Forge of Darkness is the first novel of The Kharkanas Trilogy by Canadian author Steven Erikson, set before the events of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Tor notes that Forge of Darkness is rife with recurring themes: environmental deprivation, the creation and role of history, extinction, return to childhood, the costs of certainty, questions of religion, justice, empathy.

[6] PS Publishing also released a two volume, signed and slipcased limited hardcover edition (300 copies) in October 2012 with cover art by David Gentry.

SFSite praised the scope of Erikson's imagination and narrative while noting that the novel would far exceed any and all expectations that readers of the Malazan Book of the Fallen could possibly harbor.

[11] While prequels generally rob readers of the narrative tension at the outset, Tor notes that Erikson avoids this pitfall by placing the story thousands of years in the past with long-lived characters that actually span the time period.