Steven Erikson Books in Order: Complete Malazan Reading Guide
Author of the Malazan Book of the Fallen — widely considered the most ambitious epic fantasy series ever written. Ten volumes spanning continents, millennia, and hundreds of characters, beginning with Gardens of the Moon.
About Steven Erikson
Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont created the Malazan world originally as a setting for tabletop roleplaying, and the years of collaborative world-building before a single word of fiction was written show in the result: a secondary world with a depth of history, culture, and cosmology that no other fantasy series can match. The Malazan Book of the Fallen spans approximately 300,000 years of in-world history, three continents, and hundreds of named characters — and Erikson uses all of it. The series is not interested in making itself easy to enter. Gardens of the Moon drops readers into the middle of an empire's campaigns with no orientation and trusts them to construct understanding from context.
What awaits readers who persist is unlike anything else in the genre. The emotional payoff of Deadhouse Gates, the philosophical weight of Toll the Hounds, the accumulated devastation of the final volumes — Malazan earns its reputation as the most demanding and most rewarding fantasy series in print. Erikson writes compassion as a radical act in a world of gods and empire, and the series' recurring meditation on what ordinary people owe each other under extraordinary pressure is one of the most serious moral projects in popular fiction. Not for beginners. Unmissable for the right reader.
Before You Start: What to Know
Malazan is not a series for first-time fantasy readers. The first 200 pages of Gardens of the Moon are intentionally disorienting — Erikson does not explain his world, and confusion is expected. Commit to 200 pages before making a judgment. Many readers find that Deadhouse Gates (Book 2) is more immediately accessible if Gardens of the Moon proves too dense; it can serve as an alternative entry point, with Book 1 returned to afterward. The series rewards patience with an emotional and intellectual payoff unmatched in the genre.
Steven Erikson Books in Order
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Read in publication order. Books 9 and 10 should be read back to back.
- 1
Gardens of the Moon
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
The Malazan Empire's Bridgeburners face gods, ascendants, and political betrayal in a city where every faction is plotting. Notoriously demanding opener — trust the world-building and push through.
Note: The most challenging entry point in epic fantasy. Commit to 200 pages before deciding.
- 2
Deadhouse Gates
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 2
A separate storyline following the Chain of Dogs — a military march that many fans consider the greatest single volume in the series.
- 3
Memories of Ice
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 3
Returns to the characters from Book 1 with devastating emotional payoff. The series begins to reveal its full emotional scope.
- 4
House of Chains
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 4
A new protagonist — Karsa Orlong — enters in one of fantasy's most memorable opening sequences before the story rejoins the main cast.
- 5
Midnight Tides
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 5
An entirely new continent and cast. Another apparent detour that pays off enormously in later volumes.
- 6
The Bonehunters
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 6
The scattered storylines begin converging as the scope of Erikson's design becomes clear.
- 7
Reaper's Gale
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 7
Events on the Lether continent reach a climax as the Bonehunters arrive.
- 8
Toll the Hounds
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 8
Returns to Darujhistan for a volume many fans consider the emotional peak of the series.
- 9
Dust of Dreams
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 9
The first half of the series finale — all storylines begin their final convergence.
Note: First half of the series finale — read back to back with Book 10.
- 10
The Crippled God
Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 10
The culmination of one of fantasy's most ambitious achievements. The final volume of the main series.
Note: The series conclusion. Read immediately after Dust of Dreams.
Kharkanas Trilogy
A prequel — recommended only after completing the main series.
- 1
Forge of Darkness
Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 1
A prequel exploring the origins of Anomander Rake and the Tiste Andii — events that shaped the world of the main series.
Note: Recommended after completing the main series.
- 2
Fall of Light
Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 2
The prequel continues as the ancient war among the Tiste peoples reaches its turning point.
Note: Recommended after completing the main series.
- 3
Walk in Shadow
Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 3
The Kharkanas Trilogy concludes with the final chapters of the Tiste Andii's origin story.
Note: Not yet published — no release date confirmed.