The Kharkanas Trilogy

Set against the vast and shadowed backdrop of a world that predates the Malazan Empire, The Kharkanas Trilogy invites readers into an epic tale of ancient gods, mortal aspirations, and the turmoil of divided realms. Millennia before the rise of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, the fate of an entire race is shaped within the warren of Darkness—Kurald Galain—where gods, mortals, and magic itself are in constant flux.

The story begins with Forge of Darkness, where the Tiste race, fractured into the Andii, Liosan, and Edur factions, are on the verge of an unraveling. At the heart of the story is Vatha Urusander, a warrior whose pursuit of glory threatens to tear apart not only his kin but the very fabric of his world. The tension between loyalty, ambition, and divine intervention is palpable as the gods themselves become players in a game that may lead to their downfall.

In Fall of Light, the trilogy deepens, unfolding into a brutal civil war among the Tiste as allegiances shift and power is claimed. The arrival of the Jaghut, with their dark declaration of war against Death, reveals another layer of conflict that spirals towards a reckoning that has been centuries in the making. Themes of betrayal, divine manipulation, and the cost of immortality haunt each page, making it clear that no one is free from the destructive forces that they set in motion.

The Kharkanas Trilogy consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.