Orb Sceptre Throne

Orb Sceptre Throne is the fourth of Ian C. Esslemont's Novels of the Malazan Empire, set in the shared world he co-created with Steven Erikson. Returning to Darujhistan after the cataclysmic close of The Malazan Book of the Fallen, it follows a sprawling cast as an old and terrible power reawakens beneath the city and outside forces close in.

Esslemont threads together the fortune-hunter Antsy scavenging the crashed ruins of Moon's Spawn, retired Bridgeburners running a decrepit estate, the scheming of House Nom, and the disciplined menace of the Seguleh. The narrative gradually pulls these strands toward a single reckoning, rewarding readers already immersed in the Malazan setting with payoffs to long-running mysteries.

Widely regarded as one of Esslemont's strongest Malazan entries, the book balances political intrigue, high sorcery, and dark humor. It is dense, multi-viewpoint epic fantasy that assumes familiarity with the wider series rather than serving as a standalone entry point.