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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Malazan book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson

21:43 / 06.10.05

if you like fantasy (hate that label, but so it goes), and are looking for something serious to sink you teeth into, this is the stuff.

I'm reading them out of order.

Got House of Chains and Midnight Tides under my belt, and am currently about halfway through Gardens of the Moon.

I find this world particularly fascinating, as there appear to be no absolutes ruling the events, and the lines between ascended mortals and gods is vague.

Lots of shades of grey (appropriate with the House of Shadow sprung upon the lands), without the frequent black and white moralising. The empire isn't Evil like Sauron's was Evil.

Of particular interest, in Midnight Tides Erikson introduces the Letherii, with which he criticises the United States (some aspects of it). It's a scathing treatment.

The Letherii are suspicious of complex arguements, quick to flex their superior muscle, follow their destiny, and annihilate anyone who opposes them - in terms of entire peoples.

As such, genocide is commonplace, and as the history of his world unfolds, it appears it was founded on genocide.

Thank goodness for the comic relief between Tehol & Bugg in this dark story...

love the darkness he evokes. The world is so diverse, including the relationships between people, the non-human races, magic, warrens, elder races, ascended, gods, dragon decks and archetypes.

anyone?

ta
tenix

23:06 / 06.10.05

I read the first book, and was unimpressed. Not as unimpressed as I was with some of the other fantasy blockbusters that have been pushed on me in the past few years (I'm looking at you here Stone of Tears...uggh.) but nevertheless, it felt limp, disconnected and, well, it didn't have an ending. I have nothing against the trilogy or series per se, but it pisses me off when I buy a "book" that is in reality an act; the uninspired sprawl that has become typical in fantasy.

I dunno...am I being too harsh? Is it worth my time to push on to the others, or is it the case if I was lukewarm on number one, I should leave off there?

08:10 / 07.10.05

true enough.

the novels have a distinct feeling of incompleteness, despite the closing of several story arcs and historical cycles.

that's what i found so intriguing about it. there wasn't a spoon-feeding of details or history, no heavy-handed exposition a la "as you and I both know..."

It's up to the reader to put the facts together. There's a rich story between the books as much as within them.

The writing style is functional, skeletal, perfunctory description, but some of his darker imagery, particularly in Midnight Tides has improved greatly over the first book. His description has become more poetic, and more evocative.

but still, there's lots of unresolved story lines. He never seems to run out of ideas, only time to encapsulate them. It makes the world that much larger.

Mind you, I place a lot of faith in his continuity, and so far, he hasn't let me down.

I think he's an obsessive imaginerian.

ta
tenix

21:28 / 03.11.05

my goodness...

reading "Memories of Ice" the third in the series - and holy cats this series gets intense.

Seriously, if you are a fan of the "fantasy" genre, this is some of the best stuff ever, unless you feel the need to understand every storyline in one reading.. then you're in trouble.

the world made of races, gods, histories as complex as ours, with distinct archetypes that are as true to the fictitious world as ours are here.

Who else could create an ascendant like Anomander Rake wielding Dragnipur, a sword who's blade absorbs all light, the shadows of chains floating around it? Anything slain, is ensnared in the chains, and dragged into the sword itself, shackled for eternity to "the wheel" within?

(maybe Michael Moorcock)

If you pick up "Gardens of the Moon," and don't find Kruppe a most itriguing character, then this isn't for you. If you want to give your imaginative faculties a workout, pick it up.

New races (no elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins): The Tiste Andii, Toblakai (15' warriors with redundant organs and immunity to magic), Soletaken & D'ivers (shapechangers), Jaghut, Tlan Imass, dragons and armies upon armies marching towards genocide.

again and again, this world's history is the history of empires manipulated by the gods to the extinction of entire peoples.

There is great humour to temper the great darkness (again Kruppe, described as "a man of false modesty" who speaks of himself in the third person, and seems to be keeping something from everyone, with his knowing, self-satisfied smile).

Iskaral Pust, the high priest of shadow, who speaks every thought aloud, including his plots, secrets and intrigues in the presence of others.

then of course, there's Tehol and Bugg (from "Midnight Tides")

do yourself a favour and give it a try.

unless you prefer the works of Piers Anthony... then never mind.

ta
tenix

02:33 / 04.11.05

Hey, tenix, you are not alone in your appreciation of Erikson. Loved the first 3 books, and just finished House of Chains.
While Erikson's writing style sits a bit awkwardly for my taste, i am awestruck by his imagination and attention to detail. Definitely onboard for the duration.
A while ago i burnt out on fantasy, mainly cause of The Wheel of Time, but The Malazan books have gotten me back into reading fantasy. The way he has developed his themes and cast of characters, meshing the points of view of his wildly diverse creations, from the grunts in the Malazan and Genabackis Armies, their leaders and the vastly powerful Ascendants and blended all together in a enormously satisfying way, its really gobsmacking.
But, (theres always one

