Page 1 of 2 Malazan Book of the Fallen, The by Steven Erikson
Submitted by Inx 
(Sep 04, 2009)Of all the authors I have read, Tolkien, Gemmell, Martin, Jordan, none have influenced my ideas as greatly as Erikson and his Malazan tales.
It is the most uncompromising, brutal and unforgiving series I have ever read. The cast is massive, the plot is convoluted and the stakes are high.
When I first forayed into the series with Gardens of the Moon, I was struck by the fantastic imagination of the author, how visceral and real everything felt. I grew to enjoy all the characters, and cared for them. When I finished the novel, I was eager to pass it on, only to find to my dismay that only one person read more then a few chapters. And that one loved it almost as much as me.
Since then I have read the entire series at least twice, a feat only one other series has done (wheel of time) and enjoyed it even more the 2nd time round. Erikson treats you not as a reader, but as a commoner in the world of the Malazan empire, trying to understand whats happening as an observer, giving you glimpses into how things work allowing you to piece the worlds intricacies togethor yourself.
Erikson also has an unapproachable grip on reality, he understands that world chaning plots are not caused by a handful of people, but my a cast of hundreds, each adding to the melting pot which is his world. He also knows that the world changes normally, as time washes through it. Ruins of long dead civilisations, races, even gods litter the book. The onslaught of time is made very apparent, causing his characters that weather it (Icarium, Rake and Kallor) to become that much more awe inspiring.
If you enjoy thinking about what you are reading, dark visceral action and gallows humour, then this is the series for you.
Submitted by Madder
(Aug 14, 2009)I feel that everyone should love the series, but I know it is not for everyone; for some it is undoubtedly too complex, the style makes it too difficult to follow, it is too macabre or too gritty. Perhaps some will say it is too long, but I am convinced only bad books are too long, and this does not apply to the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Others would much rather (and not unjustifiably) a story with a single or at least more manageable number of lead characters, where there exists a confined story arch that is predictable enough to have a well calibrated twist. Erikson doesn't deliver many twists, if only because there is little to twist off of - predicting what is going to happen is an impossible task when you don't even know all the characters yet. The series also offers little sympathy for bleeding hearts, it is cold and political, and this gives it a realness lost in many fantasy works. I know if I were a fantasy author I would want to imagine myself as the lead character, and I would want to come out on top (perhaps I would kill myself in a vain salute to the artform, but only begrudgingly) - thankfully Erikson (and many other authors) write with much more integrity.
That the Book of the Fallen isn't conventional is one of the reasons I like it so much. The other is that it is hugely engaging, funny / sad, and plays around in my head (the hallmark of any respectable fantasy). I grew up with an unquestioning loyalty to Tolkien, but now I have no qualms about saying Steven Erikson and Esslemont are my favourite authors in the genre.
Submitted by novagold 
(Jul 08, 2008)The Malazan Book of the Fallen is probably one of the most ambitious and original fantasy series in recent years and for the most part it reaches the heights it aims for. The series is meant to be a ten book epic and considering each book is pretty long, the sheer scale of the series is pretty daunting. What's more, Erikson and his fellow writer Esslemont have mapped out not only a plot, but a complex world with its own politics, geography and a hell of a lot history. Nothing about the series is simplistic and few of the normal genre tropes need apply.
There is no easily identifiable main protagonist to the books and the main antagonist is only revealed several books in to the series. Instead the narrative is separated between various characters and it jumps between them, adding more to each book (even up to the seventh book more are being added). This style makes for great cliff hangers and ensures that the books don't get boring, but they can make the series very confusing as the action jumps to characters you've never heard of before or were only in one of the other books. This confusion is apparent throughout the book with the characters often magically ending up in other places or other times and makes it very difficult to see some very important plot points among all the disconcerting changes. This is not a series for casual readers.
The characters are generally larger than life but there's always shades of grey. Some of the characters come over as a little too one dimensional (most frequently either the tragic characters or the 'down to earth' ones) or too similar to other characters in the series but for the most part they're memorable and individual. This is a good thing as the cast list runs into the hundreds. Each character has sensible motivations and all have their own histories and personal stories that define their personality. The books are quite brutal and the death count in the book of both unnamed masses and many of the characters is extremely high. The series has a definite tragic bent and expect to be taken on an emotional roller coaster during the various conflicts.
Where the series shines is in the setting and descriptions. Erikson's archaeologist profession shows as each building, ruin (of which there are a lot) and body (a lot of these as well) is described in memorable fashion. There's a wonderful use of language throughout the series and the civilizations and peoples seem only a little removed from those of our own past yet still very original. Considering the books make reference to hundreds of thousands of years of civilizations this is an extraordinary accomplishment. The world Erikson has created is absolutely massive. It's one where gods and mortals meet and massive empires clash, yet none of the detail is lost and each conflict comes about as part of a rich and detailed history.
