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The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a series of epic fantasy novels written by Canadian author Steve Rune Lundin under the pen-name Steven Erikson. The series is currently planned to extend to sixteen novels comprising three distinct acts. The first act consists of ten books and is almost complete, with the final book out in January 2011. The remaining two acts are two trilogies, a prequel series set hundreds of thousands of years prior to the main sequence and a sequel immediately following on from the main series.
The Malazan world was created by Steven Erikson and his friend and collaborator Ian Cameron Esslemont. Esslemont is writing a companion series, The Tales of the Malazan Empire, which is planned to run to six books. The third in this series, Stonewielder, is due out in November this year. The complete Malazan experience will thus run to twenty-two books and a number of novellas and short stories. The two writers have also announced a companion volume which will be published at an indeterminate point and have not ruled out additional books, although these may be less connected to the central storylines of the two series.
Interestingly for roleplayers, Erikson and Esslemont are both keen gamers. The world of Malaz was originally created for an AD&D campaign in 1982. Dissatisfied with the original TSR rules, they made a lot of house rules to account for a much more complex magic system. In 1987 they switched to the much more customisable GURPS system. They began writing fiction based on the world around the same time. Using their campaigns as backstory rather than the main storyline, they developed a film script called Gardens of the Moon about the ‘Phoenix Inn Regulars’ and their adventures in the gaslit city of Darujhistan. When they failed to attract interest for this project, Erikson revamped the script and expanded it massively as a novel, written in 1991. Again, it failed to garner any interest. Erikson and Esslemont went their separate ways, although remaining in touch, to have successful careers in anthropology and archaeology. Erikson also published several books of mainstream short stories in this time. In 1998, whilst based in the UK, he sold Gardens of the Moon for a record-breaking advance for a debut fantasy author (a record that still stands, to my knowledge), along with the rights for nine sequels. Whilst working on the second book he lost the entire manuscript in a computer error. Crestfallen, he instead wrote a completely different book set on a different continent, Deadhouse Gates, explaining the series’ unusual structure of swapping continents every volume. Gardens of the Moon was first published in 1999, and has been followed by eight books in the series. Tor started publishing the series in the USA in 2004. The ninth volume, Dust of Dreams, saw the series hitting the bestseller lists for the first time in both the UK and US.
What’s it about?
The Malazan Book of the Fallen does not have an easily-explainable central premise like The Wheel of Time or other big fantasy series. The first five books are more or less stand-alones with the central plot of each volume concluded in that volume, but with subplots laying the groundwork for later books. The sixth book sees these formerly separate storylines and groups of characters start to come together and interact. The second half of the series is more linear and starts to follow more central plot threads (although arguably the eighth volume is something of a break, catching up with characters from the earlier books who have fallen by the wayside in the interim). Ian Esslemont’s companion series expands and fleshes out elements left undeveloped in Erikson’s novels. Still, the books can be summarised as having three distinct storylines:
The first storyline, focused on in Books 1, 3 and 8, is set on the continent of Genabackis, where the powerful Malazan Empire is trying to bring down the last of the free cities of the continent, Pale and Darujhistan. The Bridgeburners, an elite military unit of sappers, is sent into Darujhistan to weaken the city ahead of the Malazan armies’ arrival. Unfortunately for the Malazans, they are opposed by the powerful and immortal Tiste Andii sorcerer-warlord Anomander Rake, who has extended his protection (and that of his flying city, Moon’s Spawn) to the government of Darujhistan. The book concludes with a stalemate and the revelation that a much more powerful and evil empire is spreading from southern Genabackis, the Pannion Domin. The third book sees the Malazan armies allying with their former enemies to stop this mutual threat.
The second storyline is set on Seven Cities, the continent that acts as the breadbasket of the Malazan Empire, and is explored in Books 2, 4 and 6. With more Malazan armies being drawn off from the occupation of the continent to fight wars in Genabackis and in Korelri, the natives are getting restless. A massive uprising known as the Whirlwind is launched against the Malazans. In the city of Hissar a small, under-strength Malazan army is ordered to escort 50,000 Malazan civilians to the fortified stronghold of Aren, more than 1,500 miles away, all the while harried by local tribes and armies many times their own size. Even worse, this Malazan army is mostly made up and led by Wickans, tribesmen from the Empire’s home continent of Quon Tali who are held in distrust by other Imperial troops, leading to internal dissent. Later books see the Malazans attempt to retake the continent via the newly-formed 14th Army, known as the Bonehunters.
The third storyline is set on the distant, uncontacted continent of Lether and is the setting for Books 5, 7 and 9-10. The Letherii are an expansionist kingdom, fully confident of their well-trained army and their immensely powerful sorcerers. Having absorbed many of the surrounding kingdoms and tribes, they now look to conquer the primitive Tiste Edur tribes of the northern tundra. Unfortunately for the Letherii, the Edur leaders have allied themselves to the enigmatic Crippled God, gaining access to immense magical power. The Edur overrun and conquer the Letherii Empire instead, and begin building a massive fleet to extent their power across the entire world, leading to an inevitable showdown with the Malazan Empire...
Esslemont’s companion volumes intertwine with Erikson’s. His first volume takes place in Malaz City long before the other books, on the night that the former Emperor was overthrown by his successor. The second book is set on the Malazan Empire’s home continent of Quon Tali in the wake of the rebellion of Seven Cities, with civil war threatening and the return of the long-exiled and vengeful Crimson Guard imminent. The third volume visits the hitherto-unseen but oft-mentioned continent of Korelri, where the Malazan armies have been fought to a standstill by the Korelri Compact and are now threatened with total defeat.
Sounds complicated!
You have no idea. Did I mention the race of sentient dinosaurs whose magic bends gravity, or the race of Neanderthals who swore eternal vengeance on their enemies and committed racial suicide so they could survive as badass undead warriors and meet their enemies again when they came out of suspended animation hundreds of thousands years later? Or the shattered warren of sorcery which two enigmatic gods have taken control of for their own shadowy ends? Or the two necromancers and their bumbling assistant who provide dark comic relief during moments of high tragedy? The bad guy who melts his entire home continent down to the bedrock for THE LOLZ? The giant jade statues that act as an anti-orbital laser battery? And I’m still only scraping the surface here.
What’s good about the series:
Most written epic fantasy is either low-magic (Tolkien, Martin), or where there is high-magic there are careful rules on how it can be used (as with Jordan and Bakker). Erikson has no qualms about using magic to blow some major stuff up. Characters ‘ascend’ to demigod status on a fairly regular basis, and ultra-powerful beings pursuing vendettas stretching back a third of a million years show up frequently. The only real rules in the world ensuring it doesn’t get vapourised appear to be that gods are very vulnerable if they visit the mortal world, and a highly enigmatic race known as the Azath steps in and eliminates beings if they get too uppity or powerful and start threatening the planet. Basically, if you’ve ever wanted to see a realistic depiction of Epic Level D&D play in a coherent fantasy world, or one of the more mental anime series in novel form, this is for you.
