Malazan Book of the Fallen
epic fantasy
Series · epic fantasy
The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach
The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach series by Steven Erikson has 6 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Blood Follows (2002).
- Books
- 0 novels + 6 novellas
- First published
- 2002
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Blood Follows (2002) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Blood Follows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Follows - Book 2:
The Healthy Dead
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Healthy Dead - Book 3:
The Lees of Laughter's End
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Lees of Laughter's End - Book 4:
Crack'd Pot Trail
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crack'd Pot Trail - Book 5:
The Wurms of Blearmouth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wurms of Blearmouth - Book 6:
The Fiends of Nightmaria
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fiends of Nightmaria
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
Blood Follows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Follows - Book 2:
The Lees of Laughter's End
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Lees of Laughter's End - Book 3:
The Healthy Dead
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Healthy Dead - Book 4:
Crack'd Pot Trail
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crack'd Pot Trail - Book 5:
The Wurms of Blearmouth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wurms of Blearmouth - Book 6:
The Fiends of Nightmaria
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fiends of Nightmaria
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) and The Fiends of Nightmaria (2016) 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 two omnibus collections, The First Collected Tales of Bauchelain & Korbal Broach and The Second Collected Tales of Bauchelain & Korbal Broach.
How to read this series
Publication order and chronological order diverge here, and both are valid: publication order is Blood Follows, The Healthy Dead, The Lees of Laughter's End, Crack'd Pot Trail, The Wurms of Blearmouth, The Fiends of Nightmaria. Chronologically within the story, The Lees of Laughter's End actually falls between Blood Follows and The Healthy Dead. Either order works well since each novella is a mostly self-contained adventure; Blood Follows is the strongest starting point either way. These novellas run parallel to the main Malazan Book of the Fallen rather than inside it, so they can be read with little to no prior Malazan knowledge -- though longtime readers will catch more of the references.
Frequently asked questions
How many Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas are there?
Six: Blood Follows (2002), The Healthy Dead (2004), The Lees of Laughter's End (2007), Crack'd Pot Trail (2009), The Wurms of Blearmouth (2012) and The Fiends of Nightmaria (2016).
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. Readers who prefer story chronology instead read Blood Follows, The Lees of Laughter's End, The Healthy Dead, then the remaining three 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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Reading order last verified .