Mini-Review: Assail by Ian C. Esslemont

Assail by Ian C. Esslemont wraps up a 5 (or 6 depending on how you choose to count it) book story arc within the Malazan world that Esslemont shares with Steven Erikson. The best way to think of it is that it’s a supplement and epilogue to Erikson’s Malazan Books of the Fallen series. And that brings us to what is my biggest problem with Esslemont’s contributions to the Malazan world – he’s not Steven Erikson.

Yes, this is perhaps unfair to Esslemont, but in a shared world, the comparison will be made. It comes down to this – I get Erikson, or more correctly, Erikson’s writing connects with me. The humor, the satire, the cynicism, the commentary on genre, and all the meta stuff that glues the rest together. With Esslemont, all that is absent, or at maybe it’s just that he doesn’t have the writing skills to pull it off. Whatever the specific reasons, Esslemont remains in Erikson’s shadow and I can only describe his books as a disappointment regarding what they could have been (if written by Erkison).

Esslemont has undeniably grown as a writer and story-teller since he entered the Malazan world with Night of Knives. He even pulls off some interesting thematic explorations. But he’s not Erikson. They may have co-created the characters, but time and time again, it seems that Esslemont takes a character made mysterious, interesting, and altogether fun by Erikson and sucks all that right out. Fisher is the prime example in Assail – Fisher’s origins and potential powers have always been of interest, and by the time we’re done with Assail, it’s boring, whatever reveal occurs has lost all its power and Fisher literally limps into what is supposed to the payoff for the series. Another example is the whole Crimson Guard thing – was it supposed to be a tragedy, because I think it was. Words were said to imply as much, though there was no emotional impact with it. I think that ending could have meant something, instead…well, it wasn’t as boring as the last book.

I called this a mini-review, when it may be better reviewed as a non-review. Because ultimately, what I say repeatedly in this review is that the book suffers a lot because it was written by Esslemont and not Erikson. That’s unfair. But that’s also how I felt. A mediocre fantasy adventure that fails to inspire any emotional attachment to its characters is all that the writing of Esslemont will ever be. That mediocrity is only more evident by occurring alongside the writings of Erikson in the same world.

My review of the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

Night of Knives (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Return of the Crimson Guard (My Review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Stonewielder (My Review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Orb Sceptre Throne (My Review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Blood and Bone (My Review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)
Assail (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Mini-Review: Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont

Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) is his 5^th effort in the overall Malazan sequence by Erikson and Esslemont and the penultimate book in the entire saga of the two authors – excepting of course a few novellas, Erikson’s prequels, and whatever the future brings. If that first sentence isn’t enough to convince you, at this point these books are for the fans and those that have read all the others. So, in many ways, this review is nearly pointless anyway…but I digress.

 

In many ways, the writing of Blood and Bone is the best effort yet I’ve seen out of Esslemont, an in my opinion it’s a huge improvement over Orb, Sceptre, Throne (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon). However, in retrospect, while the craft was technically superior to his other work, it seems that it does suck some of the life out of the story. When reading the book I felt I was on autopilot – if someone had asked me what happened 10 pages earlier or even if I cared about what was going on, I don’t think I’d have had an answer for them. Combine this with Esslemont’s insistence on being over-subtle (which is a kind way of saying he doesn’t fully explain what should be explained to the detriment of the story), and the book as a whole was failure. I think the biggest take-home lesson is that I simply prefer Erikson’s writing to Esslemont’s. This is unfortunate, because I think thematically the culmination of the entire Malazan saga in the final book – Assail (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) – should be spectacular. But I have zero confidence at this point that Esslemont will be able to pull it off to my satisfaction. But I’ll read it anyway – I’ve come too far not to.

 

And a parting note – I did enjoy how the deadly slog of slow death that soldiers experienced in this book was through a jungle. In Malazan we’ve seen that story repeatedly in desert environs – it was a pleasant juxtaposition to see death by jungle in this book.

