Malazan Quotes: Memories of Ice

"In a world full of pitfalls and sinkholes, you dance around the edges. Only fools jump feet first, and fools don't live long besides." - Ganoes Paran

"The soldier's moment, now, before the battle begins - who would choose such a life? You stand with others, all facing the same threat, all feeling so very alone. In the cold embrace of fear, that sense that all that you are might end in moments. Gods, I've no envy for a soldier's life" - Gruntle

"Every gift is edged." - Tool

"Names are not for the asking, mortal. Names are earned." - Tool

"The harder the world, the fiercer the honour." - Dancer

"As my father warned us - in success, we shall find seeds of despair." - Cafal (son of Humbrall Taur)

"Never admit your unwillingness to rule, Malazan. What you fear in yourself will cloud your judgement of all that your successor does. Your fear will blind you to his wisdom and stupidity both." - Humbrall Taur

"You are the plains bear at our side, urging us to lock talons with the southern tiger. A hunter always knows the mind of a tiger, but never the mind of a plains bear." - Humbrall Taur

"Teach him what? How to live beneath the burden of command? That's something I can't manage myself. I need only look into Whiskeyjack's face to understand that no-one can - no-one who has a heart, anyway. We learn to achieve but one thing: the ability to hide our thoughts, to mask our feelings, to bury our humanity deep in our souls. And that can't be taught, only shown." - Paran

"If you can, dear friends, do not live through a siege" - Ubilast (the Legless)

"Fights like a boar? Gods, no, this man is a big, plains-hunting cat. He has bulk, aye, but it passes unnoticed behind a deadly grace. Fener save us all, the Tiger of Summer's ghost walks in this man's shadow." - Itkovian

"Thick silence, swirling as if not yet settled by the sounds of violence, as if somehow still trembling, still shivering..." - Whiskeyjack

"Sooner or later, she now understood, we are all naught but food. Wolves or worms, the end abrupt or lingering, it mattered not in the least." - Mhybe

"What the soul can house, flesh cannot fathom." - Imarak, First Destriant

"The void of lost faith is filled with your swollen self." - A long-dead Destriant

"We are all pushed into a world of madness, yet it must now fall to each of us to pull back from this Abyss, to drag ourselves free of the descending spiral. From horror, grief must be fashioned, and from grief, compassion." - Itkovian

"The loss fills the shadows we cast. Know this, soldier, the enemy you left to us was brittle." - The Barghast Spokesman

"Victory is an illusion. In all things." - Mhybe

"Hood's marble balls on an anvil..." - Whiskeyjack

"And it seems you've no idea of how to forgive - not her, not yourself. Guilt has become a chasm-" - Paran

"The heart of wisdom is tolerance" - Paran

'If that would help. More directly, however, you seem to forget my… experience. For all that I seem to grate upon all of you, I have walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?'

'Yes. You never learn, Kallor.' - Kallor & Caladan Brood

"We were brittle. Destroyed months ago, outside Pale, it's just taken this long for the few of us left to realize it. Hedge, Trotts, Detoran. Corpses who kept saluting-" - Picker

K'ell Hunter

I don't know you, but when I read a novel, I always have a clear enough picture of the protagonists. The same goes for the different races in fantasy novels. I'm about to finish Steven Erikson's Memories of Ice (the 3rd book of the Malazan book of the Fallen series). One of the races that I keep hearing is the K'ell Hunter (K'Chain Che'Malle - the first race on the Malazan world to evolve intelligence).

Here's a representation from Spindrift: K'ell Hunter. I think it's very good!

Malazan Twibbon

The Malazan community on twitter has been very active and rapidly growing. So, if you're a Malazan fan and if you have a twitter account, this could be of interest to you:

Malazan Twibbon

When you accept and click on "show my support now", this application will simply modify your twitter avatar.

MalazanTweeps.com

Over the last few weeks, I've been connecting with more and more Malazan fans on Twitter. They are really a great bunch of people. One of the first ones that I had the pleasure to meet was Rahul Vohra.

