The Malazan tales of the fallen have quickly grown into one of modern fantasies most prolific series. Without the possibility of an unknown number of books (erikson has said there are only ten) and with a regular release date of one a year, fans have been treated to some of the hardest and most uncomprimising fantasy for years.
The latest book in the series chronicles the journeys of a host of previous charcters as they battle and drink their way across the seven cities subcontinent. As always the cast is expanded with a host of new characters and dangers to have fans rubbing their hands in glee. Indeed i profess to many a holy f*** moment toward the end when i could not put the book down. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of Erikson's writing is the layered structure of his world. Everything is connected in some way and even small details can have a massive effect on the story and the charcters.
this of course can lead to problems, and for the most part erikson is able to use superiorly engaging writing to make these problems insignificant, but they can become quite annoying as the book goes on. Many of the characters are used as little more than stopping boards for more powerful or more popular charcters to stamp on. In this way many charcters suddenly jump in prowess at random intervals. This means the plot can sometimes seem fragmented, running for long periods of time without much happening and then having short sections where so much goes on that it is impossible to keep up with and so the reader is pleasurably forced to try again.
As this is the sixth book in the series though, and being a massive fan of erikson and his writing, i was well prepared for this style of plot development. yet i couldnt help but feel that this novel more than any another takes this the farthest. In his last novel the residing thme was mans fascination with money, but this one seemed much more inclined to discuss faith, be it in a cause or in a god. It is an aspect perhaps of an author gaining his confidence enough to attempt and influence his reader and i recall many arguments raised by a perception that midnight tides was anti american. If it was anti american, bonehunters is antireligion. I got the constant feel that erikson had lost faith with much of the panteon he had created, but equally i felt it was not gods he was disappointed in, but the followers. In this way the world he created in bonehunters was much more(to me) realistic. given that we have seen five books were war is not hinted at, but displayed in all its glory, it would be hard to fathom the characters retaining much hope, let alone faith.
For anyone who has even a passing interest in fantasy i cant recommend the novel enough. Of course i would suggest digesting the first five before hand as you would quickly become lost beneath all the characters if you didnt know them previously. equally fans will not be disappointed by the story which although slow in places, contains some of those things that fans have dreamt about since they first started reading gardens of the moon and dead house gates. The tie ins with previous novels, iskaral pust and magora, Icarum and all the others will drive you well into the darkness as you strive for just one more chapter before exhaustion grips you.
Enjoy my friends and pray that book seven isnt far behind. I for one, cannot wait.
overall score : 9/10.
The latest book in the series chronicles the journeys of a host of previous charcters as they battle and drink their way across the seven cities subcontinent. As always the cast is expanded with a host of new characters and dangers to have fans rubbing their hands in glee. Indeed i profess to many a holy f*** moment toward the end when i could not put the book down. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of Erikson's writing is the layered structure of his world. Everything is connected in some way and even small details can have a massive effect on the story and the charcters.
this of course can lead to problems, and for the most part erikson is able to use superiorly engaging writing to make these problems insignificant, but they can become quite annoying as the book goes on. Many of the characters are used as little more than stopping boards for more powerful or more popular charcters to stamp on. In this way many charcters suddenly jump in prowess at random intervals. This means the plot can sometimes seem fragmented, running for long periods of time without much happening and then having short sections where so much goes on that it is impossible to keep up with and so the reader is pleasurably forced to try again.
As this is the sixth book in the series though, and being a massive fan of erikson and his writing, i was well prepared for this style of plot development. yet i couldnt help but feel that this novel more than any another takes this the farthest. In his last novel the residing thme was mans fascination with money, but this one seemed much more inclined to discuss faith, be it in a cause or in a god. It is an aspect perhaps of an author gaining his confidence enough to attempt and influence his reader and i recall many arguments raised by a perception that midnight tides was anti american. If it was anti american, bonehunters is antireligion. I got the constant feel that erikson had lost faith with much of the panteon he had created, but equally i felt it was not gods he was disappointed in, but the followers. In this way the world he created in bonehunters was much more(to me) realistic. given that we have seen five books were war is not hinted at, but displayed in all its glory, it would be hard to fathom the characters retaining much hope, let alone faith.
For anyone who has even a passing interest in fantasy i cant recommend the novel enough. Of course i would suggest digesting the first five before hand as you would quickly become lost beneath all the characters if you didnt know them previously. equally fans will not be disappointed by the story which although slow in places, contains some of those things that fans have dreamt about since they first started reading gardens of the moon and dead house gates. The tie ins with previous novels, iskaral pust and magora, Icarum and all the others will drive you well into the darkness as you strive for just one more chapter before exhaustion grips you.
Enjoy my friends and pray that book seven isnt far behind. I for one, cannot wait.
overall score : 9/10.