 

Review: Orb Sceptre Throne by Ian C. Esslemont

Ian C. Esslemont and Steven Erikson co-created the Malazan universe, where Erikson has completed a massive 10-volume series of which I am a huge fan. Esslemont has supplemented Erikson’s series with three previous books and now with Orb Sceptre Throne (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) being the fourth. Esslemont has two more forthcoming books in the Malazan world that should function as a sort of extended epilogue to Erikson’s series (the next being Blood and Bone possibly coming in late 2012 o early 2013, Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), Erikson has two more trilogies planned, with one set millennia before events in the main series (it’s first book The Forge of Darkness is coming in August, 2012, Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) and the second set after the events in the main series. Erikson has also written a number of novellas set in the world for extra kicks.

Orb Sceptre Throne is set right around the time of the events in The Crippled God (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound, my review) and most directly follows the events of Toll the Hounds (BookDepository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound, my review), and good familiarity with Gardens of the Moon (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) and Memories of Ice (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) will help. However, some of arcs of Orb Sceptre Throne also directly follow events in Stonewielder (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound, my review) and Return of the Crimson Guard (BookDepository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound, my review) and there are always references to people and events from all of the books set in the Malazan world – Orb Screptre Throne even features a cameo of sorts from the stars of Erikson’s novellas.

Confused yet?

It’s a complicated situation with story arcs dropped by one author and picked up by the other, a huge cast of characters often with slightly differing interpretations from each author and a few other inconsistencies thrown into the mix. This confused complexity of the Malazan world and its creators provides the appropriate backdrop for introducing Malazan’s latest entry, Orb Sceptre Throne (for better and worse). Of course if you are already a Malazan fan (and you probably are if you’re reading this review), then you probably know all of this and likely don’t find it so confusing. And this is equally apropos because Orb Sceptre Throne is both a confused mess and the next great fix for Malazan fans.

What it all simmers down to is this: Orb Sceptre Throne is a mediocre book in the Malazan world, however it is filled with juicy bits that fans will enjoy and it provides a few answers and a fair bit of set-up for the epilogue that Esslemont is writing for Erikson’s series.

Forget the plot summary – there’s a description that captures some of it on the back of the book, but more importantly, even briefly summarizing all of the different arcs of Orb Sceptre Throne would take a couple thousand words (only a slight exaggeration). And therein lies what is probably the biggest problem with the book – there are too many stories being told at once. This causes a bit of confusion and prevents a focused narrative from ever developing. This is hardly a new criticism for books in the Malazan world – both Erikson and Esslemont are guilty of this elsewhere. But with Erikson, there are always thematic threads that bind the various arcs together and bring a focus of sorts. Esslemont’s writing largely lacks the thematic depth, leaving things far too unfocused.

Another problem holding back Esslemont’s writing is his caginess. Yes, subtlety plays an important part in writing, information must be withheld to maintain interest and suspense, and not every arc can or should come to a complete resolution. However, Esslemont tends to take things too far, which results in more confusion and frustration and brings us to what is the other biggest problem in the book – the apparent lack of an end game.

Even the most die-hard Malazan fans (such as myself) are probably asking what is the end game? Where is Esslemont going with these books? Again, this is a common issue in Malazan, and I believe an intentional one. For example – what Malazan fan after reading the first 5 books in the series actually had an idea of where Erikson was going with things? My guess – none, and fans were loving the wild ride. But once again, Esslemont takes this important aspect of the overall concept of the Malazan books too far, reversing its effectiveness.

So far I’ve been all bad and no good – well, there is plenty of good to be had. But make no mistake, this good is for the fans (after all, it is essentially book 14 of a 16 book series). The fans get more Bridgeburner action – those few remaining survivors lie at the heart of this one. The Seguleh come alive and we see what they can do. Dassem and Caladran Brood are around, and some of those key people we first met way back in Gardens of the Moon are back in action. We get a creation story for the world of Wu and the fallout from the convergence at this end of this book should have some big implications to come. And there is ever-present aspect of Esslemont’s writing that fans either love or hate – the relative lack of philosophical musings that Erikson populates his books with.