Recently, Rahul had the brilliant idea of putting together a Web site that aggregates Malazan-related tweets: malazantweeps.com.

malazantweeps.com is a great tool to see who else is reading Steven Erikson's and Ian Cameron Esslemont's Malazan books and what they're thinking about them. Furthermore, it also allows one to selectively connect with like-minded people because most of these guys and gals are avid (fantasy & sci-fi) readers.

There also seems to be a group of gamers among us. I'm not counting myself in this group as my last serious gaming attempts died down after my college years. When it's about video games, I have an addictive personality and it looks like I change universe or dimension because 20 minutes of game time take approximately 2 hours in the real world. I never know when to stop... Actually I have to correct this: I know when to stop: in 20 minutes, which translates into sleepless nights and zombie-mode unpleasant work days. So I opted out! I'm not a gamer, full stop. :)

Anyway! Give malazantweeps.com a try when you get a chance!

Malazan Quotes

Malazan books are full of hidden pearls. Following a recent conversation with a few friends, I'm going to try to collect here quotes and worthy sections that appear in the Malazan books. Please feel free to drop a comment if you have a quote that you want me to add in the list or if you just have something to say.

Gardens of the Moon

"Such tears had been shed before, and would be again - by others like her and yet unlike her. And the winds would dry them all."

"Betrayal was the greatest of all crimes in Rallick's mind, for it took all that was human within a person and made it a thing of pain."

"Kallor said: 'I walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?'

'Yes,' said Caladan Brood, 'you never learn.'"

"Out of your depth, Captain? Don't worry, every damn person here's out of their depth. Some know it, some don't. It's the ones who don't you got to worry about. Start with what's right inf ront of you and forget the rest for now. It'll show up in its own time." - Toc the Younger

"When the time for action comes, all doubts must be discarded."

Deadhouse Gates

"Name none of the fallen, for they stood in our place, and stand there still in each moment of our lives. Let my death hold no glory, and let me die forgotten and unknown. Let it not be said that I was one among the dead to accuse the living." - Duiker

"Names to faces are like twinned serpents threatening the most painful bite of all. I'll never return to the List of the Fallen, because I see now that the unnamed soldier is a gift. The named soldier--dead, melted wax--demands a response among the living... A response no one can make. Names are no comfort, they're a call to answer the unanswerable. Why did she die, not him? Why do the survivors remain anonymous--as if cursed--while the dead are revered? Why do we cling to what we lose while we ignore what we still hold?" - Duiker

"Show me a mortal who is not pursued, and I'll show you a corpse. Every hunter is hunted, every mind that knows itself has stalkers. We drive and are driven. The unknown pursues the ignorant, the truth assails every scholar wise enough to know his own ignorance, for that is the meaning of unknowable truths." - Heboric

"We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And, indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again." - Fiddler

"It's our nature, isn't it? Again and again, we cling to the foolish belief that simple solutions exist." - Kalam

"You dream that with memories will come knowledge, and from knowledge, understanding. But for every answer you find, a thousand questions arise."

Memories of Ice

Book Review: Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson

Title: Deadhouse Gates
Author: Steven Erikson
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Bantam
Publishing Date: 1 Oct 2001
Paperback: 959 pages
Series: Second of ten novels of the epic fantasy series, the Malazan Book Of The Fallen.

Summary

In and around the Seven Cities, the wind blowing from the holy Raraku Desert carries the warnings of a rebellion brewing in the whole continent. As Sha'ik unlocks the Whirlwind and sends her followers out on a holy war, the continent becomes a very dangerous place for the Malazans.

Don't Judge A Book By It But...

I must admit that I love Steve Stone's artwork on the covers of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and Deadhouse Gates is no exception. The warriors spawned by the whirlwind in the desert and the hounds announce a captivating book.

Review

We were in Darujhistan when we turned the last page of the Gardens of the Moon. However in Deadhouse Gates Erikson brings us to the Seven Cities, on a different continent.

