Malazan Reading Order: Complete Beginner’s Guide (2025)

If you’re thinking of starting this behemoth of a series, you’ve come to the right place. Let me guess: you don’t know where to start reading, which Malazan reading order to pick? Why is Malazan so hard to read? Why is Malazan even good? I went through all these same motions – coming from familiar places like the Wheel of Time and the Cosmere, Malazan felt like the final boss of fantasy. Today I’m here to tell you that it’s actually not that bad. Even better, if you’re confused while reading, you’re doing it right.

Malazan Reading Order: Where to Start Book of the Fallen

Let’s start off with the suggested reading order, a thoroughly discussed subject in the fanbase. For beginners, there’s really only one way you can go: start with Malazan Book of the Fallen, the main series consisting of ten books. Of course, there’s other series within the world of Malazan. But if you’re like me, coming from similarly long but certainly easier fantasy, I wouldn’t recommend putting more on your plate than necessary. These books are long and have incredible depth, and take some work to fully appreciate. Save the rest for later, when that post book depression kicks in!

The Malazan Book of the Fallen reading order is very straightforward, consisting of the main ten books in order of publication (see the list below). Each volume in the main series stands on its own as a fantasy epic, with a new set of characters dealing with new problems in new parts of the world. There are of course characters to latch onto, that reappear, but you shouldn’t be surprised to not see or even hear from your favorite character for five books straight. Where Malazan really gets good, though, is when all these threads slowly start connecting. I grew up during the golden age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so when reading those parts I jokingly referred to them as Avengers-level moments. The truth is that they’re even better and more rewarding, in part because of the amount of work that it took to get there.

Why is Gardens of the Moon So Confusing? What to Expect

When I picked up Gardens of the Moon for the first time, I tried to do so on audiobook while biking. Maybe it works for some people, but I got lost so fast that I almost gave up. The different names of all the people and places, and the different viewpoints got confusing quite quickly. Fortunately for me, books exist, allowing me to at least try to memorize some names. And memorize I did: in the back of the book is a helpful glossary of character names and to what groups they belong, which became my lifeline in the beginning. Confused about in whose head I was? Well, at least now I know where he hangs out and with whom!

So is Gardens of the Moon confusing? As for the story itself, yes, but that is the point! What you’re experiencing is exactly what the characters you follow closest are experiencing: Paran has no idea what’s going on for most of the book, and do not get me started on Crokus. Both of them go through the story, being pushed and pulled by the world around them, at times getting sick of it and acting themselves, sometimes in dramatic ways. When you are frustrated with the confusing parts of the story, you always eventually return to the two boys who would definitely agree with you. And their personal stories, throughout all this narrative chaos, is fairly simple: blindly running after love.

This confusion and frustration goes beyond even the viewpoint characters. When following Sorry’s story, from fisher girl to soldier, no one around her even gets close to understanding what’s truly going on. There’s some exceptions that, for spoiler reasons, I obviously won’t go into (in this article). The struggle to grasp, to understand the bigger picture, is intentionally worked in by Erikson, as Malazan is a story told from the perspective of the regular soldier, not the legendary commander. The closer we get to those epic types of characters, the less we understand, because why would they be relatable to us? When we do see characters climbing the metaphorical ladder of power, they’ll make damn sure that we know they’re as uncertain and insecure about it as we would be ourselves.

Nevertheless, there are moments in the story where the characters start to grasp, start to understand. If you want to follow along to these moments, Erikson does not hold your hand. What he does do, is provide you with the tools to work out what’s necessary to understand for now. Ultimately, it’s all in the text, as some second time readers might like to point out. Of course, not all the minute details, but the broad lines are all there, at least enough to understand the local political landscape and what’s at stake.

And if you don’t grasp it when the characters do, do not worry! Even when you let the bigger picture be for a moment, and focus on the chapters themselves, there’s a lot to appreciate. This is because each scene contains beautifully written prose, at a level I had not dared to read before starting Malazan. Many readers ask: why are Malazan chapters so long? I believe the main reason is because Erikson crafts each POV scene to stand on its own, while also thematically connecting each one, forming one (sometimes long) chapter. This adds yet another level of depth! With other series like the Wheel of Time and the Cosmere books, I breeze through them with relative ease. I’ve always appreciated books written like that, but Malazan taught me to appreciate a more refined style of writing. Many times I had to pause and just look at a sentence and appreciate it. This gets better as the series continues, but Gardens of the Moon definitely has a lot of it as well.

