Green
Sick and Tired
So, here's my review of Steven Erikson's The Bonehunters. I haven't read the other one on this board, yet... so apologies for any re-trodden ground 
I'm not much good at re-hashing plot, so I'll just give you the blurb from the dustjacket (which does a better job of it than I could do)...
The Seven Cities Rebellion has been crushed. Sha'ik is dead. One last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y'Ghatan and under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortess makes the battle-weary Malaz 14th Army uneasy. For it was here that the Empire's greatest champion, Dassem Ultor, was slain and a tide of Malazan blood spilled. A place of foreboding, its smell is of death.
But elsewhere, agents of a far greater conflict have made their opening moves. The Crippled God has been granted a place in the pantheon, a schism threatens and sides must be chosen. Whatever each god decides, the ground rules have changed, irrevocably, terrifyingly, and the first blood spilled will be in the mortal world.
A world which contains a host of characters, familiar and new, including Heboric Ghost Hands, the god-possessed Apsalar, Cutter, once a thief now a killer, the extraordinary warrior called Karsa Orlong and the two wanderers Icarium and Mappo - each searching for such a fate as they might fashion with their own hands, guided by their own will. If only the gods would leave them alone. But now that knives have been unsheathed, the gods ae disinclined to be kind. There shall be war, war in the heavens. And the prize? Nothing less than existence itself...
Ok. So this, the 6th Malazan novel, arrives on our shelves at last. It's been a long time coming, and Erikson's fanbase has grown. We've all been fiercely anticipating the next chapter in the saga. So, what's it like?
The novel starts off promisingly enough, piling on the intrigue and hitting us with a bit of welcome infodump in the prologue. It seems from the outset that we're on familiar ground, here.
But there, I think, we hit a problem (but stay with me - bad points first, then the good points). The ground is all-too familiar. We seem to be back exactly where we left off with House of Chains. But not with the right characters. The 14th Army is a major focus of the book, unsurprisingly, and we spend a lot of time with them along the way, but it feels sometimes that Erikson is not moving these characters along - without too many spoilers, I'd sum up by saying that the 14th are disillusioned (as they were for much of HoC), lacking faith in their commander (again, as in HoC), and needing a decisive, conclusive battle with the forces of the rebellion to gain any kind of sure footing as a fighting force (again, HoC territory).
I often felt that Memories of Ice felt like a true sequel to Gardens of the Moon, whereas HoC (the latter half, at least) felt more like an add-on to Deadhouse Gates, an appendage. Lacking its own sense of self. I think that in much the same way, TBH feels an appendage to HoC. The first half of the book seems to be trudging through knee-deep water to get the 14th what they feel they need to move on, with few hints of the excitement that we're waiting for. Even Y'Ghatan fails to deliver what it promises, the battle seeming to be too chopped up with interweaving POVs and it loses its impact. Erikson has said before that he had some loose ends to tie up in Seven Cities, and imo it really shows in this first half of TBH. He is trying to get the story to where he wants it, he is wrapping up as fast as possible, but it takes him too long and I felt that it was unnecessary. There is little new here, at least to begin with, and many of the characters find themselves running through the same old problems/crises. He is the writer, and I think he should have been a bit more strict with his beloved Malazans and where they wanted to take him.
So... the characters. Erikson has shown himself many times to be a master of the multi-POV storytelling that has made his work what it is. He has loads of POV characters. Loads. And normally, he handles them all perfectly, with distinct personalities and a great balance of wits. In TBH, we find that many of his main POV characters are having to share the same novel, and I feel that in some sections (particular the events at Y'Ghatan) he is weighed down by them all. There is sometimes little for his main characters to do except await more interesting times (Karsa Orlong, for example. His role in this novel seems to be purely getting from A to B so that something interesting can happen to him in the next novel. He is rarely seen as a POV character, most likely because nothing happens to him that allows him to develop in the way he did in HoC. Cotillion appears to have become some kind of pantomime character, showing up to offer help and advice to anyone who needs it, and to drop a few vital plotpoints here and there at the same time. What happened to the vicious torturer that we saw in GotM? The patron of assassins now strikes me more as Loveable Mr. Jones From Next Door). Where are Trull and Onrack? Where are the Edur that we spent a novel getting to know and despise/pity? Well, they are there, but you've got to wait for them to show their faces.
So, you still with me? Ok... good points.
