kuenjato Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 My amazon review: 'Breathes flame against hoarfrost'd cliches' Fantasy, for the discriminate reader, is a chancy prospect at best. For every anomaly of quality in the genre, one must wade through the quagmire of the less-than-adequate, with industry hyperbole championing such dire `masters' we all know and love/hate: babbling Brooks, broken Wheels, entropic Eddings and, objectively speaking, fervid Fraudkinds of lowest-common-denominator wish fulfillment. So let us celebrate the advent of the Internet, which warns us away from the so-called bestseller hype of diminishing returns, an Old Comb justifiably scorned while true talents like Erikson, Baker and Scott Lynch claim the epic throne. The genre of fantasy fiction has, of late, undergone a painful but necessary maturation, with themes that touch the darkness of the human condition and authors happily subverting the clichés and archetypes so rote and hoary and, it must be said, *comfortable* for the epic-inclined reader. Steven Erikson is among these new voices adhering-to yet also deconstructing the stalwart tapestry set forth by the good Professor five decades ago; and he does it better than most. *Gardens of the Moon* is the first of a 10 volume mega-saga called `The Malazan Book of the Fallen.' Originally written as a movie-script, with characters and events taken from Erikson's RPG campaigns of the 80's, GotM has been both hailed and derided for its complexity, hyper-epic storytelling and voluminous ambition. Although GotM's reputation is perhaps exaggerated - its complexity doesn't approach the more difficult hallmarks of literature - it is quite a bit more to chew than the standard bog-standard the industry pumps out every month. The story, in brief: the reader is thrown right into the middle of an ongoing campaign of conquest by the aggressive Malaz Empire, with multiple POVs dictating the action and events. I can honesty say this is the first fantasy book I've read where a major battle of sorcery occurs in the second chapter. The Dungeons and Dragons influence does come off rather strong; GotM often gives the impression that one is reading an ongoing RPG game rather than a traditional fantasy novel. Thus it is credit to the author that it all works: in lesser hands this book would come off incredibly messy and chaotic, but Erikson obviously knows the where and why of his cast of hundreds and tangled plot-threads. The worldbuilding is vast in scope and infused with impressive vitality, and the writing... well, here we come to a quandary. Perhaps the problem stems from the lengthy period in which this novel floated in limbo, for GotM strikes me as a bit of a paradox: although the prose is usually polished, certain sections stand out prominently in their awkward construction (the first paragraph of the prologue, for example, suffers from an overabundance of passive verbs), and the plot, fragmented as it is, sometimes exposes inexplicable flaws (the sudden emergence of an entire new group of characters at the climax to save the day). There are a half dozen other nit-picks I could ramble on about, and the cover is amusingly terrible (should have stuck with the UK cover), hence the subtraction of a star, but the end result - a challenging, immersive epic that is really unlike anything else on the shelf - gives me hope for a genre long stagnant by LCD formula. Kudos, SE, I look forward to reading more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Believe me when I say that Memories of Ice will blow your mind! Ah man, that ending. . . Patrick It's true. Finished it last night. I just had my mind blown and my heart broken. I heard SE thinks he'll never surpass what he did in MoI, and I can believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edabel Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Anomander Rake rules! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lint Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I hate seeing this thread knowing that I can't contribute to it. I finished Book 4 a while back, but I haven't been able to get my hands on the rest of the series because I'm too cheap to shell out for the hardcovers. I want the paperbacks, but Book 5 paperback isn't coming out in the US until May! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I hate seeing this thread knowing that I can't contribute to it. I finished Book 4 a while back, but I haven't been able to get my hands on the rest of the series because I'm too cheap to shell out for the hardcovers. I want the paperbacks, but Book 5 paperback isn't coming out in the US until May! With regard to this, I'm expecting my House of Chains hardcover from Amazon in a day or two, but I'm not sure what to do after that. I'm not the world's fastest reader, so it's possible I won't be ready for Midnight Tides until the US release. Can anyone confirm that it is still April 17, which is what I got from Amazon and the Tor website? Also...what's the deal on ordering from Canada or the UK? Is it still possible to get hardback copies of Bonehunters, or at least trade paperback versions, if I want my books to match at least slightly? I'm new to this whole 'ordering from other countries' thing. Edit: Grrrr. Amazon.ca is full of spoilers. I should have people who don't care look at this stuff for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Anomander Rake rules! Yeah, someone should really work on adapting the books into some kind of visual format so we can see Rake kicking ass and taking numbers (cough cough unsubtle hint) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edabel Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Thanks for the unsubtle hints, Werthead