Legacies of Betrayal

The Tales of Witness #3

by Steven Erikson

Endless training, gruelling marches, and the frenzy of battle against more enemies than can be counted-such is the life of a marine in the Malazan Empire.

Year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day, moment by moment. Skills are honed to deadly precision, the secret language of the soldier in a world drowning in perpetual discontent, the eternal conflict against the fates. And we should forget the seemingly inevitable interference of mischievous gods and more often than not, the resurrected remains of ancient and once believed long-dead entities.

As a new holy war starts sparked in the fire-blackened cauldron of Seven Cities, the Fifth and Sixth squads are about to embark a mission they don't want for a cause they don't care about. Not that anybody asked their opinion. They can only hope that their objective isn't as hopeless as it seems, and that they aren't simply being used as pawns—a strategic sacrifice, if you will, in the machinations of their betters.

So what's life like as a marine in the Malazan Army?

Well, let's see, shall we...

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

432 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2026

About the author

Steven Erikson is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. His best-known work is the series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/steven...

Reviews

[Aaron Bookinhaler]

‘Ochre’s a fucking colour.’ - Steven Erikson, 2026.

[Brayden Lane]

'Who?' He wondered. 'Who are these soldiers? I don't – I can't –' Then he shook his head. 'I know. They're Malazan marines.'

Not my all time favorite, but limpers weathered balls do I enjoy reading about the Malazan antics.

[Cal Craighead]

Steve has done it again. This feels like one subplot of a Malazan book was pulled out to make a smaller book, which makes sense because that’s exactly what happened. Had a ton of fun. It’s mostly Malazan marines dicking around, so what’s not to love

[James Singh]

Feels like the end, doesnt it