Erikson is also very good at depicting battles, and also at harnessing and addressing emotion. He is particularly fond of tragedy, and the second and third volumes feature some of the most powerfully tragic scenes in all of epic fantasy. His worldbuilding skills are amazing. The Malazan world is like nothing before seen in epic fantasy, vast, well-detailed and more than slightly crazy. The magic systems are solid and Erikson’s anthropology experience means the cultures, tribes and how they are descended from more ancient civilisations that came before are all realistically described.
The series is immensely long, but unlike Wheel of Time and other comparable series, the books are more stand-alone (although you do need to read them in order to get the best out of them). The movement between different groups of characters keeps things somewhat fresh as well, as the author doesn’t get bogged down with the same group of people for too long. This is certainly the most structurally ingenious epic fantasy series I’ve read.
What’s bad about the series:
As seems to be the rule for epic fantasy series, the quality nevertheless does dip the longer it goes on. In the second half of the series Erikson falls back too much on using some hitherto-unknown type of magic to resolve the situation, or a previously innocent-looking soldier with modest magical ability actually turns out to be an archmage who could eat Elminster for breakfast with no preamble.
Erikson also has a habit of setting up exciting, interesting and compelling characters and groups of characters and then killing them off (sort of) or pushing them to the wayside in favour of less-interesting substitutes who are pale echoes of the earlier ones. The earlier books are somewhat focused on the elite Bridgeburners, who are badass, well-characterised people. The later ones focus on the Bonehunters, who are pale imitations at best and considerably less interesting (aside from the two Bridgeburners who join their ranks) despite getting much vaster amounts of screen-time. Similarly, Anomander Rake retreats from the spotlight after the first few books and the later Tiste Andii characters led by Nimander are lightweight and uninteresting in comparison. Also, whilst he kills characters, they don’t tend to stay dead. They are resurrected or reincarnated, or sometimes reanimated as undead. Even if they stay dead, they occasionally crop up as ghosts to dispense advice, and even the ones who are dead and gone forever sometimes appear in chapters set in the afterlife itself.
Erikson also becomes considerably more self-indulgent as the series (and his sales power) increases. Earlier books are leaner and more action-packed. Erikson has a philosophical streak which he integrates well into the earlier books. The earlier books are also shorter (though the first book is still 750 pages and the second 900; the last four in a row have exceeded 1,200 pages, each). The later, longer books are longer solely because they need to contain hundreds of pages of digression and philosophical discourse (often between army conscripts who, despite being farmers or illiterate peasants, often come across as philosophy majors), with considerably longer gaps between major story movements. Erikson’s prose becomes more accomplished as the series progresses with some genuinely impressive writing at times, but more often he loses clarity in favour of purple prose.
The sheer badassery and impressive scope of the Malazan world rewards those who struggle on through these issues, but the combination of the inconsistent writing and the vast, mega-complex world gives way to immense confusion in later volumes, although those with good memories can pick enough up from the somewhat clearer first few books to see them through.
The first book in the series is, for my money, one of the best and certainly the most ‘fun’. However, many other readers report finding it very difficult to get into due to frequent POV and location shifts in the first few chapters. For this reason, it’s worth giving the first book a good 300-odd pages to see if it grabs you before dismissing it. Starting with the considerably superior second volume, which features a different cast and location, is also viable.
Erikson is also inconsistent with his characters. Some of them are among the most well-drawn and impressive characters in fantasy (although only a few reach the level of Martin or Kay’s characterisation), such as Felisin, Karsa, Whiskeyjack, Anomander Rake, Trull Senger, Toc the Younger and Tool, but the majority are more thinly-sketched with motivations that are often completely incomprehensible.
The series is being marketed heavily as an almost-complete ten-volume sequence, but after Erikson signed a contract for six more books he started setting up the storylines of those trilogies in the main books, often quite blatantly. He has also revealed that several key and apparent essential character arcs and core storylines from the earlier books will only be addressed and resolved in those trilogies or in Esslemont’s side-books. This isn’t really a single ten-volume sequence, but a twenty-two book one written by two authors, and the amount of closure we will get in the tenth book looks like it will leave a lot of fans of certain stories and characters frustrated.
Finally, the worldbuilding is staggeringly impressive on the broad scale, with the number of continents, races, ethnic groups (within those races, including the nonhuman races, which is refreshing), cities, kingdoms and types of magic being overwhelming, but it lacks depth. The history of the world is unfathomably vague (stuff happened 300,000 years ago and then some other stuff happened 150,000 years ago and then the Empire was founded 100 years ago). Even worse, Erikson has seriously screwed over the timeline of the books themselves, resulting in the eighth volume contradicting itself and the other books around it to the point of being almost completely impossible for the events of the novel to happen given the timeframes involved. Full enjoyment of the series basically depends on if you find this sort of thing annoying, or if you can avoid it.
Summary
This is a massive, complex, confusing, intoxicating, sometimes frustrating epic fantasy series. Certainly the most ambitious and epic fantasy series ever attempted, even if it significantly falls short of its ambitions. But, for all the negatives, Erikson has achieved something truly impressive with this series, and I would rank at least sampling it as being essential for anyone with a serious interest in modern fantasy.
List of books
(recommended reading order)
Gardens of the Moon (1999) by Steven Erikson
Deadhouse Gates (2000) by Steven Erikson
Memories of Ice (2001) by Steven Erikson
House of Chains (2002) by Steven Erikson
Midnight Tides (2004) by Steven Erikson
Night of Knives (2004) by Ian Cameron Esslemont
The Bonehunters (2006) by Steven Erikson
Return of the Crimson Guard (2008) by Ian Cameron Esslemont
Reaper's Gale (2007) by Steven Erikson
Toll the Hounds (2008) by Steven Erikson
Dust of Dreams (2009) by Steven Erikson
The Crippled God (2011) by Steven Erikson
Stonewielder (2010) by Ian Cameron Esslemont
Erikson is also planning The Kharkanas Trilogy, set in the Tiste Andii city of Kharkanas 300,000 or more years before the main series. This explores the backstory of the Tiste Andii, Anomander Rake, Mother Dark, Silchas Ruin and so forth. The Toblakai Trilogy will follow on from the main sequence and is expected to focus on Karsa Orlong and his plan to unite the Toblakai against the rest of the world. Esslemont is planning another three books set in Darujhistan, Assail and Jacuruku respectively.
Short summary of the above: The Malazan book of the Fallen is quite easily one of the best series of book that I've read the last couple of years, what I particulary like is the fact that the books come out every other year (still waiting for the next G.R.R Martin ;<).
Short summary of the above: The Malazan book of the Fallen is quite easily one of the best series of book that I've read the last couple of years, what I particulary like is the fact that the books come out every other year (still waiting for the next G.R.R Martin ;<).
True. But I think many or all of the problems I list above could have been eliminated by Erikson being able to take more time over each book (he has to deliver a book a year to get each instalment of that huge advance). In interviews he has said that each novel is effectively a first draft with minor edits and tweaks, as he has no time to do additional edits and drafts, explaining the huge continuity errors and occasional padding. It is notable that, for my money and many fans', the best book in the series is MEMORIES OF ICE, the one he effectivey had to write twice (as he lost the manuscript first time around and replaced it with DEADHOUSE GATES) and seemed to get better for it.
