Fall of Light

Fall of Light is the title of the second book in Steven Erikson's Kharkanas Trilogy. It was released on the 21st of April 2016 in the UKhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1083156/fall-of-light/ and on the 26th of April 2016 in the US.http://www.tor.com/2016/03/21/new-malazan-novel-fall-of-light-coming-april-26
==Publisher's summary==
It is a bitter winter and civil war now ravages Kurald Galain, as Urusander's Legion prepares to march upon the city of Kharkanas. The rebels' only opposition lies scattered, bereft of a leader since Anomander's departure in search of his estranged brother, Andarist. The last brother remaining, Silchas Ruin, rules in Anomander's stead. He seeks to gather the Houseblades of the Highborn Noble families and resurrect the Hust Legion in the southlands, but is fast running out of time.
The officers and leaders of Urusander's Legion, led by Hunn Raal, want the Consort, Draconus, cast aside and Vatha Urusander wedded to Mother Dark, taking his place on a throne at the side of the Living Goddess. But this union will be far more than political, as a sorcerous power has claimed those opposing Mother Dark - given form by the exiled High Priestess Syntara, the Cult of Light rises in answer to Mother Dark and her Children.
Far to the west, an unlikely army has gathered, seeking an enemy without form, in a place none can find, and commanded by a Jaghut driven mad with grief. Hood's call has been heard, and the long-abandoned city of Omtose Phellack is now home to a rabble of new arrivals. From the south have come Dog-Runners and Jheck warriors. From the Western Sea strange ships have grounded upon the harsh shore, with blue-skinned strangers arriving to offer Hood their swords. And from the North, down from mountain fastnesses and isolated valleys, Toblakai arrive, day and night, to pledge themselves to Hood's impossible war. Soon, all will set forth - or not at all - under the banners of the living. Soon, weapons will be drawn, with Death itself the enemy.
Beneath the chaos of such events, and spanning the realm and those countless other realms hidden behind its veil, magic now bleeds into the world. Unconstrained, mysterious and savage, the power that is the lifeblood of the Azathanai, K'rul, runs loose and wild. Following its scent, seeking the places of wounding where the sorcery rushes forth, entities both new and ancient are gathering. And they are eager to feed.
Comprehending the terrible risk of his gift of blood, a weakened, dying K'rul sets out, in the company of a lone guardian, to bring order to this newborn sorcery - alas, his choice of potential allies is suspect. In the name of order, K'rul seeks its greatest avowed enemy.
==Front matter==
===Dedication===
To Howard Morhaim
===Acknowledgements===
Thanks to advance readers: A.P. Canavan, Steve Diamond, Baria Ahmed, Judith Collins and Sharon Sasaki. This one took awhile and your patience is much appreciated. Thanks, as ever, to Clare Thomas, Simon Taylor, and Howard Morhaim.
===Maps===
File:Central Kharkanas.png|Central Kharkanas
File:Kurald Galain.png|Kurald Galain
File:Thel Akai, Jaghut & Tiste Realms.png|Thel Akai, Jaghut & Tiste Realms
===Tiste Power structure===
File:The Tiste in Fall of Light.PNG|The Tiste: Holds, Greater and Lesser Houses, Priesthood and Court
==Editions==
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Publisher 	Format/Edition 	First published 	Pages 	ISBN-10 	ISBN-13 	Notes
UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light	UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light	UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light	UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light	UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light	UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light	UK and Commonwealth — Fall of Light
Bantam 	Hard cover 	xxx 	xxx 	xxx 	xxx 	Simultaneous UK & US releaseCover by Steve Stone
Bantam 	Mass market paperback 	xxx 	xxx 	xxx 	xxx 	
United States — Fall of Light 	United States — Fall of Light 	United States — Fall of Light 	United States — Fall of Light 	United States — Fall of Light 	United States — Fall of Light 	United States — Fall of Light
Tor 	Hard cover 	April 2016 	839 	xxx 	978-0765323576 	Simultaneous UK & US releaseCover by Steve Stone
Tor 	E-book 	April 2016 	839 	xxx 	978-1466858459 	
Tor 	Mass market paperback 	xxx 	xxx 	xxx 	xxx 	
==Plot Summary==
 
::The following summaries contain spoilersPlease access individual chapter summaries via the Chapter infobox
===In Kharkanas===
With the absence of Anomander Rake it falls to his brother, Silchas Ruin, to prepare for the inevitable confrontation against Urusander's Legion. He orders the Hust Legion, controversially, to bolster its ranks, after their massive loss from the poisoning at the hands of Hunn Raal, by recruiting prisoners from the mining pits. He also sends Prazek Goul and Dathenar, sergeants in his brother's Houseblades, to serve as lieutenants in the Hust Legion, a decision some among the Houseblade find hard to swallow.
