Malazan Reading Order and Universe Introduction | Aug 2020

A brief description of the whole Malazan universe as of August 2020, as well as a recommended reading order.
There are a lot of recommendations out there, but my main charge to you is: read the 10 volume series Book of the Fallen before branching out to spinoff novels/series.
Purchase all books here: bookshop.org/l...
The Malazan Book of the Fallen:
1. Gardens of the Moon
2. Deadhouse Gates
3. Memories of Ice
4. House of Chains
5. Midnight Tides
6. The Bonehunters
7. Reaper's Gale
8. Toll the Hounds
9. Dust of Dreams
10. The Crippled God
After Book of the Fallen, you have a lot of choices before you, and I think any of the following books could be next on your list.
If you want some shorter stories that run (mostly) parallel to the main series, check out Ian C. Esslemont's Novels of the Malazan Empire. Order:
1. Night of Knives
2. Return of the Crimson Guard
3. Stonewielder
4. Orb Sceptre Throne
5. Blood and Bone
6. Assail
If you are really curious to learn more about Emperor Kellanved and Dancer, check out Esslemont's Path to Ascendancy Series. Order:
1. Dancer's Lament
2. Deadhouse Landing
3. Kellanved's Reach
If you want to stick with Erikson but with a slightly different flavor (ie. more traditional fantasy) and are curious about the Tiste Andii and Elder Warrens, check out the prequel series The Kharkanas Trilogy.
1. Forge of Darkness
2. Fall of Light
3. Walk in Shadow (FORTHCOMING TBD)
Erikson's newest book The God is Not Willing is the first installment in a new Trilogy revolving around Karsa Orlong entitled The Witness Trilogy.
Finally, Erickson has release a series of novellas and short stories around Bauchelain & Korbal Broach. You can pretty much read these at your pleasure after you finish Memories of Ice.
Other reading orders:
Tor Reading order mentioned in video: www.torforgebl...
Malazan Wiki - malazan.fandom...
Goodreads Forum - / ultimate-reading-order...
Buy any Malazan books here: bookshop.org/s...

[@ManCarryingThing]

This is seriously helpful. Thank you!

[@undeadnedstark8330]

Man carrying thing, you carry NO thing

[@s.k.1082]

I read Knight Of Kinves when i was halfway through Gardens Of The Moon and i think that helped me understand quite a few things about the world of Malazan. Personally, the focus on only two POVs and a single night really helped reducing that initial hurdle of getting into the setting. Granted, there´s a spoiler for Deadhouse Gates in there, but not a big one. It doesn´t seem to be a popular opinion, but i really think it´s a better introduction to the world and a fun and short (but a bit rough) read in itself.

[@Nxrth2001]

Holy shit Malazan is huge. I'm currently reading Wheel of Time, and want to dive into Malazan after this!

[@Nxrth2001]

@@AndySmithMN Done! This was a great intro. Plan to finish Wheel of Time this month, and Malazan will be my BIG series for 2022

[@drock3309]

@@Nxrth2001 that's exactly why I came here. Gonna finish up wheel of time (along with some other books in between) and then focus on malazan hopefully be the end of 2021 and into 2022. I can't wait!

[@Nxrth2001]

@@AndySmithMN 7 months later and I am here. Started with the new year, finished GotM, onto Deadhouse Gates now

[@tragikk03]

I'm so excited!!! I'm brand new to fantasy and malazan is my first series! I'm 5 chapters in to GotM and I'm LOVING it. I think it's only "hard" for people who are OCD about knowing every detail of every character/event

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

Such a mind blowing series! One of the few that I’m excited about finishing the full collection...just so I can start at the beginning again. 😅

[@zan8152]

The only exception I think is possibly reading Night of Knives before The Bonehunters - It's very short, and kinda ties into the BH finale, without which you're missing a good bit of Malaz City context. I'm (personally) very happy I read it there. The rest of the Mid-series ICE books, yeah I'd definitely say wait for.

[@colinjones5379]

Agreed! NoK is a good interlude somewhere in the middle of the main series.