As soon as I decided to read Deadhouse Gates, the first question that came to my mind was: "Will I read about the same characters in this book?" Well... If you're asking the same question then let me tell you that the only characters from the Gardens of the Moon that we encounter in Deadhouse Gates are Fiddler, Crokus, Apsalar and Kalam. The story of the first three is told in one of the story threads as Erikson masterfully manages four main story lines in parallel. We find the charismatic Kalam in the second story thread. The third thread is about a trio who just fell into slavery: Felisin Paran, a noble teenager (whose family name should be familiar), Heboric, an excommunicated priest of Fener the Boar God, and Beneth, a brute. The last main story thread revolves around the imperial historian Duiker (whose name was mentioned in the first book) who accompanies the Seventh Army in a perilous journey. Contrary to Gardens of the Moon, though, the characters in each story thread in Deadhouse Gates are most of the time separated by very long distances.

From the first page to the last, Deadhouse Gates progresses as a runaway train that imprisons the reader's attention. The parallel story lines are well crafted and have well balanced weights. These stories pull the reader in different directions, most of the time in different parts of the continent. Furthermore, Erikson continues his world building without overwhelming the reader. He's not afraid of showing gore and blood, and he proves that he is one the best fantasy writers to describe martial action and battle scenes.

I also noticed two things after reading the second book of the series: There is not any deep romance in Erikson's books, at least not in the first two books of the Malazan book of the Fallen. And Erikson seems to be just like George R. R. Martin in that no protagonist is safe in his books. There's something good about being caught off guard that way but it's also sad to see one of your favorite characters disappear.

All in all, in Deadhouse Gates, Steven Erikson raises the bar one more notch. It was an incredible read and I'm definitely thirsty for more. My mind is already set on Memories of Ice. I can't wait...

Rating: 9.5

Quote

"Name none of the fallen, for they stood in our place, and stand there still in each moment of our lives. Let my death hold no glory, and let me die forgotten and unknown. Let it not be said that I was one among the dead to accuse the living."

Lost in the vastness of the Malazan world?

Fantasy Book Review just published an interview done with Steven Erikson, the author of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and the co-creator of the Malazan world.

If you're like me and time to time felt overwhelmed by the vastness of the background information in the Malazan books then you should read this excerpt taken from the interview:

One of the things both Cam and I were agreed on regarding this series, was to write in a style that conveyed a sense of vastness, with a strong flavour of realism where not all answers are forthcoming, not all truths survive their utterance, and sometimes mystery abides no matter how desperate we all are for an end to the questions. That said, there will be plenty of resolutions, but the world will not be wrapped up with a pretty bow.

As for the events that have been recounted in the books, well, things are always open to interpretation, and I am also rather pleased to learn from readers that the books fair well in re-reads. I am a writer obsessed with layering my narrative, so there’s plenty to find for the reader even after the raw events of the story are well-known.

For the complete interview please see "Steven Erikson interview (September 2009)".

ABC interviews Fantasy Author Steven Erikson

ABC interviews Fantasy Author Steven Erikson

I write four hours a day, usually in the afternoon (I’m a late riser), at a local pub or cafe — the ones run by friendly, accommodating people who don’t object to my taking up a table and occasionally plugging in my laptop.

A nice interview but Erikson is still not smiling on the picture, though! ;)

Book Review: Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Title: Gardens of the Moon
Author: Steven Erikson
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Bantam (UK & Canada) & Tor (USA)
Publishing Date: 1 April 1999
Paperback: 752 pages
Series: First of ten (or maybe more) novels of the epic fantasy series, The Malazan Book Of The Fallen.

Summary

The story starts with the encounter between a boy called Ganoes Paran and the Sergeant Wiskeyjack during the final year of the Emperor Kellanved's reign. Ganoes, who's in Malaz City with his father, witnesses the raiding of the Mouse Quarter. During their conversation, Wiskeyjack disapproves the young Ganoes' dreams of becoming a soldier.

