Steven Erikson: Malazan Book of the Fallen
Published: Sep 20, 2008 - 02:13 PM :: Print this article
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is an epic fantasy series written by Canadian author Steven Erikson, published in ten volumes starting with Gardens of the Moon. Eight books are available as of July 2008 and two are forthcoming. It is wide in scope and encompassing the stories of a very large cast of characters.
Each book tells a different chapter in the ongoing saga of the world upon which the Malazan Empire is located. For the first five books, each volume is relatively self-contained, in that the primary conflict of each novel is resolved within that novel. However, many underlying characters and events are interwoven throughout the works of the series, binding it together. The second half of the series is much more traditionally structured with events in one novel leading into the next.
The Malazan world was co-created by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont in the early 1980s as a backdrop for roleplaying games. In 2005 Esslemont began publishing his own series of five novels set in the same world, beginning with Night of Knives. Although Esslemont's books are published under a different series title - Novels of the Malazan Empire - Esslemont and Erikson collaborated on the storyline for the entire fifteen-book project and Esslemont's novels are considered as canonical and integral to the series as Erikson's own.
Erikson's books are most definitely for mature audiences. It's not just that his books are bloody and relate many war-time atrocities, or that his writing may be over the head of younger readers, but rather that his themes require a body of life experience sufficient to fully empathize with the characters and understand the depth of human suffering that Erikson seeks to portray. As indicated by the series title, Book of the Fallen, many people die, including major characters we've come to love and respect.
The Malazan series is often compared both to Glen Cook's Black Company, (to whom the seventh book is dedicated) and George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
The Malazan world was co-created by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont in the early 1980s as a backdrop for roleplaying games. In 2005 Esslemont began publishing his own series of five novels set in the same world, beginning with Night of Knives. Although Esslemont's books are published under a different series title - Novels of the Malazan Empire - Esslemont and Erikson collaborated on the storyline for the entire fifteen-book project and Esslemont's novels are considered as canonical and integral to the series as Erikson's own.
Erikson's books are most definitely for mature audiences. It's not just that his books are bloody and relate many war-time atrocities, or that his writing may be over the head of younger readers, but rather that his themes require a body of life experience sufficient to fully empathize with the characters and understand the depth of human suffering that Erikson seeks to portray. As indicated by the series title, Book of the Fallen, many people die, including major characters we've come to love and respect.
The Malazan series is often compared both to Glen Cook's Black Company, (to whom the seventh book is dedicated) and George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
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