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fantasy
Series · epic fantasy
The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach
The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach series by Steven Erikson has 7 known books (7 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Blood Follows (2002). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords.
- Books
- 7 known books (7 novellas)
- Published
- 7
- First published
- 2002
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: Blood Follows (2002) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Blood Follows
Blood Follows opens Steven Erikson's dark-comic Malazan novella sequence in 2002, introducing necromancer Bauchelain, his near-silent partner Korbal Broach, and their long-suffering manservant Emancipor Reese as they investigate a serial murderer in the city of Lamentable Moll. It runs 125 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Follows - Book 2:
The Healthy Dead
The Healthy Dead followed in 2004, the trio's second gothic horror-comedy set-piece as they wander from Blood Follows' events toward the next doomed town, leaving chaos and reanimated horrors behind them. It runs 150 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Healthy Dead - Book 3:
The Lees of Laughter's End
At 128 pages, The Lees of Laughter's End was published third, in 2007, though chronologically within the story it actually falls between Blood Follows and The Healthy Dead -- one of the series' few places where publication and story order diverge.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Lees of Laughter's End - Book 4:
Crack'd Pot Trail
Arriving in 2009, Crack'd Pot Trail continues Bauchelain and Korbal Broach's travels between The Lees of Laughter's End and The Wurms of Blearmouth, running 181 pages of the pitch-dark wit that sets these novellas apart from the main Malazan sequence's tragic scale.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crack'd Pot Trail - Book 5:
The Wurms of Blearmouth
The Wurms of Blearmouth, the fifth book in the sequence, runs 208 pages -- the longest novella to that point -- and precedes The Fiends of Nightmaria as the trio's travels continue leaving corpses in their wake.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wurms of Blearmouth - Book 6:
The Fiends of Nightmaria
The sixth installment, The Fiends of Nightmaria, runs 112 pages and appeared in 2016, four years after The Wurms of Blearmouth, continuing the mostly self-contained, novella-length set-pieces that define the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fiends of Nightmaria - Book 7:
Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords
Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords followed The Fiends of Nightmaria in 2020, closing out the seven-novella sequence as its shortest entry at 88 pages, and its most recent installment to date.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
Blood Follows
Blood Follows opens Steven Erikson's dark-comic Malazan novella sequence in 2002, introducing necromancer Bauchelain, his near-silent partner Korbal Broach, and their long-suffering manservant Emancipor Reese as they investigate a serial murderer in the city of Lamentable Moll. It runs 125 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Follows - Book 2:
The Lees of Laughter's End
At 128 pages, The Lees of Laughter's End was published third, in 2007, though chronologically within the story it actually falls between Blood Follows and The Healthy Dead -- one of the series' few places where publication and story order diverge.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Lees of Laughter's End - Book 3:
The Healthy Dead
The Healthy Dead followed in 2004, the trio's second gothic horror-comedy set-piece as they wander from Blood Follows' events toward the next doomed town, leaving chaos and reanimated horrors behind them. It runs 150 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Healthy Dead - Book 4:
Crack'd Pot Trail
Arriving in 2009, Crack'd Pot Trail continues Bauchelain and Korbal Broach's travels between The Lees of Laughter's End and The Wurms of Blearmouth, running 181 pages of the pitch-dark wit that sets these novellas apart from the main Malazan sequence's tragic scale.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crack'd Pot Trail - Book 5:
The Wurms of Blearmouth
The Wurms of Blearmouth, the fifth book in the sequence, runs 208 pages -- the longest novella to that point -- and precedes The Fiends of Nightmaria as the trio's travels continue leaving corpses in their wake.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wurms of Blearmouth - Book 6:
The Fiends of Nightmaria
The sixth installment, The Fiends of Nightmaria, runs 112 pages and appeared in 2016, four years after The Wurms of Blearmouth, continuing the mostly self-contained, novella-length set-pieces that define the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fiends of Nightmaria - Book 7:
Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords
Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords followed The Fiends of Nightmaria in 2020, closing out the seven-novella sequence as its shortest entry at 88 pages, and its most recent installment to date.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords
About The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach
A run of dark-comic novellas set in the Malazan world, following the necromancer Bauchelain, his monstrous and near-silent partner Korbal Broach, and their long-suffering manservant Emancipor Reese as they wander from one doomed town to the next, leaving chaos, corpses and reanimated horrors behind them. Where the main Malazan Book of the Fallen aims for tragic scale, these novellas are Erikson at his blackest and funniest -- gothic horror-comedy with the pitch-dark wit of a man who clearly enjoys writing villains this competent and this bored.
Blood Follows (2002) introduces the trio investigating a serial murderer in the city of Lamentable Moll. The Healthy Dead (2004) and The Lees of Laughter's End (2007) follow, with the latter set chronologically between the first two novellas despite publishing third. Crack'd Pot Trail (2009), The Wurms of Blearmouth (2012), The Fiends of Nightmaria (2016) and Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords (2020) continue their travels, each a mostly self-contained, novella-length set-piece rather than a continuous serialized plot.
The novellas sit alongside the main ten-book sequence rather than inside its narrative, and reference Malazan events only in passing -- readers can enjoy them with minimal prior Malazan knowledge, though familiarity deepens some jokes and cameos. They're commonly read together in omnibus collections such as The First and Second Collected Tales of Bauchelain & Korbal Broach.
Frequently asked questions
How many Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas are there?
Seven so far: 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) and Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords (2020). An eighth, Time's Cursed Cartwheel, has been announced but has no confirmed date.
What order should I read the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas in?
Publication order works fine: Blood Follows, The Healthy Dead, The Lees of Laughter's End, Crack'd Pot Trail, The Wurms of Blearmouth, The Fiends of Nightmaria, Upon a Dark of Evil Overlords. Readers who prefer story chronology instead read Blood Follows, The Lees of Laughter's End, The Healthy Dead, then the remaining entries in the same order.
Do I need to have read the main Malazan Book of the Fallen first?
No -- these novellas are largely self-contained comic horror stories that run alongside the main ten-book sequence rather than inside its plot, so they're readable with little Malazan background, though some references land better for existing fans.
Are these novellas connected to each other, or standalone?
Each is a largely self-contained adventure following the same trio -- Bauchelain, Korbal Broach and Emancipor Reese -- as they move from place to place, closer in structure to episodic short fiction than a single continuous plot.
Is there an omnibus edition of these novellas?
Yes -- they're commonly published in two three-novella omnibus volumes, The First Collected Tales of Bauchelain & Korbal Broach and The Second Collected Tales of Bauchelain & Korbal Broach, in addition to individual editions.
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