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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Despite a middling start, this may be my favourite Erikson book. The smaller scale definitely helped.
Forge of Darkness made me remember what I love Erikson's writing in Malazan Book of the Fallen so much. The characters are well fleshed out, the word is deep and expansive and Erikson's writing is so full of meaning that the book is quite nearly an epic poem in itself.
I would suggest reading the Book of the Fallen series first, as it makes the world in Forge of Darkness that much more intriguing as some details seem to have changed over the years, but this is by no means an absolute necessity.
Some of the biggest characters from the world of Malazan make their appearance here, but in a very different way. It's almost like looking at the yearbook of a Hollywood celebrity before they were totally someone.
Erikson's wiring is very dense and because of this I think many get turned off by him, or find him to "philosophical" and it is true that his characters do tend to wax poetic at the drop of the hat. However, for me this is all part of the charm and why I love reading his writing so much.
Can't wait to read the next in the series and see how this drama will all play out before the end. Because while I technically know what happens as this is a prequel, I believe Erikson is going to show us as readers that history cannot always be trusted.
I would suggest reading the Book of the Fallen series first, as it makes the world in Forge of Darkness that much more intriguing as some details seem to have changed over the years, but this is by no means an absolute necessity.
Some of the biggest characters from the world of Malazan make their appearance here, but in a very different way. It's almost like looking at the yearbook of a Hollywood celebrity before they were totally someone.
Erikson's wiring is very dense and because of this I think many get turned off by him, or find him to "philosophical" and it is true that his characters do tend to wax poetic at the drop of the hat. However, for me this is all part of the charm and why I love reading his writing so much.
Can't wait to read the next in the series and see how this drama will all play out before the end. Because while I technically know what happens as this is a prequel, I believe Erikson is going to show us as readers that history cannot always be trusted.
I couldn't even finish this book which is very unusual for me. Way too many characters introduced without a clear connection. Disappointed because I was excited for an epic series.
Very good read on the background of Malazan. This was a very dark and graphic book with some tear-jerking moments...not for the faint of heart.
Well then.
Let's just get this out of the way first - this ends exactly how you'd expect and Erikson/Malazon book to end.
Moving on.
Lots of parent/child stuff going on here, especially father/son (Draconus/Arathan & Urusander/Osserc). Really good story. Definitely slow to start with the expected barrage of dozens of new gibberish names. It sucked me in by about 200 pages. Even at the end I have no idea who half the characters are. Nor do I care. That's part of the magic!!
2/3 of the way in, got really depressingly dark (as expected...). Jesus fuck. ARGH. ARGH. Yep, it's Erikson.
He mentioned in an interview somewhere (maybe one of th ones I'll link in a bit, I forget) in context of Malazan and escapism that there is something to escape to - that in this world anyone can have some measure of power or greatness or something like that. I forget. Anyway, whatever it was, it was true. BUT. Most of the anyone's just get killed, fucked, or both. Sometimes simultaneously.
Malazan always feels bleak as shit to me. There are moments of blinding brilliance and kindness, generally followed by mundane (what you might elsewhere call "unexpected" but, if you've been around more than a year or two, you might suspect that it's just the way things go) death and loss. BUT. There's still a core of hopefulness and spring in there but hot damn it's buried deep. The thing is... it's really there. But. The digging. Good for the soul, the aged might say.
There were lots of interesting bits in here - to me the Azathanai nature of the Azathanai stuff stood out the most, especially given how little we know of them from the other books. Little things like who was and wasn't Azathanai (over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, many came to be represented/shaped to the shapes of their followers, for example). Although, what they are is still up in the air. That or it's incredibly simple and obvious and needs no explanation beyond the statement of such. I can't decide. We'll see what the other two books have to say.
There is definitely a sense of (at least to [SPOILER]) of being bound by their aspect (even if the aspect is unclear) and perhaps a little blind to the horrors that could wreak... while simultaneously being near omniscient?? It's a weird setup.
FOUR STARS
Maybe more later. Need to steep in it for a bit. Can't wait to re-read the original Malazan series once this trilogy is done. I get the sense that it really is going to do something that every prequel sets out to do - enrich the reading of the originals - and generally fails at.
Some cool links I found while googling various character names I'd forgotten:
A Wired interview from last December.
