Dancer's Lament: Path to Ascendancy Book 1 (A Novel of the Malazan Empire)

Ian C. Esslemont

May 2016 · Path to Ascendancy Book 1 · Sold by Macmillan

About this ebook

Ian C. Esslemont's prequel trilogy takes readers deeper into the politics and intrigue of the New York Times bestselling Malazan Empire.

The first book of the Path to Ascendancy trilogy, Dancer's Lament, focuses on the genesis of the empire and features Dancer, the skilled assassin, who, alongside the mage Kellanved, would found the Malazan empire.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

A pleasant enough read: for readers of The Malazan Book of the Fallen it's interesting to see an environment where most of the figures are relatively low-power and/or low knowledge and where the figures who do know aren't saying very much. And, of course, to get an idea of what Kellanved and Dancer were like before they had achieved power and eminence, as well as a number of other later significant figures of whom we have views here. Worth reading for Malazan completists; probably not a good entry point for those who haven't read the other books first.

Esslemont's tale is engrossing and offers real insight into the development of characters that we find scattered through the rest of the Malazan world. In this book I found myself no longer comparing his writing with Erikson's, but I feel his writing has finally grown into his already well-developed talents of imagination. This is the book I have been waiting to read from ICE. Dancer's Lament is ostensibly the tale of a city under siege, but more than that, we get to watch a young man learn his own values as the conceits of inexperience are peeled away by the jagged edges of survival in a dangerous world. Highly recommended, and I can't wait for the next one.

Very good book it's awesome to see shadowthrone and cotillion's beginning!

About the author

IAN C. ESSLEMONT grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has studied archaeology and creative writing, has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, and lived in Thailand and Japan for several years. His books include Orb Sceptre Throne, Blood and Bone, Assail, and others. He now lives in Alaska with his wife and children and is currently working on another novel set in the world of Malaz, a world he co-created with Steven Erikson.