Hey folks,
I used to lurk around here for a while; but then real life interfered , so it's been a few months. Anyway, since I didn't see his name mentioned yet on this board, figured I'd recommend a Canadian author named Steven Erikson to y'all. He's written a series called "The Malazan Book of the Fallen". If you got tired of Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, and that talentless hack Terry Goodkind; if you're burnt out on "epic fantasy", this is the guy to revitalize you.
Briefly, the series is about the Malazan Empire, which is in the middle of a series of conquests. Its Emperor was assassinated, and now a seemingly incompetent Empress is trying to conquer a neighboring continent. The main characters in the first novel, Gardens of the Moon, are the Bridgeburners, a platoon of soldiers sent on a suicidal mission to bring down the city of Darujhistan, from the inside. Meanwhile, the leaders of Darujhistan fight and squabble as to how to deal with the Malazan threat - fight, surrender, try to make a deal. In addition to all this, there are gods and Ascendants making their own plays and plots with the Bridgeburners, the city of Darujhistan, and its inhabitants.
I'll tell you that when I read GotM, I had a hard time getting through the first two-thirds or so. Erikson drops you into the middle of a vast world with lots of people, places, and magical systems that are new and can be pretty confusing. It was Erikson's first novel, and it showed, a little; he tried to cram a lot in.
Anyway, the following novels (Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, House of Chains, Midnight Tides) are much better, and he continues with a rich and varied world - you'll find no farmboys with magical swords overthrowing kings, here. The timeline of the novels covers three hundred thousand years, and at least two or three continents, as far as I've read (which is partway through House of Chains). So if you're looking not just for something new, but something challenging and fresh, pick up Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon.
I used to lurk around here for a while; but then real life interfered , so it's been a few months. Anyway, since I didn't see his name mentioned yet on this board, figured I'd recommend a Canadian author named Steven Erikson to y'all. He's written a series called "The Malazan Book of the Fallen". If you got tired of Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, and that talentless hack Terry Goodkind; if you're burnt out on "epic fantasy", this is the guy to revitalize you.
Briefly, the series is about the Malazan Empire, which is in the middle of a series of conquests. Its Emperor was assassinated, and now a seemingly incompetent Empress is trying to conquer a neighboring continent. The main characters in the first novel, Gardens of the Moon, are the Bridgeburners, a platoon of soldiers sent on a suicidal mission to bring down the city of Darujhistan, from the inside. Meanwhile, the leaders of Darujhistan fight and squabble as to how to deal with the Malazan threat - fight, surrender, try to make a deal. In addition to all this, there are gods and Ascendants making their own plays and plots with the Bridgeburners, the city of Darujhistan, and its inhabitants.
I'll tell you that when I read GotM, I had a hard time getting through the first two-thirds or so. Erikson drops you into the middle of a vast world with lots of people, places, and magical systems that are new and can be pretty confusing. It was Erikson's first novel, and it showed, a little; he tried to cram a lot in.
Anyway, the following novels (Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, House of Chains, Midnight Tides) are much better, and he continues with a rich and varied world - you'll find no farmboys with magical swords overthrowing kings, here. The timeline of the novels covers three hundred thousand years, and at least two or three continents, as far as I've read (which is partway through House of Chains). So if you're looking not just for something new, but something challenging and fresh, pick up Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon.
