Authors: Steven Erikson
Fall of Light (146 page)
Looking down, she saw the smile on his face. Peaceful, content, lifeless.
* * *
Nothing ends. There is matter and there is energy, and some believe these two the only things in existence. But a third exists. It infuses both matter and energy, and yet also stands alone. Let us call it potential. Only in the realm of potential can we act, to effect changes upon all existence. Indeed, it is the realm in which we live, we living things, in our stubborn battle with success and failure.
Yet the truth remains. Of the two, success and failure, only one ends the game.
Now, poet, I see the shock writ deep upon your lined face, and yet it must be clear to you, even in this moment of despair, that love was at the heart of this tale, and now we must once more settle back and take breath, steadying ourselves for what is still to come.
The warriors wallow in what they will, in all that they make of the world, which is little more than destruction and suffering. Recall the child with the stone, on her knees in the grass, a boy’s crushed face beneath her? Such is the glory of the belligerent.
Revel in it, if you’re of the mind to.
What comes next, my friend, is entirely another kind of glory.
What is the secret of sorcery? It is potential. Now then, on the dawn of magic’s burgeoning, let us see what they make of it.
Also by
Steven Erikson
The Malazan Book of the Fallen
THE FIRST COLLECTED TALES OF
BAUCHELAIN AND KORBAL BROACH
The Kharkanas Trilogy
Steven Erikson
is a qualified archaeologist and anthropologist. His debut fantasy novel,
Gardens of the Moon,
was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award and introduced readers to his epic, ten-book ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ sequence, which has been hailed ‘a masterwork of the imagination’. He followed this with
Forge of Darkness,
the first volume in a new epic fantasy trilogy which takes readers back to the origins of the Malazan world. Steve lives in Victoria, Canada.
To find out more, visit
www.malazanempire.com
and
www.steven-erikson.com
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Table of Contents
Book One: The Seduction of Tragedy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Book Two: In One Fleeting Breath
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Book Three: The Gratitude of Chains
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Book Four: The Most Honourable Man
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FALL OF LIGHT
Copyright © 2016 by Steven Erikson
All rights reserved.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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New York, NY 10010
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
eISBN: 978-1-4668-5845-9
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Simultaneously published in Great Britain by Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers
First U.S. Edition: April 2016
Table of Contents
Book One: The Seduction of Tragedy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Book Two: In One Fleeting Breath
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Book Three: The Gratitude of Chains
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Book Four: The Most Honourable Man
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26