Assail is the sixth and final volume of the Novels of the Malazan Empire series by Canadian author Ian Cameron Esslemont.

The novel is set in the world of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, co-created with Esslemont's friend and colleague Steven Erikson.

In the interview he discusses how he plans for the series to be five novels in total, where the final volume would cover "the mysteries of the Assail continent".

[2] In a 2009 interview with Clarkesworld Magazine, Esslemont states he has a contract "for four more Malazan novels" and he will "finish up by revealing Assail".

The novel takes place on the continent of the same name and continues plot threads that began in Return of the Crimson Guard.