The Bonehunters

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**The Bonehunters**
Author	Steven Erikson
Cover Artist	Steve Stone
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Malazan Book of the Fallen
Genre(s)	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Bantam (UK & Canada) & Tor Books (USA)
Released	1 March 2006
Media Type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	891 p. (UK trade paperback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0593046307 (UK paperback edition)
Preceded by	Midnight Tides
Followed by	Reaper's Gale (forthcoming)

The Bonehunters is the sixth volume in Canadian author Steven Erikson's epic fantasy series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen. There are ten books planned for the sequence. The Bonehunters is also a direct sequel to the fourth volume, House of Chains, and alludes to events in the fifth, Midnight Tides.

The novel was first published in the United Kingdom as a hardcover on 1 March 2006. The first mass-market paperback edition is scheduled for 2 April 2007. The first United States edition is very tentatively scheduled for December 2007.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Bonehunters begins two months after the events of House of Chains. The Malazan 14th Army has destroyed the army of the Whirlwind and Adjunct Tavore Paran has executed Sha'ik (unaware of Sha'ik's true identity as her sister, Felisin). The 14th is now pressing westward, pursuing the remnants of the Whirlwind army under Leoman of the Flails as they seek refuge in the storied fortress of Y'Ghatan, where the Malazan Empire once faced its greatest defeat. Meanwhile, Onearm's Host, restored to the favour of Empress Laseen, has landed on Seven Cities' north coast to complete the task of subduing the rebellion, but a deadly plague has been unleashed. Ganoes Paran, the new Master of the Deck of Dragons, arrives from Genabackis to help deal with the chaos. Elsewhere, the balance of power is shifting in the Malazan Imperial Court, and strange black ships have been sighted in the waters surrounding Quon Tali and Seven Cities. And for the advance expeditionary forces of the Letherii Empire, their quest to find warriors worthy of facing Emperor Rhulad Sengar in battle is about to be answered twice over...