Given that many authors' first drafts are completey unreadable and only get knocked into shape over many, many rewrites, Erikson's ability to produce decent, occasionally brilliant books first out of the gate each time is nothing short of mindblowing, but they definitely fail to live up to their potential because of the speed with which they are produced.
It is notable that Erikson's new contract for the trilogies only requires one book every 18-24 months rather than one every 12, as Erikson wants to take more time and care and attention on them.
The first three Martin books definitely benefited from having three years each spent on them, whilst the fourth one didn't, and we'll hopefully find out in the near future if the fifth has benefited from the huge rewrites and structural changes that have caused it to go from a one-year project to four and a half.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a series of epic fantasy novels written by Canadian author Steve Rune Lundin under the pen-name Steven Erikson. The series is currently planned to extend to sixteen novels comprising three distinct acts. The first act consists of ten books and is almost complete, with the final book out in January 2011. The remaining two acts are two trilogies, a prequel series set hundreds of thousands of years prior to the main sequence and a sequel immediately following on from the main series.
It's funny seeing this post (for me anyway). I picked up the first book about a month ago, after having run across a couple of blogs that mention the series. I have yet to read it, but I am excited too.
First to finish the two other books that are already in the cue.Thanks for the overview Werthead.
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I'd said for years that I really wanted to read an epic fantasy series that would be brave enough to just dump the reader into the world with no prologue, explanation, or lengthy exposition up front.
Then I read The Gardens of the Moon, and was reminded to be careful of what you wish for.
The absolute uncompromising lack of explanation -- of anything -- in this novel is both breathtaking and very irritating. About halfway through, when a lot of things still weren't quite making sense, I broke down and started trawling information from fansites, which helped quite a bit.
Unfortunately, I thought the climax of the book was a huge Deus ex Machina. The finale turns into a battle against an enemy whose sheer unstoppability has been the subject of much previous discussion...and then the enemy is quickly defeated by a "force" that appears out of nowhere, has never previously been discussed, and then appears to just disappear forever, and which the characters do not remark upon afterwards. Did the heroes really need to even show up for that?
So five stars for world building, two stars for plotting.
DEM is the bane of the Malazan series, and the two best books (2 and 3) are notable for not relying on it. Book 2 in fact expands on the resolution of Book 1 for its ending, so what is DEM in Book 1 becomes backstory and foreshadowing for Book 2.
Also, whilst I really like Book 1, note that my opinion is not widely shared amongst the fan community. I know people who LOATHED the first book who absolutely loved the second and third, so it may be worth checking them out.
Now that's some good reviewing, Werthead, I may just check the series out now. Please, write some more reviews of stuff that's getting big now/has gotten big over the past few years, cuz I know I'm out of the loop a bit(read: chasing Richard Lee Byers, Paul Kemp and Erik Scott de Bie stuff while waiting for A Dance With Dragons).
Now that's some good reviewing, Werthead, I may just check the series out now. Please, write some more reviews of stuff that's getting big now/has gotten big over the past few years, cuz I know I'm out of the loop a bit(read: chasing Richard Lee Byers, Paul Kemp and Erik Scott de Bie stuff while waiting for A Dance With Dragons).
Hmm, some kind of overview of the big names in the genre now and who've come up in the last few years? Could make for an interesting thread.
I read up to the Reaper's Gale and I heard that in Toll the Hounds the number of uninteresting POVs is even greater. My favorite so far is the fourth book with Karsa. I've seen that the Memories of Ice is the most popular but personally I think the plot there is rubbish. The Gardens of the Moon is the second favorite, the best finale is in the Deadhouse Gates tough.
My favorite elements from the series are:
characters of Karsa, Tehol (a bit ruined in Reaper's Gale), Bugg, Iskaral Pust, Kruppe, Kallor, Lady Envy, Tool and Toc, the two demon brothers, Icarium, Brys, Iron Bars, Baudin ...
excellent world-building like the Tlan Imass and the Bonecasters, Soletaken, the ascendants, the seguleh, Jhaguts and Toblakai, the magic systems, the Meckros, the Tiste Andiii, otataral, the Azath ...
there's a lot of mystery, I really glad that everything is not revealed to the reader
avoids most fantasy cliches
The bad parts:
the holes in the plot, character decisions that make no sense, timeline inconsistency, unbelievable and unexplained plot convergences
every character is a philosopher, annoying and unimportant characters getting most of the attention particularly in the last books, also such characters often stay alive (except Mhybe)
deus ex machinas
Looking forward to the Toblakai trilogy and to the book that happens on Assail
Erikson could do himself a huge favour by cutting back each book length about 300-500 pages and spend that extra time honing and zoning in on various weaknesses. They are all a difficult read, and the pages spared could produce a "sleeker" and finer tuned story. I am a fan of the writer (unparalleled imagination), but he's not exactly a master of page turning. I guess you have to accept his weaknesses with his strengths. I gave up on his stuff after Midnight Tides, it was just too much of a chore and the time spent reading his stuff, I could easily zip through 3 or 4 novels in the same time. Maybe not of the same caliber, but certainly less of a chore.
Kudos to Martin after receiving so much flak from fans about A Feast for Crows, and wanting to produce a book of the same fan feedback as the other three novels. Fans only have themselves to blame for the long wait. It's too bad Erikson can't follow the same rules due to a contract. There are certainly plenty of fine fantasy novelists out there to keep fantasy fans busy between books. I hope the longer time Erikson now has to produce a novel will improve his readability and not just let him write even longer novels(!).
One idea might be to sample his MALAZAN novellas. These are much smaller, much shorter and much less confusing, with a tighter focus on just three characters (Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, and their long-suffering manservant Emancipor Reese, who also cameo in Erikson's third novel). I believe Tor are publishing the first three - BLOOD FOLLOWS, THE HEALTHY DEAD and THE LEES OF LAUGHTER'S END - in omnibus in the next few months.
Freed of the constraints to tell fifty stories about a thousand characters simultaneously, the stronger aspects of Erikson's writing stand out a lot better.
Thanks, Werthead. I'll certainly check those novellas out.
I agree with most of the points already made, I have a very good memory and yet it taxes me greatly to try and remember what the hell Erikson is writting about when he brings back characters we haven't seen in 4-5 books.
For my money, the most enjoyable book was Reapers Gale..as the Mazlan bonehunters chew through the Letheri/tiste edur empire. And I am sorry, she is obvious comic relife but you gotta love Sgt Helian.
For the same reasons I guess I liked the Bonehunters as well, mainly to see Genoes Paran start to use the kick ass power he got in the first book.
Just finished Gardens of the Moon and really enjoyed it - now on to the next one... ;)
AJC
I'm almost done Deadhouse Gates and can't put it down! Fantastic series, best I have read in some time and that includes Game of Thrones.
