Books in The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 3 series

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations with ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dreaded Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, their lone surviving mage, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze. However, the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand. . . . Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order — an enthralling adventure by an outstanding voice. “I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high-water mark of epic fantasy. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny’s Amber, Vance’s Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon’s hoard.” - Glen Cook

“The kind of epic narrative that will have you scrambling for more.” —Stephen R. Donaldson The Seven Cities Rebellion has been crushed. Sha’ik is dead. One last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y’Ghatan and under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortress makes the battle-weary Malazan Fourteenth Army uneasy. For it was here that the Empire’s greatest champion, Dassem Ultor, was slain and a tide of Malazan blood spilled. A place of foreboding, its smell is of death. But elsewhere, agents of a far greater conflict have made their opening moves. The Crippled God has been granted a place in the pantheon; a schism threatens and sides must be chosen. Whatever each god decides, the ground rules have changed irrevocably, terrifyingly, and the first blood spilled will be in the mortal world. A world in which a host of characters, familiar and new, including Heboric Ghost Hands; the possessed Apsalar; Cutter, once a thief now a killer; the warrior Karsa Orlong; and the two ancient wanderers Icarium and Mappo, each searching for such a fate as they might fashion with their own hands, guided by their own will. If only the gods would leave them alone. But now that knives have been unsheathed, the gods are disinclined to be kind. There shall be war, war in the heavens. And the prize? Nothing less than existence itself . . . "This novel and all others in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series follow my own pronunciations of 'Malazan' words and names. My thanks to Michael and Jane and everyone at Brilliance Audio." —Steven Erikson, Victoria, B.C. Canada, January, 2014

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations with ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dreaded Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, their lone surviving mage, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze. However, the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand. . . . Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order ― an enthralling adventure by an outstanding voice. “I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high-water mark of epic fantasy. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny’s Amber, Vance’s Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon’s hoard.” - Glen Cook

HIS KINGDOM. OUR WORLD. HIS SECRETS.When the thread of hope is split into two, which side will you take?After the capture of three book-bearers, Isaac, Xylia and Arundel are beckoned to return to Agalmath to meet the Dark One. Around the four corners of Elysium, Lucifer and his servants are gathering an army-uniting men, beast, Shadow and Nephilin to expand his kingdom.Hidden in the shadows and holding one of Lucifer's most faithful servants in captivity, the blood-drinkers continue to hunt down Isaac and the others, seeking to retrieve the Book of Letters.Isaac's and Xylia's courage and willingness to fight is starting to wane as they now fear that the path they have taken will claim their lives.When the stars blood drink. When the moon red turns. When the snow melts away. That's when Elysium will burn.

In the vast dominion of Seven Cities, in the Holy Desert Raraku, the seer Sha’ik and her followers prepare for the long-prophesied uprising known as the Whirlwind. Unprecedented in size and savagery, this maelstrom of fanaticism and bloodlust will embroil the Malazan Empire in one of the bloodiest conflicts it has ever known, shaping destinies and giving birth to legends.... Set in a brilliantly realized world ravaged by dark, uncontrollable magic, this thrilling novel of war, intrigue, and betrayal confirms Steven Erikson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination, and originality ― a new master of epic fantasy. “Give me the evocation of a rich, complex, and yet ultimately unknowable other world, with a compelling suggestion of intricate history and mythology and lore. Give me mystery amid the grand narrative. Give me a world in which every sea hides a crumbled Atlantis, every ruin has a tale to tell, every mattock blade is a silent legacy of struggles unknown. Give me, in other words, the fantasy work of Steven Erikson.” ― Andrew Leonard, Salon

HIS KINGDOM. OUR WORLD. HIS SECRETS. When the thread of hope is split into two, which side will you take?After the capture of three book-bearers, Isaac, Xylia and Arundel are beckoned to return to Agalmath to meet the Dark One. Around the four corners of Elysium, Lucifer and his servants are gathering an army-uniting men, beast, Shadow and Nephilin to expand his kingdom.Hidden in the shadows and holding one of Lucifer's most faithful servants in captivity, the blood-drinkers continue to hunt down Isaac and the others, seeking to retrieve the Book of Letters.Isaac's and Xylia's courage and willingness to fight is starting to wane as they now fear that the path they have taken will claim their lives.When the stars blood drink. When the moon red turns. When the snow melts away. That's when Elysium will burn.