Forge of Darkness (The Kharkanas Trilogy, #1) in The Bridgeburners

Dec 06, 2012 Sorin Manole rated it it was amazing

Shelves: malazan

We are well acquainted with Erikson's skill of weaving plots, but in this book I can at last agree to his maturity in the ??? of words (and/or perhaps the hand of a harsher editor). The balance of action and description or introspection was at its best. Also this book is meant as an introduction, it does not end the plot lines, rather it represents the first third the greater story told in the Kharkanas Trilogy.

And again I find myself giving a 5. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 04, 2012 Anirudh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Another excellent book from Erikson. Works beautifully as a prequel but am not sure it can be read without completing the original series. The only drawback could be the philosophical introspection of every character. As the first book of a trilogy though, it sets up things very nicely. Can't wait for the next one. Must read for Malazan fans. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2012 Fundi Kiragu rated it it was amazing

Awesome read ... had to bookmark soo many pages .... dont wanna reread like the previous series... but another gripping tale to follow..

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Ben rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-noir, epic-fantasy, high-fantasy

Erikson remains one of my favourite authors. His writing style really is beautiful and his use of the English language is masterful and never fails to impress me. Erikson's prose really is a joy to read.

If you are a fan of Erikson's Malazan series, you will enjoy this book and find it both interesting and revealing. On the other hand, if you are new to reading any of Erikson's books, this is really not the place to start. Even for fans of the series, the list of characters is confusing and it ea Erikson remains one of my favourite authors. His writing style really is beautiful and his use of the English language is masterful and never fails to impress me. Erikson's prose really is a joy to read.

If you are a fan of Erikson's Malazan series, you will enjoy this book and find it both interesting and revealing. On the other hand, if you are new to reading any of Erikson's books, this is really not the place to start. Even for fans of the series, the list of characters is confusing and it easy to get confused with all of the different Tiste names. Also, despite the fact that this is a prequel (set millennia before the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, there are many revelations in this series for fans, so this reading this trilogy could reveal a number of spoilers for the main series.

On the other hand, for those who have read the previous ten books, there still may be some initial confusion. Simply looking at the maps in the front of the book could lead to a wrinkled brow and a "huh?". There are so many oddities in the beginning of the book, from the appearance of the Tiste, to the appearances of certain familiar names in surprising ways, a fan of the series might be given to wonder if Erikson had actually been paying attention to his own material, of if we had in fact fundamentally misinterpreted something along the way...

However, these feelings of confusion are cleared up later on in the book and for a while, revelations come thick and fast. There are definitely some great parts to this book, fans will surely be intrigued by the history which Erikson unveils. As a story though, the book rambles a little and while I know this is a trilogy, I did not get any sense of resolution with the ending of this book. Simply that this was where the pages ran out. Probably the biggest reason I cannot give this a full five stars though is that this is a really terrible place for new readers to come to Erikson's works. They will be baffled and confused and ultimately put off - and the decision to choose this shorter series, which is chronologically set before the main ten book series, would be a natural (but very wrong) one to make. ...more

Like · see review