Steven Erikson starts work on sequel to THE GOD IS NOT WILLING

Steven Erikson has confirmed that work is now underway on the second novel in the Witness trilogy. The first book, The God is Not Willing, was published in June to a strong critical reception. The sequel will be called No Life Forsaken.

The trilogy is set a decade or so after the events of the main Malazan Book of the Fallen series and follows events on the continent of Genabackis, revolving around the offspring of Karsa Orlong and his reputation as a walking god, as well as how the Malazan Empire's ongoing occupation of the continent is faring.

Erikson notes that he is working on multiple projects simultaneously: he is also writing Walk in Shadow, the concluding volume of the Kharkanas Trilogy, a prequel to the Malazan saga set hundreds of thousands of years earlier and revolving around the Tiste race.

With work only just getting underway on No Life Forsaken, I suspect we won't see it now until mid-to-late 2023 at the earliest. The next Malazan novel to be published will be The Jhistal by Ian Cameron Esslemont, the fourth book in the Path to Ascendancy series which will focus on the nascent Malazan Empire's invasion of the Falari subcontinent. That book is currently tentatively scheduled for Spring 2022.