'I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of the imagination may be the high watermark of epic fantasy.' Glen Cook

'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

In Northern Genabackis, just before the events recounted in Gardens of the Moon, a raiding party of tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flat lands. Their intention is to wreak havoc among the despised lowlanders but for one amongst their number, it is the beginning of an extraordinary destiny. His name is Karsa Orlong.

Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Coltaine, revered commander of the Malazan 7th Army, is dead. And now Tavore, sister of Ganoes Paran and Adjunct to the Empress, recently arrived at the last remaining Malazan stronghold of the Seven Cities, must take charge. Untested and new to command, she must hone a small army of twelve thousand soldiers, mostly raw recruits, into a viable fighting force and lead them against the masses of Sha'ik's Whirlwind. Her only hope of success rests with the few remaining survivors from Coltaine's legendary march.

In distant Raraku, in the heart of the Holy Desert, the seer Sha'ik waits with her increasingly restless rebel army. And waiting is never easy, especially when a disparate collection of warlords - tribal chiefs, High Mages, a renegade Malazan Fist and his sorceror - is locked in a vicious power struggle that threatens to tear the rebellion apart from within. And Sha'ik herself suffers, haunted by the private knowledge of the one she knows is her nemesis . . .

So begins this epic novel of war, intrigue, betrayal and magic - the awesome fourth chapter in one of the landmark works of epic fantasy, Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen.

'The most masterful piece of fiction I have ever read. It has single-handedly changed everything we thought we knew about fantasy literature and redefined what is possible.' SF Site

'Arguably the best fantasy series ever written.' Fantasy Book Review

Steven Erikson is a New York Times bestselling author renown for writing The Malazan Book of the Fallen, a ten-volume series that has sold millions of copies worldwide and is recognized as number two of the top 10 fantasy books by Fantasy Book Review and one of 30 best fantasy 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. His next novel Rejoice, a Knife to the Heart, is an SF First Contact story, due out in October, 2018. He lives in Victoria, B.C. with his lovely wife Clare.

Steven Erikson's profile page

Reading The Malazan Book of the Fallen . . . is the most masterful piece of fiction I have ever read. It has single-handedly changed everything we thought we knew about fantasy literature and redefined what is possible.—SF SITE

Erikson's magnum opus, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, sits in pole position as the very best and most ambitious epic fantasy saga ever written.—FANTASY HOTLIST

Arguably the best fantasy series ever written. This is of course subject to personal opinion . . . but few can deny that the quality and ambition of the ten books that make up The Malazan Book of the Fallen are unmatched within the genre.—FANTASY BOOK REVIEW