I mentioned the pace. Well, let me come back to it.
There is an almost palpable transformation about half-way through TBH. I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just say that something happens that really made me sit up in my seat and pay attention. And then the rest of the book is almost a blur. If the first half lacked in direction and pace, then Erikson more than makes up for this in the latter half (and particularly in the last quarter). The convergence of plot threads is formidable and the action seems to start and then never stop. For me, action is not always defined by balls-out swords and shields, which is why I felt let down by the Y'Ghatan sections, with their frenzied switching of POVs, but TBH does manage to pack in enough of all the kinds of action. The pace grows and grows, and then BAM! You hit the end of the book... but the action doesn't stop there, it carries on for about 200 pages. Unfortunately, we have to wait for Reaper's Gale to read those pages for ourselves.
It's always easier to point out the bad points, but Erikson has so many good points that I feel I'm cheating him here by focusing on so few of them. As ever, his writing excels. Even in the, er, less interesting parts of the first half of the novel, his way with words will always catch your imagination. An offhand comment, a particular description of a character's expression. He isn't just plot, plot, plot - Erikson manages to fill each page with a kind of decorative momentum. Everything has its meaning, everything has its purpose, but even without those things, he still captures the imagination with inhuman ease. The envy of many writers out there, no doubt.
But without doubt, his main strength is his story - his plot. It's a great tale he's got here, once he decides to get round to it, and he tells it well. With every page that you turn, you feel the web of the overall plot drawing tighter, though new surprises are offered along the way. I get the feeling that some aspects may have been left too late (Dragons, for example), but I can't really comment on that until I've read book 10.
So, to finish off. Does it live up to expectations? Well... yes and no. Is it good? Undoubtedly yes. Is it great? Hmmm. Hard to say. The second half promises all kinds of things - and manages to deliver. But I do think the overall impact is weighed down by the slow first half. It takes him too long to continue the story I want to read.
Should you read it? Well, if you're a fan, then you will be pleased to hear that Erikson is delivering all the passion that he has shown in previous installments. Which makes it kind of cheeky to ask for perfection. If you're a fan of the series, the question isn't a matter of should you read, it's a matter of how could you not?.
EDIT - D'oh! Forgot to add a rating... 7.5/10 Greatness tinged with overly-high expectations.
I'm not much good at re-hashing plot, so I'll just give you the blurb from the dustjacket (which does a better job of it than I could do)...
The Seven Cities Rebellion has been crushed. Sha'ik is dead. One last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y'Ghatan and under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortess makes the battle-weary Malaz 14th Army uneasy. For it was here that the Empire's greatest champion, Dassem Ultor, was slain and a tide of Malazan blood spilled. A place of foreboding, its smell is of death.
But elsewhere, agents of a far greater conflict have made their opening moves. The Crippled God has been granted a place in the pantheon, a schism threatens and sides must be chosen. Whatever each god decides, the ground rules have changed, irrevocably, terrifyingly, and the first blood spilled will be in the mortal world.
A world which contains a host of characters, familiar and new, including Heboric Ghost Hands, the god-possessed Apsalar, Cutter, once a thief now a killer, the extraordinary warrior called Karsa Orlong and the two wanderers Icarium and Mappo - each searching for such a fate as they might fashion with their own hands, guided by their own will. If only the gods would leave them alone. But now that knives have been unsheathed, the gods ae disinclined to be kind. There shall be war, war in the heavens. And the prize? Nothing less than existence itself...
Ok. So this, the 6th Malazan novel, arrives on our shelves at last. It's been a long time coming, and Erikson's fanbase has grown. We've all been fiercely anticipating the next chapter in the saga. So, what's it like?
The novel starts off promisingly enough, piling on the intrigue and hitting us with a bit of welcome infodump in the prologue. It seems from the outset that we're on familiar ground, here.
