[Siergiej]

Wasn't sure about the forum section, but I don't think it's much of a problem. I had the opportunity (thanks Hetan, thanks Mr Erikson!) to ask Steven Erikson a few questions in the name of a polish site I work with. I am posting them here before translation, so that everyone can enjoy it. It is mainly targeted to be read by literature enthusiasts in general, not exactly familiar with fantasy, so the questions are not hardcore-deep-plot investigation type, but still I hope You like it.

Here we go:
1. „The Crippled God” - the tenth volume of monumental „Malazan Book of the Fallen” saga is just about to hit the shelves in Great Britain and United States. That must have been tremendous work. What did You feel when You typed the last words of the final installments in the series?




It’s hard to describe how I felt. Numb, relieved, shell-shocked. The sudden absence of a pressure I had been living under for many years, along with the emotional drain of the final chapters, left me in a daze. This series has consumed my entire professional life as a writer, and it existed as a dream for years before that time. Reaching the end of a goal is always a sobering, reflective experience.




2. Here in Poland we are probably going to wait at least a year for „The Crippled God” to be translated and released. But many of Your fans are eager to know if all of the main plotlines are resolved in Your latest novel. Or maybe You have left some questions unanswerd, so they can remain a subject of countless speculation amon the readers?




A good many storylines are resolved, but I should remind readers that this series is like a slice of history. There are no curtain-rises and no curtain closes off the final scene. Life goes on (for those still alive, that is), and people must make do with the legacy of their failures and achievements: just as we do in our real lives. At least, I hope that is the sense my readers have from this series. Things don’t as much disappear as blur out of focus.




There will always be room for speculation for the readers; I wouldn’t have it any other way. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a collection of specific points of view, and none of them are so well-informed as to possess all the answers. Also, I needed to make certain that sufficient questions and mysteries remained to serve the following books...




3. Are You going to take a break from the Malazan world for a while now and leave it in the hands of Ian Cameron Esslemont, or should we expect new Steven Erikson-signed novels set in that universe fairly quickly?




I spent about six weeks not writing a thing following the completion of The Crippled God, but now I am well into the first novel in the new trilogy, which is set in Kharkanas, in the age long before the Malazan period. Following this trilogy I will be returning to the tale of Karsa Orlong, and as such this will present a kind of aftermath, at least to begin with, to the Book of the Fallen.




4. There are plans for Encyclopedia-like Malazan title to be released sometime in the future. Don't You think that this huge, but also mysterious world will lose some of its magic, by this kind of straightforward explanation?




To be honest, I hadn’t even considered the notion that an encyclopedia could steal some of the magic from the series. Mostly what I hear is clamouring for such a compendium, to serve as reference. I envisage an encyclopedia to be more of a collection of treatises on Malazan cultures, ‘world’-wide (such of that world as as we have seen to date), along with maps and snippets of ‘history.’ That said, I am also considering an appendix discussing the gaming origins of the world. Much like the series itself, the encyclopedia would include interpretation, argument and even speculation.




5. One of the things that „Malazan Book of the Fallen” is most famous for is its scale and multi-thread narration. But what are the most important themes covered in the saga?




The necessity for compassion in an increasingly cold-hearted world.




6. Your novels are filled with paralells to the real world, put somewhere between the lines. But do You really think fantasy, as a genre full of dragons, wizards and magic, can do as a good vessel for a serious message?




I don’t know if any sort of writing can change the world – thought I would get that notion stated first. Insofar as the genre of fantasy and its usefulness in conveying ‘serious’ messages, I see no reason why it wouldn’t be just as useful as any other work of fiction. In fantasy, after all, one can take a metaphor and make it real: this allows a writer to be far more direct, if you will, in tackling relevant topics. And, for what it is worth, it is my sense that readers of fantasy are pretty smart people, unafraid of their own imagination, and it seems to me that it will be the imaginative people of the world who will be at the forefront of changes for the good.