Then the book fast forwards seven years: Emperor Kellanved and his ally called Dancer have been assassinated. Since then, the Empire has been ruled by the Empress Laseen whose eyes are set on the Genabackis continent. The Malazan 2nd army is besieging Pale, one of the two free cities remaining on this continent. And we find Wiskeyjack and Ganoes Paran among the many characters whose lives are touched by these events.

Don't Judge A Book By It But...

I know that there have been various different covers depending on the editions. Those are my two favorite ones. I really like both and they would be the type of cover that makes me pick up a book and have a look. The first cover doesn't tell much about the martial aspect of the book however it creates a better mystery. From this point of view, I think that the second cover makes more justice to the story. Furthermore, the person on the second cover is Anomander Rake, Lord of Moon's Spawn and the leader of Tiste Andii. He is an extremely cool character.

Review

Wow! I just discovered that reading Erikson is a very fulfilling experience, in many ways. It's like drinking a pint of Murphy's (if you're asking "a pint of what?", it's like Guinness but it's better :). It's a superior stout from Cork, Ireland): It's tasty, it's rich, it has character, it has depth...

Gardens Of The Moon had been on my to-read list for a long while and I don't quite know why, I had always had something else to read. I mean, I don't know why I preferred to read something else but you know how it works. You have a list in your mind and depending on your mood you reshuffle that. Or you have a nice blog that you follow, you read a new review and bang! The list is reordered.

Anyway... I'm glad that I decided to plunge into the Malazan world. After a few dozen pages, I put the book down and I asked myself "Have I missed a few introductory chapters? Was there a book before Gardens Of The Moon?" It seems that it's normal to feel a bit lost in the beginning. It turns out that Erikson tells a story as it happens without constant background information giving. This becomes a very interesting style. On the one hand, potentially boring introductory chapters are avoided and it creates further mystery, and on the other hand the book reads like a real life event. Almost like the reader is a true witness to the story unfolding before her eyes but because she just arrived, she doesn't have much background information, naturally. So, at this point, if the reader is patient enough to follow Erikson's lead, she's rewarded by a window opening onto an incredible universe. I understand, now, what the author himself meant by saying "you either like it or you don't". Luckily I liked it very very much.

My first introduction to fantasy happened when I started to read my uncle's Conan comic books during my childhood. I still enjoy reading Conan, every now and then. The richness and the possibilities offered by the universe and the setting in Gardens Of The Moon reminded me of the Conan universe. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that the storylines or the styles are similar. It's just that the world created by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont is so rich with martial action, diverse races, deities, magical warrens, types of magic wielders, demons, armies, long forgotten civilizations, myths, etc. that the comparison came to me naturally, I guess.

The book has parallel stories running at the same time. Jumping from one story to another one is very frequent. And as I've already mentioned, it is rich in characters. My favourite ones are Anomander Rake, Whiskeyjack, the mysterious Kalam and Quick Ben who seems to be so much more than a simple mage. There are so many others: Irritating Tattersail, the confusing Ganoes Paran, the fat Kruppe, the young Crokus, Rallick Nom the assassin, Toc the Younger (I have the feeling that we're going to meet him again in a later book)... there are so many of them who make the whole book a delight to read. Furthermore, I found it was easy to connect with most of the characters.

Despite feeling lost in the beginning, Gardens Of The Moon ended up being a brilliant read. So much so that I had to continue with the second book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series immediately after finishing the first one. I've never been afraid of ambitious books and Gardens Of The Moon certainly starts like the first book of a very ambitious series. So, if you're like me, you are going to love it.

Rating: 9/10

Quote

"Such tears had been shed before, and would be again - by others like her and yet unlike her. And the winds would dry them all."

Question: Why does Steven Erikson never smile on pictures?

Final Note: Even though I haven't been playing for a few years, I played role-playing games for a long time (mostly table-top and on-line – not much video games). I can clearly see the creative minds behind such a rich world and how this whole universe can relate to an RPG world. I believe it would truly be a wonderful experience to role-play in a game GMed by the author.