Reading order · 3 books · 2016 to 2019 · Set in the Malazan world
Path to Ascendancy Books in Order
The Path to Ascendancy trilogy tells how two young men, the thief Dancer and the mage Kellanved, met and set out on the road that would lead to the Malazan Empire.
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Series facts
- Books
- 3
- Published
- 2016 to 2019
- First book
- Dancer's Lament
- Latest
- Kellanved's Reach (2019)
- Setting
- Set in the Malazan world
The reading order
Every Path to Ascendancy book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
3 books · Set in the Malazan world
- 1Dancer's Lament2016With Shadowthrone and CotillionA young assassin named Dancer arrives in the city of Li Heng, where he meets a strange, unpredictable mage named Wu, the beginning of a partnership that will shape an empire.Buy on Amazon
- 2Deadhouse Landing2017With Shadowthrone and CotillionYoung Dancer and the mage Wu land on the island of Malaz and set about taking it over, the first step towards an empire.Buy on Amazon
- 3Kellanved's Reach2019With Shadowthrone and CotillionKellanved and Dancer continue their rise, drawn into the wars of the continent of Quon Tali.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read Dancer’s Lament, Deadhouse Landing and Kellanved’s Reach in order.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Shadowthrone | Cotillion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Dancer's Lament | LLead | LLead |
| 2 Deadhouse Landing | LLead | LLead |
| 3 Kellanved's Reach | LLead | LLead |
Characters in the Path to Ascendancy books
2 characters from Ian Cameron Esslemont’s chart, with the number of Path to Ascendancy books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| ShadowthroneKellanved, later god of Shadow | 3 | Dancer's Lament 2016 |
| CotillionDancer, later patron of assassins | 3 | Dancer's Lament 2016 |
Crossovers with Ian Cameron Esslemont’s other series
- Novels of the Malazan Empire: Shadowthrone also appears in 1 of its books; Cotillion also appears in 1 of its books