Steven Erikson - Reaper's Gale

Another off-topic post for a Friday...

I'm a big reader of fantasy and science fiction novels, and my favourite fantasy series is The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. This epic 10-volume series (seven of which are in publication, to date) has been hailed by many as the greatest fantasy series since Tolkien, maybe even better that Tolkien. I would have to agree, although I always thought the LOTR books were over-rated and amateurish at times, anyway.

So it was with great excitement that I read the seventh and latest installment which was released this month, Reaper's Gale. But I have to say I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong; it's a good book and still better than a lot of other fantasy out there today, but it's the weakest in the series for some time, and I think Erikson can do a lot better. The build-up from previous books and the way this one was heading suggested a massive convergence, a jaw-dropping climax. However, this never really materialises. It's all a tad rushed and anti-climactic. The ending is good, but not brilliant as it should have been. Erikson also has a tedious and pretentious writing style which involves a lot of unnecessary and confusing sentence fragments, as well as plenty of tedious philosophising from entirely pointless side characters. The other problem is in the scope of the world Erikson has created. The Malazan universe is more complex and deep than Tolkien's Middle-earth. His rich world-building should be commended, but it can become so overwhelming that it can be downright confusing. As a result, when he dabbles in mystery-making, it doesn't quite work. There are a few big questions asked in this book, but I was left unsure as to whether these questions were being deliberately asked and had valid answers or if Erikson was merely getting confused and mired down to the point where he was having trouble keeping track of his own world. The level of complexity can be overwhelming and frustrating at times, as this book clearly demonstrates, and it leaves you wondering whether you're the one confused or if in fact it's Erikson's fault.

Even so, I did enjoy it as an addition to the Malazan series; it resolved some plot-lines, left others open and introduced yet new ones. And there is some good action in there. But I think it could and should have been a lot better, and at the end of the day I can't help feeling that if you're going to write a book that's 900 pages long in a large trade paperback size, it should be 100% worth the money and paper, and this book, I'm afraid, wasn't.