TOO many characters, and to me its often difficult to keep them straight, as he doesnt narrate a description, but prefers to let the characters actions and dialogue describe themselves. It nifty and with the central characters like Capt. Paran, Anomander Rake, Whiskeyjack, Quick Ben and ( my fave) the girl assassin Apsalar, it works great. But man his stuff is dense, cool but dense

04:14 / 05.11.05

hachiman,

it's all too true...

although, wrt the one TOO many characters-

I agree, that it's rich and complex, lots of characters from the grunts like Stolly and Trotts to those verging on ascendency, Coltaine, to the truly ascended, Shadothrone, to the divine, like the Crippled God...

having read lots and lots of postmodern texts way back when cured me of the notion that I was going to understand what was going on (Ulyssees helped alot- same with Gravity's Rainbow).

Once he's made his round of subplots and comes around to characters we haven't read in a while, there's always a couple of pages worth of refamiliarising myself with them.

plus everybody has at least two names... and titles... and nicknames... aliases... and so on...

It's part of the reason I like it. I get lost in the vastness of the world. I don't expect to know all of what's going on- this is the beauty of talking it over with others.

For example: just reading Memories of Ice and one of the characters (Barghast clan leader I think) speaks of the Tiste Edur - legendary race of shadow people. Believed extinct, which is better, if the horrifying tales of them hold any truth... vast pine forests full of wraiths that destroy all intruders.

just a passing line. the only one in the first 3 books, and yet he dedicates the entire fifth book, Midnight Tides to them.

I'm beginning to wonder what his story arc is for the Malazan series. It feels like it's the conflict brought about by the Crippled God's summoning-

so his stories tend to follow the story arcs of the divine and ascendants, with less attention paid to the completion of story arcs to do with lesser characters (although, "lesser" is misleading, as any Kruppe will tell you).

True that Erikson's style isn't flowery, however, he improves with each book, and in Midnight Tides he describes a very dark story with eloquent tirades (mostly aimed at his equivalent of the AMerican empire, appropriately named "Letherii").

I'm looking forward to the next instalment due out in February.

ps the Pannion Seer and his empire (there are almost as many empires as protagonists in these series) are some of the darkest, nastiest, scary evocations I've read in a while, and I was weaned on horror.

ta
tenix

21:15 / 10.11.05

SPOILER FOLLOWS (If that's even possible with such a sprawling story)...

alright, here's the premise:

the world is full of magic, gods, swords, empires and strife.

the events of this particular series were catalysed by the summoning of an alien god ot the world. The summoning destroyed the mages who had crafted it, and the alien god fell to the earth, breaking his body, and setting the world aflame.

the gods of the world assembled, and bound the "broken/wounded/crippled god" as he had become known, in chains, to prevent his fury from destroying all of the world.

this chained god now plots to overthrow the existing deities, those represented in the DECK Of DRAGONS (like tarot, only with specific entities representing each card).

The house of chains, which this new god is creating, aligns itself against the house of life, death, dark, light and shadow.

One theory a friend of mine posited is that the chained god is in fact the author - and that the characters summoned him to the world (ie made his imagination aware of its existence).

he now manipulates the characters within to his own design, which doesn't always work out, as it appears (particularly in House of Chains where the Chained God tries to recruit a Knight for the house of chains - the Knight, however, has sworn to kill the Chained God... so much for malign intentions).

somewhere in all this fantasy war-narrative, the story arc that unites the tales is the contention with the Chained God, centuries after his arrival into the world. His presence upsets the balance, sending traditional foes to combat his machinations.

"machinations" meaning deliberate manipulation of empires in the achieving of one's ends...

The Deck of Dragons is an amazing work of fiction, and anyone who's read enough of these may wish to pontificate further...

ta
tenix

23:31 / 20.12.05

[bump]
still no takers?

I recommend this to anyone with a serious interest in myth and symbol (in the Joseph Campbellian sense).

Anthropologists, Historians, Literati, and anyone who has a dissatisfaction with the general writing in the realm of Fantasy

which usually means thin plots, cardboard characters, and a bendable universe that has too many dei in the machina.

Here's a titbit from the mythology of the series:

Mother Dark and Father Light gave birth to their illigitimate bastard-child Shadow. the peoples who follow each of these divine beings, the Tiste Andii, the Tiste Liosan and the Tiste Andii, bear magic aspected with their deities.

the Tiste Edur, children of Shadow, use shadow, and the material world (ie the world of illusion) to plot their conquest. they summon shadow wraiths to do their bidding.

they are reawakening to their path. to their destiny (sound familiar). to the notions of empire. they have set out to recapture the empty throne, and so once again assert their domination.

the Malazan empire, under Empress Laseen, fights rebels on one continent, a dark religious zealotry on another, and has yet to awaken to the threat of the Edur, who have dwindled into legend, as their civilisation has dwindled into the hinterlands.

until the Crippled God intervenes.

[sigh]

i hope somebody gets it.

-not jack