'I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of the
imagination may be the high watermark of epic fantasy.' Glen Cook'This is true myth in the
making a drawing upon fantasy to recreate histories and legends as rich as any found within
our culture' InterzoneIn Northern Genabackis just before the events recounted in Gardens of
the Moon a raiding party of tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flat
lands. Their intention is to wreak havoc among the despised lowlanders but for one amongst
their number it is the beginning of an extraordinary destiny. His name is Karsa Orlong. Some
years later it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Coltaine revered commander of the
Malazan 7th Army is dead. And now Tavore sister of Ganoes Paran and Adjunct to the Empress
recently arrived at the last remaining Malazan stronghold of the Seven Cities must take
charge. Untested and new to command she must hone a small army of twelve thousand soldiers
mostly raw recruits into a viable fighting force and lead them against the masses of Sha'ik's
Whirlwind. Her only hope of success rests with the few remaining survivors from Coltaine's
legendary march. In distant Raraku in the heart of the Holy Desert the seer Sha'ik waits with
her increasingly restless rebel army. And waiting is never easy especially when a disparate
collection of warlords - tribal chiefs High Mages a renegade Malazan Fist and his sorceror -
is locked in a vicious power struggle that threatens to tear the rebellion apart from within.
And Sha'ik herself suffers haunted by the private knowledge of the one she knows is her
nemesis . . . So begins this epic novel of war intrigue betrayal and magic - the awesome
fourth chapter in one of the landmark works of epic fantasy Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book
of the Fallen. 'The most masterful piece of fiction I have ever read. It has single-handedly
changed everything we thought we knew about fantasy literature and redefined what is possible.'
SF Site'Arguably the best fantasy series ever written.' Fantasy Book Review