Ultimately, Orb Sceptre Throne is a book only a fan could love – and that’s just fine. I consider it one of the lesser volumes in the Malazan world, but there is enough of a fix to keep us fans up until we get the next installment. Due to a few conversations I’ve been privy to over the years, I think I’ve got an idea of where Esslemont is going with all this. I just hope he’s up to it because I think that ending could rival Erikson’s.

Upcoming Release: Orb Sceptre Throne by Ian C. Esslemont

This morning I was looking through Transworld's catalog for the rest of 2011 and they have Orb Sceptre Throne by Ian C. Esslemont (Book Depository, Powell's Books, Indiebound) slated for a December 8th, 2011 release (update - it now seems to be a January 12, 2012 release). They list the title as Orb Sceptre Throne (which surprises me because I find it kind of a silly and awkward title and expected it to change). So, fans of the Malazan world and it's greater story can rejoice. There is no cover art yet but they do have a synopsis (that is full of typos). I can't copy it, so I've transcribed it below (I try to preserve the typos in the transcription - there are lots):

The epic new chapter in the history of Malaz - the new epic fantasy from Steven Erikson's friend and co-creator of this extraordinary imagined world...

The tumult of great powers colliding has passed, leaving the city of Darujhistan and its good citizens to get one of their lives of politcking, bickering, trading and above all enjoying the good things it has to offer. However, this peace is illusory because of a treasure hunter, digging amongst the ancient burial grounds that surround the city, is about to uncover a hidden crypt, full of sealed vaults. Armed with magic-deadening otataral, he will open the last vault - the one no other dared touch - and in so doing will set free the most powerful and destructive of the Jaghut tyrant kings...

And fortune hunters are also at work far to the south of the Malaz. A fragment of Moon's Spawn, once the home of Aonmander Rake, Son of Darkness, crashed into the Rivan Sea and created a chain of small islands. Legends have already arisen around them, the most potent of which is that here is hidden the Throne of Night - claimed by some to be the seat of Dracoinus, ruler of Eternal Night, and by others to be the throne of Mother Dark herself. Either way, all who seek this ancient artifact - from magic-weilding mages and battle-scarred warriors to a Malazan army deserter called Grift - believe it will bestow unlimited power upon the eventual possessor. The stakes are high, greed is rife, betrayal inevitable and murder and chaos lie in wait...

Review: The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

I’m going to state it right out – The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson is the most ambitious epic fantasy series ever written – this is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness. Rather than ambition, fans of epic fantasy are much more likely to honor tradition and nostalgia, but the genre has come far from where it was effectively defined by The Lord of the Rings and fans have grown as well. These days gritty and subversion seem to be the buzz words of fantasy fans, and while The Malazan Book of the Fallen certainly meets both in numerous ways, it really is much more.

It’s been ambitious since the start when Erikson proposed Malazan to be a 10-book series back in the 1990s – there was never any trilogy-creep, this was always going this long. But of course it isn’t so simple – the series is not Erikson’s alone. The Malazan world was co-created with Ian C. Esslemont who has written three books of his own that support the series, with three more to come. While Erikson’s 10-book series is complete, once Esslemont finishes his parts it will be more complete, perhaps making this review a bit premature.

The Malazan world has its origins in Dungeon’s and Dragons and GURPS role-playing campaigns played out by Erikson and Esslemont and has since grown in ambition. In many ways the series is meant to be more of a response to epic fantasy than a part of it. Not in the same ‘FU’ manor as The First Law by Joe Abercrombie, but again as something more. Ultimately, it’s about the human condition and the cost of civilization, but again it’s more. The series is also about deception in something of a post-modern, meta-fictional way. While the foreshadowing is present, and even a rubric to the whole series buried in one of its volumes, it’s still difficult to see beneath surface. It’s all light, darkness and shadow with more than a bit of sleight of hand.

