, although Steven Erikson has jokingly called it Wu. In an interview with a Spanish fantasy blog, Erikson said that the hand-drawn version of the Malazan world which he had at home was too large to be photocopied; however, he also said that the maps created by fans were coming close.


Influences

In a general review of ''The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature'', edited by
Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inheri ...
and Farah Mendlesohn, Erikson fired a shot across the bow of "the state of scholarship in the fantastic as it pertains to epic fantasy," taking particularly to task James's opening lines in Chapter 5 of that volume. Erikson uses a handful of words from that chapter as an epigraph for a quasi-autobiographical essay in ''
The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarsh ...
''. James's sentences read in full: Erikson writes, "But epic fantasy has moved on, something critics have failed to notice." He goes on, Erikson concludes, "So, Professor James, when you say 'since olkien and ''The Lord of the Rings''.. most subsequent writers of fantasy are either imitating him or else desperately trying to escape his influence'—sorry. You're flat-out wrong."


Themes

The Malazan series contains many themes around socio-economic inequality and
social injustice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has ofte ...
throughout such as
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
with Erikson stating "It occurred to us that it would create a culture without gender bias so there would be no gender-based hierarchies of power. It became a world without sexism and that was very interesting to explore." as well as the inevitability of and role of art in civilizational collapse and many other themes rooted in a
postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...
and
post-structuralist Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...
deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...
of the fantasy genre and
magical realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...
.
Archive
- "I've waited over twenty years for a postmodern/poststructural analytical discussion of my series. In fact, I'd just about given up hope that these elements would ever be noticed (how many students of philosophy read Epic Fantasy? Well, at least one!). I was lucky in that my initial foray into fiction writing (a Creative Writing program at the University of Victoria) was in the midst of the Magic Realist movement in literature, which as you know is explicitly deconstructed in terms of narrative reliability, while also openly challenging notions of objective reality. Magic Realism of course is deeply connected, philosophically, with Existentialism (made metamorphic beneath tyrannical polities), and all of this led, in a roundabout way, to metafiction. Alas, most metafiction struck me as too obvious, and I remembered wondering, way back then, if there was a way to make metafiction subtle. Then I began to wonder if one could make metafiction a hidden meta-narrative embracing a postmodern, poststructural story. Turns out, the answer is yes, as epitomized in the Malazan Book of the Fallen (the cipher unlocking the metafictional element to the series is found in Toll the Hounds). But for me, all of that was just me grappling with a growing uncertainty regarding almost everything, making the process of writing the series a kind of dialectic, not only between me and myself, but also between realities: ours here on Earth, and that other one being a made-up Malazan world."


Critical reception

The series was positively received by critics, who praised the epic scope, plot complexity and the introspective nature of the characterization, which serve as social commentary. Fellow author
Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for '' The Black Company'' and '' Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarsh ...
, fellow author Stephen R. Donaldson has also praised Erikson for his approach to the fantasy genre, the subversion of classical tropes, the complex characterizations, the social commentary — pointing explicitly to parallels between the fictional Letheras Economy and the US Economy — and has compared him to the likes of
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...
,
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
,
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...
, and
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...
. Reviewing for
SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...
, Dominic Cilli says, ''The Malazan Book of the Fallen'' raises "the bar for fantasy literature", that the world building and the writing are exceptional. Cilli claims the series is written for the "most advanced readers out there.", going on to state that "Even they will have to make two passes through all ten books to fully comprehend the myriad of plotlines, characters and various settings that Erickson presents to us." Reading Erikson's "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" might be "the most challenging literary trial" a reader has ever tried, yet "the payoff is too enormous to ignore and well worth taking on the endeavor. Steven Erikson doesn't spoon feed his readers. He forces you to question and think on a level that very few authors would even dare for fear of finding and perhaps losing an audience."


References


References

* * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malazan Book Of The Fallen Book series introduced in 1999 Fantasy books by series Novels by Steven Erikson High fantasy novels