[@AIToughts]

60% done Memories of Ice and loving it so far. As for Deadhouse Gates, I loved it and it’s one of the best books I have ever read so MOI if better will truly be something!

[@awallerfamily]

Im going to suggest to my daughter to read the catalog starting with Kharkanas series first and then PtA. And then by release order of the 10 including the remaining esslemont books. Just to be able to discuss her experience compared to mine. Which will probably be future content for someone.

[@bookswithbanks8943]

I loved this video and especially your video on postmodernism, and I was curious if you've considered doing a ranking of the novels? I know some people don't enjoy them or find them reductive, but I'm always curious to see which parts of a series different people prefer.

[@Peritestes]

I generally agree with what you are saying here. Nice work. I would read Night of Knives and Return of the Crimson Guard before reading Toll the Hounds. There are a few incidents that happen in those books that have direct impact on the main series which might be confusing if you didn't read them.

[@Peritestes]

I would suggest reading The Karkanas Trilogy after you finish everything else and if you REALLY love Erikson. I wouldn't say it is more of a tradition fantasy series; Erikson said the MBoTF is partially inspired by The Iliad and Karkanas is inspired by Shakespearean declamation and tragedy. It is complex and difficult. Hopefully the third book will come out at some point, but the publishers made Erikson move on from it for now.

[@franckcellier9021]

Great video, I just would like to point out that the funko pop on the shelf behind you seems to be nodding in agreement at around 6:17!

[@EricMcLuen]

I would add HoC to the first group just because Tides is a major change. You could then switch to Knives and Ascendancy if you want but they do require a mental shift and aren't as "deep". I think MoI is such a favorite because just when you get over the Fall here comes Coral and yes, I cried too. I read Forge but will have to read again when the third one comes out.

[@whiskeySe7en]

100% agree, read in intended order

[@sneakyfred]

I loved GotM through to HoC. I then started Midnight Tides, and I've been stuck there ever since. The most I got through was about halfway, and it never truly gripped me. Plus there was other stuff going on my life, so perhaps I was less concentrated on the story. I've tried again 3 times over the last 5-6 years---starting from the beginning, 'cause when I opened it at my bookmark after a year's hiatus I couldn't remember half the characters! Never managed to finish it... :(

[@mythoughts3314]

Thanks for the update did not realize there was more to read outside the central 10. Finished them a couple years ago and excited to go back to this world. I will say I hate how you pronounce Malazan. Now i did go and look for pronunciation, and you are probably right in the way you say it, but i am stubborn and will continue to proudly properly mispronounce this word whenever i talk about this series.

[@TokyoBlue587]

I agree, I pronounce it “Mala-zan” and no one can change my mind!

[@GhoulishGwyn]

Off-topic, but I have the exact same Westeros map. Got it at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. More on-topic though, thanks for all the info. Looking forward to starting Malazan.

[@angelaholmes8888]

I will give the prequel series a try after finishing the malazan books

[@Jmlisheid]

I plan on reading from the Wiki's list, "To read both authors concurrently in order of publication". But I definitely appreciated your insight! Before taking on such an enormous series, it helps a lot to organize the books in a way that makes them feel more approachable.

[@velcrocee7886]

Excellent video. I’m glad to see more Malazan content on booktube. I’m looking forward to your reviews as I read through the series. Have u checked out “the ten very big books”podcast. Also very good info.

[@billyalarie929]

i had to back up a few seconds (because i was writing my own things, so wasn't looking at the screen) and i heard "jizz doll" and i was like wait what

[@hafiz7611]

Same 🤣🤣🤣

[@thatsci-firogue]

I'm sticking with the main ten and branch out afterwards.

[@groupswithg]

Hey Andy I have a small favour to ask about the Book of the Fallen. ***Possible spoilers for others*** I would just like to know if anything is spoiled for me with this: Empress Lassen is the person who kills the founder Kellanved. I would also appreciate if you could tell me whether anything from the main 10 book series is spoiled with me from this.