However, don’t let me mislead you into thinking that it’s not epic fantasy, because it is. Like most epic fantasy, this is a book of war and magic. And the magic plays an incredibly important role – it’s powerful…all-powerful. The scope and horror of magic is laid out from the beginning, while the mechanics of it remain an enigma. In every book we meet a hidden power that rises to tremendous, spectacular heights. Of course that’s the point of it – readers may want to call foul, may want to shout dues ex machina, but they miss the point.

The series begins as a tale of a conquering Malazan Empire that has overextended itself. In Gardens of the Moon (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) the reader is dumped strait into the middle of it all without the typical build-up. This can be exhilarating, overwhelming, and off-putting, though I found it immensely rewarding. We get a feel for a mix of races and species that is huge and a rich world history with gods and other powerful immortals that literally walk the land, interfering with mortal lives. Though some mortals interfere right back, for gods can die too. It’s through this complex tapestry that Erikson focuses on humanity. Every soldier is a philosopher, every person an everyman (or everywoman, though even with numerous female characters, the series has an overwhelming male-ness to it), with the view of it all is just as often through pawns as kings and queens.

‘These Malazans, they shame the gods themselves…’

An important point the series is put right in the series title, perhaps the most important point: The Malazan Book of the Fallen. It’s the word fallen that focuses it all. For this series is not (necessarily) about those that live to fight another day, to see another book, who survive the ultimate convergence of power – this series is about the people who fall along the way. The price, the toll, the compassion, the sacrifice, and eventually, the reward. This is a series where the dead tend to not go away and the fallen may not die. Each book itself shows something new, a new style, a new theme within the overall series, but in the end there is a method to the madness of it all.

I will remember this. I will set out scrolls and burn upon them the names of these Fallen. I will make of this work a holy tome, and no other shall be needed.

Hear them! They are humanity unfurled, laid out for all to see – if one would dare look!

There shall be a Book and it shall be written by my hand. Wheel and seek the faces of a thousand gods! None can do what I can do! Not one can give voice to this holy creation!

But this is not bravado. For this, my Book of the Fallen, the only god worthy of its telling is the crippled one. The broken one. And has it not always been so?

I never hid my hurts.

I never disguised my dreams.

And I never lost my way.
And only the fallen can rise again.

It’s in his ambition, this response to epic fantasy that Erikson gets in trouble. Yes, it’s epic fantasy in the extreme – the magic and powers overblown, the gods both more and less than they should be, the grunt suffering through it all somehow becomes the most powerful of all. It chafes fans of epic fantasy. It’s supposed to. Fans often decry the seeming over-emphasis on suffering, marching, the camp-fire conversations, the little people. While the action is incredible, it is interspersed with long and tedious ramblings that become philosophical and at times down-right didactic. While Erikson certainly over-indulges himself, many fans seemingly miss the point. Or perhaps they don’t care about the point. Many will fail to complete the journey of the series, many will be upset, disappointed, even angry with Erikson for what he writes. The criticisms often wielded only show Erikson how much they missed the point. Erikson plays with this in the text – often proactively for areas he knows that will bring especially pointed criticism. He knows these books aren’t for everyone, and that if everyone likes what you are doing, you are doing it wrong. But it clearly it stings, and sometimes Erikson seems to lash out in response.

‘Sad truth,’ Kruppe said – his audience of none sighing in agreement – ‘that a tendency towards verbal excess can so defeat the precision of meaning. That intent can be so well disguised in majestic plethora of nuance, of rhythm both serious and mocking, of this penchant for self-referential slyness, that the unwitting simply skip on past – imagining their time to be so precious, imagining themselves above all manner of conviction, save that of their own witty perfection. Sigh and sigh again.

Ultimately, there is a hope to it all – this is not the nihilistic proclamation so many claim. It’s a grand plan for the better of humanity. Only at times the darkness, the faults and flaws, and humanity itself seemingly deserve no hope.

‘Hedge was waiting, seated on one of the tilted standing stones. ‘Hood take us all,’ he said, eyeing Fiddler as he approached. ‘They did it – her allies – they did what she needed them to do.’
Aye. And how many people died for [it]?’

