Ian Cameron Esslemont's new MALAZAN novel finally gets a release date...and controversial cover art

After numerous delays, Ian Cameron Esslemont's new Malazan novel finally has a release date. Forge of the High Mage (previously called The Jhistal) is the fourth novel in his successful Path to Ascendancy prequel series, telling the story of the forging of the Malazan Empire. It will be published on 6 April 2023.

However, it's the novel's cover that has generated some harsh criticism. The artwork is a bit weird and off-centre, and more than a few observers have said it is clearly AI-generated (with the hastily-Photoshopped compass and telescope being particularly notable). AI-generated artwork has boomed over the summer with the launch of several apps which see computers generated images based on just a few keywords, with results ranging from excellent to poor. The rise of AI artwork has been cited as a threat to the livelihood of actual human artists, many of whom were already struggling from decreasing pay as publishers attempt to reduce overheads.

The publishers have not yet commented on the origin of the artwork and it will be interesting to see if it turns out this was an original painting after all (it does have some hallmarks of regular Malazan cover artist Steve Stone).

Next Esslemont MALAZAN novel gets a name change and delayed release date

The Ten Very Big Books Podcast has hosted an interview with Ian Cameron Esslemont, co-creator of the Malazan universe (with Steven Erikson). Esslemont confirms that his next Malazan novel, hitherto known as The Jhistal, is now called Forge of the High Mage.

In the Edelweiss Catalogue, the book's entry has been updated with the new title and a new release date: April 6, 2023. However, that date may just be a placeholder, with Esslemont saying in the interview that the book should be out "this year."

Last year, it was confirmed that Esslemont had sold over a million books and had been contracted for three more books in his Path to Ascendancy series - with Forge of the High Mage now serving as Book 4 - although it looks now like the release dates for all three were on the optimistic side of things.

Esslemont's colleague Steven Erikson is also writing two new Malazan novels: Walk in Shadow, the final book in The Kharkanas Trilogy, and No Life Forsaken, the second book in the Witness Trilogy.

Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont discuss the MALAZAN series

Malazan co-authors Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont have been jointly interviewed at the TSACast and revealed some new information about their upcoming books.

Esslemont is currently working on The Jhistal, the fourth book in the Path to Ascendancy series (following on from Dancer's Lament, Deadhouse Landing and Kellanved's Reach), or possibly the first book in a second trilogy set in the same milieu. This book picks up twenty years after the events of Kellanved's Reach and concerns the nascent Malazan expansion into the subcontinent and archipelago of Falar.

The next books are expected to focus on the Malaz invasion of Seven Cities and the first taking and fall of Aren to the T'lan Imass. Esslemont has also pencilled in the Malaz landings in Genabackis and the Blackdog campaign for future volumes.

Erikson, meanwhile, recently completed The God is Not Willing, the first book in the Witness Trilogy, a sequel to The Malazan Book of the Fallen itself, and is now back working on Walk in Shadow, the concluding volume of the Kharkanas Trilogy.

The Jhistal is currently scheduled for publication on 17 November 2020. The God is Not Willing is anticipated for publication in late 2021.