Malazan Book(s) of the Fallen

I heard somewhere about this author, Steven Erikson, and his supposedly excellent series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Amazon only had the first two books available, so I surfed over to Amazon.co.uk to see how many books there were in publication. Book five is in print, and book six Sidenote: I love finding out about a great author that I have missed, because there are several books available (as opposed to reading one and then having to wait for a year or more for the next).

I ordered books 1 & 2 from Amazon.co.uk, figuring I would try them out. After exchange rates and shipping, each of the paperback books ended up costing about $18 apiece. For that price, they had better be damn good books.

Book One (the UK cover)

I dove into Gardens of the Moon, waiting to be blown away. Let me begin by saying that Erikson dives right in. Most fantasy novels have a protagonist who is basically clueless (like the reader) about the world around them. The author introduces the protagonist into the scenario, and thus educates the reader about the intricacies of things like magic and politics. Erikson does none of that. Page one of book one of his series is like picking up an average fantasy novel and starting on page 200. To be honest, it is confusing as hell.

But good. Oh, so good. After about a hundred pages I was comfortable in Erikson's world. I was able to understand his vocabulary and envision his creation in my mind. And what a grand creation it is.

I won't spoil any of it, but let me say that I was blown away after all. I ordered books 3-5 from Amazon.co.uk since the USA is behind England and only has books 1 & 2 for sale. I just finished book two, The Deadhouse Gates, and can't wait to continue. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is as good a fantasy series as I have read. I put them up there with Martin's Song of Ice and Fire and Hobb's Assassin/Tawny Man series.

I highly recommend them. Five out of five stars.