…’Little late to be regretting all that now, Fid.’

‘…They used all of us Hedge.’

‘That’s what gods do, aye. So you don’t like it? Fine, but listen to me. Sometimes, what they want – what they need us to do – sometimes it’s all right. I mean, it’s the right thing to do. Sometimes, it makes us better people.’

‘You really believe that?’

‘And when we’re better people, we make better gods.’

Fiddler looked away. ‘It’s hopeless, then. We can stuff a god with every virtue we got, it still won’t make us any better, will it? Because we’re not good with virtues, Hedge.’

‘Most of the time, aye, we’re not. But maybe then, at our worst, we might look up, we might see that god we made out of the best in us. Not vicious, not vengeful, not arrogant or spiteful. Not selfish, not greedy. Just clear-eyed, with no time for all our rubbish. The kind of god to give us a slap in the face for being such shits.’
…’Ever the optimist, you’

This review both coincidently and intentionally reads like the series itself – perhaps full of insight, perhaps full of bullshit, always seeming a bit of mess. It’s overly long (at least compared to what I tend to write), it’s defensive, dismissive, disagreeable and likely to piss a few people off. The review is journey, a misinterpretation, and it gets it right. And it’s ever self-aware, perhaps to a fault. It’s the most ambitious review I’ve ever written.

The Malazan Book of the Fallen isn’t for everyone, and in many ways it may not be for fans of epic fantasy. While it is absolutely for the fans. And it’s the most ambitious epic fantasy out there – period. Though the Malazan series by Erikson is over, something of an epilogue remains to be written by Esslemont and Erikson has promised two more trilogies and a continuation of the novellas set in the world. The dead don’t stay dead. The fallen may not be who you think they are and can rise again. Perfect.

And now the page before us blurs.

An age is done. The book must close.

We are abandoned to history.

Raise high one more time the tattered standard

Of the Fallen. See through the drifting smoke

To the dark stains upon the fabric.

This is the blood of our lives, this is the

Payment of our deeds, all soon to be

Forgotten.

We were never what people could be.

We were only what we were.

Remember us

Untitled poem at the end of The Crippled God

Review: Stonewielder by Ian C. Esslemont

Stonewielder (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is Ian C. Esslemont’s third novel set in the Malazan world he co-created with Steven Erikson. It is sequentially set after Return of the Crimson Guard (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) and roughly at the same time as Dust of Dreams (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), likely overlapping somewhat with The Crippled God (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). Esslemont continues to show improvement in his writing and Stonewielder is his best effort yet.

Warning, I’m a big fan of the Malazan books – more so Erikson than Esslemont, but that matters little. This is a sprawling epic story and world with many overlapping plots, a pantheon of species, races, characters and gods, empires, parallel worlds, magic and much more. This review is written from my perspective, a fan who has read all that has come so far from both Erikson and Esslemont, and this is written for those fans who have done likewise.

Stonewielder takes place on the mysterious sub-continent of Korel – in fact, details about this region of the Malazan world have been so lacking that until this book it wasn’t known if Koreli was truly a continent, subcontinent, archipelago or some combination of the all. The lack of details about Korel to date is explained here with a mysterious guardian entity/god that protects and isolates Korel as well as prevents traditional warren sorcery from working. In Stonewielder the Malazan Empire and its new emperor decide to re-invade Korel as a follow-up to the earlier failed invasion and they tap the disgraced, enigmatic former commander Greymane to lead.

This being the third book by Esslemont in the Malazan world and a book that time wise falls between the 9^th and 10^th books by Erikson in the same world, it’s not recommended for someone not familiar with other books to take this one on. Yes, there is a complete and relatively independent story arc at the heart of the book, but the details of the world, significance of some of the characters that may only be hinted at will confound a new reader.