The historian, Rise Herat, and the High Priestess of Dark, Emral Lanear, make plans to depose of Draconus by turning the Sons of Darkness against him. Their plan includes corresponding with Syntara, the High Priestess of Light.
The Azathanai, Grizzin Farl, also called the Protector, remains at Kharkanas for purposes unknown to anyone but newly-befriended Silchas Ruin, to whom he reveals that by his presence alone he keeps away the wolves that are his kin who would look at the Tiste civil war as an opportunity to sink their teeth into something delicious.
Remaining within the Chamber of Night, Mother Dark tests her powers through Endest Silann, gifting him the sorcery of Eternal Night, while Draconus, the Suzerain of Night, forges a sword that would defy Chaos.
===In Neret Sorr===
Sharenas Ankhadu confronts Vatha Urusander with the results of her investigations regarding the pogrom of the Deniers. She reveals to him all that she had uncovered and had been witness to regarding Hunn Raal. It becomes more than apparent that Urusander is loosing his grip on the Legion, and that Hunn Raal and some few others are part of a conspiracy in which they would stand against the commander if confronted. In lieu of all this, Sharenas takes it upon herself to cull Urusander's camp.
The blessing of Light has gifted Hunn Raal with sorcery, and he now fashions the new title of Mortal Sword for himself. His careless display of said power attracts the attention of the Azathanai Olar Ethil, the Goddess of flames, awakener of heat; lust, desire, bloodlust. She cautions him in her contempt to temper and restrain his power, for there were forces more than capable of crushing him beneath their feet. For all but altruistic reasons, she also instructs him to find a master smithy and to build her a fire so that she could guide them to the First Forge where he would be able to forge the Sceptre of Light, as Draconus had forged the Sceptre of Night, thereby bringing a much needed balance between the apposing forces.
Syntara, the High Priestess of Light, makes plans to secure her new role, and that of Father Light, by adding new and young girls to the household or temple in Neret Sorr. Much like Hunn Raal she too has been gifted with sorcery, which she uses to spy on the Mortal Sword through her new recruits by replacing their souls with a small fragment of her awareness.
===The Burned Forest===
Anomander Rake and Caladan Brood make their way north of the burned forest in search of Andarist.
More info to be added soon.
==Trivia==
*In a reddit AMA session held in 2014 before Fall of Light was published, Erikson revealed that he had spent an inordinate amount of time working on the second novel, more than he had done on any of his previous books. He said by tackling a ten volume series like his Malazan Book of the Fallen, he had "neatly evaded the dreaded second book syndrome that plagues trilogies", and so was thoroughly unprepared for Fall of Light taking so much out of him. He further revealed that he had never had issues structuring his stories until then, and that anyone following his rare commentary would have noted his uncertainty on the matter. At the time, he thought the issue had been worked out, but it would be another two years before the book was finally published.https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/2g0whr/hello_reddit_i_am_novelist_steven_erikson_please/
*Writing on Fall of Light was interrupted for about a month while Erikson wrote the science fiction novel, Willful Child.
*Looking back at his work on the novel, Erikson is pleased by the opening battle scene and how it is framed by the children playing "and how that escalates, which is basically a metaphor for the entire novel and how everything escalates." He also singles out the arrival of the Hust and the events that take place in their camp before and after the arrival of Prazek and Dathenar, as well as the final non-battle battle.Steven Erikson Interview and Discussion of The Kharkanas Trilogy - Books with Banks - See 1:06:30
*Regarding the novel's unorthodox final battle scene, Erikson says, "I realised I probably had reached the point of saturation in terms of writing battle sequences. By the time I got to the end of Fall of Light I just...in my head I'm not writing another fucking battle. I'm done with these. So that's why Fall of Light turned out the way it did...I was back and forth all the time on the end of Fall of Light because I wasn't sure if I could get away with what I was doing. And it may be that I didn't."Spoiler Chat: The God is Not Willing with Steven Erikson and Philip Chase - A Critical Dragon - See 22:55
==Notes and references==
==Cover gallery==
Fall of Light Subterranean Cover.jpg|Subterranean Press cover art (2023)
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Category:Fall of Light