A Series of Unfortunate Events
fantasy
Series · epic fantasy
Malazan Book of the Fallen
The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson has 10 known books (10 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Gardens of the Moon (1999). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Dust of Dreams.
- Books
- 10 known books (10 novels)
- Published
- 10
- First published
- 1999
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: Gardens of the Moon (1999) — 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:
Gardens of the Moon
Gardens of the Moon opened Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen in April 1999, a 635-page debut that preceded Deadhouse Gates the following year.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gardens of the Moon - Book 2:
Deadhouse Gates
Deadhouse Gates, published in September 2000 at 619 pages, is the second novel in Steven Erikson's ten-book main sequence, arriving roughly a year and a half after Gardens of the Moon and continuing the series' sprawling cast of point-of-view characters across the Malazan Empire's wars of conquest and godly intrigue.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Deadhouse Gates - Book 3:
Memories of Ice
Memories of Ice, released in December 2001, marks a sharp jump to 898 pages -- well beyond either of its two predecessors -- as the third novel in the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Memories of Ice - Book 4:
House of Chains
House of Chains followed in December 2002 at 732 pages, exactly a year after Memories of Ice, as the fourth installment in Erikson's dense, multi-continent epic -- one of the sequence's many volumes built around the philosophical weight of compassion and complicity underneath its battles.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of House of Chains - Book 5:
Midnight Tides
Midnight Tides, published in March 2004 at 631 pages, is notably shorter than House of Chains before it, the fifth entry in a series famous for withholding exposition and demanding real patience -- traits that ease, without disappearing, as the sequence progresses.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Midnight Tides - Book 6:
The Bonehunters
The Bonehunters, released in March 2006 at 906 pages, is the longest entry in the series to that point, following a two-year gap since Midnight Tides.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Bonehunters - Book 7:
Reaper's Gale
Reaper's Gale, published in May 2007 at 928 pages, surpasses even The Bonehunters in length as the seventh novel in the sequence, continuing the deep magic system and converging plotlines that define Erikson's ten-book Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Reaper's Gale - Book 8:
Toll the Hounds
Toll the Hounds, released in June 2008, runs 1,280 pages -- the longest book in the entire series -- as the eighth installment, following Reaper's Gale.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Toll the Hounds - Book 9:
Dust of Dreams
Dust of Dreams, published in August 2009 at 1,083 pages, is the ninth entry, shorter than Toll the Hounds but still among the series' longest volumes.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dust of Dreams - Book 10:
The Crippled God
The Crippled God, released in February 2011 at 930 pages, closes out this ten-book sequence, following Dust of Dreams as the tenth and final entry in a saga regularly cited as one of the most ambitious epic fantasy sagas ever completed.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Crippled God
About the Malazan Book of the Fallen series
The Malazan Empire has spent a century conquering a continent through sorcery, siege warfare and the ascension of its soldiers to godhood, and the empire's oldest, most battle-worn armies are starting to wonder whether the throne they fight for still deserves their loyalty. Steven Erikson opens Gardens of the Moon in the middle of an already-vast, already-old world, with no orientation and no apology, and asks readers to catch up — gods walk among mortals and scheme like politicians, ten-thousand-year-old empires leave ruins that are still dangerous, and entire cultures of Elder Races carry grudges older than most fantasy settings' entire histories.
Built from a shared world Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont developed together as a tabletop role-playing campaign, the ten-book main sequence is famous for its scale: dozens of point-of-view characters, multiple simultaneous continents and wars, a deep and often withheld magic system, and a philosophical preoccupation with compassion, complicity and the cost of empire that sits underneath all the battles. It demands real patience and a willingness to be confused for a few hundred pages at a time — but it's regularly cited as one of the most ambitious and rewarding epic fantasy sagas ever completed, for readers who want scale that actually earns the word "epic."
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in Malazan Book of the Fallen?
Ten novels make up the main sequence, from Gardens of the Moon (1999) to The Crippled God (2011). Co-author Ian Cameron Esslemont also wrote a parallel six-book series set in the same world, not counted here.
What order should I read Malazan Book of the Fallen in?
Publication order, starting with Gardens of the Moon. The ten books tell one continuous, multi-continent story with converging plotlines, so there's no alternate reading order to consider within the main sequence.
Why is Gardens of the Moon so hard to get into?
Erikson deliberately drops readers into a world that's already thousands of years deep in its own history, with minimal exposition and a huge cast introduced quickly. It's widely considered the hardest entry in the series; most readers who push through to Deadhouse Gates find the payoff worth it.
Do I need to read Ian Cameron Esslemont's books too?
No. Esslemont's Novels of the Malazan Empire are a separate parallel series set in the same shared world he and Erikson created together, and can be read independently of, before, after, or interleaved with Erikson's ten-book main sequence.
Is Malazan Book of the Fallen finished?
Yes, the ten-book main sequence concluded with The Crippled God in 2011. Steven Erikson has continued writing in the setting since, including prequel trilogies set long before the main sequence.
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Reading order last verified .