Esslemont shares many similarities with Erikson but generally sticks to the plot without getting as philosophical as Erikson is prone to. Whether you consider this a positive or negative varies quite a bit across the spectrum of Malazan fans (for example I tend to enjoy Erikson’s philosophical wanderings). Esslemont’s books are shorter (though at 600+ pages far from short), more to the point and a bit longer in the action. This is great when we get scenes of a Moranth navy battling an undefeatable Mare navy, running battles through caverns, Crimson Guard Avowed fighting Stormriders, etc.

Esslemont also shows improvement in his characters – Kyle from Return of the Crimson Guard has grown significantly, as has Kiska of Night of Knives (though she’s still a fair bit annoying), and he populates Stonewielder with a few new, green recruits. All in all, I felt that his writing was simply far more interesting this time around and I was very pleased to find a lack of the last-minute, dues ex machina super mage from nowhere who saves the day.

Stonewielder follows a few plot arcs – the invasion, a local magistrate, the Stormwall, a few Crimson Guard, a peasant rebellion, a journey into Shadow, and a couple of cross-overs. Not all offer nice, neat conclusions and some are more interesting than others. And some seem a bit pointless. In this respect, Stonewielder could have benefited significantly from a tighter bond and more overlap between these subplots. As it is now, some seem to be wasted space, though they were interesting enough stories on their own.

One of the over-arching aspects of Stonewielder is the annual invasion of the Stormriders and the soldiers of the Stormwall that repel them. What are the Stormriders? What do they want? These two simple questions seem to be at the heart of mystery that is Korel and these two questions remain largely unanswered in the book. This is one of the most frustrating aspects of all. Either Esslemont is being too subtle or too evasive – either way, it’s a big letdown in an otherwise decent volume in the Malazan saga.

Stonewielder shows a big improvement in Esslemont’s writing and offers up a healthy dose of just what the doctor ordered for Malazan fans. I generally still favor Erikson’s writing style and there are a few things I would have liked to see Esslemont do better, but in general, this is pretty solid offering in the Malazan saga. 7.5/10

Related Posts: Review of Return of the Crimson Guard

Interview with Ian C. Esslemont

Myself and a handful of other bloggers helped Pat come up with some questions for an interview with Ian Cameron Esslemont that is posted at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. It mostly regards his lates book, Return of the Crimson Guard (review). One rather large spoiler is contained in the question - Can you give us a bit of a synopsis regarding STONEWIELDER? - so beware.

Review: Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont

Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen is arguably the most exciting on-going series in epic fantasy. Less known is that Erikson had help when creating the Malazan world from his long-time friend Ian C. Esslemont. As co-creator, Esslemont has his own tales to tell, related to yet somewhat apart from Erikson’s main series. His first entry in the Malazan world was Night of Knives (US, UK, Canada), the tale of one night in Malaz and one of the most exciting convergences of power we’ve seen yet. Return of the Crimson Guard (US, UK, Canada) is Esslemont’s second entry, falling in the time between Erikson’s seventh and eighth books – Reaper’s Gale (US, UK, Canada) and Toll the Hounds (US, UK, Canada), respectively.

Due in part to overextension, the Malazan Empire fades from the glory of its founders in the hands of the current empress, Laseen. The continent of its governmental seat and one the empire’s earliest conquests, Quon Tali, rises in rebellion, largely led by surviving ‘Old Guard’, long-lived, legendary leaders from the empire prior to Laseen’s rule. At the same time, the empire’s sworn enemy, the Crimson Guard, returns with visions of complete and total destruction of the empire while suffering internal conflict about the true goals of the invasion.

As readers have come to expect in the world of Malazan, Return of the Crimson Guard weighs in with a hefty page count and numerous plot lines that converge in a final battle. New characters are introduced, old characters revisited, and some of the whispered and rumored come to life.

