Acclaimed by writers, critics and readers alike, here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy.

A novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling, powerful storytelling to resounding effect.

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent.

Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners and for Tattersail, sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead.

But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, still holds out - and Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds.

However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand...

Sono passati molti anni da quando tre guerrieri Teblor hanno portato il caos e lo sterminio a Lago d’Argento.

Ora le tribù del nord non si avventurano più nelle terre del sud. La città si è ripresa e tuttavia l’eredità del passato persiste.

In effetti, uno dei tre, Karsa Orlong, è ora venerato come un dio, benché non si curi delle sorti dei suoi fedeli.
Inoltre, sono emerse diverse nuove religioni nel mondo dei Malazan. Numerosi sono gli adoratori di Coltaine, il Signore dalle Ali Nere, mentre il culto di Iskar Jarak, Guardiano dei Morti, è popolare tra i soldati dell’Impero.

In risposta alle notizie di una crescente agitazione tra le tribù oltre il confine, una legione di fanti di marina Malazan marcia verso Lago d’Argento. Non sono del tutto sicuri riguardo a ciò che li attende. Mentre l’esercito Malazan si è evoluto e loro stessi non sono più i fanti di marina di un tempo, qualcosa non è cambiato: si occuperanno di qualunque sfida

si troveranno ad affrontare.
O moriranno provandoci...

In Northern Genabackis, just before the events recounted in GARDENS OF THE MOON, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flat lands. Their intention is to wreak havoc among the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong it marks the beginning of what will prove an extraordinary destiny.

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, elder sister of Ganoes Paran and Adjunct to the Empress, has arrived in the last remaining Malazan stronghold of the Seven Cities to 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 into battle against the massed hordes of Sha'ik's Whirlwind. Her only hope lies in resurrecting the shattered faith of the few remaining survivors from Coltaine's legendary march, veterans one and all.

In distant Raraku, in the heart of the Holy Desert, the seer Sha'ik waits with her rebel army. But waiting is never easy. Her 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 her nemesis, Tavore...her own sister.

So begins the awesome new chapter in Steven Erikson's MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN - an epic novel of war, intrigue, magic and betrayal from a writer regarded as one of the most original, imaginative and exciting storytellers in fantasy today.