7. Did Your education as an archaeologist and anthropologist help a lot in creating such a vast universe?




I don’t know if ‘help’ is the right word: it forced me to work harder, if anything. My own sensibilities needed to be satisfied with respect to creating a believable world. I know Cam feels the same. We are haunted by what we know of cultures, histories, environment, and the rise and fall of civilizations. So we were never able to gloss over such elements.




8. People may have different opinions about Your writing in general, but one thing is absolutely undeniable – the world You and Ian Cameron Esslemont brought to life is impossibly huge. How did You manage to keep everything consistent, and not lose of track of anything in such complicated web of relations conerning fictional societies, religions, politicians and so on?




Through role-playing we composed an extensive history, a sequence of events anchored in fairly straight-forward cause and effect. Curiously, just as in the real world, our sense and remembrance of some elements of that history differs. We are like two distinct points of view discussing shared events, and our perspectives are not identical, but thus far thankfully complementary.




By gaming the world we set in place a template, in which we immersed ourselves over a number of years. In other words, we both know what wouldn’t fit and that always limits the stretches we may make within that world. So, on the one hand we have this shared gaming history, and on the other we both know, fairly well, what belongs and what wouldn’t belong. This latter element is important as we do often create on the fly in the course of writing a novel.




9. Most readers know that a big part of the military-driven part of the story was partially inspired by Glen Cook's „Black Company”. Were there any more works or maybe cultural themes that helped You in crafting either the plot of Your tale or the Malazan world itself?




For both Cam and myself, the works of Glen Cook arrived at a perfect time. Beginning with his Dread Empire stuff and then onto the Black Company, it was as if we had suddenly found precisely what we wanted from fantasy fiction, and it provided us with a clear idea of the path that we would take as writers in that genre. Cook kicked open the door on realistic military/political fantasy; he brought it down to the grunt level; he made it more human than anyone else had done to that point (Donaldson did something different but equally profound, but for this let’s stay with Cook), and what frustrated me and Cam was that, as far as we could tell, nobody seemed to notice! When people come up to me and say that I have changed the face of fantasy, I respond with a shake of the head and reply. Not me. Glen Cook did.




Donaldson brought ambivalence and vulnerability to very human heroes. He brought contradiction into a fantasy world and made it a central theme. He showed a human face where most everywhere else we were still getting monochrome good guys fighting the good fight for all the right reasons.




Cook seemed to riff on that, but without the epic slant. It may seem odd connecting the two writers, given the vast difference in their writing styles, but I still see a connection. This was fantasy growing up, leaving the cliches behind, and with them, possibilities raged like fire in me (and, I think, Cam).




Bear in mind I was also coming from a reading list of Vietnam War literature and a host of classics going all the way back to Gilgamesh. It all fed into that moment, but even then let’s be honest: it took another ten or so years before ‘Gardens of the Moon’ arrived as the product of that time.




10. You are well known for visiting the biggest Malazan fansite, yet You still keep at distance and do not interact directly with the users. Does it help You to read all the opinions posted there? Did You ever get frustrated by some of them? Or maybe You used one of many crazy theories as a suggestion towards readers expectations?




I do check on the site every now and then; I look for where readers mis-read something or get off track, because it reminds me that it is impossibile to predict how readers take things in a novel, or in a series. The longer and more extensive the series, the greater the burden of accumulated expectations. That’s pretty much inevitable, and I do recall a couple times when I needed to step in and clarify something, and those times remind me to be as precise as possible where precision is important, and to be vague as possible when it isn’t (timeline, anyone?).




Am I occasionally frustrated? I need only visit, say, amazon.co.uk and read the takes on Toll the Hounds to be reminded of just how frustrating things can get; and it’s something of a relief to then go back to the fan site and see how readers have since changed their minds on that novel, after re-reading it.




I don’t recall taking on board any of the wilder theories posted on the site, but on occasion I have dropped a comment or two within the novels (always buried deep).