Comparison to Erikson is inevitable for Esslemont, and the simple truth is that Esslemont still has a long way to go. Night of Knives was clearly the work of a first-time author and Return of the Crimson Guard is only an adequate sophomore effort. The brilliance of Erikson is his ability to tell a kick-ass story while interweaving powerful thematic elements. His use of the soldier and their equivalents as an everyman/everywoman entwined with dark, gallows humor makes equally entertains and inspires. Esslemont has gotten quite good at the story telling part, but lacks the depth that makes for great writing. Essentially lacking thematic elements, the feel of an everyman/everywoman, and that wonderful gallows humor of Erikson is nowhere to be found. On top of this, Esslemont often suffers with trying too hard, particularly with vocabulary. Especially early on, he utilizes unnecessarily big and obscure wording, often at odds with the point of view of the character at hand. Whether the attempt was to create the all important atmosphere of a fantasy world separate from our own or if he was just showing off a bit, it was an annoyance.

In the Malazan world, characterization ranges widely and inspires much discussion. I have always felt Erikson can do wonders for characterization with just a few words while Esslemont is still a bit awkward. He clearly knows the relevant facts about his characters, but only rarely does more come out – I’m left feeling that most of his characters are little more than note cards – a face, name, nationality, general age, with important actions. Unfortunately only a few really stand out as fully realized characters.

Another aspect of Return of the Crimson Guard that annoyed at times happens when Esslemont crosses the line of mysteriousness to a seemingly obtuse refusal to provide the relevant information – of course Erikson is equally guilty of this at times, but generally handles it better. I know that this is par for the course in the Malazan world, but really now it’s just become annoying (I was tempted to use the word infuriating, but backed off).

Return of the Crimson Guard is Esslemont’s second entry in the Malazan canon, bringing the total to 10 books and 3 novellas between Erikson and Esslemont, with many more to come. In spite of all the issues I mention above, the story that Esslemont tells is an excellent addition that becomes completely enthralling by the end – I read the final 300 pages in one sitting. Esslemont still has some growing ahead to become a polished writer and is not yet in the same field as Erikson, but I suspect fans of Malazan won’t be disappointed by Return of the Crimson Guard. Remember, I’m an affirmed fanboy when it comes to these books, so my ultimate enjoyment of this book exceeds its overall quality. 7/10

Related Posts: Interview with Steven Erikson, Toll the Hounds Review, Reaper's Gale review, The Bonehunters review, The Lees of Laughter's End review

Near Incoherent Ramblings about Steven Erikson and the Malazan Book of the Fallen

I’m currently about half way through Reaper’s Gale, the latest offering in this monster of a series (which is a monster all its own at 900+ pages) and I just feel the urge to be a rambling fan-boy pimp for what is perhaps the best epic fantasy being written at the moment. No, I won’t be spoiling Reaper’s Gale or any other specific moment from earlier books, but I touch on broad plot progression, so consider yourself warned if you’re overly concerned about spoilers (and really, there aren’t any).

To introduce the series, Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen is a planned 10-book series, and Reaper’s Gale is the 7th installment – he has released the books close to annually, so it won’t be a long wait to its conclusion. In a further interesting and complicating twist, the co-creator of the world is Ian Cameron Esslemont, who is planning to write 5 supporting/related novels set in the world – the first of these, Night of Knives, will have a wide release this summer, with the second, Return of the Crimson Guard, set for release sometime next year. Additionally, Erikson has written three novellas set in the world, otherwise unrelated to the main plot(s) of the series.

The series begins with Gardens of the Moon which is a very polarizing novel. Erikson forgoes the typical set-up of epic fantasy where you are conveniently introduced to the main characters in a safe setting that explains much of the world to you before things get interesting. Erikson instead drops you directly into the aftermath of horrific battle with thousands of casualties – we get almost no character introduction or explanation of the world. Confusing bits of terrifying sorcery and deep history abound. Many, many people complain of difficulty getting into the book and understanding what is going on – a significant number settle down and start enjoying the book a lot past about page 200, an equally significant number never get into the book or Erikson’s tales at all – to each their own, but for me, this is one of the best out there and I never had trouble getting hooked. From here, it only gets better – Gardens of the Moon is probably the weakest book in the series, and it’s still a good bit above most of the epic fantasy out there.