But there, I think, we hit a problem (but stay with me - bad points first, then the good points
). The ground is all-too familiar. We seem to be back exactly where we left off with House of Chains. But not with the right characters. The 14th Army is a major focus of the book, unsurprisingly, and we spend a lot of time with them along the way, but it feels sometimes that Erikson is not moving these characters along - without too many spoilers, I'd sum up by saying that the 14th are disillusioned (as they were for much of HoC), lacking faith in their commander (again, as in HoC), and needing a decisive, conclusive battle with the forces of the rebellion to gain any kind of sure footing as a fighting force (again, HoC territory).I often felt that Memories of Ice felt like a true sequel to Gardens of the Moon, whereas HoC (the latter half, at least) felt more like an add-on to Deadhouse Gates, an appendage. Lacking its own sense of self. I think that in much the same way, TBH feels an appendage to HoC. The first half of the book seems to be trudging through knee-deep water to get the 14th what they feel they need to move on, with few hints of the excitement that we're waiting for. Even Y'Ghatan fails to deliver what it promises, the battle seeming to be too chopped up with interweaving POVs and it loses its impact. Erikson has said before that he had some loose ends to tie up in Seven Cities, and imo it really shows in this first half of TBH. He is trying to get the story to where he wants it, he is wrapping up as fast as possible, but it takes him too long and I felt that it was unnecessary. There is little new here, at least to begin with, and many of the characters find themselves running through the same old problems/crises. He is the writer, and I think he should have been a bit more strict with his beloved Malazans and where they wanted to take him.
So... the characters. Erikson has shown himself many times to be a master of the multi-POV storytelling that has made his work what it is. He has loads of POV characters. Loads. And normally, he handles them all perfectly, with distinct personalities and a great balance of wits. In TBH, we find that many of his main POV characters are having to share the same novel, and I feel that in some sections (particular the events at Y'Ghatan) he is weighed down by them all. There is sometimes little for his main characters to do except await more interesting times (Karsa Orlong, for example. His role in this novel seems to be purely getting from A to B so that something interesting can happen to him in the next novel. He is rarely seen as a POV character, most likely because nothing happens to him that allows him to develop in the way he did in HoC. Cotillion appears to have become some kind of pantomime character, showing up to offer help and advice to anyone who needs it, and to drop a few vital plotpoints here and there at the same time. What happened to the vicious torturer that we saw in GotM? The patron of assassins now strikes me more as Loveable Mr. Jones From Next Door). Where are Trull and Onrack? Where are the Edur that we spent a novel getting to know and despise/pity? Well, they are there, but you've got to wait for them to show their faces.
So, you still with me? Ok... good points.
I mentioned the pace. Well, let me come back to it.
There is an almost palpable transformation about half-way through TBH. I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just say that something happens that really made me sit up in my seat and pay attention. And then the rest of the book is almost a blur. If the first half lacked in direction and pace, then Erikson more than makes up for this in the latter half (and particularly in the last quarter). The convergence of plot threads is formidable and the action seems to start and then never stop. For me, action is not always defined by balls-out swords and shields, which is why I felt let down by the Y'Ghatan sections, with their frenzied switching of POVs, but TBH does manage to pack in enough of all the kinds of action. The pace grows and grows, and then BAM! You hit the end of the book... but the action doesn't stop there, it carries on for about 200 pages. Unfortunately, we have to wait for Reaper's Gale to read those pages for ourselves.
It's always easier to point out the bad points, but Erikson has so many good points that I feel I'm cheating him here by focusing on so few of them. As ever, his writing excels. Even in the, er, less interesting parts of the first half of the novel, his way with words will always catch your imagination. An offhand comment, a particular description of a character's expression. He isn't just plot, plot, plot - Erikson manages to fill each page with a kind of decorative momentum. Everything has its meaning, everything has its purpose, but even without those things, he still captures the imagination with inhuman ease. The envy of many writers out there, no doubt.
But without doubt, his main strength is his story - his plot. It's a great tale he's got here, once he decides to get round to it, and he tells it well. With every page that you turn, you feel the web of the overall plot drawing tighter, though new surprises are offered along the way. I get the feeling that some aspects may have been left too late (Dragons, for example), but I can't really comment on that until I've read book 10.
So, to finish off. Does it live up to expectations? Well... yes and no. Is it good? Undoubtedly yes. Is it great? Hmmm. Hard to say. The second half promises all kinds of things - and manages to deliver. But I do think the overall impact is weighed down by the slow first half. It takes him too long to continue the story I want to read.
Should you read it? Well, if you're a fan, then you will be pleased to hear that Erikson is delivering all the passion that he has shown in previous installments. Which makes it kind of cheeky to ask for perfection. If you're a fan of the series, the question isn't a matter of should you read, it's a matter of how could you not?.
EDIT - D'oh! Forgot to add a rating... 7.5/10 Greatness tinged with overly-high expectations.