Wow! I always check in on a thread when I see a discussion of Erikson's work and this is the first time I have ever read a review that matches my own opinions so completely. I'd think that you stole it whole and complete right out of my head, but I couldn't sum it up so neatly even in there, Werthead :D You've done an excellent job here.
Despite his flaws, Erikson has become my favorite fantasy author and one thing that people do seem to overlook, or maybe it's not true for them, is that he is able to bring a sense of loss into his stories. Not every time, no; but, I'd challenge anyone to point out a more moving moment in any fantasy series than Coltaine's end. Those kind of moments aren't common, but they do pop up in these books more often than in any other that comes to mind for me.
Anyway, it's nice to see a good discussion like this for a change. I'm new here, but things like this are making me love the Paizo forums.
Disclaimer: I read Gardens of the Moon and then didn't keep going.
So five stars for world building, two stars for plotting.
I pretty much agree with that.
Like probably everyone posting here, I certainly have an affection for gaming, but the plot of GotM really felt to me like someone's D&D game written up as a book, and a plot that might be fun as part of a game doesn't necessarily make a good novel.
Of course, I had basically the same complaint about the original Dragonlance trilogy and a lot of people loved it, so what do I know?
Keeping the gaming analogy going, I felt like I was supposed to care about the Bridgeburners basically "because they're the PCs" even though I didn't find them to be all that interesting of characters. In this, I feel like Glen Cook's obvious influence on Erikson is a bad thing -- granted, Cook's characters are often even less developed or more indistinguishable from each other than Erikson's, but somehow that worked for me in something like the Black Company books in a way that it didn't in Gardens of the Moon.
But, again, there's no accounting for taste.
I felt like I was supposed to care about the Bridgeburners basically "because they're the PCs" even though I didn't find them to be all that interesting of characters.
Im the opposite, I love the Bridgeburners (and the malazan military types in general) and found alot of them to be very interesting. Kalam Mekhar, Quick ben, Fiddler/Strings, etc. Other non-bridgeburners like Rake, Kruppe, Rallick Nom, Coltaine, Gessler, Kulp, Heboric, etc are just awesome.
The only character to date I dont care for but can still read through is Karsa Orlong. I just started book IV after taking a break for over a year or so to read other things.
Love the races too btw. The Tlan Imass, Tistii peoples , etc.
Btw, I could totally see Iskaral Pust played by mako if there ever is any kind of Malazan movie. :)
Btw, I could totally see Iskaral Pust played by mako if there ever is any kind of Malazan movie. :)
Sadly, the world has been Mako-less since '06.
Also, please tell me most of the characters you mentioned don't appear in the first book. (The only one I read, and I don't remember most of those names.)
Sad to hear about Mako.
Most of the characters ive mentioned were indeed from the first book (up to and including Kruppe)and player much bigger roles in books 2 and 3.
There are also many more new characters introduced in books 2 and 3 that are interesting, those just came to my head when I posted.
You really have to take an outside look and view the books as one huge super-epic story. Gardens of the Moon is like a prelude to the saga or the action scene just before the opening credits in a James Bond movie.
I can see where some new readers might be put off though, as alot of avid readers I know have to be grabbed immediately by a story or they put it down. This is where I think Erikson will always suffer from a critics view, critics mostly judge as a stand alone story rather than judging them as a whole. On the other hand I doubt any critic would read 10,000 pages before reviewing a story either.
I love Erikson's pacing regardless. Its wierd because im not a fan of high magic settings, but I love this series more than any other, including Martin's SoIAF.
Stonewielder, the new MALAZAN novel by Ian Esslemont
Thirty years ago the Malazan Empire launched a devastating invasion of the island continent of Korelri. With the north-western approaches denied by the ferocious sea-dwelling creatures known as the Stormriders, the Malazans swung wide to the east and invaded the island of Fist, at the furthest edge of the archipelago. There, under the command of Greymane, a grinding war of attrition was fought across decades to no end, for the islands of Korelri are protected by a goddess known as the Blessed Lady. Her very presence inhibits the operation of Warren magic, the cornerstone of Imperial tactics. Eventually Greymane abandoned his post and the war effort faltered.
Now things are changing. In the wake of a devastating civil war on Quon Tali, a new Emperor sits the throne of Malaz, and he has determined that the time has come to take Korelri once and for all, despite the power of the goddess. A new invasion force is assembled, its task formidable but its soldiers keen. As war erupts once more, the stoic soldiers of the Stormwall keep to their task, holding the alien Riders back from their shores. Amongst them is a new champion, a warrior beyond compare, a soldier who cannot die...but his comrades are coming for him.
Stonewielder is the third novel by Ian Cameron Esslemont, the co-creator (along with Steve Erikson) of the world of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Stonewielder takes place on that world, slotting into the timeline a few months after the events of Return of the Crimson Guard, roughly around the same time as Toll the Hounds. Familiarity with the Malazan novels is a major asset in reading this book, but only really Return of the Crimson Guard is needed to fully understand what is going on: several character and storylines begun in Return continue directly here. I also strongly recommend reading this novel before tackling Erikson's The Crippled God in a few months, as the ending of Stonewielder appears to be a direct set-up for that novel.
The island-continent/subcontinent (as we learn in the book, different governments and geographers argue as much as fans do about which it is) of Korel/Korelri/Fist (and we get another explanation why the place has so many names as well) has been discussed in hushed terms ever since Gardens of the Moon was published more than a decade ago, but curiously Korelri natives have been thin on the ground in the published novels and every character seems to have heard something different about what was going on there. Stonewielder clears all of this up, exposing secrets the Malazan Empire has been keeping about the place and the original invasion for some time. The first surprise is how small the place is: based on the map at the front of the book, it appears to be less than half the size of Quon Tali, itself a small landmass. Why hasn't the Malazan Empire outflanked and conquered it? As the book continues we learn why, and the frustrations of the Malazan high command become easier to understand.
Esslemont continues to develop and grow as a writer although, pleasingly, not in terms of word-count. Stonewielder is actually shorter than Return of the Crimson Guard and, whilst you'd never call a 620-pages-in-hardcover novel 'short', it's the shortest novel in the entire combined series bar only Night of Knives. At the same time it's as epic and vast as any of Erikson's novels, packing in a huge amount of story, major events and characters and still finding time for moments of comedy (Manask may now be my favourite Malazan comic character) and high tragedy. There's even some amusing metacommentary about fan discussions about the series: at one point two Malazan soldiers get into a discussion not about high philosophy, but about if the Malazans could beat the Seguleh in a stand-up fight, a discussion that feels like it's come right off the Malazanempire discussion boards.
Esslemont's characterisation is strong, stronger than his previous books, with characters like Suth (our resident new 'ordinary soldier' POV) set-up and well-motivated economically and skillfully, whilst Hiam, commander of the Stormwall, is an interesting character whose arc is full of pathos. Kyle, the callow youth soldier POV from Return of the Crimson Guard, has matured into a more interesting protagonist as well, whilst the Crimson Guard are more fully-rounded individuals this time, with better-established motivations. The action is also well-depicted, with both major land battles and naval engagements (featuring the occasionally-mentioned Moranth Blue doing some impressive things against the storied armada of Mare) showing that the Malazan Empire is still capable of kicking ass, even after its recent catastrophes.