Overall the Malazan Book of the Fallen is an epic tale, a story and setting as detailed as any you'll find. However because of the sheer scope of the story, it is undeniably disconcerting and confusing. If you're prepared to devote the time to try and understand the books its a series you can easily and happily find yourself obsessed with.
Submitted by AdCa
(Mar 07, 2008)Steven Erikson is awesome. After finishing the latest installment in the series, I got the feeling that Steven Erikson didn't care about the readers. Now, I don't say that it was a negative feeling, but rather funny. He throws the reader into a world already developed politically and magically. Rarely does he elaborate on seemingly random conversations that take place, nor is the magick used within the series ever get completely understandable. Those features are what make his series amazing. It's life! Life in a universe that isn't our own. The people do not deliver moving speeches that make our heart warm, nor happy family moments that seem so common nowadays. It's the brutality and cold reality that is projected throughout the series that makes it an amazing achievement. Theres never a perfect ending, when someone threatens to attack another character, there isn't a climactic battle, or a crazy plot twist, but eventually that person will be killed. The heroes don't act like heroes, because they are usually afraid to the extent where they are not even aware of the drama around them. This indifference to the readers seeking a comfortable Hero vs. Villain keeps the series serious. Fortunately the seriousness is sometimes broken with characters who seem like an odd mix of insanity, power, and hilarity. Like nothing I've read before, and truly a masterpiece in the genre.
Submitted by Nathan 
(Jan 16, 2008)Well I've now completed the third book of this series ('Memories of Ice') and while there was obviously enough to keep me reading this far - no mean feat as anyone who has read it will know - I am afraid I still retain a few reservations which I would like to pass on to any prospective readers of the series.
Firstly I'd say to any fan of the genre: give them a try. Here you will certainly find an original and at least to some extent absorbing fantasy series which, if you come to like it, will keep your days and nights full for a long time! But I must warn you that if you believe everything you hear and read in it's favour, you may be disappointed.
Erikson's writing style is more mature than that of, say, Eddings or Feist, but less grandiose and solemnly self-concious than Tolkien or Donaldson. But, that said, the prose itself is still often clumsy, with overused phrases, cliches and - particularly noticeable to me - laughably childish descriptions, particularly of magical phenomena. The author too often resorts to Hollywood style "bursts of light" and "flashes of power" to describe magic, but invariably fails to inject any mystery or awe or even suspense in to such scenes, merely relating them in a matter of fact, detached manner. This gives the impression that he is at times a little over ambitious with his prose, where Feist or Gemmel would have kept it more realistic.
This is, in fact at odds with the way in which Erikson stands out as a writer who departs from the conventions of the genre. What kept me reading, and the main reason I would recommend giving the series a try to anyone, was that the Malazan series takes place in a fascinating, elaborate and unique fantasy universe, which, despite my reservations, I am still glad to have visited. Erikson never shies away from grandiose themes, with most of the plot being derived from the politics of the various supernatural and earthly entities. The problem is that this usually only takes place in the background of the actual story, and we learn about it through the endless dialogue of the main characters.
This is not character story and personally I did not find it particularly moving. Mainly because Erikson obsessively creates new characters to add to the ever expanding cast, but cannot live up to the impossible task of giving them all genuine and plausible motives, emotions and experiences. What, I think, many readers have mistaken for depth of characterisation is Eriksons' habit of continually interjecting substantial passages of psychodrama in to the novels. But I found these shallow and contrived and, most importantly, irrelevant. I never felt that individuals changed or learnt or behaved out of character. In fact there was a sense of inevitability to the whole thing, characters unfailingly doing exactly what was expected of them, as though people were no more than pawns in a great game. Which is, of course, the central premise of the whole series! But to me this does not make for great story telling. I was more interested in the powerful, mysterious characters on the periphery of the plot than the tedious 'down to earth' characters whose endless, 'humorous', discussions I was forced to endure.
Unlike most readers, I actually enjoyed the first novel in the series more than the others, perhaps while the novelty was still there. It did not bother me that all was not revealed in the first few pages, nor did I find it particularly challenging. I suppose I enjoyed that sense of piecing things together and being dropped in to this world with as little clue about what was going on as most of the characters. The problem came as I read on and on and I could not shake the feeling that the author had no more idea where the story was going than I did! Malazan, for me, works a lot on anticipation and elaborate back story. But throughout Erikson fails to deliver, either seeming to forget a certain plot strand all together, or culminating in set piece action sequence which his prose fails to live up to and leaves you with a feeling of anticlimax.
Malazan is written like a television series, with each chapter another episode in which you see how each character is doing, and with big 'series finales' in which he gets out all his special effects. But to me the SFX were unconvincing, and, like certain T.V series, much of the narrative had that feeling of going somewhere but never quite arriving.
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