To steal a bit from something from MattD and Jay Tomio said over at FBS – one of the greatest aspects of Erikson and his series is the balls it takes to do what he’s doing. Sure it’s vulgar, and believe me, even Stephen Colbert would take notice, but it’s the correct way to say it (and ever appropriate with world created). The shear scope and ambition of what he’s trying to catalog with this series is mind boggling – interestingly enough, it’s often clear that it boggles Erikson’s mind as much as the reader – you get the feeling that the Malazan beast has wrestled some control from him and is heading in its own direction (this is not necessarily a bad thing).

One of the most common complaints about the series is the number of uber-powerful characters – we have gods, ascendants, and normal characters of a multitude of species with huge amounts of magical and physical power. Gods and the other uber-powerful walk the world, live among the characters, they kill and are killed in turn. Each book seems to introduce another one (or more) and keeping track of all of them and who is more powerful is a fruitless exercise. For me, I love it. Erikson doesn’t shy away from what is an almost inevitable problem in epic fantasy – he revels in it, throws it smack in your face. The books are full of total bad-asses and each one ends with a grand convergence – in each book, bad-asses kill other bad-asses. It’s great.

Balancing the uber-powerful are these ‘normal’ soldiers, assassins, and others who have to maneuver around, beneath and through the world. They are typified by a stoic, smart-ass, even existential, attitude that is in the least entertaining. Sure some of them develop or have certain attributes that help them along, but most seem to get by with a combination of whit and shit in a world that is most assuredly out to kill them.

Sure, there are weaknesses, but they tend to be minor in my opinion. Erikson tries to be funny, and he very often is, however when he tries too hard it can be just plain painful. Often the reader is left thinking that nobody actually thinks or talks that way. The shear number of different players from all the cultures and continents of his vast world gets very chaotic – which I don’t think is too far from the goal. Sometimes his politics become a bit too in your face – subtly is the norm, but some things slip through. His writing lacks the consistency of the best, but I’ll take it anytime.

So, what is the story of these 10(+) books? To keep it simple – the pantheon of gods is going to war and all the mortal (and immortal) societies and empires become tools and casualties of the gods and uber-powerful. But it’s never that simple – in the best way possible, I still don’t know where it’s all going to go.

So, is there a point to all this rambling – I suppose it’s a cathartic admission that I’m just another fan-boy geek for this epic series. Obviously I recommend it – I highly recommend it. I anticipate these books like none other at the moment, and that is saying a lot.

Oh, and for those of us at the mercy of the U.S. publisher, Tor, please ignore the generally disgraceful cover art. I don’t know why it seems they are out to sabotage any chance of success, but the best we can do is read the book anyway and continue to complain loudly.

Reaper’s Gale Release Date

Ok, so I’m going to bow to reader demand here – every day I get quite a few search hits looking for the release of Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson. So, here are the dates you need to know.

• May 7, 2007 in the UK – link to Amazon.uk
• June 26, 2007 in Canada – link to Amazon.ca
  

No word (that I know of) for a US release (or other languages) – I would suspect it’ll be sometime in 2008 or early 2009.

Now wait, another very common search is for the release of Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian Cameron Esslemont. To my knowledge, there is no firm date on this one yet, but it is slated for some time in 2008. However, Night of Knives is about to have a wide release:

• June 7, 2007 in the UK – link to Amazon.uk
• July 24, 2007 in the US – link to Amazon.com
• July 24, 2007 in Canada – link to Amazon.ca

Erikson and Esslemont Release Dates!

Good news about release dates from Transworld via Pat over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

At the moment we’re due to publish NIGHT OF KNIVES and RETURN OF THE CRIMSON GUARD in May 2007 following the publication of Steven Erikson’s REAPER’S GALE (Malazan Book of the Fallen 7) in March.

I can hardly wait.

On my own reading progress - well it's been busy. I should finish up The Once and Future King later this week. I haven't decided what to read next, but it will probably be something set in the UK. In the fall I'm traveling to England/Scotland/Wales and in preparation of that trip, I'm reading a bunch of books set over there - mostly with a SF slant.