On the weaker side of things, there is a lengthy subplot involving Kiska and a sojourn into the Warren of Shadow which is basically just set-up for future events (both in Esslemont's novels and possibly in The Crippled God and Erikson's planned Toblakai Trilogy as well). This section is well-written and features and the unexpected return of a fan-favourite character, but it lacks a defining climax.
Still, Stonewielder (****½) is both a gripping, bloat-free military fantasy which further illuminates and explores this intriguing world, and one of the strongest books in the series since the mighty Memories of Ice. The novel is available now in the UK and will be published in May 2011 in the USA.
that's great news Wert
The Malazan Book of the Fallen #10: The Crippled God
A hundred and fifty thousand years ago an innocent god was pulled out of his home realm and scattered across the world. His spirit was chained to prevent him from destroying the world in his insane rage. Since then, the world has known misery and fear as, every few millennia, the Crippled God has tried to escape his prison.
The former 14th Army of the Malazan Empire, the Bonehunters, now marches to resolve the problem once and for all. But for Adjunct Tavore and her battered troops, who have already crossed a world and toppled an empire, this will be their greatest challenge. The heart of the Crippled God has been imprisoned by the formidable Forkrul Assail, the most lethal of the Elder Races, who are tapping its energies so they may pass judgement and destroy humanity once and for all. The Elder Gods are playing their own game, one that will either result in the destruction of everything or merely the annihilation of the warrens of sorcery. And amongst the Bonehunter's most stalwart allies, treachery and doubt is growing.
In a remote corner of a forgotten continent, the fate of the Crippled God and the entire world will be decided. Unthinkable alliances will be forged, ancient secrets will be unveiled and many will die before the end is reached and the Bonehunters fight the final battle of their desperate campaign.
The Crippled God is the final novel in The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Steven Erikson's monumental epic fantasy series that began twelve years, three and a half million words and 11,300 pages (roughly, in paperback) ago with Gardens of the Moon. In that time Erikson has reached the heights of writing two of the very finest fantasy novels of the last decade (Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice), but there has been some growing scepticism over later novels in the series, which have tended to open up more confusing storylines then closing down or clarifying old ones.
The Crippled God has been billed as the second half of Dust of Dreams, the previous novel, with Dreams described as all set-up and Crippled as all-resolution. That's something of an exaggeration: Erikson spends the first three hundred pages or so setting things up and clearing his throat rather than cutting to the chase, but at the same time that's less than some of the other books. We still get lengthy philosophical discussions between lowly grunts which are rather unconvincing, but frankly the people for whom that's a major problem will have dropped the series long ago. Fortunately Erikson is somewhat less obtuse in this novel than in any previous ones. On occasion he even resorts to - gasp! - actually telling us what the hell is going on. This new, more reader-friendly Erikson who respects traditional narrative techniques a bit more than previously takes a little getting used to, it has to be said.
The Crippled God is also the book that stands alone the least well out of the series, understandable as it picks up after a huge cliffhanger ending. Erikson seems to enjoy the fact that he doesn't need to do (by his standards) as much set-up as normal and throws in everything including the kitchen sink and the kitchen itself into the mix. Previews and author interviews suggested that quite a few storylines and character arcs from previous novels would not be addressed here, which is mostly focused on the Crippled God, Otataral Dragon, Jade Statue and Bonehunter arcs, so it's a surprise that as many characters and events from previous novels (including some of Esslemont's) show up as they do, and most of the few who don't are at least mentioned.
There's also a growing circularity to events. A reread of Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates before reading this one might be valuable, given the number of characters and events from the start of the series that are brought back into play here at the end (though events from quite a few other books, most notably The Bonehunters, are also heavily referenced). This appears to be Erikson's way of showing the readers that the Malazan series wasn't as incoherent and chaotic as it has often appeared, but there was a masterplan all along. He mostly pulls this off very well, with some storylines and characters which initially appeared very random now being revealed to be integral to the series.
Erikson's biggest success in The Crippled God is with avoiding the nihilism that has occasionally crept into previous books by emphasising the overriding theme of the Malazan series, which has always been compassion. Heroism and self-sacrifice, amongst common soldiers and gods alike, abounds in this book. Erikson pushes forward the message that true heroism is reached when it is performed unwitnessed (which recalls a line from Babylon 5: "Here, in the dark, where no-one will ever know.") with no singers or writers to celebrate it later. There is tragedy here, as each victory only comes at a tremendous cost, but less so than in earlier volumes. With everything on the table - the warrens, the gods, the world, humanity and ever other sentient being on the planet - the Bonehunters and their allies simply cannot afford to fail, even if it means crossing a desert of burning glass, facing down betrayal or forging alliances with old enemies, and Erikson has the reader rooting for them every step of the way.
His prose skills are as strong as ever, and in fact are strengthened by not having as much time to pontificate. There's a clarity to Erikson's writing here which is refreshing. There's still some knowing glaces, enigmatic pronouncements and other techniques apparently designed solely to drive fansites nuts for the next few years, but less than in prior books. Erikson's battle mojo is also back in full swing, with the engagements described with an appropriate amount of chaos and desperation.
Character-wise, Erikson is back to being a mixed bag. Some of the soldiers are ciphers but others come through very strongly (Silchas Ruin's motives and actions are a hell of a lot more comprehensible now). The Shake in particular are much-improved here. Ublala Pung serves as great comic relief, and, whilst they don't appear as such, the presence of both Tehol and Kruppe are felt, lending much-needed moments of sunshine amidst the darkness. Erikson's choice of which characters to build up in depth and which to skim over during the preceding nine books makes a lot more sense here as well, as it's some of the best-realised and most intriguing that bite the dust here. Characters die, and, mostly, it hurts when they go. If one in particular doesn't trigger at least a lower-lip tremble amongst most readers, I'd be shocked.
There are weaknesses. After all the set-up, the actual grand finale is appropriately epic (eclipsing even the gonzoid-insane conclusion to Dust of Dreams) and Erikson chainguns down a surprising number of still-unresolved storylines, more than I think most were expecting. At the same time a number of other side-stories are still not fully resolved (though most of these have already been earmarked down for Esslemont's novels and Erikson's future trilogies). Depending on the reader, this will be either okay or infuriating. More problematic is that we go from the grand convergence to end all grand convergences though the multiple epilogues to the final page in a very short space of time: there is little time spent on the aftermath and a few more mundane questions about what happened to certain characters are left unanswered. There is also the problem that, at two key points in the narrative, Erikson reaches outside the scope of The Crippled God to basically tap other characters from several books to do something vitally important to the resolution. It's not deus ex machina - it's all been set up quite well, in one case from nine books back - but it does feel a bit odd that everything comes down to relying on a character who is only in the novel for two pages.