11. „Malazan Book of the Fallen” is compared with George Martin's „Song of Ice and Fire” more often than any other book. And what is Your opinion of Martin's writing?




I like George and would rather his more demanding fans cut him some slack. That said, I recall reading the first novel, Games of Thrones, but not much of it remains with me. In other words, I wasn’t much grabbed. Before people go rabid at that let me add that I think I heard somewhere that George never even finished Gardens of the Moon.




To these comparisons I can only shrug, more than a little bemused. We’re writing very different stuff.




12. You and Ian Cameron Esslemont started the creation of Malazan Book universe for role playing purposes. How many (if any) parts of the story we read were actually played before You both wrote them as parts of the novels?




Probably not as many as most people might think. A lot of what we roleplayed are events that preceded the series – all set-up, in other words. I later ran a few games with other players and I have incorporated those into some of the novels. We always left plenty of room in which to create new tales in that world.




This is probably important. It may not work to simply attempt to faithfully record in fiction a role-played advanture or campaign. Fiction has other requirements, structural ones of pacing, rising action, etc, that do not necessarily suit episodic adventuring.




13. Malazan saga, with the little exception of Kit Soden's album, seems pretty much bookstore-oriented, while in fantasy world there is quite a lot of space for merchandise. Are there any plans for board, battle, role playing, video or collectible card games labeled with „Malazan Book of the Fallen” name? Maybe figures, posters, or an artbook?




It remains to be seen if the novels will move into ancillary media now that the series is done (on my side). It would certainly be cool to see figures, card games, roleplaying stuff, even LARPS, set in the Malazan world.




14. Do You think a tale as complex as the one You wrote could succesfuly be made into a movie or television series? If so, which novel (or maybe even which scene from it) is the most cinematic?




I would imagine it all comes down to budget for stuff like this. I have some radical notions about how to do the entire series but they are, I know, mostly pipe-dreams. I write visually, so ‘cinematic’ comes naturally to me. You could probably pick any of the novels on that basis.




15. Has any film studio already made any offer to buy the Malazan Book of the Fallen licence? Would You accept any drastic changes in the original plotline, made for the sake of writing a movie script?




Only a few queries here and there. I think the project is simply too daunting. I don’t think I would be eager to jump on board any old offer: both Cam and I have experienced what can happen to a script; and even in terms of a computer RPG, we worked at length with a developer only to ultimately say no when we concluded the project was not ambitious enough in conception. In other words, we’re not desperate about any of this.




16. Often when people talk about Steven Erikson, only thing they mention is the Malazan saga. If You had the chance to do so, would You exchange part of its popularity for more recognition of Your other works, like „The Devil Delivered” or „Revolvo”?




Popularity was never high on my list, except insofar as it had to be part of my singular desire to be a full-time writer, which seems obvious. Furthermore, I don’t really have a sense of being popular. There are plenty of detractors out there regarding my works, and I know a lot of fantasy readers take up Gardens of the Moon only to abandon it.




With respect to my other works, well, I don’t know. The few readers they have are probably mostly from my readers of the big series; so without the big series those novellas and short works might well never have seen the light of day.




17. Do You consider yourself to be one of the best modern fantasy writers?




That’s not for me to decide, is it?




18. Would You like to start a new project as huge as the one You have just finished, or will You let „Malazan Book of the Fallen” remain Your biggest accomplishment in terms of literature, and stick to stand-alone novels?




My future commitments are for two trilogies, along with some more novellas. I will never again tackle a series the size of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I’m too old now, and nowhere near as driven (which I think is a good thing, as I am writing for sheer pleasure now, sans pressure).




19. You were in Poland during the Eurocon 2010 convention. How did You like it? Do You plan to visit this country again, maybe when „The Crippled God” finally reaches our borders?




I had a great time in Poland and would love to visit again.




