Malazan Musings

I should like The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Steven Erikson's 10-volume series of epic doorstopper fantasy novels. Erikson is influenced by authors I enjoy, such as Glen Cook, and takes the notion of "gritty fantasy" to the nth degree in his works, which often top 1000 pages per book. He is a trained archeologist, as is his friend Ian C. "Cam" Esslemont. Together, the two put their love of exploring cultures and history into the creation of the Malazan world for their GURPS roleplaying, and eventually began writing fiction in that mileu. Erikson just released the ninth entry in his series, while Esslemont has published two of a projected five or six Malazan books of his own.

I became aware of Erikson (and then, by extension, of Esslemont) because of the mutual admiration society that he forms with Cook. They have been quick to praise one another over the past few years, as can be seen on book cover blurbs and in interviews. Erikson has become extremely popular with fantasy readers over the last five years, and this fandom has often suggested that those who enjoy Erikson's books ought to give Cook's works a try. I encountered this notion often enough on various websites that, in a reversal of the pattern, I sought out Erikson's series.

I've been collecting the mass market paperbacks of The Malazan Book of the Fallen for a little over a year. I bought the first, Gardens of the Moon, new, and volumes 2, 3 and 5 in gently-used copies from stores where I have trade-in credit. At this writing, I have Erikson's books 4, 6, 7 and 8, and Esslemont's debut borrowed from the library, all in trade paperback format (Erikson's 9th volume, and Esslemont's 2nd, aren't released in the USA yet).

I very much enjoy having all the books of a series together at once. It greatly enhances my enjoyment to be able to look at volumes I haven't read yet, and collect hints and ideas about what is to come. Far from being "spoilers," as this information is to some readers, it allows me to to function as an observer as to how the author gets characters from the situations I am currently reading, to those I read later. For Erikson, I know from the cast list that several inhabitants of the city of Darujhistan, that I'm presently following in Gardens of the Moon, are still alive and kicking in Book 8, Toll the Hounds. From what they are experiencing in this first book, they shouldn't survive until that later one!

I'm almost done with Gardens of the Moon. Its story has become engrossing in the second half. I was expecting this, as it is widely reported online that the book is initially quite difficult to get into. First-time readers are encouraged to put in the effort to reach the "juicy" parts, and so I perservered, and now I'm enjoying the payoff. I can see the Cook influence, which is supposed to be much less pronounced in later volumes. The Bridgeburners unit of soldiers bears a resemblance to the Black Company, and Kruppe seems to be Erikson's take on Mocker from the Dread Empire series.

There's lots of high powered magic flying about in Gardens of the Moon. Reviews I've read suggest that this only increases as the series progresses. This is a problem for some readers, since they feel it defies logic. My guess at this point, as a neophyte Malazan reader, is that, in a sense, Erikson is retelling the roleplaying adventures of high-level game characters. I know that when I was around 13, my friends and I used to pretend that our AD&D characters met up with various demons and devils from the Monster Manual, Asmodeus for example. We'd roll the dice, and every now and then, we'd manage to do sufficient damage to kill these powerful creatures. I suspect that Erikson is having his own form of fun by putting enounters of this sort into writing.

I had tried off and on to get into Gardens of the Moon, and this time it finally worked. I now expect to continue to enjoy Erikson's books for years to come. Each is so massive that it will take weeks to get through. I read all twelve of Cook's Garrett, P.I. series between June of 2008 and January of 2009, but those average under 300 pages per book, and I'm ready for a long, pleasurable haul through the Malazan world. Esslemont's books will only prolong the experience, in a good way. I'm ready for the challenge, bring it on!

See Malazan Empire for background on the works of Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont.