# Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a demanding, complex fantasy series, often seen as the best of the Malazan books. One reader notes some passages are offensive and later books can be pretentious.

## Why people recommend it

- Complex, challenging reading (2 comments): "If you really want a challenge, try the Malazan series" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48672235)) "I have no hope to see something really complex like" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46388760))
- Best of the Malazan series (1 comments): "Not all of them are as good as the Book of the Fallen, but most of them are pretty close, and some are even better." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46399890))

## What people warn about

- Some passages are offensive (1 comments): "It's not perfect (parts of it are rapey, and the later books, especially Toll the Hounds, can be really pretentious)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49514918))
- Later books can be pretentious (1 comments): "It's not perfect (parts of it are rapey, and the later books, especially Toll the Hounds, can be really pretentious)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49514918))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Discworld by Terry Pratchett](https://hackerapproved.com/p/discworld-series.md): 33 recommend
- [Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling](https://hackerapproved.com/p/harry-potter-series.md): 28 recommend
- [The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wheel-of-time.md): 20 recommend
- [The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/stormlight-archive.md): 12 recommend
- [A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-song-of-ice-and-fire.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0765348799?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780765348791) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson", https://hackerapproved.com/p/malazan-book-of-the-fallen/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).