Getting into the Malazan Book of the Fallen fantasy series is supposed to be hard.
Those days are done.
Imgurian kurtist04’s recently compiled a simple yet comprehensive megapost introduction to Malazan that explains the world, its gods, its magic, the main characters, the political powers in play, and more. The rundown, supplemented with fan art from over the years, is a perfect introduction to Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont’s fantasy series.
First, a caveat from kurtist04:
For many, the love of the mystery is what hooks them into the series. They like that Erickson *doesn’t* hold your hand. If you are the type of person that loves to read deeply and puzzle together the little details, this post isn’t for you. Come back to it if you get through the first book and are still confused. I avoid as many spoilers as I can, and am intentionally vague about certain details, but there are minor spoilers here. Mostly in the history of the empire and the races section.
But if you don’t mind some minor spoilers that will give you some context for the first book, or if you are planning on re-reading the series and want to brush up on your Malazan history, them give this a read.
Even if you’d like to preserve the mystery, it’s hard not to be drawn in by an opening line like this:
The Malazan Empire has humble beginnings, coming to existence in a small dirty tavern.
For those who missed the September 2016 Tor.com eBook Club download window of Gardens of the Moon, kurtist04’s Malazan series rundown is an excellent introduction, should you want to pick up the series later on. Happy reading!