20. Do You know any polish fantasy or science fiction authors? If so, what is Your opinion of their works?




One of the consequences of writing a series consisting of 350 000 word novels, one a year, for year after year, is that I found less time for reading for pleasure, and even when I did, it was rarely if ever Fantasy. Rather, I read SF, or non-fiction. Alas, I am not familiar with Polish writers; but then, I am not all too familiar with English/American/Canadian/Australian writers of the genre either. It is indeed shameful...






Best Regards

Steven Erikson

[MWKarsa]

Wow- great interview and questions to get SE's insightful answers to them.

Loved to hear about the "prequel" trilogy and doubly stoked to hear about the Karsa book- freaking cannot wait to get to read that.

Thanks!

[Salt-Man Z]

Is this the first solid confirmation that the "Toblakai" trilogy features Karsa post-MBotF?

Nice interview!

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 15 February 2011 - 02:02 AM

[Trull's son]

Excellent stuff. Definitely looking forward to the trilogies!

[King Bear]

"This is probably important. It may not work to simply attempt to faithfully record in fiction a role-played advanture or campaign. Fiction has other requirements, structural ones of pacing, rising action, etc, that do not necessarily suit episodic adventuring."

I wonder if SE has read the original Dragonlance trilogy. He just described book 1 right there.

[Hetan]

Some good Q&A's there. Thanks Siergiej, for posting it

[champ]

Nice interview!

Quote

I don’t recall taking on board any of the wilder theories posted on the site, but on occasion I have dropped a comment or two within the novels (always buried deep).

I know there is the "time line" comment in DoD about Gudd and the "writing style" comment in TtH with Fisher, can anyone think of anymore?

[Silk]

where be these snippets of comments? I musta missed them in my reading frenzy ;o)

[Aptorian]

champooon, on 15 February 2011 - 09:13 AM, said:

Nice interview!

Quote

I don't recall taking on board any of the wilder theories posted on the site, but on occasion I have dropped a comment or two within the novels (always buried deep).

I know there is the "time line" comment in DoD about Gudd and the "writing style" comment in TtH with Fisher, can anyone think of anymore?

Buggs mussing on "power levels" in DOD. Basically he disarmed any and all who'd win competitions.

[Silk]

That one I knew.... but was refering to the two mentioned above..... time line and writing style... the Bugg one jumps out at you.

[champ]

Silk, on 15 February 2011 - 10:37 AM, said:

That one I knew.... but was refering to the two mentioned above..... time line and writing style... the Bugg one jumps out at you.

From Fisher - TtH...

Quote

The bard leaned back, retrieving his tankard. "It begins with you," he said. "And it ends with you. Your eyes to witness,
your thoughts alone. Tell me of no one's mind, presume nothing of their workings. You and I, we tell nothing, we but show"

I don't have the other to hand at the moment from DoD, I will post it when I get home but it comes from Skanarow(sp?) talking to Kindly about Ruthan Gudds back story!

[Siergiej]

Thanks guys. Great that You like it

[MTS]

Silk, on 15 February 2011 - 10:37 AM, said:

That one I knew.... but was refering to the two mentioned above..... time line and writing style... the Bugg one jumps out at you.

Timeline jab in DoD:

Quote

'Not like that, Kindly. He's hiding something - oh, his story works out, at least on the surface. I mean, his timeline makes sense—'
'Excuse me, his what?'
'Well, when he did what and where he did it. A proper course of events, but I figure that just means he's worked it out to sound plausible.'
'Or it sounds plausible because it is in fact his history.'
'I don't think so. That's just it, Kindly. I think he's lying.'

ETA - funnily enough I read it not ten minutes ago.

This post has been edited by MTS: 15 February 2011 - 11:58 AM

[Silk]

Awesomenes.... now that they are pointed out they do kind of jump out big time ;o))

[Cyphon]

Awesome. While I don't quite want to dig around into SE's head and examine everything thats going on in there, this kind of insight is always fascinating.

Hopefully not writing for pressure means that SE's own personal values will drive the next books to higher levels of awesome.