An essay from Erikson on his website about "The Problem of Karsa Orlong". I had a huge problem with him at the outset (and it sounds like many others did as well), but I think I picked up something of the intent. Maybe a little later than I should have. <.< I forget. I know that by the end I empathized with him to a degree. I do like that there was always a sense of "Oh shit, Karsa is here. What the fuck is he going to do?" I don't get that much with characters in books.
Tor.com's re-read of Malazan blog series. Man, I hope I have the time to read those some day...
Let's just get this out of the way first - this ends exactly how you'd expect and Erikson/Malazon book to end.
Moving on.
Lots of parent/child stuff going on here, especially father/son (Draconus/Arathan & Urusander/Osserc). Really good story. Definitely slow to start with the expected barrage of dozens of new gibberish names. It sucked me in by about 200 pages. Even at the end I have no idea who half the characters are. Nor do I care. That's part of the magic!!
2/3 of the way in, got really depressingly dark (as expected...). Jesus fuck. ARGH. ARGH. Yep, it's Erikson.
He mentioned in an interview somewhere (maybe one of th ones I'll link in a bit, I forget) in context of Malazan and escapism that there is something to escape to - that in this world anyone can have some measure of power or greatness or something like that. I forget. Anyway, whatever it was, it was true. BUT. Most of the anyone's just get killed, fucked, or both. Sometimes simultaneously.
Malazan always feels bleak as shit to me. There are moments of blinding brilliance and kindness, generally followed by mundane (what you might elsewhere call "unexpected" but, if you've been around more than a year or two, you might suspect that it's just the way things go) death and loss. BUT. There's still a core of hopefulness and spring in there but hot damn it's buried deep. The thing is... it's really there. But. The digging. Good for the soul, the aged might say.
There were lots of interesting bits in here - to me the Azathanai nature of the Azathanai stuff stood out the most, especially given how little we know of them from the other books. Little things like who was and wasn't Azathanai (over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, many came to be represented/shaped to the shapes of their followers, for example). Although, what they are is still up in the air. That or it's incredibly simple and obvious and needs no explanation beyond the statement of such. I can't decide. We'll see what the other two books have to say.
There is definitely a sense of (at least to [SPOILER]) of being bound by their aspect (even if the aspect is unclear) and perhaps a little blind to the horrors that could wreak... while simultaneously being near omniscient?? It's a weird setup.
FOUR STARS
Maybe more later. Need to steep in it for a bit. Can't wait to re-read the original Malazan series once this trilogy is done. I get the sense that it really is going to do something that every prequel sets out to do - enrich the reading of the originals - and generally fails at.
Some cool links I found while googling various character names I'd forgotten:
A Wired interview from last December.
An essay from Erikson on his website about "The Problem of Karsa Orlong". I had a huge problem with him at the outset (and it sounds like many others did as well), but I think I picked up something of the intent. Maybe a little later than I should have. <.< I forget. I know that by the end I empathized with him to a degree. I do like that there was always a sense of "Oh shit, Karsa is here. What the fuck is he going to do?" I don't get that much with characters in books.
Tor.com's re-read of Malazan blog series. Man, I hope I have the time to read those some day...
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Успехът на малазанските книги за мен остава една от големите тайни в литературата и тъй като не можах да се насиля да прочета даже половината от първия том, реших да пробвам с отделно произведение на автора.
За съжаление (мое, не на безбройните му фенове, очевидно) стилът му на писане не се променя и представлява все същото безкрайно, безмислено повествование без никакво реално интересно действие и където всичко се "разказва" чрез разговорите на героите, каквото е в Малазан.
За съжаление (мое, не на безбройните му фенове, очевидно) стилът му на писане не се променя и представлява все същото безкрайно, безмислено повествование без никакво реално интересно действие и където всичко се "разказва" чрез разговорите на героите, каквото е в Малазан.
I do not quite understand some people, including the author, who say this prose is anything Shakespearean although the tropes sure are. Still I loved the drama and the philosophy that this series focuses on. It’s a clear departure from the Malazan books and only suffers the lack of wit. We need jokes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25 stars
There's a lot i like about this book but there is a plot point that feels significant for which I kept losing the thread. Nonetheless, I'm ready for the next 2 books!
There's a lot i like about this book but there is a plot point that feels significant for which I kept losing the thread. Nonetheless, I'm ready for the next 2 books!