As ever, the excellent magic system (through the use of warrens) is finely showcased here and, for the most part, I found my reading experience to be extremely rewarding; leading me to score Forge of the High Mage an 8/10 rating. The storyline was good and has advanced the Malazan Empire as well as individuals such as mainly Tayschren (and of course MR). This led me to reflect, are these set pieces truly engrossing me as much as they could as I know which characters survive (having read eighteen Malazan books so far) and have already concluded who I should be rooting for prior to these exchanges? I had slightly higher hopes for the exploration of Falar, for actually going into the dark underbelly of the Jhistal cult and in that respect, this book didn’t quite hit the mark.

It is still very enjoyable, especially because we have all of the old guard (Kellanved, Dancer, Dassem, Tayschrenn etc) and we get to see them in action.Our main character, who takes centre stage in this Malazan tale, is a young High Mage Tayschrenn, leads the Malazan infantry alongside High Fist Dujek to reach Falar, he is untested and doesn't realise how powerful a mage he is until he comes up against very powerful elder magics. I think Kellanved having command of the hounds and the T'lan Imass but gaining this off screen was a bit of a shame because these are things that naturally would've been interesting. The Path to Ascendancy novels are shorter, being more concise and focused, than the sweeping epics of the two main series.

Most people have stopped that (not all, for some reason) and now you can enjoy his books and let them shine for what they are. Never the less, it is still a very enjoyable book, and a fun look back at some of the series' best characters. When I got the book and accidentally opened it to a page where this is happening, I let out the mother of all squeals.The book's title is perfect in describing his character arc: which includes his doubts and concerns, trying to understand his place within the military, his working relationship with Nightchill and Dujek Onearm, as well as his magical potential, leading to mastery. Sadly, the part of the books that felt the least necessary or even relevant to any of the plots was the Crimson Guardsmen plotline. The cataclysmic ending is a tad contrived, but the various storylines sync well and everything Malazan and Crimson is in fine form.

Forge of the High Mage is the fourth book in the Path to Ascendency that deals with the formation of the Malazan Empire. It shows him coming into his power as he pushes himself beyond what he thought was his limits, only to discover an almost limitless supply of power on the other side of his mental barricades. This series is a prequel to the events of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen and Esslemont's own Novels of the Malazan Empire, with this entry seeing Kellanved (The Emperor), Dancer (Master Assassin), Dassem Ultor (The Sword), Tayschrenn (High Mage) and their armies advancing into Falar. If you don't like the main Malazan books you might still like the Path to Ascendancy books because they are lighter and faster paced but I think a lot of the fun of these prequel books are knowing what these characters will do later on and seeing them develop so reading Path to Ascendancy without that context seems pointless.

I've eagerly awaited more books in this series, and there was a bit of confusion at first whether this was a sequel to the main series or another volume in the Path to Ascendancy prequel series. The great thing is we still have two ongoing series from Erikson and at least another 2 books left in this series. The book had originally been scheduled to be published in 2020, but a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a long delay. Malzan is my all-time favourite series, the worldbuilding, characters, the magic system, and the pure scope of it all that Steven Erikson and Ian C Esslemont has created is just phenomenal. There are some absolutely great moments with characters that I've grown to love in the original series, and it's always a pleasure to have their back stories fleshed out a little more.

He is all-too aware of the true nature of this ancient horror - and his own inadequacy in having to confront it. When reading Forge of the High Mage, like previous entries in this series, it is easier to keep track of the people, places, and the plot. And then the theocracy of Falar is itself far from defenceless - its priests are in possession of a weapon so terrifying it has not been unleashed for centuries. Esslemont continues his early empire Path to Ascendancy sequence impressively with the fourth instalment, Forge of the High Mage.

Forge of the High Mage is a book that I have been eagerly awaiting since I finished my early review copy of Kellanved’s Reach in January 2019. In all the other entries of this series, it made sense and they were important in the unfolding of events. My only regret, and I appreciate it may have been a little dry, was we didn't get a little more context on the Jhistal and it's exact perversion.