Okay lets move onto, for my money, the most exciting new Fantasy writer for years. And I mean exciting.
Steven Erikson's Tales of The Malazan Book of the Fallen have garnered a huge rep over on the ASOIAF board. One of the boarders over there is a personal friend of Erikson and over the last 2 years these books have gained on popularity as more and more of us have started reading them, on the back of Orca's recommendation. Its a 10 book series, and we are now eagerly awaiting Book 4.
The cornerstone's of Erikson's work are Plot, Action and World-Building. His plot is very complicated. Indeed it isn't until half way through the first book before even the most diligent reader starts to get a grip on just what is going on. But once you do, you are immersed in a frenzy of activity that never lets up for the next 2 and a half books.
I say Frenzy, because that's the closest description I could think of. Erikson's Battle scenes are massive in scale, massive in bloodshed, and emotionally gut wrenching. He also liberally spices his action with uber-Killers left, right and centre. If you like your sword play - this is the place to come.
As for Word-Building. Erikson is an anthropologist and Archeologist. He brings all this knowledge to play in describing a World History that goes back 500,000 years. The level of complexity is staggering at times, but he's a master craftsman for certain.
Finally Erikson has received a lot of encouragement from Donaldson. Indeed Erikson has just released a novella set in the Malazan World, for which Donaldson wrote the Foreward.
If you enjoyed Illearth War, and want to read a series that contains in buckets all the best elements of that novel, I urge you to try Gardens of the Moon. "Some of the Scottish troops ran for five miles before they were killed. Others threw themselves into the sea. The number of dead is impossible to calculate, but there must have been several thousand. They included 5 Scottish Earls. The few prisoners who had been taken were put to death on Edward III's order, a final act of savagery for which there is no rational explanation. English casualties were light. Halidon Hill 19 July 1333Edward III Puts Scotland to the Sword, For a very Long Time.<i></i>
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