Thursday , March 28 2024
Reading Erikson's work is to be reminded what epic fiction really is.

Book Review: Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson

As far back as humans have been telling stories we've been telling tales of epic proportions. Even before we were writing things down, Homer in Greece and Valmiki in India were reciting the verses they had created commemorating the lives of cultural heroes. Later civilizations, like the Romans with Virgil's Aenead, co-opted the form to create a suitably heroic past for themselves.

Mythical or true, the epic served the purpose of providing a culture with a hero of exemplary character who could be held up for all to emulate. Some cultures have created their religions along similar lines, with a central figure both worshiped and emulated. Over the years however the application of the word 'epic' has changed and is usually only used to indicate the size and breadth of the narrative.

Long gone are epics meant to serve as cultural guidelines, mainly because that role is no longer necessary, but that still doesn't mean the term should be tossed about as lightly as it is today and applied to writing just because it runs into multiple installments or a huge number of words. How many times do you read of something being described as a "sweeping epic narrative of …"?

Nine times out of ten it usually means the author has written thousands of pages of pointless drivel based on some romantic notion of history. It's the reading equivalent of eating a ten-course meal of fast food – it's the same as a ten-course gourmet meal in size, but has none of the substance that makes you remember it an hour after you've eaten.

Steven Erikson's series Malazan Book Of The Fallen, published by Bantam Press, definitely qualifies as a gourmet banquet of delights. The publication of Reaper's Gale, the seventh book of his ten-book contribution to the story of the Malazan Empire, is another indication of how impressive his talents truly are. (A fellow Canadian author has now joined Mr. Erikson in contributing to telling the story of the Empire; Ian C. Eslemont's first installment, Night Of Knives, is being released by Bantam on July 24.)

Over the course of the first six books, Mr. Erikson has managed what I consider the remarkable achievement of creating a multitude of characters and plots without once allowing his work to descend into confusion. In fact he's one of the few authors I know where the introduction of new plots and characters actually clarifies matters instead of confusing them further.

The reason he is able to accomplish this seemingly difficult task is his patience as a writer. He allows his characters and his plots plenty of time to develop so his readers are able to be comfortable with both the situations and the people. People who were briefly introduced in early books as chance encounters come back in a later book to have their story told in full and their place in the history explained. They might then be set aside for another entire book, but when we meet them again we know who they are and what their role is destined to be.

The title Reaper's Gale is a reference to the old saying about "reaping a whirlwind" as a consequence of your actions. A number of assorted plots and schemes have been launched by a variety of beings, ranging from mortal to god, over the course of the first six books, and now they are reaping that gale.

The Malazan armies have landed on the coast of Letherii to ferment rebellion against the Tiste Edur who has conquered that Empire. But the battle between elements of the Fourteenth army and the Tiste Edur and Letherii forces is only one layer of the battle. While the mortals wage bloodthirsty war, plots and counter plots are being acted out around them on all levels of reality.

What holds everything together is Erikson's wonderful skill in creating characters. Unlike the epics of old where there is one character who was representative of all that was supposedly admirable about a culture, we have a multitude of characters who encompass the best and the worst of humankind. Of course there are heroes and villains, but then there are also the others who are neither, or the ones we will always be unsure of.

Erikson makes it clear that good and evil have nothing to do with nationality or race. Among the supposed enemy there are just as many good men and women in the armies opposed to the invading forces, who are just as capable of heroic and selfless acts as anybody else. The villains in these stories have never been soldiers after all, rather those who use them to obtain wealth and power for themselves.

It's probably no accident that the god who tempts with the means to obtain power over others is crippled, and those who utilize his gifts more often than not end up with bodies as deformed and pain-ridden as their patron. Their physical deformity is testimony to the corruption of their minds and a manifestation of their diseased souls.

The epic stories of old were told to recount the exploits of heroes and to try and impart to their readers and listeners something of the scale of the events. Battles were fought that changed the course of history, and all of the events were larger then life. Erikson not only retains those elements he improves on the format by introducing the human element with the characters he creates.

It's through these characters that we are drawn into the story, instead of being left on the outside watching a larger than life hero. We want to know what happens to them and that, more than anything else, is what keeps us turning the pages. Everything about these books is well written, from the descriptions of the surroundings to the chaos of battle, but it's our investment in his characters that make all those elements matter.

Reaper's Gale is another wonderful installment in Steven Erikson's remarkable creation The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Reading his work is to be reminded what epic fiction really is. Readers in Canada can buy Reaper's Gate directly from Random House Canada or other online retailers like Amazon Canada.

About Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of three books commissioned by Ulysses Press, "What Will Happen In Eragon IV?" (2009) and "The Unofficial Heroes Of Olympus Companion" and "Introduction to Greek Mythology For Kids". Aside from Blogcritics he contributes to Qantara.de and his work has appeared in the German edition of Rolling Stone Magazine and has been translated into numerous languages in multiple publications.

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