[@jawshi967]

**response** Its not a spoiler: Kellenved was Emperor before Lasseen, yes. Whether Laseen killed him sound like dirty propaganda to me.

[@paulinetayloe9988]

I like to know every detail and character of a story like say about the empire how and what caused the darkness and the empire to go to war etc so I through to start then gardens of the moon then I changed and started the ebook on Arkansas trilogy, the path of ascendancy, then the witness then the something sorry I can’t spell it the Bochum books the I through to continue the dead house gate because I don’t want any spoilers so it completes the storyline but I think I’ll decide read the Malazan book of the fallen I’m not sure which to do?, but I think I’ll read the Malazan book of the fallen continue img dead house gates because Malazan book of the fallen 10 book series is the only physical books I have the othere Malazan type series in ebook form, but really I prefer the physical book type.

[@jawshi967]

just read the main 10 in publication order, just as Andy has it layed out. Dont worry about the other stuff youve read. Itll come in handy.

[@jahanshah1538]

Don’t the events of the main series massively spoil parts of Novels of the Malazan Empire?

[@jahanshah1538]

Tbc I’ve only read Gardens of the Moon and am a quarter of the way through Deadhouse Gates now, but I’ve seen flowcharts and such that show that some of the main series and NotME spoil each other

[@jahanshah1538]

Also, Erikson later said that Tor article wasn’t actually his recommendation and that he actually recommends publication order

[@jahanshah1538]

@@AndySmithMN That's fair, the specific example I had in mind was SPOILERS FOR DEADHOUSE GATES AND NIGHT OF KNIVES: . . . . . . . . . . . . The big reveal that Kellanved and Dancer are actually Ammanas/Shadowthrone and Cotillion/The Rope. I believe you actually get to see their Ascendancy in Night of Knives but it's just mentioned in passing in Deadhouse Gates so it might be worth it to slot that one in between Books 1 and 2 of the main series

[@omnitheus5442]

@Jahan Shah other way around I think. I'd suggest reading the first 7 books of the series before you branch off... Maybe throw in B&KB1 and NoK in and around tth. Then finish the first 10 books (tth, dod, tcg). Sometimes you need a break and I think tth really needs a break before you hit it.

[@kylecashen4132]

This is wonderful but I just can't get past how you pronounce MaLAzan. Ivebakways heard it as MALazan

[@michaelavail3554]

U r so helpful

[@laxamanarellyc.3608]

Can I only read the Main series?

[@raswartz]

Yes, the Malazan Book of the Fallen is self-contained. There are a handful of characters that "exit stage left" so to speak from the MBOTF whose stories are picked up in other series but it's not really an issue (unless you really want to follow those characters).

[@bangslamwham88]

I read the books in publishing order up to TtH, and frankly the constant back and forth between continents and chronology was too jarring and left me feeling disengaged.

[@andrewstrongman305]

Why do you pronounce Malazan as 'Malarzan'?

[@andrewstrongman305]

@@AndySmithMN Those of us who have become obsessed with the Malazan Saga read different names with different pronunciation, (Iskar Jarak calls Duiker "Diekar" where I say "Do-icker"). But accent aside, there is nothing in the way 'Malazan' is written to indicate any long vowels. "Malarzen" sounds soft and has no punch. Mal-az-an is far better. It's a hard name, denoting strength.

[@alexdainton]

Malahhhzun

[@tiagodagostini6233]

Can I leave my hint? if you are a portuguese language reader... avoid the portuguese translation like HELL! It is HORRBLE! It is inconsistent with names, some are translated some are not. Several of the translated ones are absurd translations, some characters names are changed COMPLETELY. The tone of the book is completely different in the translation. It sounds like a teenager focused book with vocabulary too limited and simplified for what the original sentences try to convey. IT IS HORRIBLE! I dropped gardens of the moon 3 times when trying to read it. When I bought a version in English it instantly became one of my favorite books ever!

[@kngpin41]

dude what is up with all of these people mispronouncing malazan lol

[@greensmurf9623]

Used to think so too, until I heard Erikson pronounce it the same way. Felt weird to adjust after that.