Malazan Empire

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Lore & Background

The Malazan universe was co-created by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont starting in the early 1980s. Initially built as a setting for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, it shifted to the GURPS system by 1986, growing into a complex world covering multiple continents and millennia of history. The narrative landscape is defined by the interwoven events of Erikson's ten-volume Malazan Book of the Fallen and Esslemont's six-volume Novels of the Malazan Empire, which cover overlapping and sometimes earlier or later events. These stories explore simultaneous mysteries, such as the Crimson Guard, the succession of the empire, and events on Korel, Jacuruku, and Assail. The world also features prequels like The Kharkanas Trilogy, detailing the Tiste before their split into Darkness, Light, and Shadow, and Path to Ascendancy, focusing on the early rise of Dancer and Kellanved (where Dorin is Dancer, and Kellanved uses the pseudonym Wu). Although the authors share notes and discuss the world, they write their series independently, maintaining distinct voices: Erikson's work often critiques epic fantasy tropes while honoring them, whereas Esslemont explores parallel timelines. The setting is so vast that hand-drawn maps by Erikson were once too large to photocopy, yet fan-made versions have approached that scale.

In Their Own Story

The narrative journey begins with Gardens of the Moon (1999), shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award, followed by Deadhouse Gates, which SF Site named one of the ten best fantasy novels of 2000. The first five novels of the main series are relatively self-contained, each resolving its primary conflict while weaving underlying characters and events that bind the entire saga together. Beyond the main sequence, novellas like Blood Follows (2002) and The Healthy Dead (2004) introduce Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, later collected in volumes. Esslemont's series, starting with Night of Knives in 2004, runs parallel to Erikson's, covering the same era from different perspectives. Future stories include The Tales of Witness, a sequel featuring Karsa Orlong's quest to destroy civilization; originally planned as a trilogy, it was expanded in July 2024 to four novels after splitting the second volume into No Life Forsaken (2025) and Legacies of Betrayal (2026). The Kharkanas Trilogy serves as a prequel where characters like Anomander Rake and Draconus appear, shedding light on background events hinted at in the main series.

Reader's Guide

To navigate this universe, Erikson and Esslemont explicitly recommend reading books in order of publication rather than chronological order, despite Tor.com offering a timeline-based list that the authors deem unsuitable for first-time readers. The core consists of ten volumes by Erikson and six by Esslemont, totaling sixteen canonical books where both authors collaborated on the storyline. Readers can also explore novellas like Crack'd Pot Trail (2009) or The Wurms of Blearmouth (2012), which are grouped into collected editions. Critical reception has been widespread, with reviewers praising the epic scope and character depth, comparing Erikson to literary giants such as Joseph Conrad, Henry James, William Faulkner, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Fellow authors Glen Cook and Stephen R. Donaldson have hailed the work as a masterwork of imagination. The series tackles themes like socio-economic inequality and gender equality; Erikson noted they created a culture without gender bias to explore a world free of sexism. Despite the complexity, the authors intended each of the first five novels to be accessible on their own while contributing to the larger mythos.

Did You Know?

• The Malazan world was originally created in the early 1980s as a backdrop for an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaign by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont.
• Steven Erikson's contract with Bantam UK for nine additional volumes after Gardens of the Moon was worth £675,000, described as one of the largest fees ever paid for a fantasy series.
• The Tales of Witness sequel series was expanded from a planned trilogy to four novels in July 2024 because the second novel needed to be split in two.
• Erikson and Esslemont discussed the world and shared notes but wrote their series independently; Esslemont's work is fully canonical to Erikson's mythos without direct collaboration on all sixteen book storylines.
• Steven Erikson jokingly refers to the Malazan world by the name 'Wu', though it has no official unified name.

Origins from Role-Playing Games

The Malazan universe originated in the early 1980s when Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont created it as a backdrop for role-playing games using a modified version of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. By 1986, they adopted the GURPS system, expanding the world significantly to approach its current scope. The setting was first developed into an unsuccessful movie script titled Gardens of the Moon. Following this failure, the authors agreed to write separate novel series set in their shared world. He later secured a contract for nine additional volumes with Bantam UK, valued at £675,000, making it one of the largest fees ever paid for a fantasy series. The world has no official unified name, though Erikson jokingly refers to it as Wu.

A Collaborative Literary Universe

While Steven Erikson authored the main ten-volume Malazan Book of the Fallen, Ian Cameron Esslemont writes the six-part Novels of the Malazan Empire, published starting in 2004. These series run parallel in time, covering events like the Crimson Guard mystery and political shifts on Korel and Jacuruku. Despite different titles and publishers, the authors collaborated closely on the storyline for the entire sixteen-book project, ensuring Esslemont's novels are as canonical and integral to the mythos as Erikson's. This partnership extends to prequels like The Kharkanas Trilogy (Erikson) and Path to Ascendancy (Esslemont), which explore the Tiste split and the rise of Dancer and Kellanved respectively. They also planned an Encyclopedia Malaz, though later discussions shifted toward releasing maps and notes via a 20D RPG group instead.

Critical Acclaim and Literary Comparisons

The series has received widespread critical acclaim for its epic scope, plot complexity, and characterizations. Reviewers have compared Erikson's writing to Joseph Conrad, Henry James, William Faulkner, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Fellow authors Glen Cook (The Black Company) and Stephen R. Donaldson (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) praised the series as a masterwork of the imagination. Specific accolades include Gardens of the Moon being shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award and Deadhouse Gates being voted one of the ten best fantasy novels of 2000 by SF Site. In a review of The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, Erikson challenged academic views on Tolkien's influence, stating that epic fantasy has moved on since Tolkien and citing his own influences as Howard, Burroughs, Leiber, Donaldson, and Cook.

Reading Orders and Structural Complexity

Navigating the Malazan series requires adhering to publication order rather than chronological sequence. While Tor.com published a reading order based on event chronology, both authors consider this unsuitable for first-time readers. The main ten-volume series by Erikson features interconnected narratives where each of the first five books resolves its primary conflict yet binds together through underlying characters and events. Esslemont's six novels run parallel to these, exploring simultaneous mysteries. Additional novellas, such as those featuring Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, are collected in volumes like The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, Volume 1 (2002–2007) and Volume 2 (2009–2020). A sequel series, The Tales of Witness, was expanded from three to four novels in July 2024 due to the need to split the second book.