Cover of Assail

Assail

core novel 2014 Malazan

Record

First published2014
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.19 (5,551 ratings, collected 2026-09-11)
Page count544
First-edition ISBN9780593064481

Synopsis

As explorers and treasure-seekers converge on the frozen, half-legendary continent of Assail, drawn by rumors of gold and ancient power, older forces are already moving beneath the surface. Silverfox, a reincarnated Summoner bound to the T'lan Imass, pursues a splinter faction of the undead warriors across the continent, working to prevent the renewal of an ages-old crusade against the Jaghut before it can consume the region entirely. Meanwhile, mercenary companies, refugees, and rival expeditions push deeper into Assail's dangerous interior, each following their own agenda amid a landscape shaped by old magic and older grudges. As these separate journeys converge, alliances of convenience form and fracture, and the true scale of what stirs in Assail's wilderness begins to come into focus for those who survive long enough to see it.

Where it sits

  • Universe: Malazan
  • Series: Novels of the Malazan Empire core; position 6 of 6 in the series' recorded order
  • Author: Ian C. Esslemont

Notes

  • From the series record (Novels of the Malazan Empire): Six novels, 2004-2014.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

  • Publication order, within the series Novels of the Malazan Empire: position 6 of 6: previous Blood and Bone (2012)

Sources

← Malazan dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.