''Dancer's Lament'' is the first novel of the

Path to Ascendancy Ian Cameron Esslemont (born 1962) is a Canadian writer. He was trained and has worked as an archaeologist. He is best known for his series ''Novels of the Malazan Empire'', which is set in the same world as the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' epi ...

trilogy by

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

author

Ian Cameron Esslemont Ian Cameron Esslemont (born 1962) is a Canadian writer. He was trained and has worked as an archaeologist. He is best known for his series ''Novels of the Malazan Empire'', which is set in the same world as the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' epi ...

. Set in the world of the ''

Malazan Book of the Fallen The ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' () is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the Canadian author Steven Erikson. The series, published by Bantam Books in the U.K. and Tor Books in the U.S., consists of ten volumes, beginning with '' Garde ...

'', Dancer's Lament tells the story of the founding of the Malazan empire.

Development

In a 2016 interview with ''The Critical Dragon'', Esslemont states he intended ''Dancer's Lament'' to be a potential new starting point in the Malazan world. He goes on to say he has plans for three novels in the ''Path to Ascendancy'' series, but "the door is open" for further books.

Plot

''Dancer's Lament'' takes place before The Malazan Book of the Fallen. It tells the story of how Dancer and Kellanved meet and found the Malazan Empire.

Critical reception

''Dancer's Lament'' received mostly positive reviews. Bill Capossere called it "a highly entertaining origin story" that was "streamlined, tightly-plotted and structured." ''Fantasy Book Review'' gave it an 8 out of 10, calling it "a brilliant return to one of the most majestic and mystifying fantasy worlds ever to be created." ''The Quill to Live'' gave it an 8.5 out of 10, calling it "good, probably even great" but noting it falls short "due to its lack of heavy hearted scenes."

References

2016 Canadian novels High fantasy novels Malazan Book of the Fallen Bantam Books books Tor Books books {{2010s-fantasy-novel-stub