One of my favorite quotes from the series comes from Toc the Younger, talking to Paran in the third chapter of Gardens of the Moon. Though I suspect it’s actually Erikson speaking directly to the reader:

Out of your depth, Captain? Don’t worry, every damn person here’s out of their depth. Some know it, some don’t. It’s the ones who don’t you got to worry about. Start with what’s right in front of you and forget the rest for now. It’ll show up in its own time. Find any marine and ask direction to the Bridgeburners. That’s the easy part.

So why is Malazan so hard to read? Because it’s supposed to be. In short, do not worry about not understanding everything. It’s totally normal to be confused about the bigger picture. Be patient, and everything will make sense in time. Just keep on reading and perhaps use some of the practical tips I list below in order to keep track of everything. But don’t overdo it – I always told myself to leave some for the reread. And remember, if Paran is lost, you’ve got some good company!

Practical Tips for Reading Malazan (Beginner’s Guide)

As I was reading the series, I picked up some habits that helped me keep track of most important things. I’m hoping my personal experience might help new readers work through the confusion.

• Like I said, use the glossary. All important characters of that specific book are there (and then some), and usually just knowing in what circles a character operates should be enough to appreciate the chapter you’re reading!
• Alternatively, you can use the fan wiki. Of course, be very careful with using Google to look up characters, as there are definitely some huge spoilable moments throughout the different books. The wiki, however, is structured with attention to spoilers, with each character page being divided up into their role in each book. Sure, the presence of a specific book on a character’s page, or lack thereof, does have some spoilery implications, so tread carefully!
• Don’t try to memorize everything immediately! Like I said, save some for the reread, which I assure you will happen some day if you make it through to the end. The beauty of a series like Malazan is that you can put in the amount of work that works for you. The actual range in this is very big, with a lot to puzzle together and figure out on a first readthrough, but working it all out is not necessary at all. Skimming confusing parts is fine, as you can always come back later. This is your reading experience, not that of opinionated people on the internet!
• For each chapter, try to focus on 2-3 main characters. More is better, of course, but this gives you more than enough context to follow the book to the end.
• On top of reading the books, I found it helpful to consume more Malazan content like the Malazan Reread of the Fallen or a podcast like the DLC Bookclub or Ten Very Big Books. Especially after some breaks in-between books or even breaks in the middle of books, I found this very helpful. Additionally, the first half of the series has a number of extremely comprehensive guides created by Reddit user u/sleepinxonxbed, made for beginners just like you! Definitely make use of this if you’re afraid of missing too much.

What’s next?

Close your eyes for a second and imagine yourself a few weeks, maybe even months from now. You’ve finished Gardens of the Moon, and are ready to continue, excited to find out what happens next in Darujhistan. You pick up the second book, Deadhouse Gates, and – oh! Seven Cities? Who are all these people? I don’t even like sand! Alright, calm down, I told you this before: do not worry! Again, being confused is completely normal. And while most of this book is totally new to you, there are some elements that carry over, and even a number of familiar faces. Have faith in the author and keep reading. The main story in this book is mostly self-contained, so I recommend taking it as it comes. When someone finishes the second book, in the Malazan community we say they have “walked the Chain of Dogs” – I leave it to you to find out what that means.

Despite the severely grim dark subject matter, starting Memories of Ice, the third book, felt like a warm bath to me. Not only are we back on the same continent as last book, we’re also seeing a large number of familiar faces again! The same goes for book 4, House of Chains, which picks up where book 2 left off. Of course, Erikson doesn’t want his readers to get lazy, so he pulls the rug out from under you again in book 5, Midnight Tides, which literally takes place on the other side of the globe. From there on out, the dots start connecting, and the bigger picture should definitely start making more and more sense to you. Even then, though, each book stands on its own as an incredible fantasy epic, with more characters brought into the fray at each turn. As you go on, you will learn to read Erikson’s style better and better, becoming better at judging what you should remember and what might just be banter between soldiers. As you get better at this, reading the books becomes more and more rewarding, ultimately providing payoff after payoff in the latter half of the series.

To conclude

In short, please read Malazan – as you might have noticed by the tone of this article, I truly believe it’s one of the best fantasy series of all time. It’s really not as difficult as people say, as long as you take each book as it comes and don’t be too critical at yourself for not getting everything right immediately. I assure you, the confusion is intentional and temporary. Erikson takes his readers seriously, so give each book your time and effort it deserves! Be patient, and you will be rewarded. Each book offers something unique, so stick with it through Gardens of the Moon and you’ll be in for something very special.

---