There's also a fair amount of scene-setting for Esslemont's next few books (particularly the next one due later this year, set in Darujhistan after the events described in The Crippled God) which is a little incongruous, though it does feel good to know that the world and the saga will continue. Erikson resolves enough that a primary fear - that this is merely Book 10 in a 22-book series rather than a grand finale - is averted, but not enough so that there won't be some grumbling.
Particularly well-handled are the final events in the book. Some may accuse Erikson of sentimentality here - though he's never been as dark and nihilistic as say Bakker - as he gives a few characters some happy endings and closes the vast circle that began so long ago, but it is a fitting and affecting ending.
The Crippled God (****½) marks the end of this crazy, awesome, infuriating, awe-inspiring, frustrating series, but fortunately not the end of this crazy, awesome, infuriating, awe-inspiring but frustrating author's career. The Malazan Book of the Fallen bows out in fine style. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.
I'm about 200 pages into "Gardens of the Moon" and I'm still not that too into it. So far, it seems like the Bridgeburners are supposed to be a cool bunch of badasses like the A-Team, but they all seem to have the same personality, all seem to be scared of their vicious little serial killer girl, and all seem to have done nothing about her/it. Then they aren't on page for 100 pages, we learn all about these Phoenix Inn patrons, and they seem cool, and then they just disappear.
My friends tell me it was gonna have a difficult beginning, but the end was worth it, but I'm still waiting. Different friends told me the same thing about "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but I actually liked the beginning of TGWTDT.
I guess I like reading about characters I like, or at least find entertaining. The last books I read before this were Joe Abercrombie's trilogy (and he was able to make the torturer a sympathetic character) and "Side Jobs" by Jim Butcher, featuring Harry Dresden, one of the most engaging narrators I've ever read.
Hopefully, there will soon be some characterization on GotM I can get behind.
I love this series.
That said, I couldnt finish Night of Knives by ICE after getting 3/4 through it.
I think Erikson spoiled me with his writing that now I cant read another writer's take on the Malazan series. It felt like an first book for Esslemont, if it was, kudos.
Smilo - characterization is there, some more than others and some will feel the same as they are essentially all in the same military unit, as far as Bridgeburners go. Aside from that (without spoiling anything), there are a handful of characters that Erikson goes more in depth with. Also some of these characters get fleshed out alot more in future volumes. You have to look at it from an EPIC series perspective rather than a one shot or trilogy angle.
From the first book, my favorites were Sorry, Kruppe, Tattersail, Tool, Quick Ben, and Rallick Nom (and Rallick doesnt even get much spotlight in this book, I heard he comes back later though). Kalam and Fiddler get bigger roles later in books 2 and 3 and a crap ton of new characters get introduced. Book 3 is flat out awesome btw. :)
Im currently about to start the Bonehunters soon (book 5?). I love the series. I may try and reread ICE's Night of Knives though... dunno.
Huge huge fan of these books myself. Dude's an amazing stylist, and there's just so much intelligence packed into every nook and cranny.
Yes, I *frequently* don't know what the hell is going on, and who all these people are, etc., and I'm quite sure there are probably all sort of things like Deus Ex Machina going on - i.e., narrative no-nos - but I don't fret, because I'm not reading for plot in the same way that I am with, say, GRRM - or even w/China Mieville, who's a more experimental stylist than GRRM, but whose works still hew pretty closely to all the classic narrative conventions.
Whereas to me reading Malazan is more like reading poetry, or Ulysses by James Joyce or something. There IS plot there, a lot of it, but it's riffed on, treated phantasmagorically, dispersed to the four winds and then recombined, etc etc etc.
And given that there are so so so so many plot/plod fantasy books out there, mindnumbingly repetitive, I for one am thrilled anyone's willing to go apeshit crazy with the form.
In other words, thanks for starting this thread!
Don't mess with Genoes Paran..
just saying
When people say the start is a little rough, they mean the entirety of GARDENS OF THE MOON, to the point where some people hate it, try DEADHOUSE GATES (the second book, set on a different continent with a new cast) instead and love it.
I really like GotM, far moreso than most. It's a crazy high-level D&D campaign where the DM has drunk way too much before playing but still just about keeps it together. It doesn't make much sense but the ride is worth it :-)
As for Esslemont, NIGHT OF KNIVES was the very first MALAZAN novel ever written, back around 1987-88, before GARDENS OF THE MOON was written in 1991 (Erikson then got a deal and started writing DEADHOUSE GATES - after losing his original sequel, the first version of MEMORIES OF ICE - in a hard drive crash, in 1998). So it's pretty rough going, and I don't think ICE did a lot to it when he published it in 2004. His second book is a lot better and the third a vast improvement over that.
When people say the start is a little rough, they mean the entirety of GARDENS OF THE MOON, to the point where some people hate it, try DEADHOUSE GATES (the second book, set on a different continent with a new cast) instead and love it.
I really like GotM, far moreso than most. It's a crazy high-level D&D campaign where the DM has drunk way too much before playing but still just about keeps it together. It doesn't make much sense but the ride is worth it :-)
As for Esslemont, NIGHT OF KNIVES was the very first MALAZAN novel ever written, back around 1987-88, before GARDENS OF THE MOON was written in 1991 (Erikson then got a deal and started writing DEADHOUSE GATES - after losing his original sequel, the first version of MEMORIES OF ICE - in a hard drive crash, in 1998). So it's pretty rough going, and I don't think ICE did a lot to it when he published it in 2004. His second book is a lot better and the third a vast improvement over that.
Night of knives does read somewhat amateurish, but The Crimson Guard is top notch, so can't say Esslemont has no skill. I have read a lot of fantasy, so I didn't find Gardens of the Moon too hard to get through, no worse than trying to suffer through Goodkinds political diatribes for the 100th time in his later books. In fact, some parts of Gardens of the moon are pure brilliance, i.e. Hedge and the deck of Dragons, Kruppe's dreams, the assasin war in Darujistan..
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Night of knives does read somewhat amateurish, but The Crimson Guard is top notch, so can't say Esslemont has no skill. I have read a lot of fantasy, so I didn't find Gardens of the Moon too hard to get through, no worse than trying to suffer through Goodkinds political diatribes for the 100th time in his later books. In fact, some parts of Gardens of the moon are pure brilliance, i.e. Hedge and the deck of Dragons, Kruppe's dreams, the assasin war in Darujistan..When people say the start is a little rough, they mean the entirety of GARDENS OF THE MOON, to the point where some people hate it, try DEADHOUSE GATES (the second book, set on a different continent with a new cast) instead and love it.
I really like GotM, far moreso than most. It's a crazy high-level D&D campaign where the DM has drunk way too much before playing but still just about keeps it together. It doesn't make much sense but the ride is worth it :-)
As for Esslemont, NIGHT OF KNIVES was the very first MALAZAN novel ever written, back around 1987-88, before GARDENS OF THE MOON was written in 1991 (Erikson then got a deal and started writing DEADHOUSE GATES - after losing his original sequel, the first version of MEMORIES OF ICE - in a hard drive crash, in 1998). So it's pretty rough going, and I don't think ICE did a lot to it when he published it in 2004. His second book is a lot better and the third a vast improvement over that.
