#steven erikson

[mapas-fantasticos]

Map of the world from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson.

[templephoenix]

One of the coolest things about the Malazan books is that you only ever get the characters' subjective knowledge about anything.

That's incredibly rare in fantasy stories; because most authors are constantly worried that they have to explain exactly how their imaginary setting works a lot of their characters tend to be knowledgeable, unbiased and truthful. When the protags enter a new area one of them will be like "this is a 700-year-old kingdom that's been under attack from the neighboring country for the last decade and it's ruled by Prince Wilbert who's fair but indecisive" and that'll turn out to be exactly accurate.

In the Malazan stories everything the characters think and say is limited by their own knowledge and colored by their opinions and prejudices. You can go three books believing some guy is evil incarnate until you meet him or get another opinion on him and it turns out that you only think that because you've heard about him solely from the POV of his love rival or some form of bigot up to that point.

The characters are constantly mistaken about others' motivations or how magic works or what the best course of action is, and it subtly demands that you constantly remember whose perspective you're inhabiting at any given moment. Together with the memory demands of the sprawling multiple locations and hundreds-strong cast, it's an intensely active form of reading a narrative.

I dunno, I just think it's neat is all.

[victusinveritas]

From Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson

[iamnotshazam]

Phew! Wow, this Malazan series seems pretty cool. (Spoilers will get you sucked into Anomander Rake's sword. I don't make the rules.) I finished the first Malazan book, and though it was confusing, it was also very cool and entertaining. I'm so glad I can start the next book, Deadhouse Gates, while already knowing the main characters and setting and -

>opens the book

>sees six pages of maps

>none are genabackis

>less than a fourth of the dramatis personae are familiar

>no captain paran, tattersail, kruppe, rallick, or whiskeyjack

[existentialcrisisfish]

Ok, Malazan Book of the Fallen is my all time favourite book series and I'm only in book 3 out of 10, it's genius, Save me Sgt. Whiskeyjack.

[outofcontextmalazan]

'Mlawhlaoblossblayowblagmilebbingoblaiblblafblablallblayarblablabnablahblallblah!'

'Bla?'

'Bla?'

'Yarb?'

'Bah! You're stupid and useless and ugly!'

'Blabluablablablahllalalabala, too!'

-Toll the Hounds

[smokingchagga]

"The most deadly seducers are the ones encouraging conformity. If you can only feel safe when everyone else feels, thinks and looks the same as you, then you're a Hood-damned coward... Not to mention a vicious tyrant in the making."

- The Bonehunters, Steven Erikson

[justyouraverage-god]

Show me a god that celebrates diversity, a celebration that embraces even non-believers and is not threatened by them.

Show me a god who understands the meaning of peace. In life, not in death.

The Bonehunters (2006) by Steven Erikson