my friend After the son of darkness comes to life, you'll hear from me on this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooshabooboo Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I was just rereading HoC last night and I realized that Pearl may very well be Rake's grandson. At one point he mentions to Lostara Yil that he is 1/4 Tiste Andii and that his mother was from Drift availe (sp?) and since most of the people on that island are children and grandchildren of Rake I found that kinda cool. I havn't read this whole thread so I don't know if others have made the connection that I have but I thought I'd throw that in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightsnake Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 honestly, Malazan would work very well in visual form. One of my complaints is the needless convolution of Erikson's writing at times and a comic would deal with that quite well. Speaking of comics, Ernst, any word on the latest Martin stuff or other big time fantasy projects? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edabel Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Lightsnake my friend, I agree with you there The comic will give you a perfect blend of his writing and you know we always love to give you guys some excellent art Need I say more? Sworn Sword is in production and very soon, press releases will be forthcoming. As for other big projects, you know my brothers and I are always up to something that will bring smiles to everyone faces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightsnake Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Well, the only other thing you need to say is...."We have the rights, issues forthcoming." Yes. Yes, you need to say that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I was just rereading HoC last night and I realized that Pearl may very well be Rake's grandson. At one point he mentions to Lostara Yil that he is 1/4 Tiste Andii and that his mother was from Drift availe (sp?) and since most of the people on that island are children and grandchildren of Rake I found that kinda cool. I havn't read this whole thread so I don't know if others have made the connection that I have but I thought I'd throw that in there. Nice spot! I can't recall ever making the connection myself...although there'll probably be someone on the malazanempire boards who spotted it... Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerol Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Nice spot! I can't recall ever making the connection myself...although there'll probably be someone on the malazanempire boards who spotted it... Sir Thursday I spend time there - they've got a crew that are as obsessive over such small details as this board. If Anomander Rake farted one bright day in the First Empire, they will have everything he had to eat in the previous six hours charted and cataloged, complete with a discussion of the merits of the Tiste Andii diet vs. Tolbaki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Just wanted to let you guys know that I've posted the cover art for THE LEES OF LAUGHTER'S END on the blog. Cheers, Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhaco Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Did they happen to tell you when exactly the book will be published, Pat? Their website has had the cover art up for awhile but still just has it listed as an Early 2007 release, which I assume means sometime before May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I spend time there - they've got a crew that are as obsessive over such small details as this board. If Anomander Rake farted one bright day in the First Empire, they will have everything he had to eat in the previous six hours charted and cataloged, complete with a discussion of the merits of the Tiste Andii diet vs. Tolbaki. Yeah, I used to be fairly active on the discussion forums there, but recently I've gravitated towards the Phoenix Inn...I'll go back when Reaper's Gale is out that will give us some fresh material to discuss. Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Did they happen to tell you when exactly the book will be published, Pat? Their website has had the cover art up for awhile but still just has it listed as an Early 2007 release, which I assume means sometime before May. I've been told they are trying to get these out around late March or early April... Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Paladin Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I'd like to say that my opinion on the books is turning around. After Deadhouse Gates, I thought the series was average at best. With nothing else on my "To Read" pile, I picked up Memories of Ice. It's been very engaging so far, as I'm about 2/3 into the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 I received my Reaper's Gale page proofs this morning!!! Just wanted to let you guys know that the novel weighs in at 910 pages, making it even longer than The Bonehunters. Oh and I received book plates as well. It is Rhulad Sengar on the cover. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcf Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 I received my Reaper's Gale page proofs this morning!!! Just wanted to let you guys know that the novel weighs in at 910 pages, making it even longer than The Bonehunters. Oh and I received book plates as well. It is Rhulad Sengar on the cover. It'll be interesting to see what you think - some of the early reports are less than stellar. (with you working magic with publishers lately - can you swing me an advance copy? - yep, I'm greedy ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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