Just wanted to echo your Goodkind comment and say, Gardens was tough to get into the first time, but I have reread the whole series each time a new book comes out (it takes me a lazy sunday or so to read a book) and each time I find something new to appreciate in the early books - especially in Gardens.
Liked the first one, second was "eh" and the third just lost me. I recommend only the first book to friends.
I always hated fantasy literature, because it was all the "young hero learns of his great destiny" stuff, until GotM came along.
Got redommended by a friend and I loved it from the beginning! DHG and MoI got even better, although Gardens is still my favourite.
Erikson steps away from almost all the classic fantasy tropes: no orcs, no elves and THANKFULLY no halflings and no dwarves!
The Malazan world itself makes sense to me, because it has a "real history", unlike other fantasy worlds with millenia of stagnation. Erikson gives his world a primeval history with hunter gatherer tribes and lizard societies and not some divinely created, fully formed and civilised societies of noble elves.
The series gets a little boring in the middle, or complicated for the complete change in scenery. I may be one of the few people who hates Karsa Orlong...
But then last 4 bools are great again!
As for Esslemont, I liked KoK, but Crimson Guard was... boring, not well written, characters killed in the off, all the interseting stuff handled in one sentence and boring discussions stretched over pages.
But, who can argue taste.
I never got the hang of the fabled GRR Martin. Simply put: I hate Song of Ice and Fire. That must've been the most dreary, boring, uninspired thing I ever read short of the Hobbit. I only read half the book and I even gave it a second chance, but never finished. Tad Williams does a way better job in Shadowmarch, imo.
I hate Karsa Orlong too :)
Based on what people say about ASOIAF book 4, I'm afraid to even restart the series. A Game of Thrones was one of the best books I've read in the genre.
The 'no elves' thing gets overstated a lot. The Tiste races are pretty obviously at least inspired by D&D elves, even down to the three subraces based on light, dark and grey, with the 'light' ones being arrogant tossers (though the dark Tise, the Andii, are portrayed as the good guys rather than evil, though they've done some dubious things).
... and the Jaghut are Orcs and the T'lan are Dwarves?
I don't think so...
... and the Jaghut are Orcs and the T'lan are Dwarves?
I don't think so...
The T'lan Imass are undead Neanderthals. Which in itself is no more original than using one of the standard fantasy races like orcs or whatever.
A new map showing southern Genabackis, from Ian Cameron Esslemont's new MALAZAN novel, ORB SCEPTRE THRONE, due out next month.
Steven Erikson's FORGE OF DARKNESS, the first book in the KHARKANAS TRILOGY, is out in August 2012, from the sound of it. Erikson has completed his first draft, although his plan to write a shorter novel than his core MALAZAN books has backfired a bit. Though shorter than most of the main series, FORGE OF DARKNESS is still longer than DEADHOUSE GATES and MIDNIGHT TIDES (which are about 700 pages in hardcover and 900 pages in paperback).
For a change it has a shorter list of the dramatis personae
Interesting to see the Seguleh, but and no Karsa and Mok :(
I had trouble getting through ICE's Night of Knives for some reason. He's definately no Erikson as far as writing goes, which has kind of caused me to stall in the series (up to Bonehunters atm). I might give it another try soon or just go into Bonehunters and skip ICE's books but i'm not sure the completist in me will allow that to happen.
Late Edit*
Just noticed I posted a similar post previously in this thread (March 2011). I need to get back into this series soon. :)
I enjoyed the first three books of the series but haven't cared for House of Chains (about 100 pages in). It's a complete shift in focus and story theme and I haven't adapted to it yet. Least of the first four in the series for me so far.
Forcing myself to work through the three novella collection, Boucehlain and Korbal Broach. Just finished the second story. The series would not be missing anything without these tales.
Once I got used to Ian Esselmont's writing style (his word usage is quite different from Erikson's), I found Night of Knives to be an excellent story. Looking forward to reading the rest of his books.
I picked up Gardens of the Moon on my Nook a little more than a month ago and really enjoyed it. Snagged Deadhouse Gates 2 or 3 weeks ago and while it's still good, I don't like it as much. Though Iskaral Pust is immensely entertaining.
S'been worth it so far though. I liked the first book so much I got for a friend for Christmas this year.
according to wikipedia:
It is difficult to work out a precise timeline for events in the series (due to some confusion with dates), but a rough chronological ordering is possible. The dates given are by Burn's Sleep, the calendar used in the Malazan Empire.
Night of Knives (1154)
Blood Follows (c. 1154)
The Lees of Laughter's End (c. 1154)
The Healthy Dead (c. 1158)
Midnight Tides (unknown but from internal evidence it occurs sometime during Gardens of the Moon and possibly up to ten years prior)
Gardens of the Moon (1163)
Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice (1163–64, these two novels occur simultaneously)
House of Chains
The Bonehunters (1164–65)
Return of the Crimson Guard (c. 1165, just after The Bonehunters)
Reaper's Gale (c. 1165 or 1166)
Toll the Hounds and Dust of Dreams (takes place simultaneously)
Stonewielder (estimated to start roughly half way through dust of dreams maybe a little later)
The Crippled God
which brings me to my question: is the recommended reading order according to "burn's sleep" chronology or real-world release order?
<br>(i won't be starting the series until it's finished, regardless.)
Real-word release order, the chronology is not that important tough and the series is finished
Night of Knives (this one's my least favorite, skippable)
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
The Bonehunters
Reaper's Gale or Return of the Crimson Guard, doesn't matter
Toll the Hounds
Dust of Dreams
The Crippled God
Stonewielder, unrelated to the story in TCG
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THE MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN itself, the 10-volume sequence by Steven Erikson, is complete, and should be read in publication order:
1: Gardens of the Moon
2: Deadhouse Gates
3: Memories of Ice
4: House of Chains
5: Midnight Tides
6: The Bonehunters
7: Reaper's Gale
8: Toll the Hounds
9: Dust of Dreams
10: The Crippled God
The NOVELS OF THE MALAZAN EMPIRE sequence by Ian Cameron Esslemont takes place simultaneously with and slightly after the MBF series and illuminates some elements in it. There is some cross-pollination, but broadly speaking you can read the MBF itself without worrying about them. The NME series is as follows:
1: Night of Knives
2: Return of the Crimson Guard
3: Stonewielder
4: Orb, Sceptre, Throne
5: City in the Jungle (due 2013)
6: Assail (due 2014)
Erikson is writing a prequel trilogy which starts this year with FORGE OF DARKNESS, but this will illuminate background info for the main MBF series and is not essential reading. He also plans a sequel trilogy to the MBF series for several years down the line.
Orb Sceptre Throne by Ian Cameron Esslemont
With the Pannion Seer defeated, the Jaghut Tyrant Raest imprisoned and peace declared with the Malazans, the beleaguered citizens of Darujhistan are finally hoping for a time of peace and prosperity. Of course, this is the perfect time for an ancient force of unspeakable evil to escape from the barrows outside the city and unleash a new age of chaos and war across most of Genabackis. This war will draw in the Moranth and the Seguleh, the Rhivi and the remnants of the Malazan armies still stationed on the continent. Far to the south, treasure hunters are looting the crashed ruins of Moon's Spawn, searching for the storied Throne of Night, whilst in another realm hunters are searching for the missing High Mage Tayschrenn at the very Shores of Creation. But the fate of Darujhistan, Genabackis and maybe the world will rest in the hands of one fat thief and a bunch of Malazan deserters who want nothing more than to run their pub in peace.
Orb Sceptre Throne is Ian Cameron Esslemont's fourth entry into the Malazan world, expanding on the novels written by his friend and collaborator Steven Erikson. It's an interesting book in that, unlike Esslemont's previous novels which largely focused on new characters, this novel extensively features characters Erikson has used and developed in several previous books, most notably the curiously-dictioned Kruppe. This poses challenges for Esslemont, but thankfully he overcomes them with aplomb. Kruppe occasionally feels a bit off, but most of the other shared characters (Caladan Brood, Duiker, the ex-Bridgeburners, Torvald and Rallick Nom and more) come across very well.
The narrative is, as is typical with Malazan, somewhat disjointed, with several apparently unconnected storylines unfolding before converging at the end. This disconnect seems more pronounced than is normal for Esslemont and is briefly worrying, since he has far less page-time to play around with than Erikson (despite being almost exactly 600 pages long in hardcover, this is the one of the shortest books in the series). However, as the storylines move together and things start making sense, the book picks up a tremendous momentum. The second half of the novel is stuffed full of battles, plot revelations and character moments that are satisfyingly epic. By using elements familiar to readers from other books, Esslemont is able to imbue events with more meaning than would otherwise be the case. When four hundred Seguleh (the sword-wielding taciturn badasses of the Malazan world) show up, the reader knows that some serious carnage is about to go down, for example.
For this reason, Orb Sceptre Throne works much better for established Malazan fans than newcomers, particularly those who have already read Gardens of the Moon, Memories of Ice and Toll the Hounds. A number of plot elements stretching all the way back to Gardens of the Moon are expanded upon and backstory is (finally!) given for the Seguleh, the Moranth and indeed Genabackis as a whole. It's also nice to see some established characters given more depth and bigger roles than previously, such as Antsy, who becomes a major player in events at the crashed Moon's Spawn.
On the negative side, there's a number of story elements that are somewhat obtuse, either referring to storylines still to be detailed or referring very obliquely to events in other novels. Some characters fare better than others, and notably after the initial ferocious power and abilities shown by the antagonists, they seem to be caught a bit flat-footed by the forces arrayed against them at the end of the book. Also, it's confusing why Esslemont alludes to the fact that a fan-favourite character is still in the environs of Darujhistan when that character plays no role in the book (despite events being more than epic enough to attract his attention).
Despite these minor niggles, Orb Sceptre Throne (****½) is a well-written, thoroughly enjoyable addition to the Malazan canon. It is available now in the UK and on 22 May in the USA.
Wait- there's MORE?!
I'll have to go get the Esslemont books!
I loved the whole Erikson series, DeM and all.
Of course, I can plow through one of his novels in about three hours, if I'm not doing anything else, so I don't have the problem of keeping track of stuff... it's a gift, I was apparently born with a book in my hands. While I have kept in practice, I can't really take any credit for it. I just read fast.
Which makes keeping in fiction a b*tch; hence my earlier 'HURRAH!'
The Kharkanas Trilogy Book 1: Forge of Darkness
It is more than a quarter of a million years before the time of the Malazan Empire. In this ancient age, the Tiste race is divided between noble families and bickering militias, trying to find their place in the world following the devastating wars against the Forulkan and the Jheleck. When the Tiste ruler, Mother Dark, takes the obscure Draconus as lover and consort, the noble houses are incensed and the seeds are sowed for civil war and religious conflict.
Forge of Darkness is the first novel in The Kharkanas Trilogy, a prequel series to Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. This trilogy will chart the splintering of the Tiste race into the three sub-races seen in the main series book (the Andii, the Liosan and the Edur) and explain much of the ancient backstory to the series. Some characters from the main series - such as Anomander Rake, Silchas Ruin, Hood and Gothos - appear here as much younger, far less experienced figures. However, those hoping for I, Anomander Rake will likely feel disappointed. Rake is a central character in the events unfolding and appears a few times, but much of the action takes place around new, much less important characters. Also, while the story is set more than 300,000 years before Gardens of the Moon, this isn't the alpha-point of the entire Malazan universe. Tiste society is many thousands of years old when the story opens and Rake, Mother Dark, Ruin and Draconus are already important characters with significant histories in place.
Instead, the trilogy is much more concerned with clarification of events in the main series books and explaining why certain things are the way they are. Surprisingly, the series addresses questions that I think most fans thought would simply be left as, "That's how it is," such as the nature of the gods in the Malazan world (and the apparent realisation by Erikson that 'gods' was not the right word to use for them), why the different Tiste races have different appearances and why the Jaghut evolved the way they did. Some long-burning questions are indeed addressed, such as the reasons for and the nature of Hood's war on death, but for the most part Erikson is not really concerned with really addressing obvious mysteries (those left wondering what the hell the Azath Houses are will likely not be satisfied by this book, in which even the race they are named after is baffled by them).
Instead, the narrative unfolds on its own terms. As usual, Erikson has a large cast of POV characters including nobles, soldiers, priests and mages, many of them with slightly cumbersome names. However, Erikson strives to differentiate his characters more from one another then in previous novels. Forge of Darkness enjoys a shorter page-length than most of his prior books (clocking in at a third less the size of most of the Malazan novels) and is far more focused. The plot is a slow-burner, divided into several relatively straightforward narratives. This is Erikson at his most approachable, easing the reader into the situation and story rather than dropping them in the middle of chaos and expecting them to get on with it (such as in the first novel in the main series, Gardens of the Moon).
Of course, Erikson isn't going to give the reader an easy ride. Minor peasants continue to agonisingly philosophise over the nature of existence with surprisingly developed vocabularies at the drop of a hat. There are too many moments when characters look knowingly at one another and speak around subjects so as not to spoil major revelations for the reader, regardless of how plausible this is. There is an awful lot of hand-wringing rather than getting on with business. But there's also a few shocking reversals, some tragic moments of genuine emotional power and some revelations that will have long-standing Malazan fans stroking their chins and going, "Ah-ha!"
Forge of Darkness (****) is Erikson's attempt to channel the in-depth thematic approach of Toll the Hounds but weld it to a more dynamic (by his terms) plot-driven narrative whilst also satisfying the fans' thirst for more information and revelations about his world and characters. It's a juggling act he pulls off with impressive skill, with some polished prose and haunting moments. But those who continue to find his reliance on philosophical asides and long-winded conversations tiresome will likely not be convinced by this book. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.